Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effectiveness of Nurse‐Led, Home‐Based Pulmonary Rehabilitation in Patients with COPD in Turkey

&NA; The goal of this study was to determine the effectiveness of nurse‐led, home‐based pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with stage 3 or 4 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to the Global Initiative for COPD (GOLD) staging system. The study consisted of 32 patients—a nurse‐led, home‐based pulmonary rehabilitation group (16) and a control group (16). In the rehabilitation program, patients received education about their diseases and performed breathing exercises and lower‐ and upper‐extremity aerobic exercises at their homes during the 3‐month period of the study. There was meaningful improvement in the rehabilitation group in terms of pulmonary function tests (FEV1% predicted value), artery blood gases (PaCO2), quality of life, dyspnea, and functional capacity. On the other hand, no meaningful change was observed in the control group. The study showed that the nurse‐led, home‐based pulmonary rehabilitation program had positive effects on the patients with COPD.
THE DETERMINANTS OF CAPITAL STRUCTURE FOR VIETNAMESE REAL ESTATE LISTED COMPANIES

This study adopts a two step system general method of moments (GMM) approach towards investigating the determinants of capital structure for the listed real estate firms on Ho Chi Minh stock exchange (HSX) in Viet Nam from 2010 to 2015. The determinants of capital structure are mixed and different for short-term and long-term indicators. The real estate firms tend to use more debts to finance their investment. Vietnamese real estate firms should focus on balance structure debt due to complicated impacts of the determinants to their capital structure. There are some implications for the real estate companies and policy of the Government that are based on the empirical results.
Tailored Versus Mass Produced: Portfolio Managers Concurrently Managing Separately Managed Accounts and Mutual Funds

Using a matched sample of separately managed accounts (SMAs) and mutual funds (MFs) with the same portfolio manager and investment style, we find that concurrently managed MFs consistently underperform their SMAs counterparts and generate more negative return gaps. Fund characteristics and liquidity betas fail to fully explain the underperformance. An event-study analysis finds that the weights placed into top (bottom)-performing stocks increase for existing SMAs (MFs) and negative return gaps increase for the MFs after the onset of concurrent management. We find that higher compensation collected by SMA fund managers are associated with more unseen managerial actions which positively contribute to the SMA return gap. Our results suggest that when managers concurrently manage both SMAs and MFs, they favor SMA performance over their MF performance.
PrivOSN: Practical Privacy in Online Social Network

Today's online social networks (OSNs) do little to protect users' private information especially relationships between them. This paper presents PrivOSN, an online social network system designed to be more private than existing systems while keeping neutral performance, preserving existing services, and defending against kinds of attacks already known. In PrivOSN, users' relationships are kept locally and can't be seen by OSN providers. By subscribing, users can follow and set up relationship with others, and these are transparent to OSN providers, for better privacy.
Sufficiently Important Difference for Common Cold: Severity Reduction

PURPOSE We undertook a study to estimate the sufficiently important difference (SID) for the common cold. The SID is the smallest benefit that an intervention would require to justify costs and risks. METHODS Benefit-harm tradeoff interviews (in-person and telephone) assessed SID in terms of overall severity reduction using evidence-based simple-language scenarios for 4 common cold treatments: vitamin C, the herbal medicine echinacea, zinc lozenges, and the unlicensed antiviral pleconaril. RESULTS Response patterns to the 4 scenarios in the telephone and in-person samples were not statistically distinguishable and were merged for most analyses. The scenario based on vitamin C led to a mean SID of 25% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.23–0.27). For the echinacea-based scenario, mean SID was 32% (95% CI, 0.30–0.34). For the zinc-based scenario, mean SID was 47% (95% CI, 0.43–0.51). The scenario based on preliminary antiviral trials provided a mean SID of 57% (95% CI, 0.53–0.61). Multivariate analyses suggested that (1) between-scenario differences were substantive and reproducible in the 2 samples, (2) presence or severity of illness did not predict SID, and (3) SID was not influenced by age, sex, tobacco use, ethnicity, income, or education. Despite consistencies supporting the model and methods, response patterns were diverse, with wide spreads of individual SID values within and among treatment scenarios. CONCLUSIONS Depending on treatment specifics, people want an on-average 25% to 57% reduction in overall illness severity to justify costs and risks of popular cold treatments. Randomized trial evidence does not support benefits this large. This model and these methods should be further developed for use in other disease entities.
Innovation dialectics: an extended process perspective on innovation in services

