Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Population-Based Incidence of Infection With Selected Bacterial Enteric Pathogens in Children Younger Than Five Years of Age, 1996–1998

Background: Previous studies of bacterial enteric infections have suggested a disproportionate disease burden for children younger than 5 years of age. Objectives: This study describes population-based incidence of culture-confirmed infections with 6 bacterial enteric pathogens in children younger than 5 years of age in the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet), 1996–1998. Methods: Cases were ascertained through active laboratory-based surveillance in Minnesota, Oregon and selected counties in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland and New York. Results: Twenty-one percent (5218 of 24,358) of infections were in children younger than 5 years of age, but this age group made up only 7% of the total person-years of observation. Among those younger than 5 years of age, the incidence (cases per 100,000 person-years) for each pathogen was: Salmonella, 55.3; Campylobacter, 43.4; Shigella, 32.7; E. coli O157, 10.3; Yersinia enterocolitica, 7.1; Listeria monocytogenes, 0.7. Incidence varied widely among the 7 FoodNet sites. Conclusions: This study confirmed a disproportionate disease burden in young children. Investigation of risk factors specific to this age group and review and enhancement of current prevention and control strategies for children younger than 5 years of age may reduce illness.
The Effect of National Culture on the Relationship between IFRS Adoption and the Cost of Equity Capital

In this study we evaluated the effect of national culture on the relationship between IFRS adoption and the cost of equity capital in 2,692 large firms from 31 countries, covering the period 2002–2007. National culture was proxied by six dimensions: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, masculinity, long-term orientation, and indulgence. IFRS reduced the cost of equity capital when national culture was not included in the regression, and when power distance was included. Cost of equity capital was low in countries with high levels of uncertainty avoidance and indulgence. Our main finding is that the cost of equity capital tends to be low in countries with IFRS and long-term orientation. The fact that IFRS-related benefits (such as improved information quality and reduced cost of equity capital) may be compromised by components of national culture should be taken into account by investors and analysts in their forecasts and investment decisions.
Heat-fixation Method Used in an Atomic Force Microscopy Study of Cell Morphology

In order to overcome the difficulties with existing methods for sample immobilization in imaging Halobacterium salinarum ( H. salinarum ) living in a highly salty medium by atomic force microscopy (AFM), a heat-fixation method was, for the first time, used to overcome existing problems in preparing samples for AFM. The effect on the cell morphology of the heat-fixation method was studied by MAC mode AFM, and was compared with the drop-and-dry and the polylysine-adhesion methods. It was found that the heat-fixation method can be successfully used for preparing Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria samples for AFM studies. Using this method, high-resolution AFM images of H. salinarum were obtained. Round protrusions on the cell surface and horn-like protrusions only at one pole of H. salinarum were observed.
The Analysis of the Effects of Financial Distress on the Top Management in The Republic of Serbia / Analiza Uticaja Finansijskih Teškoća Na Top Menadžment U Republici Srbiji

Abstract This study aims to examine the effects of financial distress on top management structures, as well as to identify the factors affecting managerial change in the companies that adopted the reorganization plan during bankruptcy proceedings in the Republic of Serbia for the period 2009- 2014. Out of 39 companies that adopted the reorganization plan, the top management change was observed in 21 companies after the bankruptcy filing year, or within two years following the reorganization plan adoption. Research results indicate a strong negative correlation between the company’s liquidity and the probability of change in top management structures, with the impact of other observed factors not being statistically significant. Rezime Ova studija nastoji da ispita uticaj finansijskih teškoća na top menadžment i da identifikuje faktore koje utiču na promenu top menadžmenta u kompanijama koje su usvojile plan reorganizacije u stečaju u Republici Srbiji od 2009. do 2014. godine. Od 39 kompanija koje su usvojile plan reorganizacije, u 21 kompaniji je došlo do promene top menadžmenta nakon otvaranja stečajnog postupka ili dve godine po usvajanju plana reorganizacije. Rezultati istraživanja ukazuju na postojanje jake negativne korelacije između likvidnosti kompanije i verovatnoće promene top menadžmenta, dok uticaj ostalih posmatranih faktora na top menadžment nije statistički značajan.
My painting shows my stats: towards a personal colorful activity display

