Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of McKenzie Method Therapy Enriched by Muscular Energy Techniques on Subjective and Objective Parameters Related to Spine Function in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain

Background The high incidence and inconsistencies in diagnostic and therapeutic process of low back pain (LBP) stimulate the continuing search for more efficient treatment modalities. Integration of the information obtained with various therapeutic methods and a holistic approach to the patient seem to be associated with positive outcomes. The aim of this study was to analyze the efficacy of combined treatment with McKenzie method and Muscle Energy Technique (MET), and to compare it with the outcomes of treatment with McKenzie method or standard physiotherapy in specific chronic lumbar pain. Material/Methods The study included 60 men and women with LBP (mean age 44 years). The patients were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 therapeutic groups, which were further treated with: 1) McKenzie method and MET, 2) McKenzie method alone, or 3) standard physiotherapy for 10 days. The extent of spinal movements (electrogoniometry), level of experienced pain (Visual Analogue Scale and Revised Oswestry Pain Questionnaire), and structure of the spinal discs (MRI) were examined prior to the intervention, immediately thereafter, and 3 months after the intervention. Results McKenzie method enriched with MET had the best therapeutic outcomes. The mobility of cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine normalized at levels corresponding to 87.1%, 66.7%, and 95% of respective average normative values. Implementation of McKenzie method, both alone and combined with MET, was associated with a significant decrease in Oswestry Disability Index, significant alleviation of pain (VAS), and significantly reduced size of spinal disc herniation. Conclusions The combined method can be effectively used in the treatment of chronic LBP.
Realized portfolio selection in the euro area

A new approach to mean-variance efficient portfolio selection is introduced. The method is based on realized regression theory and the regression based portfolio selection approach of Britten-Jones (1999), yielding a conditional version of the Britten-Jones (1999) method. Application to euro area stock markets diversi? cation, differently from other standard approaches, actually yields a balanced and stable allocation of wealth, free from the problem of corner solutions, suggesting that diversi? cation among euro area stock markets is still be feasible and desirable. Evidence that the monetary union may have had a much less important impact on the integration of euro area equity markets, as well as that the latter is still in progress, is provided.
Smokers report greater demand for alcohol on a behavioral economic purchase task.

OBJECTIVE Cigarette smokers have higher levels of alcohol consumption than nonsmokers and poorer response to alcohol treatment. It is possible that the greater severity of alcohol problems observed in smokers reflects a greater susceptibility to alcohol-related reinforcement. The present study used a behavioral economic purchase task to investigate whether heavy drinking smokers would have greater demand for alcohol than heavy drinking nonsmokers. METHOD Participants were 207 college students who reported at least one heavy drinking episode in the past month. Of the 207 participants, 33.2% (n = 67) reported smoking cigarettes at least 1 day in the past month. Participants completed the hypothetical alcohol purchase task, a simulation task that asked them to report how many drinks they would purchase at varying price increments. RESULTS After the participants' reported alcohol consumption, gender, alcohol problems, and depression were controlled for, analyses of covariance revealed that heavy drinking smokers had significantly greater reported maximum alcohol expenditures (Omax), greater maximum inelastic price (Pmax), and higher breakpoint values (first price suppressing consumption to zero). CONCLUSIONS College student heavy drinkers who also smoke cigarettes exhibit increased demand for alcohol. Smokers in this high-risk developmental stage may thus be less sensitive to price and other contingencies that would otherwise serve to modulate drinking and may require more intensive intervention approaches.
Effect of the application of a metatarsal bar on pressure in the metatarsal bones of the foot

