Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diabetics on dialysis in the Republic of Macedonia: A nationwide epidemiological study.

BACKGROUND Incidence increase of diabetes mellitus (DM) has taken epidemic proportions in the world. Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a most serious complication, taking a leading place as a factor in the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Dialysis treatment of these patients is complex, expensive, and exerts an excessive burden on the health budgets of the affected countries. METHODS We performed a nationwide precise observational study with the aim of analysing diabetics on dialysis in dialysis centres throughout the Republic of Macedonia (RM) in 2002 and in 2006; to compare the results from patients records; and to gather data on the epidemiology, clinical characteristics and complications of diabetes type 1 (DM1) and diabetes type 2 (DM2). RESULTS The prevalence of HD patients in RM was 1114 vs 1074 in 2002 and 2006, respectively. Of these, 109 (9.78%) vs. 115 (10.71%) had DM in 2002 and 2006, respectively. The percentage of diabetics on dialysis between different centers varied between 3% to 21% vs. 2.4% to 22.07% in 2002 and 2006, respectively. The mean age of the patients was 58+/-10.29 vs. 56.5+/-10.71 in 2002 and 2006, respectively. Patients with DM1 were 19 (17.43%) vs. 15 (13.04%) and with DM2 were 90 (82.57%) vs. 100 (86.96%) in 2002 and 2006, respectively. 28 (25.68%) vs. 31 (26.96%) patients were on oral anti-diabetic drugs and 62 (57.21%) vs. 69 (60%) patients were on insulin in 2002 and 2006, respectively. Mean age of DM1 patients was 47+/-11.6 y. vs. 45+/-7.32 y. respectively and of DM2 was 60.37+/-8.33 y. vs. 61.14+/-10.23 y. , in 2002 and 2006, respectively. Mean time of insulin treatment was 9.5+/-6.63 y. vs. 10.85+/-9.29 y. in 2002 and 2006. Mean Body Mass Index (BMI) was 26.4 vs. 23.49+/-4.74 kg/m2 in DM1 and 25.5 vs. 24.77+/-3.70 kg/m2 in DM2 patients in 2002 and 2006, respectively. Thrombosis of first arteriovenous fistulae (AVF) occurred in 41% vs. 25.22% in 2002 and 2006, respecttitvely. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection was confirmed in 57% vs. 44% of DM patients in 2002 and 2006, respectively. Most common co-morbidity in patients was hypertension, 91% vs. 80.87% in 2002 and 2006, respectively. CONCLUSION The number of diabetics on dialysis in the Republic of Macedonia did not increase in the period from 2002 to 2006. In DM2 diabetics on dialysis the frequency of complications is higher and time on dialysis is shorter than in DM1 patients. Early detection of diabetic nephropathy by primary care physicians as well as collaborative treatment by diabetologists, nephrologists, cardiologists and ophthalmologists before and during dialysis are important for improvement of treatment and survival of diabetic patients on dialysis.
JASPER: Joint Optimization of Scaling, Placement, and Routing of Virtual Network Services

To adapt to continuously changing workloads in networks, components of the running network services may need to be replicated (scaling the network service) and allocated to physical resources (placement) dynamically, also necessitating dynamic re-routing of flows between service components. In this paper, we propose joint optimization of scaling, placement, and routing (JASPER), a fully automated approach to jointly optimizing scaling, placement, and routing for complex network services, consisting of multiple (virtualized) components. JASPER handles multiple network services that share the same substrate network; services can be dynamically added or removed and dynamic workload changes are handled. Our approach lets service designers specify their services on a high level of abstraction using service templates. JASPER automatically makes scaling, placement and routing decisions, enabling quick reaction to changes. We formalize the problem, analyze its complexity, and develop two algorithms to solve it. Extensive empirical results show the applicability and effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Market performance and the corporate governance structure: the implications for China

We empirically identify the relationship between the market performance of firms categorised using both the Kinder, Lydenberg and Domini (KLD) corporate responsibility scale as well as the Gompers, Ishii, and Metrick Corporate Governance (GIM CG) scale for a sample of US-listed firms. Compared to other styles of corporate governance, the autocratic style leads to higher market performance, but is associated with a lower level of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). We then discuss how China can learn from such a result while building its own governance structure. Finally, as there is no formal measure of CSR at this time in China, we conjecture about the market reaction to Chinese firms' CSR initiatives.
Strong Negation and Equivalence in the Safe Belief Semantics

