Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effects of maternal smoking on fetal and infant mortality.

Although maternal cigarette smoking has been shown to reduce the birth weight of an infant, previous findings on the relation between smoking and fetal and infant mortality have been inconsistent. This study used the largest data base ever available (360,000 birth, 2,500 fetal death, and 3,800 infant death certificates for Missouri residents during 1979-1983) to assess the impact of smoking on fetal and infant mortality. Multiple logistic regression was used to estimate the joint effects of maternal smoking, age, parity, education, marital status, and race on total mortality (infant plus fetal deaths). Compared with nonsmoking women having their first birth, women who smoked less than one pack of cigarettes per day had a 25% greater risk of mortality, and those who smoked one or more packs per day had a 56% greater risk. Among women having their second or higher birth, smokers experienced 30% greater mortality than nonsmokers, but there was no difference by amount smoked. The prevalence of smoking in this population was 30%. It was estimated that if all pregnant women stopped smoking, the number of fetal and infant deaths would be reduced by approximately 10%. The higher rate of mortality among blacks compared with whites could not be attributed to differences in smoking or the other four maternal characteristics studied. In fact, the black-white difference was greater among low-risk women (e.g., married multiparas aged 20 and over with high education) than among high-risk women (e.g., unmarried teenagers with low education).
[The variability of blood pressure].

There has been recent publicity about the importance of variability in blood pressure, prompted by Blood pressure is measured as the level of pressure when the heart is contracting (systolic blood pressure) and when the heart is relaxed and filling with blood (diastolic blood pressure). These pressure levels change continually as part of everyday life. A longer series of papers published in the Lancet on 12 th March 2010 indicate that blood pressure variability is an important factor in predicting stroke and coronary disease and that certain blood pressure medications may reduce this variability better than others. The British Hypertension Society Guidelines (1) recommend that the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension should be based on an average of at least two readings after 5 minutes at rest in the seated position. We recommend that those with highest blood pressures should be treated after a series of readings over two to four weeks and that for those with more mildly elevated blood pressure a series of readings should be used to determine treatment. Our current guidance suggests that patients should be treated as soon as the diagnosis is confirmed but they are less prescriptive about the timelines to achieve control and public health data suggest that achieving blood pressure targets remains challenging. The average clinic blood pressure is a reliable indicator of risk that has been used in the majority of trials that have demonstrated the effectiveness of treatment in preventing stroke and heart attack. This approach fits with the graded and continuous effect of blood pressure level on the risk of heart attack and stroke. The impact of variable blood pressure on risk has been described before but this recent series of articles in the Lancet extends the case for examining whether greater attention should be paid to blood pressure variability in the management of patients. The tools at hand include reliable home blood pressure devices and 24 hour ambulatory monitors, which providing the instructions are followed, empower patients and their carers to record blood pressure in more detail. However, we want to emphasise that everybody's blood pressure is variable and patients should not be alarmed by this. Further work is needed to define what is an acceptable level of variability and what might be considered extreme and thus worthy of further attention. The reports on blood pressure variability also highlighted that some drugs used to lower blood pressure might …
The Importance of Dietary Carbohydrate in Human Evolution

We propose that plant foods containing high quantities of starch were essential for the evolution of the human phenotype during the Pleistocene. Although previous studies have highlighted a stone tool-mediated shift from primarily plant-based to primarily meat-based diets as critical in the development of the brain and other human traits, we argue that digestible carbohydrates were also necessary to accommodate the increased metabolic demands of a growing brain. Furthermore, we acknowledge the adaptive role cooking played in improving the digestibility and palatability of key carbohydrates. We provide evidence that cooked starch, a source of preformed glucose, greatly increased energy availability to human tissues with high glucose demands, such as the brain, red blood cells, and the developing fetus. We also highlight the auxiliary role copy number variation in the salivary amylase genes may have played in increasing the importance of starch in human evolution following the origins of cooking. Salivary amylases are largely ineffective on raw crystalline starch, but cooking substantially increases both their energy-yielding potential and glycemia. Although uncertainties remain regarding the antiquity of cooking and the origins of salivary amylase gene copy number variation, the hypothesis we present makes a testable prediction that these events are correlated.
Alignment process using correlation influence of template estimation

Matched Filtering is currently used for Time Delay Estimation between a repetitive signal and a template obtained by synchronous averaging. We propose an analysis of the effect of the estimation of the template by signal averaging on the final averaged signal. We give a sufficient condition which has to be verified by the jitter occuring in the averaging process. This condition often verified practically is sufficient to avoid biased results. The disturbing effect will be illustrated by simulation using a noiseless gaussian signal.
Investigation of Receptive Fields Using Representations of the Dihedral Groups

