Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reshaping Institutions: Evidence on Aid Impacts Using a Pre-Analysis Plan

This brief summarizes the results of a gender impact evaluation study, entitled Reshaping institutions : evidence on aid impacts using a pre analysis plan, conducted between 2005 and 2009 in Sierra Leone. The study observed the impact of pre analysis plan (PAP) on local institutions by imposing participation requirements for marginalized groups (including women) and test for learning-by-doing effects in Sierra Leone on the individual and village level. Requiring women and young adults to take on leadership positions participate in project meetings, and sign off on project finances does not have any persistent effect on their participation in local decision making or attitudes regarding leadership ability. The project successfully established village organizations and tools to manage the project. The distributions of the project's benefits were equitable and leakage was minimal. There was a significant positive impact on the stock and quality of local public infrastructure. However, there are no detectible changes in the ability to raise funds for local public goods, decision-making process, or social norms and attitudes. Funding for the study derived from the GoBifo Project, the Institutional Reform and Capacity Building Project (IRCBP), The World Bank Development Impact Evaluation (DIME), the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, the International Growth Center, 3ie, and the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) African Successes Project.
Understanding Autoimmune Mechanisms in Multiple Sclerosis Using Gene Expression Microarrays: Treatment Effect and Cytokine-related Pathways

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a central nervous system disease in which activated autoreactive T-cells invade the blood brain barrier and initiate an inflammatory response that leads to myelin destruction and axonal loss. The etiology of MS, as well as the mechanisms associated with its unexpected onset, the unpredictable clinical course spanning decades, and the different rates of progression leading to disability over time, remains an enigma. We have applied gene expression microarrays technology in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) to better understand MS pathogenesis and better target treatment approaches. A signature of 535 genes were found to distinguish immunomodulatory treatment effects between 13 treated and 13 untreated MS patients. In addition, the expression pattern of 1109 gene transcripts that were previously reported to significantly differentiate between MS patients and healthy subjects were further analyzed to study the effect of cytokine-related pathways on disease pathogenesis. When relative gene expression for 26 MS patients was compared to 18 healthy controls, 30 genes related to various cytokine-associated pathways were identified. These genes belong to a variety of families such as interleukins, small inducible cytokine subfamily and tumor necrosis factor ligand and receptor. Further analysis disclosed seven cytokine-associated genes within the immunomodulatory treatment signature, and two cytokine-associated genes SCYA4 (small inducible cytokine A4) and FCAR (Fc fragment of IgA, CD89) that were common to both the MS gene expression signature and the immunomodulatory treatment gene expression signature. Our results indicate that cytokine-associated genes are involved in various pathogenic pathways in MS and also related to immunomodulatory treatment effects.
Serum Myostatin Is Reduced in Individuals with Metabolic Syndrome

Aims Myostatin is a negative regulator of skeletal muscle mass and may also modulate energy metabolism secondarily. We aim to investigate the relationship between serum myostatin and the metabolic variables in diabetic (DM) and non-diabetic subjects. Materials and Methods A cross-sectional study recruiting 246 consecutive DM patients and 82 age- and gender-matched non-diabetic individuals at a medical center was conducted. The variables of anthropometry and blood chemistry were obtained. Serum myostatin level was measured with enzyme immunoassay. Results DM group had lower serum myostatin compared with non-diabetics (7.82 versus 9.28 ng/ml, p<0.01). Sixty-two percent of the recruited individuals had metabolic syndrome (MetS). The patients with MetS had significantly lower serum myostatin than those without (7.39 versus 9.49 ng/ml, p<0.001). The serum myostatin level decreased with increasing numbers of the MetS components (p for trend<0.001). The patients with higher body mass index, larger abdominal girth, lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and higher triglycerides had lower serum myostatin than those without. The serum myostatin level was independently negatively related to larger abdominal girth, higher triglycerides, and lower HDL-C after adjustment. The odds ratios for MetS, central obesity, low HDL-C, high triglycerides, and DM were 0.85, 0.88, 0.89, 0.85, and 0.92, respectively, when serum myostatin increased per 1 ng/mL, in the binary logistic regression models. Conclusions Lower serum myostatin independently associated with MetS, central obesity, low HDL-C, and high triglycerides after adjustment. Higher serum myostatin is associated with favorable metabolic profiles.
Therapeutic Effects of Horseback Riding Therapy on Gross Motor Function in Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Systematic Review

ABSTRACT Purpose: This systematic review examined the efficacy of hippotherapy or therapeutic horseback riding (THR) on motor outcomes in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Methods: Databases were searched for clinical trials of hippotherapy or THR for children with CP. Results: Nine articles were included in this review. Although the current level of evidence is weak, our synthesis found that children with spastic CP, Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels I–III, aged 4 years and above are likely to have significant improvements on gross motor function as a result of hippotherapy and THR. Evidence indicates that 45-min sessions, once weekly for 8–10 weeks, result in significant effects. Conclusions: The current literature on hippotherapy and THR is limited. Large randomized controlled trials using specified protocols are needed to more conclusively determine the effects on children with CP. From the current evidence, it appears that hippotherapy and THR have positive effects on gross motor function in children with CP.
Femmes et fonction publique : un risque calculé de déclassement ?

