Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chromosomal aberrations in mildly mentally retarded children in a northern Swedish county.

Few studies of the frequency of chromosomal aberrations in an unselected material of mildly mentally retarded children have been published. The present paper summarizes the chromosomal abnormalities in children with mild mental retardation (MMR) in Västerbotten in the northernmost part of Sweden. Chromosome analyses were carried out by routine methods. In addition, children whose MMR had no clear diagnosis or cause were investigated as regarding X-chromosomes with a fragile site and selected cases with banding techniques. Every mentally retarded child born between 1959 and 1970 in the county of Västerbotten was traced. Out of a total number of 40,871 individuals, 171, i.e. 4.2 per 1,000, were found to be mildly mentally retarded. Chromosomal aberrations were seen in 11.9% of the children with MMR, compared with 39.1% of the 161 children with severe mental retardation (SMR) in the same population. The proportion of cases with mental retardation of unknown etiology is high, especially amongst those with MMR. The use of high resolution banding and other modern cytogenetic methods should reduce this figure.
Octanoate and nonaoate oxidation increases 50-80% over the first two days of life in piglet triceps brachii and gracilis muscle strips.

An in vitro muscle strip incubation system was developed to measure the rate of catabolism of 1 mmol/L [1-(14)C]octanoate, 1 mmol/L [1-(14)C]nonanoate, 1 mmol/L [9-(14)C]nonanoate, and 10 mmol/L [U-(14)C]glucose by measuring the recovery of (14)CO(2). Muscle strips (13 mm × 1.5 mm, ~50 mg) were isolated from triceps brachii and gracilis muscles of newborn and 2-d-old, small (<950 g) and large (>1450 g) piglets. The position of the (14)C label in the substrate affected the rate and amount of recovery in (14)CO(2). Therefore, comparisons were made between age groups (0 vs. 2 d old) within substrates but limited across substrates to comparisons of [1-(14)C]-labeled fatty acids. The medium-chain fatty acid (MCFA) oxidation rates [pmol/(h · mg)] in muscle strips isolated from piglets from the 2 weight groups (<950 and >1450 g) did not differ (P > 0.99), there was a trend towards a difference between triceps brachii and gracilis muscle (P = 0.09; data not shown), and there were no significant interactions involving pig weight or muscle type; therefore, results were pooled across these factors. During the first 2 d of life, MCFA oxidation [pmol/(h • · mg muscle strip)] increased (P < 0.05) 50-80%, but the glucose oxidation rate did not change (P > 0.82). By d 2, the oxidation rate of nonanoate as represented by the one carbon was 25% greater than for octanoate (P < 0.05). The conversion of [9-(14)C]nonanoate to (14)CO(2) indicated that muscle had the capacity to oxidize the propionyl-CoA produced by β-oxidation of nonanoate and that odd-chain C-9 MCFA provided anabolic carbon to the citric acid cycle.
Improved Health‐Related Quality of Life After Lung Volume Reduction Surgery and Pulmonary Rehabilitation

Purpose: It has been hypothesized that lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) and pulmonary rehabilitation improve health‐related quality of life (HRQOL). The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis by examining the long‐term functional consequences and general health status of patients with emphysema who have undergone LVRS and pulmonary rehabilitation. Methods: Forty‐nine subjects with severe emphysema, aged 51 to 84 years old, post‐LVRS and pulmonary rehabilitation participated in this study. Subjects reported changes in physical and mental domains on the Medical Outcomes Study 36‐Item Short Form Health Survey (MOS SF‐36) over 3 time periods: prior to surgery, 6 months postsurgery, and 18 months postsurgery. The population as a whole was studied and both gender and age were analyzed as subsets. Subjects participated in an intensive 2‐week (10 daily sessions) pulmonary rehabilitation program following LVRS. Results: Subjects showed significant improvements in both the physical and mental component summaries at Time 2 (3 months post‐LVRS through 6 months post‐LVRS) and Time 3 (12 months post‐LVRS through 18 months post‐LVRS) when compared to Time 1 (pre‐LVRS). On the mental component summary scale, subjects younger than 65 years old had significant improvement compared to subjects 65 years and older at Time 3 (P < .05). Women significantly improved more than men at Time 3 on the physical component summary scale (P < .05). Conclusions: Lung volume reduction surgery and 2 weeks (10 daily sessions) of intensive pulmonary rehabilitation appears to improve HRQOL in people with emphysema up to at least 18 months postsurgery. What these data further suggest is that even after declines in health, women can improve HRQOL later in life, and that greater focus should be given to the emotional needs of our older patients.
RADIOACTIVE ROCK PHOSPHATE: THE FEED STOCK OF PHOSPHATE FERTILIZERS USED IN PAKISTAN

