Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analytical Technologies for Clients' Preferences Analyzing with Incomplete Data Recovering

The paper is devoted to new analytical information technologies for clients’ preferences prediction. The problem of clients’ preferences forecasting is now actual for many commercial systems, companies, banks, insurance companies and e-commerce. Various marketing efforts are used to increase demand and attract new customers. The main idea is to understand the customer needs and preferences and to model their behavior with analytical technologies. Such technologies gives the possibility of the clients’ data analysis, customer demand evaluation and prediction of the next purchases. The modern approaches to clients’ preferences prediction were analyzed and collaborative filtering methods were chosen. The formulation of the task modelling in terms of clients as subjects and purchases as objects was fulfilled. The method for incomplete and missing data recovering, which was proposed by the author, consists of such stages as sample incompleteness evaluation, analysis if the passes are systemic, analyzing of the passes’ causes and effects with using Bayesian network, regression modelling for passes recovering. The method of implicit feedback with the combined method for incomplete and missed data processing were built in the existing modern ERP-system and gives the possibility to receive highest accuracy of clients’ preferences prediction.
DSM-IV substance use disorder criteria for adolescents: a critical examination based on a statewide school survey.

OBJECTIVE The DSM-IV criteria for substance use disorders were incorporated into the 1995 Minnesota Student Survey in order to estimate the need for alcohol/drug treatment among adolescents in the state. This study used data from the survey to examine the utility of individual diagnostic criterion items, diagnostic categories, and diagnostic thresholds in a general adolescent population. METHOD The survey was administered to ninth- and 12th-grade public school students. Participation was voluntary, and survey questionnaires were anonymous. The survey included questions about the use of substances during the past year and the presence of DSM-IV criterion symptoms for substance abuse and dependence. This study was based on responses from 74,008 students who answered these questions. RESULTS Of the students who reported any substance use in the past 12 months, 13.8% of the ninth graders and 22.7% of the 12th graders met the criteria for a substance abuse diagnosis, and 8.2% of the ninth graders and 10.5% of the 12th graders met the criteria for dependence. The presence of multiple criterion symptoms was strongly associated with the use of multiple drugs. Analyses of positive and negative predictive value, sensitivity, and specificity did not support the diagnostic distinction between dependence criteria and abuse criteria. CONCLUSIONS A combined set of criteria, with empirically derived diagnostic threshold categories based on total number of symptoms, may be more suitable for estimates of substance use disorders and need for treatment among adolescents.
ST ] 1 6 M ay 2 01 1 LOCAL IDENTIFICATION OF NONPARAMETRIC AND SEMIPARAMETRIC MODELS

In parametric models a sufficient condition for local identification is that the vector of moment conditions is differentiable at the true parameter with full rank derivative matrix. We show that there are corresponding sufficient conditions for nonparametric models. A nonparametric rank condition and differentiability of the moment conditions with respect to a certain norm imply local identification. It turns out these conditions are slightly stronger than needed and are hard to check, so we provide weaker and more primitive conditions. We extend the results to semiparametric models. We illustrate the sufficient conditions with endogenous quantile and single index examples. We also consider a semiparametric habit-based, consumption capital asset pricing model. There we find the rank condition is implied by an integral equation of the second kind having a one-dimensional null space. JEL Classification: C12, C13, C23
Pediatric retransplantation.

