Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rates and risk factors for prolonged opioid use after major surgery: population based cohort study

Objective To describe rates and risk factors for prolonged postoperative use of opioids in patients who had not previously used opioids and undergoing major elective surgery. Design Population based retrospective cohort study. Setting Acute care hospitals in Ontario, Canada, between 1 April 2003 and 31 March 2010. Participants 39 140 opioid naïve patients aged 66 years or older who had major elective surgery, including cardiac, intrathoracic, intra-abdominal, and pelvic procedures. Main outcome measure Prolonged opioid use after discharge, as defined by ongoing outpatient prescriptions for opioids for more than 90 days after surgery. Results Of the 39 140 patients in the entire cohort, 49.2% (n=19 256) were discharged from hospital with an opioid prescription, and 3.1% (n=1229) continued to receive opioids for more than 90 days after surgery. Following risk adjustment with multivariable logistic regression modelling, patient related factors associated with significantly higher risks of prolonged opioid use included younger age, lower household income, specific comorbidities (diabetes, heart failure, pulmonary disease), and use of specific drugs preoperatively (benzodiazepines, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors). The type of surgical procedure was also highly associated with prolonged opioid use. Compared with open radical prostatectomies, both open and minimally invasive thoracic procedures were associated with significantly higher risks (odds ratio 2.58, 95% confidence interval 2.03 to 3.28 and 1.95 1.36 to 2.78, respectively). Conversely, open and minimally invasive major gynaecological procedures were associated with significantly lower risks (0.73, 0.55 to 0.98 and 0.45, 0.33 to 0.62, respectively). Conclusions Approximately 3% of previously opioid naïve patients continued to use opioids for more than 90 days after major elective surgery. Specific patient and surgical characteristics were associated with the development of prolonged postoperative use of opioids. Our findings can help better inform understanding about the long term risks of opioid treatment for acute postoperative pain and define patient subgroups that warrant interventions to prevent progression to prolonged postoperative opioid use.
Meal-induced blood pressure variation and cardiovascular mortality in ambulatory hypertensive elderly patients: preliminary results

Objectives: This prospective cohort study was designed to investigate the prevalence and the prognostic value of postprandial hypotension (PPH) in ambulatory hypertensive elderly patients without overt heart diseases, an issue that has never been evaluated so far. Methods: All patients consecutively referred to our cardiologic clinic in the period from January 2005 to August 2009, were enrolled in the study and underwent a 24-h ambulatory arterial blood pressure monitoring (ABPM). PPH has been defined as a decrease in SBP of 20 mmHg within 2 h after a meal. Results: Four hundred and one patients were enrolled (mean age 77.7 ± 11 years, males 47.7%). Hypertension was not adequately controlled in 290 (72.3%) patients. PPH was found in 292 of 401 (72.8%) patients. A value of 10 mmHg or higher of SD SBP was predictive of PPH, with a sensitivity and specificity of 87 and 57%, respectively. At each meal, patients with higher SBP readings before meal had the greatest decrease in SBP (P < 0.001). During the follow-up, 34 patients died for cardiovascular causes. Breakfast BP variation was the most predictive variable of cardiovascular mortality (B = 0.020, P = 0.04, HR 1.020, IC 1.001–1.040). Conclusion: In our population, PPH was common. A diurnal standard deviation of SBP of 10 mmHg or higher was suggestive of its presence. ABPM identified breakfast BP decrease as a possible new risk factor for cardiovascular mortality.
Consumer Inflation Expectations: Survey Questions and Quantification Methods - the Case of Poland

Qualitative data on inflation perceptions and expectations, as obtained from surveys, can be quantified into numerical indicators of the perceived and expected rates of price change. This paper presents the results of different versions of probability and regression methods, implemented in order to estimate Polish consumer inflation perceptions and predictions, based on monthly consumer surveys. The paper also discusses the limited usefulness of quantitative questions, which occur to be excessively difficult for a significant part of respondents, whose numerical declarations are inconsistent with opinions expressed in a qualitative manner
Sustainability and organizational activities – three approaches

