Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Net Wealth across the Euro Area - Why Household Structure Matters and How to Control for It

We study the link between household structure and cross country differences in the wealth distribution using a recently compiled data set for the euro area (HFCS). We estimate counterfactual distributions using non-parametric re-weighting to examine the extent to which differences in the unconditional distributions of wealth across euro area countries can be explained by differences in household structure. We find that imposing a common household structure has strong effects on both the full unconditional distributions as well as its mappings to different inequality measures. For the median 50% of the differences are explained for Austria, 15% for Germany, 25% for Italy, 14% for Spain and 38% for Malta. For others as Belgium, France, Greece, Luxembourg, Portugal, Slovenia and Slovakia household structure masks the differences to the euro area median and Finland and the Netherlands change their position from below to above the euro area median. The impact on the mean and percentile ratios is similarly strong and varies with regard to direction and level across countries and their distributions. We can confirm the finding of Bover (2010) that the effect on the Gini is somewhat less pronounced, but might mask relevant information by being a net effect of different accumulated effects along the distribution. Country rankings based on almost all of these measures are severely affected alluding to the need for cautious interpretation when dealing with such rankings. Furthermore, the explanatory power of household structure changes along the net wealth distribution. Therefore we argue for more flexible controls for household structure. We provide such a set of controls to account for household type fixed effects which are based on the number of household members as well as possible combinations of age categories and gender. JEL Classification: D30, D31
Image classification based on deep local feature coding

In this paper, we propose an improved locally aggregated descriptor (VLAD) algorithm coded on deep local features for image classification. Firstly, convolutional neural network (CNN) is adopted to extract the dense local features of images. Secondly, a subset of feature, chosen by the criterion of normal distribution, is selected for high quality codebook generation. Finally, the local features are assigned to multi-neighbor visual words instead of the nearest one with different weights, simultaneously, the statistical distribution information about local features is taken into account during VLAD coding process. Extensive experiments on public available datasets demonstrate the promising performance of the proposed method against state-of-the-art methods.
Epidemiology and microbiology of diarrhoea in young Aboriginal children in the Kimberley region of Western Australia

Infectious diarrhoea is common in young Australian Aborigines [1–3] and is one of the main causes for their unsatisfactory health standards with consequent widespread failure to thrive and undernutrition [4–5]. Most published reports relate to patients in hospital or to hospital admission statistics and give little indication of the extent or severity of diarrhoeal disease in children in Aboriginal communities. The present investigation involved more than 100 Aboriginal children up to 5 years of age living in remote communities in the tropical north of Western Australia who were studied prospectively over a 12–month period.
Effect of Dietary Supplementation with a Saccharomyces cerevisiae Mannan Oligosaccharide on the Bacterial Community Structure of Broiler Cecal Contents

ABSTRACT This study investigated the effects of dietary supplementation with a prebiotic mannan oligosaccharide (MOS) on broiler performance, bacterial community structure, and phylogenetic populations of cecal contents. Bird performance data were collected, and cecal samples were extracted from randomly caught poults from each treatment group every 7 days from hatching to the age of 42 days. Weight gain, feed consumption, and feed efficiency ratios did not differ significantly between groups. Automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis (ARISA) of the bacterial communities in birds receiving MOS-supplemented diets indicated that dietary supplementation with MOS at either of 2 levels significantly altered the bacterial community structure from that of the control group on all sample days. The phylogenetic identities of bacteria contained within the cecum were determined by constructing a 16S rRNA gene clone library. A total of 594 partial 16S rRNA gene sequences from the cecal contents were analyzed and compared for the three dietary treatments. The dominant bacteria of the cecum belonged to three phyla, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria; of these, Firmicutes were the most dominant in all treatment groups. Statistical analysis of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene clone libraries showed that the compositions of the clone libraries from broilers receiving MOS-supplemented diets were, in most cases, significantly different from that of the control group. It can be concluded that in this trial MOS supplementation significantly altered the cecal bacterial community structure.
Adverse life events, cardiovascular responses, and sports performance under pressure

Research suggests that experiencing a moderate number of adverse life events can benefit future stress responses. This study explored the relationship between adverse life (ie, non‐sport) events and cardiovascular responses to, and performance during, a pressurized sporting task. One hundred participants (64 men, 36 women; Mage=21.94 years, SDage=4.98) reported the number of adverse life events (eg, serious accident or injury) they had encountered before completing a pressurized dart‐throwing task during which performance was recorded. Before the task, participants' demand and resource evaluations and cardiovascular reactivity were assessed. Adverse life events did not impact demand and resource evaluations. However, participants who reported 4‐7 adverse life events displayed cardiovascular responses more reflective of a challenge state (relatively lower total peripheral resistance and/or higher cardiac output) compared to those who reported a lower (<4) or higher (>7) number of events. Furthermore, participants who reported 3‐13 adverse life events outperformed those who reported a lower (<3) or higher (>13) number of events. Supplementary analyses suggested that this relationship might be due to a small number of extreme values. However, after outlier analyses, a significant linear relationship remained suggesting that a higher number of adverse life events facilitated performance. The results suggest that experiencing a moderate to high number of adverse life events might have beneficial effects on subsequent cardiovascular responses and performance under pressure. Practitioners should therefore consider prior brushes with adversity when identifying athletes who are likely to excel during stressful competition.
Preparation, characterization and dynamical mechanical properties of dextran-coated iron oxide nanoparticles (DIONPs)

