Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of atrial fibrillation on mortality, stroke, and medical costs.

BACKGROUND The impact of atrial fibrillation (AF) on mortality, stroke, and medical costs is unknown. METHODS We conducted a prospective cohort study of hospitalized Medicare patients with AF and 1 other cardiovascular diagnosis (CVD) compared with a matched group without AF (n = 26,753), randomly selected in 6 age-sex strata from 1989 MedPAR files of more than 1 million patients diagnosed as having AF. Stroke rates were also determined in another cohort free of CVD (n = 14,267). Total medical costs after hospitalization were available from a 1991 cohort. Cumulative mortality, stroke rates, and costs following index admission were adjusted by multivariate and proportional hazard regression analyses. RESULTS Mortality rates were high in individuals with CVD, ranging from 19.0% to 52.1% in 1 year. Adjusted relative mortality risk was approximately 20% higher in patients with AF in all age-sex strata during each of the 3 years studied (P < .05). Incidence of stroke was high in individuals with CVD, 6.2% to 15.4% in 1 year, with and without AF, and was at least 5-fold higher than in individuals without CVD. In those with CVD, stroke rates were approximately 25% higher in women with AF (P < .05) but only 10% higher in men. Adjusted total Medicare spending in 1 year was 8.6- to 22.6-fold greater in men, and 9.8- to 11.2-fold greater in women with AF (P < .05). Second- and third-year costs were increased as well. CONCLUSION Prevention of AF and treatment of patients with AF and associated CVD may yield benefits in reduced mortality and stroke as well as reducing health care costs.
Longitudinal trends in the dispensing of psychotropic medications in Australia from 2009–2012: Focus on children, adolescents and prescriber specialty

Objective: Longitudinal trends in the dispensing of antidepressant, antipsychotic and ADHD medications from 2009–2012 were examined according to age and gender of patient and prescriber speciality. Of particular interest were changing trends in the prescription of psychotropic medications to children, adolescents and young adults. Method: Dispensing data for government-subsidised antidepressant, antipsychotic and ADHD medications were obtained from the database maintained by the Department of Human Services. Results were expressed in terms of number of prescriptions dispensed. Results: Over the four- year study period, the dispensing of antidepressants, antipsychotics and ADHD medications showed overall increases of 16.1%, 22.7% and 26.1% respectively. The most rapid percentage increases in antidepressant and antipsychotic dispensing occurred in children aged 10–14 (35.5% and 49.1% respectively), while ADHD medication dispensing rose most rapidly in those aged 20–24 (70.9%). Dispensing to males was more common during childhood for all investigated classes while two-thirds of adult antidepressant prescribing was to female patients. The most commonly prescribed antidepressants varied by age and were as follows: fluoxetine (3–19 year olds), desvenlafaxine (20–24 years) and venlafaxine (>25 years). Risperidone was the most common antipsychotic dispensed to children under 15, quetiapine to adolescents and young adults (15–24 years), and olanzapine to adults. Methylphenidate was the most common ADHD medication in those aged under 25, and dexamphetamine the most common in adults. Most antidepressants and antipsychotics were prescribed by GPs (89.9% and 70.6% respectively), while the majority of ADHD medications were prescribed by paediatricians (59.1%). Conclusions: Dispensing of psychotropic medications increased markedly from 2009 to 2012, with notable age-specific trends. General adherence to treatment guidelines is apparent, yet concerns exist regarding rapid increases in serotonin noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) antidepressant prescribing, the likely overmedication of persons with mild psychological distress, and the increasing use of powerful psychotropic medications in younger populations despite uncertain risk–benefit profiles.
In the circuit of credibility: construction workers and the norms of ‘a good job’

In the contemporary managerial regime, managerial control is increasingly being maintained through indirect forms of control, centring on identities and ideologies and instituting the co‐workers as enterprising, self‐regulating subjects. The construction industry has, over time, managed to maintain a craft tradition whereby individual skills rather than engineered work routines have been favoured, resulting in management control largely having been decentralized to work teams. A study of construction work at three sites suggests that managerial control is embedded in collectively enacted norms concerning what constitutes ‘good work’. The capacity to perform in accordance with such norms is translated into credibility, a reputation for being capable of adhering to the norms of good work. The construction industry and onsite construction work thus operate on the basis of an ‘economy of reputation’ or a ‘circuit of credibility’, prescribing what constitutes adequate performance and imposing sanctions on underachieving individuals or companies. Such norms and circuits of credibility serve to protect the role and status of construction workers and to maintain jurisdiction over fields of expertise, but they may also have a conservating effect on the industry, being severely criticized in terms of failing to bring about innovations and lower production costs.
Recent Trends in the Internationalisation of the New Zealand Economy

