Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Depth‐dependent anisotropies of amides and sugar in perpendicular and parallel sections of articular cartilage by Fourier transform infrared imaging

Full thickness blocks of canine humeral cartilage were microtomed into both perpendicular sections and a series of 100 parallel sections, each 6 μm thick. Fourier transform infrared (IR) imaging was used to image each tissue section eleven times under different IR polarizations (from 0° to 180° polarization states in 20° increments and with an additional 90° polarization), at a spatial resolution of 6.25 μm and a wavenumber step of 8 cm−1. With increasing depth from the articular surface, amide anisotropies increased in the perpendicular sections and decreased in the parallel sections. Both types of tissue sectioning identified a 90° difference between amide I and amide II in the superficial zone (SZ) of cartilage. The fibrillar distribution in the parallel sections from the SZ was shown to not be random. Sugar had a weak but recognizable anisotropy in the upper part of the radial zone (RZ) in the perpendicular sections. The depth‐dependent anisotropic data were fitted with a theoretical equation that contained three signature parameters, which illustrate the arcade structure of collagens with the aid of a fibril model. Fourier‐transform IR imaging of both perpendicular and parallel sections provides the possibility of determining the three‐dimensional macromolecular structures in articular cartilage. Being sensitive to the orientation of the macromolecular structure in healthy articular cartilage aids the prospect of detecting the early onset of the tissue degradation that may lead to pathological conditions such as osteoarthritis. Microsc. Res. Tech. 74:122–132, 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Partnering with the Public Library for Health Care Education: An Evaluation of Affordable Care Act Messages

ABSTRACT Despite implementation of most of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by 2014, the public still has questions about the health care law. To assess the potential of using the library as a hub for ACA education, we tested existing and new culturally relevant messages about the health care law with twenty-seven community members. Participants discussed the message prototypes, including the visual components and promotional content, and provided advice to modify content and design to best reach target audiences. Future research can follow this example to engage libraries and community members in developing and evaluating culturally relevant health messages.
C-based design of a real time speech recognition system

Speech recognition is becoming a popular technology for the implementation of human interfaces. However, conventional approaches to large vocabulary continuous speech recognition require a high performance CPU. In this paper, we describe a speech-recognition system designed using a C-based design methodology and compare three hardware implementations for the computationally intensive parts. Pipelining, parallel processing and cache memory solutions to compute the hidden Markov model (HMM) output probability at high speed were implemented and their performances evaluated. It is shown that designers can rapidly explore a wide range of complex circuits in a using this methodology and that real time speech recognition in small portable systems is possible
Information Content of Earnings Announcements in the New Zealand Equity Market, a Longitudinal Analysis

We compute abnormal return variance and abnormal trading volume in the 3‐day window surrounding earnings announcements to examine the information content of earnings announcements in the New Zealand equity market over the past 16 years. We find that the information content of earnings announcements has increased significantly over time, and this finding holds true for both interim and preliminary earnings announcements. We find evidence that earnings announcements with June year‐ends exhibit a higher level of information content and experience a more pronounced rising trend as compared to earnings announcements with non‐June year‐ends. Several firm characteristics appear to relate to the level of the information content of earnings announcements as well as to compound the trend over time. We document an important finding that the information content of earnings announcements increases remarkably in the period after the adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
White-matter markers for psychosis in a prospective ultra-high-risk cohort