[Purpose] The aim of this study was to determine the effect of application of a metatarsal bar on the pressure in the metatarsal bones of the foot using a foot analysis system (pressure on the forefoot, midfoot, and rearfoot). [Subjects and Methods] Forty female university students in their twenties were selected for this study, and an experiment was conducted with them as the subjects, before and after application of a metatarsal bar. The static foot regions were divided into the forefoot, midfoot, and rearfoot, and then the maximum, average, and low pressures exerted at each region were measured, along with the static foot pressure distribution ratio. 1) Static foot pressure: The tips of both feet were aligned to match the vertical and horizontal lines of the foot pressure measuring plate. The subjects were told to look toward the front and not to wear shoes. 2) Distribution ratio: The distribution ratio was measured in four regions (front, back, left, and right) using the same method as used for static foot pressure measurement. [Results] The results of this study showed that the maximum, average, and minimum static pressures in the forefoot were significantly decreased. The minimum static pressure in the midfoot was significantly increased, and the pressure in the other parts was significantly decreased. The maximum and average static pressures in the rearfoot were also significantly decreased. [Conclusion] As reduction of foot pressure with a metatarsal bar results in lowering of the arch and an increased contact surface, the foot pressure was dispersed. These results suggest that wearing shoes with a bar that can decrease the foot pressure is therapeutically helpful for patients with a diabetic foot lesion or rheumatoid arthritis.
Magnetic Fields in Starburst Galaxies and the Origin of the FIR-Radio Correlation

We estimate minimum energy magnetic fields (Bmin) for a sample of galaxies with measured gas surface densities, spanning more than four orders of magnitude in surface density, from normal spirals to luminous starbursts. We show that the ratio of the minimum energy magnetic pressure to the total pressure in the ISM decreases substantially with increasing surface density. For the ultraluminous infrared galaxy Arp 220, this ratio is ~10-4. Therefore, if the minimum energy estimate is applicable, magnetic fields in starbursts are dynamically weak compared to gravity, in contrast to normal star-forming spiral galaxies. We argue, however, that rapid cooling of relativistic electrons in starbursts invalidates the minimum energy estimate. We assess a number of independent constraints on the magnetic field strength in starburst galaxies. In particular, we argue that the existence of the FIR-radio correlation implies that the synchrotron cooling timescale for cosmic-ray electrons is much shorter than their escape time from the galactic disk; this in turn implies that the true magnetic field in starbursts is significantly larger than Bmin. The strongest argument against such large fields is that one might expect starbursts to have steep radio spectra indicative of strong synchrotron cooling, which is not observed. However, we show that ionization and bremsstrahlung losses can flatten the nonthermal spectra of starburst galaxies even in the presence of rapid cooling, providing much better agreement with observed spectra. We further demonstrate that ionization and bremsstrahlung losses are likely to be important in shaping the radio spectra of most starbursts at GHz frequencies, thereby preserving the linearity of the FIR-radio correlation. We thus conclude that magnetic fields in starbursts are significantly larger than Bmin. We highlight several observations that can test this conclusion.
Di erences in the e ects of rounding errors in Krylov solvers forsymmetric inde nite linear systemsGerard

The 3-term Lanczos process leads, for a symmetric matrix, to bases for Krylov subspaces of increasing dimension. The Lanczos basis, together with the recurrence coeecients, can be used for the solution of symmetric indeenite linear systems, by solving the reduced system in one way or another. This leads to well-known methods: MINRES, GMRES, and SYMMLQ. We will discuss in what way and to what extent these approaches diier in their sensitivity to rounding errors. In our analysis we will assume that the Lanczos basis is generated in exactly the same way for the diierent methods, and we will not consider the errors in the Lanczos process itself. We will show that the method of solution may lead, under certain circumstances, to large additional errors, that are not corrected by continuing the iteration process. Our ndings are supported and illustrated by numerical examples.
VLT/GIRAFFE spectroscopic observations of the metal-poor blue compact dwarf galaxy SBS 0335–052E