Abstract We investigate families of receptive fields (i.e., low-level filter systems) that receive their inputs from sensors located on a finite, regular grid. We will first introduce a class of models that describe the behavior of such systems. We introduce the representation theory of the dihedral groups to derive some important properties of such systems that originate in the structure of the grid (and not in the particular nature of the system). We will show that representation theory leads directly to algorithms with a structure similar to those of the FFT. We demonstrate possible applications of the theory in the field of low-level vision by showing how to construct and analyze different types of filter families. All these different approaches are simplified by the same, universal, coordinate transformation. In the second part of the paper we demonstrate how the proposed method can be used in the computation of the Karhunen-Loeve expansion. We show that the correlation matrix of an arbitrary stochastic process that has the symmetry of the dihedral group is block diagonalized by the coordinate transformation developed in the first part of the paper. In our experiments we investigate images from four different data sets: one set consisting of 39 images of size 512 2 , one set consisting of 55 images of size 256 2 , one set consisting of 1000 of size 256 2 captured from a satellite TV channel, and finally 2000 images of size 256 2 from a video tape. We show that in all cases the eigenvectors computed from the block-diagonal approximation of the correlation matrix are good approximations of the eigenvectors computed from the full correlation matrix. We show with an image coding example that both sets of eigenvectors (the vectors computed from the full matrix and the vectors computed from the approximation) give practically indistinguishable results in this application.
The Royal Society Corpus: From Uncharted Data to Corpus

We present the Royal Society Corpus (RSC) built from the Philosophical Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. At present, the corpus contains articles from the first two centuries of the journal (1665―1869) and amounts to around 35 million tokens. The motivation for building the RSC is to investigate the diachronic linguistic development of scientific English. Specifically, we assume that due to specialization, linguistic encodings become more compact over time (Halliday, 1988; Halliday and Martin, 1993), thus creating a specific discourse type characterized by high information density that is functional for expert communication. When building corpora from uncharted material, typically not all relevant meta-data (e.g. author, time, genre) or linguistic data (e.g. sentence/word boundaries, words, parts of speech) is readily available. We present an approach to obtain good quality meta-data and base text data adopting the concept of Agile Software Development.
A history of writing instruction for Jamaican university students: A case for moving beyond the rhetoric of transparent disciplinarity at the University of the West Indies, Mona

12 INTRODUCTION 14 My Research and the UWI 18 Limitations and Delimitations 23 Significance of the Study 29 Synopsis of the Chapters 33 Notes 38 I. UNMASKING THE MYTHS ABOUT JAMAICAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ WRITING 39 The Myth of Transience 54 The Rhetoric of Transparent Disciplinarity versus Visible Disciplinary Rhetoric 58 Academic Writing as Transparent Recording or Visible Rhetoric 60 Academic Writing Instruction as Remediation or Development 67 Academia as Single Discourse Community or Several Competing Discourse Communities 73 Academic Writing Instruction for Disciplinary Excellence or Social Equity . 74 Caveats 78
Practical Considerations for a Digital Inductive-Switching DC/DC Converter With Direct Battery Connect in Deep Sub-Micron CMOS

This paper describes design considerations for a digital inductive-switching DC/DC converter suitable for direct battery connection in a deep sub-micron CMOS process. Digital control techniques and robust circuit design methods take advantage of the advanced process technology while avoiding the barriers to direct battery connection and high efficiency, high power density voltage conversion. The approach is verified on a prototype converter, implemented in 40 nm standard bulk CMOS. The design achieves a peak efficiency of 95% for an input range of up to 5.5 V. The transient response is optimized for typical mobile SoC operating conditions and achieves step response times as fast as 35 μs/V under load.
A chronological survey of the Friedman-Meiselman / Andersen- Jordan single equation debate

Celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of Friedman – Meiselman’s (1963) empirical answer to the efficacy of monetary and fiscal policies, this paper chronologically surveys twenty-four papers that have been an integral part of the debate over the reduced form, single equation approach that was started by Friedman and Meiselman’s 1963 study. Many of the arguments and criticisms related to the Friedman – Meiselman equation and its famous progeny, the Andersen – Jordan (1968) St. Louis equation are reviewed. Indeed, nowadays few economists even speak of the Friedman and Meiselman approach, it having been long ago usurped by Andersen – Jordan; however, Friedman and Meiselman were the pioneers of the single-equation test and it is their seminal approach and anniversary that is acknowledged here.
Do Chinese Exporters Still Need Learning Spillovers from Foreign MNEs

