Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lending Incentives of State-Owned Banks

This paper studies the objective function of state-owned banks. Using information on individual loan contracts, I compare the interest rate charged to two sets of companies with identical characteristics borrowing respectively from state-owned and privately owned banks. State-owned banks charge lower interest rates than do privately owned banks to similar or identical firms, even if the company is able to borrow more from privately owned banks. State-owned banks mostly favor firms located in depressed areas and large firms. The lending behavior of state-owned banks is aected by the electoral results of the party aliated with the bank: the stronger the political party in the area
The Impact of the 1896 Factory and Shops Act on Victorian Labour Markets

This paper examines the effects of the Victorian Factory and Shops Act, the first minimum wage law in Australia. The Act differed from modern minimum wage laws in that it established Special Boards, which set trade-specific minimum wage schedules. We use trade-level data on average wages, employment, and other outcomes to examine the effects of changes in minimum wages. Although the minimum wages were binding, we find that the effects on employment and other outcomes were modest. We speculate that this was partly because the Special Boards, which were comprised mostly of employers and union officials, followed labour market conditions when setting wages for their trades.
Auth ‘n’ Scan

Recent commodity smartphones have biometric sensing capabilities, allowing their daily use for authentication and identification. This increasing use of biometric systems motivates us to design an opportunistic way to sense user's additional physiological or behavioral data. We define this concurrent physiological or behavioral data sensing during biometric authentication or identification as dual-purpose biometrics. As an instance of dual-purpose biometrics, we develop photoplethysmography (PPG) sensing during mobile fingerprint authentication, called Auth ‘n’ Scan. Our system opportunistically extracts cardiovascular information, such as a heart rate and its variability, while users perform phone unlock of a smartphone. To achieve this sensing, our Auth ‘n’ Scan system attaches four PPG units around a fingerprint sensor. The system also performs noise removal and signal selection to accurately estimate cardiovascular information. This paper presents the hardware implementation and signal processing algorithm of our Auth ‘n’ Scan prototype. We also report our system evaluations with 10 participants, showing that, despite a little low precision (a standard deviation of 3--7), estimation of heart rates with high accuracy (under a mean error of 1) is possible from PPG data of five seconds and longer if their baseline information is given. We discuss the feasibility of opportunistic PPG sensing in mobile fingerprint authentication.
Field Emission From a MOSFET-Controlled ZnO-Nanowire Cold Cathode

Field emission from a MOSFET-controlled ZnO nanowire (NW) cathode is reported. The emission current was modulated in four orders of magnitude (from 0.2 nA to 1.15 μA ) by tuning the MOSFET gate voltage from 0.8385 to 1.5255 V. The modulation of the emission current showed an exponential relationship with the MOSFET gate voltage. The MOSFET control can dramatically reduce the emission current fluctuation, i.e., from 61.4% to 3.2%, at a current level of ~ 650 nA. The related mechanisms responsible for the improvement on field-emission current stability, the correlation between the vacuum breakdown of the NWs, and the failure of the MOSFET were discussed. The technique combines cold-cathode nanomaterials with mature solid-state technology to produce a reliable cathode in an on-chip form, which shows promising potential for modern vacuum micro-/nanosized electronic device applications.
Cloning of a cDNA for DNA Supercoiling Factor Reveals a Distinctive Ca2+-binding Protein (*)

DNA supercoiling factor is a protein capable of generating negative supercoils into a relaxed DNA in conjunction with eukaryotic DNA topoisomerase II. A cDNA clone encoding the Bombyx mori supercoiling factor has been isolated and characterized. The cDNA sequence contains an open reading frame of 322 amino acids rich in acidic residues. A local region of the predicted polypeptide shares a weak homology with the central portion of bacterial DNA gyrase A subunit. The cDNA sequence also predicts two direct repeats within the factor. Each repeat unit consists of a potential EF-hand domain. The factor contains three other potential EF-hand domains and actually binds Ca2+. Moreover, the supercoiling reaction has been shown to be activated by Ca2+. These results implicate Ca2+ in the control of the superhelical state of DNA.
Cytoreductive Surgery and Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy in Elderly Patients: Complete Cytoreduction Is Feasible and Crucial for Improved Survival Despite High Carcinomatosis Index.