This paper explores the tensions exhibited within the use of sustainability in relation to organizational activities such as strategic management and measurement of performance. Three different sustainability approaches are identified. It is argued that these approaches are based on different standpoints, which may result in misunderstandings and ambiguity. For this reason it is suggested to differentiate between business for sustainability, sustainable organization and sustainable business. Recognition of different organizational standpoints and approaches to sustainability is one step towards more comprehensive studies on sustainability in relation to organizational issues. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
An examination of IPO underpricing in the growth enterprise market of Hong Kong

This study examines the first-day returns of initial public offerings listed on the Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) of Hong Kong from its inception until the year of 2005. Results show that GEM, operating under a relaxed set of listing requirements, exhibits a higher underpricing level than that of the Main Board. Such a higher level can be explained by the ex-post volatility of after-market returns, the timing effects and the geographic location (i.e. ‘H’ SHARES). Both the reputation of underwriters and the signalling role of underpricing show no effect on initial excess returns.
The "China effect" on commodity prices and Latin American export earnings

The commodity boom between 2002 and 2008 played an importantrole in increasing export earnings from Latin America. Growing demandfrom China for primary products was one factor stimulating the boom.While the direct effects of the growth of exports from Latin Americato China have been extensively explored, the indirect impact of higherChinese demand for commodities on global commodity prices hasreceived less attention. This paper estimates the contribution made bythe growth of Chinese demand to the rise in the prices of the 15 maincommodities exported from the region. On the basis of these estimates,it calculates the total gain for the region as a whole in export revenuesfrom the "China effect" on world prices. It also provides estimates for17 Latin American countries of the net effect of Chinese-induced priceincreases on their trade balances.
The evolution of top income and wealth shares in Portugal since 1936*

Abstract This paper presents new statistical evidence on the long-term evolution of economic inequality in Portugal. Portuguese tax sources have been employed to estimate top income and wealth shares (TIS and TWS) from 1936 onwards. The new series shows that the Second World War had a negative and non-permanent effect on the evolution of TIS, but not on TWS, which increased until the mid 1950s. From the mid 1950s to the early 1980s, there was a sharp decline in TIS and TWS. Finally, during the 1990s, TIS increased again. The reasons behind the Portuguese distributive pattern seem to be more economic than political. Resumen El objetivo de este artículo es presentar nueva información estadística sobre la evolución de las desigualdades económicas en Portugal a largo plazo. La explotación de las fuentes fiscales portuguesas ha permitido la estimación de las top income and wealth shares (TIS y TWS) desde 1936. Estas nuevas series revelan que la Segunda Guerra Mundial tuvo un impacto negativo no permanente sobre las TIS, pero no sobre las TWS. Desde mediados de los cincuenta hasta principios de los ochenta, TIS y TWS cayeron con intensidad. Finalmente, durante los años noventa las TIS volvieron a aumentar. Las razones que hay detrás de la pauta distributiva portuguesa parecen ser más de índole económica que política.
The Study of the Interactions between Gold, Foreign Exchange and Stock Markets in Iran

Financial development and attention to stock market and Stock Price Index improve and increase financial power of a country and through this, lead to increased production and economic growth in countries. For this purpose, in the present study by using vector GARCH model (vetch), relationship between three financial markets of gold, stock and foreign exchange in the timeframe of 2001 - 2014 have been studied monthly and for calculation Eviews and Excel were used. Obtained results indicated that currency market fluctuations in Iran affect (p<0.01) fluctuations in gold market and stock market. Also, it was indicated that fluctuations of stock market in Iran affect fluctuation of gold market (p<0.01).
Informed or Speculative: Short Selling Analyst Recommendations