Abstract Dextran-coated iron oxide nanoparticles (DIONPs) with appropriate surface chemistry exhibit many interesting properties that can be exploited in a variety of biomedical applications such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast enhancement, tissue repair, hyperthermia, drug delivery and in cell separation. This paper reports the experimental detail for preparation, characterization and investigation of thermal and dynamical mechanical characteristics of the dextran-coated Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles. In our work, DIONPs were prepared in a 1:2 ratio of Fe(II) and Fe(III) salt in the HCl solution with NaOH at given temperature. The obtained dextran-coated iron-oxide nanoparticles structure–property correlation was characterized by spectroscopic methods; attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and XRD. Coating dextran on the iron-oxide proof of important peaks can be seen from the ATR-FTIR. Dramatic crystallinity increment can be observed from the XRD pattern of the iron-oxide dextran nanoparticles. The thermal analysis was examined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential thermal analysis (DTA). Dynamical mechanical properties of dextran nanoparticles were analysed by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). Thermal stability of the iron oxide dextran nanoparticles is higher than that of the dextran.
Multi-view Clustering via Co-regularized Nonnegative Matrix Factorization with Correlation Constraint

With the increasing availability of multi-view nonnegative data in practical applications, multi-view learning based on nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) has attracted more and more attentions. However, previous works are either difficult to generate meaningful clustering results in terms of views with heterogeneous quality, or sensitive to noise. To address these problems, we propose a co-regularized nonnegative matrix factorization method with correlation constraint (CO-NMFCC) for multi-view clustering, which jointly exploits both consistent and complementary information across multiple views. Different from previous works, we aim at integrating information from multiple views efficiently and making it more robust to the presence of noisy views. More specifically, correlation constraint is imposed on the low-dimensional space to learn a common representation shared by multiple views. Meanwhile, we exploit the complementary information of multiple views through the coregularization to accommodate the imbalance of the quality of views. In addition, experiments on two real datasets demonstrate that CO-NMFCC is an effective and promising algorithm for practical applications.
Free/Libre Open Source Software in Health Care: A Review

Objectives To assess the current state of the art and the contribution of Free/Libre Open Source Software in health care (FLOSS-HC). Methods The review is based on a narrative review of the scientific literature as well as sources in the context of FLOSS-HC available through the Internet. All relevant available sources have been integrated into the MedFLOSS database and are freely available to the community. Results The literature review reveals that publications about FLOSS-HC are scarce. The largest part of information about FLOSS-HC is available on dedicated websites and not in the academic literature. There are currently FLOSS alternatives available for nearly every specialty in health care. Maturity and quality varies considerably and there is little information available on the percentage of systems that are actually used in health care delivery. Conclusions The global impact of FLOSS-HC is still very limited and no figures on the penetration and usage of FLOSS-HC are available. However, there has been a considerable growth in the last 5 to 10 years. While there where only few systems available a decade ago, in the meantime many systems got available (e.g., more than 300 in the MedFLOSS database). While FLOSS concepts play an important role in most IT related sectors (e.g., telecommunications, embedded devices) the healthcare industry is lagging behind this trend.
Subcutaneous injections of low doses of humanized anti-CD20 veltuzumab: a phase I study in chronic lymphocytic leukemia*

Abstract To evaluate the potential of subcutaneous (SC) injections with anti-CD20 antibody veltuzumab in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), 21 patients received 80, 160, or 320 mg injections every 2 weeks × 4 doses (n = 11) or 160 or 320 mg twice-weekly × 16 doses (n = 10). Treatment was well tolerated with only occasional, mild-moderate, transient injection reactions. Lymphocytosis decreased in all patients (maximum decrease, 5–91%), with 12 patients obtaining >50% decreases. Of 14 patients with lymphadenopathy on CT imaging, 5 (36%) achieved 14–61% reductions (sum of perpendicular diameters). By NCI-WG criteria, two patients achieved partial responses (10%). SC veltuzumab appeared active in all dose groups, with no obvious exposure-response relationship, despite cumulative doses ranging from 320–5120 mg. Overall median progression-free survival was 7.7 months; three patients remained progression-free >1 year (2 ongoing at 2-year study completion). These data suggest further studies of SC veltuzumab in CLL are warranted.
The Hybrid Structures of International New Ventures

