Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mortality of a cohort of road construction and maintenance workers with work disability compensation.

BACKGROUND Surveillance systems of occupational mortality are useful tools to identify cases of diseases suspected as occupational and to monitor their occurrence over time, in space and in population subgroups. Many surveillance systems make use of administrative data in which information about occupations and/or economic sectors of the subjects enrolled is reported, such as death certificates, hospital discharge data, census data, tax and pension records, and workers' compensation archives. OBJECTIVES In the present study we analyzed the mortality of a cohort of road construction and maintenance workers enrolled through the Italian national archive of work disability compensations, also in order to evaluate the possible use of this administrative source to monitor occupational mortality. METHODS 8,000 subjects (7,879 males) receiving a disability compensation while working in the "road construction and maintenance" sector were identified from INAIL (National Institute for Insurance of Accidents at Work) archives. Vital status of these subjects was ascertained using the information available in INAIL archives and in the national tax register. For those found to be deceased from INAIL or tax archives, or without any information on vital status, a mail follow-up was started. We considered as observation period the years from 1980 to 1993. A record linkage with the ISTAT (Italian Institute of Statistics) national mortality registry was performed and the cause of death was retrieved for 964 out of 1,259 subjects. The analysis was restricted to males, leaving altogether 863 observed deaths with ascertained cause (84.7% of 1,019 total male deaths). SMR for overall mortality and PMR for specific cause mortality were computed, using the general Italian male population as reference. RESULTS Overall mortality was significantly reduced (SMR = 79.0; 95% CI = 74.2-84.0). Proportional mortality analysis revealed significant excess risks for all malignant tumours (332 deaths, PMR = 1.08) and for digestive diseases (87 deaths, PMR = 1.34), while mortality for cardiovascular diseases was significantly decreased (288 deaths, PMR = 0.90). Among specific causes of death, significant excess mortality was found for cancer of testicles (2 deaths, PMR = 5.98), liver and biliary ducts (32 deaths, PMR = 1.40), and for silicosis (10 deaths, PMR = 3.07) and cirrhosis (64 deaths, PMR = 1.40). CONCLUSIONS The excess mortality observed for all cancers, digestive diseases and silicosis, and the decreased risk for cardiovascular diseases are in agreement with the results of other studies conducted on workers in road construction and maintenance. As expected, the low overall mortality and the reduced risk from cardiovascular diseases indicate that these workers present a strong "healthy worker effect".
Career plans of final-year medical students in South Africa.

Those of rural or small-town origin (N=350) were less likely than those of city origin (N=376) to want to work abroad (p<0.001), were more likely to want to work in rural areas (p<0.0001), and were less likely to want to spend most of their career in the private sector (p<0.05). Among respondents planning to work abroad, those of non-urban origin were more likely to work there short-term than those of urban origin (p<0.001). Although only 47% of respondents had made a definite career choice, 93% nevertheless indicated their first choice of specialty. Internal medicine (including sub-specialties) was the leading choice overall (22%) and among women (21%). Surgery (including sub-specialties) was second overall (20%), the top choice of men, and the second-ranked choice of women (26% v. 16%; p<0.001). Paediatrics was the third-placed choice overall (12%). It was significantly more popular among women than men (16% v. 6%; p<0.001), as was obstetrics and gynaecology (11% v. 6%; p<0.05). The top three influences on specialty choices were ‘Plans to have a family’ (62%), ‘Acceptable hours of practice’ (55%), and ‘Intellectual challenge’ (45%). Other important influences were ‘Opportunities for health promotion and prevention’ (37%), ‘Working with new technology’ (36%), and ‘Continuity of patient contact’ (35%). Women rated all of the above more highly than men, with the exception of ‘Working with
Selective detection of neurotoxin by photoluminescent peptide nanotubes.

