Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Anthropometric and reproductive factors and the risk of pancreatic cancer: A case‐control study in Shanghai, China

To examine the possible role of body size and reproductive factors in pancreatic cancer, data were analyzed from a population‐based case‐control study conducted in Shanghai, China. Cases (n = 451) were permanent residents of Shanghai, 30–74 years of age, newly diagnosed with pancreatic cancer between October 1, 1990, and June 30, 1993. Deceased cases (19%) were excluded from the study. Controls (n = 1,552) were randomly selected from permanent Shanghai residents and frequency‐matched to cases by gender and age. Information on body size and reproductive and other possible risk factors was collected through personal interviews. After adjustment for age, income, smoking and other confounders, a positive dose‐response relation between body mass index and risk of pancreatic cancer was observed in both sexes. Among women, the risk of pancreatic cancer was significantly associated with number of pregnancies and live births. Compared with 0–2 pregnancies or live births, the odds ratio (OR) for 8 or more pregnancies was 1.90, while that for 5 or more births was 1.88. A modest elevation in risk, independent of parity, was associated with early age at first birth. Risk increased over 40% among women with a first birth at or before age 19 years relative to those at age 26 years or older. Ever use of oral contraceptives was associated with excess risk, though based on small numbers of users. Our findings suggest that, in Shanghai, obesity, gravidity, parity and perhaps use of oral contraceptives are associated with moderate increases in risk of pancreatic cancer, indicating that hormonal determinants deserve further investigation. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Enrichment and verification of differentially expressed miRNAs in bursa of Fabricius in two breeds of duck

Objective The bursa of Fabricius (BF) is a central humoral immune organ belonging specifically to avians. Recent studies had suggested that miRNAs were active regulators involved in the immune processes. This study was to investigate the possible differences of the BF at miRNA level between two genetically disparate duck breeds. Methods Using Illumina next-generation sequencing, the miRNAs libraries of ducks were established. Results The results showed that there were 66 differentially expressed miRNAs and 28 novel miRNAs in bursa. A set of abundant miRNAs (i.e., let-7, miR-146a-5p, miR-21-5p, miR-17~92) which are involved in immunity and disease were detected and the predicted target genes of the novel miRNAs were associated with duck high anti-adversity ability. By gene ontology analysis and enriching KEGG pathway, the targets of differential expressed miRNAs were mainly involved in immunity and disease, supporting that there were differences in the BF immune functions between the two duck breeds. In addition, the metabolic pathway had the maximum enriched target genes and some enriched pathways that were related to cell cycle, protein synthesis, cell proliferation and apoptosis. It indicted that the difference of metabolism may be one of the reasons leading the immune difference between the BF of two duck breeds. Conclusion This data lists the main differences in the BF at miRNAs level between two genetically disparate duck breeds and lays a foundation to carry out molecular assisted breeding of poultry in the future.
Scale Invariant Metrics of Volumetric Datasets

Nature reveals itself in similar structures of different scales. A child and an adult share similar organs yet dramatically differ in size. Comparing the two is a challenging task to a computerized approach as scale and shape are coupled. Recently, it was shown that a local measure based on the Gaussian curvature can be used to normalize the local metric of a surface and then to extract global features and distances. In this paper we consider higher dimensions; specifically, we construct a scale invariant metric for volumetric domains which can be used in analysis of medical datasets such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
The Optimal Level of Monetary Aggregation

IN THIS PAPER, I have three objectives: (1) to describe the aggregation theoretic procedure for selecting the optimal monetary aggregateS (2) to survey the available empirical evidence for information on the optimal aggregateS and (3) to describe the procedures that should be followed to complete a redefinition of the monetary aggregates. Although all of the Federal Reserve Board's current official aggregates are rejected as targets, some newer aggregates are found to be substantially preferable to the official aggregates. The board's staff recently completed the official redefinition of its monetary aggregates in a manner largely unrelated to aggregation and index number theory. My own research in recent years has sought to remedy that shortcoming. Except for monetary aggregates, most of the data provided by governmental agencies are constructed in accordance with aggregation and index number theory. Since aggregation theory can be applied to monetary aggregation, 1 I constructed new monetary aggregates that are consistent with the economic theory.2 Recently the empiri-
A constraint parser for contextual rules

In this paper we describe a constraint analyser for contextual rules. Contextual rules constitute a rule-based formalism that allows rewriting of terminals and/or non terminal sequences taking in account their context. The formalism allows also to refer to portions of text by means of exclusion zones, that is, patterns that are only specified by a maximum length and a set of not allowed categories. The constraint approach reveals particularly useful for this type of rules, as decisions can be taken under the hypothesis of non existence of the excluded categories. If these categories are finally deduced, all other categories inferred upon the non existence of the former ones are automatically eliminated. The parser has been implemented using Constraint, Handling Rules. Some results with a set of rules oriented to the segmentation of texts in propositions are shown.
Regulatory control of vehicle and power plant emissions: how effective and at what cost?