Aims. We present two-dimensional spectroscopy of the extremely metal-deficient blue compact dwarf (BCD) galaxy SBS 0335-052E to study physical conditions, element abundances and kinematical properties of the ionised gas in this galaxy. Methods. Observations were obtained in the spectral range λ3620-9400 A with the imaging spectrograph GIRAFFE on the UT2 of the Very Large Telescope (VLT). These observations are the first ones carried out so far with GIRAFFE in the ARGUS mode which allows one to simultaneously obtain 308 spectra covering a 11". 4×7. "3 region. Results. We produced images of SBS 0335-052E in the continuum and in emission lines of different stages of excitation. While the maximum of emission in the majority of lines, including the strong lines Hβ 4861 A, Ha 6563 A, [O III] 4363,5007 A, [O II] 3726,3729 A, coincides with the youngest south-eastern star clusters 1 and 2, the emission of He II 4686 A line is offset to the more evolved north-west clusters 4, 5. This suggests that hard ionising radiation responsible for the He II λ4686 A emission is not related to the most massive youngest stars, but rather is related to fast radiative shocks. This conclusion is supported by the kinematical properties of the ionised gas from the different emission lines as the velocity dispersion in the He II λ4686 A line is systematically higher, by ∼50-100%, than that in other lines. The variations of the emission line profiles suggest the presence of an ionised gas outflow in the direction perpendicular to the galaxy disk. We find a relatively high electron number density N e of several hundred cm -3 in the brightest part of SBS 0335-052E. There is a small gradient of the electron temperature T e and oxygen abundance from the East to the West with systematically higher T e and lower 12+log O/H in the western part of the galaxy. The oxygen abundances for the whole H II region and its brightest part are 12 + log O/H = 7.29 ± 0.02 and 7.31 ± 0.01, respectively. We derive the He mass fraction taking into account all systematic effects. The He mass fraction Y = 0.2463 ± 0.0030, derived from the emission of the whole H II region, is consistent with the primordial value predicted by the standard Big Bang nucleosynthesis model. We confirm the presence of Wolf-Rayet stars in cluster 3.
Parental Stress of Mothers of Children with Learning Disabilities

Parents are very much worried when their child’s academic performance declines. Early identification, remedial training and positive support from family are very important for the child to perform well. Present study focused on parental stress of mothers of children diagnosed with Learning disabilities. Participants include 224 mothers, in which 112 are mothers of children with learning disabilities and 112 are mothers of typically developing children. Instruments used for the study are socio demographic data and parental stress scale. Result of the ttest reveals that there is significant difference in the stress experienced by mothers of children with learning disabilities when compared with typically developing children. Result implies there is a high need of extending the evaluation and intervention to parents by providing services like counselling, social support group so that they can realize they are not alone and gain new knowledge to enchance coping startegies.
Investigation of Active Damping Approaches for PI-Based Current Control of Grid-Connected Pulse Width Modulation Converters With LCL Filters

This paper deals with various active damping approaches for PI-based current control of grid-connected pulsewidth-modulation (PWM) converters with LCL filters, which are based on one additional feedback. Filter capacitor current, as well as voltage feedback for the purpose of resonance damping, are analyzed and compared. Basic studies in the continuous Laplace domain show that either proportional current feedback or derivative voltage feedback yields resonance damping. Detailed investigations of these two approaches in the discrete z-domain, taking into account the discrete nature of control implementation, sampling, and PWM, are carried out. Several ratios of LCL resonance frequency and control frequency are considered. At high resonance frequencies, only current feedback stabilizes the system. At medium resonance frequencies, both approaches have good performance. At low resonance frequencies, stability gets worse, even though voltage feedback offers slightly better damping properties. Measurements validate the theoretical results.
On the jet contribution to the active galactic nuclei cosmic energy budget

Black holes release energy via the production of photons in their accretion discs but also via the acceleration of jets. We investigate the relative importance of these two paths over cosmic time by determining the mechanical luminosity function (LF) of radio sources and by comparing it to a previous determination of the bolometric LF of active galactic nuclei (AGN) from X-ray, optical and infrared observations. The mechanical LF of radio sources is computed in two steps: the determination of the mechanical luminosity as a function of the radio luminosity and its convolution with the radio LF of radio sources. Even with the large uncertainty deriving from the former, we can conclude that the contribution of jets is unlikely to be much larger than ∼10 per cent of the AGN energy budget at any cosmic epoch.
Love and Money: Reducing Stress and Improving Couple Happiness