The safe belief semantics uses intermediate logics to define an extension of answer sets to all propositional formulas, but only considering one kind of negation. In this work we extend safe beliefs adding the strong negation connective. The main feature of our extension is that strong negation can occur before any formula, and not only at the atomic level. We give results concerning the relation between strong negation extensions of intermediate logics and safe beliefs and consider the way in which strong negation can be eliminated from any formula while preserving its semantics. We also propose two new notions of equivalence: substitution equivalence and contextualized equivalence. We prove that they are both more general than strong equivalence and, for propositional formulas where strong negation may occur at the non-atomic level, substitution equivalence captures a notion of equivalence that cannot be captured by strong equivalence alone.
Lysyl Oxidase Activates the Transcription Activity of Human Collagene III Promoter

Lysyl oxidase is an extracellular enzyme that controls the maturation of collagen and elastin. Lysyl oxidase and collagen III often show similar expression patterns in fibrotic tissues. Therefore, we investigated the influence of lysyl oxidase overexpression on the promoter activity of human COL3A1 gene. Our results showed that when COS-7 cells overexpressed the mature form of lysyl oxidase, the activity of the human COL3A1 promoter was increased up to an average of 12 times when tested by luciferase reporter assay. The effect was specific, because other promoters were not affected. Moreover, lysyl oxidase effect was abolished by β-aminopropionitrile, a specific inhibitor of its catalytic activity. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay showed a binding activity in the region from −101 to −77 that was significantly increased by lysyl oxidase overexpression. The binding was specifically competed by the cold probe, and the mutagenesis of this region abolished both the binding activity in gel retardation and lysyl oxidase stimulation of COL3A1 promoter in transfection experiments. We identified the binding activity as Ku antigen in its two components: Ku80 and Ku70. This study suggests a new coordinated mechanism by which lysyl oxidase might control the development of fibrosis.
Power semiconductor device figure of merit for high-frequency applications

A figure of merit (the Baliga high-frequency figure of merit) is derived for power semiconductor devices operating in high-frequency circuits. Using this figure of merit, it is predicted that the power losses incurred in the power device will increase as the square root of the operating frequency and approximately in proportion to the output power. By relating the device power dissipation to the intrinsic material parameters, it is shown that the power loss can be reduced by using semiconductors with larger mobility and critical electric field for breakdown. Examination of data in the literature indicates that significant performance improvement can be achieved by replacing silicon with gallium arsenide, silicon carbide, or semiconducting diamond. <<ETX>>
Taking Cues on Europe? Voter competence and party endorsements in referendums on European integration

Abstract. One of the criticisms often levelled against direct democracy is that citizens lack sufficient knowledge to vote directly on policy issues. The ‘No’ votes in the French and Dutch referendums on the Constitutional Treaty have highlighted the importance of examining voter competence in referendums. This article proposes a theoretical framework for evaluating competence in EU referendums. It suggests that competent voting in EU referendums is based on issue-specific preferences and requires political information. Since most voters have little detailed knowledge of European integration, they rely on heuristics and cues when deciding how to vote. The important question is how much and which type of information voters require to make competent choices. This article examines whether and under what conditions the use of party endorsements as information cues can enhance competent voting in EU referendums. These theoretical questions are examined in an analysis of the 1994 Norwegian referendum on EU membership.
The endocrine environment of the human oocyte.

University Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Jessop Hospital, Shefield S3 7RE, U.K.; *MRC Unit of Reproductive Biology, 37 Chalmers Street, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH3 9EW, U.K.; ? Department of Anatomy, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3168, Australia; and IDepartment of Medicine, Clinical Sciences Centre, Northern General Hospital, Shefield S5 7AU. U.K. Keywords:
Depression and Coronary Heart Disease in Women With Diabetes

Objective The protective effects of female gender on the appearance and course of coronary heart disease (CHD) in nondiabetic subjects are diminished in the presence of diabetes. Depression predicts onset of and poor outcome from CHD in nondiabetic populations. We hypothesized that the doubled rates of depression in female diabetic patients could help explain the high prevalence of CHD in women with diabetes. Method Seventy-six female type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients with (N =16) or without (N =60) active major depression (DSM-III) at index evaluation underwent systematic annual investigation of diabetes and its complications for up to 10 years. Occurrences of CHD and other macrovascular complications were examined in relation to depression status using survival analysis statistics. A multivariate model incorporating other CHD risk factors (age, duration of diabetes, body mass index, glycosylated hemoglobin, and presence of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, or tobacco use) was used to determine independent effects of depression on outcome. Results Development of CHD was significantly more rapid in the depressed subset (p <0.01 between 10-year curves), an effect that persisted after controlling for base-line differences in body mass index. Depression also was retained as an independent predictor of CHD in the multivariate model with an age-adjusted hazard ratio of 5.2 (95% CI: 1.4–18.9;p =.01). In contrast, depression did not predict the development of clinically apparent peripheral or cerebrovascular disease. Conclusions In this sample of diabetic women, major depression was an independent risk factor that accelerated the development of CHD. Depression recognition and management may improve outcomes from diabetes in this gender subgroup.
Modeling, Analysis, and Parameters Design of LC-Filter-Integrated Quasi-Z -Source Indirect Matrix Converter

