Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Long-Term Adverse Effects of Early Growth Acceleration or Catch-Up Growth

Background: Whilst prevention of growth faltering has both short- and long-term health benefits, whether too fast or accelerated infant growth adversely affects later health outcomes is controversial and a major focus of research. Summary: Many observational studies suggest that rapid weight gain in infancy (upward centile crossing) increases the long-term risk of obesity and non-communicable disease. This association has been seen in infants from low- and high-income countries, in infants born preterm or at term, and those born with normal or low birth weight for gestation. Experimental (randomized) studies in both breast- and formula-fed infants support a causal link between early growth acceleration and infant nutrition and later risk of obesity. These observations suggest that strategies to optimize the pattern of infant growth could make a major contribution to stemming the current global epidemic of non-communicable disease. Key Messages: The optimal pattern of infant weight gain is likely to differ in different populations. The benefits of rapid infant weight gain for later neurodevelopment favors the promotion of rapid growth in infants born preterm. However, growth acceleration in healthy infants born at term (either normal or low birth weight for gestation) is likely to have adverse effects for long-term health.
The “need to know” and the lack of online transparency among political parties

Purpose – This paper aims to analyse the level of informative transparency among Spanish political parties and political foundations, according to general and descriptive information (e.g. contact, ideas and values, electoral programmes, members, etc.) and economic, governance and financial information. Design/methodology/approach – The situation of the parties in each year is represented by a biplot, which is a graphical representation of a multivariate sample. The data for this analysis were obtained from the reports published by Fundacion Compromiso y Transparencia (Foundation for Integrity and Transparency) for 2011 and 2012. Findings – This paper evidences the existence of serious problems of opacity, especially in relation to financial information (balance sheet, income statement, annual accounts and audit report) and information on the fulfilment of goals and programmes (management report and compliance report). Originality/value – This is the first attempt to analyse statistically the level of tra.
[A comprehensive evaluation on psychological quality among automobile drivers].

OBJECTIVE To study the comprehensive evaluation on the indexes of psychological quality on automobile drivers. METHODS A index system, consisted of seven psychological indexes (including relevant physiological indexes), was developed through Delphi method and mathematical statistics. Basic data of the seven psychological and physiological indexes including mean, standard deviation and percentile, were taken from more than 8,000 occupational licensed automobile drivers and more than 6,000 trainees who were randomly sampled from 5 cities across China. The weight coefficients of indexes were determined by analytical hierarchy process (AHP). RESULTS Comprehensive evaluation equations of the occupational automobile drivers and the trainees were established respectively. The critical values of evaluation were divided into grades by the percentiles of evaluated values. Verified results showed that there was significant difference of the values under evaluation between drivers who had accidents and who did not (t = 14.68, P < 0.01; H = 73.61, P < 0.001). The test of consistence showed that the consistence was quite good (rate of consistence = 92.99%; kappa = 0.85). CONCLUSION Results showed that the comprehensive equations for evaluation were reasonable and feasible for detecting the potential accident-proneness drivers.
Regional Inequalities, Decentralisation and the Performance of Local Governments in Post-Communist Romania

Abstract The economic growth that has occurred in post-communist Romania has polarised society and greatly increased existing inequalities. The aim of this paper is to investigate regional disparities, to underline the role of governmental mechanisms in smoothing out territorial inequalities, and to examine the possible effects of regional economic disparities on the performance of regional administrations in delivering public services, in the light of the new regionalisation debate. The conclusion is that Romanian counties' institutional performance does not completely correlate with regional wealth; but regional disparities and the mechanisms used to smooth out inequalities have to be taken into account in the public debate concerning further decentralisation.
Sedation assessment in critically ill patients with bispectral index.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Clinical sedation assessment becomes insufficient in deeply sedated patients. Bispectral index as a processed electroencephalogram parameter provides a continuous and observer-independent value reported to change with sedation. The aim of this prospective observational study was to determine the reliability and possible confounding factors of the bispectral index to assess sedation in surgical intensive care patients. METHODS Following major surgery, bispectral index, body temperature and electromyographic activity of 44 ventilated patients were recorded. Sedation levels were assessed with Ramsay sedation score. RESULTS Although bispectral index correlated with Ramsay sedation score (-0.64; P < 0.01) we found that in deeply sedated patients temperature instability and electromyographic activity increased bispectral index. Bispectral index correlated significantly with electromyographic activity (0.80; P < 0.01) and with an increase of body temperature (0.55; P < 0.01) not only in all patients but also in clinically deeply sedated patients (0.57; P < 0.01 and 0.46; P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Only under certain conditions, such as low muscular activity and body temperature stability, may the bispectral index be a useful addition to clinical scoring in the sedation assessment of critically ill patients.
Strategic Management: How to Apply it to Firms in the Hospitality Industry

