Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An innovative application of Bayesian disease mapping methods to patient safety research: a Canadian adverse medical event study

Recently developed disease mapping and ecological regression methods have become important techniques in studies of disease epidemiology and in health services research. This increase in importance is partially a result of the development of Bayesian statistical methodologies that make it possible to study associations between health problems and risk factors at an aggregate (i.e. areal) level while taking into account such matters as unmeasured confounding and spatial relationships. In this paper we present a demonstration of the joint use of empirical Bayes (EB) and full Bayesian inferential techniques in a small area study of adverse medical events (also known as ‘iatrogenic injury’) in British Columbia, Canada. In particular, we illustrate a unified Bayesian hierarchical spatial modelling framework that enables simultaneous examinations of potential associations between adverse medical event occurrence and regional characteristics, age effects, residual variation and spatial autocorrelation. We propose an analytic strategy for complementary use of EB and FB inferential techniques for risk assessment and model selection, presenting an EB–FB combined approach that draws on the strengths of each method while minimizing inherent weaknesses. The work was motivated by the need to explore relatively efficient ways to analyse regional variations of health services outcomes and resource utilization when a considerable amount of statistical modelling and inference are required. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
How much elderly people of Isfahan are adherent to their drug therapy regimens?

Background: The need for a correct follow-up for medical advices of health givers is the cornerstone for avoiding drug-related complications in especial period of elderly people life. There isn’t any data about drug therapy regimens adherence of elderly people of Isfahan. In this study, we aimed to cover this deficit. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study which was carried out in Isfahan (Iran) in 2013 senior citizens (aged 65 or more) who were taking at least one medication and had no record of residency in nursing homes were included. We used Morisky medication adherence scale (after validation and reliability assessment for using this questionnaire in Persian language) to evaluate the level of adherence in the study population. Results: A total of 200 elderly participants were fully studied (n = 200, 61% females), and 52% of them had poor medication adherence. 77.5% of participants were suffered from at least four medical illnesses, and 18.5% of them were taking more than eight medications per day. We have not found any significant statistical relationship between vision or hearing loss disorders and the medication adherence of the participants). There was a significant positive relationship between the level of education and medication adherence (P = 0.001), (χ2 = 0.29). Conclusion: Low Medication adherence is a common and important drug issue in the elderly in Isfahan. This issue can lead to medical complications and huge cost if it is not addressed appropriately.
Empowering People's Organizations in Community Based Forest Management in the Philippines: The Community Organizing Role of NGOs

Underlying community based forest management is the belief that communities are in the best position to manage and protect forests if they participate in decisionmaking on the sustainable use of forest resources. For several decades the development approach in the Philippines has been to empower People’s Organizations (PO) through the use of community organizers employed by development oriented NGOs. Lack of attention to community organizing and social preparation, however, has been identified as a factors hindering forest protection. In less developed countries the effective reach of government is limited. The relationship between NGOs and POs therefore acts as a dual span bridge to the community relying on the development and training skills of NGO staff and on the ability of the PO to mobilize its membership to perform on-ground works. Analysis of case studies of the use of community organizing at Mt Makiling and Mt Banahaw has demonstrated that the capacity for communities to be involved in community forestry is a prerequisite to effective participation.
Pubertal maturation in girls and the relationship to anthropometric changes: pathways through puberty.

OBJECTIVE Patterns of pubertal maturation may have an impact on several risk factors associated with adult morbidity and mortality, such as obesity. We examined the relationship of the initial manifestation of puberty in girls with anthropometric measures, as well as age at menarche. METHODS White females (n = 1166, ages 9 and 10 at intake) were followed with annual visits for 10 years. Physical examinations included height, weight, skinfold thicknesses, and pubertal maturation assessment. RESULTS During the course of the study, 443 of 859 eligible females (51.6%) were observed to have asynchronous maturation in the development of puberty, that is, initial areolar/breast (thelarche pathway) or pubic hair (adrenarche pathway) development, without development of the other characteristic. Using a longitudinal regression model, significant interactions were noted between initial pubertal manifestation and years since onset of puberty on the following outcomes: sum of skinfolds thickness, percent body fat, waist-to-hip ratio, and body mass index (BMI). However, age of onset of pubertal maturation was the same in the 2 groups (10.7 years). Females in the thelarche pathway had earlier menarche (12.6 vs 13.1 years) as well as greater skinfolds, body fat, and BMI at the time of menarche. Females in the thelarche pathway also had greater body fat and BMI 1 year before puberty and throughout puberty compared with those in the adrenarche pathway. CONCLUSIONS Females who enter puberty through the thelarche pathway, as compared with the adrenarche pathway, had greater sum of skinfold thicknesses, BMI, and percent body fat 1 year before the onset, as well as throughout, puberty. Because larger body composition and earlier age of menarche of females in the thelarche pathway parallel the epidemiologic profiles of women who are obese or at risk for obesity, these females may be at greater risk for adult obesity.
Activity-based correlation of personal documents and their visualization using association rule mining

