Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phase I pilot clinical trial of antenatal maternally administered melatonin to decrease the level of oxidative stress in human pregnancies affected by pre-eclampsia (PAMPR): study protocol

Introduction Pre-eclampsia is a common pregnancy condition affecting between 3% and 7% of women. Unfortunately, the exact pathophysiology of the disease is unknown and as such there are no effective treatments that exist notwithstanding prompt delivery of the fetus and culprit placenta. As many cases of pre-eclampsia occur in preterm pregnancies, it remains a significant cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. Recently, in vitro and animal studies have highlighted the potential role of antioxidants in mitigating the effects of the disease. Melatonin is a naturally occurring antioxidant hormone and provides an excellent safety profile combined with ease of oral administration. We present the protocol for a phase I pilot clinical trial investigating the efficacy and side effects of maternal treatment with oral melatonin in pregnancies affected by preterm pre-eclampsia. Methods and analysis We propose undertaking a single-arm open label clinical trial recruiting 20 women with preterm pre-eclampsia (24+0–35+6 weeks). We will take baseline measurements of maternal and fetal well-being, levels of oxidative stress, ultrasound Doppler studies and other biomarkers of pre-eclampsia. Women will then be given oral melatonin (10 mg) three times daily until delivery. The primary outcome will be time interval between diagnosis and delivery compared to historical controls. Secondary outcomes will compare the baseline measurements previously mentioned with twice-weekly measurements during treatment and then 6 weeks postpartum. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval has been obtained from Monash Health Human Research Ethics Committee B (HREC 13076B). Data will be presented at international conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals. Trial registration number ACTRN12613000476730 (ANZCTR).
5′-UTR G-quadruplex structures acting as translational repressors

Given that greater than 90% of the human genome is expressed, it is logical to assume that post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms must be the primary means of controlling the flow of information from mRNA to protein. This report describes a robust approach that includes in silico, in vitro and in cellulo experiments permitting an in-depth evaluation of the impact of G-quadruplexes as translational repressors. Sequences including potential G-quadruplexes were selected within nine distinct genes encoding proteins involved in various biological processes. Their abilities to fold into G-quadruplex structures in vitro were evaluated using circular dichroism, thermal denaturation and the novel use of in-line probing. Six sequences were observed to fold into G-quadruplex structures in vitro, all of which exhibited translational inhibition in cellulo when linked to a reporter gene. Sequence analysis, direct mutagenesis and subsequent experiments were performed in order to define the rules governing the folding of G-quadruplexes. In addition, the impact of single-nucleotide polymorphism was shown to be important in the formation of G-quadruplexes located within the 5′-untranslated region of an mRNA. In light of these results, clearly the 5′-UTR G-quadruplexes represent a class of translational repressors that is broadly distributed in the cell.
Destination Aesthetics and Aesthetic Distance in Tourism Experience

ABSTRACT Given the paucity of scholarly attention to the aesthetic component of tourism experience, this research attempted to empirically explore the roles of destination aesthetic qualities and “aesthetic distance”, that is, the perceived difference between the aesthetic properties of a destination and those of a tourist’s home environment, in the tourist’s aesthetic judgment and vacation satisfaction. The results validated a six-factor structure of aesthetic qualities, namely locale characteristics, scope, upkeep, accord, perceived age, and shape. This research noted that when tourists evaluate their home environment more positively in terms of upkeep and scope than vacation environment, they tend to perceive a destination as less beautiful. Only aesthetic distance in scope of experiential features influences vacation satisfaction. Relevant practical implications are discussed.
Der Open-access-publikationsserver Der Zbw – Leibniz-informationszentrum Wirtschaft the Open Access Publication Server of the Zbw – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics Impact of Internal Migration on Political Participation in Turkey

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A scalable metaheuristic for service function chain composition

Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) is a new network paradigm that has been strongly promoted from both scientific community and telecom industry, where network functions (NFs) such as firewalls, load balancers, gateways among others, are virtualized, isolated from middleboxes and housed on one or more industry standard computing nodes. One of the main challenges for service providers when they try to deploy the NFV-based networks is to efficiently make use of substrate network resources to facilitate the design, delivery and operation of network services in a dynamic and scalable manner. This challenge is known as NFV Resource Allocation. Service Function Chain (SFC) composition is the first stage of the NFV Resource Allocation problem and we solve it in this paper. We formally define the service requests (VNFRs) in terms of NFs and propose a metaheuristic algorithm for solving the SFC composition stage. Our evaluation focuses primarily on minimizing the total bandwidth demanded by the constructed network service. The results show that our proposed approach is applicable to large and complex VNFRs and finds, in reasonable running times, close-to-optimal solutions with minimal bandwidth requirements.
Voluntary Purchase of Counterfeit Products: Empirical Evidence From Four Countries

