Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Milestones in movement disorders clinical trials: Advances and landmark studies

Over the past 25 years clinical trials testing in movement disorders has evolved in order to more effectively and efficiently analyze the safety and efficacy of new interventions. Studies today regularly incorporate methods to decrease placebo and bias effects and to ensure more rigorous statistical analyses. Newer, standardized, and validated rating scales such as the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale and the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale are routinely employed in an effort to produce results that are comparable across different sites and studies. Several landmark studies in movement disorder research highlight these and other prominent procedural advances. The Deprenyl and Tocopherol Antioxidative Therapy of Parkinsonism trial pioneered the use of functional clinical end points, utilized a 2 × 2 factorial design to more efficiently analyze multiple interventions, and employed a washout design to assist in sorting putative neuroprotective from symptomatic effects. PRECEPT included neuroimaging as an outcome measure and highlighted the importance of futility studies in more efficiently directing resources. TEMPO and ADAGIO introduced the use of delayed‐start (or 2‐period) trials to try to identify disease‐modifying interventions. NET‐PD used futility studies to streamline the evaluation of potentially valuable treatments, followed by a large, long‐term simple study design to assess the clinical significance of a new intervention. There have also been advances in clinical trials testing new surgical interventions, with the introduction of blinded outcome assessments and sham‐surgery control groups. Collectively, methodological advances in clinical trials have permitted the safety and efficacy of new interventions to be tested more efficiently and economically and with a higher level of certainty that the potential benefits and adverse effects of interventions recommended for general use are well understood. © 2011 Movement Disorder Society
Women Empowerment through Transformational Leadership: Case of Satya Jyoti

This case was undertaken to explore how the efforts of a woman who was seeking an alternative lifestyle embedded in the sustainable living resulted in the empowerment of a group of destitute women. This model could perhaps be adopted by other persons and groups as well to bring about the transformation in the society thereby resulting into a social and economic development. The case describes the power of transformational leaders and looks at what leaders can do and achieve for the community, with their limited resources.
Economic inequality, democratization and civil conflict : Measuring the long-run effects

The democratization literature has suggested the possibility of a dynamic interplay between democratization and civil conflict (see Boix 2003; Acemoglu and Robinson 2006). In this thesis I argue that regime changes and civil conflict in many instances are so closely associated, that they should be studied in conjunction. I develop an analytical framework where economic inequality is seen as an important determinant for the speed and ease of democratization, and for the amount of civil conflict observed during its course. High inequality is hypothesized to both cause regime instability and violence. Using a cross-sectional time-series dataset consisting of 164 countries observed between 1960–2010, I estimate a multinomial logit model of changes to countries’ regime type and conflict level. Further, I use this model to simulate the long-run development of political regimes and civil conflict over a time-span of 40 years, taking the level of economic inequality into account. I extend a simulation routine developed in Hegre et al. (forthcoming), where civil conflict and the political systems in the world are endogenous, and evolve in accordance with the estimates of the multinomial logit model. The explanatory variables are assumed exogenous and kept at a constant level. Doing this, I am able to measure the overall effects of inequality on democratization and on conflict incidence, by capturing the reciprocal causality between the two events, as well as the impact from previous regime and conflict history. The analysis provides support for the hypothesis that high economic inequality increases the amount of conflict in the long run, as well as the proportion of years with partially democratic institutions. High inequality seems to make complete democratization more difficult to achieve.
Site and Gender Specificity of Inheritance of Bone Mineral Density

Differences in genetic control of BMD by skeletal sites and genders were examined by complex segregation analysis in 816 members of 147 families with probands with extreme low BMD. Spine BMD correlated more strongly in male‐male comparisons and hip BMD in female‐female comparisons, consistent with gender‐ and site‐specificity of BMD heritability.
The Demand for Extra Virgin Olive Oil in Southern Italy -- What are the Best Strategies: Leadership Brand, Private Label or Small Producers?

The extra-virgin olive oil, in the rural economy of our country is becoming an ever more important. The increasing price volatility due to the opening of markets and thus the competitive relationship with other producing countries, the increase in consumption of quality products, together with the needs of consumers in terms of quality and guarantees, are directing the companies to make choices Structural important in order to maintain or improve their competitive position. This work occurs through an econometric analysis what are the potential and weaknesses of the different categories of competitors in the market.
Effect of the RSPCA Freedom Food scheme on the welfare of dairy cattle