Passenger vehicles and power plants are major sources of GHG emissions. While economic analyses generally indicate that a broader market-based approach to GHG reduction would be less costly and more effective, regulatory approaches have found greater political success. We evaluate a global regulatory regime that replaces coal with natural gas in the electricity sector and imposes technically achievable improvements in the efficiency of personal transport vehicles. Its performance and cost are compared with other scenarios of future policy development including a no-policy world, achievements under the Copenhagen Accord, and a price-based policy to reduce global emissions by 50% by 2050. The assumed regulations applied globally achieve a global emissions reduction larger than projected for the Copenhagen agreements, but they do not prevent global GHG emissions from continuing to grow. The reduction in emissions is achieved at a high cost compared to a price-based policy. Diagnosis of the reasons for the limited yet high-cost performance reveals influences including the partial coverage of emitting sectors, small or no influence on the demand for emissions-intensive products, leakage when a reduction in fossil use in the covered sectors lowers the price to others, and the partial coverage of GHGs. If these regulatory measures are in part correcting other barriers or behavioural limitations consumers face, the benefits of overcoming these could offset at least some of the costs we estimate. The extent of any efficiency gap – the difference between engineering estimates of best practice and what actually happens – is highly contested, and offers an important avenue for future research. Policy relevance While analysts concerned with national cost of GHG control have long advocated a GHG pricing policy, by a cap-and-trade system or a tax, covering all emissions sources and gases, governments more often pursue sectoral policies and technology standards. Given these political realities, the regulations represent a more politically practical approach to GHG reductions, focusing on solutions that are within reach and that do not depend on technological breakthroughs. If regulations are imposed as a way to get started on larger emissions reductions, and then combined with a broader GHG pricing policy pursuing a deep global cut in emissions, its requirements will eventually be overtaken by the pricing policy. The remaining higher costs of the regulatory targets become diluted so that in later years the difference in average cost per ton between a least-cost approach and one preceded by a period of regulatory action becomes very small.
Obstacles to colorectal screening in general practice: a qualitative study of GPs and patients.

BACKGROUND The faecal occult blood test (FOBT) has proven efficiency at screening populations for an average risk of colorectal cancer. Mortality related to this cancer decreases by 15-18% among adults, 50-74 years old, tested every 2 years. A participation rate of at least 50% is desirable. This rate has not yet been reached in most French regions. OBJECTIVE To explore the obstacles to mass colorectal screening in France. METHOD In 2009, five focus groups were conducted in different areas to explore physicians' obstacles to FOBT screening. The patients' obstacles were assessed in semi-structured interviews. A purposive sampling had been carried out for both GPs and patients. The focus groups were coded using Nvivo 8(®) software by three researchers; the interviews manually coded by two researchers. RESULTS GPs reported insufficient training and some doubted the relevance of screening. They expressed concern of having insufficient time for the test during a consultation, as well as practical and administrative obstacles. Some GPs experienced difficulty persuading patients who had no signs of colorectal disease. Obstacles for patients were mainly difficulties in doing screening themselves and a perception of health care that didn't match with screening. Information and organization were also important points to improve. The screening process was considered complex both by GPs and by patients. CONCLUSIONS Numerous obstacles to colorectal screening, from both the physicians' and the patients' perspectives, were found. The major goal to improve mass screening may be to increase awareness and understanding of both physicians and patients regarding this process.
Performance Evaluation of a Harvesting Robot for Sweet Pepper

This paper evaluates a robot developed for autonomous harvesting of sweet peppers in a commercial greenhouse. Objectives were to assess robot performance under unmodified and simplified crop conditions, using two types of end effectors (Fin Ray; Lip type), and to evaluate the performance contribution of stem‐dependent determination of the grasp pose. We describe and discuss the performance of hardware and software components developed for fruit harvesting in a complex environment that includes lighting variation, occlusions, and densely spaced obstacles. After simplifying the crop, harvest success significantly improved from 6% to 26% (Fin Ray) and from 2% to 33% (Lip type). We observed a decrease in stem damage and an increase in grasp success after enabling stem‐dependent determination of the grasp pose. Generally, the robot had difficulty in successfully picking sweet peppers and we discuss possible causes. The robot's novel capability of perceiving the stem of a plant may serve as useful functionality for future robots.
The Small GTPase Rac1 Contributes to Extinction of Aversive Memories of Drug Withdrawal by Facilitating GABAA Receptor Endocytosis in the vmPFC

