Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gender effects on consumers’ symbolic and hedonic preferences and actual clothing consumption in the Czech Republic

During the last decade or so consumer products have become more divided by gender than ever before. These changes in marketing practices are likely to introduce, alter or increase any existing gender differences regarding consumers’ product preferences and actual consumption. This is a very timely study examining how gender relates to consumers’ interest in clothing artefacts and their preferences for the self- and social-symbolic and hedonic meanings of clothing. The influence of gender on actual purchase behaviour towards clothing is also explored. The proposed hypotheses are tested on a large-scale sample of some 1,000+ respondents drawn in the Czech Republic. Using analysis of variance tests, gender differences were found with regard to all but one consumer behaviour phenomenon. No gender effect was found only regarding consumer preference for clothing affiliation symbolism. The study contributes to the theoretical development and empirical evidence in the field of gendered symbolic and hedonic consumption of clothing artefacts. Its findings also suggest possible actions by fashion marketers, as well as some interesting venues for future research.
Associations between end-of-life discussions, patient mental health, medical care near death, and caregiver bereavement adjustment.

CONTEXT Talking about death can be difficult. Without evidence that end-of-life discussions improve patient outcomes, physicians must balance their desire to honor patient autonomy against a concern of inflicting psychological harm. OBJECTIVE To determine whether end-of-life discussions with physicians are associated with fewer aggressive interventions. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS A US multisite, prospective, longitudinal cohort study of patients with advanced cancer and their informal caregivers (n = 332 dyads), September 2002-February 2008. Patients were followed up from enrollment to death, a median of 4.4 months later. Bereaved caregivers' psychiatric illness and quality of life was assessed a median of 6.5 months later. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Aggressive medical care (eg, ventilation, resuscitation) and hospice in the final week of life. Secondary outcomes included patients' mental health and caregivers' bereavement adjustment. RESULTS One hundred twenty-three of 332 (37.0%) patients reported having end-of-life discussions before baseline. Such discussions were not associated with higher rates of major depressive disorder (8.3% vs 5.8%; adjusted odds ratio [OR], 1.33; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.54-3.32), or more worry (mean McGill score, 6.5 vs 7.0; P = .19). After propensity-score weighted adjustment, end-of-life discussions were associated with lower rates of ventilation (1.6% vs 11.0%; adjusted OR, 0.26; 95% CI, 0.08-0.83), resuscitation (0.8% vs 6.7%; adjusted OR, 0.16; 95% CI, 0.03-0.80), ICU admission (4.1% vs 12.4%; adjusted OR, 0.35; 95% CI, 0.14-0.90), and earlier hospice enrollment (65.6% vs 44.5%; adjusted OR, 1.65;95% CI, 1.04-2.63). In adjusted analyses, more aggressive medical care was associated with worse patient quality of life (6.4 vs 4.6; F = 3.61, P = .01) and higher risk of major depressive disorder in bereaved caregivers (adjusted OR, 3.37; 95% CI, 1.12-10.13), whereas longer hospice stays were associated with better patient quality of life (mean score, 5.6 vs 6.9; F = 3.70, P = .01). Better patient quality of life was associated with better caregiver quality of life at follow-up (beta = .20; P = .001). CONCLUSIONS End-of-life discussions are associated with less aggressive medical care near death and earlier hospice referrals. Aggressive care is associated with worse patient quality of life and worse bereavement adjustment.
The Effects of Trimetazidine and Sildenafil on Bilateral Cavernosal Nerve Injury Induced Oxidative Damage and Cavernosal Fibrosis in Rats

