Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influence of oviductal cells and conditioned medium on porcine gametes

The aim of this study was to optimise porcine in vitro fertilisation (IVF) with cryopreserved semen with the exploitation of the oviduct secretion. The oocytes were cultured in NCSU37 supplemented with db-cAMP (1 mM), porcine follicular fluid (pFF; 10%), cysteine (0.1 mg/ml) and β-mercaptoethanol (25 μM) for 44 h (the first 20 h with 10 IU/ml hCG and PMSG). The oviductal epithelial cells (OEC) were cultured in TCM-199 medium (with 10% FCS, 0.2 mM pyruvate and 50 μg/ml gentamicin) for 48 h. To determine the effects of OEC and conditioned medium, oocytes were separated into five groups for the last 3 h of maturation and placed in: fresh maturation medium (controls), OEC-cNCSU with OEC in the maturation medium for 24 h; OEC-fNUSU with fresh OEC in maturation medium; cTCM with TCM-199 conditioned with OEC for 48 h; or fTCM with fresh TCM-199. Results indicate that OEC-cNCSU and OEC-fNCSU increase the number of oocytes reaching the two pronucleus (2PN) stage (p < 0.01) and decrease the polyspermy rate (p < 0.01) compared with controls. The rates are significantly lower than controls when cTCM and fTCM were used (p < 0.01). As regards blastocyst rates, an increase was observed in the OEC-cNCSU and cTCM groups (p < 0.05). For the second experiment, spermatozoa were incubated with OEC in IVF medium (mTBM medium supplemented with 0.1% BSA) without caffeine for 4 h prior to IVF. Results indicate that sperm treatment with OEC increases the 2PN rate (p < 0.01) compared with controls and reduces the polyspermy rate (p < 0.01). In conclusion, our study shows that co-incubation of OEC with both oocytes and sperm before IVF reduces polyspermy rates and improves embryo development.
Changing the Exchange

Knowledge creation is a collective and social activity, and a large body of research has established that knowledge creation by researchers (knowledge workers) is influenced by their direct exchange partners. We examine why knowledge worker ego networks are structured as they are, but also why and how knowledge worker networks change over time. We examine two changes to knowledge workers’ ego networks: the addition of new direct exchange partners and the deletion of existing direct exchange partners. Our study offers important evidence that two network dimensions (tie strength between ego and his or her alters, and the level of connectivity among ego’s alters) provide distinctive insight into how networks change. Importantly, our study provides evidence that three critical components of the knowledge creation process—access to diverse and redundant resources, shared experiences and tacit mutual understanding to develop the resources, and previous knowledge creations—act as causal mechanisms behind network changes in subsequent periods. Our study is at the individual level as we study biomedical research scientists and their direct exchange partners—the others to whom they are directly connected through coauthorship.
The analysis of irreversibility, uncertainty and dynamic technical inefficiency on the investment decision in Spanish olive sector

The purpose of this paper is the evaluation of the investment decision under uncertainty and irreversibility allowing for long run inefficiency. The analysis has been applied to a 158 Spanish olive farms using FADN data set. A real option approach has been used to analyse the decision to invest under uncertainty and irreversibility, and a dynamic stochastic frontier model has been developed to estimate the long run technical efficiency and it persistence. The results show that the technical inefficiency persistence parameter is fairly low to unity, which means that small technical inefficiency is transmitted to the next time period. The olive groves investment is irreversible and characterized by uncertainty on price and discount rate. An increase of discount rate means that the farmers take the decision to postpone investment. An increase on price along with a decrease of discount rate leads to the decision to invest with no option value of waiting to invest. The results also suggest that the decision of investment depend on technical inefficiency ant it persistence, the inefficient farmers take time and wait to invest, while at small persistence parameter the decision is to invest.
Alcohol consumption and discounting

