Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Retinal damage after 3 to 4 months of elevated intraocular pressure in a rat glaucoma model.

PURPOSE To characterize a long-term elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) glaucoma model in the rat with respect to electroretinographic (ERG) changes and the pattern and mechanism of retinal ganglion cell (RGC) death. METHODS; An approximate doubling of IOP was induced in one eye (G) of female Wistar rats (150-180 g) by cautery of 3 episcleral/limbal veins. At intervals over 3 to 4 months, measurements of IOP and ERG changes (contact-lens electrode) were made in both the G and contralateral normal (N) eyes. At the end of 3 to 4 months of elevated IOP, RGCs were fluorescently labeled with Fluorogold (retrogradely from the superior colliculus), or retinas were labeled by intravitreal injection of a mitochondrial potential indicator dye and stained for apoptotic nuclei with a DNA dye. Flatmounts of fixed, dye-labeled retinas were examined by epifluorescence, confocal, or interference contrast microscopy. RESULTS Elevated IOP was consistently maintained for up to 4 months in G eyes, but ERG a- and b-waves showed a statistically significant decline, of 30% to 40% in amplitude, after 3 months. Loss of RGCs in G retinas was primarily focal with no statistically significant loss demonstrable outside of the focal areas when assessed by an area sampling method for counting RGCs, which totaled 2% to 3% of the entire retinal area. Mitochondrial membrane potential of cells in the RGC layer was reduced by 17.5% (P: < 0.05) in regions surrounding areas of focal loss compared with comparable locations in control N eyes. After 3.5 months' elevated IOP the G retinas showed cell nuclei at various stages of apoptosis, from initial DNA condensation to fragmentation. CONCLUSIONS The three-vein episcleral/limbal vein occlusion model for inducing glaucomatous pathology in the rat eye gives a consistent long-term elevation of IOP. After 3 to 4 months of approximately 100% increased IOP, the ERG responses begin to decline, there is a variable focal loss of RGCs, and some of the remaining RGCs show characteristics of stress and apoptosis. These changes seem consistent with retinal damage in human glaucoma (focal field defects), and this rat model appears to mimic some features of primary open-angle glaucoma.
The UCSB Gender Equity Project: Taking Stock of Mentorship, Equity, and Harassment in California Archaeology Through Qualitative Survey Data

Abstract The University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), Gender Equity Project aims to assess the state of mentorship, equity, and sexual harassment within the California archaeological community. Using the Society for California Archaeology (SCA) as our target population, we administered two surveys in 2016 designed to address those themes. We frame the project in terms of research related to equity issues, outline our primary research questions, and present the demographic patterns from the surveys. Results include gender-based pay discrepancies, preference by women for cultural resource management (CRM) over academic jobs, history of inadequate mentorship for women and underrepresented minorities, and slightly higher rates of sexual harassment reported by women in CRM than in academia. We discuss how the impacts of these issues extend beyond the lives of individuals to affect the nature of the overall discipline.
Government Size and Macroeconomic Stability

This article examines the potential role of government size in explaining differences in output volatility across OECD countries in the context of the latest recession. There is some evidence to suggest that government size as measured by the share of expenditure in GDP has a modest negative association with output volatility. Moreover, this link seems to have weakened further since the mid-1980s. Factors such as trade openness and exposure to terms-of-trade shocks as well as volatility of inflation appear important. Interestingly, the same set of factors seems to matter in explaining the severity of recession in OECD countries.
Automatic Segmentation of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Using Logical Algorithm

Abdominal aortic aneurysm is a cardiovascular disease which occurs due to an abnormal weakening of the aorta wall. This failure in aortic wall causes the inner layer to be ruptured because of excessive blood pressure. Consequently, the blood flows into the space between lumen and epithelial, hence a thrombus is generated. On the other hand, excessive growth in the aorta diameter can lead to death as a result of a rupture in the epithelial. In this paper, we present a technique for automatic segmentation of abdominal aortic aneurysm. The proposed method integrates the exclusive information extracted from histogram and morphological properties of aortic lumen to segment the aorta. Then the proposed algorithm utilizes a search technique with priori information about the lumen to segment epithelial area automatically.
Why Do REIT Returns Poorly Reflect Property Returns? Unrealizable Appreciation Gains Due to Trading Constraints as the Solution to the Short‐Term Disparity