Background Subjects at ‘ultra high risk’ (UHR) for developing psychosis have differences in white matter (WM) compared with healthy controls. WM integrity has not yet been investigated in UHR subjects in relation to the development of subsequent psychosis. Hence, we investigated a prospective cohort of UHR subjects comparing whole brain fractional anisotropy (FA) of those later developing psychosis (UHR-P) to those who did not (UHR-NP). Method We recruited 37 subjects fulfilling UHR criteria and 10 healthy controls. Baseline 3 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) ratings were obtained. UHR subjects were assessed at 9, 18 and 24 months for development of frank psychosis. We compared baseline FA of UHR-P to controls and UHR-NP subjects. Furthermore, we related clinical data to MRI outcome in the patient population. Results Of the 37 UHR subjects, 10 had transition to psychosis. UHR-P subjects showed significantly lower FA values than control subjects in medial frontal lobes bilaterally. UHR-P subjects had lower FA values than UHR-NP subjects, lateral to the right putamen and in the left superior temporal lobe. UHR-P subjects showed higher FA values, compared with UHR-NP, in the left medial temporal lobe. In UHR-P, positive PANSS negatively correlated to FA in the left middle temporal lobe. In the total UHR group positive PANSS negatively correlated to FA in the right superior temporal lobe. Conclusions UHR subjects who later develop psychosis have differences in WM integrity, compared with UHR subjects who do not develop psychosis and to healthy controls, in brain areas associated with schizophrenia.
Predictors and reasons for relapse in smoking cessation with nicotine and placebo patches.

BACKGROUND The reasons for relapse to smoking are not fully understood but several factors are of importance. Addiction to nicotine seems to play a prominent role but there are several other contributing factors. METHODS To determine predictors of outcome in smoking cessation, we performed univariate and multivariate analyses in a large smoking cessation trial comprising 289 subjects. Weight gain and withdrawal symptoms were analyzed separately as predictors. To determine self-perceived reasons for relapse we created a questionnaire, which was answered by 132 relapsers. RESULTS Previous attempts to quit smoking and a low saliva cotinine concentration were significantly associated with abstinence in the nicotine-treated group. A trend toward higher abstinence rates was found among males and among subjects with a low nicotine dependency score. Logistic regression analysis showed higher success rates in subjects with the largest weight gain during the first weeks of quitting in contrast to higher relapse rates in subjects who had the greatest weight gain after 3 months. A high score on withdrawal symptoms was not predictive of relapse. Subjects with "slips" had a markedly increased relapse rate. Craving for cigarettes was the most often self-reported (48%) reason for relapse. CONCLUSIONS The relation between weight gain, withdrawal scoring, and outcome seems rather complex. Craving for cigarettes was the most reported reason for relapse.
Noxious Stimulation of the Rat Tooth Pulp May Impair Learning and Memory Through the Induction of Hippocampal Apoptosis.

AIMS To determine whether noxious stimulation of the rat tooth pulp induces learning and memory impairment through the induction of apoptosis in the hippocampus. METHODS Thirty-five adult rats were divided randomly into five groups (each n=7) as follows: control, sham-operated, sham-vehicle, capsaicin-treated, and capsaicin plus ibuprofen-treated group. After preparing dental cavities via cutting 2 mm of the distal extremities of the mandibular incisors, polyethylene crowns were placed on the teeth. Based on the study groups, different injections were administered into the cavities. Nociceptive scores for each block were obtained by measuring the number of seconds that the animal spent rubbing and flicking the lower jaw. After recording the nociceptive behaviors, spatial learning and memory were assessed by using the Morris Water Maze (MWM) test. The hippocampal levels of Bcl-2, Bax, and caspase-3 protein were determined by immunoblotting. Statistical analyses were performed using one- or two-way analysis of variance. RESULTS Noxious pulp stimulation induced by intradental application of capsaicin significantly increased time and traveled distance in the MWM test. Capsaicin stimulation of the pulp also significantly increased the Bax:Bcl-2 ratio and activated caspase-3 in the hippocampus (P<.01), which was inhibited by ibuprofen pretreatment (P<.05). CONCLUSION Memory and learning impairment induced by noxious stimulation of the rat tooth pulp may be correlated with activation of apoptotic pathways in the hippocampus.
Neuromagnetic responses from the second somatosensory cortex in man