Extinction of aversive memories has been a major concern in neuropsychiatric disorders, such as anxiety disorders and drug addiction. However, the mechanisms underlying extinction of aversive memories are not fully understood. Here, we report that extinction of conditioned place aversion (CPA) to naloxone-precipitated opiate withdrawal in male rats activates Rho GTPase Rac1 in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in a BDNF-dependent manner, which determines GABAA receptor (GABAAR) endocytosis via triggering synaptic translocation of activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein (Arc) through facilitating actin polymerization. Active Rac1 is essential and sufficient for GABAAR endocytosis and CPA extinction. Knockdown of Rac1 expression within the vmPFC of rats using Rac1-shRNA suppressed GABAAR endocytosis and CPA extinction, whereas expression of a constitutively active form of Rac1 accelerated GABAAR endocytosis and CPA extinction. The crucial role of GABAAR endocytosis in the LTP induction and CPA extinction is evinced by the findings that blockade of GABAAR endocytosis by a dynamin function-blocking peptide (Myr-P4) abolishes LTP induction and CPA extinction. Thus, the present study provides first evidence that Rac1-dependent GABAAR endocytosis plays a crucial role in extinction of aversive memories and reveals the sequence of molecular events that contribute to learning experience modulation of synaptic GABAAR endocytosis. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT This study reveals that Rac1-dependent GABAAR endocytosis plays a crucial role in extinction of aversive memories associated with drug withdrawal and identifies Arc as a downstream effector of Rac1 regulations of synaptic plasticity as well as learning and memory, thereby suggesting therapeutic targets to promote extinction of the unwanted memories.
Risks analysis for already existent electric lifelines in case of seismic disaster

After the description of FMECA methodology applied to vulnerability evaluations typically in electronic context, an its use is suggested for powerline in case of earthquakes. The procedure gives a series of quantification risk tables which correctly filled give the indication of the probability risk for each harm of the electric network becoming an useful instrument to preventively fix where primarily act in case of a disaster.
Energetics of the smallest: do bacteria breathe at the same rate as whales?

Power laws describing the dependence of metabolic rate on body mass have been established for many taxa, but not for prokaryotes, despite the ecological dominance of the smallest living beings. Our analysis of 80 prokaryote species with cell volumes ranging more than 1 000 000-fold revealed no significant relationship between mass-specific metabolic rate q and cell mass. By absolute values, mean endogenous mass-specific metabolic rates of non-growing bacteria are similar to basal rates of eukaryote unicells, terrestrial arthropods and mammals. Maximum mass-specific metabolic rates displayed by growing bacteria are close to the record tissue-specific metabolic rates of insects, amphibia, birds and mammals. Minimum mass-specific metabolic rates of prokaryotes coincide with those of larger organisms in various energy-saving regimes: sit-and-wait strategists in arthropods, poikilotherms surviving anoxia, hibernating mammals. These observations suggest a size-independent value around which the mass-specific metabolic rates vary bounded by universal upper and lower limits in all body size intervals.
An Efficient Microscale Technique for Determining the Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate

The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) is a commonly used test to screen for inflammatory conditions such as infections, autoimmune diseases, and cancers. However, it is a bulk macroscale test that requires a relatively large blood sample and takes a long time to run. Moreover, it provides no information regarding cell sizes or interactions, which can be highly variable. To overcome these drawbacks, we developed a microfluidic microscopy-based protocol to dynamically track settling red blood cells (RBCs) to quantify velocity of cell settling, as a surrogate for the ESR. We imaged individual cells in a vertical microfluidic channel and applied a hybrid cell detection and tracking algorithm to compute settling velocities. We combined eigenvalue background subtraction and centroid detection together with the Kalman filter and Hungarian assignment solver algorithms to increase accuracy and computational speed. Our algorithm is designed to track settling RBCs/aggregates in high cellularity samples rather than single cells in suspension. Detection accuracy was 79.3%, which is comparable to state-of-the-art cell-tracking techniques. Compared with conventional ESR tests, our approach has the advantages of being automated, using microliter volumes of blood samples, and rapid turnaround.
Capital openness, monetary integration, and wage-setting coordination in developed European countries

How capital openness influences the wage-setting process is a topic that has been discussed extensively in the literature on European industrial relations. One well-known hypothesis asserts that high capital openness induces employers to de-coordinate the wage-setting process, if wage costs have been under poor control. This article provides a critical review of the hypothesis, arguing that it holds only if governments can provide flexible accommodating policies for employers during the period of institutional transition. If such policy options are not available, which is true when governments are committed to European monetary integration, the hypothesis does not hold. This claim is tested with a Boolean qualitative analysis of 11 European countries, focusing on the periods from the 1970s to early 2000s.
EPSAS and the Unification of Public Sector Accounting Across Europe