This paper gives a social capital perspective on the internationalization process of new firms. The point of departure is international new ventures (INVs) and their frequent use of hybrid structures for government of international activities. The purpose is to shed new light on the INV phenomenon by studying the role of social relationships in the establishment, management and performance of international governance structures and access to resources for international market expansion. By combining knowledge from the international entrepreneurship literature with social capital theory, the authors construct several propositions on the relationship between properties of social capital embedded in the new firm and their ability to form effective international market channels and deliver high long-term performance. This conceptual study suggests that social capital is indeed conducive to the overall performance of INVs. However, empirical research is desirable – and, based on the propositions from this study, the authors propose a research agenda emphasizing the need for a longitudinal study of INV organizations with regard to the role of social capital in attracting and controlling international market resources.
Vasovagal symptoms mediate the relationship between predonation anxiety and subsequent blood donation in female volunteers

BACKGROUND: Although not universal, a certain amount of predonation anxiety is common and not surprising among inexperienced blood donors. Variations in predonation anxiety, however, may influence the donor’s experience in several respects and might be related to the likelihood of subsequent donation even among those who do not report particularly high levels of anxiety.
Age-related Decrease of Ultraviolet Light-induced DNA Repair Synthesis in Human Peripheral Leukocytes 1

4 doses between 3.2 and 19.2 J/sq m during slow rocking to allow optimal dispersion of the cells. Dishes 1 and 7 were left on the bench during the irradiation but were not exposed, and they served as controls for background incorporation. The UV was delivered by 2 parallel, low-pressure Philips TUV 6W mercury vapor lamps, which produced an effect of 0.64 J/sq m/sec. Measurement of DNA Repair Synthesis. The UV-induced DNA repair synthesis was measured essentially according to the method of Evans and Norman (12) and as described earlier (1 9). Immediately after irradiation, the cells were transferred to centrifuge tubes, pelleted, and resuspended in 1 ml of Parker Medium 199 (Flow Laboratories) supplemented with 25% fetal calf serum, 125 @zg streptomycin, and 125 lU benzyl penicillin. Samples from each tube were taken for cell counting. HU to a final concentration of 10_2 M was added to 5 of the tubes, including one unexposed control. The other 2 tubes (one unexposed control and one sample, which had been given 9.6 J/sq m) did not receive any HU. All tubes were preincubated for 30 mm at 37Â°,before the addition of [3Hjthymidmne(5 Ci/ mmol; 1 mCi/mI; The Radiochemical Centre, Amensham, Eng land) to a final concentration of 10 @tCi/ml.The incubation continued for 2 hr and was interrupted by the addition of 1 ml of cold 10% tnichloroacetic acid to each tube. Extraction of free nucleotides took place for 30 mm at 4Â°. Two more washes in cold 5% tnichloroacetic acid were carried out. The pellet was then resuspended in 70% ethanol and collected on a glass fiber filter. The filters were treated with solubilizen, and the radioactivity was estimated in a Packard liquid scintillation spectrometer at an efficiency of about 30% and a background of 20 cpm. Measurement of dTTP Pools in Peripheral Lymphocytes. Peripheral lymphocytes were isolated from human blood by Ficoll-Isopaque centnifugation (17). The cells were pelleted at 800 x g for 10 mm at 4Â°and washed with PBS. Each cell sample (approximately 2 x 106 cells) was extracted with 2 ml 60% (v/v) methanol at _200. After 16 hn, the methanol-insol uble material was collected by centnifugation, and DNA was determined as described by Burton (4). The extracts were evaporated, and the residue taken up in 0.2 ml 0.05 M Tnis HCI, pH 7.5. dTTP was measured as outlined elsewhere (20).
Pan-American Similarities in Genetic Structures of Helicoverpa armigera and Helicoverpa zea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) With Implications for Hybridization

Abstract The genus Helicoverpa (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) includes phytophagous and polyphagous agricultural insect pests. In the Americas, a native pest, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), and an invasive pest, Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner), are causing severe damage in vegetable and agronomic crops. The population structure of both species in South America is poorly understood, and the phylogenetic relatedness of H. armigera and H. zea suggests natural interspecific gene flow between these species. Using microsatellite loci, we investigated: 1) the genetic diversity and gene flow of H. armigera specimens from Brazil; 2) the genetic diversity and gene flow between H. zea specimens from Brazil and the United States; and 3) the possibility of interspecific gene flow and the frequency of putative hybrids in Brazil. We detected high intraspecific gene flow among populations collected in the same country. However, there is a geographic limit to gene flow among H. zea individuals from South and North America. Pairwise Fst and private alleles showed that H. armigera is more similar to H. zea from Brazil than H. zea from the United States. A comparative STRUCTURE analysis suggests natural hybridization between H. armigera and H. zea in Brazil. High gene flow and natural hybridization are key traits to population adaptation in new and disturbed environments, which can influence the management of these pests in the American continent.
The Relationship between Natural Park Usage and Happiness Does Not Hold in a Tropical City-State