ABSTRACT Cerebral magnetic fields elicited by electric stimulation of peripheral nerves were studied in man. Responses were found over the Sylvian fissure at latencies of 95‐125 ms for both contra‐ and ipsilateral stimuli. The field distribution indicated that the responses are generated in the second somatosensory cortex SII at the upper bank of the Sylvian fissure. These responses seem to provide the first non‐invasive tool to study the function of SII in man.
The economic impact of moderate stage Alzheimer's disease in Italy: evidence from the UP-TECH randomized trial

ABSTRACT Background: There is consensus that dementia is the most burdensome disease for modern societies. Few cost-of-illness studies examined the complexity of Alzheimer's disease (AD) burden, considering at the same time health and social care, cash allowances, informal care, and out-of-pocket expenditure by families. Methods: This is a comprehensive cost-of-illness study based on the baseline data from a randomized controlled trial (UP-TECH) enrolling 438 patients with moderate AD and their primary caregiver living in the community. Results: The societal burden of AD, composed of public, patient, and informal care costs, was about €20,000/yr. Out of this, the cost borne by the public sector was €4,534/yr. The main driver of public cost was the national cash-for-care allowance (€2,324/yr), followed by drug prescriptions (€1,402/yr). Out-of-pocket expenditure predominantly concerned the cost of private care workers. The value of informal care peaked at €13,590/yr. Socioeconomic factors do not influence AD public cost, but do affect the level of out-of-pocket expenditure. Conclusion: The burden of AD reflects the structure of Italian welfare. The families predominantly manage AD patients. The public expenditure is mostly for drugs and cash-for-care benefits. From a State perspective in the short term, the advantage of these care arrangements is clear, compared to the cost of residential care. However, if caregivers are not adequately supported, savings may be soon offset by higher risk of caregiver morbidity and mortality produced by high burden and stress. The study has been registered on the website www.clinicaltrials. org (Trial Registration number: NCT01700556).
Estimating the benefits of clean air contingent valuation and hedonic price methods

This study deals with the estimation of willingness to pay for a 50% reduction of air pollution caused by road traffic in Rabat-Sale (Morocco) using contingent valuation and hedonic price methods. In the CVM, two techniques are employed. These are iterative bidding and dichotomous choice. Both empirical analyses are based on the same set of individuals. This strategy enables us to compare the two techniques; Probit and generalised Tobit models are used for the estimations. Moreover, parametric and non-parametric approaches are used to calculate the mean and median willingness to pay.
Market-Consistent Valuation and Funding of Cash Balance Pensions

Cash balance pension benefits are accumulated at guaranteed crediting rates, usually based on yields on government securities. Viewed as a financial liability, the benefit is a form of interest rate derivative, which can be valued using financial models and theory. In this article, we derive the market value for a range of commonly used crediting rates, assuming the accrued benefit liability comprises the past contributions, allowing for full interest credits up to a known future retirement date. We use the Hull-White interest rate model to determine crediting rates and to determine the market value. We explore the risks associated with different crediting rate choices by evaluating the liability using market data from 1998 to 2013. We propose two other approaches to the accrued benefit. The first approach assumes the accrued benefit comprises past contributions with interest up to the valuation date, but no future interest credits. Future credits on past contributions are assumed funded through future contributions. The second method projects all contributions and interest to retirement and assumes equal units of accrual of this projected benefit in each year of service. We compare the three approaches through numerical examples.
Grids Recurrent Fusion Fused Feature Grid 3 D Grid Reasoning Projection Final Grid Voxel Occupancy

We present a learnt system for multi-view stereopsis. In contrast to recent learning based methods for 3D reconstruction, we leverage the underlying 3D geometry of the problem through feature projection and unprojection along viewing rays. By formulating these operations in a differentiable manner, we are able to learn the system end-to-end for the task of metric 3D reconstruction. End-to-end learning allows us to jointly reason about shape priors while conforming to geometric constraints, enabling reconstruction from much fewer images (even a single image) than required by classical approaches as well as completion of unseen surfaces. We thoroughly evaluate our approach on the ShapeNet dataset and demonstrate the benefits over classical approaches and recent learning based methods.
Speckle Reduction with Edge Preservation in Medical Ultrasonic Images Using a Homogeneous Region Growing Mean Filter (HRGMF)