Aim. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of sildenafil and trimetazidine on bilateral cavernosal nerve injury-induced oxidative damage and fibrotic changes in cavernosal tissue in rat model. Material and Methods. A total of 32 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 4 groups; each group consist 8 rats (control, BCI, BCI + TMZ, and BCI + sildenafil groups). Tissue superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), and protein carbonyl (PC) levels were determined biochemically and distribution of cavernosal fibrosis density among groups was performed histopathologically. Results. Tissue SOD levels in BCI group were significantly lower than the control group (P < 0.05). Tissue MDA and PC levels in BCI group were significantly higher than the control group (P < 0.05). TMZ and sildenafil administration significantly increased tissue SOD levels (P < 0.05) and reduced tissue MDA and PC levels (P < 0.05). Histologically, the degree of cavernosal fibrosis and collagen density was higher in BCI group in comparison to control, TMZ-treated, and sildenafil-treated groups. Conclusion. BCI caused oxidative damage and increased cavernosal fibrosis in rat penis. TMZ and sildenafil treatment decreased oxidative damage and reduced the degree of fibrosis in penile tissue due to BCI.
Concatenation of space-time block codes and LDPC codes

Space-Time coding is widely used in wireless communication systems, in order to provide diversity gain and overcome fading effects of multipath propagation, also by using channel codes, such as Convolutional, Turbo and LDPC coding, we can increase coding gain and obtain performance result near to Shannon limit. In this paper, we consider the concatenation of LDPC coding as outer code and Alamouti'sG2 space-time block codes as inner codes to achieve the benefits of both techniques; In addition the performance of proposed system is studied as a function of LDPC decoding parameters e. g. frame length, number of iteration, coding rate and constellation mapping over Rayleigh flat-fading and AWGN noisy channel.
Leaf and whole-plant gas exchange and water-use efficiency of chrysanthemums under HPS and LEDs during the vegetative and flower-induction stages

The effects of light quality on photosynthesis and transpiration of chrysanthemums during the vegetative and flowering stages are not known. Leaf and whole-plant CO2 and H2O exchanges of chrysanthemums during long-day (LD) and short-day (SD) photoperiods were measured under varying intensity levels of high-pressure sodium (HPS) and different monochromatic and multicolour light-emitting diode (LED) lights. All light sources induced leaf photosynthesis effectively, including green and orange LEDs. During both LD and SD, HPS, white, and notably orange light produced high rates of photosynthesis, whereas blue light had the lowest rates. In addition, there were only subtle changes in the response of leaf functions to light quality during flowering induction. Diurnal patterns of whole-plant net C exchange rate were similar under HPS and two commercial LED lights, one red–blue (RB) and one red–white (RW), during both LD and SD. The RB and RW LED lights were as effective at maintaining whole-plant C gain during the day as traditional HPS lights. However, in comparison to HPS, the RB and RW LEDs increased whole-plant transpiration and decreased water-use efficiency (WUE). A decrease in WUE under these LEDs was not evident from the leaf measurements, which emphasizes the importance of examining responses to light quality at the whole-plant level as well and not at the leaf level alone. In commercial production, the wavelength of supplementary lighting may heavily influence WUE and subsequent nutrient uptake, and ultimately growth and quality of cut flower crops.
Risk factors and outcomes among children admitted to hospital with pandemic H1N1 influenza

Background: Limited data are available on disease characteristics and outcomes of children with 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1) virus infection (pandemic H1N1 influenza) who have required hospital admission. Methods: We reviewed the charts of 58 children with pandemic H1N1 influenza admitted to a large pediatric hospital in Ontario, Canada, between May 8 and July 22, 2009. We compared risk factors, severity indicators and outcomes of these children with those of 200 children admitted with seasonal influenza A during the previous 5 years (2004/05 to 2008/09). Results: Children with pandemic H1N1 influenza were significantly older than those with seasonal influenza (median age 6.4 years v. 3.3 years). Forty-six (79%) of the children with pandemic H1N1 influenza had underlying medical conditions; of the other 12 who were previously healthy, 42% were under 2 years of age. Children admitted with pandemic H1N1 influenza were significantly more likely to have asthma than those with seasonal influenza (22% v. 6%). Two children had poorly controlled asthma, and 6 used inhaled medications only intermittently. The median length of stay in hospital was 4 days in both groups of children. Similar proportions of children required admission to the intensive care unit (21% of those with pandemic H1N1 influenza and 14% of those with seasonal influenza) and mechanical ventilation (12% and 10% respectively). None of the children admitted with pandemic H1N1 influenza died, as compared with 1 (0.4%) of those admitted with seasonal influenza. Interpretation: Pandemic H1N1 influenza did not appear to cause more severe disease than seasonal influenza A. Asthma appears to be a significant risk factor for severe disease, with no clear relation to severity of asthma. This finding should influence strategies for vaccination and pre-emptive antiviral therapy.
PUB: Path Upper-Bounding for Measurement-Based Probabilistic Timing Analysis