Previous studies have attempted to outline the efficacy of heart retransplantation in adults. A limited number of these retransplantation procedures have been performed in children; however, no study to date has evaluated the risk of heart retransplantation in this specific patient population. We conducted a retrospective review of 17 pediatric (non-neonatal) heart transplant recipients who subsequently underwent heart retransplantation. Thirteen male and four female patients underwent retransplantation at four different institutions between 1974 and 1992. Patient age at the time of primary transplantation ranged from 2 to 19 years (mean, 12.5 years) and from 3 to 30 years (mean, 16 years) at retransplantation. The time interval between transplantation procedures ranged from 2 days to 15.6 years and was not predictive of patient outcome. Follow-up after retransplantation ranged from 1 day to 11 years (mean, 2.8 years). All patients were New York Heart Association class 3 or class 4 at the time of retransplantation. After retransplantation all survivors were New York Heart Association class 1. No patient had mechanical device implantation or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation bridge-to-transplantation at primary transplantation or retransplantation. The indication for retransplantation was transplant coronary artery disease (TxCAD) in seven patients (41.2%), acute rejection in four (23.5%), chronic rejection in one (5.8%), chronic rejection associated with TxCAD in four (23.5%), and intraoperative donor organ failure in one (5.8%). No significant difference occurred in linearized rates of rejection or infection or in actuarial freedom from rejection or infection when secondary grafts were compared with primary grafts in patients undergoing retransplantation. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Learning Adaptive Sampling Distributions for Motion Planning by Self-Imitation

Sampling based motion planning algorithms are widely used due to their effectiveness on problems with large state spaces by incremental tree growth in conjunction with uniform, random sampling. The major bottleneck in the performance of such algorithms is the amount of collision checks performed, which in turns depends on the sampling distribution itself. In this work, we present a framework to learn an adaptive, non-stationary sampling distribution which explicitly minimizes the search effort, given by the amount of collision checks performed. Our framework models the sequential nature of the problem by leveraging both the instantaneous search tree over the robot configuration space, as well as the workspace environment, by encoding them with a conditional variational auto-encoder, to learn a stochastic sampling policy. We encode the workspace environment with a convolutional network, and the configuration space planning tree with a recurrent neural network. We introduce an approximate oracle which can return multiple label samples for a partially solved planning problem, by forward simulating it. We use an imitation via iterative supervised learning framework to learn a stochastic sampling policy. We call this self-supervised imitation of an oracle generated by forward simulation as self-imitation. We validate our approach on a 4D kinodynamic helicopter planning problem with glideslope and curvature constraints, and a 2D holonomic problem.
Differential Preservation of Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Chemokine/Cytokine Expression during Experimental Pancreatitis-Associated Organ Failure in Rats Shows a Regulatory Expressed Phenotype

Background: Altered lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-responsiveness is a key feature of acute pancreatitis (AP)-associated multiple organ failure (AP-MOF) in rats and humans. Aim: To determine the differential expression of 16 cytokines and chemokines in response to delayed LPS administration in established experimental AP-MOF in rats. Methods: In a cubic factorial group design (12 groups, n = 6 rats/group), 0, 6 and 30 µg/kg Escherichia coli 0111:B4 LPS was administered intra-arterially, 18 h into experimental AP-MOF or sham laparotomy. AP was induced by intraductal glycodeoxycholic acid and intravenous caerulein. Central venous serum concentrations of 16 cytokines and chemokines were measured by Searchlight™ multiplex ELISA. Results: Four patterns were observed: (1) TNF-α, IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, IFN-γ, MCP-1, MIP-2α, MIP-3α, fractalkine and RANTES showed a diminished LPS response in AP versus sham (p < 0.001, ANOVA); (2) IL-2, IL-4 and GM-CSF levels were undetectable; (3) CINC-2α and GRO/KC showed little or no difference between AP and controls, and (4) IL-10 concentrations after 0 and 6 µg/kg, but not 30 µg/kg LPS injection were significantly higher in AP than controls (p < 0.001, ANOVA). Conclusion: Experimental AP-MOF in rats results in differential preservation of the cytokine and chemokine response to LPS challenge, with a predominantly regulatory expressed phenotype.
Antihypertensive Therapy and Insulin Sensitivity: Do We Have to Redefine the Role of b-Blocking Agents?