This study addresses whether discounting of future rewards may have an impact on alcohol consumption and propensity to alcohol-related harms, by applying survey data among young people whose drinking career hardly may have affected their time preferences. Analyses from a school survey among 17,000, over 13–17 year olds in Norway showed that discount rates were positively associated with drinking frequency and intoxication frequency when age, gender, impulsivity and disposable income were controlled for. Moreover, the results suggested that having made choices under the influence of alcohol leading to a negative outcome (deliberate self-harm, drunk-driving, vandalism or use of narcotics) was significantly more prevalent among those with high-discount rates compared to others, also when controlling for alcohol consumption, age, gender and impulsivity. The results are discussed in relation to the potential role of discounting in pathways to addictive behaviour.
D-HAZY: A dataset to evaluate quantitatively dehazing algorithms

Dehazing is an image enhancing technique that emerged in the recent years. Despite of its importance there is no dataset to quantitatively evaluate such techniques. In this paper we introduce a dataset that contains 1400+ pairs of images with ground truth reference images and hazy images of the same scene. Since due to the variation of illumination conditions recording such images is not feasible, we built a dataset by synthesizing haze in real images of complex scenes. Our dataset, called D-HAZY, is built on the Middelbury [1] and NYU Depth [2] datasets that provide images of various scenes and their corresponding depth maps. Due to the fact that in a hazy medium the scene radiance is attenuated with the distance, based on the depth information and using the physical model of a hazy medium we are able to create a corresponding hazy scene with high fidelity. Finally, using D-HAZY dataset, we perform a comprehensive quantitative evaluation of several state of the art single-image dehazing techniques.
Low-level Laser Therapy to the Mouse Femur Enhances the Fungicidal Response of Neutrophils against Paracoccidioides brasiliensis

Neutrophils (PMN) play a central role in host defense against the neglected fungal infection paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM), which is caused by the dimorphic fungus Paracoccidioides brasiliensis (Pb). PCM is of major importance, especially in Latin America, and its treatment relies on the use of antifungal drugs. However, the course of treatment is lengthy, leading to side effects and even development of fungal resistance. The goal of the study was to use low-level laser therapy (LLLT) to stimulate PMN to fight Pb in vivo. Swiss mice with subcutaneous air pouches were inoculated with a virulent strain of Pb or fungal cell wall components (Zymosan), and then received LLLT (780 nm; 50 mW; 12.5 J/cm2; 30 seconds per point, giving a total energy of 0.5 J per point) on alternate days at two points on each hind leg. The aim was to reach the bone marrow in the femur with light. Non-irradiated animals were used as controls. The number and viability of the PMN that migrated to the inoculation site was assessed, as well as their ability to synthesize proteins, produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) and their fungicidal activity. The highly pure PMN populations obtained after 10 days of infection were also subsequently cultured in the presence of Pb for trials of protein production, evaluation of mitochondrial activity, ROS production and quantification of viable fungi growth. PMN from mice that received LLLT were more active metabolically, had higher fungicidal activity against Pb in vivo and also in vitro. The kinetics of neutrophil protein production also correlated with a more activated state. LLLT may be a safe and non-invasive approach to deal with PCM infection.
5G Radio Access Network Architecture: Design Guidelines and Key Considerations

While there is clarity on the wide range of applications that are to be supported by 5G cellular communications, and standardization of 5G has now started in 3GPP, there is no conclusion yet on the detailed design of the overall 5G RAN. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the 5G RAN design guidelines, key design considerations, and functional innovations as identified and developed by key players in the field.1 It depicts the air interface landscape that is envisioned for 5G, and elaborates on how this will likely be harmonized and integrated into an overall 5G RAN, in the form of concrete control and user plane design considerations and architectural enablers for network slicing, supporting independent business-driven logical networks on a common infrastructure. The article also explains key functional design considerations for the 5G RAN, highlighting the difference to legacy systems such as LTE-A and the implications of the overall RAN design.
Entering a crack: an encounter with gossip

