Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effects of Quota Frequency on Sales Force Performance: Evidence from a Field Experiment

We collaborate with a Swedish retail chain to conduct a field experiment in which we change the sales force compensation scheme from a monthly to a daily quota plan. This intervention, along with a control group that did not encounter a change in compensation structure, allows us to analyze the effect of quota frequency on sales force performance. Over a given time frame (i.e., a month), we find that shifting to a temporally more frequent quota plan—the daily quota plan as compared to the monthly quota plan—leads to an increase in sales performance, mainly for low-performing salespeople, by preventing them from giving up in the latter days of a month. However, we find high-performing salespeople to give up more frequently in earlier days of a month under the daily quota plan. With more frequent quotas, salespeople sell more quantities of low-ticket items, which benefit the firm through a decrease in returned merchandise. However, with quotas set over shorter time horizons, even the highest-performing salespeople focus mainly on incremental sales, resulting in a decrease in sales of higher-value-added and higher-margin products, thereby hurting firm profits.
Is it Really Worse to Have Public Health Insurance Than to Have No Insurance at All? Health Insurance and Adult Health in the United States∗

Using prospective cohort data from the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, this study examines the extent to which health insurance coverage and the source of that coverage affect adult health. While previous research has shown that privately insured nonelderly individuals enjoy better health outcomes than their uninsured counterparts, the same relationship does not hold for those publicly insured through programs such as Medicaid. Because it is unclear whether this finding reflects a true causal relationship or is in fact due to selection bias on socioeconomic status and health, previous estimates of the contribution of health insurance to inequities in health may have been biased. This study attempts to disentangle these competing hypotheses of causation or selection bias by using fixed effects models with sibling clusters to corroborate-or contradict—the results of a conventional OLS regression. By controlling for unobserved factors shared by siblings, such as parental genetic influences, sibling models estimate health insurance effects that are less affected by selection bias. Findings suggest that, among the U.S. birth cohorts of 1957 to 1961, the negative relationship between public health insurance and health is not causal, but rather due to prior health and socioeconomic status. Conversely, the lack of health insurance coverage has a strong cumulative negative impact on adult health.
Sleep in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the fourth leading cause of death, affecting 14 million adults in the United States. Symptoms related to sleep disturbances are common in moderate to severe COPD, particularly in elderly patients, in the form of morning tiredness and early awakenings. One major cause of morbidity in this population is abnormalities in gas exchange and resultant hypoxemia. Sleep has profound adverse effects on respiration and gas exchange in patients with COPD. There are several mechanisms underlying nonapneic oxygen desaturation during sleep. They include decreased functional residual capacity, diminished ventilatory responses to hypoxia and hypercapnia, impaired respiratory mechanical effectiveness, diminished arousal responses, respiratory muscle fatigue, diminished nonchemical respiratory drive, increased upper airway resistance, and the position of baseline saturation values on the oxyhemoglobin dissociation curve. Smoking cessation, bronchodilation, and pulmonary rehabilitation are cornerstones of treatment of COPD. Improvement in lung mechanics and gas exchange should lead to better sleep quality and health status.
Modeling particle deposition in the Balb/c mouse respiratory tract

Abstract The mouse lung has become increasingly important as a surrogate of the human lung for inhalation risk assessment. The main structural difference between the two lungs is that the airway branching of the human lung is relatively symmetric, while that of the mouse lung is distinctly asymmetric or monopodial. The objectives of this study were to develop a stochastic, asymmetric particle deposition model for the Balb/c mouse and to compare predicted deposition patterns with those in the human lung. The asymmetric bronchial airway geometry of the Balb/c mouse was based on a statistical analysis of several lung casts, while, in the absence of pertinent data, the asymmetric acinar airway geometry was represented by an allometrically scaled-down version of the rat acinar region, assuming structural similarity. Deposition of inhaled particles in nasal, bronchial and acinar airways for mouse-specific breathing conditions was computed with the Monte Carlo deposition model IDEAL-mouse. While total deposition for submicron particles decreases with increasing diameter in a fashion similar to that in the human lung, the effect of inhalability and nasal pre-filtration significantly reduces total deposition in the mouse lung for particles with diameters greater than about 3 μm. The most notable difference between submicron particle deposition in the mouse and human airways is the shift of the deposition distribution from distal airway generations in the human lung to upper airway generations in the mouse lung. However, if plotted as a function of airway diameter, both deposition distributions are quite similar, indicating that airway diameter may be a more appropriate morphometric parameter for extrapolation purposes than airway generation.
Angle-angle diagrams in above-knee amputee and cerebral palsy gait.

