Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Theory of Health Disparities and Medical Technology

Abstract Better-educated people are healthier, although the sources of this relationship remain unclear. Starting with basic principles of consumer theory, we develop a model of how health disparities are determined that does not depend on the precise causal mechanism. Improvements in the productivity of health care disproportionately benefit the heaviest health care users. Since richer patients tend to use the most health care, this suggests that new technologies—by making more diseases treatable, reducing the price of health care, or improving health care productivity—could widen socioeconomic disparities in health. An exception to this rule, however, is a simplifying technology, which can contract health disparities, since richer patients are more likely to invest effort in adhering to complex treatment regimens. We present a few empirical case studies to help illustrate the theoretical results. First, we show that a complicated treatment regimen (antiretroviral therapy for HIV) benefited well-educated patients disproportionately. In contrast, simplifying drugs for hypertension coincided with a contraction in cardiovascular disparities not seen in other diseases. Finally, nationally representative data suggest that there are wider disparities by education among the chronically ill populations—precisely the population one would expect to be the heaviest health care users.
Relative Permeability Measurements and Comparison to Field Data

Laboratory experiments were made where two phase mixture of flashed geothermal brine was injected into a tube filled with porous material. Direct measurements of pressure gradient and mass flow were made and used for calculating the relative permeabilities of the two phases. The results were compared with relative permeabilities calculated from field data using the Shinohara method. The resulting relative permeabilities comply with known relative permeability curves to some extent, where the intrinsic permeability of the porous media accounts for the greatest error factor in the measurements.
Impact of Global Financial Crisis on Stock Market Volatility: Evidence from India

This paper studies the global financial crisis and the effect of the crisis on stock market volatility by employing the GJR GARCH model. Daily closing price of indices in the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Mumbai Stock Exchange (BSE) from March 1st, 2005 to December 30th 2012 were considered for the analysis. The study covers two periods: pre-crisis (from March 01, 2005 to January, 30 2008) and post-crisis (from February 01, 2008 to December 30, 2012). To demonstrate the influence of crisis on stock returns volatility, a dummy variable was introduced in the GJR GARCH model. It is found that the volatility of mean returns had increased during the post crisis period as compared to the pre-crisis period. The findings also suggest that the recent financial crisis had an adverse impact on mean returns and the volatility in the Indian stock market.
A photometric pilot study on Sonneberg archival patrol plates How many "constant" stars are in fact long-term variables?

The light curves of 216 arbitrarly chosen field stars and of 23 known variables in the Aur/Tau/Ori region were derived (7. m 8 ≤ B ≤ 12. m 2) from scanned, blue-sensitive archival patrol plates, covering a total of 34 years (1961−1995). We achieved a photometric accuracy of 0.07 . 0.12 mag in spite of rather unfavourable locations of most stars near the plate borders. 17 field stars turned out to be variables, most of them with time scales of 1000−8000 days in the form of slow waves with amplitudes between 0.1 and 0.3 mag, i.e. below the threshold of traditional variable searches on photographic plates. About 50% of these new long-term variables exhibit drifts indicating periodic or erratic variability at much longer time scales than covered here. For the 23 known variables we achieved improvements in their periods and amplitudes and detected long- term variations (drifts, waves) in about 50% of them. The above fraction of low-amplitude long-term variables among field stars implies that a total of about 45 000 new variables should be detectable in the Sonneberg patrol plate archive. They will represent a new, hitherto not investigated population of variable stars with a possibly significant impact on our understanding of the stellar interior and evolution.
Management of seedling rot of chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) using Trichoderma spp. and fluorescent pseudomonads (Pseudomonas fluorescens).

