Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Frailty: a costly phenomenon in caring for elders with cognitive impairment

Dementia draws on a variety of public and private resources. There is increasing pressure to define the cost components in this area to improve resource allocation and accountability. The aim of this study was to characterize frailty in a group of cognitively impaired community‐dwelling elders and evaluate its relationship with cost and resource utilization.
Effect of Estrogen Dosage upon Plasma, Liver and Bile Lipids in Cholesterol‐Fed Cockerels

The effects of four dosages of conjugated equine estrogens (Premarin) on atherogenesis and on plasma, liver and bile lipids were studied in cockerels maintained on a high-fat, high-cholesterol diet. A lowering effect, not dose-dependent, occurred in plasma linoleic and linolenic acid. An augmentative effect, varying with dose, occurred in plasma phospholipids, plasma palmitic, stearic and oleic acids, liver total fat and thoracic atherosclerosis. A lowering, dose-dependent effect occurred in coronary atherosclerosis, plasma cholesterol-phospholipid ratio and plasma arachidic acid. A diphasic, dose-dependent, response occurred in: (1) plasma cholesterol (decrease at lowest dosage and increase at higher dosages); (2) bile cholesterol (increase at lower dosages and a decrease at higher dosages); (3) liver cholesterol (increase at lowest dose, and decrease at higher dosages); (4) plasma arachidonic acid (increase at lower and decrease at higher dosages). The mechanisms responsible for these changes are not clear but are under investigation.
The Scoring Matrix Generation Method and Recommendation Algorithm in P2P Lending

With the rapid development of P2P lending in recent years, how to recommend bidding items to the bidder to meet its preferences will become a research hotspot, but there are few studies in this area. And since there is not a dominant scoring mechanism in P2P lending platform, it is an urgent to solve the problem of how to generate a reasonable score matrix. First of all, Crawling over more than 320 thousand tenders of the last two years from the PPDai.com to. Then, based on the deeply analysis of the data characteristics of the P2P lending areas, three different types of scoring matrix (Boolean, continuous and hybrid) are generated. Then, three kinds of classical collaborative filtering recommendation algorithms are used in the experiment. The results show that different types of scoring matrix has important influence on the performance of the recommendation algorithm, and the performance of cooperative filtering algorithms is different when applying in P2P lending compared with applying in some other fields. Finally, the experimental results are analyzed, and the relevant suggestions are given for the P2P lending.
Apparent heparin interference with restriction enzyme digestion of genomic DNA.

The increased use of DNA probes to identify clonality in lymphoproliferative malignancies presents numerous problems associated with colletio techniques and sample stabilities. While analyzing blod and bone marrow samples submitted for T and B cell gene rearrangement analysis, we noticed that those samples submitted in Vacu-miner Tubes” (Becton Dickinson Corp., E. NJ) sodium anticoagulant aberrant
A 5′ Nuclease PCR (TaqMan) High-Throughput Assay for Detection of the mecA Gene in Staphylococci

ABSTRACT In an effort to find a rapid, efficient, and reliable method of screening large numbers of bacterial isolates for specific antimicrobial resistance genes, we compared conventional PCR results to the results generated using the TaqMan 5′ nuclease PCR kit in conjunction with an ABI Prism 7700 Sequence Detector for detecting themecA gene in various species of staphylococci. DNA was extracted using two techniques. The first used a high-salt extraction method suitable for conventional PCR but resulted in a 7.2% rate of PCR inhibition with the TaqMan technique. PCR inhibition could be overcome by diluting samples 1:5 prior to testing. The second method used the Qiagen QIAamp Tissue Kit; no instances of PCR inhibition were encountered with this method. A total of 197 (96%) of the 206 samples with no inhibition showed agreement between the two methods. Eight of the nine disagreements were likely the result of low-level DNA cross contamination caused by frequent specimen handling. Target DNA in all eight of these samples was first detected in the initial tests only after >30 PCR cycles, and all were negative upon repeat testing even after 40 PCR cycles using freshly extracted DNA. Among those positive samples in agreement, target DNA was invariably detected before 30 PCR cycles. The TaqMan assay eliminated the need to load, run, stain, and read agarose gels and provided the advantage of instant detection of PCR product by laser-activated fluorescence. Thus, final results were obtained 2 h after PCR was initiated, as opposed to a requirement of 2 days to examine 96 samples by agarose gel electrophoresis.
Utilization of carboxymethyl chitosan in cosmetics

Carboxymethyl chitosan is a chitosan derivative of the most intensively investigated due to its water solubility in wider pH range compared with the parent compound, thus extended its use in various applications. In this review, different preparation conditions, which resulting in the N‐ and O‐carboxylated chitosan, diverse degree of substitution and water solubility are recapitulated. Five important features of carboxymethyl chitosan from recent studies, which are moisture absorption–retention, anti‐microbial properties, antioxidant capacities, delivery system and emulsion stabilization, have been centred and emphasized for cosmetic utilization. Additionally, cytotoxicity information has been inclusively incorporated to ensure its safety in application.
Shadows from the past: the situated meaning of being suicidal among depressed older people living in the community.

