Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Unequal Europe: recommendations for a more caring EU. Final report of the High-Level Group on 'Social Union'

The EU institutions’ new leaderships are being presented with a highly unusual report. It sets out the strengths and weaknesses of social policies that have been fundamental to the European Union, and recommends actions to reaffirm Europe’s social principles while at the same time addressing competitiveness issues. Austerity and the economic crisis have seen ‘Social Europe’ pushed steadily down the EU’s policy agenda. Friends of Europe therefore convened last year 25 well-known figures spanning a wide range of political opinion under the chairmanship of former Belgian deputy premier and social affairs minister Frank Vandenbroucke to analyse the facts and propose solutions. The report’s co-signatories call on Jean-Claude Juncker and his fellow commissioners to take a broader approach to social investment that is essential to avoiding longer-term burdens on economic growth. Their report urges greater investment in the caring of Europe’s deprived and under-privileged, and the education and training that can ensure equality of opportunity. Against a background of unacceptably high unemployment in so many EU countries, particularly of young people, the report’s key message is that human investment must be equal to physical investment.
Reconfigurable CORDIC-Based Low-Power DCT Architecture Based on Data Priority

This paper presents a low-power coordinate rotation digital computer (CORDIC)-based reconfigurable discrete cosine transform (DCT) architecture. The main idea of this paper is based on the interesting fact that all the computations in DCT are not equally important in generating the frequency domain outputs. Considering the importance difference in the DCT coefficients, the number of CORDIC iterations can be dynamically changed to efficiently tradeoff image quality for power consumption. Thus, the computational energy can be significantly reduced without seriously compromising the image quality. The proposed CORDIC-based 2-D DCT architecture is implemented using 0.13 μm CMOS process, and the experimental results show that our reconfigurable DCT achieves power savings ranging from 22.9% to 52.2% over the CORDIC-based Loeffler DCT at the cost of minor image quality degradations.
Combined estrogen and progestin hormone replacement therapy in relation to risk of breast cancer in middle-aged women.

OBJECTIVE To determine the risk of breast cancer in relation to the use of combined estrogen and progestin hormone replacement therapy (HRT). DESIGN A population-based case-control study. SETTING The general female population of King County in western Washington State. PARTICIPANTS Middle-aged (50 to 64 years) women, including 537 patients with incident primary breast cancer diagnosed between January 1, 1988, and June 30, 1990, who were ascertained through the Seattle-Puget Sound Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results cancer registry and 492 randomly selected control women without a history of breast cancer. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Breast cancer risk in relation to use of menopausal hormones. RESULTS Menopausal hormones of some type had been used by 57.6% of breast cancer cases and 61.0% of comparison women. The women who had ever taken combined estrogen-progestin HRT, representing 21.5% of cases and 21.3% of controls, were not at increased risk of breast cancer (relative odds [RO] = 0.9; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.7 to 1.3). Compared with nonusers of menopausal hormones, those who used estrogen-progestin HRT for 8 or more years had, if anything, a reduced risk of breast cancer (RO = 0.4; 95% CI, 0.2 to 1.0). CONCLUSIONS On the whole, the use of estrogen with progestin HRT does not appear to be associated with an increased risk of breast cancer in middle-aged women. Nonetheless, since the use of combined estrogen-progestin HRT has only recently become prevalent, future investigations must assess whether breast cancer incidence is altered many years after estrogen-progestin HRT has been initiated, particularly among long-term users.
Performance evaluation of 70-W two-stage adapters for notebook computers

The paper presents the design and performance evaluation of two-stage AC power adapters for notebook computers which deliver 70 W from the universal line. Three versions of the flyback power converter, as well as the PWM and resonant half-bridge power converter were evaluated and compared with respect to their efficiency, component stress, output filter size and complexity.
Further Extensions Of The Ekop Model

