Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Whole-Body Cryostimulation - Potential Beneficial Treatment for Improving Antioxidant Capacity in Healthy Men - Significance of the Number of Sessions

It is claimed that WBC (whole-body cryotherapy) enhances the resistance of the human body, also thanks to the beneficial effect on the antioxidant system. Accordingly, this research aimed to evaluate the effect of a series of whole-body cryostimulations on the level of non-enzymatic antioxidants and the activity of antioxidant enzymes in healthy men. The study was carried out on 30 young and healthy men aged 27.8±6.1 years with average body mass index and peak oxygen consumption (46.34±6.15 ml kg−1 •min−1). The participants were daily exposed for 3 minutes to cryogenic temperatures (−130°C). Blood samples were obtained in the morning before cryostimulation, again 30 min after exposure and the following day in the morning, during the 1st, 10th and 20th session. Analysis concerned changes in plasma concentrations of total protein, albumin, glucose, uric acid and ceruloplasmin, and the most important components of the antioxidant system in red blood cells: superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, reduced and oxidized glutathione. To assess the oxidative stress level the 8-isoprostane concentration in plasma was measured. The obtained results indicate that cryogenic temperatures in repeated daily treatments result in changes in the peroxidant and antioxidant status. These changes seem to depend on the number of cryostimulations. After 20 daily treatments there was an increase in SOD, SOD:CAT ratio, a decrease in the concentration of reduced and oxidized glutathione and in the activity of GPx. It could be possible that differences in the activity of GSSG-R after 20 treatments depended on the body mass index of participants.
Bank Competition in the Middle East and Northern Africa Region

This paper studies the extent of bank competition in the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) region during 1994-2008, using non-structural measures of competition such as the H-statistic and the Lerner index. Both these measures suggest that banking sector competition in MENA is lower relative to other regions and has not improved in recent years. An analysis of the determinants of competition across countries suggests that lower levels of competition in MENA are explained by a worse credit information environment and lower market contestability.
NURBS-Based Collocation Methods for the Structural Analysis of Shells of Revolution

In this work we present a collocation method for the structural analysis of shells of revolution based on Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline (NURBS) interpolation. The method is based on the strong formulation of the equilibrium equations according to Reissner-Mindlin theory, with Fourier series expansion of dependent variables, which makes the problem 1D. Several numerical tests validate convergence, accuracy, and robustness of the proposed methodology, and its feasibility as a tool for the analysis and design of complex shell structures.
Divergence-free nonrenormalizable models

A natural procedure is introduced to replace the traditional, perturbatively generated counter terms to yield a formulation of covariant, self-interacting, nonrenormalizable scalar quantum field theories that has the added virtue of exhibiting a divergence-free perturbation analysis. To achieve this desirable goal it is necessary to reexamine the meaning of the free theory about which such a perturbation takes place.
Proteomic Research Reveals the Stress Response and Detoxification of Yeast to Combined Inhibitors

The tolerant mechanism of yeast to the combination of three inhibitors (furfural, phenol and acetic acid) was investigated using 2-DE combined with MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS. The stress response and detoxification related proteins (e.g., Ahp1p, Hsp26p) were expressed higher in the tolerant yeast than in the parental yeast. The expressions of most nitrogen metabolism related proteins (e.g. Gdh1p, Met1p) were higher in the parental yeast, indicating that the tolerant yeast decreases its nitrogen metabolism rate to reserve energy, and possesses high resistance to the stress of combined inhibitors. Furthermore, upon exposure to the inhibitors, the proteins related to protein folding, degradation and translation (e.g., Ssc1p, Ubp14p, Efb1p) were all significantly affected, and the oxidative stress related proteins (e.g., Ahp1p, Grx1p) were increased. Knockdown of genes related to the oxidative stress and unfolded protein response (Grx1, Gre2, Asc1) significantly decreased the tolerance of yeast to inhibitors, which further suggested that yeast responded to the inhibitors mainly by inducing unfolded protein response. This study reveals that increasing the detoxification and tolerating oxidative stress, and/or decreasing the nitrogen metabolism would be promising strategies in developing more tolerant strains to the multiple inhibitors in lignocellulose hydrolysates.
Is Growth an Information Technology Story in Europe Too?

