Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Spatio-temporal exploration of health and housing tenure transitions using the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study

The nature and value of the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study (NILS) is demonstrated through a statistical analysis of changes in individuals' health status, housing tenure and residential movement between the 2001 and 2011 Censuses. Multilevel analysis of individuals located within Super Output Areas, and also aggregate mapping of Local Indicators of Spatial Association (LISA) using 2011 Census Area Statistics are undertaken. Over the ten year period in which some people report worsening of their health whilst others experience an improvement, we show how probabilities in health transition are related to starting tenure as well changes in tenure and address between 2001 and 2011. We also provide evidence of distinctive 2011 geographies of self-reported illness and housing tenure, and suggest that spatial context does matter to a degree for individual health transitions. The chapter concludes with a reflection on the analyses presented, consideration of potential future research applications using the NILS, and also some general observations on the changing data landscape.
Protein Phosphatase 2A Plays an Important Role in Stromal Cell-Derived Factor-1/CXC Chemokine Ligand 12-Mediated Migration and Adhesion of CD34+ Cells1

Migration of hemopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPC) is required for homing to bone marrow following transplantation. Therefore, it is critical to understand signals underlying directional movement of HSPC. Stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1)/CXCL12 is a potent chemoattractant for HSPC. In this study, we demonstrate that the serine-threonine protein phosphatase (PP)2A plays an important role in regulation of optimal level and duration of Akt/protein kinase B activation (a molecule important for efficient chemotaxis), in response to SDF-1. Inhibition of PP2A, using various pharmacological inhibitors of PP2A including okadaic acid (OA) as well as using genetic approaches including dominant-negative PP2A-catalytic subunit (PP2A-C) or PP2A-C small interfering RNA, in primary CD34+ cord blood (CB) cells led to reduced chemotaxis. This was associated with impairment in polarization and slower speed of movement in response to SDF-1. Concomitantly, SDF-1-induced Akt phosphorylation was robust and prolonged. Following SDF-1 stimulation, Akt and PP2A-C translocate to plasma membrane with enhanced association of PP2A-C with Akt observed at the plasma membrane. Inhibition of PI3K by low-dose LY294002 partially recovered chemotactic activity of cells pretreated with OA. In addition to chemotaxis, adhesion of CD34+ cells to fibronectin was impaired by OA pretreatment. Our study demonstrates PP2A plays an important role in chemotaxis and adhesion of CD34+ CB cells in response to SDF-1. CD34+ CB cells pretreated with OA showed impaired ability to repopulate NOD-SCID mice in vivo, suggesting physiological relevance of these observations.
Assessing empathy development in medical education: a systematic review

Empathy in doctor–patient relationships is a familiar topic for medical scholars and a crucial goal for medical educators. Nonetheless, there are persistent disagreements in the research literature concerning how best to evaluate empathy among physicians, and whether empathy declines or increases across medical education. Some researchers have argued that the instruments used to study ‘empathy’ may not measure anything meaningful to clinical practice or patient satisfaction.
Semiparametric Maximum Likelihood for Measurement Error Model Regression

Summary. This paper presents an EM algorithm for semiparametric likelihood analysis of linear, generalized linear, and nonlinear regression models with measurement errors in explanatory variables. A structural model is used in which probability distributions are specified for (a) the response and (b) the measurement error. A distribution is also assumed for the true explanatory variable but is left unspecified and is estimated by nonparametric maximum likelihood. For various types of extra information about the measurement error distribution, the proposed algorithm makes use of available routines that would be appropriate for likelihood analysis of (a) and (b) if the true x were available. Simulations suggest that the semiparametric maximum likelihood estimator retains a high degree of efficiency relative to the structural maximum likelihood estimator based on correct distributional assumptions and can outperform maximum likelihood based on an incorrect distributional assumption. The approach is illustrated on three examples with a variety of structures and types of extra information about the measurement error distribution.
Synthesis and characterization of antigenic influenza A M2e protein peptide-poly(acrylic) acid bioconjugate and determination of toxicity in vitro

The influenza A virus is a critical public health problem that causes epidemics and pandemics, and occurs widely all over the world. Various vaccines against the virus have not provided a solution to the problem. Different approaches, particularly M2e peptide–based vaccines, are available for developing universal vaccines against influenza A. However, it is important to select a suitable carrier to obtain an effective vaccine. Accordingly, studies on the usage of various carriers are ongoing. Particularly, polymer-based carriers have gained importance due to both drug delivery and adjuvant effects. Therefore, bioconjugate of the M2e protein peptide from the influenza A virus covalent bonded with poly(acrylic) acid was synthesized in our study for the first time. The characterization was performed using size-exclusion chromatography and fluorescence spectroscopy; subsequently, it was found that the bioconjugate of the examined lower doses (0.05 and 0.5 mg/ml) have no toxic effects on human cell lines. These results suggest that, in the future, the poly(acrylic) acid bioconjugate of the M2e peptide should be studied in vivo for universal vaccine development against the influenza A virus.
MMSE based two-stage beamforming for large-scale multi-user MISO systems

