Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SOIL-CO 2 EFFLUX IN SIMPLE AND DIVERSE ECOYSTEMS ON A VOLCANIC SOIL IN COSTA RICA

El flujo de CO2 de un suelo relativamente fertil fue medido en nueve ecosistemas. Los ecosistemas tenian de 0,8 a 10 anos de edad e incluyeron un suelo libre de vegetation, monocultivos de melina fGmelina arborea^ y yuca fManihot esculenta,/, y comunidades sucesionales que contenian de 80 a > 750 especies. Losflujos de CO2 se midieron en 6 u 8 repeticiones a intervalos de 4 horns durante periodos continues de 24 horas, empleando cdmaras cerradas con dlcali absorbente. Los flujos medios de CO2 oscilaron entre aproximadamente 9 y 18 g m~^ d~l; los patrones diumos fueron inconsistentes. Los insecticidas no redujeron las tasas de emanation de CO2 en los dos ecosistemas donde fueron aplicados. El suelo libre de vegetation produjo las menores cantidades de C02; sin embargo, otras diferencias en production de CO2 entre ecosistemas no se relacionaron claramente con variaciones en cuanto a edad de la vegetation, estatura, riqueza de especies o area superficial de raices finas. La temperatura del suelo no contribuyo en las diferencias de flujo de CO2, mientras que el incremento del agua en el suelo fue asociado con una liberation mas rdpida de CO2, probablemente debido a un estimulo en la actividad de los microorganismos del suelo y/o de las raices. Se incluye un resumen de datos sobre flujos de CO2 de suelos tropicales.
The German Labor Market Reforms and Post-Unemployment Earnings

In 2003–05, Germany undertook extensive labor market reforms which were followed by a large and persistent decline in unemployment. Key elements of the reforms were a drastic cut in benefits for the long-term unemployed and tighter job search and acceptance obligations. Using a large confidential data set from the German social security administration, we find that the reforms were associated with a fall in the earnings of workers returning to work from short-term unemployment relative to workers in long-term employment of about 10 percent. We interpret this as evidence that the reforms strengthened incentives to return to work but, in doing so, they adversely affected post re-entry earnings.
Physiological demands of women’s rugby union: time–motion analysis and heart rate response

Abstract The aim of this study was to determine the physical demands of women’s rugby union match play using time–motion analysis and heart rate (HR) response. Thirty-eight premier club level female rugby players, ages 18–34 years were videotaped and HRs monitored for a full match. Performances were coded into 12 different movement categories: 5 speeds of locomotion (standing, walking, jogging, striding, sprinting), 4 forms of intensive non-running exertion (ruck/maul/tackle, pack down, scrum, lift) and 3 discrete activities (kick, jump, open field tackle). The main results revealed that backs spend significantly more time sprinting and walking whereas forwards spend more time in intensive non-running exertion and jogging. Forwards also had a significantly higher total work frequency compared to the backs, but a higher total rest frequency compared to the backs. In terms of HR responses, forwards displayed higher mean HRs throughout the match and more time above 80% of their maximum HR than backs. In summary, women’s rugby union is characterised by intermittent bursts of high-intensity activity, where forwards and backs have similar anaerobic energy demands, but different specific match demands.
Carbon nanotubes TSV grown on an electrically conductive ZrN support layer

Carbon nanotubes (CNT) are an attractive alternative filler material for through silicon vias (TSV) due to their high aspect ratio, attractive mechanical and thermal properties and high current carrying capability. Theoretically they can outperform Cu in terms of via resistance. Until now all CNT TSV reported in the literature were fabricated using electrically isolating catalyst support layers. In this work we demonstrate the growth of CNT with aspect ratios up to 35 on electrically conductive ZrN layers. This was used to fabricate the first CNT TSV which are directly contacted by metal thin-films on both sides of the CNT bundle, instead of resorting to the use of probe needles.
Collaboration in Context: Comparing Article Evolution among Subject Disciplines in Wikipedia