The purpose of this article is to examine the contribution of strategic management to organisations in the hospitality industry. Rapid changes, vulnerability to recession, and other environmental threats call for an ongoing future-result-oriented process of managing organisations and their environment through utilisation of knowledge and experience derived from various disciplines, all aimed at survival, growth and profitability. The article examines various concepts and models applicable to various organisations. It emphasises the importance of planning and implementation as well as the appropriate allocation of resources.
Exact Closed-Form BER Analysis of OFDM Systems in the Presence of IQ Imbalances and ICSI

In this paper, we derive an exact closed-form expression for the bit error rate (BER) of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems impaired by transmit (TX) and receive (RX) in-phase/quadrature (IQ) imbalances and imperfect channel state information (ICSI), in Rayleigh fading channels. Since the decision metric in this scenario can be expressed as a quadratic form D in Gaussian complex-valued non-circularly symmetric random variables (RVs) with zero mean, we provide a general expression for the calculation of Pr{D <; 0}. In addition, two approximate closed-form expressions for the BER are obtained, which are demonstrated to be extremely accurate for practical values of IQ imbalances. Results show that TX IQ imbalance is in general less detrimental than RX IQ imbalance, and confirm that the correlation between the channel response at the observed subcarrier frequency and the mirror subcarrier has a significant impact in the BER.
Crucial Role for Nuclear Factor of Activated T Cells in T Cell Receptor-mediated Regulation of Human Interleukin-17*

The biological activities of the inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-17 have been widely studied. However, comparatively little is known about how IL-17 expression is controlled. Here, we examined the basis for transcriptional regulation of the human IL-17 gene. IL-17 secretion was induced in peripheral blood mononuclear cells following anti-CD3 cross-linking to activate the T cell receptor (TCR), and costimulatory signaling through CD28 strongly enhanced CD3-induced IL-17 production. To define cis-acting elements important for IL-17 gene regulation, we cloned 1.25 kb of genomic sequence upstream of the transcriptional start site. This putative promoter was active in Jurkat T cells following CD3 and CD28 cross-linking, and its activity was inhibited by cyclosporin A and MAPK inhibitors. The promoter was also active in Hut102 T cells, which we have shown to secrete IL-17 constitutively. Overexpression of nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) or Ras enhanced IL-17 promoter activity, and studies in Jurkat lines deficient in specific TCR signaling pathways provided supporting evidence for a role for NFAT. To delineate the IL-17 minimal promoter, we created a series of 5′ truncations and identified a region between -232 and -159 that was sufficient for inducible promoter activity. Interestingly, two NFAT sites were located within this region, which bound to NFATc1 and NFATc2 in nuclear extracts from Hut102 and Jurkat cells. Moreover, mutations of these sites dramatically reduced both specific DNA binding and reporter gene activity, and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays showed occupancy of NFAT at this region in vivo. Together, these data show that NFAT is the crucial sensor of TCR signaling in the IL-17 promoter.
Simulation Study on Iterative Reconstruction Method for Time-Correlation Magnetic Particle Imaging With Continuous Trajectory Scan

Magnetic particle imaging (MPI) is a medical imaging technology suitable for noninvasive diagnostics. However, in conventional image reconstruction methods, due to either noise or the reconstruction method itself, the reconstructed image quality degrades. In order to suppress this problem, we improved the time-correlation MPI method that we had previously proposed. Specifically, this method iteratively corrects image blurring by reducing the difference between the observed signals from magnetic nanoparticles and the analytically calculated waveforms for the reconstructed image generated with the time-correlation method. Using numerical simulation, we evaluate the effectiveness of this method in conjunction with the continuous scan technique, which makes fast data acquisition possible.
Future of Long-Term Care Financing for the Elderly in Korea

ABSTRACT With rapid aging, change in family structure, and the increase in the labor participation of women, the demand for long-term care has been increasing in Korea. Inappropriate utilization of medical care by the elderly in health care institutions, such as social admissions, also puts a financial burden on the health insurance system. The widening gap between the need for long-term care and the capacity of welfare programs to fulfill that need, along with a rather new national pension scheme and the limited economic capacity of the elderly, calls for a new public financing mechanism to provide protection for a broader range of old people from the costs of long-term care. Many important decisions are yet to be made, although Korea is likely to introduce social insurance for long-term care rather than tax-based financing, following the tradition of social health insurance. Whether it should cover only the elderly long-term care or all types of long-term care including disability of all age groups will have a critical impact on social solidarity and the financial sustainability of the new long-term care insurance. Generosity of benefits or the level of out-of-pocket payment, the role of cash benefits, and the relation with health insurance scheme all should be taken into account in the design of a new financing scheme. Lack of care personnel and facilities is also a barrier to the implementation of public long-term care financing in Korea, and the implementation strategy needs to be carved out carefully.
Investigation of Ge component cells

