Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CPI Bias from Supercenters: Does the BLS Know that Wal-Mart Exists?

Hausman (2003) discusses four sources of bias in the present calculation of the CPI. A pure price' index based approach of surveying prices as done by the BLS cannot succeed in solving the problems of bias. We discuss economic and econometric approaches to measuring the first order bias effects from outlet substitution bias. We demonstrate the use of scanner data that permits implementation of techniques that allow the problem to be solved. In contrast, the current BLS procedure does not treat correctly outlet substitution bias and acts as if Wal-Mart does not exist. Yet, Wal-Mart offers identical food items at an average price about 15%-25% lower than traditional supermarkets. The BLS links out' Wal-Mart's lower prices. We find that a more appropriate approach to the analysis is to let the choice to shop at Wal-Mart be considered as a new good' to consumers when Wal-Mart enters a geographic market. This approach leads to a continuously updated expenditure weighted average price calculation. We find a significant difference between our approach and the BLS approach. Our estimates are that the BLS CPI-U food at home inflation is too high by about 0.32 to 0.42 percentage points, which leads to an upward bias in the estimated inflation rate of about 15% per year.
Network Coding in the Link Layer for Reliable Narrowband Powerline Communications

The wide availability of power distribution cables provides an interesting no-new-wires communication channel. However, its electrical characteristics make it a harsh environment for the data transmission purpose and prevent the deployment of services with high reliability requirements. This paper proposes and implements an OSI-Layer2 network coding-based cooperative scheme with the aim of improving communication reliability in indoor narrowband powerline channels. The proposed scheme uses random linear network coding with a sliding window and relaying. We use network coding to replace the retransmissions triggered by legacy subsequent repeat request (ARQ) schemes. We evaluate the performance of our approach in terms of throughput and delay. Regarding the throughput achieved in harsh environments, we show that our scheme often more than doubles the throughput of existing legacy ARQ schemes. At the same time, and even under the large variation of traffic characteristics, it is shown that the delay is likely to be upper bounded by a few seconds, a bound that cannot be guaranteed in other existing transmission techniques.
Two Faces of Authority: The leader's tragic quest

This thesis observes how modern leaders of Western society publicly engage in an unrewarding quest for a durably authoritative identity and it asks why rulers are so troubled in cultivating a credible role of authority. The author argues that modern authority itself has disintegrated with the change of its understanding and the diffusion of fixed authoritative roles and that this is accompanied by an identity crisis. He asks how modern rulers respond to the disintegration of a fixed, shared social reality in late modernity, and to the fact that our main legitimating mythologies such as that of (political) representation, which once ordered the allocation of authority no longer provide the reassurance and belief in ruler’s authority. To understand the nature of authority and its disintegration, the author explores rulers’ consciousness by categorising their responses in two archetypical models of authority, inspired by Machiavelli’s Prince and Shakespeare’s tragic hero. They represent the authority-effects of fear and reassurance and the two modern modes of authority cultivation: increasing social distance and decreasing social distance The thesis argues that modern authority is tragic because the logic by which the dominant archetypical roles try to authorise themselves is self defeating. It illustrates this with a history of authority which describes the characteristically modern drive for the exposure, immanence, and transparency of authority, informed by a desire for emancipation and mastery, and how it is paralleled by a degradation of authority and these typically modern archetypes that continue to determine Western culture. Reintegration of authority would require a more dimensional understanding of the concept. The author trances the four major roots of authority (authorship, authorisation, authenticity, and augmentation), and suggest they represent the subjective, objective, individual, and collective dimensions of authority which together form a whole system of meaning and creation. Besselink, Thieu (2009), Two Faces of Authority: The leader's tragic quest European University Institute DOI: 10.2870/44263
Subcutaneous continuous glucose monitoring: feasibility of a new microdialysis-based glucose sensor system.

Devices for continuous glucose monitoring (1,2) should display the data in real time rather than retrospectively. This is possible by means of the microdialysis technique (3). Therefore, we examined the feasibility of continuous glucose monitoring with functional models of a new microdialysis-based subcutaneous continuous glucose monitoring (SCGM) system (Roche Diagnostics, Mannheim, Germany) for up to 72 h. This system was calibrated by a one-point calibration shortly after the beginning of the recording period. The SCGM system consists of a microdialysis catheter and a portable extracorporal electrochemical glucose sensor. It displays a new glucose value every minute. The system was tested in 23 ambulatory inpatients with insulin-treated type 1 and type 2 diabetes. For comparison, up to 75 capillary blood glucose samples were taken in each patient. …
Broad Band Spectral Measurements of EEG During Emotional Tasks