The existence of natural radioactivity in phosphate fertilizers originates from the rock phosphate that is used as a feed stock for the manufacturing of various types of phosphate fertilizers. Gamma ray activity mass concentrations have been determined in phosphate rock and fertilizer samples collected from different fertilizer manufacturing factories and suppliers in Pakistan. The technique of gamma ray spectrometry was applied using a HPGe (high purity germanium) gamma ray detector coupled with a personal computer (PC) based multichannel analyzer (MCA). The specific activity values of 40K, 226Ra, and 232Th were widely distributed in the rock and fertilizer samples. Activity mass concentrations of 238U (226Ra) in the rock phosphate from Jordan and Pakistan were 428 ± 11 and 799 ± 10 Bq kg−1, respectively, and that in the triple-superphosphate fertilizer was 701 ± 21 Bq kg−1, which was greater than the average values of 238U (226Ra) for other types of fertilizers under study. The concentrations of 40K and 232Th were of the order of background level on the Earth’s crust. Chemical analysis for concentration of different constituents in rock phosphate was also carried out. The higher the concentrations of P2O5 and K2O were, the higher the specific activities of 226Ra and 40K were, respectively, in the rocks under study. The amount of radioactivity in the rock phosphate is a source of continuous exposure to radiation, which varies widely depending upon the origin and grade of rock; therefore, radiation dose rate has been estimated. The values of dose rate and other derived quantities were many folds larger than the limits specified for those quantities.
Fixed combination of candesartan with hydrochloro-thiazide in patients with severe primary hypertension

Objective:The new guidelines for treatment of hypertension by the JNC VII in 2003 permit the initial use of a combination therapy, if blood pressure has to be lowered more than 20/10 mmHg. The aim of this investigation was to document the efficacy and safety of a combination therapy with candesartan cilexetil and hydrochlorothiazide in severe hypertension. Methods: 116 patients freshly diagnosed as having severe primary hypertension (Grade III) and untreated for this condition were enrolled. The study was performed without a placebo control group for ethical reasons. Thus, all patients were treated for 6 weeks with 16mg candesartan cilexetil plus 12.5mg hydrochlorothiazide daily after forced titration with 8 and 16mg candesartan cilexetil each for < 2 weeks. Sitting trough BP was measured always with the same device in the morning after 15min at rest, and the median of three measurements was used for analysis. Safety parameters included alanyl aminotransferase (ALAT), aspartyl aminotransferase (ASAT), creatinine, urea, BUN and electrolytes. Results: The mean reduction in systolic/diastolic BP at the end was 38.1/29.4mmHg. 90.1% of patients were considered to be responders, while 39.6% of patients treated became normotensive (< 140/< 90mmHg). No drug-related adverse events or changes in laboratory parameters were reported. Conclusion: Although this was an open-label, single-group study, on the basis of efficacy and safety, the combination therapy appears to offer a promising treatment for patients with severe primary hypertension.
Sensitizing Employees' Corporate IS Security Risk Perception

Motivated by recent practical observations of employees’ unapproved sourcing of cloud services at work, this study empirically evaluates bring your own cloud (BYOC) policies and social interactions of the IT department to sensitize employees’ security risk perception. Based on social information processing theory, BYOC strategies varying in the level of restriction from the obligatory, recommended, permitted, not regulated, to the prohibited usage of cloud services in the organization as well as social information including IT department’s policies, recommendations and responsiveness, are assessed according to their influence on employees’ perceived security risk to the organization. Results of a mixed-method approach containing expert interviews and survey data of 115 computer users in SME and large-scale enterprises analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and WarpPLS-SEM identify the organizational-wide prohibition of and IT department’s advices against the cloud service usage at the workplace as the most effective actions to guarantee the protection of the organizational IT assets.
The possible role of adenosine triphosphate in chemical transmission between the hypogastric nerve terminal and seminal vesicle in the guinea-pig.

