Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Preventing Obesity:

Editor—Crawford in his editorial on population strategies to prevent obesity has not mentioned an important factor in the aetiology of obesity: the method by which infants are fed. Von Kries et al found that a history of three to five months of exclusive breast feeding was associated with a 35% reduction in obesity at the age of 5 to 6 years, which was not accounted for by social factors, lifestyle, etc. They discuss the evidence for a programming effect of breast feeding in preventing obesity and being overweight in later life. Gilman et al found that infants who were fed breast milk more than infant formula milk, or who were breast fed for longer periods, had a lower risk of being overweight during older childhood and adolescence. These results are consistent with those of the DARLING study, which showed that infants who received no milk other than breast milk in the first 12 months were lighter than formula fed infants, though of similar length and head circumference. This study also found that energy intake of breastfed infants was lower than that of formula fed infants, even after the introduction of solids; the authors say that comparatively low energy intakes are a function of self regulation in breastfed infants. Breastfeeding mothers also lose weight after pregnancy more effectively than those who feed artificially, an advantage seen over at least the first 12 months of breast feeding. Vigorous marketing of junk food is often implicated in the obesity epidemic. What about inappropriate marketing of infant formula milk? In the United Kingdom, with its limited legal restraints, manufacturers can and do actively promote infant feeding bottles, teats, and follow-on formula milk to the public in contravention of the international code of marketing of breast milk substitutes. This recently drew comment from the UN Committee on the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In its observations of 4 October 2002 the committee recommended that the United Kingdom takes all appropriate measures to promote breast feeding and adopt the international code of marketing of breast milk substitutes in light of its low rates of breast feeding. Measures to promote and support breast feeding, including legislation and promotion of artificial feeding, seem to be a rational approach to preventing obesity.
The association between hospital volume and survival after acute myocardial infarction in elderly patients.

BACKGROUND Patients with chest pain thought to be due to acute coronary ischemia are typically taken by ambulance to the nearest hospital. The potential benefit of field triage directly to a hospital that treats a large number of patients with myocardial infarction is unknown. METHODS We conducted a retrospective cohort study of the relation between the number of Medicare patients with myocardial infarction that each hospital in the study treated (hospital volume) and long-term survival among 98,898 Medicare patients 65 years of age or older. We used proportional-hazards methods to adjust for clinical, demographic, and health-system-related variables, including the availability of invasive procedures, the specialty of the attending physician, and the area of residence of the patient (rural, urban, or metropolitan). RESULTS The patients in the quartile admitted to hospitals with the lowest volume were 17 percent more likely to die within 30 days after admission than patients in the quartile admitted to hospitals with the highest volume (hazard ratio, 1.17; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.09 to 1.26; P<0.001), which resulted in 2.3 more deaths per 100 patients. The crude mortality rate at one year was 29.8 percent among the patients admitted to the lowest-volume hospitals, as compared with 27.0 percent among those admitted to the highest-volume hospitals. There was a continuous inverse dose-response relation between hospital volume and the risk of death. In an analysis of subgroups defined according to age, history of cardiac disease, Killip class of infarction, presence or absence of contraindications to thrombolytic therapy, and time from the onset of symptoms, survival at high-volume hospitals was consistently better than at low-volume hospitals. The availability of technology for angioplasty and bypass surgery was not independently associated with overall mortality. CONCLUSIONS Patients with acute myocardial infarction who are admitted directly to hospitals that have more experience treating myocardial infarction, as reflected by their case volume, are more likely to survive than are patients admitted to low-volume hospitals.
On the Optimisation of Multi-Degree-of-Freedom Acoustic Impedances of Low-Frequency Electroacoustic Absorbers for Room Modal Equalisation

Low-frequency electroacoustic absorbers have recently been developed as a solution for the modal equalisation. Firstly investigated in waveguides, the technique consists in matching the acoustic impedance at a closed-box loudspeaker diaphragm to the characteristic acoustic impedance of air. Extending the results in a duct to rooms brings up several challenges. Some parameters, such as the position and orientation of absorbers, the total area, as well as the acoustic impedance achieved at the diaphragms may influence the performance, especially in terms of modal decay time reduction. In this paper, the optimal values of a purely resistive acoustic impedance at an absorber diaphragm, whose area varies, are first investigated under normal incidence and grazing incidence in a finite-length waveguide. The optimal acoustic resistance values are then investigated for a given position, orientation, and total area of absorbers in rooms of different size. From these results, the target acoustic impedances with multiple degrees of freedom are defined with a view to assign to the absorber diaphragms. These impedances are then optimised from a global criterion, so that these impedances approach at best the different optimal resistance values found to minimise the modal decay times. Finally, an experimental evaluation of the performance of the electroacoustic absorber in a waveguide is provided.
Impact of Pt. Central Proteinaprima Customer Relationship Management towards Customer Loyalty In Sidoarjo Area

