Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Predeployment personality traits and exposure to trauma as predictors of posttraumatic stress symptoms: a prospective study of former peacekeepers.

OBJECTIVE The authors' goal was to study the contribution of predeployment personality traits and exposure to traumatic events during deployment to the development of symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in individuals involved in military peacekeeping activities. METHOD Five hundred seventy-two male veterans who participated in the United Nations Protection Force mission in the former Yugoslavia completed a short form of the Dutch MMPI before deployment. Following deployment, they participated in a survey of all Dutch military veterans who had been deployed in the years 1990-1995 and completed the Self-Rating Inventory for PTSD. RESULTS Exposure to traumatic events during deployment had the highest unique contribution to the prediction of PTSD symptom severity, followed by the personality traits of negativism and psychopathology, followed by age. CONCLUSIONS Both pretrauma vulnerabilities and exposure to traumatic events were found to be important factors in the etiology of posttraumatic stress symptoms. The current study replicates in a non-American sample of peacekeepers findings obtained among American Vietnam veterans. Particularly, there is accumulating evidence for an etiological role of the personality trait of psychoneuroticism in the development of posttraumatic stress symptoms.
Cardiac evaluation in consideration of prostheses for geriatric amputees.

Dynamic electrocardiography was used to monitor the cardiovascular response of unilateral amputees of prosthetic training. Sixty-five patients were admitted to the study from a total of 79 patients; none of the 14 rejected was disqualified because of cardiac disease. Fifty-eight patients completed the study, only one failure was because of cardiac difficulty. During preprosthetic and prosthetic training, various electrocardiographic changes were observed; these included significant rhythmic variations, T wave flattening and inversion, and varying degrees of ST segment depression. Training was interrupted or delayed until clinical symptoms of cardiac difficulties disappeared or until the dynamic electrocardiographic pattern became stable. Hopping in parallel bars was found to be the most stressful aspect of prosthetic training. Pylon walking is an effective and less stressful substitute. Valuable information concerning cardiac response was obtained by dynamic electrocardiographic monitoring.
The Good, the Bad and the Complex: Product Design with Imperfect Information

We study the joint determination of product quality and complexity. In our model complexity affects how difficult it is for an agent to acquire information about product quality. An agent can accept or reject a product proposed by a designer, who can affect the quality and the complexity of the product. We find that complexity is not a necessary feature of low-quality products. An increase in designer–agent alignment leads to more complex but better-quality products. However, higher product demand or lower competition among designers leads to more complex and lower-quality products. We relate our findings to the existing empirical evidence. (JEL D82, D83, G23, L15, L51, L84)
Mean platelet volume in nasal polyps.

BACKGROUND Many studies in literature point out that inflammation related to nasal polyp is mostly dependent on eosinophils and their inflammatory products. Beside eosinophils, platelets may have a role in nasal polyp development. Platelets are involved in haemostasis, tissue repairing and inflammation. However, to our knowledge, there are no reports in the literature that study the association between platelet parameters and nasal polyps. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Forty-three patients with nasal polyps and forty-nine healthy controls were enrolled in the study, retrospectively. Laboratory data of patients with nasal polyp were obtained at the time of diagnosis. RESULTS There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in terms of white blood count, haemoglobin, haematocrit and platelet count. The mean platelet volume (MPV) value of the nasal polyp group was significantly lower than the control group (p = 0.025). Mean eosinophil count was significantly elevated in the nasal polyp group compared to the control group (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Reduction in MPV may be an indicator for nasal polyp formation. Further studies with a larger study population are needed to detect the possible correlation between eosinophil count and MPV values in patients with nasal polyps.
Integration between Customer Relationship Management and Business Intelligence