BACKGROUND Most depressed older people in a suicidal state have mixed feelings, where the wish to live and the wish to die wage a battle. AIMS To explore and describe depressed older people's experiences of being suicidal and their search for meaning. METHOD Data were collected from 29 participants resident in the Rogaland and Vestfold districts of Norway, by means of individual interviews, after which a thematic analysis was performed. RESULTS For the participants in this study, the lived experiences of the situated meaning of survival after being suicidal comprised a main theme - "shadows from the past" - and two themes - "feeling that something inside is broken" and "a struggle to catch the light. " CONCLUSION Mental health-care professionals might be able to reduce the risk of suicide and perturbation by helping depressed older people to explore, resolve, and ultimately come to terms with their unresolved historical issues. Additional valuable strategies in primary care settings include encountering patients frequently, monitoring adherence to care plans, and providing support to address the source of emotional pain and distress.
THREE ESSAYS IN COMMODITY PRICE DYNAMICS

This thesis consists of three essays in commodity price dynamics. In the first essay, we embed a staggered price feature into the speculative storage model of Deaton and Laroque (1996). Intermediate goods inventory speculators are added as an additional source of intertemporal linkage which helps us to replicate the stylized facts of the observed commodity price dynamics. The staggered pricing mechanism adopted in this paper can be viewed as a parsimonious way of approximating various types of frictions that increase the degree of persistence in the first two conditional moments of commodity prices. The structural parameters of our model are estimated by simulated method of moments using actual prices for four agricultural commodities. Simulated data are then employed to assess the effects of our staggered price approach on the time series properties of commodity prices. Our results lend empirical support to the possibility of staggered prices. The second essay investigates the determinants of the percentage change in commodity prices. We apply the dynamic Gordon growth model technique and conduct the variance decomposition for the percentage change in spot commodity prices to 6 agricultural commodities. The model explains the percentage change in spot commodity prices in terms of the expected present discounted values of interest rate, yield spread, open interest and convenience yield. Empirical results indicate that the model is successful in capturing a large proportion of the variability in the 6 agricultural commodity prices. Moreover, we show that yield spread and open interest help predicting changes in commodity prices. Finally, the third essay evaluates different hedging strategies for eleven commodities. In addition to the traditional regression hedge ratio model (OLS) and the vector error correction model (VECM), we estimate dynamic hedge ratios using the conventional dynamic conditional correlation model (DCC) of Engle (2002) and the diagonal BEKK model (DBEKK) of Engle and Kroner (1995). Moreover, we propose two more advanced models, the DCC model and the DBEKK model that will account for the impact of the growth rate of open interest on market’s volatility and co-movements of commodity spot and futures returns. The empirical analysis shows that adding the growth rate of open interest improves the in-sample hedging effectiveness of the DCC model. Furthermore, the out-of-sample hedging exercise empirical results show that static models present the best out-of-sample hedging performance for 5 of the commodities. The DCC model presents the smallest basis variance for 4 of the commodities. The DBEKK model with the growth rate of open interest performs the best in terms of the basis variance reduction for corn and wheat. Our out-of-sample empirical findings provide important implications for futures hedging and highlight the fact that the use of static models to determine the optimal hedge ratio could be more effective than the use of dynamic hedge ratio models.
Bayesian Analysis of Spatial Panel Autoregressive Models With Time-Varying Endogenous Spatial Weight Matrices, Common Factors, and Random Coefficients

This article examines spatial panel autoregressive (SAR) models with dynamic, time-varying endogenous spatial weights matrices, common factors, and random coefficients. An empirical application is on the spillover effects of state Medicaid spending. Endogeneity of spatial weights matrices comes from the correlation of “economic distance” and the disturbances in the SAR equation. Common factors control for common shocks to all states and random coefficients may capture heterogeneity in responses. The Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) estimation is developed. Identification of factors and factor loadings, and model selection issues based upon the deviance information criterion (DIC) are explored. We find that a state’s Medicaid related spending is positively and significantly affected by those of its neighbors. Both welfare motivated move and yardstick competition are possible sources of strategic interactions among state governments. Welfare motivated move turns out to be more a driving force for the interdependence and states do exhibit heterogenous responses.
Embedded capacitor-multiplier compensation for area-efficient low-power multistage amplifiers