In this paper we investigate germanium (Ge) component cells with respect to their suitability as test structures for irradiation experiments and as reference cells. It will be demonstrated by means of spectral response measurements that Ge component cells do not exhibit the same behavior as a Ge subcell in the complete triple-junction (3J) device. Photon recycling from upper layers (GaInP, GaInAs) results in large signals in shorter wavelength regions. This leads to a higher photocurrent in the Ge component cell compared to the Ge subcell. In this paper it will be shown that this effect places restrictions on the suitability of Ge component cells for the above mentioned purposes. Possible solutions for each of the mentioned applications of Ge component cells are presented.
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation at 1Hz and 5Hz produces sustained improvement in motor function and disability after ischaemic stroke

Background: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a simple and non‐invasive method of augmenting motor recovery after stroke, probably mediated by restoring inter‐hemispheric activation balance. This placebo‐controlled pilot study examined the possible benefit of stimulating the lesioned hemisphere (5‐Hz rTMS) or inhibiting the contra‐lesional hemisphere (1‐Hz rTMS) on clinical recovery of motor function in patients with ischaemic stroke and assessed the sustainability of the response.
Integrated sustainability assessment of mobility transitions: Simulating stakeholders' visions of and pathways to sustainable land-based mobility

In this paper, we outline work underway within the EC funded MATISSE project to develop innovative agent based simulation models to support learning and decision-making for Integrated Sustainability Assessments (ISAs) of sustainable mobility. The tools we are developing are designed to simulate â€“ and stimulate â€“ 'transitions' (radical systemic innovation) to sustainable futures. In applying the modelling tool to the land-based mobility case, we have used desk research and stakeholder workshops to identify visions of and pathways to sustainable mobility. Future work will use the agent-based modelling tool to assess the impacts of policies on sustainability criteria defined by stakeholders.
Method to characterize and classify atrial fibrillation based on kurtosis

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmias worldwide. So large are the efforts to implement systems that support the diagnosis of AF. Thus, some authors have attempted to characterize the signal with AF through statistical lower order, which require assumptions of linearity and gaussianity [1], [2]. To work around these assumptions, other authors use methodologies that require more preprocessing steps, complicating the implementation of such methodologies in embedded systems [3], [4]. Therefore, we propose to characterize and classify the signal with AF using the kurtosis. The great difference of this method is that instead of considering the irregularity of the RR time series [5], we consider the irregularities of the FA signal itself. Our methodology is based on kurtosis to be a statistic of high order (Papoulis and Pillai, 2002), due to the characteristic of the ECG signal to be sparse. The proposed methodology also requires small number of preprocessing steps, allowing implementations in embedded systems. To evaluate the proposed methodology, we use signals obtained from the MIT-BIH bases of Atrial Fibrillation data and MIT-BIH Normal Sinus Rhythm referring to patients with AF and with normal heart rhythm, respectively. The results present a specificity and a sensitivity of 94.44% and 78.95%, respectively and accuracy of 86.49%.
Are the advantages of the Mediterranean diet transferable to other populations? A cohort study in Melbourne, Australia

A prospective cohort study, involving 141 Anglo-Celts and 189 Greek-Australians of both sexes aged 70 years or more, was undertaken in Melbourne, Australia. The objective was to evaluate whether adherence to the principles of the Mediterranean diet affects survival of elderly people in developed non-Mediterranean countries. Diet was assessed using an extensive validated questionnaire on food intake. A one unit increase in a diet score, devised a priori on the basis of eight key features of the traditional common diet in the Mediterranean region, was associated with a 17 % reduction in overall mortality (two-tailed P value 0·07). Mortality reduction with increasing diet score was at least as evident among Anglo-Celts as among Greek-Australians. We conclude that a diet that adheres to the principles of the traditional Mediterranean diet is associated with longer survival among Australians of either Greek or Anglo-Celtic origin.
Improving integration capabilities with management control

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to gain a deeper understanding of how companies integrate their innovation and operations processes. Referring to the dynamic capability approach, the authors derive an “integration capability” construct from a set of qualitative data. The authors expand this concept stressing the specific role of management control as a crucial part of an integration capability to align the different processes.Design/methodology/approach – Case studies in eight German industrial and service companies were conducted and qualitative material was analysed guided by a grounded theory approach.Findings – The paper aims at exploring a specific dynamic capability in order to integrate innovation and operations processes. Based on a qualitative study of eight cases, three distinctive categories are derived describing the construct of an integration capability: organization, communication, and management control. Furthermore, influencing factors which lead to different levels of intensity of.
A Multistage Sequential Test Allocation for Software Reliability Estimation