The main purpose of any Customer Relationship Management(CRM) system of any customer-focused organization is to build new and retain old relationships with its customers.Such CRM systems provide customer data so that its users or top management can make correct decisions in order to improve organization’s performance. Nowadays, advanced analytics in the form of Business Intelligence (BI) can be used to perform extra analysis on such customer data. Doing so, users or decision makers can have the right customer information at right time at right location and the organization’s performance can be improved. This research studies the integration between CRM and BI of a prominent customer-oriented organization named Skanetrafiken. In this research, a functional framework of CRM and BI integration is derived considering functional frameworks of individual CRM and BI. Also, this framework is primarily based on basic People, Process and Technology principle. This framework represents the importance of good quality data, benefits of BI and key enablers of any successful CRM and BI integrated system. The key enablers of such successful BI and CRM systems are such as customer-centric approach, enterprise-wide strategy, cross-functional integration and technology-driven business processes. This is a qualitative research where data is collected in the form of semi-structured interviews and analyzed further using coding techniques. (Less)
The ‘hygiene hypothesis’ for autoimmune and allergic diseases: an update

According to the ‘hygiene hypothesis’, the decreasing incidence of infections in western countries and more recently in developing countries is at the origin of the increasing incidence of both autoimmune and allergic diseases. The hygiene hypothesis is based upon epidemiological data, particularly migration studies, showing that subjects migrating from a low‐incidence to a high‐incidence country acquire the immune disorders with a high incidence at the first generation. However, these data and others showing a correlation between high disease incidence and high socio‐economic level do not prove a causal link between infections and immune disorders. Proof of principle of the hygiene hypothesis is brought by animal models and to a lesser degree by intervention trials in humans. Underlying mechanisms are multiple and complex. They include decreased consumption of homeostatic factors and immunoregulation, involving various regulatory T cell subsets and Toll‐like receptor stimulation. These mechanisms could originate, to some extent, from changes in microbiota caused by changes in lifestyle, particularly in inflammatory bowel diseases. Taken together, these data open new therapeutic perspectives in the prevention of autoimmune and allergic diseases.
Developing a Profile of Alcohol Consumption Patterns of Police Officers in a Large Scale Sample of an Australian Police Service

The current study aimed to examine the prevalence of alcohol use within a large sample (n = 4,193) of Australian police offers. Prevalence and at risk behaviour was measured through the use of a self-report survey containing the AUDIT and standard frequency and quantity questions. Results indicated that although police did not report drinking with high frequency when compared to the national statistics, they did drink in far greater quantities. Further, both males and females in the police sample reported high rates of binge drinking. The 18- to 25-year old age group reported the highest levels of frequency and quantity of alcohol consumed. Twenty-five percent of officers reported having drunk whilst on duty. An alarming proportion of the sample (30%) scored in the ‘at risk of harmful consumption’ category on the AUDIT while a further 3% scored in the ‘alcohol dependant’ category. Examination of demographic variables revealed that males, 18- to 35-year-olds, those divorced or separated, constables, operational personnel and officers who have served between 4 and 10 years were the groups most likely to fall in the risk category on the AUDIT. This was similar for the alcohol-dependant category except that males and females were equally likely to fall in this category. In conclusion, a significant number of police officers displayed at risk alcohol consumption behaviour; in comparison to earlier studies this proportion is not decreasing. Interventions and education programmes are needed within the police workplace, particularly in regard to the dangers of binge drinking for females and youth.
Utilisation des modèles NTCP et de carcinogenèse pour les choix balistiques et de particules en hadronthérapie de l'adulte et de l'enfant