Abstract A love and money curriculum was developed to guide couples through conversations about the role money plays in their relationships. Thirteen couples participated in the 5-week study. Physiological stress was measured during each of the five meetings. Couples’ satisfaction, attitudes, and behaviors were evaluated with pre-and post-surveys. Findings indicate that couples experienced a reduction in the stress finances put on their relationship and increased happiness with their financial situation, communication, and household responsibilities. Implications for more wide-spread application of the curriculum are provided as a way of talking about money with couples.
3-Day versus 5-Day Course of Intravenous Antibiotics for Suspected Early Onset Neonatal Sepsis: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective: The objective of this randomized controlled trial was to compare the treatment failure of suspected early onset neonatal sepsis with either 3-day or 5-day course of empirical antibiotic therapy. Methods: Infants with birth weight over 1500 g and/or gestational age over 34 weeks within 7 days postnatal age with clinical symptoms of neonatal sepsis received empirical antibiotics (Ampicillin + Amikacin) in two neonatal intensive care units. After 72 hours if the result of blood culture was negative and symptoms resolved they were randomly allocated to 3-day or 5-day groups. The main outcome was treatment failure which was defined as reappearance of symptoms of sepsis within two weeks after discontinuation of antibiotics. Infants with congenital anomalies, localized infections, asphyxia, those undergoing surgery or when serum C-reactive protein levels remained abnormal despite treatment, were not included. Randomization was accomplished with simple randomization procedure. Findings: Sixty patients were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to either group. Baseline characteristics were similar between two groups. The follow-up period was 2 weeks with no lost to follow-up. One infant in 3-day group had treatment failure compared with no treatment failure in 5-day group (P=0.5). No serious harm was observed due to our empirical antibiotic regimen. Conclusion: The results of this study indicated no evidence that treatment failure differs between 3-day and 5-day course antibiotic therapy for suspected early onset uncomplicated neonatal sepsis in late preterm and term newborns.
HUBUNGAN DUKUNGAN SUAMI, MOTIVASI IBU DAN MINAT TERHADAP KUNJUNGAN KELAS IBU HAMIL DI DESA DADAPREJO SENGKALING MALANG

Kesehatan ibu dan anak menjadi target dalam tujuan Pembangunan Millenium Development Goals (MDG’s), tepatnya pada tujuan 4 dan 5 yaitu menurunkan angka kematian anak dan meningkatkan kesehatan ibu. Dalam upaya pencapaian MDG’s dan tujuan pembangunan kesehatan, peningkatan pelayanan kesehatan ibu diprioritaskan yaitu dengan menurunkan angka kematian ibu menjadi 102 per 100.000 kelahiran hidup pada tahun 2015 dari 425 per 100.000 kelahiran hidup pada tahun 1992. Kegiatan kelas ibu hamil merupakan sarana untuk belajar kelompok tentang kesehatan bagi ibu hamil, dalam bentuk tatap muka yang bertujuan untuk meningkatkan pengetahuan dan keterampilan ibu-ibu mengenai kehamilan, persalinan, perawatan nifas dan perawatan bayi baru lahir, melalui praktik dengan menggunakan buku KIA. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui adanya hubungan antara dukungan suami, motivasi ibu dan minat terhadap kunjungan kelas ibu hamil dengan menggunakan metode penyebaran kuesioner, dengan jumlah sampel sebanyak 20 orang teknik pengambilan sampel adalah total sampling. Analisa data dalam penelitian ini menggunakan regresi linier berganda. Hasil analisi menunjukkan bahwa terdapat hubungan yang signifikan antara variabel bebas terhadap kunjungan kelas ibu hamil di desa dadaprejo Sengkaling, Malang. Hal ini dibuktikan dengan nilai F hitung=13,559 lebih besar dari nilai F 0,05 = 2,530 pada α=0,05. Dukungan suami mempunyai hubungan yang signifikan terhadap kunjungan kelas ibu hamil hal ini ditunjukkan dengan nilai t hitung 7,786 lebih besar dari t 0,05 2,086. Motivasi ibu mempunyai hubungan yang signifikan terhadap kunjungan kelas ibu hamil hal ini ditunjukkan dengan nilai t hitung 3,381 lebih besar dari t 0,05 2,086, dan minat ibu juga mempunyai hubungan yang signifikan terhadap kunjungan kelas ibu hamil hal ini ditunjukkan dengan nilai t hitung 9,675 lebih besar dari nilai t 0,05 2,086. Dari ketiga variabel bebas diatas variabel minat ibu mempunyai hubungan yang paling signifikan terhadap kunjungan kelas ibu hamil karena mempunyai nilai t hitung yang paling tinggi yaitu 9,675
Mitogenic Effects of Phosphatidylcholine Nanoparticles on MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells

