Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Esophageal cancer and body mass index: Results from a prospective study of 220,000 men in China and a meta‐analysis of published studies

Several epidemiological studies have reported on the association between body mass index (BMI) and risk of esophageal cancer, but these were mostly in Western populations where many are overweight or obese. There is little direct evidence about the relationship in China where the mean BMI is relatively low and the disease rate is high. We examined the data from a population‐based prospective study of 220,000 Chinese men aged 40–79 without a previous history of cancer (mean BMI 21.7 kg/m2), which included 1,082 esophageal cancer deaths during 10 years of follow‐up. Adjusted hazard ratios for death from esophageal cancer by baseline BMI category were calculated using Cox proportional hazards models. Even among men with good self‐assessed health and BMI ≥ 18.5 kg/m2, there was a strong inverse association between BMI and death from esophageal cancer, with each 5 kg/m2 higher BMI associated with 25% (95%CI: 11–36%) lower esophageal cancer mortality. This inverse association persisted when analysis was restricted to men who had never smoked or when the first 5 years of follow‐up were excluded. The strength of the relationship was consistent with the pooled estimate for squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus in a meta‐analysis of prospective studies (31% lower relative risk per 5 kg/m2 higher BMI; 95% CI: 25–37%), but contrasted with that for adenocarcinoma which showed a positive association with BMI. Together, these data provide reliable evidence that in many populations low BMI is associated with an increased risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Bedside Coaching to Improve Nurses’ Recognition of Delirium

ABSTRACT Delirium is a widespread complication of hospitalization and is frequently unrecognized by nurses and other healthcare professionals. Patients with neuroscience diagnoses are at increased risk for delirium as compared with other patients. The aims of this quality improvement project were to (1) increase neuroscience nurses’ knowledge of delirium, (2) integrate coaching into evidence-based practice, and (3) evaluate the effectiveness of this combined approach to improve nurses’ recognition of delirium on a neuroscience unit. Institutional review board approval was obtained. A retrospective chart review of randomly selected patients admitted before the intervention was completed. The (modified) Nurse’s Knowledge of Delirium Tool was electronically administered to nursing staff (n = 47), followed within 2 weeks by a didactic presentation on delirium. Bedside coaching was performed over a period of 4 weeks. The (modified) Nurses Knowledge of Delirium Tool was electronically readministered to nurses 4 weeks later to determine the change in aggregate knowledge. A postintervention chart review was conducted. SPSS software was used to analyze descriptive statistics with regard to chart reviews, documentation, and change in questionnaire scores. Findings reveal that neuroscience nurses recognize the absence of delirium 94.4% of the time and the presence of delirium 100% of the time after a didactic session and coaching. The postintervention chart review showed a statistically significant increase (p = .000) in the documentation of delirium screening results. Expert coaching at the bedside may be a reliable method for teaching nurses to use evidence-based screening tools to detect delirium in patients with neuroscience diagnoses.
Effectiveness of OR in Real-Life Applications for Better Returns

The paper attempts to delineate a relationship between Operations Research, a study that deals with improving utilization of limited resources; and revenue maximization, a field that has its roots in commerce and industry. These are two independent fields that can be enriched by adopting each other's strategies, since they both share a common goal of improving returns. It is also true that no real life system can operate in isolation; all systems experience interactions with other systems, and consequently changes in such systems are inevitable. These changing systems have been defined as protean systems. In analysing the real life systems, which are protean in character, the approach through information recycling might be a better way. These ideas give rise to new mathematical challenges and these ideas are being explored in the paper.
Service quality and relative performance of public universities in East Africa

Purpose – Service quality and relative performance of public universities in East Africa. Design/methodology/approach – Exploratory survey of three public universities in East African countries namely Moi, Makerere and Dar es salaam universities from three East African countries of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, respectively. Student perceptions are elicited on service quality and relative performance. Comparative analysis is done. A sample size of 450 respondents from a target population of > 50,000 is derived using a multistage sampling technique. Structured questionnaire is used to extract both nominal and ordinal data, the latter utilizing items anchored on a five-point Likert scale. Modified SERVQUAL and performance were standardized. Descriptive, one-way ANOVA, factor analysis, Pearson product moment correlation and multiple regression was used to analyze the data. Findings – Modified SERVQUAL dimensions were confirmed, centrality of tangibility and reliability established, while importance of responsi.
Effects of rainfall patterns and land cover on the subsurface flow generation of sloping Ferralsols in southern China