To evaluate the effect of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Freedom Food (FF) scheme on the welfare of dairy cattle in England, 28 FF and 25 non-FF farms were assessed during the winter of 2000 to 2001. The assessments were based on a protocol which included the examination of the farms' records, the farmers' estimates of the incidence of disease, and independent observations of the behaviour and physical condition of the cows. The data were analysed to identify which measures of welfare were affected by FF membership and to assess the number of farms on which intervention would be required, as defined by a panel of 50 experts. The FF farms had better results for 12 of the welfare indicators, including those for mastitis, non-hock injuries, cow cleanliness and body condition, and poorer welfare indicators for eight of the measures, including hock injuries, lameness and restrictions in rising behaviour. Except for the prevalence of dull coats (which was lower on the FF farms) there were no significant differences in the proportions of FF and non-FF farms on which intervention was required according to the experts' assessment.
Modelling and analysis of a typical short-term event induced evolution social network

In this paper, a typical short-term event induced evolution social network is proposed via real relationship evolution process data selecting. Discussions on two aspects of related data set are carried out via both visualization method and numerical quantity analysis method. From the discussion of both cases, some basic characteristics of such a short term event induced social network are proposed. It is founded that, for a short term event induced evolution social network, the scheme network choosing (the initial state of the mini-social network, or bases of the evolution relationship network) and critical member assigning affect the final social structure mostly. Also, the event induced evolution social network will certainly become stable after a very short term during the evolution process of the source event in both cases. In other words, the numerical investigation reveals that the afore-designing of the event organizer plays the most important influence on the final structure of this mini-social evolution network. It is also found that, under both possible initial states of the mini-social network, the network states evolution to similar final states and both of them behave sensitively to the modularity parameter (Communities parameter).
Notch Signaling – Constantly on the Move

The Notch pathway is a highly conserved and ubiquitous signaling system that functions in determining a diverse array of cell fates and regulates many cellular processes during embryonic development and throughout adulthood. Links to cancer, stroke and Alzheimer's disease underscore the need to define the molecular basis of Notch activation. Notch signaling is induced through direct cell–cell interactions that promote receptor activation following engagement with a membrane‐bound Delta, Serrate, Lag‐2 (DSL) ligand on adjacent cells. Cells take on distinct fates because Notch signaling is consistently activated in only one of the two interacting cells, highlighting the importance of establishing and maintaining signaling polarity. Studies in flies and worms have identified positive and negative transcriptional feedback mechanisms that amplify small differences in Notch and DSL ligand expression to bias which cells send or receive signals. However, endocytosis by signal‐sending and signal‐receiving cells also appears critical for directing and regulating Notch activation. In particular, endocytosis and membrane trafficking of DSL ligands, Notch and modulators can determine the competence of cells to send or receive signals that ensure reproducibility in generating cell types regulated by Notch signaling.
Adaptive Slice Representation for Human Action Classification

Common action recognition methods describe an action sequence along with its time axis, i.e., first extracting features from the x y plane, and then modeling the dynamic changes along with the time axis. Other than the ordinary x y plane-based representation, other views, e.g., xt slice-based representation, may be more efficient to distinguish different actions. In this paper, we investigate different slicing views of the spatiotemporal volume to organize action sequences and propose an efficient slice representation for human action recognition. First, a minimum average entropy principle is proposed to select the optimal slicing angle for each action sequence adaptively. This allows the foreground pixels to be distributed in the fewest slices so as to reduce more uncertainty caused by the information dispersed in different slices. Then, the obtained slice sequence is transformed into a pair of 1-D signals to describe the distribution of foreground pixels along the time axis. Finally, the mel frequency cepstrum coefficient features are calculated to describe the spectrum characteristics of the 1-D signals over time. Thus, a 3-D spatiotemporal action volume is efficiently transformed into a low-dimensional spectrum features. Extensive experiments on the 2-D human action data sets (the UIUC and the WEIZMANN) as well as the Microsoft Research (MSR) Action3-D depth data set demonstrate the effectiveness of the slice-based representation, where the recognition performance can reach to the state-of-the-art level with high efficiency.
Very slowly animating textiles: shimmering flower

Materials for display such as light emitting diodes (LEDs), electroluminescent (EL) material or woven optical fibers coupled with high brightness LEDs offer potential for wearable displays or animated fashion. Non-emissive materials that simply change color – such as electronic ink (E-INK) and various photochromic or thermochromic pigments – are more interesting. Textiles with emissive displays are visually appropriate for evening and youth wear, whereas non-emissive textile displays remain closer to the tradition of weaving and textile printing.
A forward genetic screen identifies erythrocyte CD55 as essential for Plasmodium falciparum invasion

A way to dissect malaria's secrets Malaria has exerted a strong selective force on the human genome. However, efforts to identify host susceptibility factors have been hindered by the absence of a nucleus in red blood cells. Egan et al. developed an approach involving blood stem cells to discover host factors critical for Plasmodium falciparum infection of red blood cells. The authors identified an essential host receptor for parasite invasion that could provide a target for malaria therapeutics. Science, this issue p. 711 A screening approach reveals host factors critical for human malaria parasite invasion of red blood cells. Efforts to identify host determinants for malaria have been hindered by the absence of a nucleus in erythrocytes, which precludes genetic manipulation in the cell in which the parasite replicates. We used cultured red blood cells derived from hematopoietic stem cells to carry out a forward genetic screen for Plasmodium falciparum host determinants. We found that CD55 is an essential host factor for P. falciparum invasion. CD55-null erythrocytes were refractory to invasion by all isolates of P. falciparum because parasites failed to attach properly to the erythrocyte surface. Thus, CD55 is an attractive target for the development of malaria therapeutics. Hematopoietic stem cell–based forward genetic screens may be valuable for the identification of additional host determinants of malaria pathogenesis.
Ethnic disparities in diabetic complications in an insured population.

