Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adverse events associated with un-blinded, but not with blinded, statin therapy in the Anglo- Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial

Background In blinded randomised controlled trials, statin therapy has been associated with few adverse events (AE). By contrast, in observational studies, larger increases in many different AEs have been reported. Methods The Lipid-Lowering Arm (LLA) of the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial (ASCOT) involved a blinded randomised phase (when atorvastatin 10mg daily was compared with placebo) and a subsequent non-blinded non-randomised phase (when patients were offered use of open-label statin). Both phases involved similar active follow-up and ascertainment of AEs. We blindly adjudicated all reports of four pre-specified AEs of interest (AEOI): muscle-related, erectile dysfunction, sleep disturbance and cognitive impairment, and analysed all remaining AEs grouped by system organ classification (SOC). Rates of AEs are given as percentages per annum (%pa). Results During the blinded phase, muscle-related AEs were reported at a similar rate by participants randomly assigned atorvastatin or placebo (298 [2·03%pa] vs 283 [2·00%pa]; Hazard Ratio [HR] 1.03 [95% confidence interval [CI] 0·88-1·21]). Compared with placebo, the rate of reports of sleep disturbance was significantly lower among participants assigned atorvastatin (149 [1·00%pa] vs 210 [1·46%pa]; HR 0·69 [0·56-0·85]), while the rate of reports of erectile dysfunction was nonsignificantly lower (272 [1·86%pa] vs 302 [2·14%pa]; HR 0·88 [0·75-1·04]). Too few cases of cognitive impairment were reported (31 [0·20%pa] vs 32 [0·22%pa]) for a statistically reliable analysis (HR 0·94 [0·57-1·54]). No significant differences were observed in the rates of all other reported AEs, with the exception of a small excess of renal and urinary AEs among patients assigned atorvastatin. By contrast, during the non-blinded non-randomised phase, muscle-related AEs were reported at a significantly higher rate by participants taking statins than by those who were not (161 [1·26%pa] vs 124 [0·90%pa]; HR 1·41 [1·10-1·79]). There were no significant differences between statin users and non-users in the rates of other AEs, with the exception of musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders which were reported more commonly by statin users (HR 1·17 [1·06-1·29]). Interpretation These analyses illustrate the so-called “nocebo” effect, with an excess rate of muscle-related AE reports only when patients and their doctors were aware that statin therapy was being used, and not when its use was blinded.
Carcass characteristics and meat quality of early , mid-and late-season commercial lambs

Comparisons were made of carcass and meat quality characteristics of three groups of wether lambs (n=15/group): a composite breed slaughtered at weaning (EARLY), and at 6-8 months of age (MID) and Merino lambs slaughtered at 12 months of age (LATE). Carcass weight and eye muscle area were measured and meat quality was measured on the Longissimus thoracis (loin). All lambs had similar carcass weights (18.7-19.0 kg; P>0.05). Meat from LATE lambs had higher ultimate pH and intramuscular fat % (P<0.001) than EARLY and MID lambs. Loins from EARLY lambs had lower Chroma (P<0.01), higher eye muscle area (P<0.001) and shear force (P<0.05) and greater percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids (P<0.001) than loins from MID and LATE lambs. Although statistical differences were observed in meat quality measurements, differences in absolute values suggest that the three production systems resulted in minor variation in meat quality.
A novel 60 GHz wideband coupled half-mode / quarter-mode substrate integrated waveguide antenna

A novel wideband substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) antenna topology, consisting of coupled half-mode and quarter-mode SIW resonant cavities, is proposed for operation in the 60 GHz band. This innovative topology combines a considerable bandwidth enhancement and a low form factor with compatibility with low-cost PCB manufacturing processes, making it excellently suited for next generation, high data rate wireless applications. Moreover, exploiting SIW technology, a high antenna-platform isolation is obtained, enabling dense integration with active electronics without harmful coupling. The computer-aided design process yields an antenna that covers the entire [57-64] GHz IEEE 802.11ad band with a measured fractional impedance bandwidth of 11.7% (7 GHz). The measured maximum gain and radiation efficiency of the prototype are larger than 5.1 dBi and 65%, respectively, within the entire impedance bandwidth.
Spectral domain, common path OCT in a handheld PIC based system