In this paper, we study a joint spatial division multiplexing (JSDM) beamforming scheme which enables large-scale spatial multiplexing gains for massive MIMO downlink systems. In contrast to the conventional JSDM which employs a block diagonalization (BD) method as a pre-beamformer, we aim to maximize sum-rate by applying minimum-mean-squared error (MMSE) approaches when designing a pre-beamformer and a multi-user precoder sequentially. First, to suppress inter-group interference, we design the pre-beamformer which minimizes an upper bound of the sum mean-squared-error in the large-scale array regime. Then, to mitigate same-group interference, we present the multi-user precoder based on the weighted MMSE (WMMSE) optimization method, which requires the same channel state information overhead as the conventional JSDM. Through simulation results, we confirm that the proposed two-step beamforming method brings substantial performance gains in terms of sum-rate over the conventional JSDM schemes especially in low to medium signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) regime.
A breadth-first and disjoint multi-path routing algorithm in wireless mesh networks

There are high requirements on the timeliness and accuracy of the data when the wireless mesh network is used for the special scene which couldn't rely on public communication system, such as the emergency communication at disaster area, military communication and etc. To improve the reliability and robustness of the network communication, a multi-path routing algorithm of the wireless mesh network is put forward to find the shortest path and the second shortest path which disjoint with the shortest between the nodes. The algorithm uses the method that the routing destination node send flood wave of route discovery packets to finish route discovery process. The simulation results showed that this routing algorithm can be used to find the shortest path and the second shortest path which disjoint with the shortest in wireless mesh networks.
Picture archiving and communication systems Automatic syntactic parsing of radiological diagnoses

Radiological reports include much fundamental information, such as patient data (i. e., name, identification number [ID], date of birth, gender, referring physician and department, etc.), as well as technical data on the radiological examinations (i. e., date, modalities, methods, medications, technicians, diagnosticians, etc.). These date enable specific identification of individual radiological examinations. The source of such information is the hospital information system (HIS) in the former case and the radiological information system (RIS)
Platelets guide the formation of early metastatic niches

Significance Specialized microenvironments (or “niches”) are essential for metastasis, but how cancer cells and host cells contribute to their establishment remains poorly understood. Our study reveals that platelets and granulocytes are sequentially recruited to disseminated tumor cells to form “early metastatic niches” that promote metastatic progression. Importantly, the recruitment of granulocytes is not primarily due to tumor cell-derived signals but rather relies on platelet-derived CXCL5/7 chemokines. Prevention of granulocyte recruitment via inhibition of the CXCL5/7 receptor CXCR2, or depletion of either platelets or granulocytes inhibits metastasis, thereby uncovering a key role for platelet-to-granulocyte signaling in the establishment of metastases. Specific inhibition of platelet-to-granulocyte interactions may thus represent a valuable antimetastatic therapy in addition to cancer cell-centered treatments. During metastasis, host cells are recruited to disseminated tumor cells to form specialized microenvironments (“niches”) that promote metastatic progression, but the mechanisms guiding the assembly of these niches are largely unknown. Tumor cells may autonomously recruit host cells or, alternatively, host cell-to-host cell interactions may guide the formation of these prometastatic microenvironments. Here, we show that platelet-derived rather than tumor cell-derived signals are required for the rapid recruitment of granulocytes to tumor cells to form “early metastatic niches. ” Granulocyte recruitment relies on the secretion of CXCL5 and CXCL7 chemokines by platelets upon contact with tumor cells. Blockade of the CXCL5/7 receptor CXCR2, or transient depletion of either platelets or granulocytes prevents the formation of early metastatic niches and significantly reduces metastatic seeding and progression. Thus, platelets recruit granulocytes and guide the formation of early metastatic niches, which are crucial for metastasis.
Reimagining the South African social work curriculum: Aligning African and western cosmologies

Widespread student uprisings associated with the Fees-Must-Fall movement have starkly focused universities on the need to revisit the impact of colonialism, and the need to decolonise curricula and adapt them to the South African context. While acknowledging the oppressive effects of colonisation and the homogenising and universalising effects of globalisation, the main thrust of this paper is that we need to recognise that social work as a worldwide profession is part of the global village and that we need to keep current with international developments, while remembering our history, celebrating our unique multicultural context, beliefs and practices, and remaining anchored in Africa. This article discusses examples of indigenous world views that could infuse and inform the Western-based knowledge, skills and values components of the curriculum, and which are needed for effective provision of social work services.
Deprivation and cause specific morbidity: evidence from the Somerset and Avon survey of health

