Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fast Food Consumption of U.S. Adults: Impact on Energy and Nutrient Intakes and Overweight Status

Objective: To compare the diet quality and overweight status of free-living adults, ages 20 years and older, grouped based on their fast food intake status. Methods: USDA’s 1994 to 1996 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII 1994–1996) data was used. Three separate analyses were conducted: (1) effect of fast food on diet quality of males and females based on day-one data, (2) comparison of dietary and overweight status of adults who ate fast food on one- two- or none of survey days and (3) within-person analysis comparing energy and macronutrient intakes of adults who ate fast food on one of the two survey days. SUDAAN software package was used in pair-wise mean comparisons and regression analyses (α = 0.05). Results: At least one in four adults reported eating fast food. The diet of males and females who consumed fast food was high in energy and energy density. Fast food provided more than one-third of the day’s energy, total fat and saturated fat; and was high in energy density. Negligible amounts of milk and fruits, but substantially large amounts of non-diet carbonated soft drinks were reported consumed at fast food places. After controlling for age, gender, socio-economic and demographic factors, energy and energy density increased and micronutrient density decreased with frequency of fast food consumption. Adults who reported eating fast food on at least one survey day had higher mean body mass index values than those who did not eat fast food on both survey days. A small, but significant, positive association was seen between fast food consumption and overweight status. Within-person comparisons showed that energy intakes were higher on a fast food day than on a non-fast food day. Conclusion: Fast food consumption was associated with a diet high in energy and energy density and low in essential micronutrient density. Frequent fast food consumption may contribute to weight gain.
The minimum clinically significant difference in visual analogue scale pain score does not differ with severity of pain

Objective—To determine whether minimum clinically significant difference in visual analogue scale (VAS) pain score varies according to the severity of pain reported. Method—Prospective descriptive study of adult patients in an urban emergency department (ED). On presentation to the ED, patients marked the level of their pain on a 100 mm, non-hatched VAS scale. At 20 minute intervals thereafter they were asked to give a verbal categorical rating of their pain as “a lot better”, “a little better”, “much the same”, “a little worse” or “much worse” and to mark the level of pain on a VAS scale of the same type as used previously. It was pre-defined that patients with VAS pain scores of 30 mm or less would be categorised as having mild pain, those with scores of 70 mm or more were categorised as having severe pain and those from 31 mm to 69 mm, moderate pain. The minimal clinically significant difference (MCSD) in VAS pain score was defined as the mean difference between current and preceding scores when the subject reported “a little worse” or “a little better” pain. Results—156 patients were enrolled in the study, yielding 88 evaluable comparisons where pain was rated as “a little better” or “a little worse”. The MCSD in VAS score in the group overall was 12 mm (95%CI 9 mm to 15 mm). MCSD in VAS score for the “mild pain” group was 11 mm (95%CI 4 mm to 18 mm), for the “moderate pain” group 14 mm (95%CI 10 mm to 18 mm) and for the severe pain group, 10 mm (95%CI 6 mm to 14 mm). There is no statistical difference between the MCSD in VAS score between the severity groups. Conclusions—The MCSD in VAS pain score does not differ with the severity of pain being experienced.
Will the next generation of basal insulins offer clinical advantages?

The 21st century has seen the arrival of several insulin analogue products and the refinement of insulin regimens, with widespread advocacy of continuous titration algorithms and earlier initiation of supplementary insulin therapy (predominantly using basal insulins) in type 2 diabetes. Nevertheless, many insulin‐treated diabetes patients remain in poor glycaemic control. This might reflect insufficient titration effort or lax adherence, but these issues could in some cases result from concerns about hypoglycaemia. Certainly there is scope for improving the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) profile of basal insulin, and three new products offer this prospect. Insulin degludec, now in clinical use, and PEGylated insulin lispro, in development, have greatly extended action profiles that result from two very different, but unique, mechanisms. With once‐daily dosing, these insulins produce stable PK/PD profiles at steady state, associated with a low incidence of hypoglycaemia. The feasibility of varied daily dose timing has also been confirmed with insulin degludec. High strength formulations of insulin glargine and insulin degludec offer the prospect of a reduced injection number/volume in high dose users, and in the case of glargine, the PK/PD profile might also be favourably modified. This review considers critically the clinical evidence and expectations we should have for these new basal insulins.
Rethinking patch size and isolation effects: the habitat amount hypothesis

