Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prospective Study of Serum Homocysteine and Risk of Ischemic Stroke Among Patients With Preexisting Coronary Heart Disease

Background and Purpose— Substantial evidence is accumulating suggesting that hyperhomocysteinemia may be a risk factor for ischemic stroke. Results of prospective studies are, however, conflicting, and the role of hyperhomocysteinemia in patients with preexisting atherosclerotic vascular disease is not clear. Our aim was to assess prospectively the risk of incident ischemic stroke conferred by serum total homocysteine among patients with preexisting stable coronary heart disease (CHD). Methods— We obtained baseline fasting serum samples from patients with chronic CHD enrolled in the Bezafibrate Infarction Prevention (n=3090) secondary prevention study cohort. With a nested case-control design, we measured baseline total homocysteine concentration by a high-performance liquid chromatography–based method in sera (n=160) of matched case-control pairs: patients who developed ischemic stroke during a mean follow-up of 8.2 years (cases) and age- and sex-matched controls without subsequent cardiovascular events. Results— An increase of 1 natural log unit in homocysteine concentration was associated with a >3-fold increase in relative odds of incident ischemic stroke (3.3; 95% CI, 1.2 to 10.2). Homocysteine concentrations at the highest quartile (>17.4 &mgr;mol/L) were associated with significantly higher odds of ischemic stroke compared with the lowest quartile in matched-pair analysis (3.1; 95% CI, 1.1 to 9.8) and after multivariable adjustments (4.6; 95% CI, 1.3 to 18.9). Adding fibrinogen or soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 concentrations, markers of inflammation, to the model did not attenuate this association. The linear trends across the quartiles were significant for all models (P <0.05). Conclusions— Serum total homocysteine concentration is a strong predictor for incident ischemic stroke among patients at increased risk because of chronic CHD. The graded association observed is independent of traditional risk factors or inflammatory markers and indicates the importance of serum homocysteine levels in patients with preexisting vascular disease.
Emotional Experience and Facial Expression in Alzheimer's Disease

ABSTRACT Emotional experiences and facial muscle activity of individuals with Alzheimer's Disease (AD) (n = 13) and healthy elderly control subjects (n = 21) were measured while viewing emotion-eliciting images. Alzheimer's disease and control groups rated their emotional experiences similarly and in the expected directions on dimensions of valence and arousal. Change in corrugator activity while viewing images, compared to baseline, was comparable across groups and was greatest while viewing negative images. Change in zygomatic activity, however, was significantly different between AD and control groups, with AD subjects demonstrating an inverted pattern of activity compared to controls. These findings are discussed as possible consequences of frontal cortical system involvement accompanying the disease process.
Improving data sharing in research with context-free encoded missing data

Lack of attention to missing data in research may result in biased results, loss of power and reduced generalizability. Registering reasons for missing values at the time of data collection, or—in the case of sharing existing data—before making data available to other teams, can save time and efforts, improve scientific value and help to prevent erroneous assumptions and biased results. To ensure that encoding of missing data is sufficient to understand the reason why data are missing, it should ideally be context-free. Therefore, 11 context-free codes of missing data were carefully designed based on three completed randomized controlled clinical trials and tested in a new randomized controlled clinical trial by an international team consisting of clinical researchers and epidemiologists with extended experience in designing and conducting trials and an Information System expert. These codes can be divided into missing due to participant and/or participation characteristics (n = 6), missing by design (n = 4), and due to a procedural error (n = 1). Broad implementation of context-free missing data encoding may enhance the possibilities of data sharing and pooling, thus allowing more powerful analyses using existing data.
Two Essays on Managerial Horizon, Cash Holdings and Earnings Management

