Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibiting Antidepressants Are Associated With an Increased Risk of Nonvertebral Fractures

Background: Fractures related to osteoporosis and falling constitute a major health problem in the elderly population. Exposure to antidepressants is associated with an increased risk of falls and fractures, but most previous studies incriminate tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) rather than selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Objective: To examine the association between antidepressants, including TCAs, SSRIs, and other antidepressants and the risk of nonvertebral fractures in elderly. Design: Prospective population-based cohort study. Setting: The Rotterdam Study, consisting of 7983 individuals aged 55 years and older. Participants: All persons from the Rotterdam Study. Results: One thousand two hundred nineteen persons experienced a nonvertebral fracture, 25 during TCA use and 18 during SSRI use. After adjustment for age, sex, lower-limb disability, and depression, the risk of nonvertebral fracture was 2.35 (95% confidence interval, 1.32-4.18) for current users of SSRIs compared with nonusers of antidepressants. Multiple adjusting for many possible risk factors did not affect the association. To deal with potential confounding by indication, we subsequently restricted the analysis to antidepressant users (n = 1217). Compared with past users of TCAs or SSRIs, current users of SSRIs had a 2.07-fold (95% confidence interval, 1.23-3.50) increased risk of fracture, which further increased with prolonged use. In this analysis, depressive state at baseline and during follow-up did not play a role, suggesting absence of confounding by indication. The use of TCAs was associated with an increased fracture risk that decreased with prolonged use. Conclusions: Not only users of TCAs but also of SSRIs have a significantly increased risk of nonvertebral fractures, in SSRI users especially after prolonged use. Despite fewer early adverse effects of SSRIs, physicians treating elderly depressive patients should be aware of the unfavorable long-term consequence of SSRIs on fracture risk.
Reasoning and Brain Damage : prediction and explanation in left and right hemisphere patients

The left and right hemispheres of the brain are generally known to be associated with different types of processing. The left hemisphere is associated with linguistic, sequential and logical processing. The right hemisphere is associated with abstract and visuospatial reasoning and creative processing. In narrative discourse, explanation can be considered abductive reasoning, described as a creative type of reasoning which generates new ideas, and prediction can be considered logical deductive reasoning. Given these known associations with hemisphere processing and reasoning associations, it would be expected that patients with left hemisphere brain damage would exhibit more evidence of explanation versus prediction in reasoning and patients with right hemisphere brain damage would exhibit more evidence of prediction versus explanation in reasoning. Contrary to expected evidence, left hemisphere patients produced more utterances of prediction than of explanation and right hemisphere patients produced more utterances of explanation than prediction on a narrative discourse task. Linguistic processing capabilities and cognitive processing capabilities are jointly discussed as explanations for these results.
Benchmarking the research track record and level of appointment of Australian occupational therapy academics

BACKGROUND Academic faculty are active contributors to the evidence base of the profession. Little is known about the research productivity of Australian occupational therapy academics. METHODS A bibliographic analysis of Australian occupational therapy faculty websites and corresponding Scopus citation database profiles was conducted. A description of current research productivity benchmarks and relationships with holding a doctorate, academic appointment level and institutional characteristics were explored. RESULTS The median H-index of Clinical and Associate Lecturers was 0, 1 for Lecturers, 4 for Senior Lecturers, 7.5 for Associate Professors and 13 for Professors. The number of publications and number of citing documents follows a Pareto tendency, where 20% of researchers are responsible for around 80% of the research track record of Australian occupational therapy academics. CONCLUSION The findings provide a benchmark for Australian occupational therapy faculty research track records and associations with appointment levels. This benchmark differs across countries and disciplines. The results raise considerations for enhancing the overall research track record of occupational therapy academics.
TLR4 expression on monocyte subsets in myocardial infarction

Monocyte toll‐like receptor 4 (TLR4) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis with increased levels in myocardial infarction. The aim of this study was to assess the numbers of TLR4+ monocytes in each monocyte subset in MI, the expression of TLR4 and association with markers of monocyte activation, inflammation, myocardial damage and postmyocardial infarction (MI) cardiac contractility.
Durability of the reaction to fire performance for fire retardant treated (FRT) wood products in exterior applications – a ten years report

Several long term experimental studies on the maintained reaction to fire performance of fire retardant treated (FRT) wood products over time are presented. They are performed according to a European system based on earlier Nordic and North American systems and include accelerated ageing according to different procedures and natural weathering up to ten years. Main conclusions are: The hygroscopic properties are unchanged compared to untreated wood for most FRT wood products used commercially. The reaction to fire properties of FRT wood may be maintained after accelerated and natural ageing if the retention levels are high enough, but several FRT wood products loose most of their improved reaction to fire properties during weathering. Paint systems contribute considerably to maintain of the fire performance at exterior application and are usually needed to maintain the fire performance after weathering.
Navitoclax (ABT‐263) and bendamustine ± rituximab induce enhanced killing of non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma tumours in vivo