This exploratory study examines the relationships between article and Talk page contributions and their effect on article quality in Wikipedia. The sample consisted of three articles each from the hard sciences, soft sciences, and humanities, whose talk page and article edit histories were observed over a five-month period and coded for contribution types. Richness and neutrality criteria were then used to assess article quality and results were compared within and among subject disciplines. This study reveals variability in article quality across subject disciplines and a relationship between Talk page discussion and article editing activity. Overall, results indicate the initial article creator’s critical role in providing a framework for future editing as well as a remarkable stability in article content over time.
Results of computer assisted mini-incision subvastus approach for total knee arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND Mini-incision subvastus approach is soft tissue preservation of the knee. Advantages of the mini-incision subvastus approach included reduced blood loss, reduced pain, self rehabilitation and faster recovery. However, the improved visualization, component alignment, and more blood preservation have been debatable to achieve the better outcome and preventing early failure of the Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA). The computer navigation has been introduced to improve alignment and blood loss. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the short term outcomes of the combination of computer assisted mini-incision subvastus approach for Total Knee Arthroplasty (CMS-TKA). MATERIAL AND METHOD A prospective case series of the initial 80 patients who underwent computer assisted mini-incision subvastus approach for CMS-TKA from January 2007 to October 2008 was carried out. The patients' conditions were classified into 2 groups, the simple OA knee (varus deformity was less than 15 degree, BMI was less than 20%, no associated deformities) and the complex deformity (varus deformity was more than 15 degrees, BMI more was than 20%, associated with flexion contractor). There were 59 patients in group 1 and 21 patients in group 2. Of the 80 knees, 38 were on the left and 42 on the right. RESULTS The results of CMS-TKA [the mean (range)] in group 1: group 2 were respectively shown as the incision length [10.88 (8-13): 11.92 (10-14], the operation time [118 (111.88-125.12): 131 (119.29-143.71) minutes, lateral releases (0 in both groups), postoperative range of motion in flexion [94.5 (90-100): 95.25 (90-105) degree] and extension [1.75 (0-5): 1.5 (0-5) degree] Blood loss in 24 hours [489.09 (414.7-563.48): 520 (503.46-636.54) ml] and blood transfusion [1 (0-1) unit? in both groups], Tibiofemoral angle preoperative [Varus = 4 (varus 0-10): Varus = 17.14 (varus 15.7-18.5) degree, Tibiofemoral angle postoperative [Valgus = 1.38 (Valgus 0-4): Valgus = 2.85 (valgus 2.1-3.5) degree], Tibiofemoral angle outlier (85% both groups), and Knee society score preoperative and postoperative [64.6 (59.8-69.4) and 93.7 (90.8-96.65)]: 69 (63.6-74.39) 92.36 (88.22-96.5)]. The complications found in both groups were similar. No deep vein thrombosis, no fracture at both femur and tibia, no vascular injury, and no pin tract pain or infection was found in both groups. CONCLUSION The computer assisted CMS-TKA) is one of the appropriate procedures for all varus deformity, no limitation with the associated bone loss, flexion contractor, BMI, except the fixed valgus deformity. To ensure the clinical outcomes, multiple key steps were considered as the appropriate techniques for this approach which included the accurate registration, precision bone cut and ligament balances, and the good cement techniques.
Effects of active feedback gait retraining to produce a medial weight transfer at the foot in subjects with symptomatic medial knee osteoarthritis