The self-assembly of molecular building blocks into ordered structures is a facile and versatile route to the fabrication of functional nanomaterials. [ 1 , 2 ] Many peptides, which consist of more than several amino acids, can self-assemble to form various nanostructures under ambient conditions in an environmentally friendly manner. [ 3 , 4 ] Among the peptide-based building blocks, diphenylalanine (Phe-Phe; FF) is the simplest biological molecule found in the key motif of Alzheimer’s β -amyloid. [ 3–5 ] The FF peptide and its derivatives can readily self-assemble into various nanostructures, such as nanotubes, nanowires, nanospheres, and organo/hydrogels, that exhibit unique physical, chemical, and photochemical properties, enabling many biotechnological applications. [ 6–14 ] Recently, we found that FF nanotubes exhibit a strong photoluminescence (PL) by acting as a host matrix as well as an antenna for lanthanide complexes. [ 15 ] This fi nding suggests that FF nanotubes may have potential as new optical nanomaterial for photonic and biosensing applications. In this Communication, we fi rst report on the application of photoluminescent FF nanotubes to the selective detection of neurotoxin. Many neurotoxins are organophosphates that inhibit the activity of acetylcholine esterase (AChE) in the brain, leading to the termination of synaptic transmission in the central nervous system. [ 16 ] Organophosphates have been widely used as pesticides (e.g., paraoxon, parathion, dichlorvos, malathion) and chemical warfare agents (e.g., sarin, soman, and tabun); thus, the development of sensing techniques for the effi cient detection of organophosphates is critical for security and health safety. In particular, paraoxon is a highly toxic organophosphate, ≈ 70% as potent as chemicalwarfare agents, such as sarin gas. Most detection methods for organophosphates are based on optical or electrochemical biosensors and involve the immobilization of enzyme bioreceptors (e.g., AChE or organophosphate hydrolase) but the enzymatic methods often suffer from serious problems, such as low selectivity for organophosphates, slow response time, and instability of the bioreceptors. [ 17 ] According to our present study, photoluminescent FF nanotubes respond selectively to the presence of organophosphate, especially paraoxon, by rapid PL quenching. We found that this sensing
Heavy quark potential and effective actions on blocked configurations.

Blocked SU(3) gauge configurations are analyzed to obtain a heavy quark potential and effective actions. Swendsen{close_quote}s optimized scale factor {ital b}=2 blocking scheme is used to generate blocked configurations. The heavy quark potential calculated on twice blocked configurations produced from 32{sup 3}{times}64 lattices at {beta}=6.30 shows good rotational invariance in contrast with the Wilson action. The determination of effective actions which are responsible for blocked configurations is carried out, in a space with up to nine coupling constants, by use of the canonical demon method. We find that the effective actions are not local. Apart from complicated actions, simple actions with two coupling constants are compared. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society. }
Randomized Controlled Trial of FTY720 Versus MMF in De Novo Renal Transplantation

Background. Phase II trials of FTY720, a novel immunomodulator, have shown promise in preventing rejection with both standard and reduced cyclosporine exposure. This study was designed to confirm those findings. Methods. This one-year, multicenter, randomized, phase III study in 696 de novo renal transplant patients compared FTY720 5 mg plus reduced-dose cyclosporine (RDC) or FTY720 2.5 mg plus full-dose cyclosporine (FDC) with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) plus FDC. All patients received concomitant corticosteroid therapy without antibody induction. The primary efficacy composite endpoint was the incidence of first treated biopsy-proven acute rejection (treated BPAR), graft loss, death or premature study discontinuation at month 12. Results. FTY720 2.5 mg plus FDC was demonstrated to be non-inferior to MMF plus FDC as the primary efficacy endpoint (30.8% and 30.6%) was comparable. The FTY720 5 mg plus RDC treatment regimen was discontinued due to an increased incidence of acute rejection episodes (primary endpoint 43.3%). FTY720 was associated with significantly lower creatinine clearance with a mean difference at 12 months between FTY720 2.5 mg plus FDC and MMF plus FDC of 8 ml/min. Conclusions. While FTY720 2.5 mg plus FDC yielded similar efficacy to MMF plus FDC, the FTY720 5 mg plus RDC did not allow a 50% reduction in cyclosporine exposure. The associated lower creatinine clearance indicated that FTY720 combined with cyclosporine provided no benefit over standard care.
Analysis of the convergence properties of topology preserving neural networks