I challenge (1) the assumption that habitat patches are natural units of measurement for species richness, and (2) the assumption of distinct effects of habitat patch size and isolation on species richness. I propose a simpler view of the relationship between habitat distribution and species richness, the ‘habitat amount hypothesis’, and I suggest ways of testing it. The habitat amount hypothesis posits that, for habitat patches in a matrix of non‐habitat, the patch size effect and the patch isolation effect are driven mainly by a single underlying process, the sample area effect. The hypothesis predicts that species richness in equal‐sized sample sites should increase with the total amount of habitat in the ‘local landscape’ of the sample site, where the local landscape is the area within an appropriate distance of the sample site. It also predicts that species richness in a sample site is independent of the area of the particular patch in which the sample site is located (its ‘local patch’), except insofar as the area of that patch contributes to the amount of habitat in the local landscape of the sample site. The habitat amount hypothesis replaces two predictor variables, patch size and isolation, with a single predictor variable, habitat amount, when species richness is analysed for equal‐sized sample sites rather than for unequal‐sized habitat patches. Studies to test the hypothesis should ensure that ‘habitat’ is correctly defined, and the spatial extent of the local landscape is appropriate, for the species group under consideration. If supported, the habitat amount hypothesis would mean that to predict the relationship between habitat distribution and species richness: (1) distinguishing between patch‐scale and landscape‐scale habitat effects is unnecessary; (2) distinguishing between patch size effects and patch isolation effects is unnecessary; (3) considering habitat configuration independent of habitat amount is unnecessary; and (4) delineating discrete habitat patches is unnecessary.
C 2-continuous surface reconstruction with piecewise polynomial patches

In this report we describe a new method for generating a smooth surface that approximates a given manifold triangulation with arbitrary topology. At first we treat this problem in an axiomatic approach that does not depend on a specific surface type and derive a set of necessary conditions that guarantee the C2-continuity of the result. Then we apply these conditions and develop an algorithm for generating a piecewise polynomial reconstruction surface that consists of a small number of patches. The method provides a set of intuitive parameters for shape control. mcwagner@immd9.informatik.uni-erlangen.de hormann@cs.caltech. edu greiner@informatik.uni-erlangen.de
A Perfect Storm; Or What Went Wrong and What Went Right for the EU in Ukraine

Abstract This essay analyses and discusses the background and the evolution of the conflict in Ukraine in light of the wider contestation between the European Union and Russia. The main argument is that the conflict in Ukraine is first and foremost a symptom and not the root cause of the wider conflict between Russia and the West. The essay puts particular emphasis on examining the problems in the EU’s approach concerning the East. In particular the problems in policy and scenario planning are pointed out. The essay ends with conclusions, warning of the potential for a wider rupture and even conflict between the EU and the West and Russia.
Decoupled 2d DOA estimation with a small number of elements in UCAs

Rank-reduction (RARE) methods for decoupled 2D direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation are exposed to performance breakdown with a small number of elements in uniform circular arrays (UCAs) due to the residual component in the beamspace data. To overcome this shortcoming, a modified RARE algorithm for DOA estimation with UCAs is proposed in this paper. Based on the UCA-RARE for azimuth estimation and the MUSIC for elevation estimation, the beamspace data is revised, and bias-free DOA estimates are obtained with the revised data. The proposed algorithm can be used to estimate both equal and unequal power signals with omni-directional or directional antenna elements in UCAs. Numerical examples are given to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Monetary Policy, Imperfect Information and the Expectations Channel

Cette these explore les implications de l’hypothese d’information imparfaite pour la politique monetaire. Nous considerons la banque centrale comme le point d’ancrage des anticipations privees non plus grâce a son engagement envers une faible inflation, mais grâce a sa competence : sa capacite a correctement prevoir les futurs etats de l’economie. L’objectif de cette analyse est de montrer que la competence permet d’influencer les anticipations privees et que cette influence permet de relâcher les contraintes pesant sur la politique monetaire pour atteindre ses objectifs macroeconomiques. Le premier chapitre procede a une revue empirique de la litterature traitant de la performance de prevision de la Reserve Federale. Le deuxieme chapitre se concentre sur des banques centrales qui publient leurs previsions en temps reel, afin de mettre en valeur le canal des anticipations de la politique monetaire et la question de la credibilite via le lien entre performance de prevision et influence des banques centrales. Nous proposons de definir la credibilite endogene comme la capacite d’influence provenant de meilleures previsions, en opposition avec la credibilite exogene pour laquelle les banques centrales n’auraient pas besoin de meilleure prevision pour etre influentes. Le troisieme chapitre examine les implications theoriques de l’influence endogene pour les decisions de politique monetaire, a travers un modele Neo-Keynesien avec anticipations non-rationnelles. Enfin, le quatrieme chapitre evalue les preferences monetaires de trois banques centrales qui ont adopte le ciblage d’inflation et communiquent leur previsions en temps reel.
Homotopy Measures for Representative Trajectories