Dans un premier temps, l'objet de notre contribution est de conduire une analyse des declassements des jeunes entrant dans la vie active. L'analyse se veut comparative sur deux aspects : celui du secteur et celui du genre. Ainsi nous etudierons la situation des jeunes femmes employees dans le secteur public (et notamment celles fonctionnaires) comparativement a celles en emploi prive ; mais aussi celle des jeunes hommes employes du secteur public. Un effort particulier consistera a apprehender l'ampleur du declassement en recourant a differentes mesures du phenomene. Dans un second temps de l'analyse, on se propose d'etudier les determinants individuels du declassement. Une telle analyse suppose de s'interroger sur les determinants de la participation au marche du travail ainsi qu'au choix du secteur d'emploi. En effet, l'individu qui est en emploi peut etre declasse, celui qui n'est pas en emploi a peut etre refuse de se declasser. En particulier, nous chercherons a evaluer dans quelle mesure etre en emploi dans la fonction publique d'une part, etre fonctionnaire d'autre part est explicatif d'un declassement a l'embauche, pour les femmes et les hommes comparativement ; il conviendra de tenir compte dans la modelisation retenue du fait que l'acces a l'emploi (plutot que l'absence de participation au marche du travail ou le chomage) n'est pas independant du consentement individuel a se declasser.
The Cognitive Perspective in Entrepreneurship: An Agenda for Future Research

Despite its many achievements, scholarship at the intersection of entrepreneurship and cognition has focused primarily on the consequences of what happens when an entrepreneur benefits from various cognitive characteristics, resources, or other dispositions. As such, cognitive research in entrepreneurship continues to suffer from narrow theoretical articulations and weak conceptual foundations that lessen its contribution to the managerial sciences. To address these issues, we draw from extant work on the nature and practice of cognitive research to develop a systematic approach to study entrepreneurship cognition. To further articulate this agenda, we assess the state of the field by content‐analysing entrepreneurship cognition articles published between 1976 and 2008. We find that, although it has investigated many relevant variables, research on entrepreneurship cognition has failed to fully articulate key conceptual features of the cognitive perspective. Building on these observations, we propose concrete strategies and research questions to augment the contribution of entrepreneurship cognition research, and advance this research beyond its current focus on ‘cognitive consequences’. In particular, we illustrate the scholarly potential of disentangling the various antecedents of entrepreneurship cognition, of studying the process interactions between cognitive resources and mental representations, and of exploring the operation of entrepreneurship cognition across levels of analysis.
Bowling Alone but Online Together: Social Capital in E-Communities

In this paper, we present a non-technical overview of new forms of voluntary association called online (or e-) communities and explore the implications they present for community development theory and practice. E-communities are groups of people with common interests that communicate regularly, and for some duration, in an organized way over the Internet (Ridings et al., 2002). They are designed to provide users with a range of tools for learning, personal development, and collective action—all embedded in a complex, continuing, and personally enriching network of social relations. We pose several fundamental questions, including these: a) what are the key features of online communities? b) how do they compare to (offline) communities of place? c) how are they designed and developed? and d) how do e-community members use them to affect collective action? We define key terms related to online communities, place them in the context of broader Web cultural practices, and review emerging literature in online community development. We present findings from case studies of four very different active online communities. Social interaction in these communities was extensive, and surprisingly civil. Web site managers use a variety of community development practices to attract and retain members, and to establish community norms, trust, and collective resources.
The Efficacy of Short-term Gated Audiovisual Speech Training for Improving Auditory Sentence Identification in Noise in Elderly Hearing Aid Users

This study aimed to examine the efficacy and maintenance of short-term (one-session) gated audiovisual speech training for improving auditory sentence identification in noise in experienced elderly hearing-aid users. Twenty-five hearing aid users (16 men and 9 women), with an average age of 70.8 years, were randomly divided into an experimental (audiovisual training, n = 14) and a control (auditory training, n = 11) group. Participants underwent gated speech identification tasks comprising Swedish consonants and words presented at 65 dB sound pressure level with a 0 dB signal-to-noise ratio (steady-state broadband noise), in audiovisual or auditory-only training conditions. The Hearing-in-Noise Test was employed to measure participants’ auditory sentence identification in noise before the training (pre-test), promptly after training (post-test), and 1 month after training (one-month follow-up). The results showed that audiovisual training improved auditory sentence identification in noise promptly after the training (post-test vs. pre-test scores); furthermore, this improvement was maintained 1 month after the training (one-month follow-up vs. pre-test scores). Such improvement was not observed in the control group, neither promptly after the training nor at the one-month follow-up. However, no significant between-groups difference nor an interaction between groups and session was observed. Conclusion: Audiovisual training may be considered in aural rehabilitation of hearing aid users to improve listening capabilities in noisy conditions. However, the lack of a significant between-groups effect (audiovisual vs. auditory) or an interaction between group and session calls for further research.
Resiliencia y el modelo Burnout-Engagement en cuidadores formales de ancianos