Broad band spectral measurements were calculated on EEG recordings of 40 healthy male university students during emotional tasks using the emotion induction technique. Emotional stimuli were sentences with positive valence (joy of love), with negative valence (frustration) and neutral situation. Broad band measurements showed that delta and beta bands reflected better the differences by emotional state. Hemispheric differences associated to emotional states were obtained only for mean frequency data. Highe delta frequencies at left frontopolar, right frontal, parietal and temporal and higher beta frequencies at left frontotemporal and temporal were related to love. Meanwhile higher delta frequencies especially at left frontopolar and temporal regions and lower beta frequencies at midline frontal (Fz) and central (Cz) leads were associated to frustration. These findings suggest that narrow band measurements may reflect more efficiently EEG changes during emotional tasks.
Diagnostic Hysteroscopy Video Summarization and Browsing

Diagnostic hysteroscopy videos are continuous (non-interrupted) video sequences, usually recorded in full. However, only a few segments of the recorded videos are relevant from the diagnosis/prognosis point of view, and need to be evaluated and referenced later. This paper proposes statistical techniques to identify clinically relevant segments in diagnostic hysteroscopy videos, and their associated key-frames, to create a rich video summary which supports video browsing. Our preliminary experimental results indicate that our method produces video summaries containing a super set of the clinically relevant video segments. A promising experimental result is that when specialists summarize the same videos manually, they usually choose from segments contained in our video summary
Impact of cladribine on soluble adhesion molecules in multiple sclerosis

Mitosek‐Szewczyk K, Stelmasiak Z, Bartosik‐Psujek H, Belniak E. Impact of cladribine on soluble adhesion molecules in multiple sclerosis. Acta Neurol Scand: 2010: 122: 409–413. © 2010 The Authors Journal compilation © 2010 Blackwell Munksgaard.
Surveillance for highly pathogenic avian influenza in migratory shorebirds at the terminus of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway

Abstract AIM: To determine if migratory birds arriving in New Zealand in the Southern Hemisphere spring of 2004 were infected with the highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI) virus, H5N1. METHODS: Cloacal and faecal samples were collected from migratory red knots following their arrival in New Zealand in October 2004. Two species of resident sympatric birds, wrybill and mallard duck, were sampled prior to, and following, the arrival of migratory birds. RESULTS: No AI viruses were isolated from migratory or resident shorebirds. Non-pathogenic AI viruses were isolated from six resident mallard ducks, comprising the endemic subtypes H4 (n=2), H7 (non-pathogenic), H10, and H11 (n=2). CONCLUSIONS: Highly pathogenic AI H5N1 virus was not detected in migratory shorebirds or sympatric water birds in the Firth of Thames, New Zealand, in 2004-2005, despite the possible proximity of migratory birds to outbreaks of the disease in East Asia in 2004.
Development of a symptom validity index to assist in identifying ADHD symptom exaggeration or feigning

Abstract Objective: Concerns have been identified regarding the ease with which students and young adults can feign or exaggerate symptoms of ADHD, and no formal measures exist to identify such behavior when it occurs. This article describes the development and initial validation of a new symptom validity measure designed to detect feigned or exaggerated ADHD symptom reporting. Method: Employing items from a commonly used self-report measure of ADHD (Conners’ Adult ADHD Rating Scale [CAARS]) and select items from a scale measuring symptoms of dissociation, we assessed students diagnosed with ADHD, students with other diagnoses, and student volunteers with no psychopathology. Results: This new measure (Exaggeration Index or EI) demonstrated excellent specificity (.97) and adequate sensitivity (.24) in discriminating between those who are suspected of or instructed to feign or exaggerate symptoms of ADHD and all other clinical groups. Conclusion: The results strongly suggest that the EI may be a useful adjunct to existing validity measures when identifying exaggerated or implausible symptoms of ADHD.
Lymphoid tissue- and inflammation-specific endothelial cell differentiation defined by monoclonal antibodies.

Endothelial cells play an essential role in immune responses by regulating the entry of leukocytes into lymphoid tissues and sites of inflammation. As an initial approach to analyzing endothelial cell specialization in relation to such immune function, we have produced monoclonal antibodies (MAB) against mouse lymph node endothelium. Three antibodies were selected: MECA-20, recognizing the endothelium of all blood vessels in lymphoid as well as non-lymphoid organs; MECA-217, which stains the endothelium lining large elastic arteries, but among small vessels is specific for post-capillary venules within lymphoid organs and tissues exposed to exogenous antigen, such as skin and uterus; and MECA-325, an antibody that demonstrates specificity for the specialized high endothelial venules (HEV) that control lymphocyte homing into lymph nodes and Peyer's patches. MECA-325 failed to stain vessels in any non-lymphoid organs tested. Immunoperoxidase studies of HEV in lymph node frozen sections, and of isolated high endothelial cells in suspensions, demonstrated that the antigens recognized by all three antibodies are expressed at the cell surface; those defined by MECA-20 and MECA-325 are also present in the cytoplasm. To study the regulation of the antigens defined by these MAB in relation to extra-lymphoid immune reactions, we assessed their expression in induced s.c. granulomas as a model for chronic inflammation. Small vessels in the granulomas were already stained by MECA-217 in the first days of development. In contrast MECA-325 detected postcapillary venules (which frequently displayed the morphologic characteristics of HEV) only from approximately 1 wk, in parallel with the development of a persistent mononuclear cell infiltrate including numerous lymphocytes. The selective appearance of the MECA-325 antigen on vascular endothelium supporting lymphocyte traffic in both lymphoid and extra-lymphoid sites suggests that this antigen may play an important role in the process of lymphocyte extravasation. The demonstration of lymphoid organ- and inflammation-specific microvascular antigens offers direct evidence for a complex specialization of endothelium in relation to immune stimuli, and supports the concept that microvascular differentiation may play an important role in local immune responses.
Matrix Metalloprotease-1a Promotes Tumorigenesis and Metastasis*