While the return to growth in the US is largely credited to the rapid spreading of information technology, a key policy concern everywhere, and notably in Europe, is whether and when the US economic boom will extend abroad, and what role new technologies are about to play. In this paper, I collect and supplement data on the extent and the contribution to growth of 'new economy' activities in Europe, and in a sample of OECD countries at large, in the 1990s. Available evidence indicates that capital accumulation in information technologies did make a contribution to growth in the EU too, though not equally everywhere. The contribution of new technologies was substantial in the UK and the Netherlands, and rapidly increasing over time in Finland, Ireland and Denmark. These were also the fast EU growing countries in the 1990s. New technologies contributed less in France, Germany, Belgium and Sweden, and marginally in Italy and Spain. Most of these countries were also 'slow growers'. I conclude that the growth gaps between the EU and the US, as well as within the EU, can (also) be associated to the diverse pace of adoption of new technologies across countries.
Community-based approaches to intimate partner violence : a review of evidence and essential steps to adaptation

This review focuses specifically on Intimate partner violence (IPV) against women, as opposed to Violence against women and girls (VAWG) more broadly, for several reasons. Partner violence is the most prevalent form of violence against women globally: a woman is at the greatest risk for suffering violence in her own home by someone she knows. A recent systematic review found that most of effective evaluations and programs on VAWG have been directed to IPV. This paper emphasizes results of these and other primary prevention programs, not because secondary and tertiary prevention programs are ineffective, but because primary prevention programs allow for macro-level programming that targets root causes of violence, such as harmful gender norms, to create generations of men, women, boys, and girls who not only no longer accept violence, but also feel empowered to eliminate it. To conclude, this methodological annex outlines the steps involved in adapting to new settings a community-based intervention to prevent intimate partner violence. While the precise nature of these steps will vary depending on the setting in which they are applied, the core ethical and effectiveness considerations here should remain true regardless of location. The authors hope that this note will help programmers worldwide to successfully transform community norms and prevent intimate partner violence.
Long-term neuroprotective effect of erythropoietin on executive functions in very preterm children (EpoKids): protocol of a prospective follow-up study

Introduction Premature infants are particularly vulnerable to brain injuries with associated cognitive and behavioural deficits. The worldwide first randomised interventional multicentre trial investigating the neuroprotective effects of erythropoietin (entitled ‘Does erythropoietin improve outcome in very preterm infants? ’ (NCT00413946)) included 450 very preterm infants in Switzerland. MRI at term equivalent age showed less white matter (WM) injury in the erythropoietin group compared with the placebo group. Despite these promising imaging findings, neurodevelopmental outcome at 2 years showed no beneficial effect of early erythropoietin. One explanation could be that the assessment of more complex cognitive functions such as executive functions (EFs) is only possible at a later age. We hypothesise that due to improved WM development and fewer WM injuries, children born preterm treated with early erythropoietin will have better EF abilities at 7–12 years than those treated with placebo. Methods and analysis 365 children who were included into the primary analysis of the original trial (NCT00413946) will be eligible in this prospective follow-up study at the age of 7–12 years. 185 children born at term will be control children. Primary outcome measures are EF abilities and processing speed, while secondary outcomes are academic performance, IQ, fine motor abilities and global brain connectivity. A comprehensive test battery will be applied to assess EFs. MRI will be performed to assess global brain connectivity. Cognitive scores and MRI measures will be compared between both groups using the Wilcoxon test. Propensity score matching will be used to balance gender, age, socioeconomic status and other potentially unbalanced variables between the children born preterm and the healthy control children. Ethics and dissemination The cantonal ethical committee granted ethical approval for this study (KEK 2017-00521). Written consent will be obtained from the parents. Findings from this study will be disseminated via international and national conference presentations and publications in peer-reviewed journals.
Multithreaded architectures and the sort benchmark

