Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Do patients with aggressive periodontitis have evidence of diabetes? A pilot study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Complex relationships exist between diabetes and periodontal disease. Diabetes is accepted as a risk factor for periodontal disease, and recent evidence supports the existence of a bidirectional relationship between these two diseases. It has been hypothesized that inflammation, lipids and adipokines may mediate these relationships. However, research regarding the above relationships with respect to aggressive periodontitis is very limited. This pilot study aimed to investigate whether patients with aggressive periodontitis (not previously diagnosed with diabetes) have evidence of diabetes and have altered serum levels of inflammatory mediators, lipids and adipokines. MATERIAL AND METHODS Glycaemic control markers (random plasma glucose and glycated haemoglobin), inflammatory mediators (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, tumour necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, interferon-γ and interleukin-18), lipids (triglycerides, total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol) and adipokines (leptin, adiponectin and resistin) were measured in serum samples from 30 patients with aggressive periodontitis and 30 age- and sex-matched periodontally healthy control subjects, none of whom had a previous diagnosis of diabetes. RESULTS Levels of glycaemic control markers, inflammatory mediators, lipids and adipokines were not significantly different (p > 0.05) between the aggressive periodontitis patients and healthy subjects for unadjusted and adjusted analyses (adjusting for body mass index, smoking, ethnicity, age and sex). The p-value for the adjusted analysis of adiponectin in female aggressive periodontitis patients compared with the female control subjects reached 0.064, the mean adiponectin level being lower in the female aggressive periodontitis patients (4.94 vs. 5.97 μg/mL). CONCLUSION This pilot study provided no evidence to suggest that patients with aggressive periodontitis (not previously diagnosed with diabetes) have evidence of diabetes or altered serum levels of inflammatory mediators, lipids and adipokines.
An econometric model of land prices in England

A thesis presented on the land market in England between 1951 and 2001, determining an econometric VAR model of land prices that establishes a link between the price of agricultural land in England and variables that are under the influence of policy makers. The model makes use of the Johansen technique to determine the short run and long run effects of variables that control land prices.
Sea ice classification using compact polarized SAR

Sea ice is a dominant indicator of climate change with rapid sea ice loss observed in Arctic Ocean in recent years. Spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensors are ideal for ice monitoring because of their all-weather operation and sensitivity to surface roughness, volume structure, dielectric properties and viewing geometry. Quad-pol SAR has unique capabilities which play a key role in geophysical remote sensing, able to measure the scattering matrix, providing both intensity and phase information that can lead to classification of the scattering mechanisms of the sea ice. However, there is a cost to quad-pol SAR in terms of doubled average transmitted power, swath width and limited range of admissible incidence angles; for example, the quad-pol images are about 25 km width, which limits the monitoring of ice.
Defaulted Bonds: Demand, Supply and Performance, 1987–1992

Estimates of the market value of total private and public defaulted and distressed debt are as high as $200 billion in 1990, with a slight decline to about $175 billion in 1992. The supply can be expected to shrink in the nearfuture, as defaults and bankruptcies by large US. companies appear to have peaked. At the same time, the demand for such securities is likely to remain fairly constant as long as they can offer competitive returns.
International Handbook of Energy Security

