Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluating the Hourly Wage Return Of Community Colleges

This study examines the effect of 2-year college credits, postsecondary certificates and Associate Degrees on hourly wages for high school graduates with no 4-year college experience using restricted-use National Educational Longitudinal Study 1988 (NELS: 1988). The analysis does not find a statistically significant increase in hourly wages associated with 2-year college credits, post-secondary certificates, or Associate Degrees. Acknowledgement: My special thanks to Prof. Deborah Levison and Prof. Joseph Ritter who spent enormous time on editing my paper and giving advices, to Minnesota Population Center (MPC) for sponsoring me the secured data enclave for using the restricted version of NELS: 1988, and to Gina Rumore who patiently guided me through all the paper work for using the secured data enclave.
Sequential therapy with activated prothrombin complex concentrates and recombinant FVIIa in patients with severe haemophilia and inhibitors: update of our previous experience

Summary. Haemophilia patients with inhibitors can develop bleeding episodes, which are refractory to monotherapy with either recombinant factor VIIa (rFVIIa) or activated prothrombin complex concentrates (APCC). Management of such bleeds is often difficult. We previously reported the safety of using a combination of rFVIIa and APCC given in sequential fashion. In this report, we update our experience with sequential therapy. A retrospective review of medical records was conducted including all reports of sequential therapy defined as receiving both rFVIIa and APCC within 6 h. Data extracted included demographic data, treatment prior to and following hospital admission, clinical data including type and location of bleed, response to therapy, physical examination and laboratory data. In addition, for some patients, thromboelastography was performed to document the effect of sequential therapy on clot formation characteristics. Four patients comprising 35 admissions, 209 hospital days and 115 days of sequential therapy were included in the updated dataset. No patient developed thrombosis or overt disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) although elevations in the D‐dimer above 5 μg mL−1 were noted in 42% of the courses that lasted >3 days. Efficacy is suggested by the fact that patients had resolution of their bleeds after a median of 3 days of sequential therapy after failing to respond to a median of 3 days of monotherapy. Thromboelastography demonstrated an additive effect. Sequential therapy is a safe, potentially efficacious approach in the management of refractory bleeding episodes in patients with haemophilia and inhibitors.
Fabrication of the Isolated Nano-beams in the Normal (111) Si Wafers with KOH Etching

Described in this paper is a novel method to fabricate the isolated nano-beams in the normal (111) Si wafers. The cantilever and the double clamped beams with nano thickness are anchored through the metal wires, which are isolated to the substrate electrically. The thickness of the beams is determined by dry etching. The beams are released by KOH etching. As the bottom of the beams is (111) plane, which is etched very slowly in KOH etching, the etching is self-ended after the beams are released. The gaps between the beams and the substrates are determined by RIE etching before releasing, due to the fact that the surfaces of the substrates are also (111) planes. When the gaps between the beams and the substrates are large enough, the nano beams can be released without the special treatment. The surface roughness of (111) wafer is also discussed in the paper
Should We Worry about Deflation? * Prevention and Cure

After an absence of almost half a century, the specter of deflation is once again haunting the corridors of central banks and finance ministries in the industrial world. While preventing or combating deflation poses some unique difficulties not present in preventing or combating inflation, deflation can be prevented and, if it has taken hold, can be overcome, using conventional instruments of monetary and fiscal policy. These include changes in the short nominal interest rate (when the zero bound constraint is not binding), the intentional depreciation of the external value of the currency, open market purchases of government securities and monetary financing of government deficits caused by expansionary tax cuts, increases in transfers or higher public spending on goods and services. Base money-financed tax cuts or transfer payments— the mundane version of Friedman’s helicopter drop of money—will (almost) always boost aggregate demand, but require coordination of monetary and fiscal policy. Unconventional monetary and fiscal measures are also available. These include open market purchases of private and foreign securities, negative nominal interest rates (through a carry tax on currency) and temporary tax measures aimed at shifting private consumption from the future to the present, by tilting the intertemporal terms of trade. An example is Feldstein’s proposal for a cut in VAT today, coupled to the credible commitment of a VAT increase in the future. Deflation results from a combination of bad luck and poor economic management, including the failure to coordinate monetary and fiscal policy. Sustained unwanted deflation is evidence of policy failure. Both the knowledge and the tools exist to prevent unwanted deflation. Should We Worry about Deflation? Prevention and Cure 1
Racial differences in screening for prostate cancer in the elderly.

