Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multigroup Path Analysis of the Influence of Healthcare Quality, by Different Health Insurance Types

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Winds of change have been blowing in the U.S. healthcare system since passage of the Affordable Care Act. Examining differences between individuals covered by different types of insurance is essential if healthcare executives are to develop new strategies in response to the emerging health insurance market. In this study, we used multigroup path analysis models to examine the moderating effects of health insurance on direct and indirect associations with general health status, satisfaction with received care, financial burden, and perceived value of the healthcare system. Data were obtained from the 2012 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and analyzed according to the types of insurance: private, public, and military. With the satisfactory fit of the model (&khgr;2 = 2,532.644, df = 96, p < .001; normed fit index = 0.943; incremental fit index = 0.945; comparative fit index = 0.957; root mean squared error of approximation = 0.044), higher healthcare quality was positively associated with better health status, greater satisfaction, and greater perceived value of the healthcare system in the three insurance groups. In addition, although all direct paths between health service quality and financial burden were not statistically significant, indirect effects were significant in all models through health status. Being married and earning higher incomes were also found to be strong predictors of better health status and health service quality. Efforts to improve the quality of health services are needed, which could contribute to a reduction in health disparities among insurance beneficiaries and result in less healthcare spending.
Uses for Dry Cold Therapy

The subjects studied in this investigation were 100 healthy students and laboratory workers, 71 patients with disease of the liver, and 62 patients suffering from other diseases. Every care was taken to establish the clinical diagnosis beyond doubt. The laboratory tests in all cases included estimations of the bilirubin, phosphatase, albumin, and globulin in 'the plasma, and measurement of the hippuric acid excretion and laevulose tolerance. Analysis of the results indicates that a combination of data of this type has considerable diagnostic and prognostic value. Changes in the plasma proteins in disease of the liver are of great significance. In cases of hepatitis with jaundice there is a close correlation between the time the jaundice has been present, the changes in the albumin-globulin ratio, and the prognosis. Irreparable liver damage has probably occurred if jaundice persists for more than two months or the plasma albumin falls below 2 g. °. In such cases the plasma globulin is usually over 4 g. %. Estimation of the amount of bilirubin, phosphatase, albumin, and globulin in the plasma from a single blood specimen usually provides as much diagnostic and prognostic information as can be obtained from more elaborate tests of liver function. Full case reports with protocols of the biochemical tests can be obtained from the authors.
Structured learning algorithm for detection of nonobstructive and obstructive coronary plaque lesions from computed tomography angiography

Abstract. Visual identification of coronary arterial lesion from three-dimensional coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) remains challenging. We aimed to develop a robust automated algorithm for computer detection of coronary artery lesions by machine learning techniques. A structured learning technique is proposed to detect all coronary arterial lesions with stenosis ≥25%. Our algorithm consists of two stages: (1) two independent base decisions indicating the existence of lesions in each arterial segment and (b) the final decision made by combining the base decisions. One of the base decisions is the support vector machine (SVM) based learning algorithm, which divides each artery into small volume patches and integrates several quantitative geometric and shape features for arterial lesions in each small volume patch by SVM algorithm. The other base decision is the formula-based analytic method. The final decision in the first stage applies SVM-based decision fusion to combine the two base decisions in the second stage. The proposed algorithm was applied to 42 CTA patient datasets, acquired with dual-source CT, where 21 datasets had 45 lesions with stenosis ≥25%. Visual identification of lesions with stenosis ≥25% by three expert readers, using consensus reading, was considered as a reference standard. Our method performed with high sensitivity (93%), specificity (95%), and accuracy (94%), with receiver operator characteristic area under the curve of 0.94. The proposed algorithm shows promising results in the automated detection of obstructive and nonobstructive lesions from CTA.
Reduced space hidden Markov model training

