Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sex Differences in Medication and Primary Healthcare Use before and after Spousal Bereavement at Older Ages in Denmark: Nationwide Register Study of over 6000 Bereavements

Background. The study aimed to examine sex differences in healthcare use before and after widowhood to investigate whether reduced healthcare use among widowers compared with widows may partially explain excess mortality and more adverse health outcomes among men than women after spousal loss. Methods. All individuals alive and aged at least 60 years in 1996 and who became widowed in the period from 1996 to 2003 were selected from the 5% sample of the total Danish population and all Danish twins. The healthcare use was assessed as the average daily all-cause and major system-specific medication use and the average annual number of visits to general physicians (GPs). Results. The average daily use of all-cause and major system-specific medications, as well as the number of GP visits increased over the period from 1 year before and up to 5 years after a spouse's death, but there were no sex-specific patterns in the trajectories of medication use and number of GP visits after conjugal loss. Conclusion. We found little support for the hypothesis that reduced healthcare use contributes to the explanation of more adverse health outcomes after conjugal loss in men compared with women in Denmark.
Conventional in-vitro fertilization versus intracytoplasmic sperm injection for patients requiring microsurgical sperm aspiration.

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) has been successful in cases of extreme oligoasthenozoospermia in achieving pregnancies via in-vitro fertilization (IVF) with the lowest imaginable sperm counts. In azoospermia caused by congenital bilateral absence of the vas deferens (CBAVD), it has been shown that epididymal spermatozoa can be retrieved in large numbers, but fertilization rates using conventional IVF are low. Furthermore, no fertilization has ever been possible using testicular spermatozoa with conventional IVF. In the most extreme case of absence of the epididymis, spermatozoa can only be retrieved from macerated testicular biopsy specimens. In such cases, all that can be seen are free-floating Sertoli cells with many spermatids attached, and only occasional spermatozoa per high power field which have only the barest, occasional, slightly twitching motion. The objective of the present study was to determine whether ICSI could achieve better results than conventional IVF with microsurgical aspiration of spermatozoa (MESA). ICSI (using epididymal or testicular spermatozoa) from men with CBAVD or irreparable obstructive azoospermia, achieved good fertilization and normal embryos in 82% of cases, compared to 19% with conventional IVF. There was an overall fertilization rate of 45%, with 85% progressing to normally cleaving embryos using ICSI, compared to 6.9% using conventional IVF. The pregnancy rate with ICSI/MESA was 47% per stimulated cycle (normal delivery rate was 30%), compared to 4.5% with conventional IVF. These results were achieved in patients who had consistently failed to fertilize in previous cycles with MESA and conventional IVF. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Office-Based Assessment of At-Risk Driving in Older Adults With and Without Cognitive Impairment

Background: A multitest approach is optimal for the identification of at-risk driving among older adults. This study examined the predictive validity of a combination of office-based screening tests for on-road driving performance in older adults with and without mild cognitive impairment (MCI)/dementia. Methods: Forty-four normal control, 20 participants with MCI, and 20 participants with dementia completed a battery of office-based assessments. On-road driving evaluation classified participants as not at-risk (n = 65) or at-risk drivers (n = 19). Results: Logistic regression revealed age and 2 tests of visual attention abilities (Useful Field of View [UFOV] Divided Attention and Neuropsychological Assessment Battery [NAB] Driving Scenes) best predicted at-risk drivers (C statistic = 0.90); no cutoff score had both sensitivity and specificity >80%. Conclusions: Future research on larger and more clinically representative neurological samples will improve understanding of the utility of the UFOV Divided Attention and NAB Driving Scenes in detecting at-risk older adult drivers in the clinic.
Who gets to decide? Right to legal capacity for persons with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities

Who gets to decide? Right to legal capacity for persons with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities The right of persons with disabilities to make choices about their lives and enjoy legal capacity on an equal basis with others is one of the most significant human rights issues in Europe today. Being recognised as someone who can make decisions is instrumental in taking control over one’s life and participating in society with others.
FPGA-SPICE: A simulation-based power estimation framework for FPGAs