It is a common observation nowadays that the personal information of user is difficult to manage, the material which is copied by the users to their personal system are often forgotten by the users. So when they require their information it becomes very difficult to find the relevant information from huge repository. We have introduced a method using which the activities of user for reading documents are captured from running process list and managed in a dataset along with accessing time, then frequent item set and associated weights are calculated for each document with other using Apriori Algorithm and confidence measure in conjunction with combined access time. When user searches a document, the document list appears using any conventional model of retrieval, we have used primary metadata including title, author, type for document searching. Beside this, a visual interface is designed to display the list correlated document on the basis of users activities may help them to indentify documents according to their past activities.
An Assessment of Barbados' Competitiveness within the EU Market 1992-2006

This paper assesses Barbados' competitiveness within the EU market in light of its recent signing of an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the EU in 2008. Using SITC data from 1992-2006, indices of revealed comparative advantage (RCA) were calculated. We found that Barbados possesses comparative advantages in Live Animals; Raw Sugars, Beet and Cane; and Spirits. However, policies such as the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), stringent sanitary and phytosanitary requirements, onerous rules of origin and non-tariff barriers including technical barriers to trade, threaten to undermine these advantages. These developments strongly suggest that Barbados must move agriculture up the value chain and increase value-added, as well as integrate it more fully with other sectors of its economy. Greater attention must be focused on countries in the EU other than the UK, if full advantage is to be taken of the EPA, as the UK market is already mature. There is evidence that export opportunities to these countries exist in other commodity groups (Fuels, Lubricants, etc.; Animal, Vegetable Oils Fats, Wax; Chemicals, Related Products; Manufactured Goods). When these issues are placed within the context of Barbados' history of weak capacity to take advantage of the market access opportunities available from their trading arrangements, the overarching challenge for Barbados is one of effective market access. This will require, among other things, a capable export promotion agency. The export of non-traditional commodities should be promoted, and greater support, perhaps in the form of incentives, should be provided to large firms that are not yet exporters to encourage them to look beyond the domestic market.
Evaluation and Application of a Hybrid Brain Computer Interface for Real Wheelchair Parallel Control with Multi-Degree of Freedom

There have been many attempts to design brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) for wheelchair control based on steady state visual evoked potential (SSVEP), event-related desynchronization/synchronization (ERD/ERS) during motor imagery (MI) tasks, P300 evoked potential, and some hybrid signals. However, those BCI systems cannot implement the wheelchair navigation flexibly and effectively. In this paper, we propose a hybrid BCI scheme based on two-class MI and four-class SSVEP tasks. It cannot only provide multi-degree control for its user, but also allow the user implement the different types of commands in parallel. In order for the subject to learn the hybrid mental strategies effectively, we design a visual and auditory cues and feedback-based training paradigm. Furthermore, an algorithm based on entropy of classification probabilities is proposed to detect intentional control (IC) state for hybrid tasks, and ensure that multi-degree control commands are accurately and quickly generated. The experiment results attest to the efficiency and flexibility of the hybrid BCI for wheelchair control in the real-world.
The Balassa Samuelson Hypothesis in the Asia-Pacific Region Revisited

In a study of nine Asia-Pacific countries' real exchange rates, Chinn (2000) finds some evidence in support of the Balassa (1964) and Samuelson (1964) hypothesis. His findings, however, are based on the application of a model containing several potentially restrictive simplifying assumptions to a dataset of limited span. Consequently, we look to assess the effect on Chinn's findings of considerably increasing the sample size and relaxing these assumptions. We find a comparable level of evidence for the Balassa-Samuelson hypothesis when applying Chinn's model to the larger sample, but obtain significantly greater support when a less restrictive approach is adopted. Copyright © 2008 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Buffer layer effects on magnetic resonance in ferrite-piezoelectric bilayer