BACKGROUND We aimed to study the surgical outcomes of cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) in elderly patients, and investigate whether the pursuit of complete cytoreduction implies a survival benefit despite a high peritoneal carcinomatosis index (PCI). PATIENTS AND METHODS All CRS and HIPEC procedures performed for patients with peritoneal surface malignancy (PSM) ≥65 years old between 2005-2017 were included. A control group comprising patients 60-64 years old who underwent CRS and HIPEC over the same period was also selected for comparison of characteristics and outcomes. RESULTS A total of 54 elderly patients and 27 control patients were included. Increasing age did not result in any difference in demographics, perioperative characteristics, or surgical outcomes. Elderly patients who achieved completeness of cytoreduction (CC) 0/1 were compared to those with CC2/3, and were found to have a higher body mass index, lower peritoneal cancer index, higher rate of inpatient mortality, and a significantly longer median survival (43 vs. 15 months; p=0.020). Cox multivariate regression identified Charlson score ≥2, the occurrence of major morbidities, colorectal and sarcoma primary tumor, and CC2/3 as significant predictors of poor survival. CONCLUSION CRS and HIPEC are feasible in elderly patients without a significant effect of increasing age on the surgical outcomes. CC0/1 carries higher postoperative mortality rate, but yields a longer overall survival. Baseline comorbidities, postoperative complications, certain histologies, and CC2/3 are predictors of poor prognosis in this population. PCI is a predictor of CC, but not of survival when CC0/1 is achieved.
Symbiotic Empirical Ethics: A Practical Methodology

Like any discipline, bioethics is a developing field of academic inquiry; and recent trends in scholarship have been towards more engagement with empirical research. This 'empirical turn' has provoked extensive debate over how such 'descriptive' research carried out in the social sciences contributes to the distinctively normative aspect of bioethics. This paper will address this issue by developing a practical research methodology for the inclusion of data from social science studies into ethical deliberation. This methodology will be based on a naturalistic conception of ethical theory that sees practice as informing theory just as theory informs practice - the two are symbiotically related. From this engagement with practice, the ways that such theories need to be extended and developed can be determined. This is a practical methodology for integrating theory and practice that can be used in empirical studies, one that uses ethical theory both to explore the data and to draw normative conclusions.
Hepatitis C Virus Infection among Injecting Drug Users in the Czech Republic – Prevalence and Associated Factors

Aim: To determine the prevalence of, and factors associated with, hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in the population of Czech injecting drug users (IDUs). Design: Multicentric cross-sectional study. Setting: A convenience sample of injecting drug users was recruited using the snowball sampling method. Participants: Sample of 760 IDUs from 9 different Czech regions. Measurement: We used one-drop instant blood tests to determine the anti-HCV antibodies status; a structured questionnaire was completed during the interview with the researcher. We calculated the ratio of positive findings and performed univariate analyses of correlations between predictors and independent variables. Finally, we created a logistic regression model that controlled for age, region of residence, reported sharing of injection paraphernalia, and length of injection drug use and for the interaction between length of injection use and imprisonmentin order to assess the predictive value of imprisonment in an individual’s history. Findings: 226 participants (29.74% of the tested sample) were found to be anti-HCV positive. After adjusting for the sensitivity of the test, the ‘true proportion’ was 34.97% (95% CI: 31.56–38.35). Many correlated independent variables were found in the univariate analyses. In our logistic regression model, we have found that imprisonment increases the odds of being anti-HCV positive by a factor of 4.3. Conclusion: Anti-HCV seroprevalence remains relatively low in the Czech IDUs population compared to similar populations in the developed countries. Regional differences exist in anti-HCV prevalence within the Czech Republic. The strong association of anti-HCV prevalence with imprisonment history when controlled for other potentially clinically important factors suggests the need for more effective preventive measures in Czech prisons.
Peritoneal Equilibration Test Performed in Predialysis Patients