Mainstream Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) power estimation tools are based on probabilistic activity estimation and analytical power models. The power consumption of the programmable resources of FPGAs is highly sensitive to their configurations. Due to their highly flexible nature, the configurations of FPGAs routing multiplexers or Look Up Tables (LUTs) are really different from a design to another but current analytical power models cannot accurately capture the associated power differences. In this paper, we introduce a simulation-based power estimation framework for FPGAs, called FPGA-SPICE, which supports any FPGA architecture that can be described with an architectural description language. Our power estimation engine automatically generates accurate SPICE netlists according to the FPGA configurations and enables precise power analysis of FPGA architectures. SPICE testbenches can be generated at different level of complexity, denoted as full-chip-level, grid-level and component-level testbenches. Full-chip-level testbenches dump the netlists associated with the complete FPGA fabric. To reduce simulation time, FPGA-SPICE can split the full-chip-level testbenches into grid-level testbenches, each of which consisting of a complete logic block netlist, or component-level testbenches, which consider individual circuit elements, i.e., multiplexers, LUTs, flip-flops, etc., separately. We show that the grid/component-level approach can achieve 14 × speed-up with a moderate 14% accuracy loss, compared to the full-chip level. We also use FPGA-SPICE to study the power characteristics of a commercial FPGA architecture at different technology nodes. Experimental results show that the global routing architecture consumes 50% of the total power, the local routing architecture claims for 40% of the total power, and the remaining 10% comes from the LUTs and flip-flops.
EFFECT OF AEROBIC DANCE ON SELECTED PHYSIOLOGICAL VARIABLES AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS

The effects of aerobic dance were investigated on the physiological variables of college students. The experimental group was made up 30 subjects, and the control group also numbered 30 subjects. The experimental program of the aerobic dance lasted for a period of 8 weeks. The data were analysed with Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). This study confirmed previous conclusions about significant positive influence of the aerobic dance trainings on the changes in the physiological variables, namely, resting pulse rate, breath holding, vital capacity and respiratory rate of college students.
Subjective study on compressed asymmetric stereoscopic video

Asymmetric stereoscopic video coding takes advantage of the binocular suppression of the human vision by representing one of the views with a lower quality. This paper describes a subjective quality test with asymmetric stereoscopic video. Different options for achieving compressed mixed-quality and mixed-resolution asymmetric stereo video were studied and compared to symmetric stereo video. The bitstreams for different coding arrangements were simulcast-coded according to the Advanced Video Coding (H.264/AVC) standard. The results showed that in most cases, resolution-asymmetric stereo video with the downsampling ratio of 1/2 along both coordinate axes provided similar quality as symmetric and quality-asymmetric full-resolution stereo video. These results were achieved under same bitrate constrain while the processing complexity decreased considerably. Moreover, in all test cases, the symmetric and mixed-quality full-resolution stereoscopic video bitstreams resulted in a similar quality at the same bitrates.
Understanding Health Information Seeking from an Actor-Centric Perspective

This paper presents a conceptual approach for discussing health information seeking among poor households in Africa and Asia. This approach is part of a larger research endeavor aimed at understanding how health systems are adapting; with possibilities and constraints emerging. These health systems can be found in a context of the changing relationships between states, markets and civil society in low and middle income countries. The paper starts from an understanding of the health sector as a “health knowledge economy”, organized to provide people with access to knowledge and advice. The use of the term “health knowledge economy” draws attention to the ways the health sector is part of a broader knowledge economy changing the way individuals and households obtain and use specialist information. The paper integrates an actor centric approach with the theory of planned behavior. It seeks to identify the actors engaged in the health knowledge economy as a precursor to longer term studies on the uptake of innovations integrating health services with mobile phones, commonly designated as mHealth, contributing to an understanding of the potential vulnerabilities of poor people, and highlighting possible dangers if providers of health information and advice are strongly influenced by interest groups.
Quad-mode and dual-mode dielectric resonator filters

This paper introduces for the first time a quad-mode dielectric resonator filter, using a simple cylinder resonator. A four-pole single cavity filter is designed, simulated, and fabricated based on this quadruple mode resonator. Additionally, a new type of dual-mode dielectric resonator filters is introduced, using the same cylindrical resonator cut in half along its axis. Center frequency control, intra/inter/input-coupling mechanisms, tuning, and spurious improvement methods are discussed, showing versatility of the proposed structures to realize different filtering functions and specifications. Measured results are presented for practical filters, employing the proposed quad-mode and dual-mode resonators. The dielectric resonator filters presented in this paper offer a significant size and mass reduction in comparison with conventional dielectric resonator filters. They promise to be useful for both wireless and satellite applications.
Applying formal methods to gossiping networks with mCRL and groove

In this paper we explore the practical possibilities of using formal methods to analyze gossiping networks. In particular, we use μCRL and Groove to model the peer sampling service, and analyze it through a series of model transformations to CTMCs and finally MRMs. Our tools compute the expected value of various network quality indicators, such as average path lengths, over all possible system runs. Both transient and steady state analysis are supported. We compare our results with the simulation and emulation results found in [10].
Far upstream element binding protein 2 interacts with enterovirus 71 internal ribosomal entry site and negatively regulates viral translation