Lecithins, mainly composed of the phospholipids phosphatidylcholines (PC), have many different uses in the pharmaceutical and clinical field. PC are involved in structural and biological functions as membrane trafficking processes and cellular signaling. Considering the increasing applications of lecithin-based nanosystems for the delivery of therapeutic agents, the aim of the present work was to determine the effects of phosphatidylcholine nanoparticles over breast cancer cellular proliferation and signaling. PC dispersions at 0.01 and 0.1% (w/v) prepared in buffer pH 7.0 and 5.0 were studied in the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line. Neutral 0.1% PC-derived nanoparticles induced the activation of the MEK-ERK1/2 pathway, increased cell viability and induced a 1.2 fold raise in proliferation. These biological effects correlated with the increase of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) content and its altered cellular localization. Results suggest that nanoparticles derived from PC dispersion prepared in buffer pH 7.0 may induce physicochemical changes in the plasma membrane of cancer cells which may affect EGFR cellular localization and/or activity, increasing activation of the MEK-ERK1/2 pathway and inducing proliferation. Results from the present study suggest that possible biological effects of delivery systems based on lecithin nanoparticles should be taken into account in pharmaceutical formulation design.
Down‐regulation of microRNAs of the miR‐200 family and up‐regulation of Snail and Slug in inflammatory bowel diseases — hallmark of epithelial−mesenchymal transition

Fibrosis is an important feature of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), particularly Crohn's disease (CD), but its pathogenesis is poorly understood. To determine the postulated involvement of epithelial−mesenchymal transition (EMT) in the development of fibrosis in IBD, we analysed the expression profiles of the miR‐200 family which has been shown to induce EMT in experimental models and various human diseases. We also analysed the expression of Snail and Slug, postulated targets of the investigated microRNAs. Ten patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and 10 patients with CD who underwent colon resection were included. From each, two tissue samples were chosen (one with the most severely and one with the least affected or normal mucosa) for analysis of microRNAs expression using real‐time polymerase chain reaction, and Snail and Slug expression using immunohistochemistry. We found significant down‐regulation of all investigated microRNAs in CD, and of three investigated microRNAs in UC, in comparison to the normal or the least affected mucosa. Comparing UC and CD, four microRNAs were significantly more down‐regulated in CD than in UC. Snail and Slug were expressed in the injured epithelium and occasionally in mesothelial cells and submesothelial fibroblasts. Our finding of down‐regulation of the miR‐200 family and up‐regulation of transcription repressors Snail and Slug supports the postulated role of EMT in the pathogenesis of fibrosis in IBD. The described expression patterns are consistent with the notion that fibrosis does not occur only in CD but also in UC, being much more severe in CD.
Pre-scheduled Turn-Taking between Robots to Make Conversation Coherent

Since a talking robot cannot escape from errors in recognizing user's speech in daily environment, its verbal responses are sometimes felt as incoherent with the context of conversation. This paper presents a solution to this problem that generates a social context where a user is guided to find coherency of the robot's utterances, even though its response is produced according to incorrect recognition of user's speech. We designed a novel turn-taking pattern in which two robots behave according to a pre-scheduled scenario to generate such a social context. Two experiments proved that participants who talked to two robots using that turn-taking pattern felt robot's responses to be more coherent than those who talked to one robot not using it; therefore, our proposed turn-taking pattern generated a social context for user's flexible interpretation of robot's responses. This result implies a potential of a multiple robots approach for improving the quality of human-robot conversation.