This paper presents the results of further research relating to quantitative analyses of angle-angle diagrams associated with an above-knee (A/K) amputee and a cerebral palsied (C.P.) subject. The quantification and physical interpretations of the parameters extracted from the angle-angle diagrams not only provided a valuable adjunct to visual assessment of the gaits but also elicited significant information regarding overall coordination and control during each gait.
Diabetes duration and the efficacy and safety of insulin glargine versus comparator treatment in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of diabetes duration on efficacy and safety in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) using insulin glargine versus comparator (oral antidiabetic drugs [OADs], dietary changes, or other insulins). METHODS Data were pooled from randomized controlled clinical trials conducted in adults with T2DM with at least 24-week treatment with insulin glargine or a comparator, where predefined insulin titration algorithms were utilized to achieve fasting plasma glucose (FPG) concentrations of ≤100 mg/dL. Glycated hemoglobin A1C (A1C), FPG, and insulin dose and safety (hypoglycemia) outcomes were analyzed. RESULTS Nine studies were included in the analysis of 2,930 patients. Patients with shorter duration of diabetes were more likely to have greater reductions in A1C compared with those who had longer-duration disease (P<.0001). Disease duration did not affect change in FPG concentrations (P = .9017), but lower weight-adjusted insulin dose was correlated with longer-duration disease (P<.0001). Patients with longer-duration diabetes had increased risks of symptomatic hypoglycemia, confirmed hypoglycemia (self-monitored blood glucose <50 mg/dL and <70 mg/dL), and nocturnal hypoglycemia (all P<.001). No significant relationship was found between severe hypoglycemia and duration of diabetes. However, treatment with insulin glargine lowered A1C values more effectively than comparator treatments with fewer hypoglycemic episodes. CONCLUSION Patients with shorter-duration T2DM better achieved target A1C levels and had less hypoglycemia than those with longer disease duration. Insulin glargine was associated with reduced A1C and fewer hypoglycemic events than comparators, regardless of disease duration.
An Image-Based Reduction of Metal Artifacts in Computed Tomography

Objective Various strategies have been developed in the past to reduce the excessive effects of metal artifacts in computed tomography images. From straightforward sinogram inpainting-based methods to computationally expensive iterative methods, all have been successful in improving the image quality up to a certain degree. We propose a novel image-based metal artifact subtraction method that achieves a superior image quality and at the same time provides a quantitatively more accurate image. Methods Our proposed method consists of prior image-based sinogram inpainting, metal sinogram extraction, and metal artifact image subtraction. Reconstructing the metal images from the extracted metal-contaminated portions in the sinogram yields a streaky image that eventually can be subtracted from the uncorrected image. The prior image is reconstructed from the sinogram that is free from the metal-contaminated portions by use of a total variation (TV) minimization algorithm, and the reconstructed prior image is fed into the forward projector so that the missing portions in the sinogram can be recovered. Image quality of the metal artifact–reduced images on selected areas was assessed by the structure similarity index for the simulated data and SD for the real dental data. Results Simulation phantom studies showed higher structure similarity index values for the proposed metal artifact reduction (MAR) images than the standard MAR images. Thus, more artifact suppression was observed in proposed MAR images. In real dental phantom data study, lower SD values were calculated from the proposed MAR images. The findings in real human arm study were also consistent with the results in all phantom studies. Thus, compared with standard MAR images, lesser artifact intensity was exhibited by the proposed MAR images. Conclusions From the quantitative calculations, our proposed method has shown to be effective and superior to the conventional approach in both simulation and real dental phantom cases.
Coaxial scanning near‐field optical microscope tips: an alternative for conventional tips with high transmission efficiency?