In this paper, I enter a crack to think otherwise about the concept “gossip”. Drawing on previous scholarship engaging with Deleuzian concepts to inform research methodologies, this paper builds on this body of work. Following Deleuze and Guattari, the paper undertakes a mapping of gossip, subsequent to an encounter with a crack. Thinking about gossip as something other than woman’s small talk, the paper follows a line opening up gossip onto an intensive web of affects and Deleuze’s becoming-woman. It concludes arguing that the process of entering a crack unlocked thought, making possible new ways of engaging with data.
In Memoriam: The Matrix Coil

In this issue, the results of the Matrix and Platinum Science (MAPS) trial provide level 1 evidence that there is no beneficial effect of the polymer-modified Matrix detachable coil (Stryker, Kalamazoo, Michigan) over standard platinum coils in the recurrence rate of coiled intracranial aneurysms. [1
Perceptions of Effectiveness of Responses to Sexual Harassment in the US Military, 1988 and 1995

This analysis compares patterns of response to the harassment experiences that had the greatest effect on the respondents to the ‘1988 Department of Defense (DoD) Survey of Sex Roles in the Active-Duty Military’ and Form A of the ‘1995 Armed Forces Sexual Harassment Survey’. We analyse the respondents’ perceptions about effectiveness of their responses, and respondents’ opinions about the efforts of senior military leadership, and their own immediate supervisors’ efforts to ‘make honest and reasonable efforts to stop sexual harassment in the active-duty military’ (DoD, 1988; Bastian et al., 1996). Results indicate that while the military has been somewhat successful in attempts to lower actual incidence of sexual harassment, the percentage of those experiencing such uninvited and unwanted behaviours remains high. Similar patterns of responses in both years, with most employing personal solutions and few filing complaints with officials, may reflect the fact that official DoD policy focuses on individual behaviour and does not address the masculine environmental context that promotes such behaviours (see also Harrell and Miller, 1997). Findings also suggest that the ‘no tolerance’ policies adopted by the military may concentrate on the military image but ignore the wishes of the complainants who fear reprisals. If the rights and wishes of all parties involved are not taken into account, policies are unlikely to be successful (see, for example, Rowe, 1996).
The Lebanese census of 1932 revisited. Who are the Lebanese

Abstract The Lebanese state is analysed as a membership organization where both formal‐legal and political objectives control admission. The 1932 census played a fundamental role in the state‐building process of the Lebanese state: political representation was based on its findings, it was the basis for personal registration of the population residing on Lebanese territories, and it formed one of the cornerstones for obtaining citizenship in the Lebanese state. This article shows that the way the census figures were presented and analysed embodies issues of contest regarding the identity of the Lebanese state and who its members should be. The restrictive citizenship policy practised by the Maronite‐dominated regime until the outbreak of the civil war in 1975 is understood as a means to sustain political domination in an ethnically divided society. Lebanon provides an example of the political sensitivity of demographic figures in polities where fixed proportional representation constitutes the main princi.
Reflecting on the production of intellectual capital visualisations

Purpose - The first aim of this paper is to present the methods developed by one of the co-authors to render visible the complexity of intellectual capital (IC). These were developed to make relationships between IC elements and value creation accessible to managers seeking to act on IC. The second aim of the paper is to explore the ability of visualisation techniques to inscribe the complexity of IC. This is pursued through a process of reflecting on the experiences of “being involved” in the production of IC visuals. Design/methodology/approach - The study details the methods utilised in a case study of a shared service centre of a financial services organisation and presents a reflective analysis using the Latourian notion of inscriptions. Findings - In conducting its reflective analysis, the paper traces the various translations undergone by the inscriptions of IC, with the end result of these movements being a visual meta-narrative connecting the various IC elements to one another as well as dimensions of IC value creation. Originality/value - The paper presents a novel examination of visualisations of IC as might be used within firms for the purposes of resource mobilisation and managerialist intervention.
Impact of Situational Factors on Survey Measured Fear of Crime