Regular physical activity reduces the risks of illness, obesity, and falling. Thus, many personal devices support users in monitoring their physical activity to initiate behavior changes. However, activity data is prone to measurement errors; for example a user is seated but typing increases the step count. Such false positives could be easily detected if data from multiple sensors would be connected. We envision a system that combines data from multiple sensors in our surroundings to reduce such measurement errors. Furthermore, the system shows the user's historical data for the past seven days, the activity level of the current day, and a forecast about physical activity for the next seven days in an artistic and configurable digital wall painting. We argue that this strengthens connectedness and privacy. We are convinced that our system can help to increase user's trust in activity data and raise awareness for behavior change regarding physical activity.
Un índice de competitividad regional para España

espanolEl concepto de competitividad es impreciso referido a paises y regiones y su medicion a escala regional es compleja sin que exista una metodologia clara para evaluarla de manera univoca. En este articulo repasamos las principales experiencias para su medicion a escala regional y de acuerdo con el marco teorico planteado elaboramos un indice de competitividad global de periodicidad anual para el periodo 2001-2014 basado en tres entornos clave (capital productivo, capital humano y capital publico), que se desagregan en 63 variables. Mediante un analisis factorial se construye un indicador de competitividad mejorado que asigna pesos diferentes a las variables relacionadas con la competitividad. EnglishThe concept of competitiveness is increasingly to compare different economies at national and regional levels. It is a concept that firstly was applied at microeconomic level. However, its definition is not clear when it is applied to regions and countries. Therefore, its clarification is imperative in order to measure it at regional level and establish meaningful comparisons. One of the key approaches to the study of competitiveness is the World Economic Forum. This institution began developing the Global Competitiveness Index in 2004. Their methodology, with an important contribution of Sala i Martin and his team, is centered in identifying the pillars of competitiveness and the key variables in each of the pillar. Their aim is to obtain a more complete picture of the real development of the competitiveness of an economy, disaggregated into a comprehensive set of components that properly quantify this development. This makes it possible to know the situation and the evolution of global competitiveness.
The Angiogenic Factors Cyr61 and Connective Tissue Growth Factor Induce Adhesive Signaling in Primary Human Skin Fibroblasts*

The angiogenic inducers cysteine-rich angiogenic protein 61 (Cyr61) and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) are structurally related, extracellular matrix-associated heparin-binding proteins. Both can stimulate chemotaxis and promote proliferation in endothelial cells and fibroblasts in culture and induce neovascularization in vivo. Encoded by inducible immediate early genes, Cyr61 and CTGF are synthesized upon growth factor stimulation in cultured fibroblasts and during cutaneous wound healing in dermal fibroblasts. Recently, we have shown that adhesion of primary human fibroblasts to immobilized Cyr61 is mediated through integrin α6β1 and cell surface heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) (Chen, N., Chen, C.-C., and Lau, L.F. (2000) J. Biol. Chem. 275, 24953–24961), providing the first demonstration of an absolute requirement for HSPGs in integrin-mediated cell attachment. We show in this study that CTGF also mediates fibroblast adhesion through the same mechanism and demonstrate that fibroblasts adhesion to immobilized Cyr61 or CTGF induces distinct adhesive signaling responses consistent with their biological activities. Compared with fibroblast adhesion to fibronectin, laminin, or type I collagen, cell adhesion to Cyr61 or CTGF induces 1) more extensive and prolonged formation of filopodia and lamellipodia, concomitant with formation of integrin α6β1-containing focal complexes localized at leading edges of pseudopods; 2) activation of intracellular signaling molecules including focal adhesion kinase, paxillin, and Rac with similar rapid kinetics; 3) sustained activation of p42/p44 MAPKs lasting for at least 9 h; and 4) prolonged gene expression changes including up-regulation of MMP-1 (collagenase-1) and MMP-3 (stromelysin-1) mRNAs and proteins sustained for at least 24 h. Together, these results establish Cyr61 and CTGF as bona fide adhesive substrates with specific signaling capabilities, provide a molecular basis for their activities in fibroblasts through integrin α6β1 and HSPG-mediated signaling during attachment and indicate that these proteins may function in matrix remodeling through the activation of metalloproteinases during angiogenesis and wound healing.
Model time-frequency resource allocation WiMAX aimed at improving the electromagnetic compatibility