BACKGROUND Black men are more likely than white men to be diagnosed as having advanced prostate cancer, and their prostate cancer mortality rates are more than twice as high. Low screening rates among black men may contribute to these disparities, but there are few data on racial differences in prostate cancer screening. OBJECTIVES To present a case-control study of racial differences in the use of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) as a screening test among Medicare beneficiaries in New Jersey and to assess the degree to which race is associated with prostate cancer screening. METHODS The study used a statewide database of claims data from Medicare Parts A and B, Medicaid, and the state's Pharmaceutical Assistance for the Aged and Disabled program. Prevalent cases of prostate cancer were excluded using the state's cancer registry. Of 139 672 men who underwent PSA screening, 34 984 were randomly selected along with an identical number of controls matched by month and year of birth. After men with International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification,or Current Procedural Terminology codes indicative of prostate cancer were excluded, 33 463 case patients and 33 782 control subjects remained. RESULTS The use of PSA screening was strongly and inversely associated with black race (odds ratio [OR] = 0.50; P<.001), poverty (OR = 0.33; P<.001), and near poverty (OR = 0.69; P<.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis after age, socioeconomic status, comorbidity, and use of health care services were controlled for revealed that black race remained a strong predictor of not undergoing PSA screening (OR = 0.65; 95% confidence interval, 0.60-0.70). CONCLUSIONS Elderly blacks are substantially less likely to undergo PSA screening than elderly whites. Differences in socioeconomic status and comorbid conditions explain only a small part of the racial differences in screening rates.
MuRF1 and MuRF2 are key players in skeletal muscle regeneration involving myogenic deficit and deregulation of the chromatin‐remodeling complex

Skeletal muscle regeneration is a powerful and highly synchronized process and it is well described that intracellular pathways related to anabolic responses are readily activated. On the other hand, the role of catabolic pathways in the skeletal muscle regenerative response is much less understood. In the present study, we hypothesized that MuRF1, a key gene involved in skeletal muscle mass loss, and its close counterpart MuRF2 play a role in skeletal muscle regeneration.
Notice of RetractionBusiness strategy research on mobile commerce of China's mobile network operators under 3G age

Considering the features of the high dynamic mobile commerce environment, a business strategy model is proposed in the view of mobile networks operators (MNO). The article analyzes the development strategy of mobile commerce from three aspects, the interaction relationship between China's MNOs and the environment, the competition and cooperation with other roles of the industry chain, and the inherent business portfolio relationship. The complementarities and interaction of multi-dimension strategies promotes the core-competitiveness of MNOs permanently.
Response change in linearized circuits and systems: Computational algorithms and applications

A unified overview of linear and nonlinear system response change induced by multiparameter or state change is presented via an investigation of system equations transformed to a parameter based representation. General matrix modification formulas, applicable to analog and digital systems, are developed for both small and large change response sensitivities. Numerous previous response change results are examined and shown to be encompassed by the general approach taken here. Detailed analysis of numerical algorithms clearly demonstrates their relative cost efficiency for a large variety of applications. Exact efficiency crossover points are identified for both recursive and nonrecursive algorithms. Applications utilizing the parameter-based response change formulation are developed in several areas. They include pole assignment, feedback compensation, system augmentation and linkage, switched capacitor network analysis, nonlinear circuit analysis, and effective medium response of random variable systems.
The Collective Bargaining Authorisation Provision for SMEs in the Australian Competition Law - Serving or Distorting a Public Benefit?

This article examines the collective bargaining provisions for SMEs in competition law in Australia. It concludes that SMEs’ use of the collective bargaining notification process has been relatively small and does not have any impact over the competition regulation in the market. While this provision helps SMEs supply reasonably homogenous products or services, it is otherwise limited in its application.
Muscle mass and insulin sensitivity in postmenopausal women after 6-month exercise training

ABSTRACT Objective The common belief that high muscle mass improves insulin sensitivity is controversial and even recent studies have established that larger muscle mass is associated with insulin resistance in sedentary postmenopausal women. Physical activity induces a beneficial effect in muscle size and its metabolic properties. Hence, larger muscle mass induced by exercise training should ameliorate insulin sensitivity and the negative relationship between larger muscle mass and insulin sensitivity should disappear. This study examined the induced changes in muscle mass and insulin sensitivity in postmenopausal women after 6-month exercise training along with their possible correlations. Methods Forty-eight sedentary, overweight-to-obese postmenopausal women followed a 6-month mixed exercise training (three sessions/week; endurance and resistance). Lean body mass (LBM) and fat mass (FM) were measured by DXA, then the muscle mass index (MMI) was calculated (MMI = LBM (kg)/height (m2)). Fasting glucose and insulin measurements were obtained and insulin resistance (IR) was estimated by the HOMA-IR formula. Results Baseline MMI was correlated with IR (r = 0.219, p = 0.015). After intervention, significant differences were observed in body weight, FM%, MMI, and glycemia, and changes in MMI were significantly correlated with changes in IR (r = 0.345, p = 0.016). Also linear regression showed that the increase in MMI explained 28% of the deterioration in insulin sensitivity (p = 0.001). Conclusions After 6 months of mixed training, changes in muscle mass remained correlated with changes in insulin resistance, overweight-to-obese women with large muscle gains being more insulin-resistant. This supports that muscle quality and functionality, and the loss of fat mass, should be targeted rather than muscle mass gains in postmenopausal women, especially in a context of no energy restriction.
Mitochondrial deafness