Rainfall patterns and land cover are two important factors that affect the runoff generation process. To determine the surface and subsurface flows associated with different rainfall patterns on sloping Ferralsols under different land cover types, observational data related to surface and subsurface flows from 5 m × 15 m plots were collected from 2010 to 2012. The experiment was conducted to assess three land cover types (grass, litter cover and bare land) in the Jiangxi Provincial Soil and Water Conservation Ecological Park. During the study period, 114 natural rainfall events produced subsurface flow and were divided into four groups using k-means clustering according to rainfall duration, rainfall depth and maximum 30-min rainfall intensity. The results showed that the total runoff and surface flow values were highest for bare land under all four rainfall patterns and lowest for the covered plots. However, covered plots generated higher subsurface flow values than bare land. Moreover, the surface and subsurface flows associated with the three land cover types differed significantly under different rainfall patterns. Rainfall patterns with low intensities and long durations created more subsurface flow in the grass and litter cover types, whereas rainfall patterns with high intensities and short durations resulted in greater surface flow over bare land. Rainfall pattern I had the highest surface and subsurface flow values for the grass cover and litter cover types. The highest surface flow value and lowest subsurface flow value for bare land occurred under rainfall pattern IV. Rainfall pattern II generated the highest subsurface flow value for bare land. Therefore, grass or litter cover are able to convert more surface flow into subsurface flow under different rainfall patterns. The rainfall patterns studied had greater effects on subsurface flow than on total runoff and surface flow for covered surfaces, as well as a greater effect on surface flows associated with bare land.
Content Analysis in der Mathematik: Erschließung und Retrieval mathematischer Publikationen

The classical scientific information services are confronted with big challenges: the increasing number of publications is calling for a new machinebased concept of content analysis and sophisticated methods for the retrieval. In the paper, a few new concepts for the content analysis and the retrieval of mathematical publications are presented. Moreover, the problem of formula analysis and retrieval is discussed. 394 Wolfram Sperber, Bernd Wegner
Nice guys finish first: how ‐ and why ‐ to apply TQ disciplines to social responsibility issues

Describes some of the shortcomings of the traditional approaches to business ethics in organizations, posing the question “Can capitalism co‐exist with social concern? ” Discusses social responsibility as successful business practice, rather than nice‐to‐do irrelevance in business. Outlines how quality assurance disciplines can readily apply to organizational efforts in social responsibility. Concludes with a ten‐point checklist, “the ten Cs of concerned capitalism” for people in organizations to consider and apply.
Key Information Sources Impacting Michelin Restaurant Choice

A central question for restaurant managers is how restaurant customers react to various marketing communications that restaurants use. This study looked at the importance rankings of various sources of information used by consumers making Michelin restaurant selections in Germany. The results of this study suggest that word-of-mouth informational sources and external ratings are viewed as key decision-making tools for high-end restaurant selection. Information source use varied by target market segment. Specifically, age was a determining factor for the importance of recent reviews, websites, and food guide ratings. These findings provide have important implications for marketing communication efforts.
Clinicopathological staging for colorectal cancer: An International Documentation System (IDS) and an International Comprehensive Anatomical Terminology (ICAT)

The purpose of tumour staging for colorectal cancer (CRC) is to help define clinical management, facilitate communication between physicians, provide a basis for stratification and analysis of treatment results in prospective studies, and provide some prognostic information for patients and their families. The World Congresses of Gastroenterology, Digestive Endoscopy, and Coloproctology, Working Party on staging for CRC studied six commonly used systems to review their strengths and weaknesses. Although it was concluded that defining a new staging system was unnecessary, it was recognized that there is a need to define a terminology to describe the full anatomic extent of spread of CRC. Furthermore, we note that there are several additional features, derived from both clinical and pathology information, which have had prognostic significance shown by appropriately constructed multivariate analyses and which can be used to formulate a more accurate prognostic index than that provided by a description of anatomical tumour spread.
Convergent Loss of Awn in Two Cultivated Rice Species Oryza sativa and Oryza glaberrima Is Caused by Mutations in Different Loci

A long awn is one of the distinct morphological features of wild rice species. This organ is thought to aid in seed dispersal and prevent predation by animals. Most cultivated varieties of Oryza sativa and Oryza glaberrima, however, have lost the ability to form long awns. The causal genetic factors responsible for the loss of awn in these two rice species remain largely unknown. Here, we evaluated three sets of chromosome segment substitution lines (CSSLs) in a common O. sativa genetic background (cv. Koshihikari) that harbor genomic fragments from Oryza nivara, Oryza rufipogon, and Oryza glaberrima donors. Phenotypic analyses of these libraries revealed the existence of three genes, Regulator of Awn Elongation 1 (RAE1), RAE2, and RAE3, involved in the loss of long awns in cultivated rice. Donor segments at two of these genes, RAE1 and RAE2, induced long awn formation in the CSSLs whereas an O. sativa segment at RAE3 induced long awn formation in O. glaberrima. These results suggest that the two cultivated rice species, O. sativa and O. glaberrima, have taken independent paths to become awnless.
Economic analysis of beef Cattle Farmers’ technical efficiency and willingness to comply with Disease Free Zones in Kenya