The results of development a mathematical model for capacity allocation downlink technology WiMAX. The novelty of the proposed model is possible preventive limit transmission rate allocated to the service flows of the user stations in the downlink by using the WiMAX technology linear or linear-quadratic objective function. It is shown that the use of a linear-quadratic objective function in comparison with the linear, can produce a more equitable management of requests based on the relative priorities. The analysis of known methods for dividing the time-frequency resource WiMAX technology showed that they all focus on the distribution between the subscriber stations all bandwidth downlink. The model proposed is directed to the allocation of each user station a guaranteed bit rate in the absence of overload downlink as well as the preventive rate limiting allocated user stations under overload conditions. Using the mathematical model is directed to distribution between subscriber stations of a time-frequency resource of the downlink, which in turn improves the conditions in the electromagnetic frequency range used. The influence of the priority request rate used in the model, the nature of the possible failures.
Paroxetine in the treatment of melancholia and severe depression

Meta-analyses of the worldwide paroxetine database assessd the efficacy of this compound in the treatment of both DSM-III defined melancholia and hospitalised patients with severe depression (HAMD ≥ 25). The analysis for melancholia included 178 paroxetine treated patients and 66 patients treated with placebo. Paroxetine was significantly superior to placebo in the treatment of melancholia and a clear dose-response relationship was established. The meta-analysis for severely depressed hospitalised patients included 109 paroxetine treated patients and 107 patients treated with a tricyclic/tetracyclic control. Paroxetine and active controls showed comparable efficncy in the treatment of severely depressed hospitalised patients.
An evaluation of the processing conditions, structure, and properties (biaxial flexural strength and antibacterial efficacy) of sintered strontium–zinc–silicate glass ceramics

The use of artificial bone grafts has increased in order to satisfy a growing demand for bone replacement materials. Initial mechanical stability of synthetic bone grafts is very advantageous for certain clinical applications. Coupled with the advantage of mechanical strength, a material with inherent antibacterial properties would be very beneficial. A series of strontium-doped zinc silicate (Ca–Sr–Na–Zn–Si) glass ceramics have been characterized in terms of their crystalline structure, biaxial flexural strength and antibacterial efficacy based on the identification of optimum sintering conditions. All three glass ceramics, namely, BT110, BT111, and BT112 were found to be fully crystalline, with BT111 and BT112 comprising of biocompatible crystalline phases. The biaxial flexural strengths of the three glass ceramics ranged from 70 to 149 MPa and were shown to be superior to those of clinically established ceramics in dry conditions and following incubation in simulated physiological conditions. The bacteriostatic effect for each glass ceramic was also established, where BT112 showed an inhibitory effect against three of the most common bacteria found at implantation sites, namely, Enterococcus faecalis, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The results of the evaluation suggest that the materials studied offer advantages over current clinical materials and indicate the potential suitability of the glass ceramics as therapeutic bone grafts.
Understanding dynamic behavior of mm-wave CML divider with injection-locking concept

An analytical framework has been developed to describe the locking behavior of millimeter (mm) wave current-mode logic (CML) frequency divider. Unlike traditional analysis based on RC delay, the proposed model is established with injection-locking concept from analog perspective. Both analytical formulas and graphic interpretation are provided for design insights. The model has been validated by exhaustive simulations and important guidelines have been concluded for circuit design.
Nutrient Intake of First Generation Gujarati Asian Indian Immigrants in the U.S.