Certains problemes scientifiques et techniques, imparfaitement resolus dans la mise en œuvre des traitements par ions legers ont ete etudies. La these developpe successivement les trois approches suivantes : 1) La premiere partie de cette these travaille sur la definition de l'equipement (faisceaux fixes versus gantry) pour un centre de traitement et ainsi traiter la plus large variete possible de tumeurs pour un spectre elargi de situations cliniques caracteristiques chez l'adulte. Les tumeurs etudiees sont des tumeurs de la base du crâne, du rachis cervical haut, bronchiques, ganglionnaires thoraciques, ganglionnaires abdominales et de la prostate, l'on obtient ainsi un eventail assez large d'indications therapeutiques. 2) La seconde partie met a contribution une partie des outils developpes dans la premiere phase (traitement chez l'adulte). Le meme design de salle de traitement est utilise mais pour un ensemble de tumeurs intracrâniennes de la base du crâne et de la sphere ORL chez l'enfant et l'adulte jeune. Il peut etre conclu que l'etude de multiples situations anatomo-pathologiques en therapie protons n'a pas permis de degager d'incidences faisceaulogiques originales et particulieres a la gantry. 3) La derniere phase donne lieu a l'etude des caracteristiques physiques propres aux faisceaux d'ions carbones. Une comparaison est menee sur la base de simulations de donnees par l'utilisation de modeles de calcul du risque d'induction neoplasique apres traitement chez l'adulte et plus specifiquement chez l'enfant. La simulation semble indiquer que les ions carbones induiraient un phenomene de sterilisation cellulaire a doses intermediaires & hautes dans les tissus & organes chez l'adulte et l'enfant.
Thyroid size and iodine intake in iodine-repleted pregnant women in Isfahan, Iran.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the goiter and iodine intake status of pregnant women in Isfahan, after 8 years of iodized salt distribution in Iran. METHODS Thyroid staging was assessed by clinical examination, thyroid volume was determined by sonography, and urinary iodine (UI) excretion was assessed by the digestion method in 90 healthy pregnant women (30 in each trimester) and 90 age-matched nonpregnant women selected by random sampling in prenatal and primary health-care clinics. The data were reported as mean +/- standard deviation; P values <0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS The mean age of the pregnant and the nonpregnant women was 25.3 and 27.5 years, respectively-no significant difference (P = NS). The clinical goiter prevalence in the pregnant and the nonpregnant groups was 37% and 32%, respectively (P = NS). The mean thyroid volume in the pregnant and nonpregnant women was 7.8 +/- 3.2 and 7.8 +/- 2.8 mL, respectively (P = NS). Urinary iodine (UI) excretion was 20.7 +/- 6.9 mg/dL in pregnant women and 23.7 +/- 7.6 mg/dL in nonpregnant women (P = NS). The prevalence of goiter assessed by sonography was 29% in pregnant women and 21% in nonpregnant women (P = NS). The mean thyroid size in 26 of 90 pregnant women with goiter (thyroid volume >9.2 mL) was 11.8 +/- 2.73 mL and in 19 of 90 nonpregnant women with goiter was 12.36 +/- 1.6 mL (P = NS). The mean thyroid volume was 6.0 +/- 1.7, 9.9 +/- 1.7, 11.8 +/- 2.2, and 18.9 +/- 2.4 mL in the pregnant women with or without goiter at thyroid stages 0, Ia, Ib, and II, respectively. A strong correlation between goiter staging assessed by clinical examination and thyroid volume determined by sonography was found in pregnant (r = 0.77) and nonpregnant (r = 0.78) women (both P<0.000001). Mean UI excretion was 20.9 +/- 7.0, 19.9 +/- 6.8, 20.6 +/- 7.5, and 25.9 +/- 2.3 mg/dL in the pregnant women at thyroid stages 0, Ia, Ib, and II, respectively. In the pregnant and the nonpregnant women, no correlation was found between thyroid stage and UI excretion or between thyroid volume and UI excretion. CONCLUSION No iodine deficiency was found in Isfahani pregnant women. Thus, as in most iodine-sufficient areas, thyroid size did not increase during pregnancy. Despite sufficient iodine intake, a moderate prevalence of goiter was noted in pregnant and nonpregnant women. This study also revealed that careful physical examination of the thyroid had diagnostic accuracy similar to sonography.
The involvement of protein kinase C in myosin phosphorylation and force development in rat tail arterial smooth muscle.

