Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Association between a serum thyroid-stimulating hormone concentration within the normal range and indices of obesity in Japanese men and women.

OBJECTIVE This cross-sectional study investigated the associations between the serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) concentration and indices of obesity in middle-aged Japanese men and women. METHODS The participants were 2,037 employees (1,044 men and 993 women; age, 36-55 yr) of a metal products factory in Japan. Clinical examinations were conducted in 2009. We obtained a medical history and anthropometric measurements (body weight, body mass index [BMI] and waist circumference) and measured the serum TSH concentrations. The anthropometric indices were compared across serum TSH quartiles. The associations were evaluated separately according to the smoking status in men. RESULTS The mean body weight (kg), BMI (kg/m(2)) and waist circumference (cm) were 69.2, 23.7 and 83.2 in men and 55.3, 22.3 and 74.3 in women, respectively. Men with a higher TSH concentration had higher body weight and BMI values (p for trend=0.016 and 0.019, respectively), and these significant associations were observed even after adjusting for age, smoking status and other potential confounders. The TSH level was not associated with waist circumference. We found a significant interaction between the TSH level and the smoking status on body weight (p for interaction=0.013) and a significant association between the TSH level and body weight in nonsmokers, but not in current smokers. No significant associations were observed between the TSH level and the anthropometric indices in women. CONCLUSION Significant positive associations between the serum TSH concentration, body weight and BMI were detected in men only, and an interaction with the smoking status was observed for this association.
A qualitative study of key stakeholders' perspectives on compassion in healthcare and the development of a framework for compassionate interpersonal relations.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To report findings from a qualitative study of key stakeholders' perspectives on 'compassion' in the health care context. To present the 'Framework for Compassionate Interpersonal Relations'. BACKGROUND Although many research articles, health policies and health care strategies identify compassion as an underpinning value and key component of health care quality, identifying a unified definition of compassion is challenging. For Higher Education Institutions implementing 'values-based' recruitment processes, a clearer understanding of this core concept is vital. DESIGN Exploratory, qualitative design. METHODS Academic staff, health care students, clinicians and service users (n = 45), participated in nine focus groups where they were asked to define compassion in the context of health care. Data were transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS Four overarching themes were drawn from the data. The first theme centred on the participants' definitions of compassion, while the second identified compassionate behaviours. The third theme related to the barriers and threats to compassionate practice and the fourth, focused on ways to support compassion in practice. Participants believed that the health care staff should be 'consistently compassionate', and were emphatic that compassion should not be substituted with a 'care without engagement' approach. CONCLUSIONS The findings concur with other research, which identifies the link between compassion and empathy and the importance of establishing meaningful connections with others. While participants in this study recognised the pressures of health care work and accepted that the expectation of 'consistent compassion' was not necessarily realistic, it was still seen as an important goal. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE Participants held clear expectations regarding practitioners' communication skills and used these as a proxy for compassionate practice. The 'Framework for Compassionate Inter-personal Relations' may be used to promote reflection on the implementation of compassionate practice. It may also be used to highlight areas of focus when conducting values-based recruitment activities.
Extracting alpha band modulation during visual spatial attention without flickering stimuli using common spatial pattern

In this paper, alpha band modulation during visual spatial attention without visual stimuli was focused. Visual spatial attention has been expected to provide a new channel of non-invasive independent brain computer interface (BCI), but little work has been done on the new interfacing method. The flickering stimuli used in previous work cause a decline of independency and have difficulties in a practical use. Therefore we investigated whether visual spatial attention could be detected without such stimuli. Further, the common spatial patterns (CSP) were for the first time applied to the brain states during visual spatial attention. The performance evaluation was based on three brain states of left, right and center direction attention. The 30-channel scalp electroencephalographic (EEG) signals over occipital cortex were recorded for five subjects. Without CSP, the analyses made 66.44 (range 55.42 to 72.27) % of average classification performance in discriminating left and right attention classes. With CSP, the averaged classification accuracy was 75.39 (range 63.75 to 86.13) %. It is suggested that CSP is useful in the context of visual spatial attention, and the alpha band modulation during visual spatial attention without flickering stimuli has the possibility of a new channel for independent BCI as well as motor imagery.
Robust Planar Surface Extraction from Noisy and Semi-Dense 3D Point Cloud for Augmented Reality