Abstract Easley, Kiefer, O'Hara and Paperman (1996) introduced a model that enables one to estimate the probability of informed trading in a stock using as input data the numbers of buyer and seller initiated trades over a period. Empirical testing reported in Venter and de Jongh (2006) indicated that this model does not fit data well and they formulated a model based on the Poisson Inverse Gaussian (PIG) distribution that fitted better. This model allowed for random daily news noise impacts on the trading intensities of the liquidity and informed traders. These news noise impacts were assumed to be independent over successive days. Further investigation of the model indicated that the independence assumption may not be realistic. In this paper we reformulate the model in terms of Poisson Log Normally (PLN) distributed news noise impacts with serial correlation. We show how the much more complicated likelihood function and other items of interest for inference purposes may be computed by means of efficient importance sampling.
Identifying the right stop: determining how the surveillance complex recognizes and degrades an aberrant mRNA

The nonsense‐mediated mRNA decay (NMD) pathway functions by checking whether translation termination has occurred prematurely and subsequently degrading the aberrant mRNAs. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, it has been proposed that a surveillance complex scans 3′ of the premature termination codon and searches for the downstream element (DSE), whose recognition by the complex identifies the transcript as aberrant and promotes its rapid decay. The results presented here suggest that translation termination is important for assembly of the surveillance complex. Neither the activity of the initiation ternary complex after premature translation termination has occurred nor the elongation phase of translation are essential for the activity of the NMD pathway. Once assembled, the surveillance complex is active for searching and recognizing a DSE for ∼200 nt 3′ of the stop codon. We have also identified a stabilizer sequence (STE) in the GCN4 leader region that inactivates the NMD pathway. Inactivation of the NMD pathway, as a consequence of either the DSE being too far from a stop codon or the presence of the STE, can be circumvented by inserting sequences containing a new translation initiation/termination cycle immediately 5′ of the DSE. Further, the results indicate that the STE functions in the context of the GCN4 transcript to inactivate the NMD pathway.
Peptide anchor residue glycosylation: effect on class I major histocompatibility complex binding and cytotoxic T lymphocyte recognition

This study extends our previous observation that glycopeptides bind to class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules and elicit carbohydrate‐specific CTL responses. The Sendai virus nucleoprotein wild‐type (WT) peptide (FAPGNYPAL) binds H‐2Db using the P5‐Asn as an anchor. The peptide K2 carrying a P5 serine substitution did not bind Db. Surprisingly, glycosylation of the serine (K2‐O‐GlcNAc) with N‐acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc), a novel cytosolic O‐linked glycosylation, partially restored peptide binding to Db. We argue that the N‐acetyl group of GlcNAc may fulfil the hydrogen bonding requirements of the Db pocket which normally accomodates P5‐Asn. Glycosylation of the P5‐Asn residue itself abrogated binding similar to K2, probably for steric reasons. The peptide K2‐O‐GlcNAc readily elicited Db‐restricted cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL), which did not cross‐react with K2 or WT. However, all Db‐restricted CTL raised against K2‐O‐GlcNAc cross‐reacted strongly with another glycopeptide, K3‐O‐GlcNAc, where the GlcNAc substitution is on a neighboring P4‐Ser. Furthermore, Db‐restricted CTL clones raised against K2‐O‐GlcNAc or K3‐O‐GlcNAc displayed a striking TCR conservation. Our interpretation is that the carbohydrate of K2‐O‐GlcNAc not only mediates binding to Db, but also interacts with the TCR in such a way as to mimic K3‐O‐GlcNAc. This unusual example of molecular mimicry extends the known effects of peptide glycosylation from what we and others have previously reported: glycosylation may create a T cell neo‐epitope, or, conversely, abrogate recognition. Alternatively, glycosylation may block peptide binding to MHC class I and finally, as reported here, restore binding, presumably through direct interaction of the carbohydrate with the MHC molecule.
Improved biomass stove intervention in rural Mexico: impact on the respiratory health of women.