Previous studies have shown that contact with urban green spaces can produce positive effects on people's stress, health and well-being levels. However, much of this research has been conducted in the temperate regions of Europe or North America. Additionally, most studies have only compared the effects of urban and natural areas on health and well-being, but not made a finer distinction between different types of urban green spaces. We tested the relationship between well-being and the access or use of different types of green spaces among young adults in Singapore, a tropical city-state. The results showed that extraversion and emotional stability increased subjective well-being, positive affect and life satisfaction and decreased stress and negative affect. In addition, we found that level of physical activity increased positive affect and health problems increased negative affect. Neither access to green spaces nor the use of green spaces in Singapore significantly affected the well-being metrics considered, contradicting findings in the temperate regions of the world. We hypothesize that the differences in temperature and humidity and the higher greenery and biodiversity levels outside parks in Singapore could explain this phenomenon. Our results thus question the universality of the relationship between well-being and park usage and highlight the need for more research into the multifaceted effects of green spaces on well-being in the tropics.
Modeling, Analysis, Simulation and Design Optimization (Genetic Algorithm) of dc-dc Converter for Uninterruptible Power Supply Applications

This paper presents the computer modeling, analysis, simulation and design optimization of an efficient dc-dc converter with synchronous rectification, which is important in battery charge/discharge circuits in dc uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems. Simulation results from the models are presented for the forward mode and the backup mode. The results are compared to those of the expected ideal converter operation to confirm the validity of the simulation models. An objective function of the converter efficiency in the forward mode is derived and presented. Genetic Algorithm (GA) is used to perform a constrained optimization on the objective function and optimum results are presented. The resulting effects of GA parameters such as varying the population size and number of generations, and varying the amount of mutation and crossover fraction, are also presented. The computer modeling, analysis, simulation and design optimization (GA) are performed using software tools within the MATLAB/SIMULINK simulation environment.
Effective anti‐metastatic melanoma vaccination with tumor cells transfected with MHC genes and/or infected with newcastle disease virus (NDV)

The therapeutic efficacy of active immunization with B16‐F10.9 melanoma cells transfected with syngeneic major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class‐l genes, modified by infection with Newcastle Disease virus (NDV) or modified by both treatments, was compared. B16‐F10.9 tumor‐bearing mice were treated at various stages of tumor growth and metastasis with irradiated, modified tumor‐cell vaccines. Irradiated tumor cells and H‐2Db transfectants did not stimulate anti‐tumor immunity while H‐2Kb transfectants and NDV‐modified F10.9 cells showing low and high expression of MHC class‐l genes efficiently prevented metastasis of small established tumors. NDV‐modified parental‐cell vaccines functioned optimally and improved overall survival by about 60%, also at early stages of metastasis establishment. A synergistic effect of H‐2Kb expression and virus modification on rejection of micrometastases was observed in mice bearing advanced tumors. Postoperative vaccination of mice carrying multiple metastases with NDV‐modified vaccines caused significant, but incomplete, reduction of metastatic tumor load. The therapeutic effect of NDV‐modified tumor vaccines was dependent on multiple immune mechanisms. Depletion of CD8, CD4 or NK cells by in vivo treatment with monoclonal antibodies reversed the immunotherapeutic effects of the vaccine. Thus, tumor xenogenization and gene modification may act synergistically to vaccinate against advanced tumors, while single modalities can effectively vaccinate against metastasis at early stages of tumor growth.
The research of East Asian monetary cooperation based on symmetry of economic shocks

Regional monetary cooperation has been the focus of the international financial sector issues for a long time. And the study on East Asian monetary cooperation has great practical significance to prevent financial crises and to promote regional economic development. This paper establishes VAR model to examine the East Asian economies' symmetry of the supply shock and demand shock. The empirical results show that, the symmetry of economic shocks between the East Asian small nations remains high, and in recent years the most notable change is that the symmetry between the East Asian large members represented by China and Japan increases evidently. From this point of view, this paper argues that further monetary cooperation in East Asia should shift from “crisis driven” cooperation to “power driven” cooperation.
Treatment of Onychomycosis in Diabetic Patients

IN BRIEF Onychomycosis is more common in diabetic than nondiabetic patients. It is more than a cosmetic problem, and diabetic patients have a greater risk of serious complications from the disease, including limb amputations. This article reviews the various diagnostic and therapeutic options available for onychomycosis with an emphasis on their roles in diabetic patients.