The study investigates learning spillovers from local firms as well as MNEs in China, and their indirect effects on other firms’ exporting, paying particular attention to inter- and intra-industry spillovers. We develop a synthetic model based on the treatment of spillovers in economics, geography and international business, testing four different spillover effects, measured by export propensity and intensity of local Chinese firms associated with four types of export agglomeration. We find significant, positive spillovers effects. Surprisingly, spillovers transmitted from locally-owned exporters to local firms turn out to be stronger than those from foreign-owned exporters to local firms. Unsurprisingly, spillovers transmitted within the same industry are stronger than with different industries. The evidence suggests that after 30 years of openness to international trade and export-oriented development, China’s indigenous firms have started to make a significant contribution to the export performance of other local firms. This finding is different from findings from previous empirical analysis, which reveals that maybe there’s a diminishing teaching effects from foreign MNEs to local firms.
Loss-of-Function Mutations in the Ethylene ReceptorETR1 Cause Enhanced Sensitivity and Exaggerated Response to Ethylene in Arabidopsis

Ethylene signaling in Arabidopsis begins at a family of five ethylene receptors that regulate activity of a downstream mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase, CTR1. Triple and quadruple loss-of-function ethylene receptor mutants display a constitutive ethylene response phenotype, indicating they function as negative regulators in this pathway. No ethylene-related phenotype has been described for single loss-of-function receptor mutants, although it was reported that etr1 loss-of-function mutants display a growth defect limiting plant size. In actuality, this apparent growth defect results from enhanced responsiveness to ethylene; a phenotype manifested in all tissues tested. The phenotype displayed by etr1 loss-of-function mutants was rescued by treatment with an inhibitor of ethylene perception, indicating that it is ethylene dependent. Identification of an ethylene-dependent phenotype for a loss-of-function receptor mutant gave a unique opportunity for genetic and biochemical analysis of upstream events in ethylene signaling, including demonstration that the dominant ethylene-insensitive phenotype of etr2-1 is partially dependent on ETR1. This work demonstrates that mutational loss of the ethylene receptor ETR1 alters responsiveness to ethylene in Arabidopsis and that enhanced ethylene response in Arabidopsis not only results in increased sensitivity but exaggeration of response.
Latitude and lake size are important predictors of over‐lake atmospheric stability

Turbulent fluxes across the air‐water interface are integral to determining lake heat budgets, evaporation, and carbon emissions from lakes. The stability of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) influences the exchange of turbulent energy. We explore the differences in over‐lake ABL stability using data from 39 globally distributed lakes. The frequency of unstable ABL conditions varied between lakes from 71 to 100% of the time, with average air temperatures typically several degrees below the average lake surface temperature. This difference increased with decreasing latitude, resulting in a more frequently unstable ABL and a more efficient energy transfer to and from the atmosphere, toward the tropics. In addition, during summer the frequency of unstable ABL conditions decreased with increasing lake surface area. The dependency of ABL stability on latitude and lake size has implications for heat loss and carbon fluxes from lakes, the hydrologic cycle, and climate change effects.
Phenotypic differentiation is associated with divergent sexual selection among closely related barn swallow populations

Sexual selection plays a key role in the diversification of numerous animal clades and may accelerate trait divergence during speciation. However, much of our understanding of this process comes from phylogenetic comparative studies, which rely on surrogate measures such as dimorphism that may not represent selection in wild populations. In this study, we assess sexual selection pressures for multiple male visual signals across four barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) populations. Our sample encompassed 2400 linear km and two described subspecies: European H. r. rustica (in the Czech Republic and Romania) and eastern Mediterranean H. r. transitiva (in Israel), as well as a potential area of contact (in Turkey). We demonstrate significant phenotypic differentiation in four sexual signalling axes, despite very low‐level genomic divergence and no comparable divergence in an ecological trait. Moreover, the direction of phenotypic divergence is consistent with differences in sexual selection pressures among subspecies. Thus, H. r. transitiva, which have the darkest ventral plumage of any population, experience directional selection for darker plumage. Similarly, H. r. rustica, which have the longest tail feathers of any population, experience directional selection for elongated tail feathers and disruptive selection for ventral plumage saturation. These results suggest that sexual selection is the primary driver of phenotypic differentiation in this species. Our findings add to growing evidence of phenotypic divergence with gene flow. However, to our knowledge, this is the first study to relate direct measures of the strength and targets of sexual selection to phenotypic divergence among closely related wild populations.
The Association Between Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Hypertension by Race/Ethnicity in a Nationally Representative Sample

The association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and hypertension by race/ethnicity has not been well characterized in a national sample. Adult participants in the 2007–2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were reviewed by self‐report of sleep apnea diagnosis, snorting, gasping or stopping breathing during sleep, and snoring to derive whether OSA was probable (pOSA). Multivariable logistic regression determined whether pOSA predicted hypertension in the overall cohort, and by body mass index (BMI) group and ethno‐racial strata. pOSA predicted hypertension in several groups: (1) Within BMI strata, there was a significant association among overweight individuals [odds ratio [OR], 1.82; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.26–2.62); (2) In race/ethnicity subgroups, the association was significant among Hispanic/Latinos (OR, 1.69; 95% CI, 1.13–2.53) and whites (OR, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.07–1.84); (3) In models stratified by both race/ethnicity and BMI, pOSA predicted hypertension among overweight black/African Americans (OR, 4.74; 95% CI, 1.86–12.03), overweight whites (OR, 1.65; 95% CI, 1.06–2.57), and obese Hispanic/Latino participants (OR, 2.01; 95% CI, 1.16–3.49). A simple, self‐report tool for OSA was strongly associated with hypertension, and may serve as a potential future opportunity for OSA diagnosis.
Compact UWB resistive feedback low noise amplifier utilizing current bleeding technique