The rapid development of augmented reality (AR) has raised various applications nowadays, and it has also attracted great attentions from researchers. Among all the related research topics, real-time 3D reconstruction of real scene, virtual object registration and blending with real scene are the most fundamental ones. However, most real time single camera-based methods such as Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) can only output sparse/semi-dense 3D point cloud of the real scene, which is usually too noisy and inaccurate to help virtual object registration and blending. To solve this problem, this paper proposes extracting planar surfaces from noisy and semi-dense 3D point cloud, and uses them to guide virtual object registration and blending. To this end, our method first implements a standard SLAM method to produce the initial 3D point cloud from multiple frames. Then, for each frame we extract line segment candidates and back-project them to the point cloud. By introducing a line's multi-view 3D consistency constraint, the 2D and 3D line segments are jointly optimized to generate reliable 3D line segments. Finally, planar surfaces are obtained from these 3D lines with the coplanar constraints. We conduct various experiments using both indoor and outdoor scenes, and the results show that virtual objects can be blended into real scenes with good geometrical accuracy and satisfying visual quality.
Drivers of Electricity Poverty in Spanish Dwellings: A Quantile Regression Approach

The main objective of this article is to explore the causes of household electricity poverty in Spain from an innovative perspective. Based on evidence of energy inequality across households with different income levels, a quantile regression approach was used to better capture the heterogeneity of determinants of energy poverty across different levels of electricity expenditure. The results illustrate some interesting and counter-intuitive findings about the relationship between household income and electricity poverty, and the technical efficiency of quantile regression compared to the imprecise results of a standard single coefficient/OLS approach.
Temporal Control of Message Stability in the Life Cycle of Double-Stranded RNA Bacteriophage Φ8

ABSTRACT The cystoviruses have genomes of three double-stranded RNA segments. The genes of the L transcript are expressed early in infection, while those of M and S are expressed late. In all cystovirus groups but one, the quantity of the L transcript late in infection is lower than those of the other two because of transcriptional control. In bacteriophage Φ8 and its close relatives, transcription of L is not controlled; instead, the L transcript is turned over rapidly late in infection. The three messages are produced in approximately equal amounts early in infection, but the amount of L is less than 10% of the amounts of the others late in infection. The decay of the Φ8 L message depends upon the production of protein Hb, which is encoded in segment L. It also depends upon a target site within the H gene region. Phage mutants lacking either the Hb gene or the target region do not show the late control of L message quantity. In addition to having a role as a negative regulator, Hb functions to neutralize the activity of protein J, encoded by segment S, which causes the degradation of all viral transcripts.
Dual-wavelength CW operations at 1064.1 & 1073.1 nm and 1064.1 & 1085.3 nm of Nd:YVO4 Laser

Two dual-wavelength operations of diode-pumped Nd:YVO4 laser were demonstrated at 1064.1 & 1073.1 and 1064.1 & 1085.3 nm with two intracavity birefringent plates. The output power ratio of the dual-wavelength output could be freely adjusted.
Using derivative logic to speculate on the future of the social investment market

ABSTRACT This article pries open the black box of the social impact bond (SIB), the novel financial instrument at the heart of social investment. We discover that concrete information is currently limited and our method is thus more speculative. We address the obfuscation of the nomenclature of the instrument and explore the mechanics of SIBs to suggest that they are not simple bonds but rather also bear properties akin to those associated with derivative contracts. We speculate on possible developments of the market in these bonds by considering the history of some previous financial innovations, namely, collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) underpinned by microfinance loans and the short-lived policy analysis market. Our discussion leads us to reevaluate Goodhart’s law and the ways in which it operates in relation to SIBs. We conclude by suggesting that SIBs' inherent indifference to the underlying state of the world renders them ultimately unlikely to delivery improvements in public services.
Maternity Outcomes in Manitoba Women: A Comparison between Midwifery-led Care and Physician-led Care at Birth.

BACKGROUND Registered midwives, obstetricians/gynecologists, and general or family practice physicians (GPs) provide maternity care across Canada. Few North American studies have assessed whether maternity outcomes differ across these three groups. This study compared maternal and neonatal outcomes of low-risk pregnant women whose birth was attended by registered midwives, obstetricians/gynecologists, and family practice physicians in Winnipeg, Manitoba from 2001/02 to 2012/13. METHODS Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used to examine differences in types of intervention, mode of delivery, and outcomes by provider type among low-risk women. Logistic regression models controlled for socio-demographic and birth-related covariates. RESULTS Low-risk births comprised 83,774 (48.7%) of total births (n = 171,910). The adjusted odds ratio (aOR), (95% confidence interval) for midwife vs OB/GYN showed women who had a midwife attend the birth had reduced odds of having an episiotomy 0.47 (0.40-0.54), epidural 0.25 (0.23-0.27), and cesarean delivery 0.13 (0.10-0.16) and their infants had less Neonatal Intensive Care Unit admissions 0.28 (0.18-0.43). The aOR for GP versus OB/GYN showed women who had a GP had reduced odds of having an epidural/spinal 0.83 (0.79-0.88) and cesarean delivery 0.44 (0.40-0.48). CONCLUSIONS The effectiveness of Manitoba maternity services can be improved with increased use of integrated midwifery services. Future research should examine how midwifery and physician-led models of care differ, and the influence of these differences on birth outcomes and cost-effectiveness to the health care system. Improvement of data tracking systems is also needed.
Fall risk estimation based on co-contraction of lower limb during walking