The aim of the study was to perform peritoneal equilibration test (PET) in predialysis patients, and compare to PET results in patients on chronic peritoneal dialysis (PD). Two groups of patients were enrolled in the study. Group 1: eleven uremic patients who had never been subjected to PD, and group 2: fourteen patients on maintenance PD. The PET was performed as the four hour standard PET, using a 2 liter bag (Dianeal 2.5% glucose) as test fluid. The transport of creatinine through the peritoneum did not differ significantly between the groups corresponding to the dialysate to plasma (DIP) ratios, neither did the glucose ratios differ significantly. After two hours dwell time a significant difference was found in DIP ratio of urea (p=0.001), in group 1 the median DIP of urea was 0.90 (0.80–1.14) and 0.75 (0.52–0.84) in group 2. No significant difference was found at dwell time zero or four hours. The current study shows that the distribution of PET results is identical in a group of predialysis patients, as compared to a group of chronic PD patients, except for D/P of urea at two hours dwell time
Neural Representation of Maternal Face Processing: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

Objective: The mother–child relationship may have important implications for emotional development and adult psychopathology. The objective of this study was to examine brain responses to processing maternal faces in healthy adult women. Methods: Ten healthy adult female volunteers with adequate early-life maternal care and a normal relationship with their living mothers participated in the study. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to examine brain responses to pictures of the subject's mother, a close female friend, and 2 age-matched female strangers during passive viewing, valence (emotional), and salience (self-relevance) evaluations. Results: The main contrast of mother, compared with all others (that is, friend and older and younger strangers), demonstrated the following: first, significant activation in the left posterior cingulate cortex–precuneus (PCC–Pcu), collapsed across all tasks; second, right ventromedial prefrontal cortex–anterior cingulate cortex (VMPFC–ACC) activation during the valence condition; and third, left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) activation during the salience condition. In the region-of-interest analyses, the VMPFC–ACC and DLPFC showed significant activations in response to mothers' faces and deactivation in response to control faces. Among the 3 regions, only VMPFC–ACC activity distinguished the unique processing of one's own mother's face from that of a close friend. PCC–Pcu activations demonstrated a graded response (mother > friend > strangers) and, further, demonstrated differential response with respect to mothering style. Conclusions: The activation in prefrontal and cingulate cortices related to maternal face processing is consistent with their implicated roles in mother–infant interactions, personal familiarity, and emotional and self-relevant processing. These findings suggest a neural basis for maternal attachment and propose a focus for future studies aimed at investigating the impact of disrupted maternal attachment on emotional development.
One common structural feature of “words” in protein sequences and human texts

Frequently discussed analogy between genetic and human texts is explored by comparison of alternation of polar and non-polar amino-acid residues in proteins and alternation of consonants and vowels in human texts. In human languages, the usage of possible combinations of consonants and vowels is influenced by pronounceability of the combinations. Similarly, oligopeptide composition of proteins is influenced by requirements of protein folding and stability. One special type of structure often present in proteins is amphipathic α-helices in which polar and non-polar amino acids alternate with the period 3.5 residues, not unlike alternation of consonants and vowels. In this study, we evaluated the contribution made by amphipathic alternations to the protein sequence texts (20–24%). Their proportion is lower than respective values for alternating words in human texts (57–89%). The proteomes (full sets of proteins for selected organisms) were transformed into ranked sequences of n-grams (words of length n), including periodical amphipathic structures. Similarly, human texts were transformed into sequences of alternating consonants and vowels. Analysis of the vocabularies shows that in both types of texts (human languages and proteins) the alternating words are dominant or highly preferred, thus, strengthening the analogy between these two types of texts. The contribution of amphipathic words in the upper parts of the ranked lists for 10 analyzed proteomes varies between 58 and 74%. In human texts respective values range between 90 and 100%.
Daily intake of 4 to 7 microg dietary vitamin B-12 is associated with steady concentrations of vitamin B-12-related biomarkers in a healthy young population.