Essential hypertension is, at least in many subjects, associated with a decrease in insulin sensitivity, whereas glycemic control is (still) normal. Metaanalyses of hypertension intervention studies revealed different efficacy of treatment on cerebral (cerebrovascular accidents [CVA]) and cardiac (coronary heart disease [CHD]) morbidity and mortality. Although CVA were reduced to an extent similar to that anticipated, the decrease in CHD was less than expected. These differences are likely to be caused by the different impact of concomitant cardiovascular risk factors, such as dyslipidemia, impaired glucose tolerance, and non– insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus on CHD and CVA. Frequently these cardiovascular risk factors are ineffectively controlled in hypertensive patients, and moreover, some of the widely used antihypertensive agents have unfavorable side effects and further deteriorate these particular metabolic risk factors. Therefore, the metabolic side effects of antihypertensive treatment have received more attention. During the past few years, studies demonstrated that most antihypertensive agents modify insulin sensitivity in parallel with alterations in the atherogenic lipid profile. a1Blockers and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors were shown to either have no impact on or even improve insulin resistance and the profile of atherogenic lipids, whereas most of the calcium channel blockers were found to be metabolically inert. The diuretics and b-adrenoreceptor antagonists further decrease insulin sensitivity and worsen dyslipidemia. The mechanisms by which b-adrenoreceptor antagonist treatment exert its disadvantageous effects are not fully understood, but several possibilities exist: significant body weight gain, reduction in enzyme activities (muscle lipoprotein lipase and lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase), alterations in insulin clearance and insulin secretion, and, probably most important, reduced peripheral blood flow due to increase in total peripheral vascular resistance. Recent metabolic studies found beneficial effects of the newer vasodilating b-blockers, such as dilevalol, carvedilol and celiprolol, on insulin sensitivity and the atherogenic risk factors. In many hypertensive patients, elevated sympathetic nerve activity and insulin resistance are a deleterious combination. Although conventional b-blocker treatment was able to take care of the former, the latter got worse; the newer vasodilating b-blocker generation seems to be capable of successfully treating both of them. Am J Hypertens 1998;11:1258–1265 © 1998 American Journal of Hypertension, Ltd.
Nosocomial lung infection and its diagnosis

Nosocomial pneumonia occurs in 0.5% to 5.0% of all hospital admissions and is responsible for 15% of hospital deaths. Up to 60% of ICU patients may develop pneumonia, depending on the severity of their underlying disease. Despite the availability of potent antibiotics, ICU patients who develop Gram-negative pneumonia have a disturbingly high mortality rate. Specific etiologic diagnosis is frequently lacking because microbiological samples are commonly contaminated by oropharyngeal secretions which are colonized by Gram-negative bacilli (GNB) in up to 100% of ICU patients. Great controversy surrounds the value of various methods used to diagnose nosocomial pneumonia. Clinical criteria of pneumonia include fever, leukocytosis, purulent tracheobronchial secretions, and a new infiltrate on chest x-ray—all of which are also frequently observed in patients free of pneumonia. Tracheobronchial secretions are often contaminated by microorganisms colonizing the upper airways and their examination may provide misleading information and result in patient mismanagement. Blood cultures are valuable but positive in only a small proportion of patients with nosocomial pneumonia. Transtracheal and transthoracic aspiration are unsatisfactory in the intubated patient requiring mechanical ventilation. Immunologic techniques like countercurrent immunoelectrophoresis are promising but presently inadequate to screen for a wide variety of organisms. Transbronchial or open-lung biopsy may be considered if the pneumonia is thought to be due to opportunistic organisms rather than bacteria. From a practical standpoint, the least misleading information is probably obtained by quantitative cultures obtained from the lower airways by fiberoptic bronchoscopy, employing the plugged telescoping-catheter brush technique.
GENETIC SELECTION FOR COPING STYLE PREDICTS STRESSOR SUSCEPTIBILITY