Isolates of Trichoderma ( T. harzianum TR20 and T. pseudokoningii TR17) and fluorescent pseudomonads ( Pseudomonas fluorescens P28 and P51) were evaluated (alone and in combination) under greenhouse and field conditions for efficacy in suppressing rhizoctonia root rot incidence and promoting plant growth in chilli. The combination, T. harzianum (TR20) + P. fluorescens (P28), was most effective in reducing disease incidence (66.7% more efficient than the control), but was at par with copper oxychloride (0.3%). Highest per plant yield also was recorded in the treatment combination TR20 + P28, followed by T. pseudokoningii (TR17) + P. fluorescens (P51). T. pseudokoningii (TR17) and T. harzianum (TR20) when applied alone also significantly increased the yield per plant and was superior to both the pseudomonads applied individually.
Effect of acute detraining following two types of resistance training on strength performance and body composition in trained athletes

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of short-term detraining after two different protocols of resistance training on maximal strength and body composition in trained men. Participants were 30 male student athletes who were divided into two experimental groups. Group (I) performed resistance training with a low intensity and high volume (LIHV) and group (II) low volume and high intensity (HILV) for six weeks and then experienced 2 weeks detraining. Subjects were evaluated three phases in pretest, posttest, and end of the detraining period. Results demonstrated that after six weeks of resistance training enhanced significantly maximal strength while Body Mass Index (BMI) and percent of body significantly decreased in both groups. However, after two weeks of detraining, maximal strength significantly decreased in all of movements but BMI and percent of body significantly increased in both groups. Nevertheless, maximal strength in all of movements remained significantly higher than pre-exercise levels in both groups. BMI had no meaningful differences with pre-exercise values in both groups, and percent of body fat remained significantly lower than pre-exercise values, only in group (I). However significant differences were not seen between two groups after training and detraining periods but based on data it could be suggested that detraining related strength losses develop less followed HILV protocol
Promptness and Academic Performance

This article uses university administration data to investigate the relation between student behavior (rapid response in finalizing enrolment procedures) and academic performance. It shows how student promptness in enrolling, or lack of it, can prove a useful forecast of academic success. Several explanations can be given, including simply the greater or lesser tendency to procrastinate.
Combined Similarity to Reference Image with Joint Sparsifying Transform for Longitudinal Compressive Sensing MRI

It is challenging to save acquisition time and reconstruct a medical magnetic resonance (MR) image with important details and features from its compressive measurements. In this paper, a novel method is proposed for longitudinal compressive sensing (LCS) MR imaging (MRI), where the similarity between reference and acquired image is combined with joint sparsifying transform. Furthermore, the joint sparsifying transform with the wavelet and the Contourlet can efficiently represent both isotropic and anisotropic features and the objective function is solved by extended smooth-based monotone version of the fast iterative shrinkage thresholding algorithm (SFISTA). The experiment results demonstrate that the existing regularization model obtains better performance with less acquisition time and recovers both edges and fine details of MR images, much better than the existing regularization model based on the similarity and the wavelet transform for LCS-MRI.
Intergraded Applied Methodology for the Treatment of Heavy Polluted Waste Waters from Olive Oil Industries

The annual olive oil production in Cyprus is in the range of 2700–3100 t y−1, resulting in the generation of significant amount of waste. The cocomposting of the olive oil solid residue (OOSR) and the treated wastewaters (with Fenton) from the olive oil production process with the application of reed beds has been studied as an integrated method for the treatment of wastewater containing high organic and toxic pollutants under warm climate conditions. The experimental results indicated that the olive mill wastewater (OMW) is detoxified at the end of the Fenton process. Specifically, COD is reduced up to 65% (minimum 54.32%) by the application of Fenton and another 10–28% by the application of red beds as a third stage. The final cocomposted material of OOSR with the treated olive mile wastewater (TOMW) presents optimum characteristics and is suitable for agricultural purpose.
Supplementing Maize or Soybean Hulls to Cattle Fed Rice Straw: Intake, Apparent Digestion, In situ Disappearance and Ruminal Dynamics