MOTIVATION Complete forward-backward (Baum-Welch) hidden Markov model training cannot take advantage of the linear space, divide-and-conquer sequence alignment algorithms because of the examination of all possible paths rather than the single best path. RESULTS This paper discusses the implementation and performance of checkpoint-based reduced space sequence alignment in the SAM hidden Markov modeling package. Implementation of the checkpoint algorithm reduced memory usage from O(mn) to O (m square root n) with only a 10% slowdown for small m and n, and vast speed-up for the larger values, such as m = n = 2000, that cause excessive paging on a 96 Mbyte workstation. The results are applicable to other types of dynamic programming. AVAILABILITY A World-Wide Web server, as well as information on obtaining the Sequence Alignment and Modeling (SAM) software suite, can be found at http://www.cse.ucsc. edu/research/compbio/sam.html. CONTACT rph@cse.ucsc. edu
Effective Leadership in Adventure Programming

Chapter 1. Introduction to Outdoor Leadership Part I: Foundations of Adventure Programming Chapter 2. Philosophy of Adventure Programming Chapter 3. History of Adventure Programming Chapter 4. Individual Behaviour and Motivation Chapter 5. Group Development and Dynamics Part II: Practical and Organisational Skills for Outdoor Leaders Chapter 6. Technical Skills Chapter 7. Safety/Risk Management Skills Chapter 8. Environmental Skills Chapter 9. Trip Planning Chapter 10. Risk Management Part III: Instruction in Adventure Programming Chapter 11. Experiential Education Chapter 12. Instructional Methods Chapter 13. Teaching Models Part IV: Facilitation in Adventure Programming Chapter 14. The Process of Facilitation Chapter 15. Basic Facilitation Techniques Chapter 16. Advanced Facilitation Techniques Chapter 17. Facilitation Roles Part V: Metaskills for Outdoor Leaders Chapter 18. Flexible Leadership Style Chapter 19. Effective Communication Chapter 20. Experience-Based Judgement Chapter 21. Problem Solving Chapter 22. Decision Making Chapter 23. Professional Ethics Chapter 24. Trends and Issues.
The Equilibrium Allocation of Economic Activity for Chinese Cities: The New Economic Geography of Chinese Wages and Labor Mobility

Based on a data set of 264 Chinese Prefecture cities for the period 1999-2005, we use the new economic geography (NEG) model by Puga (1999) to determine the long-equilibrium allocation of economic activity across China. The model encompasses several core NEG models and is well-suited to analyse the role of labor mobility which is a crucial variable in the case of China. By using Chinese data for our NEG model, the paper first estimates a wage equation in order to arrive at estimates of key model parameters. Subsequently, we analyse how the current Chinese spatial equilibrium changes by varying the degree of (interregional) labor mobility. Indirectly, the paper addresses the claim that due to various institutional features China is characterized by "under-agglomeration”. Two findings stand out. First, real market access is an important determinant of Chinese city-wages. Second, when analysing the long run equilibrium spatial allocation, and using the first empirical finding as an input, more labor mobility will lead to a more pronounced core-periphery outcome for China and a more uneven city-size distribution. 1 Bosker, Brakman and Garretsen: Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Groningen, The Netherlands; Schramm: Utrecht School of Economics, Utrecht University, The Netherlands. Please send all correspondence to: j.h. garretsen@rug.nl We thank Bart van Ark, Bernard Fingleton, Laura Hering, Ana Moreno Monroy and Charles van Marrewijk for their help and suggestions.
Information Relaxation is Ultradiffusive

