Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Delirium accelerates cognitive decline in Alzheimer disease

Objective: To examine the impact of delirium on the trajectory of cognitive function in a cohort of patients with Alzheimer disease (AD). Methods: A secondary analysis of data collected from a large prospective cohort, the Massachusetts Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center’s patient registry, examined cognitive performance over time in patients who developed (n = 72) or did not develop (n = 336) delirium during the course of their illnesses. Cognitive performance was measured by change in score on the Information-Memory-Concentration (IMC) subtest of the Blessed Dementia Rating Scale. Delirium was identified using a previously validated chart review method. Using linear mixed regression models, rates of cognitive change were calculated, controlling for age, sex, education, comorbid medical diagnoses, family history of dementia, dementia severity score, and duration of symptoms before diagnosis. Results: A significant acceleration in the slope of cognitive decline occurs following an episode of delirium. Among patients who developed delirium, the average decline at baseline for performance on the IMC was 2.5 points per year, but after an episode of delirium there was further decline to an average of 4.9 points per year (p = 0.001). Across groups, the rate of change in IMC score occurred about three times faster in those who had delirium compared to those who did not. Conclusions: Delirium can accelerate the trajectory of cognitive decline in patients with Alzheimer disease (AD). The information from this study provides the foundation for future randomized intervention studies to determine whether prevention of delirium might ameliorate or delay cognitive decline in patients with AD.
GENERAL-RELATIVISTIC THREE-DIMENSIONAL MULTI-GROUP NEUTRINO RADIATION-HYDRODYNAMICS SIMULATIONS OF CORE-COLLAPSE SUPERNOVAE

We report on a set of long-term general-relativistic three-dimensional (3D) multi-group (energy-dependent) neutrino radiation-hydrodynamics simulations of core-collapse supernovae. We employ a full 3D two-moment scheme with the local M1 closure, three neutrino species, and 12 energy groups per species. With this, we follow the post-core-bounce evolution of the core of a nonrotating progenitor in full unconstrained 3D and in octant symmetry for ≳380 ms. We find the development of an asymmetric runaway explosion in our unconstrained simulation. We test the resolution dependence of our results and, in agreement with previous work, find that low resolution artificially aids explosion and leads to an earlier runaway expansion of the shock. At low resolution, the octant and full 3D dynamics are qualitatively very similar, but at high resolution, only the full 3D simulation exhibits the onset of explosion.
Penile anthropometry in systemic lupus erythematosus patients

The aim of this study was to evaluate penile anthropometry in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients compared with healthy controls and the possible relevant pubertal, clinical, hormonal and treatment factors that could influence penile dimensions. Twenty-five consecutive SLE patients were assessed by urological examination, sexual function, testicular ultrasound, hormones, sperm analysis, genetic analysis, clinical features and treatment. The control group included 25 age-matched healthy males. SLE patients had a lower median penis length and circumference [8 (7.5–10) vs. 10 (8–13) cm, p = 0.0001; 8 (7–10) vs. 10 (7–11) cm, p = 0.001; respectively], lower median testicular volume by right and left Prader [15 (10–25) vs. 20 (12–25) ml, p = 0.003; 15 (10–25) vs. 20 (12–25) ml, p = 0.006; respectively], higher median of follicle-stimulating hormone [5.8 (2.1–25) vs. 3.3 (1.9–9) IU/l, p = 0.002] and lower morning total testosterone levels (28% vs. 0%, p = 0.009) compared with controls. In spite of that, erectile dysfunction was not observed in patients or controls. Analyses of lupus patients revealed that the median penis circumference was lower in patients with disease onset before first ejaculation compared with those with disease onset after first ejaculation [7.8 (7–10) vs. 9.0 (7.5–10) cm, p = 0.026]. No differences were observed in the median penile anthropometry regarding sexual dysfunction (p = 0.610), lower morning total testosterone levels (p = 0.662), oligo/azoospermia (p = 0.705), SLE Disease Activity Index ≥ 4 (p = 0.562), Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/ACR Damage Index ≥ 1 (p = 0.478), prednisone cumulative dose (p = 0.789) and intravenous cyclophosphamide therapy (p = 0.754). Klinefelteŕs syndrome (46XY/47XXY) was diagnosed in one (4%) SLE patient with decreased penile size whereas Y-chromosomal microdeletions was absent in all of them. In conclusion, we have identified reduced penile dimensions in SLE patients with no deleterious effect in erectile function. Disease onset before first ejaculation seems to affect penis development in pre-pubertal lupus.
Household Investment under Violence - The Colombian Case