Monitoring biosignals has become more people-friendly since the development of wearable electro-conductive cloth. This paper proposes an application using wearable EMG sensors that estimates the fall risk of elderly people based on co-contraction of the lower limb during walking. Fifty-two healthy elderly people participated in a gait test with continuous EMG of the thigh (rectus femoris and biceps femoris) and cruris (tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius). The participants were categorized into a "faller group" and a "non-faller group" based on their experience of falls in the previous year. Co-contraction of thigh and cruris were determined based on EMG, and were then used to estimate the experience of falling using a linear discrimination method. The results showed that thigh co-contraction during the stance phase can be predictive of falling experience with 65% accuracy.
Early blooming's challenges: extended flowering season, diverse pollinator assemblage and the reproductive success of Gynodioecious Daphne laureola.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS The scarcity and unpredictability of active pollinators during late winter in temperate areas tends to favour extended flowering seasons and increased floral longevity in early blooming species, which are usually pollinated by diverse sets of insects. Daphne laureola is a gynodioecious woody perennial that flowers from January to April in southern Spain, a period characterized by cold temperatures, frequent rains and irregular snowfalls. METHODS Pollinators were excluded at four different times during the flowering season in order to determine the effect of decreased exposure to pollinators on fruit set in female and hermaphrodite individuals. The role of nocturnal and diurnal pollination on reproductive success in each gender was simultaneously evaluated by selective exclusion. KEY RESULTS A 50 % reduction in the flowering period decreased fruit set of females by 50 %, whereas the corresponding decrease in self-compatible hermaphrodites was only approx. 25 %. Day-active hymenopterans and lepidopterans were infrequent visitors, and nocturnal pollinators were inefficient, suggesting that pollen beetles, Meligethes elongatus, were the main pollinators of D. laureola in the study region. CONCLUSIONS Beetles were less abundant in pollenless females, although discrimination did not apparently result in pollination limitation of female reproduction. A preference of beetles for sunny locations emphasized the relevance of abiotic conditions for pollination of this early blooming shrub.
Money and Credit: A Long-Term View

Schularick and Taylor (2012) documented a sizeable increase in the ratio between credit and broad money since the end ofWWII, which they interpreted in terms of a progressive disconnect between the two aggregates. I show that this interpretation is incorrect, since, as I demonstrate mathematically, this evidence is uninformative for the issue at hand. In fact, Jorda, Schularick and Taylor’s (JST) data show that, since the XIX century, fluctuations in broad money and credit have exhibited an extraordinarily strong correlation within each single country in the dataset, to the point that (e.g.) either Shin’s (1994) or Wright’s (2000) test consistently detects cointegration between the multipliers of the two aggregates. I also show that, after WWII, there has been no change in the relative prediction power of credit and broad money for financial crises compared to the pre-WWII period, and that the change in the multiplier of either aggregate has been more powerful than credit growth, the variable considered by Schularick and Taylor. My results imply that (1) for the ‘traditional’ banking sector there has been no change, since WWI, in the relationship between its monetary liabilities, and the amount of credit it extends to the private non-financial sector; and (2) only the comparatively recent ascent of the ‘shadow’ banking sector–which is not covered by either JST’s, or the Bank for International Settlements’ data– introduced a ‘wedge’ between broad money and credit. Contrary to Schularick and Taylor’s interpretation, the ascent of ‘shadow banking’ is the only reason why, today, we live in the ‘Age of Credit’.
Consumer Preferences for Different Designs of Carbon Footprint Labelling on Tomatoes in Germany—Does Design Matter?

The climate impact of tomato production is an important issue in the sustainability of tomatoes, especially in northern European countries, such as Germany. Communicating the climate impact of products to the consumer is difficult and the design of the label might be the key to its success. For this reason, the present study compares the utilities of six different carbon footprint labels to evaluate which label design works best for the consumer. 598 consumers were surveyed in a representative online choice-experiment. The participants had to choose between tomatoes with different product characteristics, such as origin, price, organic label, and carbon footprint label. A split sample approach was used where each sub-sample with around n = 100 saw a different carbon footprint label design in the choice-experiment. The results suggest that qualitative carbon footprint labels using color-coded traffic light labelling are superior to those that claim climate impact reduction or neutrality, including those that provide more details regarding the climate impact of the product and the company. The latent class analysis with four consumer segments shows that a significant proportion of consumers in Germany would consider a carbon footprint label as an important characteristic.
Effects of Heart Rate and Anesthetic Timing on High‐Resolution Echocardiographic Assessment Under Isoflurane Anesthesia in Mice