In this paper, a low-noise amplifier (LNA) designed for the lower band of the ultra-wideband (UWB) spectrum and implemented in 0.18 μm CMOS process is presented. Post-layout simulations show a power gain (S21) of 11.18 dB with 0.8 dB value variations from 259 MHz to 5 GHz. The input and output return losses, S11 and S22, are below -10 dB from 466.4 MHz to 5.63 GHz, while reverse isolation (S12) is better than -24.44 dB across the whole simulated range, from 100 MHz to 7 GHz. The average value of noise figure (NF) is 4.48 dB, with minimum value of 4.24 dB at 1.37 GHz. The input-referred third-order intercept point (IIP3) and the input-referred 1-dB compression point (P1dB) are -12.72 dBm and -20.9 dBm, respectively. The LNA core area occupies 0.353 mm2 and consumes 11.16 mW from a 1.8 V supply.
Allergen detection from 11 fungal species before and after germination.

BACKGROUND Allergens dispersed by airborne fungal spores play an important but poorly understood role in the underlying cause and exacerbation of asthma. Previous studies suggest that spores of Alternaria and Aspergillus release greater quantities of allergen after germination than before germination. It is unknown whether this is true of other allergenic fungi. OBJECTIVE Our purpose was to investigate the release of allergen from a range of individual fungal spores before and after germination. METHODS Allergen expression from spores of Alternaria alternata, Cladosporium herbarum, Aspergillus fumigatus, Botrytis cinerea, Epicoccum nigrum, Exserohilum rostratum, Penicillium chrysogenum, Stemphylium botryosum, Curvularia lunata, Trichoderma viride, and Bipolaris spicifera was examined by halogen immunoassays through the use of pooled serum IgE from patients allergic to fungus. Spores were deposited onto protein-binding membranes direct from culture. To germinate spores, samples were incubated in high humidity at room temperature for 48 hours. Ungerminated and germinated samples were then laminated with an adhesive film and immunostained by the halogen assay. The samples were examined by light microscopy, and positive counts (haloed particles) were expressed as percentages of total spores. RESULTS For 9 of 11 species, between 5.7% and 92% of spores released allergen before germination. Spores of Penicillium and Trichoderma did not release detectable allergen. After germination, all spores that germinated had allergen elution from their hyphae. Eight of 11 species showed a significant increase (P <.05) in the percentage of spores eluting detectable allergen. Localization of allergen along the hyphae varied with species, such that some eluted allergen mainly from hyphal tips and septal junctions whereas others eluted allergen along the entire length. CONCLUSIONS Increased elution of allergen after germination might be a common feature of many species of allergenic fungi. Although allergens from both spores and hyphae were recognized by human IgE, the extent to which human exposure occurs to allergens eluted from inhaled spores or from hyphae that germinate after deposition in the respiratory tract remains to be explored. The patterns of allergen expression might affect the clinical response to such exposure.
Accessible Human-Robot Interaction for Telepresence Robots: A Case Study

Abstract The quality of life of people with special needs, such as residents of healthcare facilities, may be improved through operating social telepresence robots that provide the ability to participate in remote activities with friends or family. However, to date, such platforms do not exist for this population. Methodology: Our research utilized an iterative, bottomup, user-centered approach, drawing upon our assistive robotics experiences. Based on the findings of our formative user studies, we developed an augmented reality user interface for our social telepresence robot. Our user interface focuses primarily on the human-human interaction and communication through video, providing support for semi-autonomous navigation. We conducted a case study (n=4) with our target population in which the robot was used to visit a remote art gallery. Results: All of the participants were able to operate the robot to explore the gallery, form opinions about the exhibits, and engage in conversation. Significance: This case study demonstrates that people from our target population can successfully engage in the active role of operating a telepresence robot.
Performance of near-field localization algorithms based on high-order statistics

Fourth-order statistics based methods are proposed for estimating the range and bearing of multiple near-field sources. The performance of the maximum likelihood estimator based on the asymptotic distribution of the sample trispectrum is studied and it is shown that the proposed estimator has lower variance when compared to the Cramer-Rao bound. This suggests that under high SNR, and with nonGaussian signals, the nonlinear HOS based method provides better performance than techniques that employ either correlations or spectra. Simulations are provided to illustrate the theoretical results.