Non‐syndromic deafness can be caused by mutations in both nuclear and mitochondrial genes. More than 50 nuclear genes have been shown to be involved in non‐syndromic hearing loss, but mutations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) might also cause hearing impairment. As mitochondria are responsible for oxidative phosphorylation, the primary energy‐producing system in all eukaryotic cells, mitochondrial dysfunction has pleiotropic effects. Many mutations in mtDNA can lead to multisystem disorders, such as Kearns–Sayre syndrome, NARP, MELAS, or MERRF syndromes, the presentation of which may include hearing loss. A more specific association of mitochondrially inherited deafness and diabetes known as MIDD syndrome can be caused by a limited number of specific mitochondrial mutations. In addition, several rare mutations in the mitochondrial MTTS1 and MTRNR1 genes have been found to be responsible for non‐syndromic hearing loss. The most frequent form of non‐syndromic deafness is presbyacusis, affecting more than 50% of the elderly. This age‐related hearing loss is a paradigm for multifactorial inheritance, involving a multitude of inherited and acquired mutations in the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes, each with a low penetrance, in complex interplay with environmental factors, such as ototoxic medication, that accumulate with age. This study reviews the different mitochondrial mutations, leading to syndromic and especially non‐syndromic deafness.
Iodide- and glucose-handling gene expression regulated by sorafenib or cabozantinib in papillary thyroid cancer.

CONTEXT The aberrant silencing of iodide-handling genes accompanied by up-regulation of glucose metabolism presents a major challenge for radioiodine treatment of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). OBJECTIVE This study aimed to evaluate the effect of tyrosine kinase inhibitors on iodide-handling and glucose-handling gene expression in BHP 2-7 cells harboring RET/PTC1 rearrangement. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES In this in vitro study, the effects of sorafenib or cabozantinib on cell growth, cycles, and apoptosis were investigated by cell proliferation assay, cell cycle analysis, and Annexin V-FITC apoptosis assay, respectively. The effect of both agents on signal transduction pathways was evaluated using the Western blot. Quantitative real-time PCR, Western blot, immunofluorescence, and radioisotope uptake assays were used to assess iodide-handling and glucose-handling gene expression. RESULTS Both compounds inhibited cell proliferation in a time-dependent and dose-dependent manner and caused cell cycle arrest in the G0/G1 phase. Sorafenib blocked RET, AKT, and ERK1/2 phosphorylation, whereas cabozantinib blocked RET and AKT phosphorylation. The restoration of iodide-handling gene expression and inhibition of glucose transporter 1 and 3 expression could be induced by either drug. The robust expression of sodium/iodide symporter induced by either agent was confirmed, and (125)I uptake was correspondingly enhanced. (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose accumulation was significantly decreased after treatment by either sorafenib or cabozantinib. CONCLUSIONS Sorafenib and cabozantinib had marked effects on cell proliferation, cell cycle arrest, and signal transduction pathways in PTC cells harboring RET/PTC1 rearrangement. Both agents could be potentially used to enhance the expression of iodide-handling genes and inhibit the expression of glucose transporter genes.
Diversidad genética en Sierra de La Laguna, Baja California Sur, México

"En el presente escrito se compilan los estudios geneticos sobre diferentes especies de la Reserva de la Biosfera de la Sierra de La Laguna. Se describen los diferentes estudios, desde los primeros realizados en la decada de los 80 en base a cromosomas hasta los recientes, en base a genes especificos. Se analizan las teorias evolutivas planteadas para diferentes taxa de la peninsula de Baja California, que pueden explicar el origen de la conformacion de la fauna del singular ecosistema de la Sierra de La Laguna. Se abordan los cambios taxonomicos que han tenido sus especies en base a los analisis filogeneticos. Los grupos mejor estudiados en aspectos geneticos son los mamiferos y reptiles. Se ha observado que el proceso de especiacion ha sido mas marcado para las especies pequenas no voladoras. Se analiza la importancia de la genetica de la conservacion para la Reserva. "
DESIGUALDADE DE OPORTUNIDADES NA FORMAÇÃO DE HABILIDADES: UMA ANÁLISE COM DADOS LONGITUDINAIS

The aim of this paper is to analyze the evolution of education inequality and the inequality of opportunities over the first four years of elementar school in Brazil from 2005 to 2008. Using proficiency performance information of pupils in mathematics and language (Portuguese) from GERES database. The main results show an increase in educational inequality in mathematics and stable behavior in Portuguese over the years under review. With regard to inequality of opportunity, the percentages are 8% for math and 11% for Portuguese. The Portuguese inequality presents a higher increase in these percentages (109%) than the math inequality (80%) over the four years. The feature that most influences the inequality in proficiency performance is the socioeconomic status of the children family.
Wildlife disease reservoirs: the epidemiology of Mycobacterium bovis infection in the European badger (Meles meles) and other British mammals.