An important task in trajectory analysis is defining a meaningful representative for a cluster of similar trajectories. Formally defining and computing such a representative r is a challenging problem. We propose and discuss two new definitions, both of which use only the geometry of the input trajectories. The definitions are based on the homotopy area as a measure of similarity between two curves, which is a minimum area swept by all possible deformations of one curve into the other. In the first definition we wish to minimize the maximum homotopy area between r and any input trajectory, whereas in the second definition we wish to minimize the sum of the homotopy areas between r and the input trajectories. For both definitions computing an optimal representative is NP-hard. However, for the case of minimizing the sum of the homotopy areas, an optimal representative can be found efficiently in a natural class of restricted inputs, namely, when the arrangement of trajectories forms a directed acyclic graph.
The Relationship between Modified Audit Opinion and Firm’s Financial Constraints with Emphasizing the Political Aspects

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between modified audit opinion (MAO) and financial constraints of the companies which are listed in Tehran Stock Exchange. In this study, the financial data of 96 companies listed in Tehran Stock Exchange during the period 2005 till 2011 were investigated. First, companies with limited and extensive political connections were classified by using political cost indices (number of employees, firm size, export sales, stock market value, insurance and income tax) and then the analysis was performed using the pooled regression. The results of testing the first, third and fourth hypothesis indicates the absence of a significant relationship between the modified audit opinion and financial constraints on firms that have very strong political connections. But the results obtained from testing the second hypothesis suggest that the audit reports issued by famous auditors, led to increase financial constraints on these companies. Also the results of companies with limited political connections indicate that getting modified audit opinion led to reduce the financial constraints of these companies
DIFERENÇA DE PREÇOS ENTRE AS AÇÕES ORDINÁRIAS E PREFERENCIAIS: INFLUÊNCIA DOS FATORES GOVERNANÇA CORPORATIVA, LIQUIDEZ E POLÍTICA DE DIVIDENDOS PRICE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COMMON AND PREFERRED SHARES: INFLUENCE OF FACTORS OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE, LIQUIDITY AND DIVIDEND POLITICS

This study aims to identify the influence of corporate governance, liquidity and dividend policy of the price difference between the common and preferred shares of Brazilian companies listed on Bovespa. This research is justified by the fact that the common and preferred shares present policy of distributing dividends distinct and different and need liquidity to meet requirements in accordance with good corporate governance practices. Thus, it is expected that such factors influence the price difference between these classes of shares. This empirical study investigates a sample of 140 companies using multiple regression analysis by the Stepwise method. The results showed a determination coefficient of 0.425 and a determination coefficient of 0.40, ie 40% of the variation of the price difference between the classes of shares is explained by the set of selected variables.
Integrating social networks in a recommender system for movies

This thesis project was done for Ericsson Research in Stockholm, Sweden. The purpose was to evaluate how well an existing algorithm in a recommender system predicts movie ratings and get an indication of how the users perceive the recommendations given by the system. The recommendations are computed with a revised User-based Collaborative Filtering algorithm that calculates trust amongst people in a social network to identify the most suited recommenders. The purpose has also been to use friends from a social networking site as the social network and one of the project goals was to build an application on such a site. The prototyping activities resulted in a Facebook application for personalized movie recommendations called MovieBuddy, where a user could rate movies and choose friends that would influence their recommendations. The recommender system was evaluated from three main aspects: the accuracy of predicted ratings compared to users actual ratings, the accuracy of inferred trust values compared to users actual trust ratings and the users' opinions as gathered from a survey regarding their perception of the recommendations. The results showed that the users rated the movies in the recommendation list higher than they did anywhere else. Still, both the inferred trust values and the predicted ratings had quite large mean absolute errors and while the users were overall positive to the recommender system, they felt that there was room for improvement when it came to the recommendations. According to the survey, users were interested in more user tasks than the application supported, like being able to filter and search for movies. Overall, they were less interested in rating movies and more interested in what the system could do for them. The results lead to some conclusions on how the recommendation algorithm could be revised and how the system could use social networking sites as a source of information and inspiration.
Which Personality Attributes Are Most Important in the Workplace?