BACKGROUND Studies have questioned whether the current Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of 2.4 microg vitamin B-12/d is adequate. OBJECTIVE We examined the association between dietary vitamin B-12 intake and biomarkers of vitamin B-12 status. DESIGN Dietary vitamin B-12 intake was estimated, and biomarkers of vitamin B-12 status were measured, in healthy men and women (n = 299; age range: 18-50 y) who were recruited from a Florida community. The National Cancer Institute Diet History Questionnaire was used. Plasma cobalamin, total transcobalamin, holo-transcobalamin, methylmalonic acid (MMA), total homocysteine (tHcy), and autoantibodies against intrinsic factor (IF) and Helicobacter pylori were analyzed in blood samples. RESULTS Antibodies to H. pylori were detected in 12% of subjects (35/299), and negative results for IF antibodies were obtained for all subjects. The intake of vitamin B-12 correlated significantly with cobalamin, holo-transcobalamin, MMA, and tHcy. Subjects were divided into quintiles on the basis of their dietary vitamin B-12 intake (range: 0.42-22.7 microg/d), and biomarkers of vitamin B-12 status were plotted against estimated dietary vitamin B-12 intake. All biomarkers appeared to level off at a daily dietary vitamin B-12 intake between 4.2 and 7.0 microg. CONCLUSION In persons with normal absorption, our data indicate that an intake of 4-7 microg vitamin B-12/d is associated with an adequate vitamin B-12 status, which suggests that the current RDA of 2.4 microg vitamin B-12/d might be inadequate for optimal biomarker status even in a healthy population between 18 and 50 y of age.
Aircast Walking Boot and Below-Knee Walking Cast for Avulsion Fractures of the Base of the Fifth Metatarsal

Background: Acute avulsion fractures of the base of the fifth metatarsal are common and are treated in a variety of ways. The aims of this study were to compare pain, functional outcome, and time taken off work after treatment with a walking boot or a short-leg cast. Methods: Of 39 patients with acute avulsion fractures of the base of the fifth metatarsal, 23 were treated with a short-leg cast and 16 with a walking boot, according to the preference of the consultant present at outpatient clinic. Functional outcome was assessed by the Visual Analogue Scale Foot and Ankle Questionnaire (VAS FA), pain, and other complaints on presentation and at 3, 6, 9, and 12 weeks after injury. The VAS FA scores were compared between the 2 groups by a paired Student t test. Results: The mean time to return to the level of pain and function before injury was approximately 9 weeks after treatment in the walking boot group and 12 weeks with a short-leg cast. Patients with walking boots reported less pain between 3 and 12 weeks than did those with short-leg casts after 6 (P = .06), 9 (P = .020), and 12 weeks (P = .33). Function was significantly better with Aircast walking boots after 3 (P = .006), 6 (P = .002), and 9 weeks (P = .002) but not after 12 weeks (P = .09). Patients returned to their preinjury level of driving after 6 weeks with walking boots and 12 weeks with short-leg casts (P = .006). Employed patients took a mean of 35.8 days off work (range, 28-42 days), fewer with boots (31.5 days) than with short-leg casts (39.2 days). Conclusion: The walking boot was better treatment than a short-leg cast for avulsion fractures of the base of the fifth metatarsal. Patients had an improved combined level of pain and function 3 weeks earlier, at 9 weeks post injury, when managed in a walking boot. Level of Evidence: Level II, prospective comparative series.
Diagnostic problems among chronic lymphocytic leukemia and other indolent B-cell leukemias in a Japanese population.