This study addresses the short-term disparity between REIT returns and direct property returns, and argues that this phenomenon is due to the trading constraints in the direct property market imposed on REITs (the dealer rule). This renders REITs unable to time markets in order to realize short-term property appreciation profits, making REITs primarily a property income investment rather than a full property investment, and explains the observed disparity. Empirically, I find that REIT returns consistently reflect property income returns, but not property appreciation returns. This makes this study the first in the literature to find a consistent link between REIT returns and any portion of direct property returns at short time horizons, in the context of a linear factor model. I then set up a natural laboratory to test the trading-constraints explanation by examining the appreciation dependence of different types of REITs, which should be differently affected by the trading constraints. I find that returns to UPREITs, which are less affected by the constraints, have a stronger appreciation dependence than returns to regular REITs. I also perform a size test and find that large REITs, which are less affected by the constraints, have a stronger appreciation dependence than small REITs. When testing the effects of UPREIT and size characteristics simultaneously, I find a consistent UPREIT effect. I further find that Real Estate Operating Companies (REOCs), which are not subject to trading constraints, show short-term property appreciation dependence. These findings offer strong support for the trading-restrictions explanation.
The Turkish Adaptation of 15-Item Version of the Need for Cognitive Closure Scale and Relationship between Thinking and Decision-making Styles

Need for cognitive closure refers to the need to reach a precise knowledge instead of confusion and ambiguity on a subject and the desire to make a decision as soon as possible. The purpose of the present research is to adapt the "15-item version of the Need for Closure Scale" developed by Roets and Van Hiel to Turkish and testing the relationships between thinking and decision-making styles and the need for cognitive closure through the adapted scale. The work group consists of 577 people who voluntarily participated. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the validity of the scale. Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient was calculated to test the reliability of scale scores. The research also utilized Thinking Styles Inventory developed by Sternberg and Wagner and Decision Making Styles scale developed by Scott and Bruce. According to the findings of the research, need for Cognitive Closure Scale is a valid and reliable instrument that can be used to study the attitudes towards cognitive closure in Turkey. Additionally, cognitive closure and thinking and decision-making styles are related; the need for cognitive closure can also be regarded as an approach to thinking and decision-making.
Institutional Trading during a Wave of Corporate Scandals: 'Perfect Payday'?

This paper examines the role of institutional trading during the option backdating scandal of 2006–2007. Unlike their inability to anticipate other corporate events, institutional investors as a group display negative abnormal trading imbalances (i.e., buy minus sell volumes) in anticipation of firm-specific backdating exposures. Consistent with informed trading, the underlying trades earn positive abnormal short- and long-term profits. Moreover, the negative abnormal imbalances are larger in magnitude when backdating is likely a more severe issue. Local institutions, in particular, display negative trading imbalances earlier in event-time and earn consistently higher trading profits than non-local institutions. Although we find some evidence of over-reaction following the arrival of information about the backdating scandal, these patterns are short-lived and exclusively due to the activity of non-local institutions. Overall, institutional investors behave as informed investors, particularly in local stocks, during this prolonged period of heightened uncertainty about corporate reporting and governance practices.
On the role of primary motor cortex in arm movement control

A recording/reproduction device includes a reading mechanism to read information data stored in a floppy disk and constituted by a plurality of byte data and first inspection data and second inspection data to detect an error of the information data. First and second calculation mechanism calculate a first and second syndrome value from the byte data and the first and second inspection data, respectively. First and second error correction mechanisms perform error correction for the information data on the basis of the first and second syndrome value, respectively. A computer includes the second error correction mechanism. Because the second error correction is not performed in the floppy disk drive, the capacity of a storage unit is decreased, a memory in the floppy disk drive can be considerably smaller than that of a conventional floppy disk drive, and the cost of the floppy disk drive can be reduced. In addition, since secondary correction is not performed in the floppy disk drive, an increase in data transfer rate from the floppy disk drive to the computer can be realized.
On the peculiar properties of the narrow-line quasar PG 1543+489

We present the analysis of four XMM-Newton observations of the narrow-line quasar PG 1543+489 at z=0.400 carried out over a rest-frame time-scale of about three years. The X-ray spectrum is characterized by a broad, relativistic iron K_alpha emission line and a steep photon index, which can be both explained by a ionized reflection model, where the source of X-ray photons is presumably very close to the black hole. If this were the case, strong light-bending effects are expected, and actually they provide the most plausible explanation for the large equivalent width (EW=3.1+/-0.8 keV in the source rest frame) of the iron line. Although the light-bending model provides a good description of the X-ray data of PG 1543+489, it is not possible to rule out an absorption model, where obscuring matter partially covers the X-ray source. However, the apparent lack of variations in the properties of the absorber over the time-scale probed by our observations may indicate that this model is less likely.
Assessing the Perceptions of the Use of a Courthouse Facility Dog Program with Child and Youth Witnesses