ABSTRACT Counterfeiting, i.e., producing and selling copies of branded products that strongly resemble the original, has emerged as a major problem for global marketers, rising dramatically over the past several years. Surprisingly, factors driving the demand for fake products have attracted far less attention than supply-side remedies. This paper attempts to redress this imbalance by investigating the demand for counterfeits. Specifically, we consolidate existing findings and develop a comprehensive yet parsimonious model of the antecedents and drivers of voluntary counterfeit purchases. Following the frequent call for more cross-national comparisons, we used a sample of over 900 consumers from Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Austria, and Mexico to test our model. This large-scale approach calls existing findings into question and raises provocative thoughts guiding future research in the area.
Long-term outcomes of autoimmune pancreatitis: a multicentre, international analysis

Objective Autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) is a treatable form of chronic pancreatitis that has been increasingly recognised over the last decade. We set out to better understand the current burden of AIP at several academic institutions diagnosed using the International Consensus Diagnostic Criteria, and to describe long-term outcomes, including organs involved, treatments, relapse frequency and long-term sequelae. Design 23 institutions from 10 different countries participated in this multinational analysis. A total of 1064 patients meeting the International Consensus Diagnostic Criteria for type 1 (n=978) or type 2 (n=86) AIP were included. Data regarding treatments, relapses and sequelae were obtained. Results The majority of patients with type 1 (99%) and type 2 (92%) AIP who were treated with steroids went into clinical remission. Most patients with jaundice required biliary stent placement (71% of type 1 and 77% of type 2 AIP). Relapses were more common in patients with type 1 (31%) versus type 2 AIP (9%, p<0.001), especially those with IgG4-related sclerosing cholangitis (56% vs 26%, p<0.001). Relapses typically occurred in the pancreas or biliary tree. Retreatment with steroids remained effective at inducing remission with or without alternative treatment, such as azathioprine. Pancreatic duct stones and cancer were uncommon sequelae in type 1 AIP and did not occur in type 2 AIP during the study period. Conclusions AIP is a global disease which uniformly displays a high response to steroid treatment and tendency to relapse in the pancreas and biliary tree. Potential long-term sequelae include pancreatic duct stones and malignancy, however they were uncommon during the study period and require additional follow-up. Additional studies investigating prevention and treatment of disease relapses are needed.
Postnatal development of voltage sensitive Na+ channels in rat brain

Previous studies have shown that mammalian neuronal excitability increases with age, and this excitability may be related to development of Na+ channels. In addition, evidence suggests that Na+ channels are involved in the neuronal response to O2 deprivation. Because of this, we wished to examine the pharmacologic properties and neuroanatomical distribution of the Na+ channels in newborn brain and as a function of age. In this study, we used ligand‐binding techniques and autoradiography with 3H‐saxitoxin (STX) to investigate Na+‐channel distribution in brains of rats at postnatal days 0, 3, 10, 21, 35, and 120. We found that (1) in each area examined, the Scatchard plots for STX binding were linear in both immature and mature brains in a ligand concentration range of 0.4–64 nM; the slopes, however, were different between areas or ages, with Kd values ranging between 1 and 5 nM; (2) STX‐binding density was more than tenfold lower in the rostral brain and cerebellum at birth than in the adult and increased with age; (3) binding density in the newborn brainstem was higher than in other areas such as the cortex and cerebellum, which is opposite to the distribution in the adult; and (d) the brainstem had a different developing pattern with an early‐peak density level (P10–21) and a lower adult level. We conclude that (1) there is a major type of STX‐binding site in specific brain areas in the developing brain; (2) binding affinity is higher, but density lower, at birth than in the adult, especially in the rostral brain; and (3) developmental profiles of Na+ channels vary among brain areas with an early developmental time table in the brainstem and a later one in the cerebellum and rostral brain. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Fault-Tolerant Sliding-Mode-Observer Synthesis of Markovian Jump Systems Using Quantized Measurements

This paper investigates the design problem of sliding mode observer (SMO) using quantized measurements for a class of Markovian jump systems against actuator faults. Such a problem arises in modern networked-based digital systems, where data have to be transmitted and exchanged over a digital communication channel. In this paper, a new descriptor SMO approach using quantized signals is presented, in which a discontinuous input is synthesized to reject actuator faults by an offline static compensation of quantization effects. It is revealed that the lower bound on the density of a logarithmic quantizer is 1/3, under which the quantization effects could be compensated completely by using the SMO approach. Based on the proposed observer method, the asymptotical estimations of state vector and quantization errors can be obtained simultaneously. Finally, an example of a linearized model of an F-404 aircraft engine system is included to show the effectiveness of the presented observer design method.
Children’s understandings related to hazardous household items and waste