Contents: PART I: INTRODUCTION 1. The Concept of Energy Security: Broadening, Deepening, Transforming Hugh Dyer and Maria Julia Trombetta PART II: ENERGY SECURITY ISSUES 2. Energy Security and Liberal Democracy: Ideals, Imperatives and Balancing Acts Steve Wood 3. Framing New Threats: The Internal Security of Gas and Electricity Networks in the European Union Ivan L.G. Pearson, Carlo Brancucci Martinez-Anido and Peter Zeniewski 4. Resource Conflicts: Energy Worth Fighting For? Joshua Olaniyi Alabi 5. Global Energy Supply: Scale, Perception and the Return to Geopolitics Susanne Peters and Kirsten Westphal PART III: SECURITY OF ENERGY SUPPLY 6. Securing Energy Supply: Strategic Reserves Elspeth Thomson and Augustin Boey 7. Securing Energy Supply II: Diversification of Energy Sources and Carriers Kas Hemmes 8. Measuring Energy Security: Security of Energy Supply Indexes Aleh Cherp and Jessica Jewell 9. National Energy Strategies of Major Industrialized Countries Stephan Schott and Graham Campbell 10. Developing World: National Energy Strategies Sylvia Gaylord and Kathleen Hancock PART IV: SECURITY OF ENERGY DEMAND 11. Energy Demand - Security for Suppliers? Tatiana Romanova 12. Oil Producers' Perspectives on Energy Security Gawdat Bahgat 13. Energy Security Governance in Light of the Energy Charter Process Andrei V. Belyi PART V: ENERGY, THE ENVIRONMENT AND SECURITY 14. Governance Dimensions of Climate and Energy Security John Vogler and Hannes R. Stephan 15. Energy, Climate Change and Conflict: Securitization of Migration, Mitigation and Geoengineering Jurgen Scheffran 16. Environmental Implications of Energy Production Natalia Caldes, Yolanda Lechon and Pedro Linares 17. Washing Away Energy Security: The Vulnerability of Energy Infrastructure to Environmental Change Cleo Paskal 18. Paradoxes and Harmony in the Energy-Climate Governance Nexus Stephane La Branche PART VI: ENERGY AND HUMAN SECURITY 19. Energy Poverty: Access, Health and Welfare Subhes C. Bhattacharyya 20. Ethical Dimensions of Renewable Energy Hugh Dyer 21. Low Carbon Development and Energy Security in Africa Chukwumerije Okereke and Tariya Yusuf 22. The Road not Taken, Round II: Centralized vs. Distributed Energy Strategies and Human Security Ronnie D. Lipschutz and Dustin Mulvaney 23. Human Security and Energy Security: A Sustainable Energy System as a Public Good Sylvia I. Karlsson-Vinkhuyzen and Nigel Jollands PART VII: CONCLUSIONS 24. The Political-Economy of Energy Security Hugh Dyer and Maria Julia Trombetta
Building Strategy from the Middle: Reconceptualizing Strategy Process

Introduction Rationale and Timing of the Book PART ONE: FOUNDATIONS Foundations of the Strategic Management Field The Top Management Perspective in Strategic Processes Research Toward a Middle-Level View Developing New Assumptions PART TWO: NEW THEORETICAL HORIZONS: ORGANIZATIONAL KNOWLEDGE, SOCIAL NETWORKS AND TRUST Organizational Knowledge in Strategic Renewal The Social Context of Strategic Renewal PART THREE: A MIDDLE-LEVEL PERSPECTIVE A Middle-Level Model of Strategic Renewal Research Approaches and Future Directions
Partners in Professionalism: Creating a Quality Field Experience for Preservice Teachers

Abstract The study investigates a professional development school (PDS) collaboration focused on identifying and studying the elements of a quality field experience for preservice elementary teachers. Data were collected to investigate collaboratively identified issues: Definitions of a quality field experience, relationships between and among the participants, structures which supported development of teaching expertise, and the role of inquiry in promoting a sense of community. Five graduate preservice teachers spent one year at the PDS with “enhanced supervision” and participation in collaborative inquiry and discourse. Qualitative data analysis of interviews, student and professor journals, observations in the classroom, and artifacts (e.g., action research reports) provide evidence for the efficacy of “enhanced supervision” and the benefits of preservice teachers' design of second field experiences within the same school. A highly collaborative context in the school, promoted discourse among participants over mutually engaging activities, thus establishing and supporting a community of practice in which student teachers flourished.
UM EXAME DOS DETERMINANTES DAS MIGRAÇÕES RURAL-URBANAS NO BRASIL