This study aimed to determine if active feedback gait retraining to produce a medial weight transfer at the foot significantly reduces the knee adduction moment in subjects with medial compartment knee osteoarthritis. Secondarily, changes in peak knee flexion moment, frontal plane knee and ankle kinematics, and center of pressure were investigated. Ten individuals with medial compartment knee osteoarthritis (9 males; age: 65.3 ± 9.8 years; BMI: 27.8 ± 3.0 kg/m2) were tested at self‐selected normal and fast speeds in two conditions: Intervention, with an active feedback device attached to the shoe of their more affected leg, and control, with the device de‐activated. Kinematics and kinetics were assessed using a motion capture system and force plate. The first peak, second peak, and impulse of the knee adduction moment were significantly reduced by 6.0%, 13.9%, and 9.2%, respectively, at normal speed, with reductions of 10.7% and 8.6% in first peak and impulse at fast speed, respectively, with the active feedback system, with no significant effect on the peak knee flexion moment. Significant reductions in peak varus knee angle and medialized center of pressure in the first half of stance were observed, with reductions in peak varus knee angle associated with reductions in the knee adduction moment. This study demonstrated that active feedback to produce a medial weight‐bearing shift at the foot reduces the peaks and impulse of the knee adduction moment in patients with medial compartment knee osteoarthritis. Future research should determine the long‐term effect of the active feedback intervention on joint loading, pain, and function. © 2017 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 35:2251–2259, 2017.
The p110δ Isoform of Phosphoinositide 3-Kinase Controls Clonal Expansion and Differentiation of Th Cells1

The role of PI3K in T cell activation and costimulation has been controversial. We previously reported that a kinase-inactivating mutation (D910A) in the p110δ isoform of PI3K results in normal T cell development, but impaired TCR-stimulated cell proliferation in vitro. This proliferative defect can be overcome by providing CD28 costimulation, which raises the question as to whether p110δ activity plays a role in T cell activation in vivo, which occurs primarily in the context of costimulation. In this study, we show that the PI3K signaling pathway in CD28-costimulated p110δD910A/D910A T cells is impaired, but that ERK phosphorylation and NF-κB nuclear translocation are unaffected. Under in vitro conditions of physiological Ag presentation and costimulation, p110δD910A/D910A T cells showed normal survival, but underwent fewer divisions. Differentiation along the Th1 and Th2 lineages was impaired in p110δD910A/D910A T cells and could not be rescued by exogenous cytokines in vitro. Adoptive transfer and immunization experiments in mice revealed that clonal expansion and differentiation in response to Ag and physiological costimulation were also compromised. Thus, p110δ contributes significantly to Th cell expansion and differentiation in vitro and in vivo, also in the context of CD28 costimulation.
Tailored Benders Decomposition for a Long-Term Power Expansion Model with Short-Term Demand Response

We present a long-term power generation expansion planning model that features a long planning horizon, an hourly time resolution, multiperiod investment and retirement decisions, transmission constraints, start-up restrictions, and short-term demand response. Demand response is the capability of power load to react to short-term changes in electricity prices. It plays an increasingly important role in today’s electricity markets but has not been taken into consideration in long-term power generation expansion planning problems, which mostly treat demand as perfectly inelastic. Given mild assumptions for the underlying demand function, the resulting model is a large-scale, concave, linearly constrained maximization problem. We exploit the model structure by developing a new approach to generalized Benders decomposition (GBD). In particular, we present two algorithmic ideas: (1) solving the nonlinear Benders subproblem as a linear programming (LP) problem with the aid of dynamic linear overestimation, refe.
Toenail Selenium and Cardiovascular Disease in Men with Diabetes

Objective: Selenium as a component of glutathione peroxidase may be beneficial in insulin resistance, hence potentially may modify the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD). The aim of this study is to evaluate the association between toenail selenium and CVD among men with diabetes. Methods: We performed cross-sectional and nested case-control analyses within the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, a cohort of men aged 40 to 75 years in 1986. The cross-sectional analysis compared healthy controls (n = 361) to men with diabetes only (n = 688), and men with prevalent diabetes and CVD (n = 198). The nested case-control study included 202 diabetic men who developed incident CVD during follow-up and 361 matched controls. Results: After controlling for potential confounders, the odds ratio (OR) for prevalent diabetes was 0.43 (95% CI: 0.28, 0.64; p-trend <0.001) for the highest compared to the lowest quartile of selenium. Comparison between diabetic men with CVD and healthy controls yielded an OR of 0.86 (95% CI: 0.47, 1.56, p-trend = 0.37) between extreme quartiles. In the nested case-control analysis, the OR between extreme quartiles was 0.57 (95% CI: 0.29, 1.03; p-trend = 0.07), comparing diabetic men with incident CVD to healthy controls. Conclusions: Our results suggest that levels of toenail selenium are lower among diabetic men with or without CVD than among healthy controls. However, this study could not distinguish between the effects of selenium on diabetes and those on CVD. Randomized clinical trials are needed to study potential benefits of selenium supplementation in the prevention and treatment of diabetes and CVD.
Osteochondral Repair Using Perichondrial Cells: A 1-Year Study in Rabbits