TWO ESSAYS ON MANAGERIAL HORIZON, CASH HOLDINGS AND EARNINGS MANAGEMENT Sanjib Guha Old Dominion University, 2015 Director: Dr. Kenneth Yung U.S. corporations are now sitting on an enormous stockpile o f cash. Academicians and practitioners alike have tried to understand the reasons why companies are holding on to so much cash. Numerous studies have explored the various motives for holding cash. Many researchers have tried to correlate excess cash holding with particular firm characteristics. This dissertation analyzes the correlations that exist between excess cash holding and some measurable managerial characteristics. This dissertation examines if managerial horizon has any impact on excess cash holding. It also examines if managerial horizon and excess cash has any impact on firm value. Four different measures of managerial horizon were constructed. The first two constructs (MH1 and MH2) are based on the CEO’s age and how long he has been the CEO of the company. The next two constructs (MH3 and MH4) are based on compensation, proportion o f current compensation and proportion o f future compensation. The results clearly show that CEO Age and the proportion o f CEO’s compensation (current and future) do determine level o f cash holding in the company. Younger CEOs hold more cash compared to older CEOs. Older CEOs hold less cash suggesting that as CEOs grow older they might be motivated by the idea of leaving a long lasting legacy. CEOs who receive more o f their compensation in future payments also hold on to more cash, whereas CEOs who receive more o f their compensation in current payments hold less cash. This makes intuitive sense because a CEO whose higher proportion o f compensation is going to be paid in the future is more likely to conserve cash to better facilitate its future payments. This dissertation also shows that as companies are holding on to excess cash, the higher level o f excess cash is having a significant impact on the firm value. As expected, the results show that in general firms holding more excess cash see a reduction in firm value. The second essay in this dissertation examines if managerial horizon has any effect on earnings management. Earnings are one o f the most important measures o f firm performance and previous studies have shown that managers have a tendency to manipulate earnings to raise investor demand for a stock. We used a very good measurement o f Earnings Management (EM) as propounded by Lee and Masulis (2009) to see if it was affected by any o f the four measurable constructs o f managerial horizon. The results show that there is no effect o f managerial horizon on earnings management. The results show that one o f the important determinants o f earnings management was cash flow of the firms, which lends support to the Agency problem facing the firms. The results also show that EM does not lead to higher dividend payouts in firms. Members o f Dissertation Committee: Dr. Mohammad Najand Dr. David Selover
Association Between Rising Professional Liability Insurance Premiums and Primary Cesarean Delivery Rates

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the association between changes in Illinois professional liability premiums for obstetrician–gynecologists and singleton primary cesarean delivery rates. METHODS: Data from the National Center for Health Statistics were used to identify all singleton births between 37 weeks and 44 weeks of gestation occurring in Illinois from 1998 through 2003. Primary cesarean delivery rates for women delivered between 37 weeks and 44 weeks of gestation per 1,000 gravid women eligible to have a primary cesarean delivery were calculated for each Illinois county. The annual medical professional liability premium for each county in Illinois was represented by the reported professional liability insurance rate charges (adjusted to 2004 dollars) from the ISMIE Mutual Insurance Company. Separate analyses were conducted for nulliparous and multiparous women. The independent association between county-level primary cesarean delivery rates and the previous year's insurance premiums was evaluated using linear regression models. RESULTS: During the study period, 817,521 women were eligible for inclusion in the analysis. The county-level mean primary cesarean delivery rate increased from 126 to 163 per 1,000 (P<.001) eligible women, whereas the mean annual medical professional liability insurance premiums also rose significantly (from $60,766 in 1997 to $83,167 in 2002, P<.001). Multivariable analyses demonstrated that for each annual $10,000 insurance premium increase, the primary cesarean delivery rate increased by 15.7 per 1,000 for nulliparous women. This association also was evident for multiparous women, who had an increase in cesarean deliveries of 4.7 per 1,000 for every $10,000 increase. CONCLUSION: Higher rates of primary cesarean delivery are associated with increased medical professional liability premiums for obstetrician–gynecologists in Illinois. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II
The Impact of Emergency Food Aid on Children's Schooling and Work Decisions