Varios estudos sobre o mercado de trabalho rural em paises menos desenvolvidos tem mostrado que uma porcao significante do emprego rural acontece em atividades nao-agricolas. Portanto, o presente trabalho incorpora a economia rural nao-agricola aos modelos tradicionais de migracao como um determinante de realocacao da forca de trabalho rural. O caso do Brasil mostrou que as migracoes rurais respondem positivamente a renda urbana e negativamente a renda rural, e que o migrante maximiza os retornos ao seu estoque de capital humano mudando-se para areas em que haja maior remuneracao da sua forca de trabalho. A economia rural nao-agricola contribuiu para a elevacao da renda rural e, portanto, conteve as migracoes rurais em areas de baixa renda. EXAMINING THE DETERMINANTS OF RURAL-URBAN MIGRATION IN BRAZIL ABSTRACT Many studies of rural labor markets in less developed countries have indicated that a significant portion of rural employment occurs in nonfarm activities. Therefore, the present study incorporates the rural nonfarm economy in the traditional rural-urban migration framework as a determinant of rural labor relocation. The case of Brazil showed that rural migration respond positively to urban income and negatively to rural income, and that rural migrants maximize the returns to their stock of human capital by moving to areas of higher returns to their labor force. The rural nonfarm economy was found to contribute significantly to rural earning, and therefore to restrain rural migration, in lower income areas.
Multisite Study of Infants with Single-Suture Craniosynostosis: Preliminary Report of Presurgery Development

Objective To evaluate the cognitive and language development of untreated infants with a single suture craniosynostosis at time of diagnosis. Design and Participants The study presents time 1 assessments on the first 100 infants with a single suture craniosynostosis (sagittal, metopic, unilateral coronal, and lambdoid) referred to the Infant Learning Project, a prospective, multisite, longitudinal study evaluating neurocognitive development. Main Outcome Measures Infants were assessed with the mental (Mental Development Index [MDI]) and motor scales (Psychomotor Developmental Index [PDI]) of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development and the Preschool Language Scale receptive (PLS-AC) and expressive (PLS-EC) language scales. Mothers completed the Parenting Stress Inventory, a brief measure of intelligence (maternal IQ [MAT-IQ]), and provided information regarding family socioeconomic status (SES). Results As a group, infants scored significantly lower than the normative data on the MDI (91.9), PDI (83.5), PLS-AC (90.4), and PLS-EC (95.8), and the distribution of scores differed significantly from the expected distribution. MAT-IQ and SES were significantly correlated (.47, p < .01) with mothers of higher IQ coming from higher SES groups. Both MAT-IQ and SES were significantly negatively correlated with life stress events; however, neither MAT-IQ nor SES was correlated with any of the infant development scores. Conclusions There may be a greater developmental risk for infants with a single suture craniosynostosis than previously believed. However, control group data will be necessary to confirm findings.
Exchange Rate Pass-Through in the Euro Area: The Role of Asymmetric Pricing Behavior

Exchange rate pass-through in a set of euro area prices along the pricing chain is examined in this paper. First, a vector autoregression (VAR) approach is used to analyze the joint time-series behavior of the euro exchange rate and a system of area-wide prices in response to an exchange rate shock. Second, the impulse response functions from the VAR estimates are used to identify-in a "new openeconomy macroeconomics model"-the key behavioral parameters that best replicate the pattern of exchange rate pass-through in the euro area. A key finding is that traded goods-both extra-area exports and imports-behave as though they are predominately priced in euros. The area-wide findings are compared with those for other major industrial economies. Copyright 2006, International Monetary Fund
The Second Wave of Digital Era Governance

Some of the most difficult issues in public management revolve around making strategic choices for the future in an era of rapid social, cultural and technological change. In previous work we drew a contrast between new public management (NPM) approaches, which predominated in the period 1980-2002, and digital era governance (DEG) which grew fast in the 2000s. Since that time the rapid development of societal and technological uses of online processes has been matched by the seismic impact of the 2008 credit crunch and financial crisis, now mapping out as austerity regimes in many OECD countries. In this paper we review the current fortunes of NPM, which has not revived despite the pressure on public spending. By contrast, the first wave of digital-era governance changes have flourished and the importance of key DEG themes has increased – specifically reintegrating government services, pushing towards holistic delivery to clients and responding to the digitalization wave in public services. We also argue for the emergence of an influential ‘second wave’ of digital-era changes inside government, responding to the advent of the social web, cloud computing, apps development and many other recent phenomena moving advanced industrial societies further towards an online civilization.
(Re)Presenting Identities: National Archipelagos in Kazan1