We investigate how the overall response to a piece of information (a story or an article) evolves and relaxes as a function of time in social networks like Reddit, Digg and Youtube. This response or popularity is measured in terms of the number of votes/comments that the story (or article) accrued over time. We find that the temporal evolution of popularity can be described by a universal function whose parameters depend upon the system under consideration. Unlike most previous studies, which empirically investigated the dynamics of voting behavior, we also give a theoretical interpretation of the observed behavior using ultradiffusion. Whether it is the inter-arrival time between two consecutive votes on a story on Reddit or the comments on a video shared on Youtube, there is always a hierarchy of time scales in information propagation. One vote/comment might occur almost simultaneously with the previous, whereas another vote/comment might occur hours after the preceding one. This hierarchy of time scales leads us to believe that the dynamical response of users to information is ultradiffusive in nature. We show that a ultradiffusion based stochastic process can be used to rationalize the observed temporal evolution.
Conserving, Distributing and Managing Genetically Modified Mouse Lines by Sperm Cryopreservation

Background Sperm from C57BL/6 mice are difficult to cryopreserve and recover. Yet, the majority of genetically modified (GM) lines are maintained on this genetic background. Methodology/Principal Findings Reported here is the development of an easily implemented method that consistently yields fertilization rates of 70±5% with this strain. This six-fold increase is achieved by collecting sperm from the vas deferens and epididymis into a cryoprotective medium of 18% raffinose (w/v), 3% skim milk (w/v) and 477 µM monothioglycerol. The sperm suspension is loaded into 0.25 mL French straws and cooled at 37±1°C/min before being plunged and then stored in LN2. Subsequent to storage, the sperm are warmed at 2,232±162°C/min and incubated in in vitro fertilization media for an hour prior to the addition of oocyte cumulus masses from superovulated females. Sperm from 735 GM mouse lines on 12 common genetic backgrounds including C57BL/6J, BALB/cJ, 129S1/SvImJ, FVB/NJ and NOD/ShiLtJ were cryopreserved and recovered. C57BL/6J and BALB/cByJ fertilization rates, using frozen sperm, were slightly reduced compared to rates involving fresh sperm; fertilization rates using fresh or frozen sperm were equivalent in all other lines. Developmental capacity of embryos produced using cryopreserved sperm was equivalent, or superior to, cryopreserved IVF-derived embryos. Conclusions/Significance Combined, these results demonstrate the broad applicability of our approach as an economical and efficient option for archiving and distributing mice.
A binary instrumentation tool for the Blackfin processor

While a large number of program profiling and instrumentation tools have been developed to support hardware and software analysis on general purpose systems, there is a general lack of sophisticated tools available for embedded architectures. Embedded systems are sensitive to performance bottlenecks, memory leaks, and software inefficiencies. There is a growing need to develop more sophisticated profiling and instrumentation tools in this rapidly growing design space. In this paper we describe, DSPInst, a binary instrumentation tool for the Analog Device's Blackfin family of Digital Signal Processors (DSPs). DSPInst provides for fine-grained control over the execution of programs. Instrumentation tool users are able to gain transparent access to the processor and memory state at instruction boundaries, without perturbing the architected program state. DSPInst provides a platform for building a wide range of customized analysis tools at an instruction level granularity. To demonstrate the utility of this toolset, we provide an example analysis and optimization tool that performs dynamic voltage and frequency scaling to balance performance and power.
A general framework for the view selection problem for data warehouse design and evolution

A Data Warehouse (DW) can be seen as a set of materialized views de ned over remote source relations. During the initial design and evolution of a DW, the DW designer is faced, on many occasions, with the problem of selecting views to materialize in the DW. This problem has been addressed for di erent classes of queries/views, and with di erent design goals. In this work we unify these approaches in a general framework for materialized view selection for Data Warehousing. We rst identify and analyze di erent design goals. A design goal can be the minimization of a cost function or a constraint of di erent types. We then de ne the general view selection problem that aims at satisfying all these goals together. This de nition of the problem allows us to deal not only with the static design of a DW, but also with its evolution. We use expression AND/OR dags to represent alternative ways of evaluating multiple queries and views, and subexpression sharing. Our formalism is general enough to allow the representation of complex queries including grouping/aggregation queries, necessary in DW applications. We show how the design goals can be mapped into conditions on expression AND/OR dag structures. Using this mapping, we determine the search space for the general view selection problem, and we discuss algorithms for exploring it. Our approach can be used as is but it can be also applied to particular DW design cases where not all the design goals are required.
Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein-1− 2518 A/G Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Might Be Associated with Renal Disease and Thrombocytopenia of SLE