Resilience and the burnout-engagement model in formal caregivers of the elderly . This paper investi gates the relationship between resilience and positive/negative mental aspects of psychological wellbeing in formal caregivers for the elderly. The sample consisted of 265 caregivers who work in diffe rent residential homes in Extremadura and Castilla y Leon (Spain). The instruments used included the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey and theUtrecht Work Engagement Scale. The most significant findings show that caregivers with higher levels of re silience also have higher levels of professional efficacy and job engagement (vigor, dedication and ab sorption) and appear to be less emotionally exhausted or cynical than caregivers with lower levels of resilience. It cannot be concluded that more resilient caregivers will not get burned out, but they de velop better engagement skills. As they strengthen these personal attributes, they become less vulne rable to burnout.
Determinants of modality selection among incident US dialysis patients: results from a national study.

Few studies have comprehensively addressed the association of social factors and elements of pre-end-stage renal disease (ESRD) care with the selection of dialysis modality. This study examines the relative contribution of demographic, medical, social, pre-ESRD, and geographic factors to modality assignment among new ESRD patients. Data were collected from the Dialysis Mortality and Morbidity Wave 2 Study, a national random sample of 4025 patients in 1996 and 1997. In multivariate analyses, the selection of peritoneal dialysis (PD) over hemodialysis (HD) was significantly associated with younger age, white race, fewer comorbid conditions, and lower serum albumin. Greater use of PD was seen in patients who were employed, married, and living with someone before the start of ESRD and in those who were more autonomous and more accomplished educationally. Patients referred earlier to a nephrologist (> 4 mo versus < or =4 mo) and seen more frequently by a nephrologist (> or =2 visits versus < 2 visits) in the pre-ESRD period had greater PD use. Of the factors listed, 25% of the variability (R(2)) in PD use was explained by demographic (4.1%), comorbid (1.2%), social/pre-ESRD (14.5%), and geographic (5.2%) factors. This study identifies several clinical, social, and pre-ESRD factors with the selection of PD, and it underscores the importance of patient education, autonomy, and a strong social support system in improving rates of PD use in the United States. As pre-ESRD patient care is an important contributor to PD use in the United States, greater efforts should be expended in improving its delivery earlier in the pre-ESRD period.
Myth and reality in rural policing: Perceptions of the police in a rural county of England

In England and Wales, concern over policing often reflects a perception of a halcyon period, epitomised by community policing, when the police operated on a local level and were well known to the communities they policed. To some extent, images of rural policing are a modern‐day representation of this idyll, and studies certainly show that those living in rural areas hold more favourable views of the police than do their metropolitan counterparts. This paper, however, based on a postal survey in Cornwall, a rural county in England, demonstrates that rural dwellers are also critical of certain aspects of policing, particularly the inaccessibility of the police. It then considers differences between different subsections of the Cornish people. Taken together, the findings indicate that rural residents' concerns over public safety are accentuated by their concerns that the police in Cornwall are less accessible than those in urban areas and are less able to respond in an emergency. This has implications for policy.
The Role of Atmosphere Feedbacks during ENSO in the CMIP3 Models. Part III: The Shortwave Flux Feedback

AbstractPrevious studies using coupled general circulation models (GCMs) suggest that the atmosphere model plays a dominant role in the modeled El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and that intermodel differences in the thermodynamical damping of sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are a dominant contributor to the ENSO amplitude diversity. This study presents a detailed analysis of the shortwave flux feedback (αSW) in 12 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 3 (CMIP3) simulations, motivated by findings that αSW is the primary contributor to model thermodynamical damping errors.A “feedback decomposition method,” developed to elucidate the αSW biases, shows that all models underestimate the dynamical atmospheric response to SSTs in the eastern equatorial Pacific, leading to underestimated αSW values. Biases in the cloud response to dynamics and the shortwave interception by clouds also contribute to errors in αSW. Changes in the αSW feedback between the coupled and corresponding atmosphere-only simulatio.
Music can facilitate blood pressure recovery from stress.