Christophe et al. (2010) find evidence of abnormal short activity prior to analyst downgrades and argue that short sellers may be violating SEC insider-trading laws by trading on information obtained from analysts about upcoming downgrades. However, observing abnormal shorting prior to downgrades is not tantamount to determining that short sellers are trading on tips from analysts unless shorting is abnormally low prior to upgrades. This paper revisits this issue. While we observe abnormal shorting prior to downgrades, we also find markedly higher shorting prior to upgrades. In fact, the short-selling patterns surrounding both downgrades and upgrades are remarkably symmetric indicating that short sellers during the pre-recommendation period are not unusually informed about the direction of upcoming recommendation changes. If anything, our findings indicate that short selling prior to analyst recommendations is more likely speculative than informed.
SiPAN: simultaneous prediction and alignment of protein-protein interaction networks

MOTIVATION Network prediction as applied to protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks has received considerable attention within the last decade. Because of the limitations of experimental techniques for interaction detection and network construction, several computational methods for PPI network reconstruction and growth have been suggested. Such methods usually limit the scope of study to a single network, employing data based on genomic context, structure, domain, sequence information or existing network topology. Incorporating multiple species network data for network reconstruction and growth entails the design of novel models encompassing both network reconstruction and network alignment, since the goal of network alignment is to provide functionally orthologous proteins from multiple networks and such orthology information can be used in guiding interolog transfers. However, such an approach raises the classical chicken or egg problem; alignment methods assume error-free networks, whereas network prediction via orthology works affectively if the functionally orthologous proteins are determined with high precision. Thus to resolve this intertwinement, we propose a framework to handle both problems simultaneously, that of SImultaneous Prediction and Alignment of Networks (SiPAN). RESULTS We present an algorithm that solves the SiPAN problem in accordance with its simultaneous nature. Bearing the same name as the defined problem itself, the SiPAN algorithm employs state-of-the-art alignment and topology-based interaction confidence construction algorithms, which are used as benchmark methods for comparison purposes as well. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed network reconstruction via SiPAN, we consider two scenarios; one that preserves the network sizes and the other where the network sizes are increased. Through extensive tests on real-world biological data, we show that the network qualities of SiPAN reconstructions are as good as those of original networks and in some cases SiPAN networks are even better, especially for the former scenario. An alternative state-of-the-art network reconstruction algorithm random walk with resistance produces networks considerably worse than the original networks and those reproduced via SiPAN in both cases. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION Freely available at http://webprs.khas. edu.tr/∼cesim/SiPAN.tar. gz.
Can global models ignore the chemical composition of aerosols?

The number of cloud droplets formed from a population of aerosols depends on the aerosol number concentration, NA, the size distribution, and the chemical composition. The cloud albedo effect occurs when increasing NA causes increases to the droplet concentration, ND. We examined the effects of changing aerosol size, composition, and number on ND within the United States. We found that changing the water‐soluble organic carbon (WSOC) fraction from 50% to 0.05% in the fine mode aerosol and from 50% to 95% in the coarse mode aerosol decreased ND by an average of 34%. Our results show that the changes to the aerosol composition cause over a 20% change to ND, a magnitude previously estimated to cause a 1 W m−2 change in radiative forcing. Given the realistic range of aerosol compositions used here, it is not possible for global models to correctly calculate the cloud albedo effect if composition is ignored.
Genotoxicity of surface water treated with different disinfectants using in situ plant tests

Disinfection of surface drinking water, in particular water chlorination, results in many by‐products with potential genotoxic and/or carcinogenic activity. In the present study, we evaluated the genotoxicity of surface water after treatment with different disinfectants by means of in situ plant genotoxicity assays (micronucleus and chromosomal aberration tests) which can detect both clastogenic and aneugenic effects. The study was carried out at a pilot plant using lake water after sedimentation and filtration. This water supplied four stainless steel basins: three basins were disinfected with sodium hypochlorite, chlorine dioxide, and peracetic acid and the fourth basin containing untreated lake water was used as a control. Plants were exposed in situ in the basins. The study was carried out using water collected in different seasons over a period of about 1 year in order to assess the treatments in different physical and chemical lake water conditions. The micronucleus test in root cells of Vicia faba (Vicia faba/MCN test) revealed genotoxicity in many samples of disinfected water. The micronucleus test in Tradescantia pollen cells and the chromosome aberration test in root cells of Allium cepa showed genotoxic effects only in some disinfected samples, but also revealed genotoxicity in raw water. The results of the study indicated that the Vicia faba/MCN test was the most sensitive plant assay for disinfected water and that peracetic acid disinfection produced similar or lower genotoxicity than sodium hypochlorite or chlorine dioxide treatment. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 41:353–359, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The 1975 Referendum