This study focuses on children’s understanding of hazardous household items (HHI) and waste (HHW). Children from grades 4, 5 and 6 (n=173) participated in a questionnaire and interview research design. The results indicate that: (a) on a daily basis the children used HHI and disposed of HHW, (b) the children did not realize the danger of these items and their exposure to hazardous substances, (c) some children ignore consequent adverse health effects, (d) school‐based recycling and other environmental education programs can have a significant effect on children’s conceptions, and (e) even though children use and discard HHI, they can also present a strong external environmental locus of control orientation, considering that others, and not they themselves, should deal with the problem. The findings enrich the knowledge base on the topic, and can be used in the development of environmental education pedagogies aimed at reducing environmental and health risks associated with the use and disposal of hazardous items.
Self‐perception of gifts and talents among adults in a longitudinal study of academically talented high‐school graduates

Definitions of giftedness and self‐perceptions of abilities were examined among adults who have been participating in a longitudinal study of academically talented students since their high‐school graduation in 1988. For the present study, participants answered open‐ended questions and completed scales measuring adult giftedness and adult self‐perceptions of abilities in 12 different domains. Gender differences in perceptions were examined. When participants were asked if they believed they were gifted in high school and now, more men than women responded affirmatively to both questions. Further, significant gender differences were identified for perceived competencies in four areas: job competence, nurturance, athletic competence, and morality. Implications of the findings and directions for future research are discussed.
Test Accommodations and Equating Invariance on a Fifth-Grade Science Exam

The purpose of this study is to utilize Score Equity Assessment (SEA) to examine measurement comparability and equity in reported scores on a statewide fifth-grade science assessment with respect to groups of students defined by disability status, English Language Learner status and use of test accommodations. Benefits of SEA include a focus on equity in reported scores, the connection of SEA to equal construct assessment, and no a priori assumptions about how accommodations should affect the mean test scores of subpopulations. The findings of this study indicate that students with disabilities and English language learners who utilized accommodations on this assessment displayed a slightly higher degree of measurement comparability to the overall population of test takers than did students with disabilities and students who are English Language Learners who did not utilize accommodations. This study supports the use of SEA to assess equity in reported scores and the validity of inferences based on accommodated test scores.
The emotional dimension of teaching in a group of Portuguese teachers

The study of emotions within educational contexts congregates various perspectives, strategies and levels, and requires multidisciplinary approaches to clarify the impact of the emotional dimension of teachers in the classroom. This study aims at understanding through a multidisciplinary approach how teachers manage their emotions within the pedagogical objectives and in which classroom settings they experience emotions regarded as positive or negative. A detailed analysis of the answers of eight Portuguese teachers to an open-ended interview revealed that positive emotions were experienced in classroom contexts whereas negative emotions refer to meso and macro contexts. However, the description and understanding of emotions is centred in two basic categories: happiness and sadness. According to this data, the lack of discrimination of the teachers’ emotional states points to the need of training in this area, namely in what concerns the ability to discriminate and recognise emotions and situations that trigger them.
Fit of Development Methodologies in Software Projects

Software project outcomes characterized by meeting goal achievement and performance triad of budget, schedule and quality have been shown to be contingent upon project environment factors. However, choice of methodology and its implications on project outcomes still remain under-investigated. Following contingency theory, we empirically examine the effect of the fit between the choice of development methodology and project environment on the project outcome. We analysed a sample of 163 software development projects using PLS-SEM and our results show that the use of traditional methodology strongly countered the negative effect of requirement volatility on project outcome compared to agile methodologies and use of hybrid methodologies showed a stronger positive effect of project complexity on goal achievement. Further, for critical projects, use of agile methodologies favoured goal achievement.
Effects of an ethanol extract and the diterpene, xylopic acid, of Xylopia aethiopica fruits in murine models of musculoskeletal pain