RATIONALE Exposure to biomass smoke has been related to adverse health effects. In Mexico, one household in four still cooks with biomass fuel, but there has been no evaluation of the health impact of reducing indoor air pollution. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the health impact of the introduction of an improved biomass stove (Patsari; Interdisciplinary Group for Appropriate Rural Technology [GIRA], Patzcuaro, Mexico) in Mexican women. METHODS A randomized controlled trial was conducted in the Central Mexican state of Michoacán. Households were randomized to receive the Patsari stove or keep their traditional open fire. A total of 552 women were followed with monthly visits over 10 months to assess stove use, inquire about respiratory and other symptoms, and obtain lung function measurements. Statistical analysis was conducted using longitudinal models. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Adherence to the intervention was low (50%). Women who reported using the Patsari stove most of the time compared with those using the open fire had significantly lower risk of respiratory symptoms (relative risk [RR], 0.77; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.62-0.95 for cough and RR, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.11-0.77 for wheezing) adjusted for confounders. Similar results were found for other respiratory symptoms as well as for eye discomfort, headache, and back pain. Actual use of the Patsari stove was associated with a lower FEV(1) decline (31 ml) compared with the open fire use (62 ml) over 1 year of follow-up (P = 0.012) for women 20 years of age and older, adjusting for confounders. CONCLUSIONS The use of the Patsari stove was significantly associated with a reduction of symptoms and of lung function decline comparable to smoking cessation.
Long-term effects of sitagliptin in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension: results from the PROLOGUE study

Background The effects of sitagliptin in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension are unclear. Therefore, we evaluated the long-term effects of sitagliptin in those patients. Methods In the PROLOGUE study, 365 patients were diagnosed as type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension, and 189 patients in the sitagliptin group, 176 patients in the conventional group. Fasting blood glucose (FBG), HbA1c, systolic pressure (SP), diastolic pressure (DP), serum urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine (SCR) were measured at the beginning of the study and after 12 and 24 months of treatment. Results FBS and HbA1c levels were not significantly decreased after treatment [12 months: OR: -3.1, 95% CI (-11.3, 5.0); OR: 0.1, 95% CI (0.0, 0.3); 24 months: OR: -0.1, 95% CI (-9.1, 8.8); OR: 0.1, 95% CI (0.0, 0.3), respectively]. BP and DP levels were not significantly decreased after treatment (12 months: OR: 0.9, 95% CI (-2.8, 4.6); OR: 0.6, 95% CI (-2.0, 3.2); 24 months: OR: -0.5, 95% CI (-4.2, 3.1); OR: -1.6, 95% CI (-41, 0.9), respectively]. Furthermore, BUN and SCR levels were not significantly decreased after treatment (12 months: OR: 0.0, 95%CI (-1.2, 1.2); OR: 0.0, 95% CI (-0.1, 0.0); 24 months: OR: 0.4, 95% CI (-1.0, 1.8); OR: -80.8, 95% CI (-201.3, 39.8), respectively]. After adjusting for confounding factors, our results did not change. Conclusions In our study, there was no evidence that treatment with sitagliptin can improve FBS, BP, DP, BUN or SCR in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension. Trial Registration University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry UMIN000004490.
Coping with quantity and quality: computer-based research on case records from the 'Wittenauer Heilstätten' in Berlin (1919-1960

Computer-aided research on hospital records has been used increasingly by historians in recent decades. We reviewed a representative sample of four thousand patient records from the 'Wittenauer Heilstätten' (known as 'Karl- Bonhoeffer-Nervenklinik' since 1965) over the period 1919-1960. Special focus was placed on the daily lives of patients, and we attempted to trace continuity and discontinuity through three different political systems. This paper outlines our research methodology by describing the structure of data entries, the use of special computer software and problems encountered with historical sources. It outlines the medical and social information which was obtainable and concludes by discussing the use of additional historical sources, necessitated by the limitations of case records.
Malinowski Goes to College: Factors Influencing Students' Use of Ritual and Superstition