Objective: To examine the nutrient intake of Gujarati Asian Indian immigrants in the U.S. and the influence of length of residence in the U.S. and socioeconomic status (SES) on their macronutrient intake. Methods: Subjects were male (n = 90) and female (n = 99) Gujarati Asian Indian immigrants over the age of 45. Each participant completed a 24-hour dietary recall. Dietary recalls were analyzed using Food Processor nutrient analysis software. Participants were classified into recent immigrants (<10 years length of residence in the U.S.) and long-term immigrants (>10 years length of residence in the U.S.) and into low, medium and high education groups, based on highest level of education achieved, to examine the influence of these variables on their macronutrient intake. Results: The macronutrient contributions to the total energy intake of these Gujarati Asian Indian immigrants were as follows: carbohydrate 57%, protein 12% and total fat 33%. The diets were low in cholesterol (<100 mg/day) and high in dietary fiber (≥25 g/day). Reported intakes of vitamin D, calcium (women only), potassium (women only), copper and zinc were less than two-thirds of the recommendations. Significant differences (p < 0.05) in macronutrient intake were observed based on length of residence in the U.S. and SES. Regression analysis indicates age, total energy intake, length of residence in the U.S. and SES to have a significant influence on the nutrient intake of these Gujarati Asian Indian immigrants. Conclusion: The nutrient intakes of these Gujarati Asian Indian immigrants indicate both inadequacies and excesses of select macro and micronutrients. These nutrient inadequacies and excesses can impact overall health and risk of chronic diseases of these individuals. Further investigation of the influence of the diets of these immigrants on their health is warranted.
Probe or wait: Handling tail losses using multipath TCP

Packet losses are known to affect the performance of latency sensitive Internet applications such as media streaming and gaming. Transport protocols recover from packet loss in order to provide reliable end-to-end communication and improve user experience. The efficiency of loss recovery mechanisms influences the completion time of flows, and thus also the application performance as perceived by the end user. In this paper we focus on state-of-the-art loss recovery mechanisms for TCP and Multipath TCP. We use controlled tail loss scenarios to evaluate the performance of loss recovery mechanisms and, based on the observations, we propose an enhanced tail loss recovery mechanism for Multipath TCP, to improve the loss recovery time. Our experiment results, using the Linux Multipath TCP implementation, show consistent end-to-end latency performance improvement in considered scenarios.
Design and Control of a Dual Unidirectional Brake Hybrid Actuation System for Haptic Devices

Hybrid actuators combining brakes and motors have emerged as an efficient solution to achieve high performance in haptic devices. In this paper, an actuation approach using two unidirectional brakes and a DC motor is proposed. The brakes are coupled to overrunning clutches and can apply a torque in only one rotational direction. The associated control laws, that are independent of the virtual environment model, calculate the control gains in real time in order limit the energy and the stiffness delivered by the motor to ensure stability. The reference torque is respected using the combination of the motor and the brake. Finally, an user experiment has been performed to evaluate the influence of passive and active torque differences in the perception of elasticity. The proposed actuator has a torque range of 0.03 Nm to 5.5 Nm with a 17.75 kNm-2 torque density.
Passing the initiative for visualizing data to readers

Data visualizations are often generated to reflect the intentions of their creators. Readers of such visualizations cannot always obtain the information they want, because there is often a gap between the creators' intentions and readers' interests. To bridge such gaps, we propose passing the initiative of visualizing data to the readers. For most readers, who are not experts in visual representations, it can be difficult to design or to choose the appropriate options for visualizations that meet their needs; therefore, we consider a system that utilizes readers' interest. We organized problems to develop a framework for passing the initiative for visualizing data to readers. Moreover, we devised a method for express visual representations from the viewpoint of readers' interests. Through a thought experiment, we investigated the aspects of data that readers are interested in, and propose a formal expression for that interest.
Cellular dosimetry: absorbed fractions for monoenergetic electron and alpha particle sources and S-values for radionuclides uniformly distributed in different cell compartments.