Abstract Context: Fruits of Xylopia aethiopica (Dunal) A. Rich. (Annonaceae) are used traditionally to manage arthritis, headache and other pain disorders. Objective: The analgesic properties of the X. aethiopica ethanol fruit extract (XAE) and xylopic acid (XA) were evaluated in musculoskeletal pain models. Materials and methods: Acute muscle pain was induced in gastrocnemius muscle of Sprague–Dawley rats with 3% carrageenan (i.m.). Rats received XAE (30–300 mg/kg), XA (10–100 mg/kg) or morphine (1–10 mg/kg) after 12 h. Effects of XAE and XA on muscle pain were assessed by measuring post-treatment grip strength of the rats. Chronic muscle pain was similarly induced, but drug treatment was on the eighth day and effects of XAE and XA assessed with Randall–Selitto test for hyperlagesia. Acute-skeletal pain was induced in knee joints of rats with 3% carrageenan-kaolin mixture and effects determined 12-h later. Similar induction protocol was used for chronic knee pain with treatment and measurement as done for chronic muscle pain. Results: XAE and XA significantly and dose-dependently ameliorated both acute muscle (ED50 mg/kg: XAE = 22.9; XA = 6.2) and skeletal hyperalgesia (XAE = 39.9; XA = 17.7) induced by 3% carrageenan. Similarly, chronic skeletal hyperalgesia was reduced by XAE and XA treatment similar to morphine (ED50: XAE = 13.0; XA = 4.6). This reduction was also seen in chronic muscle hyperalgesia (ED50: XAE = 79.1; XA = 42.7). XAE and XA significantly reduced the spread of hyperalgesia to contralateral limbs in both models of chronic hyperalgesia. Conclusion: These findings establish analgesic properties of the ethanol fruit extract of X. aethiopica and xylopic acid in musculoskeletal pain.
Validation of death certificate diagnosis of out-of-hospital coronary heart disease deaths in Olmsted County, Minnesota.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the validity of death certificate diagnosis of out-of-hospital (OOH) coronary heart disease (CHD) and sudden cardiac death (SCD) in Olmsted County, Minnesota, between 1981 and 1994. METHODS In this review of the medical records, autopsy reports, and coroner's files, OOH deaths with heart disease as the underlying cause of death on the death certificate were classified into CHD (International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification [ICD-9-CM] codes 410-414) and non-CHD (other ICD-9-CM heart disease codes) deaths. A 10% random sample (n = 174) of these death certificates was reviewed by physicians, and published validation criteria were applied to classify these deaths into validated CHD or non-CHD categories. Sudden cardiac death was defined as validated CHD that occurred at an OOH location with less than 24 hours between symptom onset and death. RESULTS The death certificate definition of OOH CHD death (ICD-9-CM codes 410-414) had high sensitivity and positive predictive value of 91% and 96%, respectively. The specificity and the negative predictive value were slightly lower at 86% and 72%, respectively. The sensitivity of death certificate diagnosis of CHD for validated SCD was 89%, and the positive predictive value was 77%. Using a more restrictive definition of SCD, that is, less than 1 hour between the onset of symptoms and death, the positive predictive value of CHD codes for SCD was lower at 52%. CONCLUSIONS In Olmsted County, the positive predictive values of death certificate diagnosis for OOH CHD and SCD are high. Relying on death certificate diagnoses results in about 5% underestimation of the true CHD rates, whereas their use as a surrogate for SCD yields a 16% overestimation of the true SCD rates.
Italian families living with relatives with alcohol or drugs problems

Purpose: To examine the overall impact of alcohol and drug problems on a sample of Italian family members. Sample: 113 family members affected by and concerned about the problem drinking or drug-taking of close relatives recruited from the North (N = 37), the Centre (N = 26) and the South (N = 50) of Italy. Measurements: Family Member Impact scale (FMI), Symptom Rating Test (SRT), Coping Questionnaire (CQ) and Hopefulness–Hopelessness scale (HOPE). Findings: There is a high level of impact on family members; the greater the impact, the higher the symptom levels; and the greater both the impact and symptoms are, the more types of coping behaviour are used. Multiple regression showed that the most important variables relating to overall symptom levels reported by family members were total coping, gender and impact. These data lend further support to the Stress-Strain-Coping-Support model (Orford et al., 2005a, b).
African American Men's Perspectives on Promoting Physical Activity: “We're Not That Difficult to Figure Out!”

African American men report poorer health than do White men and have significantly greater odds for developing chronic diseases partly because of limited physical activity. Understanding how to encourage healthy behaviors among African American men will be critical in the development of effective physical activity messages and programs. Guided by principles of cultural sensitivity and social marketing, this research examined middle-aged and older African American men's recommended strategies for promoting physical activity to African American men of their age. The authors report results from 49 interviews conducted with middle-aged (45–64 years) and older (65–84 years) African American men in South Carolina. Four groups of African American men were recruited: middle-aged active men (n = 17), middle-aged inactive men (n = 12), older active men (n = 10), older inactive men (n = 10). Themes related to marketing and recruitment strategies, message content, and spokesperson characteristics emerged and differed by age and physical activity level. Recommended marketing strategies included word of mouth; use of mass media; partnering with churches, businesses, and fraternities; strategic placement of messages; culturally appropriate message framing; and careful attention to selection of program spokespersons. Findings will help in the marketing, design, implementation, and evaluation of culturally appropriate interventions to encourage physical activity among middle-aged and older African American men in the South.