Mycobacterium bovis infection has been confirmed in a wide range of mammals hosts throughout the world. The European badger (Meles meles) and the brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) are implicated as significant sources of infection for domestic cattle in the UK and New Zealand respectively. The risk of transmission of infection between a wildlife population and domestic animals will be determined by both the epidemiology of the disease and the ecology of the host. In the UK, surveys by the UK Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) have identified M. bovis infection in deer (Cervus sp., Capreolus sp., Dama sp.), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), mink (Mustela vison), feral ferret (Mustela furo), mole (Talpa europaea), brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) and feral cat (Felis catus). However, the potential contribution to cattle herd breakdowns, of reservoirs of M. bovis infection in mammals other than the badger is poorly understood and is the subject of current research. In contrast, M. bovis infection in the badger has been the subject of a long term ecological and epidemiological study at Woodchester Park in South-West England, where the prevalence and distribution of infection in a wild population has been intensively monitored. The pattern of infection in the population and potential risks to cattle, are profoundly influenced by badger social organization and behaviour. The pattern of land use and cattle farming practices in the UK brings badgers into close contact with domestic animals and provides conditions that may enhance the likelihood of disease transfer.
Measles, mumps, and rubella antibodies in vaccinated Baltimore children.

OBJECTIVE To determine quantitative measles, mumps, and rubella serum antibody levels as a function of time since vaccination in a sample of vaccinated Baltimore children. DESIGN Cross-sectional serologic survey. SETTING Pediatric outpatient departments at the University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore. PARTICIPANTS One hundred seventy children, ranging in age from 1.5 through 16 years, who had measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination between ages 12 and 18 months. RESULTS Serum antibody levels to measles and rubella declined with increasing time since vaccination. However, no such decline in antibody levels to mumps was observed. Children who were vaccinated between ages 12 and 14 months did not have lower antibody levels than children who were vaccinated at age 15 months or older. CONCLUSIONS In areas free from natural disease, antibody levels resultant from measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine are likely to decline with advancing age. Revaccination with measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine may boost falling antibody titers.
Tuberculosis: a rare cause of foot and ankle pain

Skeletal tuberculosis is an uncommon infectious disease that occurs in 1-3 % of all tuberculosis cases. Apart from spine it can emerge in weight bearing joints. Tubercular involvement of the ankle is the most uncommon and infrequent amongst those of all joints. If imaging techniques and laboratory results are not sufficient while setting a precise diagnosis, this rare problem should be always taken into consideration just like other infections of the musculoskeletal system. In this paper we present a case of 83-year-old female patient who underwent conservative treatment for ankle tuberculosis.
The emergence of public-private partnerships in the global education agenda: New challenges for educational research

Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) - i.e. policies that involve collaboration between the public and the private sector when it comes to the provision of public services - have acquired iconic status in global education agendas. As a consequence, currently, PPPs are highly present in the discussions on education reform in both industrialized and developing countries, and higher levels of private participation, school choice and schools’ competition are being promoted within educational systems. This article explores the origins of the PPPs in education idea and, specifically, what international organizations and through which mechanisms are promoting its global implementation. The article also highlights the weaknesses of the arguments and methodologies which underpin the policy prescriptions of the PPPs advocates and, in turn, raises an alternative research agenda based on the so-called 'realist evaluation' approach.
Localized public-key management for mobile ad hoc networks

A mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is the cooperative engagement of a collection of wireless mobile nodes without aid of any established infrastructure or centralized administration. The conventional security solutions to provide key management through accessing trusted authorities or centralized servers are infeasible for this new environment since mobile ad hoc networks are characterized by the absence of any infrastructure, frequent mobility, and wireless links. In this paper, we propose an on-demand, fully localized, and hop-by-hop public key management scheme for MANETs. It can be performed by generating public/private key pairs by nodes themselves, issuing certificates to neighboring nodes, holding these certificates in their certificate repositories, and providing an authentication service quickly adaptive to the dynamic topology of the network without relying on any servers. Also, our scheme can be performed successfully as long as there is a physical communication line between two nodes, and it is accustomed well to the on-demand routing of MANETs.