In this paper, we empirically test the effect that food aid had on children's educational attainment and work decisions following the 2002 drought. Difference-in-differences and inverse-propensity score weighting regression results suggest that participation in Ethiopia's food-for-work program following the 2002 drought decreased the number of years of schooling for younger children and increased the likelihood that older children were not enrolled in school because of work responsibilities. Participation in Ethiopia's free distribution program following the 2002 drought increased the number of years of schooling for younger boys. This paper contributes to our understanding of determinants of schooling decisions and child labor. It provides valuable lessons on how unconditional transfers can impact schooling decisions and child labor.
Effective Spatial Data Broadcasting

Data broadcast is an advanced technique to realize large scalability and bandwidth utilization in a mobile computing environment. Three dimensional (3D) contents are emerging data in the data broadcast. However, traditional data broadcast did not consider 3D data to design a data schedule in a broadcast channel. Therefore, the above drawback leads to large access delay in the 3D data broadcast. In this paper, we remedy the problem by devising an indexing technique to index the 3D data of variant geometry shapes. We propose an indexing technique using a 3D data index tree to minimize average waiting time and average tuning time for broadcasting the 3D data. Experimental results show that our approach is able to generate broadcast programs including the 3D data indices with high quality and is very efficient in the 3D data broadcast.
VNA based load pull harmonic measurement de-embedding dedicated to waveform engineering

This paper presents a simple methodology to observe the RF waveforms at the drain source current reference plane of the transistor, without using a complete nonlinear model. The aim is to allow Power Amplifier designers starting their work using VNA based harmonic and time domain load pull measurements, and S parameter measurements. The later measurements will be used to extract a linear model first. Then the parameters of the linear model will be used to deembed the load pull measurements directly at the voltage controlled current source plane, in order to enable waveform engineering. Because of the well know theoretic conditions that enable optimum efficiency, this methodology can also be used to avoid time consuming multi-harmonic load pull measurements. Harmonic impedances can be defined accordingly to the knowledge of the operating class addressed, while load pull optimization can be addressed to refine the fundamental matching only.
In-depth Medical Nutrition Therapy for a Woman with Diabetes: From Pregnancy to Delivery

Diabetes in pregnancy is associated with higher rates of miscarriage, pre-eclampsia, preterm labor, and fetal malformation. To prevent these obstetric and perinatal complications, women with diabetes have to control levels of blood sugar, both prior to and during pregnancy. Thus, individualized medical nutrition therapy for each stage of pregnancy is essential. We provided in-depth medical nutrition therapy to a 38-year-old pregnant woman with diabetes at all stages of pregnancy up to delivery. She underwent radiation therapy after surgery for breast cancer and was diagnosed with diabetes. At the time of diagnosis, her glycated hemoglobin level was 8.3% and she was planning her pregnancy. She started taking an oral hypoglycemic agent and received education regarding the management of diabetes and preconception care. She became pregnant while maintaining a glycated hemoglobin level of less than 6%. We provided education program for diabetes management during the pregnancy, together with insulin therapy. She experienced weight loss and ketones were detected; furthermore, she was taking in less than the recommended amount of foods for the regulation of blood sugar levels. By giving emotional support, we continued the counseling and achieved not only glycemic control but also instilled an appreciation of the importance of appropriate weight gain and coping with difficulties. Through careful diabetes management, the woman had a successful outcome for her pregnancy, other than entering preterm labor at 34 weeks. This study implicated that the important things in medical nutrition therapy for pregnant women with diabetes are frequent follow-up care and emotional approach through the pregnancy process.
Human contact influences the foraging behaviour and parasite community in long-tailed macaques