An embedded capacitor-multiplier compensation (ECMC) scheme for area-efficient low-power multistage amplifiers is introduced in this paper. Without consuming extra quiescent current, the embedded capacitor multiplier allows the amplifier to drive very large capacitive loads effectively by using quite small on-chip compensation capacitors. Moreover, it provides a feedforward signal path to generate a left-half-plan (LHP) zero and therefore significantly improves the stability and settling behavior of the amplifier. Implemented in a commercial 0.35-µm CMOS process, a three-stage ECMC amplifier driving 1000-pF capacitive load achieves over 100dB gain, 1.33-MHz unit-gain frequency (UGF), 80° phase margin and 0.6-V/µS average slew rate, while only dissipating 40-µW under 1.5-V supply. The total compensation capacitance is just 1.45-pF.
Social Justice and ethnic diverse population : contribution of local policies in Leipzig, Germany

Cities and countries are increasingly becoming more ethnic diverse. In the European context there have been several waves of immigration since the end of the Second World War. From guest-workers invited to work at the economic development of Europe in the 1960’s and on until new fluxes of immigration nowadays, national policies have also been transforming accordingly. Policies went from being assimilationist to multiculturalist and now they are again in transformation. However, despite most laws concerning immigration and integration being national, cities and neighborhoods are the places in which newcomers influence the most. Moreover, immigrants are a diverse group and will settle under different socioeconomic conditions. While some immigrants are able to achieve more easily the same standards of the host society, others are more likely to live in deprivation. Thus, claims for greater social justice are raised. Following the Young’s (1990) concept of social justice, in this thesis I propose to analyze whether local and national policies concerning immigration and integration are able to promote social justice for the ethnic diverse population. In order to answer this question, the case of neighborhoods of Neustadt- Neuschonefeld and Volkmarsdorf in Leipzig were chosen. This area concentrates high proportions of immigrant population and at the same time it is one the most deprived areas in Leipzig. Thus, most immigrants that are located in this area are living in more vulnerable situations. Three local policies were analyzed to better understand how the municipality approaches such situation. The four documents are: “Overall concept for immigrant integration”, the “Integrated Development Concept for Leipzig”, the “Integrated Development Concept for the district of Leipzig-East” and finally the “Municipal overall strategy for democracy and diversity”. Moreover, to understand how those policies are put into practice, investments done in this area were also brought up. Three main conclusions were drawn in this respect. The first concerns the importance of the local context that shapes relations between locals and immigrants and that can limit the response of the municipality when tackling such subject. The second result concerned a possible mismatch between the reality and the policies, given that most policies were developed in a top-down approach and the few indicators in which the policies were built. Lastly, it concerns the incompatibility of assimilationist policies and social justice.
Not everything that connects is a network

N etworks have long been described as effective alternatives to uncontrolled markets and controlled hierarchy forms of organisation (Powell, 1990). In the public policy context, networks have been predominant factors in policy formulation (Peterson, 2003), innovation (Engel, 1997) and global governance (Reinicke and Deng, 2000). While not a new phenomenon in the development landscape, networks are becoming increasingly prevalent, as Ramalingam (2011) reports in his recent literature review. Donors, for example, are turning to networks to deliver aid interventions, NGOs are working through networks for collective advocacy and researchers collaborate across networks for greater policy influence. But are networks always the most appropriate vehicle? Where they are appropriate, how can we make the best use of them? This Background Note argues for a more rigorous understanding of their nature, particularly their value (and costs), and presents a revised Network Functions Approach as a model for rationalised investment in networks. It is clear that networks provide an effective mechanism for learning (Powell, 1990) and innovation (Engel, 1997) and enable collaboration beyond the usual institutional, cultural and functional boundaries; but they come with their own costs and risks. In a recent article in The New Yorker, Malcolm Gladwell criticised social networks and the international media hype about their ability to change the world. We may not agree with his arguments, but we welcome the challenge to the networks as a fix-all strategy. One of his arguments illustrates this: ‘Because networks don’t have a centralized leadership structure and clear lines of authority, they have real difficulty reaching consensus and setting goals. They can’t think strategically; they are chronically prone to conflict and error. How do you make difficult choices about tactics or strategy or philosophical direction when everyone has an equal say? ’ (Gladwell, 2010).
The influence of training status on the aerobic and anaerobic responses to exercise in children: A review