In this paper, we propose a new post formation adaptive image filtering technique, to be called the homogeneous region growing mean filter, in order to reduce speckle noise with edge preservation in medical ultrasonic images. First, to find a proper seed region, an initially assumed seed region, which is larger than the average speckle size around a given filtering point, is successively contracted according to a certain local homogeneity criterion. Once the seed region is determined, the next step is to grow the homogeneous region successively based on some measures of local homogeneity and similarity of the neighboring region. The output of the proposed filter for each filtering point is obtained from the arithmetic mean of the grown locally homogeneous region. Several simulation results are presented to illustrate the performance of the proposed filter. They show that the proposed technique effectively smoothes ultrasonic speckle and completely suppresses isolated impulsive noise over the entire texture in addition to preserving the edge information.
Minority Shareholder Protections and the Private Benefits of Control for Swedish Mergers

Abstract Sweden has a high degree of separation of ownership from control through pyramids, dual-class shares, and cross-holdings. This increases the potential for private benefits of control. However, Sweden's extralegal institutions—tax compliance and newspaper circulation—are consistent with greater shareholder protection. Using data on Swedish mergers we find limited evidence of shareholder expropriation. Apparently, Sweden's extralegal institutions offset the drawback of weak corporate governance.
Chinese Housing Reform in State-owned Enterprises and Its Impacts on Different Social Groups

Housing change has been a major part of urban social and economic reform in China. Earlier research and literature on housing policy focused largely on changes which affected office workers employed by government departments and professional institutions. Relatively little attention has been given to the examination of housing reform practice in state-owned enterprises. This paper aims to enhance our understanding of the social impacts of housing reform in China. It reports findings from fieldwork carried out in four large cities; highlights the different approaches adopted by state-owned enterprises; and assesses their impacts on different categories of employees.
The emergence of digital governance

Barack Obama won the American Election in a campaign in which Facebook, YouTube and Twitter were key elements and the internet was used as never before. But after the election, what next? Can digital technologies help citizens to participate in government as well as to elect it? Ann Macintosh examines the future of digital governance.
An Analysis of the Suitability of Test-Based Patch Acceptance Criteria

Program repair techniques attempt to fix programs by looking for patches within a search space of fix candidates. These techniques require a specification of the program to be repaired, used as an acceptance criterion for fix candidates, that often also plays an important role in guiding some search processes. Most tools use tests as specifications, which constitutes a risk, since the incompleteness of tests as specifications may lead one to obtain spurious repairs, that pass all tests but are in fact incorrect. This problem has been identified by various researchers, raising concerns about the validity of program fixes. More thorough studies have been proposed using different sets of tests for fix validation, and resorting to manual inspection, showing that while tools reduce their program fixing rate, they are still able to repair a significant number of cases. In this paper, we perform a different analysis of the suitability of tests as acceptance criteria for automated program fixes, by checking patches produced by automated repair tools using a bug-finding tool, as opposed to previous works that used tests or manual inspections. We develop a number of experiments in which faulty programs from a known benchmark are fed to the program repair tools GenProg, Angelix, AutoFix and Nopol, using test suites of varying quality and extension, including those accompanying the benchmark. We then check the produced patches against formal specifications using a bug-finding tool. Our results show that, in general, automated program repair tools are significantly more likely to accept a spurious program fix than producing an actual one, in the studied scenarios.
Synthesis and In Vitro Antiproliferative Activity of Novel Androst-5-ene Triazolyl and Tetrazolyl Derivatives