SUMMARY Human–wildlife interactions have reached unprecedented levels, and humans are influencing the earth's ecosystems more rapidly and extensively than ever before. This situation is cause for serious concern, especially since disease interactions between wildlife and humans have been recognized as major conservation threats. In this study, long-tailed macaques, Macaca fascicularis, from 2 forest parks located in north-eastern Thailand were investigated to determine the influence of habitat modification by humans on helminth parasite associations in non-human primates. Macaque populations with contact to anthropogenically modified environments were compared with sylvatic groups in nearby natural environments. In order to test for human–non-human primate transmission of parasites, the local human populations were also examined. Humans were infected with a number of potentially pathogenic parasites, including Opisthorchis viverrini and Strongyloides stercoralis. However, eggs of these helminths were not detected in macaque feces. Thus, no direct parasite transfer from humans to non-human primates could be confirmed. However, macaque groups with more frequent contact with human-modified habitats, and a higher portion of human-provided food in their diet, had significantly higher prevalences and intensities of Strongyloides fuelleborni and of an intestinal fluke (probably Haplorchis sp.) than sylvatic groups. Positive correlations were found between the time foraging on the ground and infection with S. fuelleborni, and the amount of human-provided food and intestinal fluke infection. Human alteration of habitat and associated modifications in non-human primate behaviour are likely to play a role in determining the occurrence, prevalence and intensity of zoonotic helminth infection of wild non-human primates.
PADI4 polymorphism predisposes male smokers to rheumatoid arthritis

Objective To elucidate the differential role of peptidyl arginine deiminase 4 (PADI4) polymorphism in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) between Asian and European populations, possible gene–environmental interactions among the PADI4 polymorphism, sex and smoking status were analysed. Methods Three independent sets of case–control samples were genotyped for single-nucleotide polymorphisms in PADI4; Japanese samples (first set, 1019 RA patients, 907 controls; second set, 999 RA patients, 1128 controls) using TaqMan assays and Dutch samples (635 RA patients, 391 controls) using Sequenom MassARRAY platform. The association of PADI4 with RA susceptibility was evaluated by smoking status and sex in contingency tables and logistic regression models. Results In the first set of Japanese samples, PADI4 polymorphism (rs1748033) showed a greater risk in men (ORallele 1.39; 95% CI 1.10 to 1.76; ptrend=0.0054) than in women and in ever-smokers (ORallele 1.25; 95% CI 1.02 to 1.53; ptrend=0.032) than in never-smokers. Moreover, the highest risk was seen in male ever-smokers (ORallele 1.46; 95% CI 1.12 to 1.90; ptrend=0.0047). Similar trends were observed in the second set of Japanese samples as well as in Dutch samples. Conclusion PADI4 polymorphism highly predisposes male smokers to RA, and the genetic heterogeneity observed between Asian and European populations may be partly explained by differences in smoking prevalence among men.
Effect of pre-exercise carbohydrate feedings on endurance cycling performance.

Six men were studied to compare the effects of pre-exercise carbohydrate feedings on endurance performance and muscle glycogen utilization during prolonged exercise. Trials consisted of a cycling ride to exhaustion at 75% maximal oxygen uptake preceded by the ingestion of either 75 g of glucose in 350 ml of water (GLU), 75 g of fructose in 350 ml of water (FRU), or 350 ml of an artificially sweetened and flavored placebo (CON). No differences were observed between trials for oxygen uptake, respiratory exchange ratio, heart rate, or exercise time to exhaustion (CON = 92.7 +/- 5.2 min, FRU = 90.6 +/- 12.4, and GLU = 92.8 +/- 11.3, mean +/- SE). Blood glucose was elevated as a result of the GLU feeding, but fell rapidly with the onset of exercise, reaching a low of 4.02 +/- 0.34 mmol X l-1 at 15 min of exercise. Serum insulin also increased following the GLU feeding but had returned to pre-drink levels by 30 min of exercise. No differences in blood glucose and insulin were observed between FRU and CON. Muscle glycogen utilization during the first 30 min of exercise (CON = 46.3 +/- 8.2 mmol X kg-1 wet weight, FRU = 56.3 +/- 3.0 mmol X kg-1 wet weight, GLU = 50.0 +/- 4.9 mmol X kg-1 wet weight) and total glycogen use (CON = 93.4 +/- 11.1, FRU = 118.8 +/- 10.9, and GLU = 99.5 +/- 4.3) were similar in the three trials. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The Ability of Selected Oral Microorganisms to Emit Red Fluorescence