The authors provide a rigorous treatment of the convergence of the topology preserving neural networks proposed by Kohonen for the one-dimensional case. The approach extends the original work by Kohonen on the convergence properties of such networks in several respects. First, the authors investigate the convergence of the neuron weights directly as compared to Kohonen's treatment of the dynamic behavior of the expectation values of the weights. Second, the problem is formulated for a more general case of selecting the neighborhood amplitude of interaction rather than the uniform amplitude. Third, the proof of convergence is based on the well-known Gladyshev theorem which uses Lyapunov's function method. The authors provide a step-by-step constructive proof which establishes the asymptotic convergence to a unique solution. This proof also provides the relation between the boundary neurons' weight vectors and the number of neurons in the network. The approach is then extended to the two-dimensional case and the result is stated in a theorem.
Cuticular Hydrocarbon Variability Among Triatoma dimidiata (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) Populations from Mexico and Guatemala

Abstract The geographic variation in the cuticular hydrocarbon pattern among 11 populations of Triatoma dimidiata Latreille (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae) from different regions of Mexico and Guatemala, was studied using capillary gas chromatography. T. dimidiata populations were differentiated based on the relative amounts of 71 hydrocarbon components. Insect population classification was mostly in agreement with their geographical vicinity; Mexican populations from the Yucatan peninsula grouped together with those from northern Guatemala, insects from the Mexican Gulf coast states were closely related to those collected from northern Oaxaca, and to a lesser extent, to insects from Chiapas. Insects from southern Oaxaca were clustered together with those from southern Guatemala. All these populations were clearly separated from Guatemalan specimens collected in caves from Alta Verapaz.
An HPSG approach to synchronous speech and deixis

The use of hand gestures to point at objects and individuals, or to navigate through landmarks on a virtually created map is ubiquitous in face-to-face conversation. We take this observation as a starting point, and we demonstrate that deictic gestures can be analysed on a par with speech by using standard methods from constraint-based grammars such as HPSG. In particular, we use the form of the deictic signal, the form of the speech signal (including its prosodic marking) and their relative temporal performance to derive an integrated multimodal tree that maps to an integrated multimodal meaning. The integration process is constrained via construction rules that rule out ill-formed input. These rules are driven from an empirical corporal study which sheds light on the interaction between speech and deictic gesture.
Long‐Term Survival of Allograft Murine Islets Coated via Covalently Stabilized Polymers

Clinical islet transplantation (CIT) has emerged as a promising treatment option for type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM); however, the antirejection drug regimen necessary to mitigate allograft islet rejection is undesirable. The use of polymeric coatings to immunocamouflage the transplant from host immune attack has great potential. Alginate and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)‐based polymers, functionalized with azide and phosphine, respectively, which form spontaneous and chemoselective crosslinks via the bioorthogonal Staudinger ligation scheme, were recently developed. Here, the utility of these polymers to form immunoprotective, ultrathin coatings on murine primary pancreatic islets is explored. Resulting coatings are nontoxic, with unimpaired glucose stimulated insulin secretion. Transplantation of coated BALB/c (H‐2d) islets into streptozotozin‐induced diabetic C57BL/6 (H‐2b) results in prompt achievement of normoglycemia, at a rate comparable to controls. A significant subset of animals receiving coated islets (57%) exhibits long‐term (>100 d) function, with robust islets observed upon explantation. Control islets rejected after 15 d (±9 d). Results illustrate the capacity of chemoselectively functionalized polymers to form coatings on islets, imparting no detrimental effect to the underlying cells, with resulting coatings exhibiting significant protective effects in an allograft murine model.
Effects of N-(3-[3-(1-piperidinylmethyl)phenoxy]propyl)-acetoxyacetamide hydrochloride (TZU-0460), a histamine H2-receptor antagonist, on gastric acid secretion and ulcer formation.