An internal ribosomal entry site (IRES) that directs the initiation of viral protein translation is a potential drug target for enterovirus 71 (EV71). Regulation of internal initiation requires the interaction of IRES trans-acting factors (ITAFs) with the internal ribosomal entry site. Biotinylated RNA-affinity chromatography and proteomic approaches were employed to identify far upstream element (FUSE) binding protein 2 (FBP2) as an ITAF for EV71. The interactions of FBP2 with EV71 IRES were confirmed by competition assay and by mapping the association sites in both viral IRES and FBP2 protein. During EV71 infection, FBP2 was enriched in cytoplasm where viral replication occurs, whereas FBP2 was localized in the nucleus in mock-infected cells. The synthesis of viral proteins increased in FBP2-knockdown cells that were infected by EV71. IRES activity in FBP2-knockdown cells exceeded that in the negative control (NC) siRNA-treated cells. On the other hand, IRES activity decreased when FBP2 was over-expressed in the cells. Results of this study suggest that FBP2 is a novel ITAF that interacts with EV71 IRES and negatively regulates viral translation.
Playing with Maths: Facilitating the Learning in Play-Based Learning

EARLY CHILDHOOD PROFESSIONALS HAVE different opinions about intentionally teaching mathematics to young children. Not only is the appropriateness of teaching mathematical concepts to children in early childhood settings contested but what to teach is subject to debate. A review of the literature, however, demonstrates that children are better equipped for success if they master basic mathematical concepts before entering formal education, and that these skills can be developed in play-based activities, where teachers actively engage in maths talk. This paper argues for the purposeful integration of mathematics teaching and learning in early childhood education curricula, and the need for early childhood educators to have sound pedagogical content knowledge and clear learning objectives in order to support and extend children's emerging understanding of mathematical concepts.
Pain reduction using transcranial electrostimulation: a double blind "active placebo" controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE To examine the efficacy of transcranial electrical stimulation a non-invasive method of reducing pain. DESIGN A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. SUBJECTS A total of 119 patients with chronic pain. METHODS Patients were treated with either transcranial electrical stimulation or an active placebo device. Short- and long-term follow-ups were evaluated for treatment efficacy with 4 ordinal scale variables: visual analogue scale (pain level), SLEEP (how often does pain disturb sleep), FREQ (frequency of pain) and MED (frequency of use of medications to relieve pain). RESULTS Pain level decreased significantly in the transcranial electrical stimulation-treated group compared with the active-placebo group 3 weeks after the end of treatment (p = 0.0017 between groups). Other parameters did not demonstrate significant differences. Three months after the end of treatment this effect was maintained and other treatment parameters showed similar improvements. CONCLUSION Transcranial electrical stimulation is an effective non-invasive method for pain relief. The active placebo device has a powerful effect on reported pain, which diminishes in the long-term. The involvement of possible neural mechanisms is discussed.
Ground states of supersymmetric

We consider minimally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory with a Chern-Simons term on a flat spatial two-torus. The Witten index may be computed in the weak coupling limit, where the ground state wave-functions localize on the moduli space of flat gauge connections. We perform such computations by considering this moduli space as an orbifold of a certain flat complex torus. Our results agree with those obtained previously by instead considering the moduli space as a complex projective space. An advantage of the present method is that it allows for a more straightforward determination of the discrete electric ’t Hooft fluxes of the ground states in theories with non-simply connected gauge groups. A consistency check is provided by the invariance of the results under the mapping class group of a (Euclidean) three-torus.
Impaired fasting glucose tolerance in first-episode, drug-naive patients with schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE This study examined the prevalence of impaired fasting glucose tolerance in first-episode, drug-naive patients with schizophrenia. METHOD In this cross-sectional study, fasting plasma levels of glucose, insulin, lipids, and cortisol were measured in 15 male and 11 female hospitalized Caucasian patients with DSM-IV schizophrenia (mean age=33.6 years) and age- and sex-matched healthy comparison subjects. The patients and comparison subjects were also matched in terms of various life-style and anthropometric measures. RESULTS More than 15% of the drug-naive, first-episode patients with schizophrenia had impaired fasting glucose tolerance, compared to none of the healthy volunteers. Compared with the healthy subjects, the patients with schizophrenia had significantly higher fasting plasma levels of glucose (mean=88.2 mg/dl, SD=5.4, for the healthy subjects versus mean=95.8 mg/dl, SD=16.9, for the patients), insulin (mean=7.7 micro u/ml, SD=3.7, versus mean=9.8 micro u/ml, SD=3.9), and cortisol (mean=303.2 nmol/liter, SD=10.5, versus mean=499.4 nmol/liter, SD=161.4) and were more insulin resistant, as measured with homeostasis model assessment (mean=1.7, SD=0.7, for the healthy subjects versus mean=2.3, SD=1.0, for the patients). CONCLUSIONS First-episode, drug-naive patients with schizophrenia have impaired fasting glucose tolerance and are more insulin resistant and have higher levels of plasma glucose, insulin, and cortisol than healthy comparison subjects.
Adaptive Instruction to Learner Expertise with Bimodal Process-oriented Worked-out Examples