Households in rural Colombia are confronted with a variety of violent threats: attacks and displacement threats by guerrillas and paramilitaries, gang violence among drug traffickers, and high common delinquency. In this context, households have to adjust their day-to-day decisions, including saving and portfolio choices, in order to be less vulnerable. The authors test the hypothesis that households, when confronted with exogenous violence, reduce their investment and, moreover, shift it from fixed to mobile assets, which would be safer in the case of displacement, and choose the opposite strategy under higher common delinquency associated with property crimes. Empirical evidence from a rich Colombian micro-data set strongly supports the hypothesis. The results shed new light on the economic impact of violence. The immediate reduction in capital stock might be much less severe than more permanent damage via the savings function. This has implications for the appropriate political answer to chronic violence in Colombia as well as in other areas of chronic conflict.
A Serum Proteomic Pattern for the Detection of Colorectal Adenocarcinoma Using Surface Enhanced Laser Desorption and Ionization Mass Spectrometry

Purpose: New serum biomarkers are needed to improve the early detection of colorectal adenocarcinoma. We performed surface enhanced laser desorption and ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF-MS) to screen for differentially expressed proteins in serum and build a proteomic diagnostic pattern for the detection of colorectal adenocarcinoma to improve the prognosis of patients with this disease. Experimental Design: In an attempt to improve current approaches to the serologic diagnosis of colorectal cancer, we analyzed serum samples from subjects with or without colorectal cancer using SELDI-MS. Using a case-control study design, SELDI-MS profile of serum samples from 74 colorectal adenocarcinoma patients were compared with 48 age-and sex-matched healthy subjects using a ProteinChip reader, PBSII-C. Proteomic MS spectra were generated using IMAC3 chips, and protein peaks clustering and classification analyses were performed to build a proteomic pattern that could differentiate patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma from healthy subjects utilizing Biomarker Wizard and Biomarker Patterns software packages, respectively. The constructed pattern was then used to test an independent set of masked serum samples from 60 colorectal cancer patients and 39 healthy subjects.Results: Among the differentially expressed protein peaks identified by SELDI-MS profiling that had the ability to distinguish between patients and healthy subjects, we determined a minimum set of two protein peaks for system training and for developing a decision classification pattern. Masked analysis of an independent set of serum samples showed the diagnostic pattern could differentiate patients with different stages of colorectal cancer from healthy subjects with a sensitivity of 95.00 percent and specificity of 94.87 percent. Conclusion: SELDI-TOF-MS profiling of serum proteins combined with bioinformatics tools can be applied to accurately differentiate patients with colorectal cancer from healthy subjects. The high sensitivity and specificity achieved by the constructed clustering analysis algorithm show great potential for the early detection of colorectal cancer.
IMF Structural Conditionality: How Much is Too Much?