Preface to the Second Edition - Acknowledgements - Chronology - Introduction - Renegotiation - Legislation - Pro-Marketeers - Anti-Marketeers - Local Campaigning - National Campaigning - Broadcasting A.Smith - Press C.Seymour-Ure - Polls - Outcome - Conclusion - Appendix: The Official Referendum Leaflets - Index
Farmers' health and agricultural productivity

Agriculture is one of the most hazardous productive sectors around the world. Most previous studies have focused on health issues of farmers in developing countries, while little attention has been paid to farmers' health problems in developed countries. The present study assesses the effect of farmers' health conditions on agricultural productivity in Norway. Employing stochastic frontier regression techniques, we conclude that differences in farmers’ health help to explain the variance in agricultural production efficiency.
Percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale: impact of device design on safety and efficacy

Objective: To compare the safety and efficacy of percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale (PFO) with the Amplatzer PFO occluder (Amplatzer) or the PFO STAR device (STAR) in patients with presumed paradoxical embolism. Methods: Implantation characteristics, procedural complications, residual shunt, and recurrence of thromboembolic events were recorded prospectively in 100 consecutive patients undergoing percutaneous PFO closure with the STAR (n = 50) or Amplatzer (n = 50) devices between 1998 and 2001. The study was not randomised. Device implantation was successful in all cases. Results: There were more procedural complications in the STAR than in the Amplatzer group (8/50 v 1/50, p = 0.01). More than one device placement attempt was an independent predictor of procedural complications (odds ratio (OR) 8.5, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.3 to 55.8; p = 0.03). A residual shunt six months after PFO closure, assessed by transoesophageal contrast echocardiography, occurred more often in the STAR than the Amplatzer group (17/50 v 3/50, p = 0.004), and was predicted in the STAR group by the use of a device with a 5 mm as opposed to a 3 mm disc connector (OR 6.1, 95% CI 1.1 to 34.0; p = 0.04). The actuarial risk of recurrent thromboembolic events after 3.5 years was 16.8% (95% CI 7.6% to 34.6%) in the STAR and 2.7% (95% CI 0.4% to 17.7%) in the Amplatzer group after three years (p = 0.08). Conclusions: Percutaneous PFO closure with the Amplatzer PFO occluder had fewer procedural complications and was more likely to be complete than with the STAR device. These findings underline the importance of device design for successful percutaneous PFO closure.
Selecting optimal EEG channels for mental tasks classification: An approach using ICA

This paper presents a systematic method to select optimal electroencephalography (EEG) channels for three mental tasks-based brain-computer interface (BCI) classification. A blind source separation (BSS) technique based on independent component analysis (ICA) with its back-projecting of the scalp map was used for selecting the optimal EEG channels. The three mental tasks included: mental letter composing, mental arithmetic and mental Rubik's cube rolling. Based on a power spectral density (PSD), the features of the two-channel EEG data were extracted, and then were classified by Bayesian neural network. The results of the ICA decomposition with the back-projected scalp map showed that the prominent channels could be selected for dominant features from original six EEG channels (C3, C4, P3, P4, O1, O2) to four dominant channels (P3, O1, C4, O2) with the best two EEG channels selection at O1&C4. Two channel combinations classification yielded to the best two EEG channels of O1&C4 with an accuracy of 76.4%, followed by P3&O2 with an accuracy of 74.5%; P3&C4 with an accuracy of 71.9% and O1&O2 with an accuracy of 70%.
Effects of a treadmill walking program on muscle strength and balance in elderly people with Down syndrome.