Abstract Objective: To investigate the association between cause specific morbidity and deprivation in order to inform the debates on inequalities in health and health services resource allocation. Design: Cross sectional postal questionnaire survey ascertaining self reported health status, with validation of a 20% sample through general practitioner and hospital records. Setting: Inner city, urban, and rural areas of Avon and Somerset. Subjects: Stratified random sample of 28080 people aged 35 and over from 40 general practices. Main outcome measures: Age and sex standardised prevalence of various diseases; Townsend deprivation scores were assigned by linking postcodes to enumeration districts. Relative indices of inequality were calculated to estimate the magnitude of the association between socioeconomic position and morbidity. Results: The response rate was 85.3%. The prevalence of most of the conditions rose with increasing material deprivation. The relative index of inequality, for both sexes combined, was greater than 1 for all conditions except diabetes. The conditions most strongly associated with deprivation were diabetic eye disease (relative index of inequality 3.21; 95% confidence interval 1.84 to 5.59), emphysema (2.72; 1.67 to 4.43) and bronchitis (2.27; 1.92 to 2.68). The relative index of inequality was significantly higher in women for asthma (P<0.05) and in men for depression (P<0.01). The mean reporting of prevalent conditions was 1.07 for the most deprived fifth of respondents and 0.77 in the most affluent fifth (P<0.001). Conclusions: Material deprivation is strongly linked with many common diseases. NHS resource allocation should be modified to reflect such morbidity differentials. Key messages Key messages The relative index of inequality is a useful tool for analysing self reported morbidity and informing debates on inequalities in health Diabetic eye disease, bronchitis, and emphysema are most closely associated with deprivation Broader socioenvironmental factors may also be implicated and merit increased attention The heavy burden of disease in the most deprived groups, particularly among elderly people, warrants attention in planning of the health service and resource allocation
Estrogen reduces beta-adrenoceptor-mediated cAMP production and the concentration of the guanyl nucleotide-regulatory protein, Gs, in rabbit myometrium.

The uterine contractile response to adrenergic agonists or sympathetic stimulation is influenced dramatically by the hormonal milieu. Rabbit uterine contraction is mediated by alpha 1-adrenoceptors, whereas relaxation in response to the same stimulus is mediated by beta 2-adrenoceptors. Whether uterine contractility is increased or decreased by adrenergic stimulation is determined by the gonadal steroids estrogen and progesterone: uterine contraction prevails in the estrogen-dominant or the ovariectomized animal, but in the progesterone-dominant rabbit, uterine relaxation is observed. In previous studies, we have demonstrated that changes in the concentration or agonist affinity of these adrenoceptors cannot account for the changes in contractile response. In the present studies, we tested whether sex steroids might alter beta-adrenergic response by acting on events distal to receptor occupancy, and whether this could explain the conversion of contractile response. We found that myometrial cAMP generation is potently stimulated by beta-agonists in progesterone-treated and also in ovariectomized animals, but this stimulation is absent after estrogen treatment. Similar, but smaller, changes were observed for cAMP generation in response to prostaglandin E2 and forskolin. Stimulation of adenylate cyclase in uterine particulates by agents which act on the guanyl nucleotide-sensitive stimulatory transducer, Gs, is unchanged after estrogen treatment. However, specific labeling of Gs catalyzed by cholera toxin is reduced in membrane particulates from estrogen-treated animals. Recombination of extracts of uterine membranes from the differently treated animals also suggested qualitative differences in Gs. We conclude that at least one component of the adenylate cyclase cascade beyond the beta-adrenoceptor, i.e., Gs, is a target for ovarian steroids; estrogen reduces Gs labeling and beta-adrenoceptor-mediated cAMP production. However, uterine Gs labeling and cAMP production are similar in ovariectomized and in progesterone-treated rabbits. Since these uteri exhibit different contractile responses, the observed changes are not sufficient to explain sex steroid-mediated conversion of myometrial contractile response.
A beam-through algorithm to compute multiple sequence alignment

This paper discusses a new approach beam-through alignment (BTA) to multiple sequence alignment. With the beam sources given by using pairwise alignment, BTA detects the possible channel for specific beam source, and arrange most similar segments in common columns to form a beam for the current beam source. Then use already found beams as cut points to divide sequences to several parts for further alignment recursively. By split the least beam passed sequence step by step, BTA constructs a phylogenetic tree.
Business investment in EU countries