ii Acknowledgement.iii Table of Content.iv List of Tables.vii List of Figures.viii List of Appendices.ix Chapter 1: Introduction.1 Chapter 2: Literature Review. 2 Theoretical Framework.3 Impact of Victimization on Children and Youth.4 Animal-Assisted Therapy.6 Importance of Accountability of Witnesses.8 Ways to Lessen Trauma Symptoms in Children and Youth.8 Courthouse Facility Dogs.10 Child Witness Project (CWP). 13 Limitations.14 Current Study.15 Chapter 3: Method.15 Participants.15 Integrity of the Researcher.16 Research Design.17 Measure.17 USE OF A COURTHOUSE FACILITY DOG PROGRAM v Data Analysis.18 Procedure.18 Inter-Rater Reliability.19 Chapter 4: Results.19 Themes.20 Theme 1: Courthouse Facility Dog Program.22 Theme 2: Benefits of Using the Courthouse Facility Dog . 25 Theme 3: Defense Council's Reservations to the Courthouse Facility Dog Program . 30 Theme 4: Judicial System Legislation . 32 Theme 5: Working with Child and Youth Witnesses . 36 Theme 6: Exclusions from the Courthouse Facility Dog Program.37 Theme 7: Important Factors when Testifying . 39 Summary of Qualitative Analysis . 41 Rank Order Self-Report Questionnaire Frequencies.41 Chapter 5: Discussion.44 Interpretation of Findings.44 Clinical Relevance.47 Policy Relevance.48 Future Research.50 Research Limitations.50 Strengths of the Current Study and Future Research.51 USE OF A COURTHOUSE FACILITY DOG PROGRAM vi Summary.53 References.54 Curriculum Vitae.65 USE OF A COURTHOUSE FACILITY DOG PROGRAM
Team justice and thriving: a dynamic approach

Purpose Prior research has conceptualized workplace justice as a stable variable over time changing from one individual to another. However, it can be assumed that perceptions of organizational justice fluctuate within the same person over the course of a few weeks or months due to different events at work. Specifically, the purpose of this paper is to suggest that transient overall team justice is predictive of employee’s transient thriving at work (i.e. the experience of vitality and learning at work). In addition, the authors examined transient self-efficacy as an underlying mechanism of this relationship. Design/methodology/approach A total of 395 individuals completed a first general questionnaire and then completed an online questionnaire over four waves of survey. Findings Results of hierarchical linear models indicated that transient overall team justice positively predicts transient individual’s self-efficacy, which, in turn, positively predicts transient individual’s thriving at work. Research limitations/implications Overall, a dynamic approach of organizational justice capturing variability in justice perceptions certainly enlarges our understanding of the concept and its outcomes. Originality/value The study contributes to understand why even employees who feel generally treated with justice by their team may experience from time to time low levels of thriving at work because of a recent unjust treatment from the team and a decrease of their subsequent self-efficacy.
Behavioral Risk Elicits Selective Activation of the Executive System in Adolescents: Clinical Implications

We investigated adolescent brain processing of decisions under conditions of varying risk, reward, and uncertainty. Adolescents (n = 31) preformed a Decision–Reward Uncertainty task that separates decision uncertainty into behavioral and reward risk, while they were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Behavioral risk trials involved uncertainty about which action to perform to earn a fixed monetary reward. In contrast, during reward risk the decision that might lead to a reward was known, but the likelihood of earning a reward was probabilistically determined. Behavioral risk trials evoked greater activation than the reward risk and no risk conditions in the anterior cingulate, medial frontal gyrus, bilateral frontal poles, bilateral inferior parietal lobe, precuneus, bilateral superior-middle frontal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, and insula. Our results were similar to those of young adults using the same task (Huettel, 2006) except that adolescents did not show significant activation in the posterior supramarginal gyrus during behavioral risk. During the behavioral risk condition regardless of reward outcome, overall mean frontal pole activity showed a positive correlation with age during the behavioral and reward risk conditions suggesting a developmental difference of this region of interest. Additionally, reward response to the Decision–Reward Uncertainty task in adolescents was similar to that seen in young adults (Huettel, 2006). Our data did not show a correlation between age and mean ventral striatum activity during the three conditions. While our results came from a healthy high functioning non-maltreated sample of adolescents, this method can be used to address types of risks and reward processing in children and adolescents with predisposing vulnerabilities and add to the paucity of imaging studies of risk and reward processing during adolescence.
Exploring Gender-Associated Socioeconomic Differences in Parkinson’s Disease (P1.027)