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Bendamustine with or without rituximab provides an effective and more tolerable alternative to the polytherapy cyclophosphamide–doxorubicin–vincristine–prednisolone (CHOP) in the treatment of haematological tumours and is currently approved for the treatment of many haematological malignancies. Navitoclax (ABT‐263) is a potent inhibitor of Bcl‐2, Bcl‐xL and Bcl‐w, which has demonstrated efficacy in haematological tumours alone and in combination with other agents. This paper describes the in vivo efficacy of combining either bendamustine or bendamustine plus rituximab (BR) with navitoclax in xenograft models of non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma
Boys' serotonin transporter genotype affects maternal behavior through self-control: A case of evocative gene–environment correlation

Abstract Self-control, involving processes such as delaying gratification, concentrating, planning, following instructions, and adapting emotions and behavior to situational requirements and social norms, may have a profound impact on children's adjustment. The importance of self-control suggests that parents are likely to modify their parenting based on children's ability for self-control. We study the effect of children's self-control, a trait partially molded by genetics, on their mothers' parenting, a process of evocative gene–environment correlation. Israeli 3.5-year-old twins (N = 320) participated in a lab session in which their mothers' parenting was observed. DNA was available from most children (N = 228). Mothers described children's self-control in a questionnaire. Boys were lower in self-control and received less positive parenting from their mothers, in comparison with girls. For boys, and not for girls, the serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region gene predicted mothers' levels of positive parenting, an effect mediated by boys' self-control. The implications of this evocative gene–environment correlation and the observed sex differences are discussed.
Research Policy and U.S. Economic Growth

This paper examines quantitatively the effects of R&D subsidy and government-financed basic research on U.S. economic growth and consumer welfare. To achieve this, we develop an endogenous growth model which takes into account both public and private research investment, and the differences between basic and non-basic research. A calibrated version of the model is able to replicate some important features of the U.S. economy over the period 1953-2009. Our model suggests that government spending on basic research is an effective policy instrument to promote economic growth. Subsidizing private R&D, on the other hand, has no effect on economic growth.
Integral Least-Squares Inferences for Semiparametric Models with Functional Data

The inferences for semiparametric models with functional data are investigated. We propose an integral least-squares technique for estimating the parametric components, and the asymptotic normality of the resulting integral least-squares estimator is studied. For the nonparametric components, a local integral least-squares estimation method is proposed, and the asymptotic normality of the resulting estimator is also established. Based on these results, the confidence intervals for the parametric component and the nonparametric component are constructed. At last, some simulation studies and a real data analysis are undertaken to assess the finite sample performance of the proposed estimation method.
Vers une solution réaliste de décodage source-canal conjoint de contenus multimédia

Lors d'une transmission video sur les reseaux mobiles, les donnees doivent etre efficacement comprimees pour s'adapter a la bande passante reduite du support. Cependant, plus un flux multimedia est comprime, plus il est sensible aux erreurs de transmission. Pour garantir un signal exempt d'erreur a l'entree du decodeur source, plusieurs mecanismes sont incorpores dans le recepteur. Ces techniques consistent principalement a retransmettre les paquets errones et/ou a rajouter des redondances aux donnees transmises. Ces methodes sont efficaces, mais entrainent une consommation excessive de ressources. Recemment, le concept de decodage conjoint a ete propose. Il consiste a utiliser les redondances inherentes contenues dans les informations transmises pour ameliorer la qualite du decodage multimedia. Dans cette these, nous explorons cet axe et proposons un nouveau schema de decodage conjoint exploitant les proprietes semantiques et syntaxiques du flux ainsi que les codes de detection d'erreurs (CRC) protegeant les paquets. Parallelement, nous etudions les problematiques d'integration des schemas de decodage conjoint dans les recepteurs traditionnels et nous montrons que de nombreuses modifications sont necessaires. Nous proposons ensuite un principe universel permettant de resoudre simplement les difficultes en exploitant differemment la structure protocolaire. Ces techniques ont ete testees en considerant une transmission video H.264/AVC point-a-point sur un support WiFi. Les resultats obtenus ont confirme l'interet du decodage robuste par une amelioration significative du bilan de liaison.
An Investigation of the Psychometric Properties of the 26-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale in a Japanese Culture