Anthropologists have long noted that the use of ritual and magic is linked to conditions of risk and uncertainty. In this study, the authors examined how perceived task difficulty, participants' level of preparation, and the value of the outcome interact to influence the self-reporting of superstition and ritual. College students rated the likelihood of their using charms or rituals for various scenarios involving academic, artistic, and athletic performances. Reports of use of ritual increased as the stakes of the event increased and decreased with perceived expertise or level of preparation. Additional findings included participants' reporting frequent use of ritual while denying any causal effectiveness. The authors discuss results in terms of the rituals providing participants with an illusion of control.
Cumulative Average Abnormal Return and Semistrong Form Efficiency Testing in Indonesian Equity Market over Restructuring Issue

Efficient market hypothesis is important in finance. Investors will expect superior gains from their investment strategies with respect to the risk profile. Event study is an approach to assess the impact of the information on the stock prices. If the market is efficient, the price of securities will be adjusted quickly to the announcement day. The objective of this study is to test the efficiency of Indonesian Stock Market in semi-strong form with respect to 19 recent merger announcements since year 2000. In order to analyze the effect of the announcement, Event Study Methodology is conducted by calculating the Abnormal Returns (AR) of each stock, Average Abnormal Returns (AAR), and Cumulative Abnormal Return (CAR) 30 days prior to the merger announcement and 30 days after the merger announcement (event window). To calculate the Abnormal Return, market model is employed by regressing the daily stock return with the corresponding market return on the estimation period. Parametric and non-parametric test on the AAR is used to test for efficiency. The findings from this research is that Indonesian stock market is efficient in semi-strong form in the case of merger announcements.
A viral function represses accumulation of transcripts from productive-cycle genes in mouse ganglia latently infected with herpes simplex virus

Latent infections of neurons by herpes simplex virus form reservoirs of recurrent viral infections that resist cure. In latently infected neurons, viral gene expression is severely repressed; only the latency-associated transcripts (LATs) are expressed abundantly. Using sensitive reverse transcriptase PCR assays, we analyzed the effects of a deletion mutation in the LAT locus on viral gene expression in latently infected mouse trigeminal ganglia. The deletion mutation, which reduced expression of the major LATs 10(5)-fold, resulted in a approximately 5-fold increase in accumulation of transcripts from the immediate-early gene encoding ICP4, an essential transactivator of viral gene expression. The LAT deletion also resulted in a >10-fold increase in the accumulation of transcripts from the early gene encoding thymidine kinase, whose expression during productive infection stringently depends on ICP4, and positively affected the correlation of the levels of these transcripts with the levels of ICP4 transcripts. We also detected transcripts antisense to ICP4 RNA, which were in substantial excess to ICP4 transcripts in ganglia latently infected with wild-type virus. In contrast to its effects on productive-cycle transcripts, the LAT deletion reduced the accumulation of these antisense transcripts approximately 15-fold. Thus, a viral function associated with the LAT locus represses the accumulation of transcripts from at least two productive-cycle genes in latently infected mouse ganglia. We discuss possible mechanisms and consequences of this repression.
Some fundamental (and often overlooked) considerations underlying the free ion activity and biotic ligand models

Trace metal bioavailability is often evaluated on the basis of steady‐state models such as the free ion activity model (FIAM) and the biotic ligand model (BLM). Some of the assumptions underlying these models were verified by examining Pb and Zn uptake by the green microalga Chlorella kesslerii. Transporter bound metal ({M‐Rcell}) and free ion concentrations ([MZ+]) were related to experimentally determined uptake fluxes (Jint). Although the BLM and FIAM correctly predicted Pb uptake in the absence of competing ions, they failed to predict competitive interactions with Ca2+, likely because of modifications of the algal surface charge and the active nature of Ca2+ transport. Zinc transport is also active; in this case, both the internalization rate constant (kint) and the equilibrium constant for the binding of Zn to the transport sites (KZn‐Rcell) varied as a function of [Zn2+] in the bulk solution. For this reason, Zn uptake could not be modeled by the steady‐state models either in the presence or absence of competitors (Cd and Ca). Furthermore, the role of Cu on Pb and Zn adsorption and uptake could not be predicted by either model because of secondary effects on the algal physiology and membrane permeability. Finally, a 17°C reduction in temperature resulted in a two‐to fivefold decrease in membrane permeability of the metals, an observation that also is unaccounted for by either the FIAM or BLM. This paper emphasizes the limitations of the models in well‐controlled laboratory systems with the goal of extrapolating the results to complex environmental systems.
Equity: A key benchmark for students and staff in an era of changing demands, changing directions