Customer Relationship Management is considered as an important factor that can impact customer loyalty in purchasing a product. In Sidoarjo, PT. Central Proteinaprima, a fish feed company, also competes with other companies to attract customer loyalty. This research is conducted with the aim to find out the effect of customer relationship management on customer loyalty. The data was gathered using simple random sampling by distributing questionnaires to 150 respondents in Sidoarjo. The data was analyzed by using Multiple Linear Regression Analysis. The result shows that customer relationship management simultaneously has significant impact on customer loyalty. Furthermore, the result also shows that interaction management, relationship development, quality of services, and behavior of employees have significant impact toward customer loyalty. Keywords: Customer Relationship Management, Customer Loyalty
Research on the epigenetic regulation mechanism of the PTPN6 gene in advanced chronic myeloid leukaemia

PTPN6, a tyrosine phosphatase protein, plays a negative role in cell signal transduction and is negatively correlated with tumour formation and growth. However, epigenetic regulation mechanism of the PTPN6 gene in advanced chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) remains unclear. This study investigated bone marrow or blood samples from 44 CML patients and 10 healthy volunteers. KCL22 and K562 cells were cultured and treated with demethylation drugs and histone deacetylase inhibitors. Real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), methylation‐specific PCR, bisulfite sequencing PCR, Western blotting, co‐immunoprecipitation and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) was performed. PTPN6 was down‐regulated in cell lines and patients with advanced phase CML, whereas DNMT1, DNMT3A, MECP2, MBD2 and HDAC1 were up‐regulated. Treatment with 5‐azacytidine, decitabine, sodium valproate and LBH589 increased PTPN6 expression, but decreased that of DNMT1, DNMT3A, MECP2, MBD2 and HDAC1. Immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry showed that HDAC1 combined directly with PTPN6. ChIP‐seq showed that HDAC1 did not combine with the promoter region of PTPN6, while MAPK, AKT, STAT5, JAK2 and MYC promoter regions all combined with HDAC1. PTPN6 is associated with progression of CML. Low expression level of PTPN6 was associated with DNA methylation and regulated by histone acetylation. HDAC1 participates in the regulation of PTPN6.
Two Decades of Using Kano's Theory of Attractive Quality: A Literature Review

Over the past two decades, the multidimensional model of quality attributes that is often referred to as “Kano's theory of attractive quality” (Kano et al. 1984) has gained increasing exposure and acceptance among academics and practitioners alike. Despite this, no research has provided a systematic review of the subsequent development of this theory since its introduction. The aims of this study are: a) to synthesize and organize the extant literature on the subject; and b) to suggest areas that require further research. A review was conducted of 33 papers related to the theory of attractive quality. The content of these papers was analyzed and theoretical and methodological research themes were identified. The study revealed several interesting developments with respect to methodological issues. Many of these, however, lack sufficient scientific rigor to be accepted as valid contributions to the further development of the theory of attractive quality. The findings of the study also provide guidance to managers on how to incorporate the latest development of the Kano methodology available in product development and customer satisfaction studies. The study aims at helping current and future researchers, and practitioners employing the Kano methodology, to examine their methodological decisions in detail.
Prevention potential of risk factors for childhood overweight.

BACKGROUND In order to better target prevention initiatives for the obesity epidemic in Canada, policy-makers, in addition to information about risk factors, require an understanding of the preventive potential which is best provided by the risk factor's population attributable risk fraction (PARF). OBJECTIVE To estimate the PARF for childhood overweight risk factors as identified by a population-based study of elementary schoolchildren in Nova Scotia. METHODS Population-based survey data of Grade 5 students who participated in the 2003 Children's Lifestyle and School Performance Study in Nova Scotia, Canada, were linked to a provincial perinatal registry. PARFs were calculated from a parsimonious multilevel logistic regression model. RESULTS Physical activity, sedentary activity, maternal smoking during pregnancy, and maternal pre-pregnancy weight were considered potentially preventable. Sedentary activity (as estimated from time spent viewing TV, computers and video games or "screen time") and maternal pre-pregnancy weight appeared to offer the greatest potential for prevention. In total, approximately 40% of-overweight in childhood could potentially be prevented. CONCLUSION Excess screen time and maternal pre-pregnancy weight offer the greatest potential for prevention of childhood overweight at 11 years of age.
Corporate Ethical Values and Organizational Commitment in Marketing

The authors explore corporate ethical values and organizational commitment in marketing. They (1) discuss corporate ethical values as a component of corporate culture, (2) review the literature on organizational commitment, (3) hypothesize a positive relationship between corporate ethical values and organizational commitment, and (4) empirically test the relationship with data from more than 1200 professional marketers, representing subsamples of marketing managers, marketing researchers, and advertising agency managers. The study results provide strong evidence of a positive association between corporate ethical values and organizational commitment. Given previous research demonstrating a strong link between commitment and specific organizational benefits, corporate ethics may be not only an important societal issue, but a key organizational issue as well.
Discontinuation of metformin in type 2 diabetes patients treated with insulin.