UNLABELLED The importance of cellular dosimetry in both diagnostic and therapeutic nuclear medicine is becoming increasingly recognized. METHODS Experimental range-energy relations for electrons and alpha particles, along with derived geometric reduction factors, are used to calculate cellular absorbed fractions for these radiations. The resulting absorbed fractions are employed to calculate cellular S-values for several radionuclides. RESULTS Cellular absorbed fractions for monoenergetic electron sources with energies ranging from 0.1 keV to 1 MeV, distributed uniformly in the source region, are calculated for several target<--source combinations including cell<--cell, cell<--cell surface, nucleus<--nucleus, nucleus<--cytoplasm and nucleus<--cell surface. Similar data are also provided for monoenergetic alpha particle sources with energies ranging from 3 to 10 MeV. S-values are also conveniently tabulated for 32P, 35S, 86Rb, 89Sr, 90Y, 91Y, 114mIn, 131I. Auger-electron-emitters 51Cr, 67Ga, 99mTc, 111In, 123I, 125I, 201TI, 203Pb and the alpha emitter 210Po. In addition, S-values are given for radionuclides in the 212Pb decay series, including 212Pb, 212Bi and 212Po. Both absorbed fractions and S-values are supplied for a number of different size cells and cell nuclei. CONCLUSIONS With the absorbed fractions and S-values in hand, along with experimentally determined information on the biokinetics and subcellular distribution of the radionuclides, the cellular self-absorbed dose can be conveniently calculated.
Quality assessment of pacemaker implantations in Denmark.

AIMS Quality assessment of therapeutic procedures is essential to insure a cost-effective health care system. Pacemaker implantation is a common procedure with more than 500,000 implantations world-wide per year, but the general complication rate is not well described. We studied procedure related complications for all implantations performed in an entire nation over a 3-year period. METHODS AND RESULTS A prospective study of complications related to 99% of the 5648 primary pacemaker implantations performed in the 12 Danish pacemaker centres in 1997-1999 was carried out. Overall 76% of the patients received a physiological pacemaker system and 91% received the optimal pacing mode according to international guidelines. Perioperative complications requiring reoperation were: haematoma 0.3%, atrial lead related 1.9%, ventricular lead related 1.7%. Late complications requiring reoperation were: infection 02%, atrial lead related 13%, ventricular lead related 1.2%. The complication rate decreased over the study period, but overall the complication rate was higher than expected and showed considerable variation between centres. CONCLUSIONS Our results demonstrate that sensitive data such as complications related to pacemaker implantations can be collected on a national basis. We suggest that a reoperation rate higher than 3% for atrial as well as ventricular pacing electrodes in the individual implanting centre should cause the centre to evaluate carefully the procedure as well as the performance of the individual implanter.
Helicobacter pylori Infection Is Associated with Type 2 Diabetes, Not Type 1 Diabetes: An Updated Meta-Analysis

Background Extragastric manifestations of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection have been reported in many diseases. However, there are still controversies about whether H. pylori infection is associated with diabetes mellitus (DM). This study was aimed at answering the question. Methods A systematic search of the literature from January 1996 to January 2016 was conducted in PubMed, Embase databases, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, Wanfang Data, China national knowledge database, and SinoMed. Published studies reporting H. pylori infection in both DM and non-DM individuals were recruited. Results 79 studies with 57,397 individuals were included in this meta-analysis. The prevalence of H. pylori infection in DM group (54.9%) was significantly higher than that (47.5%) in non-DM group (OR = 1.69, P < 0.001). The difference was significant in comparison between type 2 DM group and non-DM group (OR = 2.05), but not in that between type 1 DM group and non-DM group (OR = 1.23, 95% CI: 0.77–1.96, P = 0.38). Conclusion Our meta-analysis suggested that there is significantly higher prevalence of H. pylori infection in DM patients as compared to non-DM individuals. And the difference is associated with type 2 DM but not type 1 DM.