ABSTRACT Services are characterised by the involvement of customers and other interest groups in the innovation process. The aim of this study is to understand how and why, in the service context, tensions and potential conflicts between heterogeneous interest groups unfold during processes of innovation. The empirical field in which the investigation was set is facility services, a type of business-to-business support services. The findings were extracted from a longitudinal, in-depth case study of a Danish, multi-national organisation over 13 years, complemented with an explorative study in the Danish facility service context. The findings suggest that tensions and conflicts between heterogeneous interest groups are an intrinsic element of innovation processes in services, and that emphasising them might actually support a clearer understanding of processes of innovation in services. The outcome of the analysis is a process model, which proposes innovation dialectics as one of the driving mechanisms of innovation in services.
Method for adaptive overcurrent protection of distribution systems with Distributed synchronous Generators

The increase of Distributed Generators (DG) has encouraged the operation of these generators in islanded mode or intentional islanding. Such operation mode can increase the system reliability, once in the event of network failure the supply of critical consumers will be maintained by the DGs. However, it is necessary to consider that the fault current is considerably reduced when the system is in intentional islanding, and the overcurrent protection setting must be adapted in order to take into account the new fault current level. This paper proposes the use of adaptive protection to change the overcurrent protection setting based on the identification of the system operating state. The system operating state is identified by the use of an active measurement technique, which identifies its operating condition by the impedance level of the grid. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme can be used to update the protection settings for the islanded operation condition.
Method of equivalencing for a large wind power plant with multiple turbine representation

As the size and number of wind power plants (WPP) increases, power system planners will need to study their impact on the power system in more detail. As the level of wind power penetration into the grid increases, the transmission system integration requirements will become more critical [1-2]. A very large WPP may contain hundreds of megawatt-size wind turbines. These turbines are interconnected by an intricate collector system. While the impact of individual turbines on the larger power system network is minimal, collectively, wind turbines can have a significant impact on the power systems during a severe disturbance such as a nearby fault. Since it is not practical to represent all individual wind turbines to conduct simulations, a simplified equivalent representation is required. This paper focuses on our effort to develop an equivalent representation of a WPP collector system for power system planning studies. The layout of the WPP, the size and type of conductors used, and the method of delivery (overhead or buried cables) all influence the performance of the collector system inside the WPP. Our effort to develop an equivalent representation of the collector system for WPPs is an attempt to simplify power system modeling for future developments or planned expansions of WPPs. Although we use a specific large WPP as a case study, the concept is applicable for any type of WPP.
Moss Chloroplasts Are Surrounded by a Peptidoglycan Wall Containing D-Amino Acids[OPEN]

A peptidoglycan wall surrounding each plastid in the moss Physcomitrella patens was visualized using metabolic labeling with a d-Ala-d-Ala dipeptide probe and click chemistry. It is believed that the plastids in green plants lost peptidoglycan (i.e., a bacterial cell wall-containing d-amino acids) during their evolution from an endosymbiotic cyanobacterium. Although wall-like structures could not be detected in the plastids of green plants, the moss Physcomitrella patens has the genes required to generate peptidoglycan (Mur genes), and knocking out these genes causes defects in chloroplast division. Here, we generated P. patens knockout lines (∆Pp-ddl) for a homolog of the bacterial peptidoglycan-synthetic gene encoding d-Ala:d-Ala ligase. ∆Pp-ddl had a macrochloroplast phenotype, similar to other Mur knockout lines. The addition of d-Ala-d-Ala (DA-DA) to the medium suppressed the appearance of giant chloroplasts in ∆Pp-ddl, but the addition of l-Ala-l-Ala (LA-LA), DA-LA, LA-DA, or d-Ala did not. Recently, a metabolic method for labeling bacterial peptidoglycan was established using ethynyl-DA-DA (EDA-DA) and click chemistry to attach an azide-modified fluorophore to the ethynyl group. The ∆Pp-ddl line complemented with EDA-DA showed that moss chloroplasts are completely surrounded by peptidoglycan. Our findings strongly suggest that the moss plastids have a peptidoglycan wall containing d-amino acids. By contrast, no plastid phenotypes were observed in the T-DNA tagged ddl mutant lines of Arabidopsis thaliana.
A review of employee innovative behavior in services