Through coupling the impedance network between the grid and the conventional indirect matrix converter (IMC), the LC-filter-integrated quasi-Z-source (qZS) IMC overcomes the 0.866 voltage gain limitation of the conventional IMC and also avoids the input filter that is required to mitigate current harmonics of the conventional qZS matrix converters. This paper further investigates the voltage boosting and LC filtering function of the LC-filter-integrated qZS IMC. The voltage gain, the filtering function, and qZS network parameters design are presented using a small-signal model and circuit analysis. Simulation and experimental results validate the built model, the voltage gain analysis, and the parameters design of this type of qZS IMC. The input current of the LC-filter-integrated qZS network is compared to the conventional Z-source and qZS IMCs to investigate the integrated LC filtering capability. The experimental results verify that the LC-filter-integrated qZS network provides the necessary filtering function. Thus, the traditional input filter can be eliminated, which reduces the cost, power loss, volume, and weight for the overall system, when compared with the other conventional topologies that require the input filter, even those with impedance-source networks.
Competing with dual business models: A contingency approach

Executive Overview How can a company adopt two different business models in the same market? This question has become particularly pressing for an increasing number of established companies that have recently come under attack from “strategic innovators”—companies that attack the established players by using radically different business models. The success of these attackers in gaining market share has created a big dilemma for established companies. On the one hand, by embracing the new business models that the innovators have introduced in their markets, established companies can potentially take advantage of a great growth opportunity. On the other hand, because the new business models often conflict with the established ones, companies that try to compete by adopting both of them risk mismanaging both and destroying value. How, then, can established companies embrace the new business models without diluting and destroying their existing models? Our research explores this question and offers a continge.
Grass-Root Organisations, Intergovernmental Collaboration, and Emergency Preparedness: An Institutional Collective Action Approach

Abstract This paper examines the importance of grass-root emergency response groups in emergency preparedness. Consistent with the Institutional Collective Action framework, we highlight key constraints associated with local government strategies of mutual resource exchange and barriers to intergovernmental collaboration. We examine local governments’ emergency preparedness using survey data collected in the North Central Texas region. We employed a simple OLS analysis to determine mutual exchange and Poisson estimations on the likelihood of local governments receiving and providing external assistance. Findings showed that the presence of grass-root organisations in a jurisdiction is associated with emergency preparedness, highlighting the importance of norms of volunteerism. Local political institutions and participation in federally funded programmes also have an effect on local government decisions.
cDNA Array Analysis of Cytokines, Chemokines, and Receptors Involved in the Development of TNBS‐Induced Colitis: Homeostatic Role of VIP

&NA; Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory pathology of the intestine, characterized by diarrhea and weight loss. A healing effect of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) in the murine model of CD based on 2,4,6‐trinitrobencene sulfonic acid (TNBS) administration has been previously shown. The aim of this work was to analyze the expression of several mediators related to the inflammatory cascade in colitic and VIP‐treated animals. With this aim, mice received either only TNBS or TNBS and VIP treatment on alternate days. cDNA microarray analysis and real‐time polymerase chain reaction were performed on total mRNA from colon to study the expression of a battery of proinflammatory molecules such as the enzyme COX‐2, the chemokines CX3CL1, CXCL12, CXCL13, CXCL14, CCR5, and CXCR2, and the cytokines interleukin (IL)‐1&bgr;, IL‐12, IL‐18, IL‐10, interferon‐&ggr;, and IL‐4. TNBS administration induced the expression of all the proinflammatory mediators studied, whereas VIP treatment reduced their levels, increasing the anti‐inflammatory IL‐10 and the TH2 cytokine IL‐4, explaining its beneficial action through inhibition of the inflammatory/TH1 response. These data describe not only the relation of several proinflammatory mediators to the development of TNBS colitis, reporting their time‐course, but also show the beneficial action of VIP in this model through complete blockage of the inflammatory cascade and recovery of the colon homeostasis, providing a potential new alternative for CD therapy.
Assessing decentralised wastewater treatment technologies: correlating technology selection to system robustness, energy consumption and GHG emission