Genetically selected high-aggressive (SAL) and low-aggressive (LAL) male wild house-mice which show distinctly different coping styles, also display a differential regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis after exposure to an acute stressor. To test the hypothesis that coping style predicts stressor susceptibility, the present study examined line differences in response to a chronic stressor. Chronic psychosocial stress was evoked using two paradigms. In the first paradigm, a SAL or LAL male was living in sensory contact (except tactile contact) with a dominant SAL male for 25 days (sensory contact stress). In the second paradigm, a SAL or LAL male was, in addition to the first paradigm, defeated by a SAL male for 21 consecutive days (defeat stress). The sensory contact stressor induced in LAL mice chronic body weight loss and increased plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone levels compared to SAL mice and increased corticosterone levels, thymus involution and lower hippocampal mineralocorticoid receptor (MR): glucocorticoid receptor (GR) ratio compared to LAL controls. The defeat stressor increased corticosterone secretion and caused adrenal hypertrophy and thymus involution in both mouse lines. Defeated LAL mice showed longlasting body weight loss and higher corticosterone concentrations than SAL mice and lower hippocampal MR:GR ratio and decreased immobility behaviour in the forced swimming test than LAL controls. Hypothalamic corticotropin-releasing hormone mRNA expression was higher in defeated SAL than in controls. The present data show that both stress paradigms induced line-dependent physiological and neuroendocrine changes, but that the sensory contact stressor produced chronic stress symptoms in LAL mice only. This latter stress paradigm therefore seems promising to analyse the role of genetic factors in the individual differences in stress-related psychopathology. Coping style predicts stressor susceptibility 53
Volatile Fatty Acids, Metabolic By-products of Periodontopathic Bacteria, Inhibit Lymphocyte Proliferation and Cytokine Production

Short-chain fatty acids are a major by-product of anaerobic metabolism and can be detected in gingival fluid from periodontal pockets. Since most T cells are present subjacent to the pocket epithelium in conjunction with the plasma cells, it is important to know how these T cells are affected by short-chain fatty acids produced by subgingival plaque. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of extracellular metabolites from periodontopathic bacteria on the proliferation and cytokine production of mouse splenic cells as a potential mechanism of imbalance among host-microbial interactions. A low-molecular-weight, heat-stable agent present in the two-day culture filtrate of Porphyromonas gingival is, Prevotella loescheii, and Fusobacterium nucleatum significantly depressed Con A- and LPS- induced cell proliferation. To determine whether short-chain fatty acids present in the filtrate could account for the depression, we tested extracted volatile and nonvolatile fatty acids for their effects on mitogenic activity. The volatile fatty acids extracted from immunosuppressive supernatants greatly inhibited T- and B- cell proliferation. Among these volatile fatty acids, butyric, propionic, valeric, and isovaleric acids impaired cell proliferation dose-dependently. From gas-liquid chromatographic analysis data, it is suggested that immuno-inhibitory activities in culture filtrates are mainly attributable to butyric and isovaleric acids in P. gingival is, to propionic, butyric, and isovaleric acids in P. loescheii, and to butyric acid in F. nucleatum. Furthermore, these fatty acids significantly depressed interleukin 2 (IL-2), IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, and IL-10 production by Con A-stimulated splenic-T cells dose-dependently. These results suggest that the volatile fatty acids produced by periodontopathic bacteria, easily penetrating the oral mucosa, severely harm periodontal tissue, including immunoregulatory cells.
Hyperactivation of the Insulin Signaling Pathway Improves Intracellular Proteostasis by Coordinately Up-regulating the Proteostatic Machinery in Adipocytes*

Hyperinsulinemia, which is associated with aging and metabolic disease, may lead to defective protein homeostasis (proteostasis) due to hyperactivation of insulin-sensitive pathways such as protein synthesis. We investigated the effect of chronic hyperinsulinemia on proteostasis by generating a time-resolved map of insulin-regulated protein turnover in adipocytes using metabolic pulse-chase labeling and high resolution mass spectrometry. Hyperinsulinemia increased the synthesis of nearly half of all detected proteins and did not affect protein degradation despite suppressing autophagy. Unexpectedly, this marked elevation in protein synthesis was accompanied by enhanced protein stability and folding and not by markers of proteostasis stress such as protein carbonylation and aggregation. The improvement in proteostasis was attributed to a coordinate up-regulation of proteins in the global proteostasis network, including ribosomal, proteasomal, chaperone, and endoplasmic reticulum/mitochondrial unfolded protein response proteins. We conclude that defects associated with hyperactivation of the insulin signaling pathway are unlikely attributed to defective proteostasis because up-regulation of protein synthesis by insulin is accompanied by up-regulation of proteostatic machinery.
Developing the EBS Management Model to Assist SMEs to Evaluate E-Commerce Success