As suggested above, an active debate has long been underway - and has intensified in the wake of the Asian crisis - about the appropriate scope and intrusiveness of IMF policy conditionality. In this paper, I take up one key element of that debate, namely, the role of structural policies in IMF-supported adjustment programs. By "structural policies," I mean policies aimed not at the management of aggregate demand but rather at either improving the efficiency of resource use and/or increasing the economy's productive capacity. Structural policies are usually aimed at reducing/dismantling government - imposed distortions or putting in place various institutional features of a modern market economy. Such structural policies include, inter alia: financial-sector policies; liberalization of trade, capital markets, and of the exchange rate system; privatization and public enterprise policies; tax and expenditure policies (apart from the overall fiscal stance); labor market policies; pricing and marketing policies; transparency and disclosure policies; poverty-reduction and social safety-net policies; pension policies; corporate governance policies (including anti-corruption measures); and environmental policies. To set the stage for what follows, it is worth summarizing the main concerns and criticisms that have been expressed about the IMF's existing approach to structural policy conditionality. These typically take one or more of the following forms. First, there is a worry that wide-ranging and micro-managed structural policy recommendations will be viewed by developing-country borrowers as so costly and intrusive as to discourage unduly the demand for Fund assistance during crises. Even though the cost of borrowing from the Fund (the so-called rate of charge) is much lower than the cost of borrowing from private creditors - particularly during times of stress - we observe that developing countries usually come to the Fund "late in the day" when their balance-of-payments problems are already severe. This suggests that developing countries place a non-trivial shadow price on the policy conditions associated with Fund borrowing. The concern is that if these conditions become too onerous, emerging economies will wait even longer to come to the Fund (as Thailand did in 1997) and/or will turn to regional official crisis lenders that offer easier policy conditionality (e.g., in 1998 Malaysia was one of the first beneficiaries of low-conditionality Miyazawa Initiative funds, and Asian countries could eventually decide to elevate the infant Chiang-Mai swap arrangements into a full-fledged Asian Monetary Fund). The outcome - so the argument goes - would then be even more difficult initial crisis conditions, greater resort to the anti-social behavior that the Fund was established to prevent, and a tendency toward Gresham's Law of conditionality (where weak regional conditionality would drive out not only the unnecessary but also the necessary elements of Fund conditionality).
Assessing email responsiveness: The case of hotels in Malaysia

The advancement of Information Technology (IT) has given tremendous effects on hotel industry.IT has been perceived as the competitive weapon to survive in the intense competition in the hotels business. As a result, in 2003, 63% of hotels listed by the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism of Malaysia provided their e-mail as a medium of communication for its online patrons.Despite the successful technology initiation among hotels in Malaysia, the effectiveness of implementation of technology in relation to customer service still remains unknown.Do these hoteliers responsively reply the customer e-mail? The aim of the study is to investigate the quality aspect of the online customer service in Malaysian hotel industry. In 2004, 200 hotels with the e-mail addresses were sent a typical room query and their responses were recorded to examine their e-mail quality.Even though, the hotels performed well for each quality variable, the overall finding showed that the chance that a guest would receive a quality reply was only at 12 out of 200 or 6%. Practical and theoretical contributions are also discussed in this paper.
Endocrine pancreatic dysfunction in HIV-infected children: association with growth alterations.

BACKGROUND The pancreatic endocrine system normally guarantees a quick and efficient response to daily metabolic perturbations, but associated data for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients are lacking. A prospective study was performed to evaluate pancreatic endocrine secretion and its possible association with failure to thrive among HIV-infected children. METHODS Fourteen well-nourished, prepubertal, HIV-infected children (6 boys and 8 girls; age range, 5-11 years), none of whom were receiving protease inhibitors, and 16 clinically healthy sex- and age-matched children formed the patient group and the control group, respectively. At yearly follow-up examinations, insulin, glucagon, C-peptide, and glucose levels were measured; the ratio of insulin to glucose, the ratio of insulin to glucagon, and the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) index were calculated; the glucagon test was administered; and growth hormone, thyroid-stimulating hormone, adrenocorticotropic hormone, cortisol, and lipid patterns were evaluated. RESULTS Insulin, glucagon, C-peptide, glucose, and HOMA measurements were significantly higher among patients, compared with control subjects, at all 3 follow-ups performed to date. The glucagon test revealed a normal glycemic response in all the healthy control subjects and a significantly impaired response in 11 patients. A significant correlation emerged between the ratio of insulin to glucagon and the growth velocity of HIV-infected children. CONCLUSION To our knowledge, the present study provides the first evidence of altered pancreatic endocrine secretion and its association with growth failure among HIV-infected children.
On the cutting edge of event detection from social streams – a non-exhaustive survey