The Republic of Tatarstan is located between Europe and Asia. It is important to emphasize geographical location, which is a key element in the processes of identities formation and transformation. Tatarstan is located in the core of the Russian Federation, situated in the European part of Russia and 800 kilometres from Moscow, at the confluence of the Volga and the Kama Rivers. The capital of Tatarstan is Kazan. The economic potential of the republic is based mainly on raw materials (including oil and gas), industry and agriculture. According to the constitution of the republic (approved on 6 November 1992) Tatarstan (previously known as Tataria) is defined as a multiethnic republic, with two official languages, Russian and Tatar. The largest ethnic groups are Tatars and Russians; as a consequence it makes sense to talk in terms of a bicultural society with two main confessional groups, namely Muslim and Orthodox Christians.
The Importance of Taboos and Social Norms to Conservation in Madagascar

Abstract: Informal institutions governing the use of wild species are present in many societies. A system of prohibitions known as fady is central to Malagasy culture. We examined whether fady that relate to the use of natural resources in the eastern rainforests of Madagascar play an important conservation role. Prohibitions ranged from strict taboos in which a species or area was forbidden by the ancestors to social norms that concerned acceptable behavior when harvesting wild species. Strict taboos offered real protection to threatened species, such as the lemur Propithecus edwardsi and the carnivore Cryptoprocta ferox. Taboos also reduced pressure on some economically important endemic species by preventing their sale or limiting the harvest season. Despite their value for conservation, the taboos did not appear to originate from attempts to sustainably manage resources. Nevertheless, social norms, in which the sanction was social disapproval rather than supernatural retribution, encouraged sustainable harvesting practices for tenrecs (Tenrec ecudatus) and pandans (Pandanus spp.). Unfortunately, the social norms concerning methods of harvesting pandans appeared to be breaking down in villages surrounding Ranomafana National Park, and we suggest that the imposition of external conservation rules is weakening traditional management. Informal institutions are important to conservation because they suggest ways of improving cultural understanding and conservation communication. Food taboos influence societal preferences, which affect the wider demand for a species. Most important, where capacity to enforce external conservation rules is limited, informal institutions may provide the only effective regulations. Informal institutions should receive greater attention from conservation biologists so that local people's conservation roles can be acknowledged fairly and so that potential synergies with conservation objectives can be realized.
The Impact of Postoperative Pain on the Development of Postoperative Delirium

We performed a prospective observational study to examine the role of postoperative pain and its treatment on the development of postoperative delirium.Pain was measured in direct patient interviews using a visual analog scale (VAS) and was assessed for pain at rest, pain with movement, and maximal pain over the previous 24 h. Postoperative delirium was diagnosed during these interviews by using the confusion assessment method (CAM) and/or by using data from the medical record and the hospital's nursing intensity index. The method of postoperative analgesia, type of opioid, and cumulative opioid dose were also recorded. After controlling for known preoperative risk factors for delirium (age, alcohol abuse, cognitive function, physical function, serum chemistries, and type of surgery), higher pain scores at rest was associated with an increased risk of delirium over the first 3 postoperative days (adjusted risk ratio 1.20, P = 0.04). Pain with movement and maximal pain were not associated with delirium. Method of postoperative analgesia, type of opioid, and cumulative opioid dose were not associated with an increased risk of delirium. We conclude that more effective control of postoperative pain reduces the incidence of postoperative delirium. Implications: We performed daily interviews in a large population of patients undergoing noncardiac surgery to measure their level of pain and development of delirium. We found an association between higher pain levels at rest and the development of delirium. Our results suggest that better control of postoperative pain may reduce this serious complication. (Anesth Analg 1998;86:781-5)
Rational Expectations and Macroeconomic Stabilization Policy: An Overview