OBJECTIVE Japanese chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) provides a diagnostic dilemma due to the low incidence and the heterogeneity shown in its morphology and immunophenotype. We clarified the diagnostic problems in Japanese CLL through our retrospective observation. METHODS Between 2006 and 2011, we found a total of 48 cases with CLL and other indolent B-cell leukemias. We made a diagnosis of true CLL based on clinical, laboratory, immunophenotypic and cytogenetic data. RESULTS Among the 48 cases, only 28 cases (58.3%) were diagnosed with true CLL. Morphologic evaluation using a forced-air dried preparation alone is not helpful to distinguish CLL from other indolent B-cell leukemias, including hairy cell leukemia, mantle cell lymphoma, lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma, and splenic marginal zone lymphoma. CLL immunophenotypic score should be more strictly applied in Japan than in Western countries. CONCLUSION Fluorescence in situ hybridization for CCND1/IGH, the presence of leukocytosis and lymphadenopathy at diagnosis, and the morphological evaluation using naturally air dried preparations are important clues to make a correct diagnosis of Japanese CLL.
The moderation influence of warranty on customer satisfaction’s antecedents: an empirical evidence from automotive dealerships

ABSTRACT The purpose of this article is to investigate the differential influence of product quality and service quality on customer satisfaction (CS) along with the interaction role of warranty presence in the context of automotive dealerships. Survey-based research methodology is adopted in which the population are the car owners who perform repair and maintenance jobs in authorized service centres. It is found that the warranty moderation role is supported wherein the relationship between service quality and CS is strengthened by the warranty presence, contrary to the insignificant relationship between product quality and CS influenced by the warranty moderator; besides, the empirical results provide an evidence that the CS value relies on metrics comprising operational measures for service quality and product quality. The outcome of this study contributes to sensitizing the decision makers from manufacturing and service disciplines to the interdependencies and the prerequisite for overall collaborative development. This study presents the first systematic approach that differentiates the influence of product quality and service quality on CS, wherein the warranty service is primarily introduced as a moderator affecting the antecedent relationship in the context of automotive dealerships.
Design and implementation of a training strategy in chronic stroke with an arm robotic exoskeleton

The distinguishing features of active exoskeletons are the capability of guiding arm movement at the level of the full kinematic chain of the human arm, and training full 3D spatial movements. We have specifically developed a PD sliding mode control for upper limb rehabilitation with gain scheduling for providing "assistance as needed", according to the force capability of the patient, and an automatic measurement of the impaired arm joint torques, to evaluate the hypertonia associated to the movement during the execution of the training exercise. Two different training tasks in Virtual Reality were devised, that make use of the above control, and allow to make a performance based evaluation of patient's motor status. The PERCRO L-Exos (Light-Exoskeleton) was used to evaluate the proposed algorithms and training exercises in two clinical case studies of patients with chronic stroke, that performed 6 weeks of robotic assisted training. Clinical evaluation (Fugl-Meyer Scale, Modified Ashworth Scale, Bimanual Activity Test) was conducted before and after treatment and compared to the scores and the quantitative indices, such as task time, position/joint error and resistance torques, associated to the training exercises.
Writing throughout the biochemistry curriculum: Synergistic inquiry‐based writing projects for biochemistry students

This article describes a synergistic two‐semester writing sequence for biochemistry courses. In the first semester, students select a putative protein and are tasked with researching their protein largely through bioinformatics resources. In the second semester, students develop original ideas and present them in the form of a research grant proposal. Both projects involve multiple drafts and peer review. The complementarity of the projects increases student exposure to bioinformatics and literature resources, fosters higher‐order thinking skills, and develops teamwork and communication skills. Student feedback and responses on perception surveys demonstrated that the students viewed both projects as favorable learning experiences. © 2015 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 43:408–416, 2015.