OBJECTIVES Interventions that reduce the magnitude of cardiovascular responses to stress are justified, at least in part, by the notion that exaggerated responses to stress can damage the cardiovascular system. Recent data suggest that it is worthwhile to explore, in addition to the magnitude of the cardiovascular responses during stress (reactivity), the factors that affect the return to baseline levels after the stressor has ended (recovery). This experiment examined the effect of listening to music on cardiovascular recovery. DESIGN AND METHOD Participants (N = 75) performed a challenging three-minute mental arithmetic task and then were assigned randomly to sit in silence or to listen to one of several styles of music: classical, jazz or pop. RESULTS Participants who listened to classical music had significantly lower post-task systolic blood pressure levels (M = 2.1 mmHg above pre-stress baseline) than did participants who heard no music (M = 10.8 mmHg). Other musical styles did not produce significantly better recovery than silence. CONCLUSIONS The data suggest that listening to music may serve to improve cardiovascular recovery from stress, although not all music selections are effective.
Examining the Role of the HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase p51 Subunit in Positioning and Hydrolysis of RNA/DNA Hybrids*

Background: New crystallographic data for HIV-1 RT containing an RNA/DNA hybrid show important interactions involving the p51 C terminus. Results: Altered hydrogen bonding at the p51 C terminus affects both NNRTI sensitivity and enzyme activity. Conclusion: An intact p51 subunit is necessary to faithfully recapitulate activities of the RT heterodimer. Significance: The extreme C terminus of p51 plays an important role in RNA/DNA hybrid positioning and hydrolysis. Recent crystallographic analysis of p66/p51 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 reverse transcriptase (RT) complexed with a non-polypurine tract RNA/DNA hybrid has illuminated novel and important contacts between structural elements at the C terminus of the noncatalytic p51 subunit and the nucleic acid duplex in the vicinity of the ribonuclease H (RNase H) active site. In particular, a short peptide spanning residues Phe-416–Pro-421 was shown to interact with the DNA strand, cross the minor groove of the helix, and then form Van der Waals contacts with the RNA strand adjacent to the scissile phosphate. At the base of the adjoining α-helix M′, Tyr-427 forms a hydrogen bond with Asn-348, the latter of which, when mutated to Ile, is implicated in resistance to both nucleoside and non-nucleoside RT inhibitors. Based on our structural data, we analyzed the role of the p51 C terminus by evaluating selectively mutated p66/p51 heterodimers carrying (i) p51 truncations that encroach on α-M′, (ii) alterations that interrupt the Asn-348-Tyr-427 interaction, and (iii) alanine substitutions throughout the region Phe-416–Pro-421. Collectively, our data support the notion that the p51 C terminus makes an important contribution toward hybrid binding and orienting the RNA strand for catalysis at the RNase H active site.
Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin as an early marker of acute kidney injury in patients with traumatic brain injury.

BACKGROUND Recent studies have shown that urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) is rapidly up-regulated early after murine renal injury, and in patients after cardiac surgery or patients critically ill with multiple trauma. In this study, we evaluated urinary NGAL levels as a potential biomarker of early acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). METHODS All patients with severe TBI admitted to our neurosurgical intensive care unit from March to September 2011 were enrolled prospectively. Urinary NGAL was measured using a chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay upon admission and at 24 and 48 hours after TBI. The presence of AKI was defined by the Acute Kidney Injury Network (AKIN) criteria. RESULTS Using AKIN criteria, a total of 13 patients were identified with AKI, an incidence of 24%. Those who subsequently developed AKI had a striking rise in urinary NGAL early after TBI and a sustained increase over the entire duration of the study. The urinary NGAL level of the AKI group was significantly higher than the group without AKI at all time points. Using a cutoff value of 53.9 ng/mL, the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve for urinary NGAL at 48 hours was 0.876 with a sensitivity of 0.69 and specificity of 0.95. CONCLUSIONS Increased urinary NGAL is associated with an increased occurrence of AKI in patients with severe TBI. It is possible that urinary NGAL could provide a screening tool for AKI immediately after severe TBI, and this may in turn allow early intervention to ameliorate the adverse effects of AKI.
Use of Propofol Sedation in a Pediatric Emergency Department: A Prospective Study

The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy and safety of propofol sedation for pediatric procedures in the emergency department. For patients needing painful procedures, propofol was administered intravenously. Vital signs, complications, and time to recovery were recorded. Patient amnesia and parent, patient, and operator satisfaction with sedation were assessed. The mean age was 7.4 years; 65% were male. Most underwent fracture reduction. Mean total dose was 3.3 mg/kg. Thirty percent experienced desaturation. One required assisted ventilation. Most had decreases in blood pressure. Mean recovery time was 18 minutes. Satisfaction with sedation was rated “excellent. ” Propofol was an effective sedation with minimal complications in the emergency department setting.