Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Noninvasive quantification of whole‐brain cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO2) by MRI

Cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO2) is an important marker for brain function and brain health. Existing techniques for quantification of CMRO2 with positron emission tomography (PET) or MRI involve special equipment and/or exogenous agents, and may not be suitable for routine clinical studies. In the present study, a noninvasive method is developed to estimate whole‐brain CMRO2 in humans. This method applies phase‐contrast MRI for quantitative blood flow measurement and T2‐relaxation‐under‐spin‐tagging (TRUST) MRI for venous oxygenation estimation, and uses the Fick principle of arteriovenous difference for the calculation of CMRO2. Whole‐brain averaged CMRO2 values in young, healthy subjects were 132.1 ± 20.0 μmol/100 g/min, in good agreement with literature reports using PET. Various acquisition strategies for phase‐contrast and TRUST MRI were compared, and it was found that nongated phase‐contrast and sagittal sinus (SS) TRUST MRI were able to provide the most efficient and accurate estimation of CMRO2. In addition, blood flow and venous oxygenation were found to be positively correlated across subjects. Owing to the noninvasive nature of this method, it may be a convenient and useful approach for assessment of brain metabolism in brain disorders as well as under various physiologic conditions. Magn Reson Med, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Alcohol trait and transcriptional genomic analysis of C57BL/6 substrains

C57BL/6 inbred mice have been widely used as research models; however, widespread demand has led to the creation of several B6 substrains with markedly different phenotypes. In this study, we report that two substrains of C57BL/6 mice, C57BL/6J (B6J) and C57BL/6NCrl (B6C), separated over 50 years ago at two different breeding facilities differ significantly in alcohol consumption and alcohol preference. The genomes of these two substrains are estimated to differ by only 1–2% of all gene loci, providing a unique opportunity to extract particular expression signatures between these substrains that are associated with quantifiable behavioral differences. Expression profiling of the cortex and striatum, hippocampus, cerebellum and the ventral brain region from alcohol‐naïve B6C and B6J mice showed intervals on three chromosomes that are enriched in clusters of coregulated transcripts significantly divergent between the substrains. Additional analysis identified two genomic regions containing putative copy number differences between the substrains. One such region on chromosome 14 contained an estimated 3n copy number in the B6J genome compared with B6C. Within this interval, a gene of unknown function, D14Ertd449e, was found to be both associated with alcohol preference and vary in copy number across several inbred strain lineages. H2afz, Psen1, Wdfy1 and Clu were also identified as candidate genes that may be involved in influencing alcohol consumption.
Tackling theft with the market reduction approach

The views expressed in this report are those of the authors, not necessarily those of the Home Office (nor do they reflect Government policy). The Policing and Reducing Crime Unit (PRCU) is based in the Research, Development and Statistics (RDS) Directorate of the Home Office. The Unit carries out and commissions social and management science research on policing and crime reduction, to support Home Office aims and develop evidence-based policy and practice. The Crime Reduction Research Series presents research findings and guidance material relevant to practitioners involved in crime reduction at the local level, and particularly the local crime and disorder partnerships. The series will include work funded under the Government's Crime Reduction Programme as well as other relevant RDS work. Details of how to obtain further copies of this report can be found on the back cover. Copies of this publication can be made available in formats accessible to the visually impaired on request. The Market Reduction Approach (MRA) is an interagency approach that is designed to reduce theft. This report builds upon earlier Home Office research that first created and developed the MRA. The Home Office report 'Handling stolen goods and theft: A market reduction approach' (Sutton 1998) stimulated considerable interest and has influenced a number of interagency projects and police operations against stolen goods markets. The study identified 5 main markets for stolen goods, described their characteristics and recommended various MRA tactics to tackle them to reduce theft. That earlier study also revealed how the relationship between theft and stolen goods markets, and between fences and thieves and the buying public, cannot be properly understood by the simple concept of demand leading to supply by theft. In many cases, it is thieves who create markets by continually offering stolen goods to shopkeepers and other members of the public. And yet, common knowledge about how to sell stolen goods locally and where to sell them almost certainly plays an important role in motivating thieves in the first place. The full MRA model, presented for the first time in this report, builds upon our earlier research and offers a strategic, systematic and routine problem-solving framework for action against the roots of theft. This report will serve as an invaluable guide for interagency partnerships wishing to tackle stolen goods markets. Acknowledgements This report contains general information about planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation that will serve as a valuable guide for …
EZCam: WYSWYG Camera Manipulator for Path Design