Objective. Anesthesia provides sedation and immobility, facilitating echocardiography in mice, but it influences cardiovascular function and therefore outcomes of measurement. This study aimed to determine the effect of the optimal heart rate (HR) and anesthetic timing on echocardiographic reproducibility under isoflurane anesthesia. Methods. Male C57BL/6J mice underwent high‐resolution echocardiography with relative fixed HRs and anesthetic timing. The same experiment was repeated once again after 1 week. Results. Echocardiography was highly reproducible in repeated measurements under low‐HR (350–400 beats per minute [bpm]) and high‐HR (475–525 bpm) conditions except some M‐mode parameters under low‐HR conditions. With similar anesthetic timing, mice with a high HR had decreased preload indices and increased ejection phase and Doppler indices. Inversely, when the HR was similar, the echocardiographic results of mice under short anesthetic timing showed little difference from the ones under long anesthetic timing. Conclusions. This study shows that echocardiographic assessment is greatly reproducible under a high HR. The HR is more important than anesthetic timing for echocardiographic evaluation in mice.
A comprehensive comparative analysis of articles retracted in 2012 and 2013 from the scholarly literature

Background: Science is a dynamic subject with ever-changing concepts and is said to be self-correcting. One of the major mechanisms of self-correction is retraction of flawed work. Aim: To study the various parameters associated with retraction of scientific articles in 2012 and 2013 and discuss the current trends in article retraction over the period of 2 years. Materials and Methods: Data were retrieved from MEDLINE (via PubMed) using the keywords retraction of articles, retraction notice, and withdrawal of article in January 2014, and analysis of articles published in 2012 and 2013 was carried out. Results: A total of 155 articles in 2012 and 182 in 2013 were retracted, and original articles followed by case reports constituted major part of it. The most cited reasons for retraction were mistakes, plagiarism, and duplicate submission, and the time interval between submission and retraction had reduced in 2013. Conclusion: Although retracted articles constitute the tip of an iceberg, they are still a matter of major concern in the scientific world. So, editors should follow the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines and make an effective strategy in order to reduce such misconduct, as it reflects very adversely not only in the scientific community but also in the general public.
Holiday effects on stock prices of the restaurant industry

ABSTRACT Extant studies of holiday effects on the hospitality industry are limited, particularly those examining its effects in the restaurant industry. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the impact of holiday effects on the restaurant industry in the United States during the period from 2011 to 2016. The empirical results show that there is a holiday effect on most restaurant stocks in the market. Almost all significant abnormal volatility of stock prices of the restaurant companies are negative. The frequency of abnormal volatility on federal holidays is higher than those on non-federal holidays. This study contributes to both academia and industry. For academia, this research examines the theory of behavioural finance to explain abnormal returns and volatility. For industry, this study provides investors with riskless and profitable strategy to earn money. Investors or shareholders can benefit from insight on holiday effects because this knowledge can aid in determining the right time to purchase or sell stocks to earn abnormal returns.
Cloning and nucleotide sequence of celA1, and endo-beta-1,4-glucanase-encoding gene from Streptomyces halstedii JM8

The celA1 gene encoding an endo-beta-1,4-glucanase from a mesophilic actinomycete, strain JM8, identified as Streptomyces halstedii, was cloned and expressed in S. lividans JI66. From the nucleotide sequence of a 1.7-kb DNA fragment we identified an open reading frame of 963 nucleotides encoding a protein of 321 amino acids, starting at TTG (instead of ATG). The Cel1 mature enzyme is a protein of 294 amino acids (after signal peptide cleavage) and can be included in the beta-glycanase family B (N. R. Gilkes, B. Henrissat, D. G. Kilburn, R. C. Miller, Jr., and R. A. J. Warren, Microbiol. Rev. 55:303-315, 1991). The Cel1 enzyme lacks a cellulose-binding domain as predicted by computer analysis of the sequence and confirmed by Avicel binding experiments. The promoter region of celA1 was identified by S1 mapping; the -35 region closely resembles those of housekeeping Streptomyces promoters. Three imperfectly repeated sequences of 15, 15, and 14 nucleotides were found upstream from celA1 [ATTGGGACCGCTTCC-(N85)-ATTGGGACCGCTTCC-(N2)-TGGGAGC GCTCCCA]; The 14-nucleotide sequence has a perfect palindrome identical to that found in several cellulase-encoding genes from Thermomonospora fusca, an alkalophilic Streptomyces strain, and Streptomyces lividans. This sequence has been implicated in the mechanism of induction exerted by cellobiose. Using an internal celA1 probe, we detected similar genes in several other Streptomyces species, most of them cellulase producers.