CONTEXT Higher rates of microvascular complications have been reported for minorities. Disparate access to quality health care is a common explanation for ethnic disparities in diabetic complication rates in the US population. Examining an ethnically diverse population with uniform health care coverage may be useful. OBJECTIVE To assess ethnic disparities in the incidence of diabetic complications within a nonprofit prepaid health care organization. DESIGN AND SETTING Longitudinal observational study conducted January 1, 1995, through December 31, 1998, at Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in northern California. PARTICIPANTS A total of 62 432 diabetic patients, including Asians (12%), blacks (14%), Latinos (10%), and whites (64%). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Incident myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, congestive heart failure (CHF), and nontraumatic lower extremity amputation (LEA), defined by primary hospitalization discharge diagnosis, procedures, or underlying cause of death; and end-stage renal disease (ESRD), defined as renal insufficiency requiring renal replacement therapy or transplantation for survival or by underlying cause of death. RESULTS Patterns of ethnic differences were not consistent across complications and frequently persisted despite adjustment for a wide range of demographic, socioeconomic, behavioral, and clinical factors. Adjusted hazard ratios (relative to that of whites) were 0.56, 0.68, and 0.68 for blacks, Asians, and Latinos, respectively (P<.001), for MI; 0.76 and 0.72 for Asians and Latinos, respectively (P<.01), for stroke; 0.70 and 0.61 for Asians and Latinos, respectively (P<.01), for CHF; 0.40 for Asians (P<.001) for LEA; and 2.03, 1.85, and 1.46 for blacks, Asians, and Latinos, respectively (P<.01), for ESRD. There were no statistically significant black-white differences for stroke, CHF, or LEA and no Latino-white differences for LEA. CONCLUSIONS This study confirms previous reports of elevated incidence of ESRD among ethnic minorities, despite uniform medical care coverage, and provides new evidence that rates of other complications are similar or lower relative to those of whites. The persistence of ethnic disparities after adjustment suggests a possible genetic origin, the contribution of unmeasured environmental factors, or a combination of these factors.
Birth preparedness and complication readiness among pregnant and recently delivered women in villages of a block of Ganjam, Odisha, India: a community based cross-sectional study

Background: Globally approximately 830 women die from pregnancy and child birth every day. Most of deaths can be prevented by proper planning like birth preparedness and complication readiness (BPCR). The aim of study was to assess awareness and practice regarding BPCR among pregnant women and recently delivered women and to identify socio-demographic factors affecting it.Methods: A community based cross sectional study was conducted from September to December 2018 in villages of Chhatrapur block of Ganjam District among pregnant women (completed 24 weeks) and recently delivered women (12 months) regardless of newborn outcome. Sample size was calculated to be 96. Multi stage random sampling was adopted and PPS (Probability proportional to size) method was used. A questionnaire was used which contained socio-demographic information and set of 11 indicators to determine BPCR index. All data were analysed in SPSS.Results: BPCR index was 44.6% and it was higher (61%) in recently delivered women. 26% can be said to be well prepared and 45.8%, 27%, 32.3%, 37.5% knew at least one key danger sign in pregnancy, delivery, post partum and about new born respectively. A significant association was found between maternal education, age and pregnancy with awareness regarding BPCR.Conclusions: BPCR index in study area was low and a low proportion of participants were well prepared. Awareness about danger signs was quite low. So health workers at grassroots level should be encouraged to explain BPCR components to women and educational activities should be carried out to promote women to make plan a priori.
Long-term oncologic outcomes of hand-assisted laparoscopic radical nephrectomy for clinically localized renal cell carcinoma: a multi-institutional comparative study.