Abstract Exercise training represents a potent stimulus to the development of aerobic and anaerobic fitness in adults; whether the same is true in young children is unclear. With the possible exception of peak , many parameters of aerobic and anaerobic fitness remain scarcely investigated in children, especially pubertal children. Despite this lack of empirical evidence, it has been suggested that children may lack trainability and that this may be related to the presence of a maturational threshold below which significant adaptations to training cannot occur. This suggestion requires investigation, not least because the findings of some studies which appear to support this contention may in reality be a reflection of the use of an inappropriate test modality or training programme for the investigation of training status influences. The purpose of this review is therefore to provide insight into the current consensuses and controversies regarding the influence of training in young people.
The Quest for Adequate Technology-Push and Demand-Pull Policies: Country-Level Spillovers and Incentives for Non-Incremental Innovation

How to adequately foster technical change is a highly relevant and intricate question in the arena of policymaking. This study contributes to addressing this challenge, which is especially important in the area of environmental technologies that are subject to market failures. To shed more light on how the policymaker should use the policy archetypes demand-pull and technology-push support, we extend the current literature by addressing two gaps. First, the effect of domestic and foreign demand-pull policies on innovation in a country is addressed. Second, we examine the impact of demand-pull and technology-push on incremental and non-incremental innovation. We analyzed the case of photovoltaic power by combining a descriptive analysis of historic global innovation dynamics and a panel analysis on 15 countries over the period 1978 through 2007 with patent data. Three key findings emerged: First, we show that there are substantive innovation spillovers of national demand-pull policies. Second, demand-pull policies only foster incremental innovation and we find some anecdotal evidence that in phases of rapid induced market growth such policies even disincentivize non-incremental innovation. Third, only technology-push support is able to incentivize non-incremental innovation. Based on these findings, we discuss the need to globally coordinate demand-pull policies to circumvent the innovation-spillover problem and to incentivize non-incremental innovation via increased technology-push funding and design modifications of demand-pull policies.
Cognitive-behavioral treatment versus an active control for children and adolescents with anxiety disorders: a randomized trial.

OBJECTIVE The current trial examined whether a specific cognitive-behavioral treatment package was more efficacious in treating childhood anxiety disorders than a nonspecific support package. METHOD One hundred twelve children (aged 7-16 years) with a principal anxiety disorder were randomly allocated to either a group cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) program or a control condition (group support and attention [GSA]). RESULTS Overall, results showed that CBT was significantly more efficacious compared with the GSA condition: 68.6% of children in the CBT condition did not meet diagnostic criteria for their principal anxiety diagnosis at 6-month follow-up compared with 45.5% of the children in the GSA condition. The results of the child- and parent-completed measures indicated that, although mothers of CBT children reported significantly greater treatment gains than mothers of GSA children, children reported similar improvements across conditions. CONCLUSIONS Specific delivery of cognitive-behavioral skills is more efficacious in the treatment of childhood anxiety than a treatment that includes only nonspecific therapy factors.
BROWNFIELDS - STRENGTH POLES OF IASI URBAN SPACE RECONSTRUCTION

Contemporary trends of Romanian urban area development highlights the need, increasingly stringent, for reintegration, restoration of the old abandoned industrial sites, uselessly occupying large areas in a period when we speak increasingly about the lack of space. In order to support the reconstruction of urban space, it is necessary to transform the vast brownfields sites that represent real barriers to advanced spatial planning. How modern cities manage to reorganize and rebuild their space, after the political changes, economic and social life in the 90s and experienced changes in the old and new urban poles of attraction, are just some of the challenges to whom our study is trying to find answers. Studying a pole requires an analysis on the occurrence and of its functioning within a certain period. Also, it is imperative to analyze its impact on the spatial and economic conjuncture. Starting from the idea that polycentrism is the basic principle in territorial planning, the research seeks to identify and analyze new poles of reconstruction/ development of Ia? i urban space, 20 years after the political changes following the events of 1989.
Growth factors in the extracellular matrix

Much recent research has focused on the study of the expression of growth factor genes and on the identification of growth factor signaling mechanisms inside cells. However, growth factor signaling can also be regulated outside of cells by extracellular matrix proteins and proteolytic en‐zymes. The ability of extracellular proteins to pro‐cess complex information in the absence of new protein synthesis is illustrated in blood clotting and complement pathways. An increasing number of growth factors, including IGFs, FGFs, TGF‐β's, and HGF, have been found to associate with the extra‐cellular matrix proteins or with heparan sulfate. Rapid and localized changes in the activity of these factors can be induced by release from matrix stor‐age and/or by activation of latent forms. These growth factors, in turn, control cell proliferation, differentiation, and synthesis and remodeling of the extracellular matrix. It is therefore likely that much of the information processing necessary for construction of complex multicellular organisms occurs in the extracellular environment. This suggests that extracellular matrix plays a major role in the control of growth factor signaling. —Taipale, J., Keski‐ Oja, J. Growth factors in the extracellular matrix. FASEB J. 11, 51‐59 (1997)