Measurement-Based Probabilistic Timing Analysis (MBPTA) responds to the challenge of analysing the timing behaviour of real-time software running on hardware deploying high-performance features (e.g., data caches). MBPTA provides a WCET estimate that upper-bounds the execution time of the set of paths exercised with the data input vectors provided by the user. However, in several scenarios, the user is unaware of the input vector leading to the worst-case path. In this paper we present PUB, a new method that makes the WCET estimates obtained with MBPTA a trustworthy upper-bound of the probabilistic execution time of all paths in the program, even when the user-provided input vectors do not exercise the worst-case path. This significantly reduces the requirements imposed on the user to apply MBPTA. For Malardarlen and EEMBC respectively, PUB provides WCET estimates 5% and 11% higher than the WCET estimates computed with MBPTA.
adhesion sclerosis skin and mediates myeloid cell expressed in diffuse cutaneous systemic Junctional adhesion molecule-A is abnormally

http://ard.bmj. com/content/69/01/249.full. html Updated information and services can be found at: These include: References http://ard.bmj. com/content/69/01/249.full. html#ref-list-1 This article cites 19 articles, 11 of which can be accessed free at: service Email alerting box at the top right corner of the online article. Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article. Sign up in the Topic collections (18608 articles) Clinical diagnostic tests  (6084 articles) Surgical diagnostic tests  (7166 articles) Connective tissue disease  (14729 articles) Radiology  (362 articles) Pathology  Articles on similar topics can be found in the following collections
Variations of Tongue Coating Microbiota in Patients with Gastric Cancer

The physical status of humans can be estimated by observing the appearance of the tongue coating, known as tongue diagnosis. The goals of this study were to reveal the relationship between tongue coating appearance and the oral microbiota in patients with gastric cancer and to open a novel research direction supporting tongue diagnosis. We used a tongue manifestation acquisition instrument to analyse the thickness of the tongue coating of patients with gastric cancer and that of healthy controls, and high-throughput sequencing was used to describe the microbial community of the tongue coating by sequencing the V2–V4 region of the 16S rDNA. The tongue coatings of 74 patients with gastric cancer were significantly thicker than those of 72 healthy controls (343.11 ± 198.22 versus 98.42 ± 48.25, P < 0.001); 51.35% of the patients were assessed as having thick tongue coatings, whereas all healthy controls were assessed as having thin tongue coatings. Thick tongue coatings presented lower microbial community diversity than thin tongue coatings. The tongue coating bacterial community is associated with the appearance of the tongue coating. The tongue coating may be a potential source for diagnosing gastric cancer, but its sensitivity needs to be further improved.
Competence and Discipline on Work Motivation and the Implication on Working Performance