Abstract The study was designed to confirm the hypothesis that adenosine 5’ triphosphate (ATP), in addition to Norepinephrine (NE) is involved in the excitatory transmission between the hypogastric nerve terminal and seminal vesicle in the guinea-pig. ATP produced a contraction in the isolated seminal vesicle. The pattern of contraction in response to exogenously administered ATP resembled that of nerve-mediated contraction in respect of short latency, rapid rising phase and short duration. The contractions in response to both post-ganglionic hypogastric nerve stimulation and exogenously administered ATP were remarkably enhanced in the presence of NE. The potentiating effect of NE on both responses was depressed with the pre-treatment of adrenergic α-blocking agents such as tolazoline, phenoxybenzamine, yohimbine and hydergine. The contractile responses to both hypogastric nerve stimulation and exogenously administered ATP were affected by pre-treatment with various adrenergic α-blocking agents; tolazoline augmented both responses; phenoxybenzamine had a variable effect on both responses; yohimbine and hydergine depressed both responses. The contractile response to NE was depressed or abolished by these adrenergic α-blocking agents. The contractile responses to both hypogastric nerve stimulation and exogenously administered ATP were also modified by cholinergic drugs; acetylcholine (ACh) enhanced both responses; physostigmine enhanced both responses as well as the response to ACh. Atropine slightly depressed both responses and abolished the response to ACh. Atropine also slightly depressed the nerve-mediated contraction in the reserpinized preparation. A relatively longer period of hypogastric nerve stimulation caused a biphasic contraction of the seminal vesicle. The initial “twitch” like contraction was resistant to reserpine-pretreatment, while the second slow rising contraction was abolished. The potentiating effect of NE on contractile responses to both hypogastric nerve stimulation and exogenously administered ATP was observed even in the reserpinized preparation. The sensitivity to NE was increased after denervation, while that to ATP was almost unaltered. The potentiating effect of NE on ATP-induced contraction was still observed in the de-nervated preparation. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that ATP is involved in excitatory transmission between the hypogastric nerve and seminal vesicle in the guinea-pig. Possible role of ATP in the transmission-mechanism was discussed herein.
Predictors of liver-related complications in patients with chronic hepatitis C

Chronic hepatitis C is the leading cause of decompensated liver disease requiring liver transplantation and a major cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In liver clinic series, about 20% of those chronically infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) develop cirrhosis over 20 years. From epidemiological data, however, it is clear that certain subgroups of patients are more likely to develop liver-related complications than others. Both host and viral factors have been implicated in individual susceptibility to adverse outcomes. The impact of host factors, such as alcoholism, is now well defined, and viral factors, such as genotype and viral load, appear to be less influential than previously considered. Coinfections with HIV, hepatitis A virus (HAV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) may influence the rate of fibrotic progression and the subsequent development of complications in patients with chronic hepatitis C. The stage of fibrosis on biopsy and biochemical markers, such as a low serum albumin, can help identify patients who are more likely to develop complications. The role of the immune system in modifying the course of HCV is only now being defined. This editorial explores the role of host and viral factors in the development of liver-related complications in HCV-infected individuals.
Lean manufacturing: literature review and research issues