The present paper focuses on the investigation of the ferromagnetic resonance in laminate based on piezoelectric, buffer and ferrite layers. Electric field applied to piezoelectric layer gives rise to the thickness-dependent magnetic anisotropy in ferrite. In addition to the electrically induced resonance line shift, our theory provides evidence for electric control of magnetic resonance line width. The FMR line broadening is estimated in terms of component material parameters. For specific ferrite to piezoelectric layer thickness ratios, the buffer layer thickness dependence of FMR line broadening shows a maximum. The study described here can be useful for microwave applications.
Coming Full Circle: The Study of Big Business since 1950

Taking a broad view of historians' work on the rise of big business in the United States over the last half-century, this article attempts to assess both where business history has been and where it may go in the future. The analysis recognizes the centrality of the impact made by Alfred D. Chandler, Jr., but it also delves into other paths, including some not taken, of interest to historians. This wide-ranging interpretation also maintains the importance of big business itself as a subject worthy of historical attention and argues that its crucial role in the development of American society has not yet been considered by mainstream historians with the intensity it deserves. Musing over the nearly constant preoccupation of practitioners with defining the scope of business history as a field, the essay highlights a number of topics needing attention, suggesting that historians of business are well positioned to shed light on the growing role of business in all aspects of life in the twenty-first century.
Cardiovascular risk estimation tailored to different clinical settings – the Tromsø study

Abstract Objective. To develop a cardiovascular risk model simulating different clinical settings using a staged approach. Design. Using data from 27 477 men and women from the Norwegian Tromsø Study in 1986–1987 and 1994–1995, Cox regression models for either myocardial infarction (MI) or stroke combined with a similar model for the competing event a risk model that assess ten-year risk of MI and stroke was developed. Explanatory variables (questions, simple examinations and blood samples) were added gradually. The model was validated using Hosmer-Lemeshow test, the Brier score, c-index, integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) and Net Reclassification Improvement (NRI). Results. In total, 1 298 events of MI and 769 events of stroke were registered. For MI the model showed excellent discrimination in each step with c-index from 0.833 to 0.946. For stroke the c-index ranged between 0.817 and 0.898. IDI showed significant increases in discrimination. The Brier scores and goodness of fit test showed well calibrated models in all steps for all sex- and end-point specific models (p>0.05). Conclusions. Although the predictive and discriminative ability of the models increased with each step, even the simplest model containing only data from questions or blood samples alone yielded valid estimates of cardiovascular risk.
Multiple controls exerted on in vivo expression of the pepN gene in Escherichia coli: studies with pepN-lacZ operon and protein fusion strains

Three physiological conditions were shown to promote transcriptional regulation of pepN expression: phosphate limitation, the nature of the source of carbon and energy, and anaerobiosis. The transcriptional level of regulation can be deduced from the observation of these effects in strains carrying operon fusion pepN-lacZ. Mutations in the various genes phoB, phoM, phoR, crp, and fnr (oxrA) did not affect pepN expression.
Financial Reporting Outcomes under Rules-Based and Principles-Based Accounting Standards

SYNOPSIS: This archival study addresses whether the presence or absence of “bright lines” in a lease accounting standard influences the classification of leases as capital or operating. To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first archival research to address the association between lease classification decisions and the use of U.S. GAAP and IFRS lease accounting standards. We examine firms' lease classification decisions using 2007–2009 data from a matched sample of members of the Fortune Global 500 that report under U.S. GAAP and IFRS. Consistent with experimental work by Agoglia et al. (2011), we find strong evidence that U.S. GAAP firms using a lease standard containing bright-line guidance (i.e., ASC 840) are more likely to classify leases as operating than IFRS firms adhering to a lease accounting standard that lacks the bright lines of the U.S. standard (i.e., IAS 17). Also consistent with Agoglia et al. (2011), we find little evidence of increased dispersion accompanying financial reportin.
On the Measurement of Gender Equality and Gender‐related Development Levels

The aim of this paper is, first, to present an overall development index corrected for gender differences — the ‘Multidimensional Gender‐related Development Index’ (MGDI) — which can be viewed as an alternative to the Gender‐related Development Index. Secondly, to present a ‘Multidimensional Gender Equality Index’ (MGEI) that is not influenced by overall development levels. The new MGDI and MGEI are intended to overcome some of the shortcomings that characterize both the United Nations Development Programme's gender‐related indices — the Gender‐related Development and the Gender Empowerment Measure — and other indices that try to measure gender inequality by itself. This is accomplished through an innovative approach in which we first outline the theoretical properties of a reasonable gender equality measure and an overall development index corrected for gender differences, and then present an appropriate measure that contains all those properties at the same time.
An Emissions Trading Scheme for Australia: National and Regional Impacts

type="main" xml:id="ecor12117-abs-0001"> Computable general equilibrium modelling in Australia is oriented towards providing inputs to the policy-formation process, a process that requires detail. We explain how the necessary level of detail can be provided using analysis of the potential economic impacts of a carbon price on the Australian economy that operates as part of a global emissions trading scheme. The global scheme sets the price and allocation of permits across countries. We find that domestic abatement falls well short of targeted abatement, Australia's GDP is 1.1 per cent lower relative to the basecase, and some industries and regions are vulnerable to employment losses.
Estimating Social Graphs in an Education Environment: Using Mobile Communication Devices