Purpose This study aims to conduct a comprehensive review of the literature on employee innovative behavior (EIB) in services. Based on the review, the conceptualization and operationalization of EIB are summarized, and the relationships between job characteristics and EIB are revealed. Design/methodology/approach Altogether, 143 papers examining EIB in services published in 56 journals, including top management and hospitality journals, during the period of 1995-2014 were reviewed. Findings Three approaches to examine EIB in services have been identified. The concept of EIB based on the reviewed papers is summarized. In addition, antecedents and consequences of EIB are reviewed. In particular, the role of job characteristics in EIB is discussed. Practical implications This study provides practitioners with a “one-stop” paper to enhance their understanding of the relationship among EIB, job characteristics and other relevant concepts. Implications for hospitality firms on stimulating the innovative behaviors of employees are also provided. Originality/value Owing to the particularity and importance of EIB in services, this review summarizes the current knowledge on this concept and its antecedents and provides directions for future research, especially on the relationship between job characteristics and EIB.
Understanding Revenue Administration:An Initial Data Analysis Using the Revenue Administration Fiscal Information Tool

During the past few years, the Fiscal Affairs Department (FAD) has developed the Revenue Administration Fiscal Information Tool (RA-FIT), a tax and customs data gathering initiative. This paper, the first of its kind internationally given the number of countries covered, analyzes the results of the first round of RA-FIT data for 85 countries. It begins the process of making summarized cross-country information available to revenue administrations, in particular in developing economies, to help them improve their performance. Topics covered include performance measurement, institutional arrangements, and core operations of tax and customs administration. RA-FIT is in its second round of data gathering, now via an online portal; these data will be analyzed and in future made available to participating countries and technical assistance partners/donors through an online dissemination platform.
[Effects of gout web based self-management program on knowledge related to disease, medication adherence, and self-management].

PURPOSE This study was conducted to examine the changing patterns of knowledge related to disease, medication adherence, and self-management and to determine if outcomes were more favorable in the experimental group than in the comparison group through 6 months after providing a web-based self-management intervention. METHODS A non-equivalent control group quasi-experimental design was used and 65 patients with gout, 34 in experimental group and 31 in comparison group, were selected from the rheumatic clinics of two university hospitals. Data were collected four times, at baseline, at 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after the intervention. RESULTS According to the study results, the changing patterns of knowledge and self-management were more positive in the experimental group than in the control group, whereas difference in the changing pattern of medication adherence between two groups was not significant. CONCLUSION The results indicate that the web-based self-management program has significant effect on improving knowledge and self-management for middle aged male patients with gout. However, in order to enhance medication adherence, the web-based intervention might not be sufficient and other strategies need to be added.
UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) Molecular basis of long-chain 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency : identification of two new mutations

Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: http://uba.uva. nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible.
Re: On the use of familial aggregation in population-based case probands for calculating penetrance.

In a recent issue of the Journal (1), Begg describes potential biases in our (2) and other population-based casescreening studies that estimate mutation penetrance through kin–cohort methods (3). The main issue raised by Begg is that a case series represents individuals selected to have risk factors that place them at excess disease risk. To the extent that any risk factors are overrepresented among case relatives—because of either genetic or familial reasons— family members of both carrier and noncarrier probands will show excess disease incidence, and thus mutation penetrance will be overestimated. We agree with this theoretical argument but question the degree of bias actually present in the published studies of breast and ovarian cancer and mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 to which Begg refers (1). In particular, our penetrance estimates of breast cancer based on an ovarian cancer case series are unlikely to be biased (2). Disease risk to a given age among carrier and noncarrier relatives is found by treating the relatives as a cohort and performing a Cox regression analysis on it, with age at diagnosis, death, or end of follow-up as the time variable and with proband mutation status as the exposure. This method yields an estimate of the relative risk (RR) of disease among relatives associated with proband mutation status, as well as a product–limit estimate of the survivor function for the noncarrier relatives (S0). The estimated mutation penetrance is 1 + S0 – 2(S0) . This method is robust in the usual circumstances of one (or sometimes two) affected first-degree relatives per family, but generalized estimating equation methods can also be used. As Begg notes (1), the estimated RR is not subject to the bias; only S0 is subject to bias. In fact, 1 + S0 – 2(S0) RR estimates the penetrance for any similar base population to which the RR would apply. Therefore, for studies such as ours (2) that use this method, and in the very usual circumstances where mutation frequency is low in the population, the observed RR values can certainly be used
Vitamin D status in children with attention‐deficit–hyperactivity disorder