Myosin light-chain phosphorylation is the primary mechanism for activating smooth-muscle contraction and occurs principally at Ser-19 of the 20 kDa light chains of myosin (LC(20)). In some circumstances, Thr-18 phosphorylation may also occur. Protein kinase C (PKC) can regulate LC(20) phosphorylation indirectly via signalling pathways leading to inhibition of myosin light-chain phosphatase. The goal of this study was to determine the relative importance of myosin light-chain kinase (MLCK) and PKC in basal and stimulated LC(20) phosphorylation in rat tail arterial smooth-muscle strips (RTA). Two MLCK inhibitors (ML-9 and wortmannin) and two PKC inhibitors (chelerythrine and calphostin C) that have different mechanisms of action were used. Results showed the following: (i) basal LC(20) phosphorylation in intact RTA is mediated by MLCK; (ii) alpha(1)-adrenoceptor stimulation increases LC(20) phosphorylation via MLCK and PKC; (iii) Ca(2+)-induced LC(20) phosphorylation in Triton X-100-demembranated RTA is catalysed exclusively by MLCK, consistent with the quantitative loss of PKCs alpha and beta following detergent treatment; (iv) very little LC(20) diphosphorylation (i.e. Thr-18 phosphorylation) occurs in intact or demembranated RTA at rest or in response to contractile stimuli; and (v) the level of LC(20) phosphorylation correlates with contraction in intact and demembranated RTA, although the steady-state tension-LC(20) phosphorylation relationship is markedly different between the two preparations such that the basal level of LC(20) phosphorylation in intact muscles is sufficient to generate maximal force in demembranated preparations. This may be due, in part, to differences in the phosphatase/kinase activity ratio, resulting from disruption of a signalling pathway leading to myosin light-chain phosphatase inhibition following detergent treatment.
Predicting poor perinatal outcome in women who present with decreased fetal movements

Summary Maternal perception of decreased fetal movements (DFM) is associated with increased incidence of stillbirth and intrauterine growth restriction. We hypothesised that clinical assessment of women perceiving DFM may identify patients at highest risk of poor perinatal outcome. This was a retrospective study of 203 patients presenting to the obstetric triage service with DFM. Information on obstetric and past medical history, the current presentation with DFM and the outcome of pregnancy was collected. Using multivariate analysis, odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated for poor pregnancy outcome defined as stillbirth, small for gestational age or pre-term delivery. The rate of stillbirth was increased in women with DFM (OR 2.9). Some 26.6% of women perceiving DFM had a poor perinatal outcome. Women with relevant past obstetric history (OR 2.11), two or more presentations of DFM (OR 1.92), or who measured small-for-dates (OR 19.53) were at increased risk of poor pregnancy outcome. These preliminary data suggest that some features of clinical assessment can identify patients at increased risk of poor perinatal outcome after presentation with DFM. Such patients may be prioritised for detailed assessment of fetal growth and wellbeing.
Is growth hormone treatment beneficial or harmful in Costello syndrome?

Costello syndrome (CS) was first described by Costello in two unrelated children, in 1971 and 1977.1 The major manifestations of CS have been summarised as postnatal growth deficiency, developmental delay, relative macrocephaly, coarse face, thick ears, thick lips, depressed nasal bridge with anteverted nares, excess skin, thick palms and soles, short neck, curly hair, nasal papillomata, and sociable personality.2 Recently, it has become apparent that children with CS have an increased risk of malignancy, particularly rhabdomyosarcoma. Rhabdomyosarcoma, predominantly embryonal, has been reported in 10 children, ganglioneuroblastoma in three, bladder carcinoma in two, epithelioma in one, and acoustic neuroma in one adult.3 A further three unpublished cases of rhabdomyosarcoma in children with CS are known to us through the International Costello syndrome support group and a fourth case is included in this report (case 2). The frequency of tumours in CS has been estimated to be as high as 17%3 and a screening protocol has been proposed. These recommendations for surveillance include three to six monthly abdominal and pelvic ultrasound until the of the age of 8–10 years, urinary catecholamine analysis every six to 12 months until the age of 5, and annual urine analysis after the age of 10. Whether or not abdominal ultrasound would enable detection of early stage disease in rhabdomyosarcoma with a benefit for both survival and morbidity is unknown. For neuroblastoma, however, data from the general population suggested that screening had no impact on mortality or morbidity and the use of urine analysis in detection of bladder cancer has not been evaluated.4 Evaluation of the risks and benefits of the suggested screening regimen in this rare disorder will require in the first instance a network of collaborating geneticists and parents who are willing to allow screening without proven benefits.4 Cardiac …
Pinning Control of Lag-Consensus for Second-Order Nonlinear Multiagent Systems