Educational equity is premised on the right of individuals to a higher education irrespective of their age, geographical location, gender, race, physical ability, or socio-economic background in order to improve their income generation and hence quality of life (Santiago et al., 2008). In the digital age, distance-, flexible-, mobile-, virtual- and e-learning are all being promoted as means by which disadvantaged learners from around the globe can access, participate in, and achieve the outcome of post-secondary qualifications. They are also promoted as the means by which staff can participate in commensurate employment irrespective of their personal circumstances. This paper examines equity as a key benchmark for both students and staff in an era of changing demands and changing directions in higher education. While grounded in the literature, the paper incorporates ethnographic (student voice) and autoethnographic (staff voice) exemplars to highlight ways that disadvantage is experienced in technologically-mediated education
Simulating the Impact of Water Quality Improvement Measures for Nutrient-Sensitive River Basins with the Aquatox Model

Water quality modelling studies are effective tools for the prediction of the impact of water quality improvement measures. This study aims to predict the future water quality of a nutrient-sensitive river basin assuming the implementation of water quality improvement measures by setting up and executing multiple models. The rationale behind the use of multiple models is the better suitability of each model for its relevant objective. Hydrodynamics of the river are simulated using the WASP model. Following the estimation of diffuse-source nutrient loadings in the river basin with the SWAT model, water quality of the river is simulated with a multi-segment Aquatox model. All models are calibrated to one year of observed data. Models are first executed to obtain the current water quality status and then to predict the water quality for the period of 2016-2040. For the future persion, it is assumed that measures are taken to reduce point-source and diffuse-source pollutant loadings. Model results suggest that load reductions are expected to be effective and that improvement in water quality can be predicted for all water quality indicators. TKN concentrations vary between 0.11-2.13 mg/l with the highest mean concentration occurring during the months of January. TP concentrations are expected to have a higher variability (0.032-0.65 mg/l).
Signal Peptidase Cleavage at the Flavivirus C-prM Junction: Dependence on the Viral NS2B-3 Protease for Efficient Processing Requires Determinants in C, the Signal Peptide, and prM

ABSTRACT Signal peptidase cleavage at the C-prM junction in the flavivirus structural polyprotein is inefficient in the absence of the cytoplasmic viral protease, which catalyzes cleavage at the COOH terminus of the C protein. The signal peptidase cleavage occurs efficiently in circumstances where the C protein is deleted or if the viral protease complex is present. In this study, we used cDNA of Murray Valley encephalitis virus (MVE) to examine features of the structural polyprotein which allow this regulation of a luminal cleavage by a cytoplasmic protease. We found that the inefficiency of signal peptidase cleavage in the absence of the viral protease is not attributable solely to features of the C protein. Inhibition of cleavage still occurred when charged residues in C were mutated to uncharged residues or when an unrelated protein sequence (that of ubiquitin) was substituted for C. Also, fusion of the C protein did not inhibit processing of an alternative adjacent signal sequence. The cleavage region of the flavivirus prM translocation signal is unusually hydrophobic, and we established that altering this characteristic by making three point mutations near the signal peptidase cleavage site in MVE prM dramatically increased the extent of cleavage without requiring removal of the C protein. In addition, we demonstrated that luminal sequences downstream from the signal peptidase cleavage site contributed to the inefficiency of cleavage.
Coronary Flow Velocity Reserve in Patients with Ascending Aorta Aneurysm

Ascending aorta aneurysms (AAA) are one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality. Impairment in coronary flow may contribute to cardiovascular consequences in AAA patients. Coronary flow velocity reserve (CFVR) has been considered an important diagnostic index of the functional capacity of coronary arteries noninvasively. The aim of this study was to evaluate, by noninvasive CVFR, whether patients with AAA demonstrate significant coronary microvascular dysfunction in the absence of coronary artery disease (CAD).