There is conflicting evidence on the contribution of the MCP-1 −2518 A>G (rs 1024611) polymorphism to SLE incidence and clinical manifestations. We examined the prevalence of the MCP-1 −2518 A>G polymorphism in SLE patients (n = 199) and controls (n = 250) in Poland. We did not observe a significant difference in the distribution of MCP-1 −2518 A>G polymorphic variants in patients with SLE and healthy individuals. However, we found an association between the GG versus AG and AA genotypes as well as the AG and GG versus AA genotypes with renal manifestations of SLE OR = 3.614 (1.123–11.631, P = 0.0345) and OR = 2.297 (1.301–4.057, P = 0.0046), respectively. We also observed that the MCP-1 AG and GG -genotypes contribute to the occurrence of thrombocytopenia in SLE patients OR = 2.618 (1.280–5.352, P = 0.0089). Our observations indicate that either MCP-1 −2518 G variant can be associated with some clinical findings in patients with SLE.
Is the time irreversibility of heart rate present even in newborns?

The aim of our research was to verify if the time irreversibility of heart rate oscillations exists even in the newborns. Multiscale irreversibility indices (Porta's index P%, Guzik index G% and Ehlers index E) of the heart rate signals were computed in 20 healthy neonates. The presence of irreversibility and its origin in system nonlinearity was assessed by surrogate data analysis. The results were compared to irreversibility analysis of young adult heart rate signals. Surrogate data analysis revealed asymmetrical nature of the series present already in the neonatal age. Moreover Porta's irreversibility index P% was significantly higher in newborns compared to adults indicating a shift in the sympatho-vagal balance in newborns towards sympathetic activity. The results of surrogate data analysis suggest an existence of the cardiovascular control system related time irreversibility in the majority of the recordings in both neonatal and adult groups.
Design and evaluation of a low-cost mechatronic system to study upper and lower limbs biomechanics

The socioeconomic impact of limb disabilities produced by injuries, traumas or congenital defects is evident in low-income countries, where there are often inadequate systems of trauma care and rehabilitation. The most medical schools in developing countries do not include a disability and rehabilitation component in their curricula. Even worst, many institutes do not have facilities or equipment to develop professional skills in their students. Designing and fabricating medical rehabilitation equipment, and training professional rehabilitation staff could be considered a pragmatic solution for most of the low-income countries to improve their physical rehabilitation services. Assisted rehabilitation technologies improve the functional capacity of persons with limb disabilities using prostheses, orthoses, in combination with computer software and hardware. In this work, a low-cost mechatronics system is presented as a proof-of-concept which can be used by students and professionals in physical therapy training, and by engineers to design and fabricate orthopedic and orthotic devices focusing in upper and lower limbs. The basic concepts of biomechanics are presented and evaluated using theoretical approach (finite element method) and experimental approach (construction of prototype). The proposed system emerges as a practical tool in the education and training in rehabilitation systems for upper and lower limbs. The holistic collaboration among rehabilitation professionals, engineers, and scientists in developing countries is essential to implement appropriate and sustainable rehabilitative services and devices.
Manager Associate

The knowledge-based Manager Associate, which assists managers in planning, organizing, staffing, scheduling, measuring, visualizing, and controlling software development processes, is described. The Manager Associate operates in a distributed Unix environment in which the manager has access to the software developer workstations through a computer network. The Manager Associate helps managers anticipate problems, which allow early corrective action. As a result, software projects can be developed on time, within budget, and to customer satisfaction. >
Between-Strain Competition in Acquisition and Clearance of Pneumococcal Carriage — Epidemiologic Evidence From a Longitudinal Study of Day-Care Children

a The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Vol. 171, No. 2 DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwp351 Advance Access publication: December 6, 2009
Life-Course Perspective on Socioeconomic Differences in Carotid Atherosclerosis