A straightforward and reliable method for the regioselective synthesis of steroidal 1,4-disubstituted triazoles and 1,5-disubstituted tetrazoles via copper(I)-catalyzed cycloadditions is reported. Heterocycle moieties were efficiently introduced onto the starting azide compound 3β-acetoxy-16β-azidomethylandrost-5-en-17β-ol through use of the “click” chemistry approach. The antiproliferative activities of the newly-synthesized triazoles were determined in vitro on three human gynecological cell lines (HeLa, MCF7 and A2780) using the microculture tetrazolium assay.
A comparative value chain analysis of smallholder burley tobacco production in Malawi 2003/4 and 2009/10

Smallholders grow the majority of M alawi's main export crop – burley tobacco. We analyse this value chain segment for the 2003/4 and 2009/10 seasons. The comparison shows smallholder profits in 2003/4 were limited by two main factors: a cartel of leaf merchants at auction and inefficient marketing arrangements. In 2009/10, there was greater competition at auction, improvements in marketing, tighter state regulation (including minimum prices) and much more contract farming. The paper concludes by reflecting on aspects of the political economy of the tobacco industry at national and global levels.
Molecular cloning of Friend mink cell focus-inducing virus: identification of mink cell focus-inducing virus-like messages in normal and transformed cells

Friend mink cell focus-inducing virus (Fr-MCF) is a leukemogenic murine retrovirus that was isolated from a leukemic NIH Swiss mouse. We molecularly cloned the genome of this virus into pBR322. Restriction enzyme mapping of this cloned Fr-MCF DNA revealed a 1.0-kilobase-pair region in the envelope gene which differs from the restriction map of the Friend ecotropic virus (Friend murine leukemia virus). A 400-base-pair Fr-MCF envelope gene fragment was subcloned from this region and designated pLEK. Probes made with pLEK hybridize to Fr-MCF DNA but do not hybridize to either Friend or amphotropic murine leukemia virus DNA. Polyadenylic acid-selected RNA was prepared from the hematopoietic tissues of normal NIH Swiss mice, Fr-MCF-infected erythroleukemia cells (TP-1), and uninfected chemically transformed T lymphocytes (RB-1). The pLEK probe identified 34S and 22S messages in the TP-1 cells and in the normal hematopoietic tissues. RB-1 cells contain 32S and 26S messages that hybridize to pLEK. However, the pLEK-like RNAs found in the normal hematopoietic tissues and in the RB-1 cells were 400-fold less abundant than the RNAs found in the TP-1 cells.
Leveraging human capital through performance management process: the role of leadership in the USA, France and India†

This paper examines the role of human capital and leader's knowledge in performance management in three countries from different continents. We contribute to the relevant literatures by examining crucial, hitherto unexamined processes of leveraging human capital, focusing on the conversion of tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge. The paper also contributes by demonstrating the applicability of these processes and a general strategic human resource management framework to differing cultures. Using data from employee samples in these three countries, this study shows a strong positive impact of managerial human capital on key processes of leveraging such capital such as performance enhancement strategies and critical interactive behaviors, eventually leading to strong perceptions of leadership. These processes seem to be applicable across the three countries studied. These results are discussed in the context of cultural variations, pressures for globalization and associated HRM practices in these contexts. Future directions, limitations and managerial implications are discussed.
One-Sector Nonclassical Optimal Growth: Optimality Conditions and Comparative Dynamics

The authors consider a one-sector nonclassical model of optimal economic growth, characterized by a convex-concave production function. They provide, in a dynamic-programming context, a characterization of all local (interior) maximum of the miximand of the Bellman equation. These conditions are the Euler equation and a second order condition, namely, that the marginal propensity to consume is less than one. An example is used to illustrate these conditions. Also, several comparative dynamic results are derived. In particular, it is shown that the maximum and minimum selections out of the optimal consumption correspondence shift down as the discount factor increases. Copyright 1991 by Economics Department of the University of Pennsylvania and the Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association.