Background: Research on gender in Parkinson’s disease (PD) frequently focuses on clinical differences between men and women. Socioeconomic factors such as race, ethnicity, insurance type, and level of educational attainment, have not been extensively examined in relation to gender differences in PD. The goal of this study was to identify differences in PD presentation in men and women, and identify socioeconomic factors that may confound such differences. Methods: A movement disorder patient database containing 445 patients with idiopathic PD was analyzed for gender differences in motor symptoms and disease complications using linear or logistic regression. Socioeconomic variables were then evaluated as possible confounders. Results: A greater proportion of women were non-white (p < 0.05). Univariate analysis of gender, and multivariate analysis controlling for age at diagnosis and socioeconomic factors were concordant in demonstrating increased frequency of motor fluctuations and dyskinesia in women (p < 0.05). Controlled, multivariate analysis, when compared to univariate analysis, uniquely demonstrated that women were less likely to experience dementia and autonomic dysfunction, relative to men (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Women with PD are susceptible to motor fluctuations and dyskinesia, but may be relatively protected against dementia and autonomic dysfunction. Women and men with PD in our population had different socioeconomic profiles, which may have confounded some gender-associated differences.
Non-performing loans of PSU banks: Some panel results

The paper performs a panel regression on the definitionally uniform data now available for a five-year period ending in 1999-2000, on non-performing loans of commercial banks. The exercise is confined to 27 public sector banks, so as to investigate variations within a class that is homogenous on the ownership dimension. The exercise groups banks with higher than average NPAs into those explained by poor operating efficiency, and those where the operational indicator does not suffice to explain the high level of NPAs, and leaves an unexplained intercept shift. Two of the three weak banks identified by the Varma Committee, Indian Bank and United Bank of India, fall in this category. Recapitalisation of these banks with operational restructuring may therefore not be the solution, since there is clearly a residual problem even after controlling for operating efficiency.
Lifestyle Intervention for Weight Loss: a group-based program for Emiratis in Ajman, United Arab Emirates

Background Lifestyle Intervention for Weight Loss (LIFE-8) is developed as a structured, group-based weight management program for Emiratis with obesity and type 2 diabetes. It is a 3-month program followed by a 1-year follow-up. The results from the first 2 years are presented here to indicate the possibility of its further adaptation and implementation in this region. Methodology We recruited 45 participants with obesity and/or type 2 diabetes based on inclusion/exclusion criteria. The LIFE-8 program was executed by incorporating dietary modification, physical activity, and behavioral therapy, aiming to achieve up to 5% weight loss. The outcomes included body weight, fat mass, waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose (FBG), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), and nutritional knowledge at 3 months and 12 months. Results We observed a reduction of 5.0% in body weight (4.8±2.8 kg; 95% CI 3.7–5.8), fat mass (−7.8%, P<0.01), and waist circumference (Δ=4±4 cm, P<0.01) in the completed participants (n=28). An improvement (P<0.05) in HbA1c (7.1%±1.0% vs 6.6%±0.7%) and FBG (8.2±2.0 mmol/L vs 6.8±0.8 mmol/L) was observed in participants with obesity and type 2 diabetes after the program. Increase in nutritional knowledge (<0.01) and overall evaluation of the program (9/10) was favorable. On 1-year follow-up, we found that the participants could sustain weight loss (−4.0%), while obese, type 2 diabetic participants sustained HbA1c (6.6%±0.7% vs 6.4%±0.7%) and further improved (P<0.05) the level of FBG (6.8±0.8 mmol/L vs 6.7±0.4 mmol/L). Conclusion LIFE-8 could be an effective, affordable, acceptable, and adaptable lifestyle intervention program for the prevention and management of diabetes in Emiratis. It was successful not only in delivering a modest weight loss but also in improving glycemic control in diabetic participants.
The Intercultural Educational Value of the Logbook During the Individual Experience of International Student Mobility: Teachers' Perspectives

The paper analyzes the opinion of 113 high school teachers about a logbook used while one of their students was participating in an individual experience of international student mobility project. From the analysis of the data, gathered through focus groups, individual SWOT analysis and researcher’s diary, it emerges that according to teachers the writing of the logbook requires a deep reflection on the self and on the intercultural experience whilst the student is experiencing it. This reflection determines the development of self-awareness which is one of the key components of intercultural competence
Midlife Crisis: A Debate

Without doubt, the midlife crisis is the most popular concept describing middle adulthood. Facing the limitation of the time until death, men in particular are believed to pause from actively pursuing their goals and review their achievements, take stock of what they have and have not yet accomplished, at times taking drastic measures to fulfill their dreams. This paper critically discusses the concept of a midlife crisis and the relevant empirical evidence, presenting arguments for and against a strict, a moderate, and a lenient conceptualization of the midlife crisis. Although a strict and even moderate definition of the midlife crisis does not seem tenable on empirical and theoretical grounds, a lenient conceptualization has the potential to stimulate new research directions exemplifying processes of the interaction of social expectations on the one hand and personal goals on the other, and their importance for developmental regulation.
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