Abstract In March 2013, the EC started a project aimed at harmonizing accrual-based public sector accounting systems through a set of harmonized accrual-based public sector accounting standards. The entire project is based on the assumption that the “superiority of the accruals principle, whether for macro or micro fiscal monitoring, is indisputable” (EC, 2013, p. 6). The paper offers critical perspective on the possible adoption of the European Public Sector Accounting Standards (EPSAS) inspired by the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). More specifically, the paper deals with the theoretical concepts of harmonization, standardization, and unification, as defined by the international accounting literature, with a view to identify the possible consequences of the public accounting unification process that is going to be promoted by the EU. In the European Union perspective, accounting unification is a desirable outcome, a pre-condition for attaining, measuring, controlling, and demonstrating budgetary equilibrium, according to a strictly rational logic consistent with a functionalist perspective of public sector accounting. Such an approach, it is argued in the paper, leads to a misunderstanding of public sector accounting, which is considered as a neutral technology whereas it is actually a tool of commensuration with a strong influence on the economic and political life of social communities, since it generates interpretative categories and contributes to change social relationships and values prioritization.
Blaming the consumer – once again: the social and material contexts of everyday food waste practices in some English households

In public debates about the volume of food that is currently wasted by UK households, there exists a tendency to blame the consumer or individualise responsibilities for affecting change. Drawing on ethnographic examples, this article explores the dynamics of domestic food practices and considers their consequences in terms of waste. Discussions are structured around the following themes: (1) feeding the family; (2) eating ‘properly’; (3) the materiality of ‘proper’ food and its intersections with the socio-temporal demands of everyday life and (4) anxieties surrounding food safety and storage. Particular attention is paid to the role of public health interventions in shaping the contexts through which food is at risk of wastage. Taken together, I argue that household food waste cannot be conceptualised as a problem of individual consumer behaviour and suggest that policies and interventions might usefully be targeted at the social and material conditions in which food is provisioned.
Simultaneous PCR detection of Haemophilus ducreyi, Treponema pallidum, and herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 from genital ulcers

A multiplex PCR (M-PCR) assay with colorimetric detection was devised for the simultaneous amplification of DNA targets from Haemophilus ducreyi, Treponema pallidum, and herpes simplex virus (HSV) types 1 and 2. By using target-specific oligonucleotides in a microwell format, 298 genital ulcer swab specimens collected in New Orleans during three intervals from 1992 through 1994 were evaluated. The results of the M-PCR assay were compared with the results of dark-field microscopy and H. ducreyi culture on two different culture media. HSV culture results were available for 99 specimens collected during the third interval. Confirmatory PCR assays targeting different gene sequences for each of the three organisms were used to validate the M-PCR results. Specimens were resolved as positive for the determination of sensitivity if the reference diagnostic test was positive or if the results of both the M-PCR and the confirmatory PCR were positive. The resolved sensitivities of M-PCR for HSV, H. ducreyi, and T. pallidum were 100, 98.4, and 91%, respectively. The resolved sensitivities of HSV culture, H. ducreyi culture, and dark-field microscopy were 71.8, 74.2, and 81%, respectively. These results indicate that the M-PCR assay is more sensitive than standard diagnostic tests for the detection of HSV, H. ducreyi, and T. pallidum from genital ulcers.
The Influence of Middle Managers in the Business Planning Process: A Case Study in the UK NHS

The paper takes a processual approach (Mintzberg and Waters, 1985; Pettigrew, Ferlie and McKee, 1992) in conjunction with a typology of middle-management influence upon strategic change (Floyd and Wooldridge, 1992) to investigate the role of middle managers in business planning in the National Health Service (NHS). Over time, as the business planning process becomes increasingly one which adopts a top-down approach, the main influence middle managers have is upon the implementation of deliberate strategic change. Middle managers modify the implementation of deliberate strategy by contesting the performance indicators that form the basis of the business planning framework. In particular they draw upon features of inner and outer context of the organization to question the legitimacy of business planning. However, the findings also show, albeit to a limited extent, that middle managers are purveyors as well as recipients of change. That middle managers can have upward influence has important implications for policy-makers since potentially, middle managers can enjoy an enhanced role and add value to organizations, in this case to patient care. Therefore recent attacks upon their numbers and role may be misplaced. In addition a high degree of central intervention in the NHS generally may be inappropriate, since it militates against an enhanced role for middle managers.
THE IMPORTANCE OF INDUSTRY STRUCTURE FOR THE DETERMINATION OF FIRM PROFITABILITY: A NEO-AUSTRIAN PERSPECTIVE

This paper is concerned with exploring the degree to which industry structure determines firm performance. Most of the business policy literature follows Porter in arguing that industry structure has an important influence on firm level profit rates. the arguments contained in this paper take a counter position. It is argued that a plausible alternative to the hypothesis that industry structure matters is the hypothesis that (holding demand constant) individual firm differences are the most important determinant of firm profitability.