Mobile communication devices are now truly ubiquitous and as such they are the ideal tool for research in human social relationships. Using only smartphones with customized operating systems and with no prior knowledge about the participants, we show that it is possible to accurately infer the existence of social ties between mobile phones users in a U.K. high school.
Labour market evolution : the economic history of market integration, wage flexibility, and the employment relation

How have modern labour markets developed? Both labour economists and economic historians agree that it is necessary to look at labour markets in their historical context. Labour Market Evolution does just this. The contributors examine the operation and development of labour markets in Western Europe and North America since 1500. They address the key questions in this complicated process using new quantitative evidence. First, how closely connected were geographically distant labour markets? Second, how flexible were markets in the past - did wages change in response to demand shocks? Did workers move across space and occupations in response to cyclical or seasonal conditions. Third, were relationships between employees and employers short-term or long-term? Why did relationships change, and what were the implications for the flexibility and integration of markets? In examining these factors, this volume draws on modern labour economic theory and up-to-date quantitative techniques to show how current traditions and systems have evolved.
Origins, Development And Outcomes Of Public Private Partnerships In Ireland: The Case Of Ppps In Social Housing Regeneration

This paper explores the origins and development of PPPs in the delivery of public services and infrastructure internationally and in Ireland, where they were introduced on a pilot basis in June 1999. It contextualises PPPs within the broader process of privatisation and neoliberalism. It provides a critical analysis from the literature of both the benefits and more recent criticisms of PPPs in practice. It outlines the extent to which the development and outcomes of PPPs in Ireland mirror the international experience of PPPs. Using the social housing sector as a case study, this paper presents important findings for public policy in relation to the delivery of public services and infrastructure generally, given the dearth of existing empirical evidence relating to PPPs. The understanding of PPPs in Ireland presented in the paper provides both an insight into the contemporary nature of Irish public policy in this area and evidence of the increasing role of the private sector and neoliberal perspectives in Irish public service policy formation generally.
Adhesion-dependent Activation of the ERK1/2 Cascade Is By-passed in Melanoma Cells*

Normal cells are dependent upon integrin-mediated adhesion to the extracellular matrix for cell proliferation and survival. Integrins regulate these processes partially through control of extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2). A trait of malignant cells is their ability to undergo anchorage-independent growth. Melanomas are tumors arising from normal melanocytes that, if undetected at an early stage, are highly invasive and poorly treatable. Proliferation of melanoma cells and melanocytes is dependent upon ERK1/2 signaling, and mutation of B-Raf, a component of the ERK1/2 pathway, is commonly found in melanomas. We addressed the role of integrin-mediated adhesion in ERK1/2 signaling in human melanoma cells and primary melanocytes. Basal ERK1/2 activity was low, and growth factor activation was adhesion-dependent in normal human melanocytes. By contrast in mutant B-Raf-expressing melanoma cells (SK-MEL-24 and SK-MEL-28), the ERK1/2 pathway was constitutively active, and adhesion-dependent regulation of ERK1/2 activity was by-passed. Furthermore, in melanoma cells, ERK1/2 translocated to the nucleus and regulated transcription events in an adhesion-independent manner. Expression of mutant V599E B-Raf in normal melanocytes was sufficient to promote adhesion-independent ERK1/2 signaling. These results indicate that alterations in the adhesion requirement for ERK1/2 signaling in melanocytes are associated with the acquisition of malignant cell behavior.
Competitive Balance: Time Series Lessons from the English Premier League

Structural break points in the First Division/English Premier League time series of competitive balance identify an Early Period, a Pre-World War II Period, a Post-War Period, and a Modern Period. The Early Period corresponds to technology diffusion (defense and tactics) along with important economic structural imposition by leagues. The war periods are common to many time series. The Modern Periodi¯s sharp decline in balance corresponds to the newest version of the Champions League in 1994/1995, increased revenue inequality, and the Bosman Ruling of 1995. Suggestions for future research are many.