We investigated the psychometric properties of the Japanese version of the 26-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale in a Japanese culture, testing a sample of 1,008. The validity and reliability of this Japanese version were suggested by significant correlations with the Beth Israel Hospital Psychosomatic Questionnaire and estimates to test-retest and internal consistency. These results suggest that this version may be suitable for Japanese populations. Although alexithymia scores were correlated negatively with increasing age, the result, based on the large sample, seems to be of minimal significance.
DC Fault Detection and Location in Meshed Multiterminal HVDC Systems Based on DC Reactor Voltage Change Rate

The change rate of the dc reactor voltage with predefined protection voltage thresholds is proposed to provide fast and accurate dc fault detection in a meshed multiterminal HVDC system. This is equivalent to the measurement of the second derivative of the dc current but has better robustness in terms of electromagnetic-interference noise immunization. In addition to fast dc fault detection, the proposed scheme can also accurately discriminate the faulty branch from the healthy ones in a meshed dc network by considering the voltage polarities and amplitudes of the two dc reactors connected to the same converter dc terminal. Fast fault detection leads to lower fault current stresses on dc circuit breakers and converter equipment. The proposed method requires no telecommunication, is independent of power-flow direction, and is robust to fault resistance variation. Simulation of a meshed three-terminal HVDC system demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed dc fault detection scheme.
Control and energy management of photovoltaic pumping system with battery storage

This paper presents control and energy management of a stand-alone power pumping system with a battery storage. The proposed system consists of a photovoltaic generator (PV) and a battery bank which both supply an induction moto-pump. The maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm is used to extract the maximum power. In our work, we have used Perturb & observ (P&O) and Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC) method. The induction motor is controlled using field oriented control (FOC). The obtained simulation results using Matlab/Simulink are presented and discussed.
Multi-Object Shape Retrieval Using Curvature Trees

With the increasing number of images generated every day, textual annotation of images becomes impractical and inefficient. Thus, content-based image retrieval (CBIR) has received considerable interest in recent years. For comparing images, CBIR uses generic image features which are traditionally either intensity-based (color and texture) or geometrybased (shape and topology); the latter is generally less developed than the former. A common limitation of the existing geometry-based retrieval systems is not considering simultaneously both shape and topology of image objects (or components) which may reveal important properties of the scene being analyzed. This work presents a geometry-based image retrieval approach for multi-object images. We commence with developing an effective shape matching method for closed boundaries. Then, a structured representation, called curvature tree (CT), is introduced to extend the shape matching approach to handle images containing multiple objects with possible holes. We also propose an algorithm, based on Gestalt principles, to detect and extract high-level boundaries (or envelopes), which may evolve as a result of the spatial arrangement of a group of image objects. At first, a shape retrieval method using triangle-area representation (TAR) is presented for non-rigid shapes with closed boundaries. The TAR is a 2D matrix that utilizes the areas of the triangles formed by the boundary points to measure the convexity/concavity of each point at different scales (or triangle side lengths). This representation is effective in capturing both local and global characteristics of a shape, invariant to translation, rotation, scaling and shear, and robust against noise and moderate amounts of occlusion. For matching, two algorithms are introduced. The first algorithm matches concavity maxima points extracted from TAR image obtained by thresholding the TAR. In the second matching algorithm, dynamic space warping (DSW) is employed to search efficiently for the optimal (least cost) correspondence between the points of two shapes. Then, a dissimilarity measure is derived based on the optimal correspondence. Experimental results using the MPEG-7 CE-1 database of 1400 shapes show the superiority of our method over
FPGA-based Accelerators for Parallel Data Sort

Abstract The paper is dedicated to parallel data sort based on sorting networks. The proposed methods and circuits have the following characteristics: 1) using two-level parallel comparators in even-odd transition networks with feedback to a register keeping input/intermediate data; 2) parallel merging of many sorted sequences; 3) using even-odd transition networks built from other sorting networks; 4) rational reuse of comparators in different types of networks, namely even-odd transition and for discovering maximum/minimum values. The experiments in FPGA, which were done for up to 16×220 32-bit data items, demonstrate very good results (as fast as 3-5 ns per data item).
A Variational Inequality Formulation of the Dynamic Network User Equilibrium Problem

In the present paper we are concerned with developing more realistic dynamic models of route choice and departure time decisions of transportation network users than have been proposed in the literature heretofore. We briefly review one class of models that is a dynamic generalization of the static Wardropian user equilibrium, the so-called Boston traffic equilibrium. In contrast, we then propose a new class of models that is also a dynamic generalization of the static Wardropian user equilibrium. In particular, we show for the first time that there is a variational inequality formulation of dynamic user equilibrium with simultaneous route choice and departure time decisions which, when appropriate regularity conditions hold, preserves the first in, first out queue discipline.
Epidermal growth factor regulation of connexin 43 in cultured granulosa cells from preantral rabbit follicles