Articular cartilage repair remains a clinical and scientific challenge with increasing interest focused on the transplantation of chondrogenic cells. This study evaluated the repair response during a 1-year period after implantation of allogenic perichondrium cell polylactic acid composite grafts into 3.7 × 5 mm osteochondral defects drilled into the medial femoral condyles of 82 adult New Zealand White rabbits. The repair tissue was evaluated grossly, histologically, histomorphometrically, biochemically, and biomechanically at 6 weeks, 12 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year after implantation. After gross evaluation, cartilaginous material appeared to fill the defect in 70 experimental knees, for an overall repair frequency of 85%. The histomorphometric results and the histologic appearances were variable. None of the specimens were completely normal at 1 year. Only specimens with subchondral bone reformation displayed a definable cartilage appearing surface with chondrocytes surrounded by dense matrix. Subchondral bone reformation was inconsistent, reaching 50% at 1 year. Biochemically, the repair tissue matured during a 1-year period into a hyaline Type II collagen dominant tissue, whereas glycosaminoglycan content remained low at all time periods. The measured compressive properties of the repair tissue at 1 year were not significantly different from those of the contralateral knee that was not surgically treated. The treatment of osteochondral defects in the rabbit knee with allogenic perichondrium cell polylactic acid composite grafts yielded a high percentage of grossly successful repairs that showed inconsistent subchondral bone reformation. These results suggest that healthy subchondral bone is important to articular cartilage repair. They also highlight that a cartilaginous appearing tissue at gross inspection may not represent structurally normal articular cartilage. Continued multidisciplinary studies on the arthroplastic potential of rib perichondrial cells are needed before human studies, which rarely can extend beyond gross assessment of repair tissue appearance can be undertaken.
The Impact of Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain on Exercise Attitudes, Self-Efficacy, and Physical Activity

The authors examined the relationship between musculoskeletal pain, self-efficacy, attitudes and beliefs about exercise, and physical activity in 75- to 85-year-old adults. Participants rated their pain during the preceding month in their back, hips, knees, and feet on a scale of 0 to 10. Pain was categorized by number of sites of moderate to severe pain. Among the 325 participants, 42.8% reported at least moderate pain in at least 1 site. Having more pain sites was associated with younger age, lower income, depressed mood, and poorer self-rated health. Participants with more pain sites scored lower on exercise attitudes, beliefs, and self-efficacy, but the self-efficacy scale was most strongly associated with physical activity. Participants with 2–4 pain sites and low self-efficacy were >4 times as likely to be sedentary as those with no pain and high self-efficacy. These findings suggest that improving self-efficacy for exercise might be an important component of programs to increase physical activity i.
The First Uterine Pass Effect

The endometrial effects of vaginal progesterone have been found to be unexpectedly reliable. This has led us to suspect that a local direct vagina-to-uterus transport or first uterine pass effect was the basis of the uterine targeting of vaginal progesterone. After vaginal administration of progesterone, uterine tissue concentration has been found to exceed by more than 10-fold the levels achieved by systemic administration, despite plasma levels in the latter case that were more than seven times higher. Similar differences in systemic-to-uterine tissue level ratios have been observed between oral and vaginal administration of danazol. Originally seen as a pharmacological advantage permitting the uterine targeting of vaginally administered substances, it is possible that the first uterine pass effect plays a physiological role in the control of uterine contractile activity through the prostaglandins contained in the semen.
The Measurement Equivalence of Web-Based and Paper-and-Pencil Measures of Transformational Leadership

Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis was applied to the responses of 4, 909 employees of a multinational organization with locations in 50 countries to examine the measurement equivalence of otherwise identical Web-based and paper-and-pencil versions of 20 items comprising the transformational leadership component of Bass and Avolio's Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. The results supported configural, metric, scalar, measurement error, and relational equivalence across administration modes, indicating that the psychometric properties of the 20 items were similar whether administered as a paper-and-pencil or Web-based measure. Although caution is always advised when considering multiple modes of administration, the results suggest that there are minimal measurement differences for well-developed, psychometrically sound instruments applied using either a paper-and-pencil or an online format. Thus, the results open a methodological door for survey researchers wishing to (a) assess transformational leadership with a Web-based platform and (b) compare or combine responses collected with paper-and-pencil and Web-based applications.
In vitro chemoprotective and anticancer activities of propolis in human lymphocytes and breast cancer cells

Propolis has been used in folk medicine for centuries due to its healing properties. Ethanolic extracts of propolis (EEP) are rich sources of phenolic acid and flavonoids. Natural phenolic compounds may exert chemoprotective activity in cancer cells due to their ability to scavenge free radicals. The aim of this in vitro study was to investigate the genotoxic and anti-mutagenic effects of the EEP on human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) and their cytotoxic potential on the human breast cancer cell line (MDA-MB-231 cells). Both cell cultures were treated with six concentrations (1, 10, 50, 100, 250 and 500 μg/ml) of EEP1 and EEP2, separately and in combination with mitomycin C (MMC). Our results show that the EEP1 and EEP2 samples of propolis after separate and combined treatments with MMC did not influence the nuclear division index (NDI). In the combined treatment, both tested EEPs significantly reduced MMC-induced micronuclei (MN) in PBLs. At 48 h after exposure of the MDA-MB-231 cell line to a combined treatment of EEP samples with MMC, the IC50 values were significantly reduced (23.79 and 19.13 μg/ml, for EEP1+MMC and EEP2+MMC, respectively, in comparison to the single treatment. In conclusion, the tested ethanolic extracts of propolis exhibited a certain level of in vitro antimutagenic activity in PBLs from healthy subjects, and anticancer activity in breast cancer cell line. The presented findings suggest that the ethanolic extracts of propolis show potential in anticancer therapeutic strategy. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. III41010]
Rhythmic disturbance in ataxic dysarthria : a comparison of different measures and speech tasks

A number of rhythm measures have been developed for different speaker groups and speech materials. Not all of these different measures have been applied to speech samples from speakers with ataxic dysarthria, a speech disorder in which a disturbance of rhythm is one of the main characteristics. In this study, a variety of speech samples from six speakers with ataxic dysarthria and from six age and gender matched control speakers were analyzed with four different rhythm measures: the Pairwise Variability Index (PVI), the Proportion of Vocalic Intervals (%V), the Scanning Index (SI), and the Interstress Interval measure (ISI). Perceptual ratings of degree of rhythmic disturbance were also performed. Results varied between different measures and speech tasks, but the PVI and ISI measures seem to be the measures most suitable to characterize rhythmic changes in ataxic dysarthria. These two measures yielded significant differences between the speakers with ataxic dysarthria and the control group, and they also correlated better with the perceptual evaluation of rhythm compared to other measures. Results also indicate that both highly structured as well as spontaneous speech samples were suitable tasks to highlight rhythmic disturbances.
A neuropsychological profile of off-diet adults with phenylketonuria

The metabolic disorder phenylketonuria (PKU) is treated early by a low-phenylalanine diet. While this prevents global cognitive impairment, some patients still experience cognitive and neurophysiological abnormalities. Neuropsychological testing of early treated, currently off-diet, PKU patients attending an adult PKU clinic showed a reduction in the Perceptual Organization Index (POI), Processing Speed Index (PSI) from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Third Edition (WAIS-III), and Part A of the Trail Making Test for the PKU group relative to controls. Taken together, these results supported a profile of reduced information-processing speed.