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) has made it into the clinic in the last decade with systems based on bulk optical components. The next disruptive step will be the introduction of handheld OCT systems. Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) technology is the key enabler for this further miniaturization. PIC technology allows signal processing on a stable platform and the implementation of a common path interferometer in that same platform creates a robust fully integrated OCT system with a flexible fiber probe. In this work the first PIC based handheld and integrated common path based spectral domain OCT system is described and demonstrated. The spectrometer in the system is based on an Arrayed Waveguide Grating (AWG) and fully integrated with the CCD and a fiber probe into a system operating at 850 nm. The AWG on the PIC creates a 512 channel spectrometer with a resolution of 0.22 nm enabling a high speed analysis of the full A-scan. The silicon nitride based proprietary waveguide technology (TriPleXTM) enables low loss complex photonic structures from the visible (405 nm) to IR (2350 nm) range, making it a unique candidate for OCT applications. Broadband AWG operation from visible to 1700 nm has been shown in the platform and Photonic Design Kits (PDK) are available enabling custom made designs in a system level design environment. This allows a low threshold entry for designing new (OCT) designs for a broad wavelength range.
Ileal digestibility of calcium and phosphorus in broilers fed diets with different phytases and Ca:available P ratios

Abstract: The objective of this work was to determine the apparent ileal digestibility of calcium and phosphorus in broilers fed diets with different phytases and calcium:available phosphorus (Ca:aP) ratios. Two experiments were carried out: one with broilers with 22 to 33 days of age, and the other with broilers with 35 to 42 days. The Ca:aP ratios used were 4.5:1.0, 6.0:1.0, and 7.5:1.0 in the first period, and 3.5:1.0, 5.0:1.0, and 6.5:1.0 in the second. All diets were supplemented with 1,500 units of phytase activity per kilogram of six different sources of microbial phytase. At the end of each experiment, two broilers per replicate were slaughtered to collect the ileal content. In the samples of digested food, the Ca and P contents were determined for later calculation of the apparent ileal digestibility coefficients of these minerals. The Ca:aP ratio influenced the activity of phytases, and the highest digestibility was observed with lower ratios, in both experiments. The phytases that provided greater digestibility coefficients were A, D, and E. In both ages evaluated, the inclusion of phytases in the feed improved the digestibility of Ca and P, which was also affected by the content of calcium and by the phytase source used.
CAN FORESIGHT STUDIES STRENGTHEN STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESSES AT THE URBAN AND REGIONAL LEVEL ?

Foresight initially arose to make provisions for the future in science and technology, however now it is beginning to be used in issues linked directly or indirectly to the territory such as climate change, urban development and transport. The present paper explores the opportunities provided by foresight to complement and reinforce strategic planning processes at the urban and regional level. For this purpose, a scenario design method is developed and adapted to the requirements of territorial planning. Based on recent foresight studies conducted by the author in Spain, results show the conceptual and operative opportunities provided by territorial foresight as well as its current shortcomings for application in the urban and regional planning field.
On the Capacity of Disjointly Shared Networks

Multi-access broadcast channels have the property that only one user can successfully transmit on the channel at a time. We consider a hypothetical channel called a disjointly shared channel in which more than one user pair can communicate simultaneously over physically disjoint parts of the channel. We consider the question of how much extra capacity such a channel has over that of a broadcast channel, as measured by the number of user pairs on the channel. The amount of extra capacity depends on the topology of the channel and the distribution of offered traffic. We analyze the problem for a pa'rticular disjointly shared channel having n users whose topology consists of k disjoint parallel cables. For an offered traffic pattern equally weighting each pair of users the capacity increases by at most a factor of three over that of k disjoint multi-access broadcast channels, i.e. on average at most 3k pairs of users will be communicating. For a specific offered traffic pattern which heavily weights connections between users close to each other the capacity is approximately akn for a constant a k depending on the number of cables k, and it is shown that 1 / 4 < a k < 1 / 2 with a k increasing to 1 / 2 as k ~ o¢. The analysis for the second traffic pattern leads to a permutation enumeration problem which is solved using generating functions, continued fractions and Hermite polynomials.
WP / 19 / 48 Nonlinearity B etween the Shadow Economy and Level of Development