Since the development of the first scanning near‐field optical microscope, great effort has been put into the development of near‐field optical probe tips with a good lateral resolution of the order of several tens of nanometres and a high power throughput. Several groups have proposed the use of scanning near‐field optical tips with a coaxial structure. From electromagnetic theory, it is known that such structures have no cut‐off frequency and a power transmission close to unity. In this paper we discuss some topics concerning the stimulation of optical coaxial waves and their propagation behaviour.
Gender Differences in Steady-state Levels of Oxidative Damage to DNA in Healthy Individuals

Oxidative damage to DNA has often been used as a biomarker for oxidative stress and more specifically for cancer risk. Indeed, the measurement of oxidative damage to DNA, particularly of 8-hydroxyguanine (8OHG) and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8OHdG), has been adopted as a method for establishing the effects of antioxidant supplementation towards protection from certain cancers, cardiovascular and neuro-degenerative diseases, both in patients and healthy individuals. However, reported levels of 8OHdG or 8OHG vary considerably, possibly due to the different methodologies used, and only few data are available for the non-smoking and the female population. In this paper, steady-state levels of oxidative damage to DNA measured in a group of 20 males and 19 females are reported. Significant gender differences in levels of modified DNA bases such as 2,6-diamino-4-hydroxy-5-formamidopyrimidine (FAPy guanine), 8-hydroxyadenine (8OHA) and 5-hydroxycytosine (5OHC), measured by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS), were observed. The results are discussed in relation to the Vitamin C and iron status of the subjects and to the existing, yet limited, literature data. The role of gender in predisposition to oxidative damage to DNA needs to be addressed in future studies.
Microarray Analysis of Transposon Insertion Mutations in Bacillus anthracis: Global Identification of Genes Required for Sporulation and Germination

ABSTRACT A transposon site hybridization (TraSH) assay was developed for functional analysis of the Bacillus anthracis genome using a mini-Tn10 transposon which permitted analysis of 82% of this pathogen's genes. The system, used to identify genes required for generation of infectious anthrax spores, spore germination, and optimal growth on rich medium, was predictive of the contributions of two conserved hypothetical genes for the phenotypes examined.
Singular decompositions of state-covariances

Singularities in second-order statistics reveal linear dependencies between correlation variables. This fact underlies techniques ranging from Gauss' least squares to modern subspace methods in system identification. In particular, the latter exploit a decomposition of covariance data according to a hypothesis that the stochastic process breaks up into a sum of a deterministic component plus white noise. In the present paper, we continue our earlier studies on the correspondence between state-covariances and input power spectra in dynamical systems. We characterize state-covariances which correspond to deterministic inputs and develop formulae for the input spectrum of a singular state-covariance. We show that multivariable decomposition of a state-covariance in accordance with a "deterministic component + white noise" hypothesis for the input does not exist in general, and study a possible alternative where the "white noise" is replaced with a general "moving-average process" having "short-range correlation structure". The decomposition according to the range of their time-domain correlations is an alternative to the well-known (Caratheodory-Fejer-)Pisarenko decomposition of Toeplitz matrices with potentially great practical significance, and can be determined via convex optimization
On The Study of Open Source Software to Inform the Design of CSCW in Global Software Development

Global software development (GSD) is struggling with issues related to globally distributed work, such as coordination, maintaining awareness, and knowledge sharing. Open Source Software, however, appears to have overcome these issues and can be a source of knowledge for advancing GSD. This position paper examines existing CSCW literature related to collaborative practice in OSS to identify areas for further investigation that have potential to improve the conduct of invisible work in GSD.
Purine nucleoside phosphorylase. 1. Structure-function studies.