Steers with ad libitum access to rice straw were assigned to four diets to evaluate the effects of maize or soybean hull supplementation on intake, in vivo digestibility, ruminal pH, VFA, ammonia-nitrogen (NH 3 -N) and in situ ruminal disappearance of feed nutrients by cattle consuming rice straw. Supplement treatments were: no supplement (RS); soybean meal at 0.127% BW (SBM); cracked maize at 0.415% BW plus 0.044% BW soybean meal (MAIZE); or soybean hulls at 0.415% BW plus 0.044% BW soybean meal (HULLS). The MAIZE and HULLS diets were formulated to provide approximately 4 MJ of NE m per kg of diet. Rice straw DMI was not affected (p = 0.34) by supplement. Apparent dry matter (DM) digestibility was greater (p<0.001) for MAIZE and HULLS (56.6 and 60.0%, respectively) than for steers consuming SBM or RS (51.8 and 44.4%, respectively). Apparent NDF digestibility was greater (p<0.0004) for HULLS than MAIZE (61.7 vs. 58.0%, respectively) and apparent ADF digestibility was greater (p<0.0008) for HULLS than MAIZE (61.1 vs. 49.2%, respectively). There was no difference in apparent hemicellulose digestibility (p = 0.43). Analysis of ruminal fluid collected 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 h post-feeding revealed ammonia-nitrogen was greatest (p<0.05) for steers on SBM and HULLS diets at 2 h (24.08 and 22.57 mg/dl, respectively) and total volatile fatty acids was greatest (p<0.05) for HULLS at 4 h (230 mM/L). In situ disappearance, measured at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16 and 24 h, indicated that SBM, MAIZE and HULLS tended to enhance the digestibility of DM and fiber components of rice straw. In situ disappearance of rice straw DM was greatest for SBM and/or HULLS from 4 to 24 h (p = 0.03). Rice straw NDF and ADF disappearance was enhanced by supplementation from 16 to 24 h (p<0.02). Rice straw DM, NDF and ADF disappearances at 24 h were similar for MAIZE and HULLS treatments. When feeding cattle rice straw diets, energy and protein-based supplements are essential. This study showed that fiber-based supplements are just as, if not more, effective as starch-based supplements in rice straw utilization. This study shows that soybean hulls, in spite of their high fiber content, are as efficient as maize for supplementing rice straw primarily because fiber in soybean hulls is highly digestible as shown by in vivo digestibility and in situ disappearance.
Dynamical systems of class C: searching for the most robust practical implementation of the chaotic oscillator

This contribution is about a design of universal chaotic oscillator based on the integrator synthesis, which represents a class of dynamical systems with piecewise linear vector fields. Final circuit consists of commercially available devices and provide us with good agreement between theoretical expectations and practical measurements. This is documented by a gallery of the oscilloscope screenshots. Moreover, one possible configuration of proposed circuit also exhibits the lowest sensitivity of the state space attractors with respect to the changes or uncertaines of the system parameters, which is prooved by a Monte-Carlo analysis together with the presence of positive one-dimensional Lyapunov exponent.
The Company Fundamental Analysis and the Default Risk Ratio

The default risk ratio (DRR) proposed in this paper tries to define a novel alternative approach to analyze the company capability to face debt obligation by deriving it on the basis of fundamental analysis of the firm rather than the volatility of the asset’s value on the market.The DRR is defined on the basis of the relationship between debt level and the economic and financial dynamics with regard the Operating and Net Income, Capital Invested and Capital Structure and Free Cash-Flow from Operations and to Equity.The DRR does not define directly the default probability, but it is able to monitoring at a definite time the relevance of the debt level of the firm’s capability to face it, on the basis of its effects on the economic and financial dynamics of the firm. Since the DRR is based on the firm’s fundamental analysis, it can be used also in the structured-form models.
Dome-Diffuser Flat-fielding for Schmidt Telescopes