We propose a method to determine how to sequentially allocate test cases among partitions of the software to minimize the expected loss incurred by the Bayes estimator of the overall reliability when the total number of software test cases is fixed. In contrast to fixed sampling schemes, where the proportion of test cases taken from each partition is determined before reliability testing begins, we make allocation decisions dynamically throughout the testing process. Using a fully Bayesian approach, we can take advantage of information from previous functional testing and insights from developers. We then refine these estimates in an iterative manner as we sample. We also compare the results from a multistage sampling scheme with the optimal fixed sampling scheme, and demonstrate its superiority in terms of the expected loss incurred when the overall reliability is estimated by its Bayes estimator both theoretically and through Monte Carlo simulations.
Technology Supported Behavior Restriction for Mitigating Self-Interruptions in Multi-device Environments

The interruptions people experience may be initiated from digital devices but also from oneself, an action which is termed “self-interruption. ” Prior work mostly focused on understanding work-related self-interruptions and designing tools for mitigating them in work contexts. However, self-interruption to off-tasks (e.g., viewing social networking sites, and playing mobile games) has received little attention in the HCI community thus far. We conducted a formative study about self-interruptions to off-tasks and coping strategies in multi-device working environments. Off-task usage was considered a serious roadblock to productivity, and yet, the habitual usage and negative triggers made it challenging to manage off-task usage. To mitigate these concerns, we developed “PomodoLock,” a self-interruption management tool that allows users voluntarily to set a timer for a fixed period, during which it selectively blocks interruption sources across multiple devices. To understand the effect of restricting access to self-interruptive sources such as applications and websites, we conducted a three-week field trial (n=40) where participants were asked to identify disrupting apps and sites to be blocked, but the multi-device blocking feature was only provided to the experimental group. Our study results showed the perceived coercion and the stress of the experimental group were lower despite its behavioral restriction with multi-device blocking. Qualitative study results from interviews and surveys confirm that multi-device blocking significantly reduced participants’ mental effort for managing self-interruptions, thereby leading to a reduction in the overall stress level. The findings suggest that when the coerciveness of behavioral restriction is appropriately controlled, coercive design can positively assist users in achieving their goals.
OPEN INNOVATION PRACTICES AND THEIR EFFECT ON INNOVATION PERFORMANCE

This paper develops an indicator framework for examining open innovation practices and their impact on performance. The analysis, which is based on Community Innovation Survey (CIS) data for Austria, Belgium, Denmark and Norway, yields a number of interesting results. First, we find that open innovation practices have a strong impact on innovation performance. Second, results suggest that broad-based approaches yield the strongest impacts, and that the collective of open innovation strategies appear more important than individual practices. Third, intramural investments are still important for innovative performance, stressing that open innovation is not a substitute for internal knowledge building.
REGIONAL INCOME INEQUALITY AND URBANISATION TRENDS IN CHINA: 1978-2005

A long-standing economic literature has delivered rich empirical evidence on the relationship between economic growth and income inequality or urbanisation, since Simon Kuznets’ pioneering work on the inverted U curve hypothesis. This paper explores the relationship between urban inequality and urbanisation trends in China from 1978 to 2005, a period that corresponds to the economic opening up of the country to the market economy. One of the main issues, here, is not only to test the correlation between regional income inequality and urbanisation trends, but also to highlight the neighbouring effects of this correlation, mainly through the use of some new spatial analysis tools. This paper delivers two conclusions: firstly, neighbouring effects are stronger when it comes to income inequality than urbanisation; secondly, a distortion in development patterns, between northern and southern coastal China appears: in the first one, growth effects and urbanisation process spread all over the different provinces, while in the second one, Guangdong appears as a regional economic centre.
OOPSE: An object‐oriented parallel simulation engine for molecular dynamics

OOPSE is a new molecular dynamics simulation program that is capable of efficiently integrating equations of motion for atom types with orientational degrees of freedom (e.g. “sticky” atoms and point dipoles). Transition metals can also be simulated using the embedded atom method (EAM) potential included in the code. Parallel simulations are carried out using the force‐based decomposition method. Simulations are specified using a very simple C‐based meta‐data language. A number of advanced integrators are included, and the basic integrator for orientational dynamics provides substantial improvements over older quaternion‐based schemes. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 26: 252–271, 2005