With advances in the movie industry, composite interactions and complex visual effects require us to shoot at the designed part of a scene for immersion. Traditionally, the director of photography plans a camera path by recursively reviewing and commenting path-planning rendered results. Since the adjust–render–review process is not immediate and interactive, miscommunications happen to make the process ineffective and time consuming. Therefore, this paper proposes a What-You-See-What-You-Get camera path reviewing system for the director to interactively instruct and design camera paths. Our system consists of a camera handle, a parameter control board, and a camera tracking box with mutually perpendicular marker planes. When manipulating the handle, the attached camera captures markers on visible planes with selected parameters to adjust the world rendering view. The director can directly examine results to give immediate comments and feedbacks on transformation and parameter adjustment in order to achieve effective communication and reduce the reviewing time. Finally, we conduct a set of qualitative and quantitative evaluations to show that our system is robust and efficient and can provide means to give interactive and immediate instructions for effective communication and efficiency enhancement during path design.
Ethnic heterogeneity and prostate cancer mortality in Hispanic/Latino men: a population-based study

Background Few studies focus on prostate cancer (PCa) outcomes in Hispanic/Latino men. Our study explores whether Hispanic/Latino subgroups demonstrate significantly different prostate cancer-specific mortality (PCSM) relative to Non-Hispanic White (NHW) and Non-Hispanic Black (NHB) men. Methods We extracted a population-based cohort of men diagnosed with local-regional PCa from 2000-2013 (n= 486,865). PCSM was measured in racial/ethnic groups: NHW (n=352,886), NHB (n= 70,983), Hispanic/Latino (n= 40,462), and Asian American/Pacific Islander (n= 22,534). PCSM was also measured in Hispanic/Latino subgroups: Mexican (n= 8,077), Puerto Rican (n= 1,284), South or Central American (n= 3,021), Cuban (n= 788), and Dominican (n= 300). We conducted univariable and multivariable analyses (MVA) to compare risk for PCSM. Results Compared to NHW men, results showed worse outcomes for NHB men with similar outcomes for Hispanic/Latino men. In MVA with NHW men as a reference, NHB (HR= 1.15, p <0.001) men had significantly worse PCSM and Hispanic/Latino (HR= 1.02, p= 0.534) men did not show a significant difference. In a second MVA, Puerto Rican (HR= 1.71, p <0.001) and Mexican (HR= 1.21, p= 0.008) men had significantly higher PCSM. With NHB men as a reference, the MVA showed Puerto Rican (HR= 1.50, p= 0.006) men with higher PCSM and Mexican (HR= 1.08, p= 0.307) men with no significant difference. Conclusions Our findings indicate previously unknown disparities in PCSM for Puerto Rican and Mexican American men.
PARX model for football match predictions

We propose an innovative approach to model and predict the outcome of football matches based on the Poisson Autoregression with eXogenous covariates (PARX) model recently proposed by Agosto, Cavaliere, Kristensen and Rahbek (2016). We show that this methodology is particularly suited to model the goals distribution of a football team and provides a good forecast performance that can be exploited to develop a profitable betting strategy. The betting strategy is based on the idea that the odds proposed by the market do not reflect the true probability of the match because they may incorporate also the betting volumes or strategic price settings in order to exploit bettors’ biases. The out-of-sample performance of the PARX model is better than the reference approach by Dixon and Coles (1997). We also evaluate our approach in a simple betting strategy which is applied to the English football Premier League data for the 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 seasons. The results show that the return from the betting strategy is larger than 35% in all the cases considered and may even exceed 100% if we consider an alternative strategy based on a predetermined threshold which allows to exploit the inefficiency of the betting market.
Policy and Management: Considering Public Management and Its Relationship to Policy Studies

As part of this special issue, this article explores the relationship of public management research to the study of public policy and the policy process. Beginning with a review of the study of public management, this article then examines some current big questions in public management, with a focus on where these questions intersect with policy studies. This article concludes with several recommendations for fostering cross-field research.
Determinantes do capital excedente na indústria bancária brasileira

This paper follows the theoretic model developed by Estrella (2004) in which banks maintain equity capital to reduce the adjustment cost of capital. We claim that excess capital of banks is determined by the risk level of assets and cost of debts. In order to test these hypotheses for the Brazilian banking industry, we estimate a dynamic panel data model with 68 financial clusters in the period from 2000 to 2008. The econometric model includes some control variables to measure the behavior of the excess capital during the business cycle and to analyze the role of the financial intermediaries’ profile (size and capital control) in their capitalization policies. Our results indicate that there is persistence in the adjustment process of the excess capital in the Brazilian financial system, suggesting that there are costs to adjusting capital.
A New Approach Combining Analytical Methods for Workplace Exposure Assessment of Inhalable Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

