Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
[Low risk of reproductive disorders among female greenhouse workers--safe work conditions or health selection for the light work?].

BACKGROUND There are two major potential hazards typical of work in greenhouses: hard physical work or exposure to pesticides. The aim of the study was to investigate whether the work in greenhouse during pregnancy have an adverse effect on its outcome (preterm delivery, spontaneous abortion and birth defects). MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was performed in a group of 460 women employed in 14 greenhouses involved in growing vegetables and flowers. RESULTS The rate of spontaneous abortions was much elbeit insignificantly higher in the women working in greenhouses during pregnancy than in those employed out of them; that applied mostly to the women performing light jobs in greenhouses. An increased risk of preterm delivery and spontaneous abortion was also observed in women performing greenhouse light jobs. No significantly increased risk of birth defects was observed in children born to women working in greenhouses. Neither was there any relationship between exposure to RD or ED pesticides exposure--and the occurrence of preterm delivery, spontaneous abortion and birth defects. CONCLUSIONS No higher risk of pathological pregnancy that could be associated with hard physical work and pesticide exposure was observed. This may result from the fact that women themselves select an appropriate kind of job during pregnancy and a possible removal of women with pathological pregnancy from jobs involving pesticide exposure, as well as from the promotion of biological protection. The greenhouse workers should be aware of the two typical hazards found in greenhouses (hard work and exposure to pesticides) and their potential negative effects on the reproduction. The results of this study warrant the need for further study of the effect of pesticide exposure and work load on the pregnancy outcome.
‘How ’bout we have a celebration!’ Advice from children on starting school

The first part of this article reports a project in which children were consulted about ways to improve transition to school. Children from 14 schools and prior-to-school settings collaborated with their peers and teachers to plan, implement and document transition to school. Children attending school reflected on their own experiences while children about to start school discussed their existing knowledge and understandings, their uncertainties and questions and identified ways in which these could be addressed. Both groups documented and shared their advice with the other participating groups. Transition programmes were changed to reflect children's suggestions. The second part of this article explores some of the methodological complexity associated with engaging young children and their teachers in research. On one level, we explore relationships between teachers and researchers and the roles of teachers as co-researchers. On another level, we explore research relationships between the teachers and the children involved.
Third Wave Evangelism and the Politics of the Global in Papua New Guinea: Spiritual Warfare and the Recreation of Place in Telefolmin

Third Wave pentecostalist theology envisages a global struggle against satanic forces as 'spiritual warfare. ' Here I examine an instance of spiritual warfare that targeted the village of Telefolip as part of a national campaign. Embracing evangelical doctrines of the dependence of 'physical development' on 'spiritual development,' villagers burned ancestral relics and purport to have found 'uranium gas' on the site of a former spirit house. This discovery is held to be full of promise for the future: as a valuable (if imaginary) resource in Israel's struggles, uranium gas offers villagers wealth and a means of asserting local centrality in global terms. I conclude by arguing that an understanding of the conjunction of spiritual warfare's aims with villagers' hopes for a place in the world beyond the village is crucial to analyzing the dynamics of pentecostalist world-breaking and world-making.
Selective Determination of Lactate Dehydrogenase Isoenzyme 1 in Serum after Inhibition by 1,6-Hexanediol

A rapid selective method for measuring the activity of lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme LD-1 in serum by using 1,6-hexanediol as an inhibitor of the M-subunit was developed. Hexanediol was added to serum at a final concentration of 0.7 mol/l. After incubation at 30 degrees C for 15 min, the activity was measured with an automatic analyser. The inter-assay coefficient of variation was 6.9% for the lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme LD-1 measurement. The results obtained from the sera of 100 patients analysed by the proposed selective method and by the conventional electrophoretic method, respectively, showed an excellent correlation. This selective method was used to determine the lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme LD-1 activity of sera from patients with acute myocardial infarction, and the results were correlated well with those obtained by the immunological, Roch Isomune method. Addition of 1,6-hexanediol did not affect the measurement of activities of other enzymes such as alkaline phosphatase, gamma-glutamyltransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase.
Evidence that transcriptional control is the major mechanism of regulation for the glycoprotein D gene in herpes simplex virus type 1-infected cells

In this report, we demonstrate a close correlation between the levels of steady-state mRNA, polysome-associated RNA, and the rate of protein synthesis for glycoprotein D, a beta-gamma product of herpes simplex virus type 1, and for the model beta (ICP8), beta-gamma (glycoprotein B), and gamma (glycoprotein C) gene products included in this study as controls. No evidence was found for posttranscriptional control of expression of these products. We conclude from these results that the major regulatory control for these genes during herpes simplex virus type 1 infection is transcriptional.
Deferring Real-Time Traffic for Improved Non-Real-Time Communication in FDDI Networks