N-(3-[3-(1-Piperidinylmethyl)phenoxy]propyl)-acetoxyacetamide++ + hydrochloride (TZU-0460) was compared with cimetidine for the effects on gastric acid secretion in dog and rat and on ulcer formation in rat. TZU-0460 as well as cimetidine, given i.v. or p.o. , produced a dose-dependent inhibition of acid secretion stimulated by histamine, pentagastrin or carbachol in Heidenhain gastric pouch dogs and gastric lumen-perfused rats. In dog, the relative potencies of TZU-0460 to cimetidine, given p.o. and i.v. , were 6.2 and 5.1, respectively, in acid secretion stimulated by histamine, and those gained by i.v. route were 3.5 by pentagastrin and 4.2 by carbachol. In rat, however, relative potencies of TZU-0460 to cimetidine, given i.v. , were 2.8, 2.2 and 1.6 in acid secretion stimulated by histamine, pentagastrin and carbachol, respectively. TZU-0460, given p.o. , prevented the formation of gastric ulcers induced by exposure to stress, pylorus-ligation, both pylorus-ligation and acetylsalicyclic acid, indometacin or reserpine in rats. TZU-0460 was about twice as active as cimetidine on these experimental models of gastric ulcers. TZU-0460, given p.o. , prevented the formation of duodenal ulcer induced by cysteamine in rats, whereas cimetidine failed to prevent it significantly.
Predictors Of Women ' s Involvement In Household Financial Decision-Making

This study reports empirical results based on an original survey of household finances in which, unlike other surveys, the participants were specifically asked about their degree of involvement in financial decision-making for the household. Women's involvement in household finances is found to be significantly positively related to their share of total household income. Since the most commonly-used datasets for household financial research do not identify the household decision-maker, previous research on gender differences in financial decision-making has been limited. This research suggests that female share of total household income could be a viable proxy for female decision-makers in married couples.
In Poor Countries , Tax Collection is a Function of State Capacity Not Social Diversity : A study of local tax revenues in Benin

This paper tests two competing theories of low tax revenues in very poor countries. The first is that ethnic diversity lowers citizens’ willingness to pay taxes, thereby reducing revenues. The second argues that the problem is low state capacity. Using a new dataset of local tax revenues in Benin, I find that urbanization, which makes tax collection easier and more efficient, is a better predictor of per capita government revenues than ethnic or religious fractionalization scores. The second step of the study is to move beyond relative differences in capacity and revenue to look at revenues in absolute terms. I find that they are uniformly low at both the local and national levels. Disaggregating the sources of tax revenue demonstrates, furthermore, that most tax collection occurs where taxes are easiest to extract. These findings offer further support for the tax capacity hypothesis. The paper concludes with a discussion of how the source of government revenues which in Benin are largely independent of taxpayer contributions affects the logic of public goods provision. I argue that where citizens do not determine the size of tax revenues, social diversity cannot have a direct effect on the provision of public goods.
Evolving Strategies in Epidemiologic Research on Radiation and Cancer

With the emergence of new imaging technologies and expanded access to large administrative databases and biospecimen banks, research teams of radiation epidemiologists, dosimetrists, statisticians and related scientists are adapting their use of fundamental research strategies for studying radiation and cancer. Five broad strategies have yielded numerous critical insights in the last three decades: assessing risks from environmental radiation releases; projecting radiation risks; following patients who have had radiotherapy; estimating organ doses with more sophisticated phantom models; and focusing on genetically susceptible individuals. We consider these five approaches in turn and discuss how findings might provide insight into biological mechanisms and translate into clinical benefit and improved public health.
The Level of B . Sc . Ed Students ’ Conceptual Understanding of Newtonian Physics