To probe the catalytic mechanism of human purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP), 13 active-site mutants were constructed and characterized by steady-state kinetics. In addition, microtiter plate assays were developed for both the phosphorolytic and synthetic reactions and used to determine the kinetic parameters of each mutant. Mutations in the purine binding site exhibited the largest effects on enzymatic activity with the Asn243Ala mutant resulting in a 1000-fold decrease in the kcat for inosine phosphorolysis. This result in combination with the crystallographic location of the Asn243 side chain suggested a potential transition state (TS) structure involving hydrogen bond donation by the carboxamido group of Asn243 to N7 of the purine base. Analogous to the oxyanion hole of serine proteases, this hydrogen bond was predicted to aid catalysis by preferentially stabilizing the TS as a consequence of the increase in negative charge on N7 that occurs during glycosidic bond cleavage and the associated increase in the N7-Asn243 hydrogen bond strength. Two residues in the phosphate binding site, namely His86 and Glu89, were also predicted to be catalytically important based on their alignment with phosphate in the X-ray structure and the 10-25-fold reduction in catalytic activity for the His86Ala and Glu89Ala mutants. In contrast, catalytic efficiencies for the Tyr88Phe and Lys244Ala mutants were comparable with wild-type, indicating that the hydrogen bonds predicted in the initial X-ray structure of PNP [Ealick, S. E. , et al. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 1812-1820] were not essential for catalysis. These results provided the foundation for studies reported in the ensuing two manuscripts focused on the PNP catalytic mechanism [Erion, M. D. , et al. (1997) Biochemistry 36, 11735-11748] and the use of mutagenesis to reverse the PNP substrate specificity from 6-oxopurines to 6-aminopurines [Stoeckler, J. D. , et al. (1997) Biochemistry 36, 11749-11756].
In vitro characterization of SLV308 (7‐[4‐methyl‐1‐piperazinyl]‐2(3H)‐benzoxazolone, monohydrochloride): A novel partial dopamine D2 and D3 receptor agonist and serotonin 5‐HT1A receptor agonist

Present Parkinson's disease treatment strategies are far from ideal for a variety of reasons; it has therefore been suggested that partial dopamine receptor agonism might be a potential therapeutic approach with potentially fewer side effects. In the present study, we describe the in vitro characterization of the nonergot ligand SLV308 (7‐[4‐methyl‐1‐piperazinyl]‐2(3H)‐benzoxazolonemonohydrochloride). SLV308 binds to dopamine D2, D3, and D4 receptors and 5‐HT1A receptors and is a partial agonist at dopamine D2 and D3 receptors and a full agonist at serotonin 5‐HT1A receptors. At cloned human dopamine D2,L receptors, SLV308 acted as a potent but partial D2 receptor agonist (pEC50 = 8.0 and pA2 = 8.4) with an efficacy of 50% on forskolin stimulated cAMP accumulation. At human recombinant dopamine D3 receptors, SLV308 acted as a partial agonist in the induction of [35S]GTPγS binding (intrinsic activity of 67%; pEC50 = 9.2) and antagonized the dopamine induction of [35S]GTPγS binding (pA2 = 9.0). SLV308 acted as a full 5‐HT1A receptor agonist on forskolin induced cAMP accumulation at cloned human 5‐HT1A receptors but with low potency (pEC50 = 6.3). In rat striatal slices SLV308 concentration‐dependently attenuated forskolin stimulated accumulation of cAMP, as expected for a dopamine D2 and D3 receptor agonist. SLV308 antagonized the inhibitory effect of quinpirole on K+‐stimulated [3H]‐dopamine release from rat striatal slices (pA2 = 8.5). In the same paradigm, SLV308 had antagonist properties in the presence of quinpirole (pA2 = 8.5), but the partial D2 agonist terguride had much stronger antagonistic properties. In conclusion, SLV308 combines high potency partial agonism at dopamine D2 and D3 receptors with full efficacy low potency serotonin 5‐HT1A receptor agonism and is worthy of profiling in in vivo models of Parkinson's disease. Synapse 60:599–608, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Immunisation coverage in the rural Eastern Cape - are we getting the basics of primary care right? Results from a longitudinal prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND Immunisations are one of the most cost-effective public health interventions available and South Africa (SA) has implemented a comprehensive immunisation schedule. However, there is disagreement about the level of immunisation coverage in the country and few studies document the immunisation coverage in rural areas. OBJECTIVE To examine the successful and timely delivery of immunisations to children during the first 2 years of life in a deeply rural part of the Eastern Cape Province of SA. METHODS From January to April 2013, a cohort of sequential births (N=470) in the area surrounding Zithulele Hospital in the OR Tambo District of the Eastern Cape was recruited and followed up at home at 3, 6, 9, 12 and 24 months post birth, up to May 2015. Immunisation coverage was determined using Road-to-Health cards. RESULTS The percentages of children with all immunisations up to date at the time of interview were: 48.6% at 3 months, 73.3% at 6 months, 83.9% at 9 months, 73.3% at 12 months and 73.2% at 24 months. Incomplete immunisations were attributed to stock-outs (56%), lack of awareness of the immunisation schedule or of missed immunisations by the mother (16%) and lack of clinic attendance by the mother (19%). Of the mothers who had visited the clinic for baby immunisations, 49.8% had to make multiple visits because of stock-outs. Measles coverage (of at least one dose) was 85.2% at 1 year and 96.3% by 2 years, but 20.6% of babies had not received a second measles dose (due at 18 months) by 2 years. Immunisations were often given late, particularly the 14-week immunisations. CONCLUSIONS Immunisation rates in the rural Eastern Cape are well below government targets and indicate inadequate provision of basic primary care. Stock-outs of basic childhood immunisations are common and are, according to mothers, the main reason for their children's immunisations not being up to date. There is still much work to be done to ensure that the basics of disease prevention are being delivered at rural clinics in the Eastern Cape, despite attempts to re-engineer primary healthcare in SA.
The APOM polymorphism as a novel risk factor for dyslipidaemia in rheumatoid arthritis: a possible shared link between disease susceptibility and dyslipidaemia.