New computer architectures present many challenges to database-system designers. As main memory has increased in size and its latency has increased (in terms of cycles), much research has been focused on improving databasesystem performance to optimize for these new bottlenecks [18, 17, 3, 1, 4, 13, 8]. In this paper, we consider how algorithms designed specifically for newer architectures (featuring simultaneous multithreading (SMT)[20, 14], symmetric multiprocessors (SMP), advanced memory units, chip multiprocessors (CMP), etc.) can help database systems address the cache/memory performance gap. We chose a simple, yet important problem: the sort benchmark. Because the traditional sort benchmark [2] is based on a disk sort, we propose a variant of that problem for inmemory sorting in Section 3. As our benchmark platform, we chose the Intel NetBurst[9] architecture as implemented in the Xeon and Pentium 4 processors. Our results show the following:
Quelles dynamiques pour la négociation collective de branche

Une exploitation des resultats de l'enquete statistique REPONSE et une enquete qualitative menee dans huit branches professionnelles montre que les institutions de branche, au coeur du systeme francais de relations professionnelles, conservent un role majeur dans la regulation des conditions de travail et d'emploi. Cependant, des transformations sont observables en matiere de regulation salariale, a des degres differents selon les secteurs. Les caracteristiques structurelles des branches, le marche des produits, la reconnaissance du partenaire syndical et les formes d'engagement des acteurs en faveur de la branche expliquent principalement ces differences
Dissection of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Transcriptome Using Genome-Wide cDNA Microarrays

Background The differential pathophysiologic mechanisms that trigger and maintain the two forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Crohn disease (CD), and ulcerative colitis (UC) are only partially understood. cDNA microarrays can be used to decipher gene regulation events at a genome-wide level and to identify novel unknown genes that might be involved in perpetuating inflammatory disease progression. Methods and Findings High-density cDNA microarrays representing 33,792 UniGene clusters were prepared. Biopsies were taken from the sigmoid colon of normal controls (n = 11), CD patients (n = 10) and UC patients (n = 10). 33P-radiolabeled cDNA from purified poly(A)+ RNA extracted from biopsies (unpooled) was hybridized to the arrays. We identified 500 and 272 transcripts differentially regulated in CD and UC, respectively. Interesting hits were independently verified by real-time PCR in a second sample of 100 individuals, and immunohistochemistry was used for exemplary localization. The main findings point to novel molecules important in abnormal immune regulation and the highly disturbed cell biology of colonic epithelial cells in IBD pathogenesis, e.g., CYLD (cylindromatosis, turban tumor syndrome) and CDH11 (cadherin 11, type 2). By the nature of the array setup, many of the genes identified were to our knowledge previously uncharacterized, and prediction of the putative function of a subsection of these genes indicate that some could be involved in early events in disease pathophysiology. Conclusion A comprehensive set of candidate genes not previously associated with IBD was revealed, which underlines the polygenic and complex nature of the disease. It points out substantial differences in pathophysiology between CD and UC. The multiple unknown genes identified may stimulate new research in the fields of barrier mechanisms and cell signalling in the context of IBD, and ultimately new therapeutic approaches.
Land Use and Transportation Costs in the Brazilian Amazon

In this paper we put forth some empirical evidence from the Brazilian Amazon that the relationship between roads and land clearing may be much more complex than the conventional wisdom implies. In particular we find that in areas that already at least partially cleared, improving the road network (i.e. decreasing transport costs) may actually decrease the rate of deforestation. We argue that our methodology of explicitly modeling the dynamics should be preferred to the more common static, contemporaneous analyses found in the literature. Furthermore, we endeavor to provide an encompassing explanation of our results. In other words, not only do we show that dynamic modeling yields different conclusions from the conventional wisdom, but using our dynamic approach we are able to explain why so many other studies came to (possibly erroneous) conclusions using more traditional methods.
Knee extensor muscle weakness and radiographic knee osteoarthritis progression