In the literature, a lack of strong consensus or well-known theoretical research framework exists to defining and evaluating e-commerce success among small to medium enter prises (SMEs). Exploring more effective methods to describe and evaluate e-commerce success becomes a challenging task. This research seeks to help fill the gap by proposing a new model to evaluate e-commerce success from a business perspective. This mea - sure has been termed e-commerce business satisfaction (EBS). A total of 2401 surveys were successfully sent to SMEs. The usable response rate for the surveys was 7.54%. Principal component analysis with varimax rotation method was then adopted within the factor analysis. Using the 15 critical success factors (CSFs) obtained from previous research as a foundation, an EBS management model was finally simply developed to assist SMEs business managers in effectively adopting e-commerce systems or evaluating e-commerce success, which was categorised into five components including Marketing, Management Support and Customer Acceptance, Website Effectiveness and Cost, Managing Change and Knowledge and Skills . Further research is needed to determine the weighting of each CSF so that a yardstick measurement method might be further developed to assist SMEs in adopting e-commerce successfully.
Survival of ovarian cancer patients in Denmark: Results from the Danish gynaecological cancer group (DGCG) database, 1995–2012

Abstract Background: Ovarian cancer has a high mortality rate, especially in Denmark where mortality rates have been reported higher than in adjacent countries with similar demographics. This study therefore examined recent survival and mortality among Danish ovarian cancer patients over an 18-year study period. Methods: This nationwide registry-based observational study used data from the Danish Gynecology Cancer Database, Danish Pathology Registry, and Danish National Patient Registry. All patients with ovarian cancer diagnosed between 1995 and 2012 were included in the study. The data sources were linked via the patients’ personal identification number and the analyses included data on cancer stage, age, survival, surgery status and comorbidity. The computed outcome measures were age-adjusted mortality rates and age-adjusted overall and relative survival rates for one and five years. Results: We identified 9972 patients diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the period 1995–2012. The absolute one-year mortality rate decreased from 42.8 (CI 40.3–45.6) in 1995–1999 to 28.3 (CI 25.9–30.9) in 2010–2012, and the five-year mortality rate decreased from 28.2 (CI 27.0–29.5) in 1995–1999 to 23.9 (CI 22.9–25.0) in 2005–2009. After stratification by age, comorbidity and cancer stage, the decrease in one-year mortality was most substantial in the 65–74 year old age group 41.1 (CI 38.8–43.5) to 26.5 (CI 24.4–28.7) and for stage III 39.1 (CI 35.1–43.6) to 22.9 (CI 19.9–26.5) and stage IV 91.3 (CI 80.8–103.2) to 41.9 (CI 35.5–49.5). For overall survival, we showed an increase in one-year survival from 68% (CI 66–69%) in 1995–1999 to 76% (CI 74–78%) in 2010–2012 and an increase in five-year survival from 33% (CI 32–35%) in 1995–1999 to 36% (CI 34–38%) in 2005–2009. Relative survival showed similar increases through the period. Conclusions: Ovarian cancer survival in Denmark has improved substantially from 1995 to 2012, bringing Denmark closer to the standards set by adjacent countries.
Political Economy of Intermunicipal Health Consortia Formation: Effects of Income and Preference Heterogeneity among Municipalities'

This article presents models of electoral competition in municipalities in which candidates for mayor announce platforms consisting of the amount of health services to be provided and the corresponding tax schedules. Health services can be provided in an autarkic way or by means of a consortium of two municipalities. The paper studies the effects of income and preference heterogeneity among municipalities. Only when municipalities are totally homogeneous may one assert that the consortium brings about an increase in the provision of health services. Moreover, homogeneous consortia tend to be formed whereas heterogeneous municipalities tend to remain separated.