The performance of the board members is a key determinant of a Parliamentâ€˜s performance in carrying out the duties and the responsibilities of budgeting, legislation, and control. This study aims to obtain the results about the effect of competence and discipline on work motivation and the implication on the performance of members of the Depok Municipality's House of Local Representatives or the Depok City Council.The method used is descriptive-explanatory with a survey that aims to test the hypothesis and to explain causal relationships between the variables. The population is all the members of the Depok City Council (50 people). A sample of 34 people was taken by simple random method. The research hypothesis is tested using the Path Analysis.The results showed that the competence and the discipline have simultaneously effects on the work motivation of the board members. Work motivation refinement can be pursued through increased competence and discipline synergistically. However, not disjointed competence and discipline is an obstacle in strengthening the work motivation. Partially, the work motivation is more influenced by the competence rather than the discipline. The results also showed that the competence, discipline and work motivation have affected simultaneously the performance. Performance refinement can be pursued through increased competence, discipline, and work motivation synergistically. Partially, the performance is more influenced by the discipline rather than the competence and the work motivation.Our suggestion to the headship of the Depok City Council is to improve the competence and the discipline of the board members synergistically and continously in order to strengthen the work motivation and improve the performance at the same time. We recommend to formulate policies which require the adequacy and the suitability of competence in the placement of tasks and improve the discipline collectively. It is recommended to immediately implement a performance management system and enhance the rules of internal procedures through conditioning duties and responsibilities according to the competence. It is also suggested to researchers to examine the performance of board members in other regions using other factors such as control, compensation, commitment and job satisfaction.
Towards optimal object bank for scene classification

High-level image representations have drawn increasing attention in visual recognition, e.g., scene classification, since the invention of the object bank (OB). The object bank represents an image as a response map of a large number of pre-trained object detectors and has achieved superior performances for visual recognition. However, the object bank representation can be further improved by considering the distributions of the object across categories and the discriminative contributions to the image representation. In this paper, we propose an optimal object bank (OOB) by imposing weights on the detectors according to their discriminative abilities. Through extensive experiments on two benchmark datasets: UIUC-Sports dataset and 15-Scene dataset, we prove that the proposed OOB can significantly improve the original object bank and achieves state-of-the-art performances.
Subinhibitory Arsenite Concentrations Lead to Population Dispersal in Thiomonas sp.

Biofilms represent the most common microbial lifestyle, allowing the survival of microbial populations exposed to harsh environmental conditions. Here, we show that the biofilm development of a bacterial species belonging to the Thiomonas genus, frequently found in arsenic polluted sites and playing a key role in arsenic natural remediation, is markedly modified when exposed to subinhibitory doses of this toxic element. Indeed, arsenite [As(III)] exposure led to a considerable impact on biofilm maturation by strongly increasing the extracellular matrix synthesis and by promoting significant cell death and lysis within microcolonies. These events were followed by the development of complex 3D-biofilm structures and subsequently by the dispersal of remobilized cells observed inside the previously formed hollow voids. Our results demonstrate that this biofilm community responds to arsenite stress in a multimodal way, enhancing both survival and dispersal. Addressing this complex bacterial response to As(III) stress, which might be used by other microorganisms under various adverse conditions, may be essential to understand how Thiomonas strains persist in extreme environments.
Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Is Closely Associated with Sub-Clinical Inflammation: A Case-Control Study on Asian Indians in North India

Objectives Association between sub-clinical inflammation and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has not been studied in Asian Indians. In this case-control study, we aimed to analyse association of NAFLD with the sub-clinical inflammation and metabolic profile in Asian Indians in north India. Methods Ultrasound diagnosed 120 cases of NAFLD were compared to 152 healthy controls without NAFLD. Anthropometric profile [body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC)], high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), metabolic profile [fasting blood glucose (FBG), lipid profile] and hepatic function tests [alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST)] were recorded. Results Metabolic parameters [FBG, total cholesterol (TC), serum triglycerides (TG),low-density lipoprotein (LDL-c)], hs-CRP and prevalence of the metabolic syndrome were higher in cases as compared to controls (p-value<0.05 for all). The median (range) of hs-CRP (mg/L) for cases [2.6(0.2–13.4)] were significantly higher than in controls [1.4(0.03–11.4), p = 0.01]. Similarly, higher values of hs-CRP were obtained when subgroups of cases with obesity, abdominal obesity and the metabolic syndrome were compared to controls [2.75 (0.03–14.3) vs. 1.52 (0.04–14.3), p = 0.0010; 2.8 (0.03–14.3) vs. 1.5 (0.06–14.3), p = 0.0014 and 2.7 (0.5–14.3) vs. 1.6 (0.06–8.5), p = 0.0013, respectively. On multivariate logistic regression analysis BMI (p = 0.001), WC (p = 0.001), FBG (p = 0.002), TC (p = 0.008), TG (p = 0.002), blood pressure (p = 0.005), metabolic syndrome (p = 0.001) and hs-CRP (p = 0.003) were significantly and independently associated with NAFLD. After adjusting for significant variables, the association between high hs-CRP and NAFLD remained large and statistically significant [adjusted OR = 1.17, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.05–1.29]. An increase in 1 mg/dl of hs-CRP level calculated to increase the risk of developing NAFLD by 1.7 times as compared to controls after adjusting for significant variables associated with NAFLD. Conclusions In this cohort of Asian Indians in North India, presence of NAFLD showed independent relationships with sub-clinical inflammation.
Procedural Justice, Identity, Reciprocity and Behaviour:The Importance of Fairness for Employee Behaviour in Emergency Services