Purpose – The advent of recession at the beginning of twenty-first century forced many organizations worldwide to reduce cost and to be more responsive to customer demands. Lean Manufacturing (LM) has been widely perceived by industry as an answer to these requirements because LM reduces waste without additional requirements of resources. This led to a spurt in LM research across the globe mostly through empirical and exploratory studies which resulted in a plethora of LM definitions with divergent scopes, objectives, performance indicators, tools/techniques/methodologies, and concepts/elements. The purpose of this paper is to review LM literature and report these divergent definitions, scopes, objectives, and tools/techniques/methodologies. Design/methodology/approach – This paper highlights various definitions by various researchers and practitioners. A total of 209 research papers have been reviewed for the research contribution, research methodology adopted, tools/techniques/methodologies used, type of industry, author profile, country of research, and year of publication. Findings – There are plethora of LM definitions with divergent objectives and scope. Theory verification through empirical and exploratory studies has been the focus of research in LM. Automotive industry has been the focus of LM research but LM has also been adopted by other types of industries also. One of the critical implementation factors of LM is simultaneous adoption of leanness in supply chain. LM has become an integrated system composed of highly integrated elements and a wide variety of management practices. There is lack of standard LM implementation process/framework. Originality/value – The paper reviews 209 research papers for their research contribution, research methodology, author profile, type of industry, and tools/techniques/methodology used. Various characteristics of LM definitions are also reviewed.
Statistical Arbitrage and Market Efficiency: Enhanced Theory, Robust Tests and Further Applications

Statistical arbitrage enables tests of market efficiency which circumvent the joint-hypotheses dilemma. This paper makes several contributions to the statistical arbitrage framework. First, we enlarge the set of statistical arbitrage opportunities in Hogan, Jarrow, Teo, and Warachka (2004) to avoid penalizing incremental trading profits with positive deviations from their expected value. Second, we provide a statistical methodology to remedy the lack of consistency and statistical power in their Bonferroni approach. In addition, this procedure allows for autocorrelation and non-normality in trading profits. Third, we apply our tests to a wide range of trading strategies based on stock momentum, stock value, stock liquidity, and industry momentum. Over 50% of these strategies are found to violate market efficiency. We also identify dominant trading strategies which converge to arbitrage most rapidly.
Reliability and validity of the lactate-minimum test. A revisit.

AIM The Lactate-Minimum Test (LMT) is a high-resolution, physiologically elegant test for estimating the anaerobic threshold (AnT), or the Maximal Lactate Steady-State (MLSS). Nevertheless, it has not gained the acceptance level of typical progressive lactate-response tests (PLRT). Aim of this study was to compare LMT's validity and reviewer reliability vs. a PLRT-type test and re-evaluate the justification for LMT's dismissal. METHODS Sixteen male distance trained runners (37.1±11.6 yrs) were included in the study. MLSS, LMT, and PLRT tests were performed in separate sessions. Two reviewers, blind to the subjects' identity, independently determined LMT and PLRT's threshold velocities (VLMT, VPLRT) twice. Additionally, VLMT was determined objectively, using best-fit polynomial regressions (VLMTP). RESULTS VPLRT, VLMT and VLMTP correlated well with VMLSS (r=0.92, 0.90, 0.93, resp.). VPLRT was identical to VMLSS (13.54 km·h-1), but VLMT and VLMTP were 0.33 and 0.46 km·h-1 lower, respectively. Inter-reviewer reliability was higher for VLMT than VPLRT (ICC=0.96 vs. 0.57, resp.). Intra-reviewer reliability showed a similar pattern. CONCLUSION LMT's underestimation of MLSS appears corrigible. The validity of corrected LMT appears comparable to that of PLRT, while its reliability, objectivity and resolution are superior. Although neither test is a perfect MLSS-substitute, the corrected LMT is not inferior to PLRT-type testing and cannot be dismissed.
Performance and toolchain of a combined GPU/FPGA desktop (abstract only)

Low-power, high-performance computing nowadays relies on accelerator cards to speed up the calculations. Combining the power of GPUs with the flexibility of FPGAs enlarges the scope of problems that can be accelerated [2, 3]. We describe the performance analysis of a desktop equipped with a GPU Tesla 2050 and an FPGA Virtex-6 LX240T. First, the balance between the I/O and the raw peak performance is depicted using the roofline model [4]. Next, the performance of a number of image processing algorithms is measured and the results are mapped onto the roofline graph. This allows to compare the GPU and the FPGA and also to optimize the algorithms for both accelerators. A programming toolchain is implemented, consisting of OpenCL for the GPU and several High-Level Synthesis compilers for the FPGA. Our results show that the HLS compilers outperform handwritten code and offer a performance comparable to the GPU. In addition the FPGA compilers reduce the development time by an order of magnitude, at the expense of an increased resource consumption. The roofline model also shows that both accelerators are equally limited by the input/output bandwidth to the host. A well-tuned accelerator-based codesign, identifying the parallelism, the computation and data patterns of different classes of algorithms, will enable to maximize the performance of the combined GPU/FPGA system [1].
Rearranging Residual Claims: A Case for Targeted Stock