The fiber distributed data interface (FDDI) is suitable for real-time communication because of the high speed and the performance guarantees it provides. However, these guarantees are achieved at the expense of non-real-time traffic because the real-time messages are given higher priority over non-real-time messages,resulting in excessive delays for non-real-time messages. In this paper, we propose a scheme for reducing the response time of non-real-time messages while still providing the same guarantees to real-time messages. In particular, the proposed approach gives higher priority to real-time messages only when it is absolutely necessary in order for them to meet their deadlines. Non-real-time messages are thus transmitted ahead of real-time messages whenever possible. We present an algorithm for determining when and by how much the transmission of a real-time message can be deferred without jeopardizing its deadline. The proposed approach is evaluated through simulation. The simulation results show that a substantial reduction in the mean response time of non-real-time messages is achieved when using the proposed approach.
Student perception of learning through a problem‐based learning exercise: an exploratory study

Purpose – Staff at Idaho Peace Officer Standards and Training developed a 70‐hour problem‐based learning exercise (PBLE) and integrated this program into the existing Basic Patrol Officer Academy. This paper aims to examine the effectiveness of PBL in developing subject‐specific policing knowledge as well as decision‐making, problem‐solving, and collaboration skills.Design/methodology/approach – Following the PBLE, students completed an in‐depth survey prompting feedback on the ability of the program to develop various skills known to be important to policing. These self‐reported data were collected from 122 students over three academy sessions and evaluated by Chi‐square statistical analysis.Findings – Results indicate that the pilot PBLE is significant in helping students develop new policing skills, demonstrating how information learned in class applies to field work, aiding in recall of class material, developing problem‐solving skills, and learning skills needed to work in groups in the law enforceme.
Generating benefits and negotiating tensions through an international doctoral forum: A sociological analysis

Workshops and seminars are widely-used forms of doctoral training. However, research with a particular focus on these forms of doctoral training is sporadic in the literature. There is no, if any, such research concerning the international context and participants’ own voices. Mindful of these lacunae in the literature, we write the current paper as a group of participants in one of a series of doctoral forums co-organised annually by Beijing Normal University, China and Queensland University of Technology, Australia. The paper voices our own experiences of participation in the doctoral forum. Data were drawn from reflections, journals, and group discussions of all 12 student and academic participants. These qualitative data were organised and analysed through Bourdieu’s notions of capital and field. Findings indicate that the doctoral forum created enabling and challenging social fields where participants accrued and exchanged various forms of capital and negotiated transient and complex power relations. In this respect, the sociological framework used provides a distinctive theoretical tool to conceptualise and analyse the benefits and tensions of participation in the doctoral forum. Knowledge built and lessons learned through our paper will provide implications and recommendations for future planning of, and participation in, the doctoral forum series and similar activities elsewhere.
Measuring Performance of Non‐Profit Organisations: Evidence from Large Charities

How to measure performance in charitable organisations continues to excite interest among academics and practitioners. Despite the intellectual interest, little consensus has emerged as to what are the best measures of performance in charities. This is against the backdrop of an increased demand by donors and other stakeholders on charities to provide information on their performance. Building on prior studies, this paper examines the measures of performance in charities using a hybrid methodological approach which consists of 14 exploratory interviews and a quantitative survey of 105 chief executive officers/board of trustees of large British charities. The results of factor analysis and internal reliability produced five broad measures of performance of charities: (1) financial measures; (2) client satisfaction; (3) management effectiveness; (4) stakeholder involvement; and (5) benchmarking, indicating that the overall performance of charities is best measured by a set of factors that reflect the multiple and diverse stakeholders associated with charities. Further analysis using structural equation modelling corroborates the results that non-financial measures such as management effectiveness, stakeholder involvement and benchmarking are important to the performance of charities.
HerbDisc: Towards lifelong robotic object discovery

Our long-term goal is to develop a general solution to the lifelong robotic object discovery (LROD) problem: to discover new objects in the environment while the robot operates, for as long as the robot operates. In this paper, we consider the first step towards LROD: we automatically process the raw data stream of an entire workday of a robotic agent to discover objects. Our key contribution to achieve this goal is to incorporate domain knowledge (robotic metadata) in the discovery process, in addition to visual data. We propose a general graph-based formulation for LROD in which generic domain knowledge is encoded as constraints. To make long-term object discovery feasible, we encode into our formulation the natural constraints and non-visual sensory information in service robotics. A key advantage of our generic formulation is that we can add, modify, or remove sources of domain knowledge dynamically, as they become available or as conditions change. In our experiments, we show that by adding domain knowledge we discover 2.7× more objects and decrease processing time 190 times. With our optimized implementation, HerbDisc, we show for the first time a system that processes a video stream of 6 h 20 min of continuous exploration in cluttered human environments (and over half a million images) in 18 min 34 s, to discover 206 new objects with their 3D models.
Lamotrigine in the treatment of bipolar disorder