Connexin 43 (Cx43), a gap junction protein expressed in differentiated granulosa cells, is necessary for normal follicular development. Cx43 expression and regulation by epidermal growth factor (EGF) were characterized in immature rabbit granulosa cells. Cx43 mRNA was expressed in the granulosa cells of primary follicles, but was undetectable in primordial follicles. Abundant expression of Cx43 mRNA was maintained in the granulosa cells of growing follicles through maturity. Granulosa cells were isolated from early preantral follicles and maintained in monolayer cultures for 72 hr. After the first 24 hr of culture, they were maintained for 48 hr in serum‐free medium supplemented with 0, 1, 5, or 10 ng/ml of mouse EGF. Granulosa cell proteins were isolated, solubilized, and evaluated for Cx43 by Western blot analysis using antibodies to rat Cx43. Relative amounts of Cx43 protein (both phosphorylated and nonphosphorylated) were increased (P < 0.05) by EGF in a dose‐dependent manner. Northern blot analysis of RNA from cultured granulosa cells demonstrated increased amounts of Cx43 mRNA in the EGF treated cultures (10 ng EGF/ml) relative to controls (P < 0.03). In summary, Cx43 gap junctions are synthesized in granulosa cells following the onset of folliculogenesis in vivo and their expression is enhanced by EGF in vitro. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 64: 61–69, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Quantum-mechanical model of the Kerr-Newman black hole

We consider a Hamiltonian quantum theory of stationary spacetimes containing a Kerr-Newman black hole. The physical phase space of such spacetimes is just six-dimensional, and it is spanned by the mass $M$, the electric charge $Q$ and angular momentum $J$ of the hole, together with the corresponding canonical momenta. In this six-dimensional phase space we perform a canonical transformation such that the resulting configuration variables describe the dynamical properties of Kerr-Newman black holes in a natural manner. The classical Hamiltonian written in terms of these variables and their conjugate momenta is replaced by the corresponding self-adjoint Hamiltonian operator and an eigenvalue equation for the Arnowitt-Deser-Misner (ADM) mass of the hole, from the point of view of a distant observer at rest, is obtained. In a certain very restricted sense, this eigenvalue equation may be viewed as a sort of "Schr\"odinger equation of black holes". Our "Schr\"odinger equation" implies that the ADM mass, electric charge and angular momentum spectra of black holes are discrete, and the mass spectrum is bounded from below. Moreover, the spectrum of the quantity $M^2-Q^2-a^2$, where $a$ is the angular momentum per unit mass of the hole, is strictly positive when an appropriate self-adjoint extension is chosen. The WKB analysis yields the result that the large eigenvalues of $M$, $Q$ and $a$ are of the form $\sqrt{2n}$, where $n$ is an integer. It turns out that this result is closely related to Bekenstein's proposal on the discrete horizon area spectrum of black holes.
Deficits in social cognition and response flexibility in pediatric bipolar disorder.

OBJECTIVE Little is known about neuropsychological and social-cognitive function in patients with pediatric bipolar disorder. Identification of specific deficits and strengths that characterize pediatric bipolar disorder would facilitate advances in diagnosis, treatment, and research on pathophysiology. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that youths with bipolar disorder would perform more poorly than matched healthy comparison subjects on measures of social cognition, motor inhibition, and response flexibility. METHOD Forty outpatients with pediatric bipolar disorder and 22 comparison subjects (no differences in age, gender, and IQ) completed measures of social cognition (the pragmatic judgment subtest of the Comprehensive Assessment of Spoken Language, facial expression recognition subtests of the Diagnostic Analysis of Nonverbal Accuracy Scale, the oral expression subtest of the Test of Language Competence), inhibition and response flexibility (stop and stop-change tasks), and motor inhibition (continuous performance tasks). RESULTS Pediatric bipolar disorder patients performed more poorly than comparison subjects on social-cognitive measures (pragmatic judgment of language, facial expression recognition) and on a task requiring response flexibility. These deficits were present in euthymic patients. Differences between patients and comparison subjects could not be attributed to comorbid attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. CONCLUSIONS Findings of impaired social cognition and response flexibility in youths with pediatric bipolar disorder suggest continuity between pediatric bipolar disorder and adult bipolar disorder. These findings provide a foundation for neurocognitive research designed to identify the neural mechanisms underlying these deficits.