BACKGROUND Metformin added to insulin therapy in type 2 diabetic patients improves glycaemic control and decreases the required daily dose of insulin (DDI). Metformin should be discontinued if cardiac, hepatic or renal failure develops. We examined whether glycaemic control can be maintained after metformin cessation. METHODS We included 45 type 2 diabetic patients treated with insulin plus metformin, and 45 matched controls treated with insulin only. After discontinuation of metformin in the first group, we aimed for tight fasting and postprandial blood glucose levels, 4-7 and 4-10 mmol/l, respectively, in both groups. During 12 weeks we assessed glycaemic control every two weeks and, if necessary, adjusted the insulin dosage. RESULTS In the group in which metformin was discontinued, DDI increased from 67.9 +/- 22.9 to 92.2 +/- 29.4 IU (p < 0.001) leaving glycaemic control unchanged. In the controls, glycated haemoglobin (GHb) decreased by 0.93% (p < 0.001), while DDI increased slightly from 62.4 +/- 22.9 to 72.3 +/- 27.3 IU (p < 0.001). The increase in DDI was larger in patients in whom metformin was discontinued than in the controls (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS In type 2 diabetic patients treated with insulin plus metformin, glycaemic control can be maintained after discontinuation of metformin by increasing the DDI substantially (20 to 36%) during application of an intensified treatment protocol.
Urban Traffic Incident Detection Based On Fuzzy Logic

Automatic incident detection and characterization is urgently required in the development of advanced technologies used for reducing non-recurrent traffic congestion on urban traffic. This paper presents a new method which is constructed on the basis of fuzzy value logic to automatically identify freeway incidents. As a component of a real-time traffic adaptive control system for signal control, the algorithm feeds an incident report to the system's optimization manager, which uses the information to determine the appropriate signal control strategy. Off-line tests were conducted to substantiate the performance of the proposed incident detection algorithm based on simulated data. The test results indicate the feasibility of achieving real-time incident detection utilizing the proposed method
Implikasi market timing pada struktur modal perusahaan

Equity market timing appears to be an important aspect of real corporate financial policy. Many corporate financing decisions depend on market valuation. Firm tend to issue equity instead of debt when market value is high and repurchase equity when market value is low. Issue equity and repurchase equity are component of capital structure. This paper investigate the implied of market timing to capital structure in Indonesian companies. The main finding is market timing effect capital structure. Although the effect is not persistent in the long run, market timing has short run impact of capital structure in Indonesian companies.
Beyond Distance and Time Constrictions: Web 2.0 Approaches in Open Distance Learning, the Case of the University of South Africa (UNISA)

Higher education is moving from the traditional model of learning to a completely new socially mediated model. This article reports on the pedagogical value of Web 2.0 tools at Unisa. A quantitative approach was used to conduct this study with a questionnaire as a data collection instrument. The sample size is 301 lecturers drawn by stratified sampling with proportional allocation drawn across all the Unisa colleges. Descriptive statistics were employed to analyse and interpret the data. The results show that Web 2.0 tools are playing a pivotal role when it comes to opening avenues and collapsing the transactional distance in an ODL institution. Combining the developments in web technology and the trend of constructivism can transform the learning process. This article therefore recommends that Unisa should sensitise its lecturers about the adoption of Web 2.0 tools as a new innovative way for enhancing teaching and learning. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013. v4n14p543
Temporal pattern mining

Data analysis has become an integral part in many economic fields. In this paper, we present several real-world applications occurring in the fields of automobile development and manufacturing, finance, and online communities. The given examples share one aspect in common: time. It is not only the fact to find patterns inside data volumes but also to identify them based on their temporal behaviour. We will give examples of dealing with different models of incorporating the temporal aspects. Furthermore some new results in the area of Visual Data Analysis are presented. These methods offer intuitive methods of guiding the user through the process of data and model inspection and assist in drawing conclusions with the help of meaningful graphical representations.
A Comparison of the Clinical and Cost-Effectiveness of 3 Intervention Strategies for AIDS Wasting