Attention‐deficit–hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), one of the most common psychiatric disorders of childhood, has an early onset, affecting 2–18% of children worldwide. The etiopathogenesis of ADHD is obscure. In recent studies, a low level of vitamin D has been found in association with many disorders as well as in neuropsychiatric diseases. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate serum vitamin D level in pediatric ADHD patients.
Contribution of associated trees to long-term species conservation, carbon storage and sustainability: a functional analysis of tree communities in cacao plantations of Central Cameroon

ABSTRACT In Central Africa, most cacao is still cultivated in low-input agroforests where cacao associated trees are traditionally valued by farmers. These systems are sustainable on the long run, support biodiversity conservation and carbon storage. Yet, little knowledge exists on the contribution of tree community management to explain such results. In Central Cameroon, we investigated cacao agroforest associated tree community contributions to the long-term (i) maintenance of tree species encountering a conservation issue and (ii) carbon storage. We further simulated the simplification of these systems by checking for the effect of tree density decrease on community functional groups or traits. Finally, we linked farmers’ use of associated trees to their functional features and conservation status. Cacao agroforestry systems were able to combine high levels of species richness with long-term conservation abilities and carbon storage. Simplification emphasized consistent shifts of functional traits/groups that will change the way they function and alter the existing balances between different associated tree uses. Since traditional agroforests are now foreseen as providers of timber/non-timber forest products, our study argues that this paradigm change in such low-input systems - if carried improperly - is likely to impair the provision of the services they currently provide as well as their sustainability.
Naturally Acquired Antibody Responses to Plasmodium falciparum Merozoite Surface Protein 4 in a Population Living in an Area of Endemicity in Vietnam

ABSTRACT Merozoite surface protein 4 (MSP4) of Plasmodium falciparum is a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored integral membrane protein that is being developed as a component of a subunit vaccine against malaria. We report here the measurement of naturally acquired antibodies to MSP4 in a population of individuals living in the Khanh-Hoa region of Vietnam, an area where malaria is highly endemic. Antibodies to MSP4 were detected in 94% of the study population at titers of 1:5,000 or greater. Two forms of recombinant MSP4 produced in either Escherichia coli orSaccharomyces cerevisiae were compared as substrates in the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. There was an excellent correlation between reactivity measured to either, although the yeast substrate was recognized by a higher percentage of sera. Four different regions of MSP4 were recognized by human antibodies, demonstrating that there are at least four distinct epitopes in this protein. In the carboxyl terminus, where the single epidermal growth factor-like domain is located, the reactive epitope(s) was shown to be conformation dependent, as disruption of the disulfide bonds almost completely abolished reactivity with human antibodies. The anti-MSP4 antibodies were mainly of the immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) and IgG3 subclasses, suggesting that such antibodies may play a role in opsonization and complement-mediated lysis of free merozoites. Individuals in the study population were drug-cured and followed up for 6 months; no significant correlation was observed between the anti-MSP4 antibodies and the absence of parasitemia during the surveillance period. As a comparison, antibodies to MSP119, a leading vaccine candidate, were measured, and no correlation with protection was observed in these individuals. The anti-MSP119 antibodies were predominantly of the IgG1 isotype, in contrast to the IgG3 predominance noted for MSP4.
Parallel phonetically aware DNNs and LSTM-RNNS for frame-by-frame discriminative modeling of spoken language identification

Parallel phonetically aware deep neural networks (PPA-DNNs) and long short-term memory recurrent neural networks (PPA-LSTM-RNNs) to enhance frame-by-frame discriminative modeling of spoken language identification are proposed. This idea is inspired by traditional systems based on parallel phoneme recognition followed by language modeling (PPRLM). The proposed methods utilize multiple senone bottleneck features individually extracted from language-dependent senone-based DNNs in a frame-by-frame manner. The multiple senone bottleneck features can yield phonetic awareness to frame-by-frame DNNs and LSTM-RNNs without losing compatibility to real time applications. In experiments, three senone-based DNNs are introduced in order to extract senone bottleneck features, and both single use and parallel use of them are examined. Furthermore, we also examine a combination of PPA-DNNs and PPA-LSTM-RNNs. The proposed method's effectiveness is investigated by comparison with a simple speech aware modeling and traditional systems based on PPRLM.