This study investigated the instructional efficiency of adaptive instruction to learner expertise in the domain of C programming language with college students. It also aimed to investigate whether a bimodal process-oriented worked-out example (WOE) could effectively control extraneous cognitive load and further improve instructional efficiency. For this purpose, a learner-paced problem-solving e-learning environment was developed. A total of 112 college students participated and they were randomly divided into four groups (adaptive and bimodal, adaptive and unimodal, fixed and bimodal, and fixed and unimodal) when they logged into the problem-solving e-learning environment. After removing uncompleted or repeated data, data from 96 students were used for a series of ANOVA and ANCOVA. The findings showed that the adaptive instruction groups showed significantly higher instructional efficiency than the fixed instruction groups. Although there was no significant difference between the bimodal and the unimodal WOE groups, the bimodal WOE groups showed lower mental effort, higher knowledge acquisition, and instructional efficiency. In addition, the bimodal WOE condition was more efficient in both adaptive and fixed conditions. Based on these findings, it was concluded that the adaptive instruction method and the bimodal process-oriented WOE effectively controlled cognitive load and thereby successfully and efficiently led to schema construction and automation. The insight gained through this study may inform instructional designers seeking to enhance their understanding of efficient instructional design within the cognitive load theory framework.
Industrial strength software and quality: software and engineering at Siemens

This paper is based on Siemens extensive experience in the area of quality for software-based products, systems, and plants. It describes the "best practices" in the area of software and quality that are used at Siemens. These techniques include Siemens' approaches in the areas of assessments and improvement of development processes, the use of metrics to measure such improvements, testing and quality engineering, inspections and reviews, software architecture as well as organization issues associated with quality such as the sharing of best practices in these areas. The results are based on a number of examples from a broad variety of application areas (e.g. telecommunications, industrial automation, medical engineering and transportation). Our experience is that a focus on quality leads to reductions in cycle-time, effort, and costs and thus to business benefit.
Determinants of maternal fetal attachment in women from a community-based sample

Background Maternal fetal attachment (MFA) has been found to be an important predictor for the developing relationship between mother and child. During the last decades, research on determinants of MFA has yielded inconclusive and even contradictory results. Until now, a process model in which multiple determinants of MFA are studied concurrently has been lacking. The present study evaluates a process model (based on Belsky’s model of parenting) in which the specific contributions of parental, contextual, and expected child characteristics to MFA were examined. Methods Participants, 351 pregnant women from a community-based sample, completed questionnaires concerning their personality, attachment security, partner support, perceived stress, expected child temperament, and MFA at 26 weeks gestational age. Based on Belsky’s model, a set of competing structural equation models were formulated and evaluated with path analysis. Results MFA was found to be multiply determined by parental, contextual, and expected child characteristics. These factors explained 19% of the variance in MFA. Pregnant women who were more extrovert, conscientious and agreeable reported having higher levels of MFA. In contrast, those women who perceived more stress and expected having an infant with a dull temperament reported lower levels of MFA. Conclusion This study demonstrated that the theoretical framework of Belsky’s model is applicable for explaining variations in the quality of the mother–fetus relationship in the pregnancy period. More knowledge of the determinants of MFA could help to identify mothers at risk for developing suboptimal feelings of attachment.
The Chemokine Decoy Receptor D6 Prevents Excessive Inflammation and Adverse Ventricular Remodeling After Myocardial Infarction

Objective—Leukocyte infiltration in ischemic areas is a hallmark of myocardial infarction, and overwhelming infiltration of innate immune cells has been shown to promote adverse remodeling and cardiac rupture. Recruitment of inflammatory cells in the ischemic heart depends highly on the family of CC-chemokines and their receptors. Here, we hypothesized that the chemokine decoy receptor D6, which specifically binds and scavenges inflammatory CC-chemokines, might limit inflammation and adverse cardiac remodeling after infarction. Methods and Results—D6 was expressed in human and murine infarcted myocardium. In a murine model of myocardial infarction, D6 deficiency led to increased chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 and chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 3 levels in the ischemic heart. D6-deficient (D6−/−) infarcts displayed increased infiltration of pathogenic neutrophils and Ly6Chi monocytes, associated with strong matrix metalloproteinase-9 and matrix metalloproteinase-2 activities in the ischemic heart. D6−/− mice were cardiac rupture prone after myocardial infarction, and functional analysis revealed that D6−/− hearts had features of adverse remodeling with left ventricle dilation and reduced ejection fraction. Bone marrow chimera experiments showed that leukocyte-borne D6 had no role in this setting, and that leukocyte-specific chemokine (C-C motif) receptor 2 deficiency rescued the adverse phenotype observed in D6−/− mice. Conclusion—We show for the first time that the chemokine decoy receptor D6 limits CC-chemokine–dependent pathogenic inflammation and is required for adequate cardiac remodeling after myocardial infarction.