THE OBJECT OF THIS PAPER is to describe the impact on macroeconomic stabilization analysis of the rational expectations "revolution" of the past decade spearheaded by Lucas [32, 33, 34, 36], Sargent [53, 54], Sargent and Wallace [56], and Barro [2, 3, 5]. Thus the primary intention is to bring together and summarize existing ideas, rather than to create new ones. Some of the arguments in sections S8 have not, however, been discussed in print. And while the paper is intended to be something of a survey, it does not claim to present an evenhanded or "balanced" account of all issues. Like most writers, my inclination is to try to develop a persuasive version of my current views, even while recognizing that these views will doubtless undergo considerable modification as time passes. The section following these introductory remarks includes a brief discussion of the appropriateness, for macroeconomic analysis, of the hypothesis that expectations are formed rationally. Then section 3 lays out the "basic model" within which two
Quantity Discount‐Based Inventory Coordination: Effectiveness and Critical Environmental Factors

It is understood that quantity discounts provide a practical foundation for coordinating inventory decisions in supply chains. The primary objective of this research is to test, under a variety of environmental conditions, the effectiveness of quantity discounts as an inventory coordination mechanism between a buyer and a supplier. A comprehensive simulation experiment with anova has been designed to investigate the impacts of (1) choice of quantity discount‐based inventory coordination policies, (2) magnitude of demand variation, (3) buyer's and supplier's relative inventory cost structure, and (4) buyer's economic time‐between‐orders on the effectiveness of supply chain inventory coordination. The analytical results confirm that the quantity discount policies have managerial properties as a mediator for inventory coordination. The results also show that the performance of quantity discount‐based inventory coordination policies is influenced significantly by environmental factors, such as the magnitude of demand variation, the buyer's and the supplier's inventory cost structure, and the buyer's economic time‐between‐orders.
Identifying herding effect in Chinese stock market by high-frequency data

Herding behavior is thought to often occur during market frenzy, stock crashes, financial crises, as well as strong bull markets. The issue has been gaining increasing attention in recent years, in the hope that timely detection of herding behavior can be used to implement effective means to mitigate them, thus to make the market more rational. So far, herding behavior has been mainly studied using low-frequency data with methods such as LSV, PCM, CH, CKK, and HS. Such studies can only report whether herding behavior exists in a long time span, such as a few months to even a few years, and thus essentially renders all those studies irrelevant to the design of any policies for curbing herding behavior. To achieve the latter goal, it is important to realize that herding behavior is a dynamic process that may only last for a short time span, such as a few minutes. This dictates that to timely detect the herding behavior in a stock market, high frequency data must be used. Guided by this rationale, we show that computation of mutual information and cross correlation coefficient from high frequency data can indeed effectively identify herding behavior from Chinese stock markets.
A guideline for competency of the critical care nurse.

BACKGROUND To maintain a high standard of quality nursing care the individual critical care nurse s competencies should be determined objectively. Few international guidelines describe the qualities required by critical care nurses to function effectively in a critical care unit. These guidelines often focus only on the education and training of critical care nurses. OBJECTIVE To formulate and describe guidelines for the competency requirements of registered critical care nurses. METHOD A focus group interview, a qualitative research method, was conducted as an open conversation in which each participant could ask questions, comment, or respond to comments. Interaction among the respondents was encouraged to stimulate in-depth discussion. The study was conducted within the framework of South African critical care nursing. RESULTS The four main categories that were identified are as follows: professional competence, cognitive competence, interpersonal skills, and critical care patterns of interaction. These are described in detail along with a formulated guideline for critical care nurse competency requirements. CONCLUSION This study describes an attempt to formulate objective guidelines for critical care nurses competency requirements.
Removing non-uniform camera shake using blind motion deblurring

Images taken in low-light environments are often degraded due to camera shake and pixel saturation. In this paper, a motion deblurring method for non-uniform blur is proposed, in which an optimization problem is formulated using a maximum a posteriori approach. In the final deconvolution process, a modified Richardson-Lucy algorithm with regularization is used to reduce ringing artifacts and noise, in which a saturated pixel is modeled using a clipping function. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed method in terms of removing camera motion blur and suppressing ringing artifacts and noise.