Background: Mmp1a is the postulated mouse genetic homologue of MMP1, but its functions in cancer are unknown. Results: Endogenous Mmp1a promotes invasion, tumorigenesis, and metastasis of lung cancer and melanoma. Conclusion: Mmp1a is a functional MMP1 homologue in mouse models of tumorigenesis. Significance: This is the first report that directly characterizes a function for Mmp1a in mouse (patho)physiology. Matrix metalloprotease-1 (MMP1), a collagenase and activator of the G protein-coupled protease activated receptor-1 (PAR1), is an emerging new target implicated in oncogenesis and metastasis in diverse cancers. However, the functional mouse homologue of MMP1 in cancer models has not yet been clearly defined. We report here that Mmp1a is a functional MMP1 homologue that promotes invasion and metastatic progression of mouse lung cancer and melanoma. LLC1 (Lewis lung carcinoma) and primary mouse melanoma cells harboring active BRAF express high levels of endogenous Mmp1a, which is required for invasion through collagen. Silencing of either Mmp1a or PAR1 suppressed invasive stellate growth of lung cancer cells in three-dimensional matrices. Conversely, ectopic expression of Mmp1a conferred an invasive phenotype in epithelial cells that do not express endogenous Mmp1a. Consistent with Mmp1a acting as a PAR1 agonist in an autocrine loop, inhibition or silencing of PAR1 resulted in a loss of the Mmp1a-driven invasive phenotype. Knockdown of Mmp1a on tumor cells resulted in significantly decreased tumorigenesis, invasion, and metastasis in xenograft models. Together, these data demonstrate that cancer cell-derived Mmp1a acts as a robust functional homologue of MMP1 by conferring protumorigenic and metastatic behavior to cells.
Inter-Tools: a toolkit for interactome research

Interactome analysis is an increasingly useful tool for discovering disease pathways. However, protein interaction data is scattered among different sources, and researchers must often sift through several large repositories before beginning a project. Inter-Tools allows users to search databases in the PSI-MITAB standard format for interactions meeting specified criteria, then combine them into a single, species-specific interactome dataset. It also produces graph files of interactome networks and performs basic analysis on user-input gene sets. Inter-Tools reduces the barriers to preliminary interactome investigation and hypothesis generation. Availability www.github. com/catabia/inter-tools Contact hannahcatabia@gmail.com Supplementary information available at the website listed above.
Prediction of Chemotherapy Response With Platinum and Taxane in the Advanced Stage of Ovarian and Uterine Carcinosarcoma: A Clinical Implication of In vitro Drug Resistance Assay

Objectives:To evaluate the role of an in vitro drug resistance assay to predict the response to platinum and taxane combination chemotherapy in advanced ovarian and uterine carcinosarcoma. Methods:We evaluated all patients with FIGO stage II-IV ovarian and FIGO stage III-IV uterine carcinosarcoma, who received platinum and taxane chemotherapy after initial cytoreductive surgery between January 1, 1995 and March 31, 2008. Cases that received neoadjuvant chemotherapy were excluded. Patient demographics, clinicopathologic data, response to chemotherapy, and follow-up outcomes were abstracted from the medical records. In vitro drug resistance assay results (Extreme Drug Resistance [EDR] Assay, Oncotech Inc, Tustin, CA) were evaluated. Response to chemotherapy was then compared with the assay results. Results:There were 51 cases in which in vitro drug resistance assay results were available, of which 17 (33.3%) received combination chemotherapy with platinum and taxane. For these 17 cases, the primary site of disease was ovary in 12 cases and uterus in the other 5 cases. Overall response rate for these 17 cases was 70.6%. Chemotherapy response in the presence of EDR to at least 1 of the 2 drugs (EDR-PT) was significantly lower than non-EDR-PT (37.5% vs. 100%, P = 0.009). Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value for chemotherapy response in non-EDR-PT were 75%, 100%, 100%, and 62.5%, respectively. EDR-PT showed a significantly lower progression-free survival (1-year progression-free survival rate, 28.6% vs. 100%, P = 0.01) and overall survival (5-year overall survival rate, 26.9% vs. 57.1%, P = 0.033). Conclusions:Use of an in vitro drug resistance assay was a feasible test to predict the chemotherapy response and survival outcome in advanced ovarian and uterine carcinosarcoma.
Comparison of computational intelligence based classification techniques for remotely sensed optical image classification