This thesis examines the relationship between procedural justice and positive employee behaviour, and is comprised of two studies. Study 1 draws upon social identity theory and social exchange theory, and examines the two as competing routes for explaining the relationship between procedural justice and work engagement. Data from 347 employees suggests that organisational pride and perceived organisational support are found to be mediators of this relationship. Drawing upon self-concept theory, Study 2 investigates employee collective self-concept as an important mediator for the relationship between procedural justice and ethical voice behaviour. Data from 239 employees and their co-workers suggests that procedural justice is positively related to ethical voice behaviour, and that employee collective self-concept fully mediates this relationship. Individual self-concept and relational self-concept were controlled for in the mediation model, and the results show that individual self- and relational self-concept were not found to mediate the relationship between procedural justice or ethical voice behaviour.
Reconsidering the Economics of Demand Analysis with Kinked Budget Constraints

This paper has two objectives. First, we identify a problem with the ability of the discrete-continuous choice framework and conditional demand functions to fully describe consumer preferences in the presence of kinked budget constraints. Second, we propose and illustrate an alternative, preference-based method for estimating consumer responses to price changes under these conditions. This framework recognizes that commitments to commodities such as pools or outdoor landscaping influence how water consumption responds to price changes as part of the long-run consumption adjustments. With microdata on household choices, this approach could be used to design increasing block rate structures that recognize the differences in water consumption responses with these commitments. (JEL Q25)
Area-Level Socioeconomic Gradients in Overweight and Obesity in a Community-Derived Cohort of Health Service Users – A Cross-Sectional Study

Background Overweight and obesity lead to higher probability of individuals accessing primary care but adiposity estimates are rarely available at regional levels to inform health service planning. This paper analyses a large, community-derived clinical database of objectively measured body mass index (BMI) to explore relationships with area-level socioeconomic disadvantage for informing regional level planning activities. Materials and Methods The study included 91776 adults who had BMI objectively measured between 1 July 2009 and 30 June 2011 by a single pathology provider. Demographic data and BMI were extracted and matched to 2006 national census socioeconomic data using geocoding. Adjusted odds-ratios for overweight and obesity were calculated using sex-stratified logistic regression models with socioeconomic disadvantage of census collection district of residence as the independent variable. Results The prevalence of overweight or obesity was 79.2% (males) and 65.8% (females); increased with age to 74 years; and was higher in rural (74%) versus urban areas (71.4%) (p<0.001). Increasing socioeconomic disadvantage was associated with increasing prevalence of overweight (p<0.0001), obesity (p<0.0001) and overweight or obesity (p<0.0001) in women and obesity (p<0.0001) in men. Socioeconomic disadvantage was unrelated to overweight (p = 0.2024) and overweight or obesity (p = 0.4896) in males. Conclusion It is feasible to link routinely-collected clinical data, representative of a discrete population, with geographic distribution of disadvantage, and to obtain meaningful area-level information useful for targeting interventions to improve population health. Our results demonstrate novel area-level socioeconomic gradients in overweight and obesity relevant to regional health service planning.