Event detection from streams of text data has been a well-traveled research area for the last decade, resulting in a large body of work. When it comes to detecting events from social media stream, in particular breaking news, not all of these techniques are applicable, since only limited amounts of text may be available, data streams in continuously, and detection has to be performed quickly. The aim of this survey is to give the reader an overview of the current state-of-the-art, not only in terms of event detection itself but also w.r. t. event characterization, and spatial and social localization/contextualization. As such, this is very much a non-exhaustive survey: we discuss mainly rather recent work that has been shown to outperform earlier approaches and therefore supersedes them, and should, for now, be considered the “cutting edge”.
The M1 Muscarinic Receptor Antagonist VU0255035 Delays the Development of Status Epilepticus after Organophosphate Exposure and Prevents Hyperexcitability in the Basolateral Amygdala

Exposure to organophosphorus toxins induces seizures that progress to status epilepticus (SE), which can cause brain damage or death. Seizures are generated by hyperstimulation of muscarinic receptors, subsequent to inhibition of acetylcholinesterase; this is followed by glutamatergic hyperactivity, which sustains and reinforces seizure activity. It has been unclear which muscarinic receptor subtypes are involved in seizure initiation and the development of SE in the early phases after exposure. Here, we show that pretreatment of rats with the selective M1 receptor antagonist, VU0255035 [N-(3-oxo-3-(4-(pyridine-4-yl)piperazin-1-yl)propyl)-benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole-4 sulfonamide], significantly suppressed seizure severity and prevented the development of SE for about 40 minutes after exposure to paraoxon or soman, suggesting an important role of the M1 receptor in the early phases of seizure generation. In addition, in in vitro brain slices of the basolateral amygdala (a brain region that plays a key role in seizure initiation after nerve agent exposure), VU0255035 blocked the effects produced by bath application of paraoxon—namely, a brief barrage of spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents, followed by a significant increase in the ratio of the total charge transferred by spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents over that of the inhibitory postsynaptic currents. Furthermore, paraoxon enhanced the hyperpolarization-activated cation current Ih in basolateral amygdala principal cells, which could be one of the mechanisms underlying the increased glutamatergic activity, an effect that was also blocked in the presence of VU0255035. Thus, selective M1 antagonists may be an efficacious pretreatment in contexts in which there is risk for exposure to organophosphates, as these antagonists will delay the development of SE long enough for medical assistance to arrive.
Relative Replication Capacity and Selective Advantage Profiles of Protease Inhibitor-Resistant Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) NS3 Protease Mutants in the HCV Genotype 1b Replicon System

ABSTRACT We characterized the selective advantage profiles of a panel of hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS3 protease mutants with three HCV protease inhibitors (PIs), BILN-2061, ITMN-191, and VX-950, using a genotype 1b HCV replicon system. Selective advantage curves were generated by a novel mathematical method that factors in the degree of drug susceptibility provided by the mutation, the base-level replication capacity of the mutant in the absence of drugs, and the overall viral replication levels as a function of drug concentration. Most of the mutants showed significantly increased selective advantages over the wild-type species upon drug treatment. Each drug is associated with unique selective advantage profiles that reflect its antiviral activity and mutant susceptibility. Five mutants (R155K/Q, A156T, and D168A/V) showed significant levels of selective advantage after treatment with >10 nM (∼7 times the wild-type 50% effective concentration [EC50]) of BILN-2061. R155K displayed dominant levels of selective advantage over the other mutants upon treatment with ITMN-191 over a broad range of concentrations. Upon VX-950 treatment, various mutants (A156T, A156S, R155K, T54A, V170A, V36M/R155K, and R155Q) exhibited high levels of selective advantage in different drug concentration ranges, with A156T and A156S being the dominant mutants at >3 μM (∼10 times the wild-type EC50) of VX-950. This method provides more accurate estimates of the behavior of various mutants under drug pressure than replication capacity analysis. We noted that the R155K mutant shows reduced susceptibility to all three PIs and significant selective advantage, raising concern over the potential emergence of R155K as a multidrug-resistant, highly fit mutant in HCV patients treated with PIs.
Individual versus Institutional Ownership of University-Discovered Inventions