Background and purpose — Knee extensor (KE) muscle weakness is a modifiable feature commonly observed in individuals with knee osteoarthritis (KOA) and constitutes a potential target for patient-specific interventions. Therefore, in this study, we explored whether KE weakness is associated with radiographic (medial and/or lateral) KOA progression and how this relationship differs depending on frontal plane knee alignment and sex. Patients and methods — We studied 3,075 knees (1,961 participants, 58% female) from the Osteoarthritis Initiative with radiographic Kellgren–Lawrence grade 1–3. Peak KE torque (Nm/kg) was assessed at baseline, and progression defined as fixed-location joint space width loss (≥ 0.7mm) in medial and lateral tibiofemoral compartments from baseline to 4-year follow-up. Knee-based generalized estimating equations, stratified by alignment (malaligned vs. neutral), estimated the relative risk (RR) of progression for those in the lowest (and middle) vs. highest KE torque group (split by tertiles). Secondary analyses explored whether this relationship was compartmental- or sex-specific. Results — Being in the lowest (or middle) compared with the highest torque group increased the risk of progression in neutrally aligned knees (relative risk [RR] 1.2 [95% CI 1.0–1.4]; and 1.2 [CI 1.0–1.4], respectively), but not after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, pain, and radiographic severity. In secondary analyses, women with neutral alignment in the lowest compared with the highest torque group had significantly increased risk of lateral compartment progression independent of age, BMI, disease severity, and pain (RR 1.3 [CI 1.0–1.8]). No association was observed between KE torque and KOA progression in men, irrespective of alignment. Interpretation — These results identify a potentially important clinical phenotype: KE weakness may be a more important risk factor for radiographic KOA progression in women without knee malalignment.
Australian Gay and Bisexual Men’s Attitudes to HIV Treatment as Prevention in Repeated, National Surveys, 2011-2013

Objective Assess the acceptability of HIV treatment as prevention and early antiretroviral treatment among gay and bisexual men in Australia and any changes in attitudes over time. Methods National, online, cross-sectional surveys of gay and bisexual men were repeated in 2011 and 2013. Changes in attitudes to HIV treatment over time were assessed with multivariate analysis of variance. The characteristics of men who agreed that HIV treatment prevented transmission and thought that early treatment was necessary were identified with multivariate logistic regression. Results In total, 2599 HIV-negative, untested and HIV-positive men participated (n = 1283 in 2011 and n = 1316 in 2013). Attitudes changed little between 2011 and 2013; most participants remained sceptical about the preventative benefits of HIV treatment. In 2013, only 2.6% of men agreed that HIV treatment prevented transmission; agreement was associated with being HIV-positive, having an HIV-positive regular partner, and having received HIV post-exposure prophylaxis. In contrast, 71.8% agreed that early antiretroviral treatment is necessary; younger men were more likely and HIV-positive men and participants with HIV-positive partners were much less likely to agree with this. Conclusions Promoting the individual health benefits of HIV treatment rather than its preventative benefits remains more acceptable to Australian gay and bisexual men.
Using Choice Experiments to Value Non-Market Goods and Services: Evidence from Field Experiments