In Kenya, the cattle enterprise is an important source of livelihood for many farmers. However, lack of analytical evidence on efficiency levels of farmers in various productionsystems constrains policy making on optimal resource allocation. In addition, inability tocontrol livestock diseases, such as Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), has led to low beef supply in Kenya and loss of export markets. Although the government of Kenya plans to establish Disease Free Zones (DFZs) to address the disease challenge, there is no empirical evidence on farmers’ willingness to comply with DFZs.This study analyses farmers’ technical efficiency (TE) and willingness to comply with DFZs,across three main cattle production systems in Kenya. Primary data were gathered through household surveys using a structured questionnaire and a choice experiment (CE) based on a D-optimal design. The stochastic metafrontier model was applied to estimate TE and technology gaps across farms. Subsequently, possible determinants of TE were assessed using a Tobit model. In addition, farmers’ preferences for DFZ attributes and various possible policy scenarios were investigated using a random parameter logit (RPL) model. Results show that there is significant inefficiency in both the nomadic and agro-pastoral systems, but less in ranches. Further, in contrast with the other two systems, ranches are found to have higher meta-technology ratios (MTRs). The average pooled TE with respect to the metafrontier is estimated to be 0.69, which suggests that there is considerable scope to improve beef production in Kenya. The main factors that are found to have a positive influence on TE include: use of controlled cattle breeding method, access to market contract, presence of farm manager, off-farm income and larger herd size. The findings also show that farmers would be willing to pay to participate in a DFZ where: adequate training is provided on pasture development, record keeping and disease monitoring; market information is provided and sales contract opportunities are guaranteed; cattle are properly labelled for ease of identification; and some monetary compensation is provided in the event that cattle die due to severe disease outbreaks. In general, there is a higher preference for DFZ policy scenarios that incorporate training, and market information and contract. Further, farmers with relatively low TE, and typically limited access to disease control services, are shown to be more willing to participate in the DFZs. These insights should guide policies on beef cattle production and the design of DFZ programmes in Kenya and other countries that face similar challenges.
A Family of Three-Port Half-Bridge Converters for a Stand-Alone Renewable Power System

A systematic method to generate three-port half-bridge converters (TPHBCs) interfacing a renewable source, a storage battery, and a load is proposed for a stand-alone renewable power system application. Allowing dc bias current in the transformer, the primary circuit of a half-bridge converter can function as a synchronous rectification buck converter, by which a power flow path can be configured between the renewable source and the battery, which is connected in parallel with one of the dividing capacitor. To make the voltage on any two of the three ports independently regulated, a postregulation and a synchronous regulation with various implementations are proposed. As a result, a family of TPHBCs with merits of simple topologies and control, reduced number of devices, and single-stage power conversion between any two of the three ports is presented. A TPHBC with a synchronous regulation is given as an example to verify the proposed approach and experimental results are also given to validate the TPHBC operation. The topology generation idea is further extended and some novel TPCs are derived for different applications.
Mongolia’s challenge: becoming Asian in higher education

Despite the global economic crisis, the Republic of Mongolia is determined to move ahead in restructuring its higher education system. But, Government spending on higher education is severely limited in comparison to other regional players. Also, the quality of private higher education has yet to surpass that of the public institutions. The economy is currently too weak to support the large number of university graduates, and many are seeking employment elsewhere.
Postprandial Triacylglycerol Responses in Simulated Night and Day Shift: Gender Differences

A number of reports suggest that shift workers have an increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). One contributing factor may be the consumption of meals at night with consequent altered postprandial responses. This study investigated circulating triacylglycerol (TAG), a possible risk factor for CHD, after meals during a simulated day and night shift. Twenty-five healthy participants (10 women and 15 men) were studied. They were given a pre-meal at 0800 h and a test meal at 1330 h on a simulated day shift and then an identical pre-meal at 2000 h and test meal at 0130 h, respectively, on a simulated night shift with maintained wakefulness. Blood was sampled for 9 h after the test meal for analysis of basal and postprandial plasma TAG levels. ANOVA for repeated measures indicated higher TAG in men compared to women (p < 0.0001) and higher responses at night in both genders (p = 0.027). Incremental area under the curve (IAUC) analysis indicated that men had significantly increased postprandial TAG levels at night compared with the day: (IAUC 0–540 min, mean ± SEM) 253.29 ± 28.73 versus 148.33 ± 17.28 mmol/L.min, respectively, p = 0.025. In women, night and day responses (61.16 ± 8.93 versus 34.09 ± 7.87 mmol/L.min, respectively, p = 0.457) were not significantly different. Circulating TAG remained elevated for longer at night in the men compared with the women (p = 0.009). This study demonstrates the existence of gender and time-of-day differences in TAG responses to a meal. These raised TAG levels at night, for a prolonged time in men, may be relevant to the increased risk of CHD in shift workers.
Successful Outcome of Mismatched Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation from a Related Donor in an Infant with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and 9;11 Translocation: Case Report and Review of the Literature