The Beijing-Arizona-Taiwan-Connecticut Color Survey of the Sky employs the 0.6/0.9 m Schmidt telescope of the National Astronomical Observatories, located at its Xinglong station (150 km northeast of Beijing), combined with a 20482 CCD data-taking system. Key to the success of this program is the development of a simple and efficient way to achieve supersky-quality, large-scale flat fields for our telescope-CCD combination. This is done by placing an isotropic diffuser right in front of the Schmidt corrector plate (the entrance pupil of the telescope) and illuminating the diffuser with scattered light off the dome screen. When we test this methodology by obtaining supersky flats at the zenith, we find that our "super" dome flats define the same large-scale inhomogeneities of the CCD that the supersky flat does, but with far greater signal-to-noise ratio. Hence, we show that defining our large-scale flat fields with our diffuser-dome technique is at least as good as using supersky flats for a ∼1°-wide field of view. This methodology can be implemented with any Schmidt telescope with similar results. Various other data acquisition effects that can affect CCD results at the 1% level are also discussed.
Information Security Training Customized by Risk Profile Submission Type : Emergent Research Forum Paper

To ensure the employees follow companies’ information security procedures and policies, information security training is adopted as a common approach to improving employees’ security behavior. In this paper we study the efficacy of information security training customized by risk profile. Firstly, we will examine the efficacy of security training customized by risk profile on security risk assessment. Secondly, we will evaluate the effect between risk assessment and security behavior.
Más allá de las moléculas...lo que los clínicos desconocen: Acortando brechas

El propósito de este artículo es explicar, de manera simple, la transcripción de la información codificada en el ADN a un intermediario conocido como RNA mensajero, mediante la expresión génica diferencial. La importancia de este proceso radica en que a pesar de tener todas las células del organismo el mismo genoma, éstas alcanzan diferentes funciones por medio de la activación selectiva de genes, sea en estados fisiológicos o patológicos. Lo anterior inicia gracias a eventos epigenéticos, donde se permite tener acceso al ADN, mediante modificaciones de las histonas. Es así que la secuencia de ADN puede ser leída de múltiples maneras para obtener una gran variedad de proteínas necesarias para el organismo. A partir de lo anterior, se busca facilitar el entendimiento crítico del progreso que ha venido surgiendo en este campo. En las últimas décadas se han generado avances importantes en cuanto a la comprensión del genoma y su constitución. Gracias a esto, se han desarrollado investigaciones que buscan determinar las aplicaciones clínicas de los procesos involucrados en la expresión génica diferencial, de manera que se pueda fomentar una mejor comprensión de las enfermedades comunes, posibles tratamientos y métodos diagnósticos para realizar un mejor abordaje de las mismas.
Bank Loan Components and the Time‐Varying Effects of Monetary Policy Shocks

The impulse response function (IRF) of an aggregate variable is time-varying if the IRFs of its components are different from each other and the relative magnitudes of the components are not constant—two conditions likely to be true in practice. We model the behaviour of loan components and document that the induced time variation for total loans is substantial, which helps to explain why studies describing total loans have had such a hard time finding a robust response of total bank loans to a monetary tightening.
Assessment of the Sensitivity of Streamflow Simulations to Changes in Patch Resolution Using GIS Based Hydro-Ecologic Model

Eight different patch configurations were investigated to analyze the effect of patch characterization/formation in streamflow simulation, using the Regional Hydro-Ecologic Simulation Systems (RHESSys) model. It is investigated for eight different patch configurations of a subcatchment of the Turkey Lakes Watershed, Ontario. The model’s hydrological parameters are calibrated for each of these patch configurations and the performance of the simulations is evaluated. Results indicate that both the nature of the flow simulation and the calibrated parameter values are sensitive to patch configuration. The best simulation results were obtained for the patch configuration with the highest spatial variation of climate, stream network and hillslope conditions across the subcatchment. Different patch configurations also lead to markedly different calibrations of the model’s hydrological parameters (54.26 < k < 119.13; and 1.02 < m < 2.28), which has implications for the physical interpretation and transferability of the calibrated parameter values.
Seed germination characteristics and control options for Noogoora bur ( Xanthium strumarium ) in commercial maize production