Critics of stated preference methods argue that hypothetical bias precludes survey techniques from providing reliable economic values for non-market goods and services, rendering estimation of the total economic benefits of public programs fruitless. This paper explores a relatively new methodology to obtain the total value of non-market goods and serviceschoice experimentswhich conveniently provide information on the purchase decision as well as the characteristic value vector. The empirical work revolves around examining behavior in two very different field settings. In the first field study, we explore hypothetical bias in the purchase decision by eliciting contributions for a threshold public good in an actual capital campaign. To extend the analysis a level deeper, in a second field experiment we examine both the purchase decision and the marginal value vector via inspection of consumption decisions in an actual marketplace. In support of the new valuation design, both field experiments provide some evidence that hypothetical choice experiments combined with cheap talk can yield credible estimates of the purchase decision. Furthermore, we find no evidence of hypothetical bias when estimating marginal attribute values. Yet, we do find that the cheap talk component might induce internal inconsistency of subjects preferences in the choice experiment.
Large age and hospital-dependent variation in administration of adjuvant chemotherapy for stage III colon cancer in southern Netherlands.

BACKGROUND The purpose was to assess factors associated with the administration of chemotherapy and their relation to survival at a population-based level. METHODS All patients diagnosed with primary colon cancer stage III from 2001 to 2007 in the area of the Eindhoven Cancer Registry were included (N = 1637). We examined determinants of the administration of adjuvant chemotherapy and their relation to survival. RESULTS The proportion of patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy decreased with increasing age from 85% for patients <65 years to 68% for those 65-74 years and 17% for patients > or =75 years, with large interhospital variation. Elderly patients {odds ratio (OR) 0.1 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.1-0.1]} and those with comorbidity [OR 0.6 (95% CI 0.5-0.8)] received adjuvant chemotherapy less often. Patients with an intermediate [OR 1.4 (95% CI 1.1-1.9)] or high socioeconomic status [OR 1.5 (95% CI 1.1-2.0)] or stage IIIC [OR 1.5 (95% CI 1.1-2.0)] received adjuvant chemotherapy more often. Adjuvant chemotherapy was the most important predictor of survival. In a multivariable analysis, older age was no longer a significant negative predictor of survival, in contrast to comorbidity, higher tumor stage, poor tumor grade, and male gender. The improvement in survival from 2001 to 2006 did not reach statistical significance. CONCLUSION Adherence to guidelines for adjuvant chemotherapy was still suboptimal in 2007, especially for elderly patients, and differed widely between hospitals.
Mobile phones for teaching physics: using applications and sensors

This paper describes several experiments performed by our research group to show the use of smartphones in physics teaching. We document our work on the development of apps for smartphones and on how to use recorded sensor data. As a final result, some interesting outcomes are obtained from the surveys conducted on the students about the use of these applications and their mLearning experience in general. These results show that the students are very interested in using smartphones as a complement to a more traditional learning. Finally, the influence of using the developed applications on students' grades and engagement was also analyzed. The results of this analysis prove that the use of smartphones highly improves students' engagement.
Chronic Ischemic Heart Disease Affects Health Related Quality of Life

Background Chronic diseases endanger not only physical health but also psychological and social health of patient. Thus, evaluation of such patients for psychological treatment decisions is very important. Method This is a descriptive study that was performed with 50 chronic patients (ischemic heart disease) selected from Valiasr and Mousavi at cardiac wards in Zanjan Province. They were given three types of questionnaire: demographic, WHOQOL, and Zung depression and anxiety index. The information was statically analyzed by frequency chart, central indexes, dispersion, Chi-Square and t tests, Pearson’s correlation index (P < 0.05). Results The average of quality of life in all patients were calculated as was respectively 12.19, 11.98, 12.08, and 12.4 in physical, psychological, social and environmental domains respectively, 68 percent of total number of the patients had various degrees of anxiety and 78 percent of them had various degrees of depression. There was a significant relationship between the life quality average in all domains and anxiety intensity and depression intensity (P < 0.05) and there was a significant relationship between life quality average in all domains and income (P < 0.05). Conclusion As the level of depression and anxiety goes up, quality of life decreases pointing out that they have a reverse relationship. Depression and anxiety are one of the most significant factors of quality of life among other variables. Regarding specific conditions of the treatment, it is necessary to pay special attention to psychological aspects.