The article analyses recent developments in business investment for a large group of EU countries, using a broad set of analytical tools and data sources. We find that the assessment of whether or not investment is currently low varies across benchmarks and countries. At the euro area level and for most countries, the level of business investment is broadly in line with the level of overall activity. However rates of capital stock growth have slowed down since the crisis. The main cyclical determinants of investment developments in the euro area include foreign and domestic demand, uncertainty and financial conditions. Uncertainty seems to have played a negative role during the financial and sovereign debt crises; however, given its low levels more recently, it has not acted as a drag on business investment overall during the recovery. Credit constraints appear to have hindered investment during the twin crises, especially in stressed countries. Aside from cyclical developments, important secular factors – relating to demographics, the changing nature and location of production, and the business environment – have influenced investment. Another factor that may have amplified the decline in private investment, particularly in countries that were hit hardest by the sovereign debt crisis, is the low level of public investment. This is because when public investment enhances the productivity of the private sector, there may be positive spillovers from the former to the latter, including across countries. Finally, intra-sector capital misallocation, measured as the within-sector dispersion across firms in the marginal revenue product of capital, has been increasing in Europe since 2002, which may in turn have exerted a significant drag on total factor productivity dynamics, and hence on aggregate output growth. JEL Classification: E32, E52, E62, D24, D61
Convolutional Gaussian Processes

We present a practical way of introducing convolutional structure into Gaussian processes, making them more suited to high-dimensional inputs like images. The main contribution of our work is the construction of an inter-domain inducing point approximation that is well-tailored to the convolutional kernel. This allows us to gain the generalisation benefit of a convolutional kernel, together with fast but accurate posterior inference. We investigate several variations of the convolutional kernel, and apply it to MNIST and CIFAR-10, which have both been known to be challenging for Gaussian processes. We also show how the marginal likelihood can be used to find an optimal weighting between convolutional and RBF kernels to further improve performance. We hope that this illustration of the usefulness of a marginal likelihood will help automate discovering architectures in larger models.
Integrating the Scholarship of Teaching, Learning and Assessment into One Institution’s Homegrown Professional Learning Resources

Many professional learning (PL) programs in universities aspire to support tertiary educators to perform duties associated with teaching, student learning, and assessment. Additionally, because much of a university academic’s work is associated with conducting scholarly research and supervising students’ research, PL programs also need to provide support associated with supervision and research activities. Faced with these multiple PL demands, one small Australian higher education institution developed a suite of resources to support faculty teaching staff and researchers in their professional capacities using a heuristic (self-determined) approach to resource development. The content of the resources drew on the principles of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) and a participatory research methodology was adopted to develop the resources. This chapter outlines 80 Adventist Online Education: Realizing the Potential almost a decade of scholarly work that has resulted in the construction of a collection of PL resources which have been developed to improve the quality of the institution’s SoTL and research.
Burden of Illness of Chronic Low Back Pain in Sweden: A Cross-Sectional, Retrospective Study in Primary Care Setting

Study Design. Cross-sectional survey of patients with chronic low back pain in primary care setting. Objectives. To analyze the health care resource use, productivity loss, and health-related quality of life of patients with chronic low back pain in Sweden. Summary of Background Data. Despite the clinical and economic importance of chronic LBP, the overall burden of the disease is not well documented. Methods. Cross-sectional data on patients’ socio-demographics, disease-related healthcare resource use during the past 6 months, inability to work during the previous 3 months, and quality of life at the time of the study visit were collected using questionnaires completed during an outpatient visit. Patient recruitment and data collection was performed at 14 primary care centers in Sweden. Patients over 18 years of age with chronic LBP present at least 50% of the days during the previous 3 months were included. Regression analysis was used to investigate factors associated with variation in costs. Results. Based on a sample of 302 patients, the total annual direct costs for chronic LBP per patient were estimated at 3,100 Euros, or 2,900 United States dollars, in 2002 prices, constituting 15% of the total annual LBP costs per patient. The indirect costs (mainly productivity loss because of lost work days) were estimated at 17,600 Euros (16,600 United States dollars) per patient, or 85% of the total LBP costs per patient. Direct and indirect costs were positively correlated with disease severity, disease duration, and female gender. The mean Roland & Morris score was 12.2, and the Medical Outcomes Study 8-Item Short Form physical and mental summary component scores were 35.2 and 41.6, respectively. Conclusions. In Sweden, the indirect costs for chronic LBP appear to be substantially higher than the direct costs for pharmaceuticals, medical visits, physiotherapy, andhospitalizations. The high indirect costs indicate that more effective treatments for chronic LBP could potentially lead to cost savings even if the therapy costs were higher.