Some novel caries detection and excavation devices rely on the ability of bacteria to produce red fluorescing compounds. The aim of this study was to examine the ability of selected oral microorganisms to emit red fluorescence. Streptococcus mutans, S. oralis, S. salivarius, S. sobrinus, Lactobacillus fermentans, L. casei, L. rhamnosus, Actinomyces naeslundi, A. israelii, Prevotella intermedia, and Fusobacterium nucleatum were inoculated onto Columbia agar with haemin and vitamin K and incubated anaerobically for up to 7 days in the dark. The resulting bacterial colonies were excited using filtered xenon light (405 ± 20 nm) and digitally photographed through a 530-nm high-pass filter. The red and green portions of the colony fluorescence were analyzed using a computer program and the red/green ratio was calculated. All colonies emitted both red and green fluorescence. The green outweighed the red portion for the following species (in descending order) S. oralis, S. salivarius, S. mutans, F. nucleatum and S. sobrinus. The red portion was higher for the following species (in descending order) P. intermedia, A. naeslundi, A. israelii, L. fermentans, L. rhamnosus and L. casei. With all the bacteria examined, one color portion generally outweighed the other, giving the visual impression of either red or green fluorescence. We conclude that red fluorescence is well suited to detection of the bacteria which cause dentin caries but it is not suitable as an indicator of the presence and activity of the streptococci involved in initial caries.
Adjunctive risperidone treatment in post-traumatic stress disorder: a preliminary controlled trial of effects on comorbid psychotic symptoms

Positive and negative symptoms of psychosis may be common in patients with chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but few studies have investigated the use of antipsychotic agents in these patients. This preliminary study examined the potential efficacy of risperidone in treating psychotic symptoms associated with chronic PTSD. In a 5-week, prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, adjunctive risperidone treatment was assessed in 40 combat veterans with chronic PTSD and comorbid psychotic features. Most patients were receiving antidepressants and some other psychotics with doses of concurrent medications held constant for at least 1 month prior to and during the study. Thirty-seven patients completed at least 1 week of treatment with risperidone or placebo. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) were used to assess symptoms. The PANSS was the primary outcome measure. At treatment endpoint, risperidone-treated patients showed a significantly greater decrease from baseline, albeit modest, in psychotic symptoms (PANSS total scores) than placebo-treated patients (P<0.05). CAPS ratings declined significantly in both groups but did not differ significantly between groups. However, CAPS re-experiencing subscale scores had greater improvement in the risperidone-treated patients at week 5 (P<0.05, completer analysis) with a trend towards greater improvement versus placebo a endpoint (P<0.1, LOCF). Risperidone was well tolerated with minimal extrapyramidal symptoms. These preliminary results support studying the potential efficacy of risperidone for treating global psychotic symptoms associated with chronic PTSD with a suggestion that core re-experiencing symptoms may also be responsive. Further research using randomized, controlled trial designs in larger patient groups are needed to define more adequately the role of risperidone and other atypical agents in PTSD.
Multistage generation and network expansion planning in distribution systems considering uncertainty and reliability

This paper describes the incorporation of uncertainty and reliability in the dynamic expansion planning of distribution network assets and distributed generation. Several alternatives for the installation of feeders, transformers, and distributed generation are considered. Thus, the optimal expansion plan identifies the best alternative, location, and installation time for the candidate assets under the uncertainty related to demand and renewable energy sources. To that end, an iterative algorithm is devised to yield a pool of high-quality candidate solutions in terms of total investment and operational costs. Each candidate solution results from a stochastic-programming-based model driven by the minimization of the expected investment and operational costs. The associated scenario-based deterministic equivalent is formulated as a mixed-integer linear program for which finite convergence to optimality is guaranteed and efficient off-the-shelf software is available. Standard metrics are subsequently applied to each candidate solution to characterize its reliability so that valuable information is provided to the distribution system planner. Numerical results illustrate the effective performance of the proposed approach.