BACKGROUND Longer life expectancy is resulting in increasing numbers of elderly adults with mental retardation. In elderly adults with Down syndrome (DS), the maintenance of muscle strength, endurance, and dynamic balance are important to ensure quality of life and functional independence. The objective of this study was to compare isokinetic leg strength and dynamic balance of aged mentally retarded individuals with DS (n = 16, mean age 63) before and after a treadmill walking program lasting 6 months in comparison with a nonwalking control group (n = 10) with similar physical characteristics. METHODS Participants in the study undertook leg strength testing on a dynamometer. Parameters measured included peak torque, peak torque % body weight, and average power % body weight. A "timed get-up and go" functional test for dynamic balance was also analyzed and compared prior to and after the treadmill program. RESULTS Knee extension and flexion isokinetic strength in elderly individuals with DS showed significant improvement after 6 months of treadmill training. Dynamic balance performance was also significantly improved (p <.05). CONCLUSIONS Aged adults with DS can significantly improve muscle strength and balance by adopting suitable programs of treadmill walking.
The effects of ischaemic preconditioning, diazoxide and 5‐hydroxydecanoate on rat heart mitochondrial volume and respiration

Studies with different ATP‐sensitive potassium (KATP) channel openers and blockers have implicated opening of mitochondrial KATP (mitoKATP) channels in ischaemic preconditioning (IPC). It would be predicted that this should increase mitochondrial matrix volume and hence respiratory chain activity. Here we confirm this directly using mitochondria rapidly isolated from Langendorff‐perfused hearts. Pre‐ischaemic matrix volumes for control and IPC hearts (expressed in μl per mg protein ±s.e.m., n= 6), determined with 3H2O and [14C]sucrose, were 0.67 ± 0.02 and 0.83 ± 0.04 (P < 0.01), respectively, increasing to 1.01 ± 0.05 and 1.18 ± 0.02 following 30 min ischaemia (P < 0.01) and to 1.21 ± 0.13 and 1.26 ± 0.25 after 30 min reperfusion. Rates of ADP‐stimulated (State 3) and uncoupled 2‐oxoglutarate and succinate oxidation increased in parallel with matrix volume until maximum rates were reached at volumes of 1.1 μl ml−1 or greater. The mitoKATP channel opener, diazoxide (50 μm), caused a similar increase in matrix volume, but with inhibition rather than activation of succinate and 2‐oxoglutarate oxidation. Direct addition of diazoxide (50 μm) to isolated mitochondria also inhibited State 3 succinate and 2‐oxoglutarate oxidation by 30 %, but not that of palmitoyl carnitine. Unexpectedly, treatment of hearts with the mitoKATP channel blocker 5‐hydroxydecanoate (5HD) at 100 or 300 μm, also increased mitochondrial volume and inhibited respiration. In isolated mitochondria, 5HD was rapidly converted to 5HD‐CoA by mitochondrial fatty acyl CoA synthetase and acted as a weak substrate or inhibitor of respiration depending on the conditions employed. These data highlight the dangers of using 5HD and diazoxide as specific modulators of mitoKATP channels in the heart.
PURCHASING POWER PARITY IN AFRICAN COUNTRIES: EVIDENCE FROM PANEL SURADF TEST

This study reexamines the validity of long-run purchasing power parity (PPP) hypothesis using a battery of panel unit root tests for 11 developing countries in Africa over the period 1980-2007. Based on the conventional panel unit root tests, we found evidence that the monthly real exchange rates in these countries were mean reverting. By contrast, the series-specific unit root test proposed by Breuer "et al." (SURADF) reveals that only six of the 11 RERs series were stationary using the US dollar as reference currency. Additionally, our results reveal that there is stronger evidence of the parity condition with the Rand-based rates than in the other currency-based rates like the US dollar or Euro. We conclude that PPP holds in some, but not all, of the African countries according to the SURADF tests. Copyright (c) 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation (c) 2010 Economic Society of South Africa.