Lag consensus means that the corresponding state vectors of the followers are behind the leader with a lag time. In this paper, Lyapunov functional and matrix theory are applied to analyze pinning-controlled lag consensus of second-order nonlinear multiagent systems. The focus is twofold: 1) to find out which agents should be pinned and 2) to determine what the coupling strength should be, so that the multiagent systems can reach lag consensus. Moreover, the practical problem in a noisy environment is considered. Finally, an illustrative example is provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed pinning control protocol.
The Impact of Taxes and Public Spending on the Location of FDI: Evidence from Fdi-Flows within Europe

In a place to place analysis of bilateral FDI flows the average company tax burden, the statutory corporation tax rate, as well as the cost of capital are used to capture the tax incentives. In addition, indicators of public spending in general and with regard to different functions of government and rankings of competitiveness related to public sector activities are used to measure the role of public service provision. The results show significant effects of tax incentives, in particular, the marginal tax burden and the statutory tax rate prove jointly significant. However, only weak indications of a countervailing effect of public expenditures are found.
Influence of central command on cerebral blood flow at the onset of exercise in women

This study evaluated the role of central command in the regulation of common carotid artery blood flow and middle cerebral artery mean flow velocity (VMCA) at the onset of arm exercise. Eleven young women performed 2 min voluntary elbow flexion and extension exercise with no load (VOL) that was considered to activate both central command and the muscle mechanoreflex, and 2 min passive elbow flexion and extension exercise (PAS) that was considered to activate only the muscle mechanoreflex. Immediately before the onset of VOL, and VMCA began to increase from the baseline and peaked 5 s thereafter (mean ±s.d.; 20 ± 5 and 14 ± 5%, respectively; P < 0.05). Also, VOL increased heart rate (9 ± 2%; P < 0.05) and cardiac output (16 ± 3%; P < 0.05). Indexes of the cerebrovascular resistance (MAP/ and MAP/VMCA) were reduced at the onset of VOL (−13 ± 4 and −12 ± 4%, respectively; P < 0.05). However, there were no significant changes in these parameters during PAS. These results suggest that central command plays an important role in the increase of cerebral blood flow at the onset of voluntary exercise.
Review of electron microscopic evidence favouring vesicle exocytosis as the structural basis for quantal release during synaptic transmission.

Article de synthese a propos de la contribution de la microscopie electronique a l'examen du role du phenomene d'exocytose de vesicules synaptiques dans la liberation de neurotransmetteurs, notamment au niveau de la jonction neuromusculaire de la grenouille et du homard
Local CEOs, Career Concerns, and Voluntary Disclosure

I study whether the management guidance provided by local CEOs differs from the guidance provided by nonlocal CEOs. The geographic preferences of the CEOs lead to segmented executive labor markets, which impose higher costs to relocate and give rise to career concerns. I find that local CEOs, who grew up in the same states where the firm headquarters are located, provide fewer items in guidance and less frequent guidance than nonlocal CEOs. I also show that local CEOs have greater asymmetric withholding of bad news relative to good news and that they increase their disclosure during economic downturns in their home states. Collectively, these findings suggest that the geographically segmented CEO labor markets play an important role in disclosure choices of CEOs.