Objective—Socioeconomic status (SES) in adulthood is known to be related to carotid atherosclerosis. However, few studies have tried to assess its association with SES from a life-course perspective. Methods and Results—We examined the relationship between SES in childhood and in adulthood and carotid atherosclerosis in a general population of Swedish men and women. Carotid stenosis was determined by B-mode ultrasound. Results showed that women whose fathers’ occupations involved unskilled manual labor had higher odds of carotid stenosis than did women whose fathers’ occupations involved high- or medium-level nonmanual labor, even after adjustment for adult occupational status and risk factors (odds ratio 1.8, 95% CI 1.1 to 2.8). No such association appeared in men. Furthermore, the impact of life-course SES on atherosclerosis was examined by using an additive measure of one’s combined SES during childhood and adulthood. Among women, the odds of carotid stenosis increased with a rise in exposure to low SES during the life-course (P for trend <0.001). In men, no such trend was found. Conclusions—The results indicate that the total life-course exposure to low SES, with contributions from childhood and adulthood, seems to play a role in atherogenesis in women. Such a pattern of association could not be shown in men.
Scheduling in Multi-Hop Wireless Networks with Priorities

In this paper we consider prioritized maximal scheduling in multi-hop wireless networks, where the scheduler chooses a maximal independent set greedily according to a sequence specified by certain priorities. We show that if the probability distributions of the priorities are properly chosen, we can achieve the optimal (maximum) stability region using an i.i. d random priority assignment process, for any set of arrival processes that satisfy Law of Large Numbers. The pre- computation of the priorities is, in general, NP-hard, but there exists polynomial time approximation scheme (PTAS) to achieve any fraction of the optimal stability region. We next focus on the simple case of static priority and specify a greedy priority assignment algorithm, which can achieve the same fraction of the optimal stability region as the state of art result for longest queue first (LQF) schedulers. We also show that this algorithm can be easily adapted to satisfy delay constraints in the large deviations regime, and therefore, supports quality of service (QoS) for each link.
Transketolase Is Identified as a Target of Herbicidal Substance α-Terthienyl by Proteomics

α-terthienyl is a natural phytotoxin isolated originally from Flaveria bidentis (L.) Kuntze. The bioassay presented here shows the strong herbicidal activity of α-terthienyl on Digitaria sanguinalis, Arabidopsis thaliana and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. The α-terthienyl-induced response of A. thaliana at the protein level was analyzed at different times. Changes in the protein expression profiles were analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) mass spectrometry. Sixteen protein spots were identified that showed reproducible changes in the expression of at least 2-fold when compared to the control. Among these 16 spots, three were up-regulated and 13 were down-regulated. The decreased expression of several proteins associated with energy production and carbon metabolism suggested that these processes were affected by α-terthienyl. To search for the candidate proteins in this screen, A. thaliana T-DNA mutants of the candidate proteins were used to test their susceptibility to α-terthienyl. Amongst the others, attkl1, a mutant of transketolase, exhibited a significantly lower sensitivity to α-terthienyl when hit compared with Col-0. Based on the identification of the proteins associated with the response to α-terthienyl by proteomics, a candidate target protein transketolase was identified.
Teaching kids to sing

Preface. Acknowledgments. PART ONE: THE YOUNGER SINGER. 1. Vocal Pedagogy for Young Singers. 2. The Psychomotor Process. 3. Vocal Parameters. 4. The Child and Adolescent Singer. 5. The Healthy Voice. PART TWO: VOCAL TECHNIQUE FOR YOUNG SINGERS. 6. Vocal Technique Curriculum. 7. Respiration. 8. Phonation. 9. Resonant Tone Production. 10. Diction. 11. Expression. 12. Vocal-Techniques Summaries. Postscript. Index.