BACKGROUND We aimed to assess the long-term oncologic outcome of hand-assisted laparoscopic radical nephrectomy (HLRN) compared with open radical nephrectomy (ORN) in patients with clinically localized renal cell carcinoma (RCC). PATIENTS AND METHODS We retrospectively reviewed the data from 1098 patients who underwent radical nephrectomy at five institutions in Korea between 2000 and 2011 for clinically localized RCC. One hundred ninety-seven patients in the HLRN group were compared with 901 patients in the ORN group. Univariate and multivariate analysis assessed the effects of operative method on oncologic outcomes. RESULTS The median duration of follow-up was 69 months for the HLRN group and 63 months for the ORN group. No statistically significant difference was found in the operative time (170.2 minutes versus 168.9 minutes, P=.793) between the HLRN and ORN groups. However, estimated blood loss was significantly lower in the HLRN group than in the ORN group (245.9 mL versus 422.4 mL, P<.001). The pathological T stage was significantly higher in patients in the ORN group: 79.9% of patients in the HLRN group derived from pT1, versus 54.7% of those in the ORN group (P<.001). A statistically significant difference was found in the 5-year disease-free (90.6% versus 79.6%, P<.001), cancer-specific (95.7% versus 91.1%, P=.019), and overall (93.4% versus 85.4%, P<.001) survival between the HLRN and ORN groups. However, multivariate analysis by Cox's proportional hazards model does not retain surgical methods as an independent predictive factor for cancer-related death or recurrence. CONCLUSIONS HLRN may be a preferable minimally invasive surgical treatment for clinically localized RCC with comparable long-term oncologic outcomes.
Silencing and Innate Immunity in Plant Defense Against Viral and Non-Viral Pathogens

The frontline of plant defense against non-viral pathogens such as bacteria, fungi and oomycetes is provided by transmembrane pattern recognition receptors that detect conserved pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), leading to pattern-triggered immunity (PTI). To counteract this innate defense, pathogens deploy effector proteins with a primary function to suppress PTI. In specific cases, plants have evolved intracellular resistance (R) proteins detecting isolate-specific pathogen effectors, leading to effector-triggered immunity (ETI), an amplified version of PTI, often associated with hypersensitive response (HR) and programmed cell death (PCD). In the case of plant viruses, no conserved PAMP was identified so far and the primary plant defense is thought to be based mainly on RNA silencing, an evolutionary conserved, sequence-specific mechanism that regulates gene expression and chromatin states and represses invasive nucleic acids such as transposons. Endogenous silencing pathways generate 21-24 nt small (s)RNAs, miRNAs and short interfering (si)RNAs, that repress genes post-transcriptionally and/or transcriptionally. Four distinct Dicer-like (DCL) proteins, which normally produce endogenous miRNAs and siRNAs, all contribute to the biogenesis of viral siRNAs in infected plants. Growing evidence indicates that RNA silencing also contributes to plant defense against non-viral pathogens. Conversely, PTI-based innate responses may contribute to antiviral defense. Intracellular R proteins of the same NB-LRR family are able to recognize both non-viral effectors and avirulence (Avr) proteins of RNA viruses, and, as a result, trigger HR and PCD in virus-resistant hosts. In some cases, viral Avr proteins also function as silencing suppressors. We hypothesize that RNA silencing and innate immunity (PTI and ETI) function in concert to fight plant viruses. Viruses counteract this dual defense by effectors that suppress both PTI-/ETI-based innate responses and RNA silencing to establish successful infection.
Immune dysregulation and autoimmunity in bipolar disorder: Synthesis of the evidence and its clinical application

Objective: Increasing evidence suggests that inflammation and immune dysregulation play an important role in the pathogenesis of bipolar disorder. Because the brain can be affected by various autoimmune processes, it is possible that some psychiatric disorders may have an autoimmune basis. Method: This article reviews the literature on peripheral and central immune dysregulation and autoimmunity in bipolar disorder. The mechanisms of the innate and adaptive immune systems in the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder are explored. The clinical features and pathogenesis of neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus, anti-NMDA encephalitis, and Hashimoto’s encephalopathy are summarized. Results: Neuroinflammation and peripheral immune dysregulation may play a role in the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder. This involves a complex interaction between immune cells of the central nervous system and periphery resulting in cellular damage through mechanisms involving excitotoxicity, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus, anti-NMDA encephalitis, and Hashimoto’s encephalopathy are important differentials for a psychiatrist to consider when suspecting autoimmune encephalopathy. Conclusions: The link between immune dysregulation, autoimmunity, and bipolar disorder may be closer than previously thought. Psychiatrists should be vigilant for autoimmunity in presentations of bipolar disorder due to its high morbidity and therapeutic implications. Advances in neuroimaging and biomarker identification related to immune dysregulation and neuroinflammation will contribute to our knowledge of the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder.
A Closer Look at Stochastic Dominance and Risk in Financial Economics

We take a closer look at two basic ingredients in investment and actuarial sciences, namely utility and risk. We establish rigorous approximations of utility functions in order to provide general foundations for stochastic dominance rules. We systematically use Choquet integral properties to derive various desirable properties of risk measures as well as to discuss consistency of coherent risk measures with respect to stochastic dominance rules. Statistical aspects of risk estimation will be also addressed.