To date there is no consensus about the most appropriate analytical method for measuring carbon nanotubes (CNTs), hampering the assessment and limiting the comparison of data. The goal of this study is to develop an approach for the assessment of the level and nature of inhalable multi-wall CNTs (MWCNTs) in an actual workplace setting by optimizing and evaluating existing analytical methods. In a company commercially producing MWCNTs, personal breathing zone samples were collected for the inhalable size fraction with IOM samplers; which were analyzed with carbon analysis, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX). Analytical methods were optimized for carbon analysis and SEM/EDX. More specifically, methods were applied and evaluated for background correction using carbon analyses and SEM/EDX, CNT structure count with SEM/EDX and subsequent mass conversion based on both carbon analyses and SEM/EDX. A moderate-to-high concordance correlation coefficient (RC) between carbon analyses and SEM/EDX was observed [RC = 0.81, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.59-0.92] with an absolute mean difference of 59 µg m-3. A low RC between carbon analyses and ICP-MS (RC = 0.41, 95% CI: 0.07-0.67) with an absolute mean difference of 570 µg m-3 was observed. The large absolute difference between EC and metals is due to the presence of non-embedded inhalable catalyst particles, as a result of which MWCNT concentrations were overestimated. Combining carbon analysis and SEM/EDX is the most suitable for quantitative exposure assessment of MWCNTs in an actual workplace situation.
Can patient satisfaction improve health among patients with angina pectoris?

OBJECTIVE To identify and explore the components of patient satisfaction that have the strongest association with health-related quality of life among patients with angina. DESIGN Cross-sectional study with postal questionnaires sent to patients 6 weeks after discharge from hospital, followed-up by one reminder. SETTING The Central Hospital of Akershus in Norway. STUDY PARTICIPANTS All 589 angina patients discharged between January 1 1995 and December 31 1996. The response rate was 67% (n=395). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Physical and mental component summary scales in SF-36. RESULTS When adjusted for relevant background factors such as age, sex, education, social network, health behaviour and sense of coherence, patient satisfaction explained 9% of the variation in the physical, and 7% of the variation in the mental component summary scales. In particular, satisfaction with medical treatment (P=0.002) and with information (P=0.003) were associated with improved physical and mental health-related quality of life. Patients who experienced their physicians as caring and competent were more likely to be satisfied with the medical treatment and with the information. Sense of coherence contributed to health-related quality of life both directly, and through improving patient satisfaction. CONCLUSION This cross-sectional study supports the hypothesis that patient satisfaction contributes to both physical and mental health-related quality of life. Other research designs are needed to assess whether the associations identified are truly causal.
Low cost HVAC systems for energy management in developing countries: poster abstract

Many have argued for reducing the energy consumption in buildings, as they constitute a significant portion of a country's consumption profile [4, 2]. However, this work singularly focuses on building layout in developed economies with a proliferation of HVAC system for automated control and policy enforcement. In developing economies, lots of old buildings have similar energy profiles but have lots of distributed heating and cooling elements that are under manual control. This manual control leads to several human inefficiencies that an HVAC system can remove. However, the cost of deploying HVAC system in older buildings remains high. This cost is both in disruption to occupants as well as the dollar cost of installation of ducts and the loss in replacing the already present A/C or space heaters.
PROGNOSTIC INDICATORS OF VISUAL ACUITY AFTER OPEN GLOBE INJURY AND RETINAL DETACHMENT REPAIR

Purpose: To identify prognostic indicators of postoperative visual acuity and retinal detachment (RD) in open globe injuries. Methods: Retrospective review of 50 adult open globe injuries between September 2011 and March 2014. Hierarchical multivariable regression was used to evaluate relationships among injury characteristics, postoperative visual acuity, and RD after age adjustment. Results: Mean participant age was 46.2 years, and mean follow-up was 1.2 years. Blunt trauma accounted for 58% of injuries (29/50), and the wound extended posteriorly into sclera in 64% of cases (32/50). The retinal detachment occurred in 40% of patients (20/50), 95% of whom had developed vitreous hemorrhage (19/20). Multivariable regression revealed that preoperative visual acuity (P = 0.0010), posterior wound extension (P = 0.022), and RD (P = 0.0038) independently predicted postoperative visual acuity. No other injury characteristic was related to postoperative visual acuity after adjustment for preoperative visual acuity. Vitreous hemorrhage predicted RD (P < 0.001), and further consideration of preoperative visual acuity and other variables did not improve model fit. Moreover, among patients who underwent RD repair (n = 13), earlier vitrectomy after vitreous hemorrhage diagnosis (⩽12 days) was associated with fewer macula-off RDs (P = 0.018) and better postoperative visual acuity (P = 0.0055). Conclusion: Preoperative visual acuity, posterior wound extension, and RD significantly influenced postoperative visual acuity after open globe injury. Vitreous hemorrhage predicted RD, and prompt intervention after detection may improve visual outcomes.
Changes in objectively measured physical activity in adolescents with Down syndrome: the UP&DOWN longitudinal study