Although infants with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and MLL gene rearrangements have a poor prognosis, those with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) have been shown to have a superior outcome with intensive chemotherapy alone despite the presence of MLL gene rearrangements. We report the case of an ALL infant with t(9;ll), a common cytogenetic abnormality in infant AML, who after relapse underwent successful hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) from her HLA 2-loci-mismatched mother. Analysis of the outcome among ALL infants with MLL gene rearrangements registered in the Japan Infant Leukemia Study between 1996 and 1999 showed the event-free survival of patients with t(9;11) was not different from that of those with other 11q23 translocations. Most of the patients with t(9;11) described in the reviewed literature also experienced either induction failure or early relapse after achievement of complete remission, but some of them were rescued with subsequent HSCT. These findings suggest that infant ALL with t(9;11) has features distinct from those of infant AML with the same karyotype and that the prognosis among these patients can be improved only with the combination of intensive chemotherapy and HSCT. An appropriate strategy for the treatment of ALL infants with different 11q23 translocations must be clarified.
The First Radios Were Made Using Memristors!

In 2008, Williams et al. reported the discovery of the fourth fundamental passive circuit element, memristor, which exhibits electrically controllable state-dependent resistance [1]. We show that one of the first wireless radio detector, called cat's whisker, also the world's first solid-state diode, had memristive properties. We have identified the state variable governing the resistance state of the device and can program it to switch between multiple stable resistance states. Our observations and results are valid for a larger class of devices called coherers, which include the cat's whisker. These devices constitute the missing canonical physical implementations for a memristor (ref. Fig. 1).
Effects of over-expressing a native gene encoding 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) on glyphosate resistance in Arabidopsis thaliana

Widespread overuse of the herbicide glyphosate, the active ingredient in RoundUp®, has led to the evolution of glyphosate-resistant weed biotypes, some of which persist by overproducing the herbicide’s target enzyme, 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS). EPSPS is a key enzyme in the shikimic acid pathway for biosynthesis of aromatic amino acids, lignin, and defensive compounds, but little is known about how overproducing EPSPS affects downstream metabolites, growth, or lifetime fitness in the absence of glyphosate. We are using Arabidopsis as a model system for investigating phenotypic effects of overproducing EPSPS, thereby avoiding confounding effects of genetic background or other mechanisms of herbicide resistance in agricultural weeds. Here, we report results from the first stage of this project. We designed a binary vector expressing a native EPSPS gene from Arabidopsis under control of the CaMV35S promoter (labelled OX, for over-expression). For both OX and the empty vector (labelled EV), we obtained nine independent T3 lines. Subsets of these lines were used to characterize glyphosate resistance in greenhouse experiments. Seven of the nine OX lines exhibited enhanced glyphosate resistance when compared to EV and wild-type control lines, and one of these was discarded due to severe deformities. The remaining six OX lines exhibited enhanced EPSPS gene expression and glyphosate resistance compared to controls. Glyphosate resistance was correlated with the degree of EPSPS over-expression for both vegetative and flowering plants, indicating that glyphosate resistance can be used as a surrogate for EPSPS expression levels in this system. These findings set the stage for examination of the effects of EPSPS over-expression on fitness-related traits in the absence of glyphosate. We invite other investigators to contact us if they wish to study gene expression, downstream metabolic effects, and other questions with these particular lines.
Localized domains of DNA supercoiling: topological coupling between promoters

According to the twin‐supercoiled domain model, a local domain with a high level of DNA supercoiling can be generated between two divergently transcribed promoters. We have tested this model directly using the rate of DNA photo‐cross‐linking by 4,5′,8‐trimethylpsoralen to measure local regions of unconstrained supercoiling in vivo. We demonstrate that, in plasmids, a localized domain of highly supercoiled DNA is generated upstream of the tetA promoter. The level of supercoiling of this domain depends on the activity of the tetA promoter and on the extent of translation of the tetA gene product. The highest level of supercoiling within this localized domain was observed in a topA strain, although the generation of a localized supercoiling domain could also be detected in a topA+ background, consistent with potential physiological significance. The level of supercoiling in this localized domain correlated with activation of the supercoiling‐sensitive leu‐500 promoter located upstream of tetA. These data provide a direct demonstration that localized domains of increased negative supercoiling can be generated upstream of an actively transcribed promoter, and that this can result in supercoiling‐mediated transcriptional coupling between two promoters.