OBJECTIVES A decrease in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol during inflammation is common in many rheumatologic diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Apolipoprotein M (apoM) is an apolipoprotein predominantly associated with HDL cholesterol. Recently, apoM polymorphisms have been related with RA susceptibility. We investigated the possible association between an APOM polymorphism and dyslipidaemia in Korean RA patients. METHODS Two hundred and fifteen RA patients and 215 controls that provided complete genotyping were included. Genetic distribution, RA-associated phenotype, lipid profiles, and lipoproteins were evaluated. RESULTS RA patients had increased frequencies of the APOM C-1065A A allele compared to the controls. RA patients with A/A genotypes had lower levels of HDL cholesterol than those with C/C genotypes. After adjustment for confounding factors, the A/A genotype was a risk factor for low HDL cholesterolaemia (OR=1.070, p=0.001). Subgroup analyses according to disease activity showed that the association between APOM genotype and HDL cholesterol levels was still significant in all subgroups, indicating that this APOM polymorphism may increase the dyslipidaemia risk, independently of RA disease activity. CONCLUSIONS These data support that the APOM C-1065A polymorphism is associated with increased risk for developing RA and dyslipidaemia in RA patients. Reduced HDL cholesterol levels are independent of disease activity but are significantly influenced by APOM genotype. These findings suggest that a specific genetic factor for RA could be linked to dyslipidaemia and this could increase the risk of atherosclerosis in RA patients.
Thermal behavior of tensile-strain InGaAsP-InP lasers with varying ridgewidth

The thermal behavior of tensile-strain InGaAsP-InP laser diodes with varying ridgewidth is investigated experimentally. The temperature rise during continuous-wave (CW) operation was determined by comparing CW light-current (L-I) curves with short-pulsed (L-I) curves at different substrate temperatures. It is shown that the thermal impedance R depends strongly on the width w of the ridge and that this effect is different before and after threshold. In the first case, R decreases with increase of ln(w) and in the second case, R increases with increase of 1/w. However, the wider the ridge, the lower the CW maximum operating temperature because of the higher temperature dependence of dl/sub th/(T)/dT.