BACKGROUND It is a priority to understand that physical activity behaviour over time is a priority in Down syndrome population in order to design and promote succesfull interventions to maintain or increase levels of physical activity. We aimed to study 1 and 2-year changes in objectively measured physical activity among a relatively large sample of adolescents with Down syndrome. METHODS This study comprised a total of 99 adolescents with Down syndrome (38 girls) aged from 11 to 20 years old at baseline. Participants with valid accelerometer data at baseline and at least one of the follow-up visits were included in the analysis. RESULTS Overall, levels of physical activity observed in adolescents with Down syndrome declined from baseline to follow-ups, but these changes were not significant (all P > 0.05). Moderate-to-moderately high tracking of physical activity was observed in adolescents with Down syndrome (all P < 0.001). Youths who met physical activity guidelines at baseline demonstrated a greater decline in physical activity in 1 and 2-year changes (P < 0.05), although they were also more likely to meet physical activity guidelines at 1 and 2-year follow-ups (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Adolescents with Down syndrome do not change their levels of physical activity at 2-year follow-ups, but those who met physical activity guidelines presented stronger declines in physical activity over time.
Patient Perception , Preference and Participation Provider communication and patient participation in diabetes self-care §

Objective: To determine the effect size of provider communication about self-care and the provider’s following treatment guidelines on the self-care behaviors of people with Type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Methods: Data were from the TRIAD telephone surveys of Michigan patients in managed care with T2DM (n = 1438). The survey asked about the patients’ self-care and provider communication about blood glucose monitoring, exercise, foot care, flu vaccination and annual retina screening. Results: After controlling for patient socio-demographics and disease severity, remembering having received provider information on these activities more than doubled the odds of performing blood glucose monitoring, and performing foot examinations. It also significantly increased the amount of exercise the patient performed. Provider modeling had a strong association with foot care. Counseling by a diabetes educator was positively and significantly associated with having an annual retina examination and receiving an influenza vaccination. Conclusions: Remembering self-care information is associated with increased home based self-care by patients and their families. Consulting with a diabetes educator can substantially improve patient selfcare. Practice implications: Health care providers should encourage patient education. However, physician time is costly and most nurses do not specialize in patient education; one solution is to refer patients to a diabetes educator. 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Theta burst stimulation of the motor cortex reduces laser-evoked pain perception

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation over the primary motor cortex (M1) was recently introduced to modulate pain perception. The aim of this double-blind cross-over study was to investigate the effect of a modified rTMS paradigm, called cTBS on experimentally induced laser-evoked pain applied over the left M1. cTBS inhibits the cortical excitability of the M1 for approximately 1 h. Subjective pain was measured using the verbal analogue scale prior to, immediately after and 30 min post-stimulation. cTBS, and not the sham stimulation resulted in a significant decrease in pain perception on both hands, accentuated on the right hand. Further studies are needed using motor cortex TBS in chronic pain to pave the way towards a therapeutic tool.
NDRG2, a novel regulator of myoblast proliferation, is regulated by anabolic and catabolic factors

Skeletal muscle tissue undergoes adaptive changes in response to stress and the genes that control these processes are incompletely characterised. NDRG2 (N‐myc downstream‐regulated gene 2), a stress‐ and growth‐related gene, was investigated in skeletal muscle growth and adaption. While NDRG2 expression levels were found to be up‐regulated in both differentiated human and mouse myotubes compared with undifferentiated myoblasts, the suppression of NDRG2 in C2C12 myoblasts resulted in slowed myoblast proliferation. The increased expression levels of the cell cycle inhibitors, p21 Waf1/Cip1 and p27 Kip1, and of various muscle differentiation markers in NDRG2‐deficient myoblasts indicate that a lack of NDRG2 promoted cell cycle exiting and the onset of myogenesis. Furthermore, the analysis of NDRG2 regulation in C2C12 myotubes treated with catabolic and anabolic agents and in skeletal muscle from human subjects following resistance exercise training revealed NDRG2 gene expression to be down‐regulated during hypertrophic conditions, and conversely, up‐regulated during muscle atrophy. Together, these data demonstrate that NDRG2 expression is highly responsive to different stress conditions in skeletal muscle and suggest that the level of NDRG2 expression may be critical to myoblast growth and differentiation.