This article examines the influence of dynamic situational factors on responses to fear of crime questions in a street survey carried out in the city of Malaga, Spain. Pedestrians in two popular and well‐defined commercial centres were asked about their assessments of crime rates and their fear of victimisation during the day within the two geographical areas. Multi‐variate analysis suggests that the time of day, the physical character of the street in which the interview took place, and perhaps also the flow of people, each had effects on at least one of the two fear of crime measures. The research reinforces the view that survey measurement of attitudes, including fear of crime, has important sources of instability. It also draws attention to a neglected class of variables potentially important in structuring survey measured attitudes.
Forewarning Reduces Fraud Susceptibility in Vulnerable Consumers

Telemarketing fraud is pervasive, and older consumers are disproportionally targeted. We conducted a field experiment to test whether forewarning could protect people who were victimized in the past. A telemarketer pitched a mock scam 2 or 4 weeks after participants were warned about the same scam or an entirely different scam. Both warnings reduced unequivocal acceptance of the mock scam although outright refusals (as opposed to expressions of skepticism) were more frequent with the same scam warning than the different scam warning. The same scam warning, but not the different scam warning, lost effectiveness over time.
[The levels of vitamins A, E, B12 and folic acid in noise-induced hearing loss].

OBJECTIVES To investigate the levels of vitamin A, E, B12, folic acid in employees with hearing loss due to noise. PATIENTS AND METHODS Employees in a local hydroelectric powerhouse who suffered from hearing loss due to noise were included in the study. Study and control groups were composed of 28 employees (mean age 37+/-5 years) and 30 voluntary subjects (mean age 36+/-4 years), respectively. All the subjects in patient and control groups were males. Blood samples were obtained from all subjects and vitamin A, E, B12 and folic acid levels were measured. RESULTS Level of vitamin B12 was found low in the patient group and normal in the control group and these were found statistically significant (p<0.005). There were no significant differences between vitamin A, E and folic acid levels. CONCLUSION We think that measurement of vitamin B12 in routine control of the people who are working in noisy environment may be useful.
A caspase‐3‐dependent pathway is predominantly activated by the excitotoxin pregnenolone sulfate and requires early and late cytochrome c release and cell‐specific caspase‐2 activation in the retinal cell death

This study investigates the implication of mitochondria‐ and caspase‐dependent pathways in the death of retinal neurones exposed to the neurosteroid pregnenolone sulfate (PS) shown to evoke apoptosis and contribute to amplification and propagation of excitotoxicity. After a brief PS challenge of intact retinas, caspase‐3 and caspase‐2 activation and cytochrome c release occur early and independent of changes in the oxidative state measured by superoxide dismutase activity. The temporal and spatial relationship of these events suggests that a caspase‐3‐dependent pathway is activated in response to cytochrome c release and requires caspase‐2 activation and a late cytochrome c release in specific cellular subsets of retinal layers. The protection by caspase inhibitors indicates a predominant role of the pathway in PS‐induced retinal apoptosis, although a limited use of caspase inhibitors is upheld on a conceivable shift from apoptosis toward necrosis. Conversely, 3α‐hydroxy‐5β‐pregnan‐20‐one sulfate and 17β‐oestradiol provide complete prevention of PS‐induced retinal death.
Developing Curricula to Encourage Students to Write Reflective Journals