Objective:To compare oxandrolone (OX) or strength training with nutrition alone (NA) for AIDS wasting. Subjects:Fifty patients with AIDS; 47 completing the study. Interventions:Randomization to (1) NA with placebo pills, (2) nutrition with 10 mg of OX administered orally twice a day, or (3) nutrition with progressive resistance training (PRT) for 12 weeks. Main Outcome Measures:Midthigh cross-sectional muscle area (CSMA), physical functioning (PF), costs, and cost-effectiveness in dollars/quality-adjusted life-years ($/QALYs). Results:The OX and PRT subjects had increases in CSMA (7.0% ± 2.5%, P = 0.01; 5.0% ± 2.0%, P = 0.04, respectively), although these increases did not differ significantly from the NA arm (NA: 1.0% ± 1.0%; OX vs. NA: P = 0.09; PRT vs. NA: P = 0.26). Only PRT caused significant improvements in PF (mean ± SE: 10.4 ± 3.8 points on a 100-point scale) and 7 measures of strength (P values: 0.04 to <0.001). There were no overall differences between groups in PF change. Among patients with impaired baseline PF, however, OX was significantly less effective than NA and PRT was significantly better than NA. All treatments led to increases in protein intake and performance; NA and PRT also increased caloric intake. The institutional costs per subject in this trial were $983 for NA, $3772 for OX, and $3189 for PRT. At a community-based level of intensity, the institutional costs per QALY were $45,000 (range: $42,000-$64,000) for NA, $147,000 (range: $147,000-$163,000) for OX, and $31,000 (range: $21,000-$44,000) for PRT. Conclusions:OX and PRT induce similar improvements in body composition, but PRT improves quality of life more than nutrition or OX, particularly among patients with impaired PF. PRT was the most cost-effective intervention, and OX was the least cost-effective intervention.
Molecular physiopathology of obesity-related diseases: multi-organ integration by GRK2

Abstract Obesity is a worldwide problem that has reached epidemic proportions both in developed and developing countries. The excessive accumulation of fat poses a risk to health since it favours the development of metabolic alterations including insulin resistance and tissue inflammation, which further contribute to the progress of the complex pathological scenario observed in the obese. In this review we put together the different outcomes of fat accumulation and insulin resistance in the main insulin-responsive tissues, and discuss the role of some of the key molecular routes that control disease progression both in an organ-specific and also in a more systemic manner. In particular, we focus on the importance of studying the integrated regulation of different organs and pathways that contribute to the global pathophysiology of this condition with a specific emphasis on the role of emerging key molecular nodes such as the G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 (GRK2) signalling hub.
A Broadband Proximity-Coupled Stacked Microstrip Antenna With Cavity-Backed Configuration

A broadband cavity-backed proximity-coupled stacked microstrip antenna is presented. Due to the interaction of the two stacked patches, two associated resonances are produced. Unlike conventional proximity-coupled or cavity-backed microstrip antennas, the lower patch and the cavity of this antenna produce the coupled resonances. These devised methods make the antenna act as multiple resonances, conducing to a broadband impedance matching. The simulated and the measured results demonstrate a bandwidth over one octave (VSWR <; 2). In the meantime, stable radiation patterns are obtained across the entire impedance band. The key parameters of the antenna are studied, and a prototype antenna that has a three-dimensional interconnection structure is provided.
Molecular pathology and genetics of congenital hepatorenal fibrocystic syndromes

The hepatorenal fibrocystic (HRFC) syndromes are a heterogeneous group of severe monogenic conditions that may be detected before birth. Commonly, HRFC syndromes present in the neonatal and paediatric age, with consistent developmental abnormalities mostly involving the liver and kidney. The changes include the proliferation and dilatation of epithelial ducts in these tissues with abnormal deposition of extracellular matrix. In this review, we examine the clinical features and differential diagnoses of this group of syndromes, including autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD), juvenile nephronophthisis (NPHP), Meckel-Gruber syndrome (MKS), Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS), and Jeune asphyxiating thoracic dystrophy (JATD). Extrahepatic manifestations include mostly bone and central nervous system abnormalities, dysmorphic features, and developmental delay. Previously, it has been suggested that ARPKD, JATD, and Ellis-van Creveld syndrome (EvC) may arise from defects in differentiation in a common developmental pathway. We review recent molecular advances in the recessive HRFC syndromes and discuss this hypothesis.
Healthcare in the Smart Home: A Study of Past, Present and Future

Ubiquitous or Pervasive Computing is an increasingly used term throughout the technology industry and is beginning to enter the consumer electronics space in its most recent form under the umbrella term: “Internet of Things”. One area of focus is in augmenting the home with intelligent, networked sensors and computers to create a Smart Home which opens a host of possibilities for the role of tomorrow’s dwelling. As the world’s population continues to live longer and consequently experience more medical-related ailments, at the same time institutional healthcare is struggling to cope, the role of the Smart Home becomes paramount to monitoring a dweller’s health and providing any necessary intervention. This study looks at the history of Smart Home Healthcare, current research areas, and potential areas of future investigation. Unique categorisations are presented in Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and Personal Sensors, and a thorough look at the application of Smart Home Healthcare is presented. Technology can augment traditional methods of healthcare delivery and in some cases completely replace it. Costs can be reduced and medical adherence can be increased, all of which contribute to a more sustainable and effective model of care.