Noogoora bur (Xanthium strumarium) is a large, herbaceous, highly competitive annual weed of arable and horticultural crops which is subject to Regional Pest Management Plans in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions, New Zealand. A study with scarified burs showed that most plants emerged from 0-40 mm and none from 100 mm depth. Plants emerged after 8 days from 0-30 mm, after 14 days from 90 mm and continued to emerge over summer, with some also germinating in the second year after initiation. Cultivated fallow resulted in germination of similar numbers of seeds over two growing seasons with no new seed input. Results from a field trial showed that dicamba and atrazine, alone or in combination with other products, as well as topramezone, provided good control of this weed in maize crop.
Glacial landsystems, retreat dynamics and controls on Loch Lomond Stadial (Younger Dryas) glaciation in Britain

Glacial geomorphology relating to the Loch Lomond Stadial (Younger Dryas) in Britain is used to construct five glacial landsystem models. These landsystems lie on a continuum of increasing ice thickness and decreasing topographic control and typify the principal styles of glaciation during the stadial. The landsystems comprise: the cirque/niche glacier landsystem, the alpine icefield landsystem, the lowland piedmont lobe landsystem, the plateau icefield landsystem and the icecap landsystem. Geomorphological features representing the icecap landsystem are present only at the centre of the West Highland Glacier Complex, which was flanked primarily by satellite alpine and plateau icefields. The cirque/niche glacier landsystem was present predominantly in areas that experienced conditions only marginally favourable for glacier development at peripheral sites. Three styles of glacier retreat are recorded by the geomorphology: active, two‐phase and uninterrupted retreat. Of these, active retreat appears to be most widespread within the Loch Lomond Stadial limits. These retreat styles reflect a combination of climatic and topographic conditions, coupled with local factors influencing the preservation of landforms from which retreat dynamics can be inferred. Likewise, the distribution of landsystems was influenced by an interplay between topography and climate, with glacier formation being facilitated in locations where topographical conditions aided in the accumulation of snow. The pattern also supports the existence of previously recognized northward and eastward precipitation gradients across Britain during the stadial.
The Impact of Dividend Taxation on Dividends and Investment: New Evidence Based on a Natural Experiment

There is a lack of clear evidence of the ways in which dividend taxation affects dividend distributions and investment since the evidence is based mainly on the behaviour of large listed companies. This paper utilises a large register-based panel data set, where the vast majority of firms are small and medium-sized enterprises, to examine the responses to the Finnish dividend tax increase of 2005. This reform creates a useful opportunity to measure enterprise behaviour, since it involves exogenous variation in the tax treatment of different types of firms. The results, based on differences-in-differences estimation and matching methods, indicate that dividends declined somewhat in closely held corporations that faced a tax increase, perhaps for timing reasons, while investments did not decline. These findings are more in line with the new rather than the old view of dividend taxation.
Agro-morphological Characterization of Durum Wheat Accessions Using Pattern Analysis

Information on the variation available for different plant attributes has enabled germplasm collections to be effectively utilized in plant breeding. This investigation was carried out to characterize 85 durum wheat accessions based on 19 qualitative and quantitative agro-morphological attributes and to describe the genetic variation among the accessions as a subset of worldwide germplasm collection conserved in Iran under irrigated condition. The investigation was also aimed to study relationship among the traits and to find out adapted accessions that can be used in durum wheat breeding program. Univariate and Multivariate (clustering and ordination) techniques were used to investigate the diversity present among the accessions in the collection. Both cluster and ordination analyses suggested that eight groups of accessions existed. The comparison of accession groups based on traits verified that it is possible to find out contrasting group based on the traits for improving genetic materials in breeding programs. Applying accession-by-trait (AT) biplot analysis to the multiple trait data revealed that AT-biplot graphically displayed the interrelationships among traits and facilitated visual comparison of accessions and selection. The results also showed that, based on qualitative and quantitative measurements, the accessions in different groups were belonged to different countries which suggested that there was no clear relationship between accessions and geographical diversity. The information on diversity and relationships among the agro-morphological traits will be helpful to breeders in constructing their breeding populations and implementing selection strategies.