This paper is the first attempt to directly explore the long-run nonlinear relationship between the shadow economy and level of development. Using a dataset of 158 countries over the period from 1996 to 2015, our results reveal a robust U-shaped relationship between the shadow economy size and GDP per capita. Our results imply that the shadow economy tends to increase when economic development surpasses a given threshold or at least does not disappear. Our findings suggest that special attention should be given to the country’s level of development when designing policies to tackle issues related to the shadow economy. JEL Classification Numbers: E26, H26, O17, O43, I25
University of Dundee Anticipated regret to increase uptake of colorectal cancer screening ( ARTICS )

Screening is important for early detection of colorectal cancer. Our aim was to determine whether a simple anticipated regret (AR) intervention could increase uptake of colorectal cancer screening. A randomised controlled trial of a simple, questionnaire-based AR intervention, delivered alongside existing pre-notification letters, was conducted. A total of 60,000 adults aged 50e74 years from the Scottish National Screening programme were randomised into the following groups: (1) no questionnaire (control), (2) Health Locus of Control questionnaire (HLOC) or (3) HLOC plus AR questionnaire. The primary outcome was return of the guaiac faecal occult blood test (FOBT). The secondary outcomes included intention to return test kit and perceived disgust (ICK). A total of 59,366 people were analysed as allocated (intention-to-treat (ITT)); no overall differences were seen between the treatment groups on FOBT uptake (control: 57.3%, HLOC: 56.9%, AR: 57.4%). In total, 13,645 (34.2%) individuals returned the questionnaires. Analysis of the secondary questionnaire measures showed that AR indirectly affected FOBT uptake via intention, whilst ICK directly affected FOBT uptake over and above intention. The effect of AR on FOBT uptake was also moderated by intention strength: for less-than-strong intenders only, uptake was 4.2% higher in the AR (84.6%) versus the HLOC group (80.4%) (95% CI for difference (2.0, 6.5)). The findings show that psychological concepts including AR and perceived disgust (ICK) are important factors in determining FOBT uptake. However, the AR intervention had no simple effect in the ITT analysis. It can be concluded that, in those with low intentions, exposure to AR may be required to increase FOBT uptake. The current controlled trials are presented at the website www.controlled-trials.com (number: ISRCTN74986452). © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC WIREFRAME AND DENSE POINT CLOUD 3 D MODELLING OF HISTORICAL STRUCTURES : THE STUDY OF SULTAN SELIM MOSQUE

The photogrammetry enables to getting high accuracy measurement with low-cost and easy application in documentation of historical structures. The object details are signified with lines in cultural heritage documentation by photogrammetry. The combination of all the lines create 3D wireframe model of the measurement object. In addition, patch surfaces of the wireframe are mapped with the texture from the images for more realistic visualization. On the other hand, the progress on computer vision and image processing techniques is allowing automatically perform the photogrammetric process. A large number of points that are called dense point cloud can be measured from coverage area of multi view images. The dense point cloud represents the object shape with small space measured points while the wireframe photogrammetry is representing the object with lines. In this study these two photogrammetric methods were evaluated with respect to visualization, cost, labour and measurement time through 3D modelling of historical structures of Sultan Selim Mosque and Yusuf Aga Library.
Understanding Consumers ’ Impulse Buying Behavior in Social Commerce Platforms Emergent Research Forum Paper