In this study, we compared two different types of decentralised systems in South East Queensland (SEQ) designed to produce Class A + recycled water, and assessed their system robustness to shock loads, energy consumption and fugitive greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We found that through BioWin ® modelling, the membrane reactor (MBR) system was relatively robust to hydraulic shock loads with tolerance up to 1.5 times of the design dry weather daily flow. However, the stability of nitrification process in MBR was significantly affected when the total nitrogen load in the influent increased by 30% while maintaining the constant inlet wastewater flow rate. For energy consumption, we found that the specific energy requirement for the MBR system was 6.1 kWh/kL of treated sewage, which was substantially higher than that for the other decentralised aerobic bio-filtration system (1.9 kWh/kL of treated sewage). We also used a mass balance approach to estimate the fugitive GHG emissions and concluded that electrical energy consumption data alone could substantially underestimate the overall GHG footprints for the decentralised systems. When the estimated CH 4 fluxes were added to the energy consumption, the communal septic tanks with aerobic bio-filtration system generated a carbon dioxide equivalent footprint similar to that of the MBR system.
Chemically induced transition phenomena in polyurethanes as seen from generalized mode Grüneisen parameters

Many phenomenological properties of reactive polymers like polyurethanes increase or decrease continuously in the course of the curing process before saturating at the end of the chemical reaction. This holds true for instance for the mass density, the refractive index, the chemical turnover and the hypersonic properties. The reason for this monotone behaviour is that the chemical reaction behaves like a continuous succession of irreversible phase transitions. These transitions are superposed by the sol–gel transition and possibly by the chemically induced glass transition, with the drawback that the latter two highlighted transitions are often hidden by the underlying curing process. In this work we propose generalized mode Grüneisen parameters as an alternative probe for elucidating the polymerization process itself and the closely related transition phenomena. As a model system we use polyurethane composed of a diisocyanate and varying ratios of difunctional and trifunctional alcohols.
Morbidity and Mortality Among Patients With Hip Fractures Surgically Repaired Within and After 48 Hours

Objective:The objectives were (1) to compare the morbidity and mortality of patients with hip fractures surgically repaired within and after 48 hours of the occurrence of fracture and (2) to establish whether timing of repair alone had a major role in determining how the patients fared after the surgical repair or whether comorbidities also affected outcomes. Sample:The study involved the medical records of 49 patients (aged 51 to 99 years) admitted to Coney Island Hospital between January 2003 and January 2004 with a primary diagnosis of hip fracture who underwent surgical repair. Design:Analysis of data was done by retrospective chart review of patients admitted with the diagnosis of hip fracture to an acute care hospital setting. Follow-up continued until the patients were transferred to a rehabilitation facility for physical or occupational therapy after surgery. Outcome Measures:The preoperative health status of each patient was assessed by cardiopulmonary risk index score, based on comorbid conditions, and postoperative outcome was determined by complications (such as bed sores, pneumonia, urinary tract infection, deep vein thrombosis, or pulmonary embolism) or death. Results:Patients who underwent early surgical repair (within 48 hours) had fewer postoperative complications (14.7%, as compared with 33.3% in the group undergoing surgery >48 hours after fracture). CPRI scores in the early and delayed surgery groups were also compared with regard to postoperative mortality and morbidity. It appeared that there was a higher statistical correlation between CPRI scores and complications among patients in the early surgery group (P = 0.39) and an insignificant correlation among patients in the delayed surgery group (P = 0.07). Conclusion:Surgical repair of hip fractures within the first 48 hours was associated with better health outcomes in a nationally representative sample, as observed in an acute care facility, irrespective of comorbid conditions.
Operating global production with heterogeneous plants under uncertain demands and rigid chance constrained deliveries

Abstract The monthly demands of a single product are forecasted and given by a distribution function for each month. The product can be manufactured in n plants with heterogeneous characters. Each plant has its specific stochastic production capability (random yield). The expected capability and the standard deviation of each plant increase by allocation of additional budgets that are known according to a pre-given plant’s capability-cost tradeoffs function. The problem is to determine the total budget needed and its distribution among the n plants in order to ensure in the most economic manner a complete fulfillment of the demands according to the due dates and the pre-given confidence levels (delivery chance constraints). A necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of unique optimal solution for the considered problem is provided. We propose a method for evaluating the optimal solution and demonstrate it through numerical examples.