Over the last decade, but particularly since 1984 when the fourth Labour Government came to power, New Zealand has become something of an experimental test bed for the implementation of monetarist ideas of political and economic management. A noticeable outcome of the policy regime recently put in place has been a dramatic ‘opening up’ of the economy as markets are deregulated, protection barriers lowered, and restrictions on movement of capital in and out of the country removed One consequence has been a quantitative and qualitative change in the internationalisation of the economy. This paper traces the nature and extent of this process, and speculates on some policy implications. Four key dimensions of the internationalisation process are surveyed: the expansion of New Zealand capital off-shore, increased levels of foreign investment in New Zealand, the impact of reductions in border protection, and closer economic relations between Australia and New Zealand.
Sensorless position estimation and control of permanent-magnet synchronous motors using a saturation model

ABSTRACT Sensorless control of permanent-magnet synchronous motors at low velocity remains a challenging task. A now well-established method consists of injecting a high-frequency signal and using the rotor saliency, both geometric and magnetic-saturation induced. This paper proposes a clear and original analysis based on second-order averaging of how to recover the position information from signal injection; this analysis blends well with a general model of magnetic saturation. It also proposes a simple parametric model of the saturated motor, based on an energy function which simply encompasses saturation and cross-saturation effects. Experimental results on a surface-mounted motor and an interior magnet motor illustrate the relevance of the approach.
ICAM-1 antisense oligodesoxynucleotides prevent reperfusion injury and enhance immediate graft function in renal transplantation.

BACKGROUND Ischemia-reperfusion injury after organ transplantation is a major cause of delayed graft function. We showed earlier that antisense oligodesoxynucleotides (ODN) for intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) ameliorate reperfusion injury after acute ischemia. This study tested the hypothesis that antisense ODN for ICAM-1 prevents ischemia-reperfusion injury and facilitates immediate graft function in a rat autotransplantation model. METHODS Both kidneys were removed from male Lewis rats and re-implanted the left kidney after 30 minutes of cold ischemia time. The warm ischemia time was 60 minutes. Sham operated, uninephrectomized animals served as controls for renal function and histology. ICAM-1 antisense ODN (5 mg/kg), reverse ODN, or saline-vehicle were administered to donor animals i.v. six hours before autotransplantation. Glomerular filtration rate (insulin clearance), and serum creatinine concentrations were measured 24 hours post-transplantation. Tubular necrosis severity was assessed by histological grading scale. ICAM-1 expression was determined by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. RESULTS Antisense ODN decreased ICAM-1 expression and leukocyte infiltration significant. Antisense ODN-treated animals showed significantly less tubular necrosis, than controls. Serum creatinine of antisense ODN-treated animals (N = 6) was 0.55 +/- 0.02 mg/dl compared to 1.92 +/- 0.07 mg/dl in reverse ODN-treated controls (N = 6; P < 0.01), 24 hours after transplantation. Antisense ODN-treated animals had normal GFR (0.93 +/- 0.07 ml/min/kidney wt) compared to sham-operated animals (0.95 +/- 0.09 ml/min/kidney wt), while autotransplanted animals treated with reverse ODN or saline-vehicle were all anuric. The ischemia-reperfusion-induced up-regulation of MHC class II was totally prevented by antisense ODN. CONCLUSIONS ICAM-1 inhibition ameliorates ischemia-reperfusion injury and prevents delayed graft function. Antisense ODN-treatment of donors or donor organs for ICAM-1 may be useful for the prevention of reperfusion injury in human renal transplantation.
The Role of Phytohormones in Alleviating Salt Stress in Crop Plants

Phytohormones are chemical messengers produced in one part of plant and translocated to the other parts, where they play critical roles in regulating plant responses to stress at extremely low concentration. Phytohormones are natural products and they called plant growth regulators, when they are synthesized chemically. Plants are usually subjected to environmental factors such as drought or high soil and water salinity. The reduction in plant growth exposed to saline environments could be due to either the effects of specific ions on metabolism or adverse water relations. Different strategies are being employed to maximize plant growth under saline conditions. One of them is to produce salt tolerant genotypes of different crops. Attempts to improve tolerance to salinity through conventional plant breeding methods are time consuming, laborious and depended on existing genetic variability. In addition, many attempts have been made to overcome this disorder, including proper management and exogenous application of plant growth regulators. This article presents a review of the role of abscisic acid (ABA), indole acetic acid (IAA), cytokinins (CK), gibberellic acid (GA), brassinosteroids (BR), jasmonates (JA), salicylic acid (SA) and triazoles (TR) in alleviating salt stress in crops.
A Novel Analytical Method Using OCT to Describe the Corneoscleral Junction