Social commerce has emerged as a new online commerce platform which enhances users’ interactions and information contributions. Hence, social aspects are important elements in these environments. Nevertheless, the potential influence of social facets on social commerce users’ behaviors is not yet fully understood. In this study, we are interested in examining the influence of social factors in driving social commerce users’ impulse buying behaviors. Drawing from Latent State-Trait theory, we suggest that environmental cues, users’ personality traits, and interactions between these two elements can influence users’ urge to buy impulsively. To capture the social aspects of social commerce platforms, this study considers environmental cues from two different perspectives; the stimuli from other members, and from the website itself. Potential contributions to research and practice are discussed.
WP / 19 / 64 Self-Employment and Support for The Dutch Pension Reform by Izabela Karpowicz

The Netherlands’ pension system is characterized by high participation rates, adequate retirement income, strong capitalization and sustainability. Pressure points are arising, however, due to population aging and untransparent intergenerational transfers inherent in the system. Moreover, the Dutch pension system needs to adapt to the changing labor market landscape with an increasing share of workers in self-employment not covered by any pension arrangement. The government has proposed replacing collective definedbenefits schemes with personal accounts, and abolishing uniform premia and constant accrual rates. The micro-data analysis shows that allowing greater risk-taking and freedom of choice in managing pension savings could crowd self-employed into pension schemes. JEL Classification Numbers: J21, J41, H55
EVALUATION OF THE ATTAINMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL GOALS IN SUSTAINABLE GROWTH REGARDING GAS EMISSION AND ENERGY CONSUMPTION , AS DEFINED FOR POLAND IN THE EUROPE 2020 STRATEGY

In March 2010, the European Commission announced a 10-year strategic plan called ‘Europe 2020 – A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth’. At the same time, the Polish authorities approved several strategic documents connected with the Lisbon Agenda and the new Europe 2020 Strategy, intended to support the development of RER and the reduction of emissions, mainly of greenhouse gases. The objective of this study has been to assess the indicators of sustainable growth for Poland against the backdrop of these indicators for the European Union. The analysis included indicators related to gas emission and energy consumption in the years 2004, 2010 and 2015. For each indicator, a so-called demonstration assessment value was calculated, which shows by what percentage the value of a given indicator achieved in Poland is better or worse than the average value of this indicator for the European Union member states The study showed positive changes in the individual indicators in 2004–2015. OCENA REALIZACJI CELÓW ŚRODOWISKOWYCH ZRÓWNOWAŻONEGO ROZWOJU W ZAKRESIE EMISJI GAZÓW I WYKORZYSTANIA ENERGII PODJĘTYCH DLA POLSKI W STRATEGII EUROPA 2020 Mirosława Witkowska-Dąbrowska Katedra Ekonomii Środowiska, Nieruchomości i Agrobiznesu Wydział Nauk Ekonomicznych Uniwersytet Warmińsko-Mazurski w Olsztynie S ł o w a k l u c z o w e: redukcja gazów cieplarnianych, energia ze źródeł odnawialnych, zużycie energii, założenia dla Polski. 398 Mirosława Witkowska-Dąbrowska
WP / 18 / 251 Fiscal Stimulus Impact on Firms ’ Profitability During the Global Financial Crisis

Using financial statement data from the Thomson Reuter’s Worldscope database for 22,333 non-financial firms in 52 advanced and emerging economies, this paper examines how fiscal stimulus (i.e., changes in structural deficit) interacted with sectoral business cycle sensitivity affected corporate profitability during the recovery period of the global financial crisis (GFC). Using cross-sectional analyses, our findings indicate that corporate profitability improved significantly after the GFC fiscal stimulus, especially in manufacturing, utilities and retail sectors. Firm size and leverage are also found to be significant in explaining changes in corporate profitability. JEL Classification Numbers: C33, E32, E62, H62
Title Long-term efficacy and safety of anti-VEGF therapy in retinitispigmentosa : a case report