It is often taken for granted that students who are enrolled in a said Bachelor’s Degree course in a university should have a much better understanding of the said subject then when they were in school. Studies conducted have shown that this may not necessarily be the case. They are often unable to apply the concepts that have been studied in the introductory Physics course to the task of solving related problems. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the level of Newtonian Physics conceptual understanding of university students enrolled in Science Education courses in order to investigate their preparedness in becoming future Physics teachers. This survey-based study involved a sample of 200 third-year B.Sc.Ed students from three universities in Malaysia. Data collected from the Test of Conceptual Understanding of Newtonian Physics was analyzed descriptively and inferentially to determine the level of the students’ Newtonian Physics conceptual understanding. The findings confirmed that generally, undergraduates’ students are still having problems to conceptually understand physics concepts taught at them.
The effects of nanosilver application on the efficacies of different preservatives during the postharvest life gerbera cut flowers

The present research was conducted to estimate the possible effect of nanosilver on the efficacies of salicylic acid (SA) and benzyladenin (BA) as preservatives during the postharvest life of gerbera cut flowers. The gerbera cut flowers,Gerbera jamesonii Dune, were pulse treated with 4 levels of SA (0, 50, 100 and 200mgL -1 ) or BA (0, 50, 100 and 150mgL -1 ). These pulse treated (24h) flowers were transported to distilled water or nanosilver solution of 4mgL -1 . The anthocyanin contents, membrane stability indexes and solution uptake rates in all treatment groups gradually decreased during the experimental days. However, the reduction rates of the mentioned critical parameters were alleviated by the applied preservatives where SA especially in combination with nanosilverwere more effective than BA. In contrast to SA, the longevity of gerbera cut flowers adversely affected with increasing the level of BA. The obtained results from the present research indicated that the application of salicylic acid as preservative was more effective than benzyladenin for promoting the longevity of gerbera cut flowers. In addition, the efficacies of the applied preservatives (salicylic acid and benzyladenin) were increased with the used level of nanosilver.
An Efficient Routing and Distributed Denial of Service ( DDOS ) Attack Detection Technique for Centralized Control Plane

Hybrid IP networks that utilizes both control paradigms such as distributed and centralized. It combines programmability of Software Defined Network (SDN), and fault tolerance of distributed routing protocols, like OSPF. Naturally, a hybrid network arranges SDN to manage prioritized traffic and OSPF to promise relaxed process of finest traffic attempt. Distributed Denial of Services (DDoS) attacks are one of well-known and risky intimidation to the current network. The first threat attacks on control plane communications which exploit from lack of trust guarantees between controllers and switches. The previous system designed a Support Vector Machine (SVM) based classification scheme for attack detection. However it does produced satisfactory results. To overcome this difficulty the proposed work designed a Modified Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System (MANFIS) based DDOS attack detection scheme. In this work, the routing modification is done by using link-state advertisements (LSAs) generation. Then network partitioning is done with the help of Anarchic Society Optimization (ASO) algorithm. Compute fitness function by using utilization cost of sub graphs. In order to improve the security on control plane the detection of DDoS attacks is an important research topic. The investigate results produced that the designed system attains enhanced performance compared with the previous system in terms of accuracy, precision and recall.
Urban form and driving

We estimate the effect of urban form on driving. We match the best available travel survey for the us to spatially disaggregated national maps that describe population density and demographics, sectoral employment and land cover, among other things. To address inference problems related to sorting and endogenous density, we develop an estimator that relies on assumption of imperfect mobility and exploit quasi-random variation in subterranean geology. The data suggest that increases in density cause small decreases in individual driving. Applying our estimates to the observed distribution of density and driving in the us suggests that plausible densification policies cause decreases in aggregate driving that are small, both absolutely and relative to what might be expected from gas taxes or congestion charging.
Incomputability, Undecidability & Unsolvability in Economic Theory

“Being unfamiliar with what counts as a problem in economics I am astounded that decidability and other foundational problems should turn up here. Quantum mechanics is pretty OK; there are problems, true, but there are also lots of very precise predictions. I have not noticed anyone in the field went into the foundations of mathematics to get things going. Why do these matters turn up in economics? ” Paul Feyerabend, Letter to the Author, ‘02/04/92’ (4 February, 1992); italics added.