Purpose To develop and test a novel quantitative method of describing the corneoscleral junction, including metrics that reflect both the angle and the topography in this region of the ocular surface. Methods Forty-eight neophyte subjects were recruited (16 Asian, 16 white, and 16 Latino). Optical coherence tomography images of the nasal, temporal, superior, and inferior quadrants in both eyes were taken. Custom image analysis software was written in Matlab to allow the observer to select a point defining the center of the junction, from which 20 concentric circles were automatically drawn. The surface of the junction in the image was automatically located by edge-detection routines, and the circles intersecting this edge defined a series of points in the Cartesian plane. A linear regression was fit to these points, and a set of metrics based on the regression residuals was calculated. Results The sum of the squared orthogonalized residuals (SSRo) was the most repeatable metric and had the advantage of being unaffected by the orientation of the image. The SSRo was significantly greater in the nasal quadrant (p < 0.001), reflecting a more pronounced angle and/or rougher surface. The flattest and smoothest topography was found in the temporal quadrant. Whites had significantly higher SSRo than Asians and Latinos (p < 0.001). Conclusions This study presents a novel metric for characterizing the angle and topography of the corneoscleral junction using optical coherence tomography and establishes differences among quadrants and between ethnic groups.
Managed care plan performance since 1980. A literature analysis.

OBJECTIVE To compare the health care utilization, expenditure, quality of care, and satisfaction since 1980 of enrollees in managed care and indemnity plans. DATA SOURCES AND STUDY SELECTION Studies selected met the following criteria: data from 1980 forward, private insurance or Medicare enrollees, a comparison group, a reasonable attempt at statistical adjustment for noncomparable managed care and indemnity plan enrollees, and peer-reviewed findings (with two exceptions). Few studies on preferred provider organization plan performance met the selection criteria. DATA SYNTHESIS Compared with indemnity plans, health maintenance organization plans had somewhat lower hospital admission rates, 1% to 20% shorter hospital length of stay, the same or more physician office visits per enrollee, less use of expensive procedures and tests, greater use of preventive services, mixed results on outcomes, and somewhat lower enrollee satisfaction with services but higher satisfaction with costs. The evidence does not support the hypothesis that prepaid group practice or staff model health maintenance organizations are more effective than individual practice association or network model health maintenance organizations. CONCLUSIONS Although this literature analysis found several clear patterns of results, several factors, including unmeasured selection bias, diverse and rapidly changing health plans and local market conditions, and relatively few research results, suggest that generalizations must be made with caution.
The placenta: the forgotten essential organ of iron transport.

Optimal iron nutrition in utero is essential for development of the fetus and helps establish birth iron stores adequate to sustain growth in early infancy. In species with hemochorial placentas, such as humans and rodents, iron in the maternal circulation is transferred to the fetus by directly contacting placental syncytiotrophoblasts. Early kinetic studies provided valuable data on the initial uptake of maternal transferrin, an iron-binding protein, by the placenta. However, the remaining steps of iron trafficking across syncytiotrophoblasts and through the fetal endothelium into the fetal blood remain poorly characterized. Over the last 20 years, identification of transmembrane iron transporters and the iron regulatory hormone hepcidin has greatly expanded the knowledge of cellular iron transport and its regulation by systemic iron status. In addition, emerging human and animal data demonstrating comprised fetal iron stores in severe maternal iron deficiency challenge the classic dogma of exclusive fetal control over the transfer process and indicate that maternal and local signals may play a role in regulating this process. This review compiles current data on the kinetic, molecular, and regulatory aspects of placental iron transport and considers new questions and knowledge gaps raised by these advances.
Genetic variation in the Desert Springsnail (Tryonia porrecta): implications for reproductive mode and dispersal

Allozymes and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (mtCOI) sequences were analysed to determine whether populations of the western North American gastropod Tryonia porrecta (from California, Nevada, Utah, and northwest Mexico) are strongly differentiated in accordance with traditional interpretation of regional fauna as ancient relicts inhabiting isolated fragments of late Tertiary palaeodrainages. These data were also used to assess whether this species, for which males have not been recorded, is a rare example of a molluscan parthenogen. Both data sets strongly supported monophyly of T. porrecta populations. Five of the nine sampled populations consisted of a single monoallelic allozyme genotype while the others contained two to 10 distinct genotypes. Allozymic data for genetically diverse Utah populations provided evidence of clonal and sexual reproduction. mtCOI haplotypes of T. porrecta formed two subgroups which differed by 1.99–2.60%. The common haplotype was found in seven populations with rare haplotypes observed in single populations. Based on these results and an available mtCOI molecular clock for related hydrobiid snails, T. porrecta is interpreted as a primarily parthenogenetic species that undergoes occasional sexual reproduction and has accumulated substantial diversity following its mid‐Pliocene to mid‐Pleistocene origin. Our results also suggest that the distribution of present‐day populations of these gill‐breathing snails did not result from fragmentation of an ancient, well‐integrated drainage but instead reflects overland colonization of habitats which only recently became available following desiccation of late Quaternary pluvial lakes.
Robust fault detection filters for switched systems with sensor fault