Employees face a variety of work demands that place a premium on personal attributes, such as the degree to which they can be depended on to work independently, deal with stress, and interact positively with coworkers and customers. We examine evidence for the importance of these personality attributes using research strategies intended to answer three fundamental questions, including (a) how well does employees’ standing on these attributes predict job performance? , (b) what types of attributes do employers seek to evaluate in interviews when considering applicants? , and (c) what types of attributes are rated as important for performance in a broad sampling of occupations across the U.S. economy? We summarize and integrate results from these three strategies using the Big Five personality dimensions as our organizing framework. Our findings indicate that personal attributes related to Conscientiousness and Agreeableness are important for success across many jobs, spanning across low to high levels of job complexity, training, and experience necessary to qualify for employment. The strategies lead to differing conclusions about the relative importance of Emotional Stability and Extraversion. We note implications for job seekers, for interventions aimed at changing standing on these attributes, and for employers.
Cell Population in Spleens During Antibody-Mediated Rejection: Pathologic and Clinical Findings

Background In the treatment of refractory antibody-mediated rejection (AMR), splenectomy has been associated with surprisingly rapid recovery of renal function. The mechanism is still unclear. Methods We review 11 recipients, who underwent rescue splenectomy (RS) as a treatment of AMR within 3 months after kidney transplantation. At transplantation, all patients had undergone desensitization for initially positive crossmatch to their prospective donors. The cellular populations of the spleen were analyzed by immunohistochemistry. For comparison, we obtained spleen specimens from eight controls who were nontransplantation patients. Results Rejection occurred in all the patients early after transplantation (mean [SD], 7.1 [5.7] days). One graft was lost 4 weeks after kidney transplantation. A significantly higher number of plasma cells (PCs) (P=0.049) and lower number of T and B lymphocytes (P=0.02 and P=0.005, respectively) were detected in the RS group compared with the control group. By analyzing the PC variations in the RS group, significantly lower numbers of PCs were detected in the spleens of patients who received rituximab before splenectomy (P=0.0004). In contrast, a higher number of PCs were found in patients (n=3) who did not respond to splenectomy and subsequently underwent bortezomib treatment and recovered their renal function (P=0.02). Conclusions Splenectomy may reverse AMR by debulking PCs. Our analysis suggests that patients with a very high load of PCs may not be rescued by splenectomy alone and may need additional treatments.
Range, Range Modulation, and Field Radius Requirements for Proton Therapy of Prostate Cancer

The Loma Linda University Proton Treatment Facility has treated over 5,000 patients for prostate cancer. Other institutions may find information regarding field size and range requirements for this population of patients useful for designing new proton beamlines. The maximum range, range modulation, and maximum field radius for 240 fields of prostate patients undergoing treatment were sampled and analyzed. Most fields required a range less than 290 mm of water, a modulation width less than or equal to 120 mm, and a radius less than 75 mm.
Patient satisfaction with telemedicine in a prison environment

Prison inmates were surveyed about their perceptions of the use of videoconferencing in clinical consultations. A 14-item questionnaire was used to assess satisfaction with the patient-physician clinical interaction. Of the 299 inmates surveyed immediately after their teleconsultations, 221 completed questionnaires that were suitable for analysis 74. Only 9 of patients indicated that they were not satisfied with the teleconsultation. They rated the telemedicine context well above the midpoint of the scale 16 on both an information-exchange and a patient-comfort dimension, with means of 29 and 24, respectively. There was a significant difference P<0.01 in the patient-comfort dimension in terms of the location of the prisoners. No significant differences were found in patient satisfaction related to the specialty of the physician. The results suggest that many contextual factors must be considered to understand the communicative implications of patient satisfaction with telemedicine.
Utility Indifference Valuation (Compensating Variations)

Under market frictions like illiquidity or transaction costs, contingent claims can incorporate some inevitable intrinsic risk that cannot be completely hedged away but remains with the holder. In general, they cannot be synthesized by dynamical trading in liquid assets and hence not be priced by no-arbitrage arguments alone. Still, an agent can determine a valuation with respect to her preferences towards risk. The utility indifference value for a variation in the quantity of illiquid assets held by the agent is defined as the compensating variation of wealth, under which her maximal expected utility remains unchanged.
Police.uk and Data.police.uk: Developing Open Crime and Justice Data for the UK.

In this paper we describe the evolution and development of the police.uk and data.police.uk sites, which publish open data about crime and justice in the UK, and make it accessible and comprehensible to the public. Police.uk has received over 64 million visits (754 million hits) since launching in January 2011. Open crime and justice data represents a key sector in the UK open data landscape, and citizens are keen to engage with the criminal justice system to become more informed about local levels of crime and other policing information. This paper sets out the policing context in the UK, discusses the journey in providing such open data, the processes involved and challenges encountered, and explores possible future developments.