This paper describes and analyzes a relatively new method of equity-based restructuring, Targeted Stock. We examine announcement period share price reactions for completed, pending, and canceled offerings. Although the total number of completed transactions to date is small, we document a positive share price reaction on average for this form of equity reorganization. We then compare and contrast Targeted Stock with alternative equity reorganization forms, including spin-offs, equity carve-outs, and dual class common stock. We argue that Targeted Stock is most useful for firms in which the benefits of integration and control over corporate operating and financing activities outweigh the benefits of a complete or partial separation of the targeted business unit(s).
Natural occurrence of the mycotoxin viomellein in barley and the associated quinone-producing penicillia

In a batch of barley associated with field cases of mycotoxic porcine nephropathy and containing ochratoxin A and citrinin, the mycoflora were isolated by parallel incubation at 10 and 25 degrees C. Subsequently, the isolated cultures were checked for production of nephrotoxins (xanthomegnin, viomellein, ochratoxin, and citrinin). The nephrotoxin producers, all isolated by incubation at 10 degrees C, were comprised of one culture of Penicillium viridicatum, five cultures of Penicillium cyclopium, and one culture of Penicillium crustosum, all producing xanthomegnin and viomellein. One culture of P. cyclopium produced citrinin. Viomellein was detected in the barley at a concentration of approximately 1 mg/kg. The method of analysis for xanthomegnin and viomellein included extraction with chloroform, partitioning in hexane-acetone, and thin-layer chromatographic separation and identification. The identity of the xanthomegnin and viomellein produced by the isolated fungi and of viomellein detected in the barley was supported by infrared spectroscopy. This is the first report of viomellein as a natural contaminant of foodstuffs.
“Why are we put in prison?” – Independent Guatemalan minor migrants’ experiences of transnational childhoods

Given that state migration and deportation regimes deeply influence transnationally lived childhoods and youth, this article draws on findings from three months of ethnographic research carried out at a Guatemalan state shelter for deported migrant minors in 2009. During the research, I conducted participant observation as well as semi-structured in-depth interviews with 28 adolescents, aged 14–18. Drawings were further used as a child-centered research method. This contribution aims to demonstrate how independent child migrants perceive the special protection measures they receive in the scope of state assistance as sanctioning and blaming of their agency. Against this background, ambiguous approaches are identified in the case of US, Mexican, and Guatemalan state interventions concerning repatriated minors. Hence, I call for further child-centered qualitative research and the prioritization of child migrants’ perspectives in state policies for these young actors.
Multipliers of the Peruvian Economy 2002

This article illustrates an application of the input-output model to estimate the multiplier effects of investments and exports of the Peruvian economy. One conclusion is that multipliers of services are greater than multipliers of industries while primary products exhibit intermediate multipliers. Another conclusion is that exports reflect a much higher multiplier effect than do investments. Employment and wage multipliers appear greater for service sectors than for modern exporting sectors, such as mining and metallurgy, and for modern urban sectors, such as electricity, insurance, construction, and beverages.
Length of time to first job for immigrants in the United Kingdom: An exploratory analysis

This study explores whether ethnicity affects immigrants’ time to first employment. Many studies on labour/social inequalities focus on modeling cross-sectional or panel data when comparing ethnic minority to majority groups in terms of their employment patterns. Results from these models, however, do not measure the degree of transition-duration penalties experienced by immigrant groups. Because time itself is an important variable, and to bridge the gap between literature and methodology, a lifecourse perspective and a duration model are employed to examine the length of transition that immigrants require to find first employment.