Several computational intelligence components, namely neural networks (NNs), fuzzy sets, and genetic algorithms (GAs), have been applied separately or in combination to the process of remotely sensed data classification. By applying computational intelligence, we expect increased accuracy through the use of NNs, optimal NN structure and parameter determination via GAs, and transparency using fuzzy sets is expected. This paper systematically reviews and compares several configurations in the particular context of remote sensing for land cover. In addition, some of the configurations used here, such as NEFCASS and CANFIS, have few previous applications in the field. A comparison of the configurations is achieved by testing the different methods with exactly the same case-study data. A thorough assessment of results is performed by constructing an accuracy matrix for each training and testing data set. The evaluation of different methods is not only based on accuracy but also on compactness, completeness, and consistency. The architecture, produced rule set, and training parameters for the specific classification task are presented. Some comments and directions for future work are given
Weaning and growth of artificially reared rats

The importance of suckling experience for later feeding in the rat was tested by means of an isolate rearing technique that eliminated oral feeding. Pups reared in the nearly complete absence of suckling and feeding ate and drank at weaning and then grew normally. Furthermore, the characteristics of apparently normal ingestion and growth make the artificially reared rat a useful preparation for other developmental investigations.
Superoxide dismutase activities of spermatozoa and seminal plasma are not correlated with male infertility

Abnormal reactive oxygen species (ROS) production is associated with defective sperm function. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is related with the scavenging of seminal ROS. We aimed to determine the effect of SOD activities of spermatozoa and seminal plasma on sperm quality. Semen samples from infertile couples who consented to the analyses were divided into two groups: 1) normospermia (n = 20); and 2) oligoasthenozoospermia (n = 31). The SOD activities of the spermatozoa and seminal plasma were measured by determining the inhibition of pyrogallol autoxidation. The SOD activities of spermatozoa and seminal plasma in both groups were compared. The relationships between the SOD activities and the sperm qualities were determined. We noted that SOD activities of sperm/seminal plasma in both groups were nonsignificantly different (group 1 vs. 2 = 0.77 ± 0.33/0.84 ± 0.40 U/mg protein for sperm, and 0.66 ± and 0.36/0.83 ± 0.47 U/ml for seminal plasma). SOD activities of sperm/seminal plasma were positively but nonsignificantly correlated with the sperm motility (SOD of sperm = 0.0008 × motility + 0.67; SOD of seminal plasma = 0.0006 × motility + 0.81) and concentration (SOD of sperm = 0.0006 × concentration + 0.67; SOD of seminal plasma = 0.0021 × concentration + 0.73). We concluded that SOD activities of sperm and seminal plasma were nonsignificantly correlated with the seminal quality. It appears that the SOD survey is not a useful tool for determining sperm fertilization potential. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 16:127–131, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
SISO modelling of a web server to be controlled by a Feedback control scheme

Performance modeling is an important topic in overload control for web servers. Several attempts have been made to create performance models for web servers. The paper describes modeling a Web server to be controlled by Feedback control scheme. Feedback command theory was initially used to control of industrial processes. Its use for the control of performance software is recent. It provides a number of mathematical tools which can be used to analyze the stability of the commanded system and find the best adjustment that responds to the performance criteria. Our approach proceeds in two steps: system identification and controller design. In system identification, we construct mathematical models of the target system in forms of discrete transfer function focused on single-input single-output (SISO) systems. The role of controller is to modify the transfer function of the target system with regard to the control error between the reference value and the output value
The Consequences of Uncertain Debt Targets

Recent proposals to reduce U.S. debt reveal large differences in their implied targets. These differences demonstrate the uncertainty surrounding future tax rates and long-run debt targets. We use a standard real business cycle model in which a Bayesian household learns about the state-dependent debt target in an endogenous tax rule. The household extracts the debt target state from a noisy tax process and jointly estimates the transition probabilities. We compare the household's ability to learn and the consequences of the uncertainty across different limited information sets. The information set influences the household's behavior but also impose two-sided risk. Despite the popular viewpoint that fiscal uncertainty has negative effects, limited information can result in welfare gains or losses, depending on whether the household's expectations are consistent with the realization of future states. Although the welfare distribution includes gains, we stress that the uncertainty created by the recent fiscal policy debate slowed the recovery and led to welfare losses. When Congress provides clarity about future policy, output and welfare increase and the economy quickly recovers.