Background: Retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a neurodegenerative disease, is occasionally accompanied by choroidal neovascularization (CNV) and cystoid macular oedema. It is presently treated with repeated intravitreal injections of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents. However, there are concerns regarding long-term inhibition of VEGF by the use of these agents, especially in cases involving neurodegenerative diseases, since VEGFs have a neuroprotective effect. Currently, there are no reports on the long-term safety of anti-VEGF therapy in patients with RP. Case presentation: In this report, we describe the case of a 56-year-old female patient with CNV associated with RP who was treated with anti-VEGF therapy for 8 years. She had autosomal dominant RP with a heterozygous PRPH2 mutation (c.410G > A) and complained of metamorphopsia in her left eye. Examinations revealed CNV with serous retinal detachment. She was treated with as-needed injections for 2 years; however, she experienced a recurrence. Therefore, we switched to a bimonthly regimen that was continued for 6 years. In total, the patient received 34 injections of various types of anti-VEGFs over 8 years. No recurrences were noted during that time, and we have not detected any negative effects concerning the progression of visual field loss in comparison with the fellow eye. Conclusions: No negative effects related to the progression of visual field loss were observed during continuous treatment with anti-VEGF agents for 8 years in our patient.
Redox Dependence of Excitation Quenching by Quinones in Bacteriochlorophyll Agregates

Harvesting only 4 % of light striking the Earth could possibly fulfill present energy demands of a mankind. Chlorosome of green sulfur bacteria is regarded as suitable light-harvesting system for photosynthesis imitation. This work presents comparison of absorption and hole burning spectra of artificially prepared aggregates similar to chlorosomes with different compositions in order to verify the proposed role of quinones in excitation quenching and its redox dependence. Absorption spectra at room and helium temperature showed a resemblance between artificial aggregates and chlorosomes. Hole burning experiments verified the role of quinones in excitation quenching under aerobic conditions. Even more pronounced excitation quenching was observed under anaerobic conditions. Significant improvements of the original experimental set-up provided better experimental data which raised many further question that are worth trying to answer in the future.
Engineer – DEP / FEM / UNICAMP IBP 3404 _ 10 THE VALUE OF EXPANSION OPTION IN THE SELECTION OF THE OPTIMAL OIL EXPLOITATION STRATEGY

This paper presents a case study of selection of a production strategy using the real options approach to expand the production of an offshore oil field by drilling additional wells. This oilfield is located in deep waters containing oil with 28 oAPI and the real options may be exercised at any time during the first three years of production. This flexibility adds value to the project that cannot be captured properly by the traditional method of NPV; therefore the real options theory can be applied. In this paper, the dynamics of present value of cash flows of the project is modeled using binomial model, which is common in financial option pricing. In addition, the methodology takes into account the operational constraints in the capacity of liquid production, water injection capacity and water treatment to make the optimal decision to develop the field. In this oilfield studied, the optimization of the production strategy was carried out taking into account the parameters such as type and configuration of wells, layers of completion and wells opening scheduling. The results show that the value of flexibility to expand production may increase the NPV, if the option is exercised in year 1 and 2 after the start up of the production, but it becomes meaningless if exercised in the year 3 after beginning of production.
Is the sensitivity to ammonium nutrition related to nitrogen accumulation

Nitrate and ammonium can be used as nitrogen sources by most plant species although plant response to continuous ammonium nutrition is species dependent. In the present study, the effect of the nitrogen source (nitrate and ammonium) on growth, photosynthetic parameters, nitrogen content and nitrogen assimilating-enzymes (nitrate reductase, glutamine synthetase and glutamate dehydrogenase) was investigated in wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.), tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum L.) and lucerne ( Medicago truncatula L.). Obtained results showed that these plant species vary in their sensitivity to NH 4 + nutrition, with wheat to be highly sensitive, tomato moderately sensitive and lucerne tolerant to ammonium nutrition. For the three plant species, the growth reduction was correlated closely to ammonium accumulation in leaves. Moreover, contrary to that was observed for wheat plants, glutamine synthetase and glutamate dehydrogenase activities were higher in roots than in leaves, for tomato and lucerne plants. Taken together, these data suggest that the site of ammonium assimilation is a key factor controlling tolerance to ammonium nutrition in the different plant species, with plants being more tolerant when ammonium is assimilated in roots.