The problem of robust fault detection filters for switched systems with sensor fault. Different from the average dwell time (ADT) switching, the switched systems are switched with mode-dependent average dwell time switching law which means that each subsystem has its own ADT, its own decay rate of the Lyapunov-like function and its own increase coefficient of Lyapunov-like function at switching instants. An analysis condition to capture the weighted l2 performance for switched systems with mode-dependent average dwell time (MDADT) is presented. With the aid of multiple Lyapunov-like functions and Projection Lemma, a procedure of robust fault detection filter synthesis is given in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Finally, an example is given to illustrated the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Reforming an Insider-Outsider Labor Market:

This paper presents a case study on reforming a very dysfunctional labor market with a deep insider-outsider divide, namely the Spanish case. We show how a dual market, with permanent and temporary employees makes real reform much harder, and leads to purely marginal changes that do not alter the fundamental features of labor market institutions. While the Great Recession and the start of the sovereign debt crisis triggered two labor reforms, the political economy equilibrium has not allowed them to be transformational enough.
A Critical Overview of Financial Sector Reform in Korea: Experience and Remaining Challenges ✻

The long-standing practice of government intervention in credit allocation, as well as in key managerial decisions, has weakened banks in Korea. The attendant implicit assumption of credit risks provided an underlying cause for high leveraging on the part of the corporate sector, the absence of credit analysis and lending concentration on the part of banks, and superficial supervision on the part of regulators. Scant attention to risk management, on the part of all parties concerned, contributed to the onset of the financial distress in 1997 . The government implemented a set of corrective measures and prevented a complete paralysis of the financial sector. However, the crucial issue remains whether the financial intermediaries' contribution s to the national economy will be in the form of offering autonomous monitoring services or warehousing scarce financial resources to finance government-picked national champion industries.
How Pro‐social Motivation Affects Job Satisfaction: An International Analysis of Countries with Different Welfare State Regimes

Employees' pro-social motivation has been shown to be positively related to job satisfaction, especially when the perceived usefulness of the job to society and other people is high. There is, however, a lack of analyses which include both public and private employees, and it has not yet been studied whether the relationships are robust across welfare state regimes. This study therefore examines the moderated relationship between pro-social motivation and job satisfaction. Using data from the cross-national 2005 ISSP survey (14 countries, N = 10,630), it confirms that the relationship between pro-social motivation and job satisfaction is moderated by perceived usefulness of the job for society and other people. Usefulness again depends on the individual's employment sector (public versus private), and this public–private difference in perceived usefulness also varies between different welfare state regimes. This indicates that sector differences in how pro-social motivation affects job satisfaction depends on the broader institutional context, and the article therefore contributes with important knowledge for the recruitment and retention of motivated and satisfied employees in a period of changing public–private responsibilities in the provision of welfare services.
[Two new triterpenoid saponins from Lysimachia capillipes Hemsl].

AIM To study the triterpenoid saponins in the whole plants of Lysimachia capillipes Hemsl. METHODS Column chromatography (including AB-8 macroporous resin, silica gel and ODS) was used to separate triterpenoid saponins whose structures were elucidated by ESI-MS, NMR (1D and 2D) and hydrolysis methods. RESULTS Two new triterpenoid saponins were isolated and established as 3beta, 22alpha-dihydroxy-16alpha-angeloyloxy-28-->13-lactone-oleanane-3-O-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->2)-alpha-L-arabinpyranosyl]-22-O-(6-acetyl)-beta-D-glucopyranoside (I), 3beta, 13beta, 22alpha-trihydroxy-16alpha-acetyloxyoleanane-28-oic acid Na-3-O-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->2)-alpha-L-arabinpyranosyl]-22-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (II). CONCLUSION Compounds I and II are new compounds and named as capilliposide I and capilliposide J.
Young People, Homeownership and Future Welfare

Homeownership has become a ‘normalised’ tenure of choice in many advanced economies, with housing playing a pivotal role in shifts from collective to asset-based welfare. Young people are, however, increasingly being excluded from accessing the housing ladder. Many are remaining in the parental home for longer, and even when ready to ‘fly the nest’ face significant challenges in accessing mortgage finance. This under-30 age group has become ‘generation rent’. As this policy review emphasises, this key public-policy issue has created a source of inter-generational conflict between ‘housing poor’ young people and their ‘housing rich’ elders. To fully understand the complexities at play however, this paper argues that we need to look beyond the immediate housing-market issues and consider how housing policy interacts with broader social, economic and demographic shifts, and how it is intimately connected to debates about welfare. This is illustrated with reference to the UK, although these debates have international resonance.