We examine how the ownership of intellectual property rights influences patenting of university-discovered inventions. In 2002, Germany transferred patent rights from faculty members to their universities. To identify the effect on the volume of patenting, we exploit the researcher-level exogeneity of the 2002 policy change using a novel researcher-level panel database that includes a control group not affected by the law change. For professors who had existing industry connections, the policy decreased patenting, but for those without prior industry connections, it increased patenting. Overall, fewer university inventions were patented following the shift from inventor to institutional ownership.
Derivation of the reliability metric for digital circuits

With technology scaling, the vulnerability of combinational circuits is increased, so evaluating their reliability becomes an essential demand. In this paper a simple yet effective method is proposed to derive the reliability of a combinational circuit. The idea of this method is to prevent the complexity of the traditional methods that use multi-iteration statistical procedures. This goal is achieved by dividing the problem into two parts, one describing the cause of the error, and the other part is involved on the circuit under test. The cause of the error is represented as a stochastic model of the interference, which can be considered as a fixed model for a specific design. The other part is derived by applying the stochastic fault model on the circuit under test using a simulation tool. A critical values are obtained by the second part, these values are the boundaries between two regions; error region and error-free region. The next step is to find the probability of error-free region by using some mathematical procedures. The probability of the error-free region can be interpreted as a reliable operating mode of that circuit. For the sake of simplicity, the proposed method is applied to a chain of inverters. A trade-off relation between energy, performance and reliability is obtained. A slow stage is added to the circuit under test to see its effect on the reliability of the circuit.
The Determinants of 10b-5 Litigation Risk

We examine securities class action lawsuits that are filed after single-day stock price declines of 10% or more. We decompose ex ante (pre-fall) litigation risk into the likelihood a corporation will experience a 10% fall and the likelihood of being sued after such a fall. We use previous research about stock return distributions and a model of law firm behavior to develop predictions about the effects of firm characteristics on these likelihoods. We estimate these relationships with logit regressions and use the results to quantify the effects of each variable on the likelihood of a 10% fall, the conditional likelihood of a suit being filed after such a fall, and ex ante litigation risk. We find that variables that enter into shareholder damage formulas, including an estimate of proportion of the firm's shares that traded during the past year, the firm's market capitalization, share price declines during the previous year and share price declines on the fall date, are major determinants of ex ante litigation risk. Variables that increase the likelihood of a 10% fall, such as stock return volatility, decrease the likelihood that a law firm will file a suit after a 10% fall. We also find that most of our results are generalizable to lawsuits that do not follow 10% falls. We examine the announcements that accompany those 10% falls that our results indicate are particularly likely to trigger lawsuits, and we find that the types of announcements that accompany falls that do and do not prompt litigation are similar.
Improving Data Warehouse and Business Information Quality: Methods for Reducing Costs and Increasing Profits

PRINCIPLES OF INFORMATION QUALITY IMPROVEMENT. The High Costs of Low- Quality Data. Defining Information Quality. Applying Quality Management Principles to Information. PRINCIPLES FOR IMPROVING INFORMATION QUALITY. An Overview of Total Quality Data Management (TQdM). Assessing Data Definition and Information Architecture Quality. Information Quality Assessment. Measuring Nonquality Information Costs. Information Product Improvement: Data Reengineering and Cleansing. Improving Information Process Quality: Data Defect Prevention. Information Quality Tools and Techniques. ESTABLISHING THE INFORMATION QUALITY ENVIRONMENT. The 14 Points of Information Quality. Information Stewardship: Accountability for Information Quality. Implementing an Information Quality Improvement Environment. Epilogue: Reaping the Benefits of Quality Information. Appendices. Index.