Lamotrigine is a novel anticonvulsant agent that has recently been introduced as a long-term treatment in bipolar disorder. Its role in the treatment of epilepsy is based on its actions to decrease ion channel conductance and antagonise glutamatergic function. Therefore, it has a mode of action unlike other agents used on a long-term basis in mood disorders. The evidence for efficacy is stronger for the prevention of depressive, rather than manic, episodes. The pivotal trials are in bipolar I disorder, but there is interest in its actions in patients with bipolar II and spectrum conditions. Its efficacy in other psychiatric conditions remains to be properly established. It is well tolerated and, with careful prescribing, the incidence of rash occurs no more than with placebo; however this is still a concern. Although usually well tolerated, headache, insomnia and drowsiness are probably the most common side effects.
A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF GUILT AND HOSTILITY IN DEPRESSIVE SUBJECTS*

Literature is replete with the never ending controversy about the role of guilt and hostility in depressive subjects. Feelings of guilt in depressive subjects have been found to be associated with shame as well as unworthiness over past sin and failures, (Redlich and Freedman, 1966). A subject matter of great concern has been the low incidence of guilt in non-occidental cultures. A large number of African studies too, have reported a paucity of guilt feelings in their depressive subjects (Lambo, 1956 ; Yap , 1958 ; Amara , 1967), a finding which could perhaps have been a result of diverse diagnostic practices. Very few Indian studies to date are available on this issue. Sethi et al. (1980) have provided a comprehensive review of the same. In their own study, the intensity of depression (mild or moderate) was not significantly correlated to the guilt or hostility scores. However, the sex variable showed significant differences i. e. while female depressives had more guilt than males, depressive males demonstrated more hostility than females. Various figures have been provided for frequency of guilt feelings in depressive patients i. e. 67 . 5% (Ansari, 1969), 4 8 % (Teja et al. , 1971), 26 . 7% (Venkoba Rao , 1966), 11.7% (Sethi e t . a l . , 1973) and 5 . 3% (Bagadia e t . a l . , 1973). The guilt is of impersonal nature and generally handled by the mechanism of projection. O n the other h an d , several other investigators (Bazzoni and Al-Issa, 1966; Collomb, 1966 ; Eaton and Weil, 1955 ; and P— feiffer, 1966) are of the view tha t non Western depressives show no guilt feelings, self accusation or ideas of unworthiness. Religion too has been found to be associated with guilt (Murphy, 1964) and while intensity of belief among Christians was found positively correlated to guilt. H indus , Muslims and other religious groups did not show any such association. T h e reversion of hostile feelings towards self ra ther than external objects has formed a basic psychodynamic theme of depression (Abraham, 1911, Freud, 1916). By using such a defence, depressives are able to preserve their original love object. Buss (1961) and Weissman e t . a l . (1960) however subscribe to the view tha t depressives readily express their resentment. Fre idman (1970) found lesser expression of 'hostile feelings' in depressed pat ients than in normal subjects ; expression of hostile feelings was found to be associated with recovery by him as well as by others (Klerman and Gershon. 1970). Feelings of guilt and hostility in neuroses develop as an aftermath of behaviour which arouses them. Gui l t as well as hostile feelings play an impor tan t role in the psychogenesis of anxiety states and obsessive compulsive disorder. Neurotic depressives,
Single‐nucleotide polymorphism (A118G) in exon 1 of OPRM1 gene causes alteration in downstream signaling by mu‐opioid receptor and may contribute to the genetic risk for addiction

The opioid receptor mu1 (OPRM1) mediates the action of morphine. Although genetic background plays an important role in the susceptibility toward abuse of drugs as evident from familial, adoption and twin studies, association of specific single‐nucleotide polymorphisms of OPRM1 gene with narcotic addiction is to be established. Here, we demonstrate the involvement of A118G polymorphism of exon1 of human OPRM1 gene (hOPRM1), with heroin and alcohol addiction, in a population in eastern India. Statistical analysis exhibited a significant association of G allele with both heroin and alcohol addiction with a risk factor of Ptrend < 0.05. The functional significance of G allele in A118G single‐nucleotide polymorphisms was evaluated by studying the regulation of protein kinase A (PKA), pCREB, and pERK1/2 by morphine in Neuro 2A cells, stably transfected with either wild type or A118G mutant hOPRM1. Unlike acute morphine treatment, both chronic morphine exposure and withdrawal precipitated by naloxone were differentially regulated by A118 and G118 receptor isoforms when both PKA and pERK1/2 activities were compared. Results suggest that the association of A118G polymorphism to heroin and alcohol addiction may be because of the altered regulation of PKA and pERK1/2 during opioid and alcohol exposures.
Understanding and Improving Effort Estimation in Agile Software Development—An Industrial Case Study