ABSTRACT How should courses be arranged if students are to be encouraged to reflect upon their practice through the writing of reflective journals? This research question was addressed in action research studies of five courses in the allied health areas. The five studies fed into one overall project which synthesised findings from the five subprojects through the critical discussions of the participants. It was discovered that students needed an introduction to and feedback upon reflective writing as it differed from other types of writing required in academic courses. For reflective writing to be taken seriously, it needed to be an integral part of the course. Issues such as the disclosure of journal entries and the assessment of reflective writing needed to be handled sensitively. The courses studied evolved positions on these issues which attempted to balance dichotomous concerns.
Increased Cell Surface Fas Expression Is Necessary and Sufficient To Sensitize Lung Fibroblasts to Fas Ligation-Induced Apoptosis: Implications for Fibroblast Accumulation in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is associated with the accumulation of collagen-secreting fibroblasts and myofibroblasts in the lung parenchyma. Many mechanisms contribute to their accumulation, including resistance to apoptosis. In previous work, we showed that exposure to the proinflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IFN-γ reverses the resistance of lung fibroblasts to apoptosis. In this study, we investigate the underlying mechanisms. Based on an interrogation of the transcriptomes of unstimulated and TNF-α– and IFN-γ–stimulated primary lung fibroblasts and the lung fibroblast cell line MRC5, we show that among Fas-signaling pathway molecules, Fas expression was increased ∼6-fold in an NF-κB– and p38mapk-dependent fashion. Prevention of the increase in Fas expression using Fas small interfering RNAs blocked the ability of TNF-α and IFN-γ to sensitize fibroblasts to Fas ligation-induced apoptosis, whereas enforced adenovirus-mediated Fas overexpression was sufficient to overcome basal resistance to Fas-induced apoptosis. Examination of lung tissues from IPF patients revealed low to absent staining of Fas in fibroblastic cells of fibroblast foci. Collectively, these findings suggest that increased expression of Fas is necessary and sufficient to overcome the resistance of lung fibroblasts to Fas-induced apoptosis. Our findings also suggest that approaches aimed at increasing Fas expression by lung fibroblasts and myofibroblasts may be therapeutically relevant in IPF.
An in-depth, longitudinal examination of the daily physical activity of a patient with heart failure using a Nintendo Wii at home: a case report.

OBJECTIVE To explore the influence of the Nintendo Wii on the daily physical activity of a patient with chronic heart failure at home. METHODS A 74-year-old Swedish patient with heart failure had access to a Nintendo Wii at home for 12 weeks. Exercise motivation, exercise self-efficacy and exercise capacity were assessed before and after the intervention. Data on perceived physical effort, global well-being and expended energy were collected every day during the intervention. RESULTS During the 12 weeks of access to the Nintendo Wii, daily physical activity increased by 200% on weekdays and 57% on weekends, compared with baseline. The patient's exercise motivation and exercise self-efficacy increased during the study, whereas perceived physical effort and global well-being did not change. The patient had no difficulties in using the system and did not suffer any major harm. DISCUSSION The results of this case study suggest that providing patients with heart failure access to a Nintendo Wii is a promising and safe intervention. The energy expended by the patient per day increased, as did exercise capacity. Playing the Nintendo Wii did not increase the perceived physical effort, but increased motivation to exercise and decreased barriers to exercising.
Amodiaquine resistance is not related to rare findings of pfmdr1 gene amplifications in Kenya

Objectives Many countries are now adopting artemisinin‐based combination therapy (ACT) for treatment of Plasmodium falciparum malaria. In multi‐drug resistant areas in South East Asia amplifications of the pfmdr1 gene are frequent and tentatively associated with reduced susceptibility to the common quinoline partner drugs mefloquine and lumefantrine. In Africa where amodiaquine is one of the favoured quinoline partner drugs in ACT, studies on multi‐drug resistance associated pfmdr1 gene amplifications are urgent. Our aim was to determine the current prevalence of pfmdr1 gene amplifications and a possible association between pfmdr1 gene copy number and amodiaquine treatment outcome in Kenya.
Spread-spectrum multiple-access performance of orthogonal codes for indoor radio communications

Direct-sequence spread spectrum, with its inherent resistance to multipath, is a promising technique for indoor wireless communication. To allow multiple users within a limited bandwidth, code division multiple access (CDMA) is needed. The bandwidth efficiency of M-ary CDMA systems in fading multipath indoor radio channels is analyzed. It is shown that M-ary signaling improves the bandwidth efficiency significantly when compared to binary signaling. >