Effort estimation is more challenging in an agile context, as instead of exerting strict control over changes in requirements, dynamism is embraced. Current practice relies on expert judgment, where the accuracy of estimates is sensitive to the expertise of practitioners and prone to bias. In order to improve the effectiveness of the effort estimation process, the goal of this research is to investigate and understand the estimation process with respect to its accuracy in the context of agile software development from the perspective of agile development teams. Using case study research, two observations and eleven interviews were conducted with three agile development teams at SAP SE, a German multinational software corporation. The results reveal that factors such as the developer's knowledge and experience and the complexity and impact of changes on the underlying system affect the magnitude as well as the accuracy of estimation. Moreover, if certain aspects of the estimation process, such as the potential impact of a change on the underlying system, are supported by a tool can help improve estimation accuracy. We conclude that explicit consideration of these factors in the estimation process can support experts in making accurate and informed estimates. Furthermore, there is a need for a tool that incorporates expert knowledge, enables explicit consideration of cost drivers by experts and visualizes this information in order to improve the effectiveness of the effort estimation process.
Cohabitation in the Philippines: Attitudes and Behaviors Among Young Women and Men

We examine data from a national survey of 15 – 27 year olds in the Philippines to assess attitudes toward marriage and cohabitation, and we analyze the marital and nonmarital union experiences of 25 – 27 year olds. We find that attitudes toward cohabitation remain quite conservative among young Filipinos, although men view cohabitation more favorably than do women. We also find that men’s socioeconomic status affects their ability to enter unions, particularly marriage, whereas women’s union formation patterns are influenced by the family in which they grew up, their participation in religious services, and to some degree by their place of residence. Both men and women who hold more liberal attitudes on a range of issues are more likely to have cohabited than are individuals who do not share those views. For now, however, we do not expect cohabitation to become a widespread substitute for marriage in the Philippines.
Voice conversion for non-parallel datasets using dynamic kernel partial least squares regression

Voice conversion aims at converting speech from one speaker to sound as if it was spoken by another specific speaker. The most popular voice conversion approach based on Gaussian mixture modeling tends to suffer either from model overfitting or oversmoothing. To overcome the shortcomings of the traditional approach, we recently proposed to use dynamic kernel partial least squares (DKPLS) regression in the framework of parallel-data voice conversion. However, the availability of parallel training data from both the source and target speaker is not always guaranteed. In this paper, we extend the DKPLS-based conversion approach for non-parallel data by combining it with a well-known INCA alignment algorithm. The listening test results indicate that high-quality conversion can be achieved with the proposed combination. Furthermore, the performance of two variations of INCA are evaluated with both intra-lingual and cross-lingual data.
Hepatitis C virus‐induced up‐regulation of microRNA‐155 promotes hepatocarcinogenesis by activating Wnt signaling

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection usually induces chronic hepatic inflammation, which favors the initiation and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Moreover, microRNA‐155 (miR‐155) plays an important role in regulating both inflammation and tumorigenesis. However, little is known about whether and how miR‐155 provides the link between inflammation and cancer. In this study we found that miR‐155 levels were markedly increased in patients infected with HCV. MiR‐155 transcription was regulated by nuclear factor kappa B (NF‐κB), and p300 increased NF‐κB‐dependent miR‐155 expression. The overexpression of miR‐155 significantly inhibited hepatocyte apoptosis and promoted cell proliferation, whereas miR‐155 inhibition induced G0/G1 arrest. Up‐regulated miR‐155 resulted in nuclear accumulation of β‐catenin and a concomitant increase in cyclin D1, c‐myc, and survivin. Gain‐of‐function and loss‐of‐function studies demonstrated that miR‐155 promoted hepatocyte proliferation and tumorigenesis by increasing Wnt signaling in vitro and in vivo, and DKK1 (Wnt pathway inhibitor) overexpression inhibited the biological role of miR‐155 in hepatocytes. Finally, adenomatous polyposis coli (APC), which negatively regulates Wnt signaling, was identified as the direct and functional target of miR‐155. Conclusion: HCV‐induced miR‐155 expression promotes hepatocyte proliferation and tumorigenesis by activating Wnt signaling. The present study provides a better understanding of the relationship between inflammation and tumorigenesis, and thus may be helpful in the development of effective diagnosis and treatment strategies against HCV‐HCC. (HEPATOLOGY 2012;56:1631–1640)