Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Influence of Children on the Parents Buying Behavior: Food Purchase in the Czech Republic

The article examines the influence of a child on the buying behavior of parents in the Czech Republic. Previous studies claim that Czech consumers are only slightly influenced by the marketing tool of the product package when purchasing food. Whereas children are increasingly becoming influencers of consumption, the question arises, whether or not the parent succumbs to their requesting through their pester power. The main goal of this article is to evaluate the influence of children during deciding and purchasing the food in a supermarket. A secondary goal is to identify the techniques of pester power used by children and to identify the reaction of parents to children’s food product requesting; to identify children’s packaging preferences for food products. The primary data have been collected through an electronic questionnaire for parents. Complex factors are identified using exploratory factor analysis. Factor analysis explored 4 factors: (1) “The effort of the child to influence shopping”, (2) “Children’s preferences in package design”, (3) “Preference of unhealthy foods”, (4) “Buying healthy foods with children”. Results of hypotheses testing revealed a strong dependence relating to techniques of pester power, accommodating their requests and transact the purchase.
Conditioned place preference and spontaneous dorsal horn neuron activity in chronic constriction injury model in rats

Abstract Patients with neuropathic pain commonly present with spontaneous pain, in addition to allodynia and hyperalgesia. Although evoked responses in neuropathic pain models are well characterized, determining the presence of spontaneous pain is more challenging. We determined whether the chronic constriction injury (CCI) model could be used to measure effects of treatment of spontaneous pain, by evaluating dorsal horn neuron (DHN) spontaneous activity and spontaneous pain-related behaviors. We measured conditioned place preference (CPP) to analgesia produced by sciatic nerve block with bupivacaine in rats with established CCI. We undertook another CPP experiment using hind paw incision. We also examined DHN spontaneous activity in CCI rats. Although CCI produced nocifensive responses to mechanical stimuli, CPP to analgesic nerve block was not evident 14 days after injury: Compared with baseline (314 ± 65 seconds), CCI rats did not show a preference for the bupivacaine-paired chamber after conditioning (330 ± 102 seconds). However, sciatic nerve block after hind paw incision produced CPP on postoperative day 1, serving as a positive control. The proportion of spontaneously active DHNs (33%) was not significantly increased in CCI rats compared with the sham (21%). The median rate of spontaneous activity in the CCI group (12.6 impulses per second) was not different from the sham group (9.2 impulses per second). Also, there was no change in DHN spontaneous activity after sciatic nerve block with bupivacaine. Our findings suggest that CCI as a neuropathic pain model should not be used to measure effects of treatment of spontaneous pain driven by the peripheral input.
Triadic comparisons of musical intervals.

An analysis is made of the perception of musical intervals. Two kinds of stimuli were used; intervals consisting of two simultaneous simple tones (sinusoids) and intervals consisting of two simultaneous complex tones (funda­ mental plus harmonics). Subjects judged the stimuli by the method of triadic comparisons in an incomplete balanced design. Multidimensional analysis was performed according to Kruskal's MDSCAL program. The following results were obtained: (a) In both the space of simple-tone intervals (S) and the space of complex-tone intervals (C) musical intervals are ordered according to their width (frequency difference between fundamental tones). This ordering appears to follow a scale which is bowed upwards in the centre; extremely narrow and extremely wide intervals are therefore more similar than would be expected on the basis of their width alone, (b) In addition, the intervals in C are ordered along a dimension which is related to the complexity of the frequency ratio of the fundamental tones. This is much less true for S. (c) In S, on the other hand, intervals are differentiated on a dimension which is interpreted as indicating their resemblance to certain normative reference intervals. Attention is given to a number of methodologica l issues.
Does the effectiveness of cervical screening vary with age ? Evidence from a population-based case-control study of prospectively recorded data

Does the effectiveness of cervical screening vary with age? Evidence from a population-based case-control study of prospectively recorded data Peter Sasieni, Alejandra Castañón, Jack Cuzick Cancer Research UK Centre for Epidemiology, Mathematics and Statistics, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Bart’s & The London School of Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6BQ, Peter Sasieni Professor of Biostatistics and Cancer Epidemiology, Alejandra Castanon Epidemiologist, Jack Cuzick John Snow Professor of Epidemiology.
Falls and Use of Assistive Devices in Stroke Patients with Hemiparesis: Association with Balance Ability and Fall Efficacy

Purpose: This study investigates balance ability and the fall efficacy with regard to the experiences of stroke patients with hemiparesis. Methods: The experience of falling, the use of assistive devices, and each disease‐related characteristic were assessed using face‐to‐face interviews and a self‐reported questionnaire. The Berg Balance Scale and Fall Efficacy Scale were used to measure balance ability and confidence. Results: The fall efficacy was significantly lower in participants who had experienced falls than those who had not. The participants who used assistive devices exhibited low balance ability and fall efficacy compared to those who did not use assistive devices. Conclusions: Stroke patients with fall experience and walking aids might be considered at increased risk of falling. Clinical Relevance: Preventive measures for individuals using walking aids may be beneficial in reducing the fall rate of community‐dwelling stroke patients.
Nitric oxide production during adjuvant-induced and collagen-induced arthritis.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the role of nitric oxide (NO) production and NO synthase (NOS) induction during adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) and collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in Dark Agouti rats. METHODS Urinary nitrate excretion and immune NOS (INOS) messenger RNA (mRNA) expression were measured in the joint, lymph node, spleen, and liver tissues following the induction of either AIA or CIA. RESULTS Urinary nitrate excretion and iNOS mRNA expression increased substantially during joint inflammation in both models of arthritis. However, the increases in urinary nitrate excretion and iNOS mRNA expression observed in the joint, liver, and spleen tissues during AIA were greater than those observed during CIA, although iNOS induction in the lymph nodes was similar for both models. A prior injection with Mycobacterium bovis heat-shock protein resulted in suppression of arthritis and NO production in AIA, but not in CIA. CONCLUSION Differences in NO production during AIA versus CIA are a reflection of the fundamental pathophysiologic differences between these 2 models of arthritis. Thus, NO production in these 2 models could not be merely a nonspecific reaction to the adjuvant injection, nor simply a byproduct of local inflammation in the joint.
On the relevance of qualitative methods for ergonomics

The application of qualitative methods to ergonomics research and practice offers us a new window on the nature of the interaction between humans and technology. The method discussed by Hignett and Wilson (2004) exemplifies this potential by applying their method to explicate the attitudes of practitioners and academic researchers toward qualitative methodology itself. Their specific findings, however, may be due in part to differences between the institutional structures in which they work as well as the attitudes of the specific individuals surveyed. Here, we offer a commentary on their work and reinforce the importance of qualitative research in ergonomics, while discussing the philosophical empirical, and theoretical issues raised by the introduction of these methods. We conclude that the fundamental problems inherent in qualitative approaches are limitations on quantitative methods also, being inherent to all forms of observation. While supportive of the general thesis proposed and especially appreciative of the authors’ focus on purpose, we point to the problem of integrating different orders of knowledge as a significant barrier to future progress towards a comprehensive theory for ergonomics.
The effect of variations in translucency and background on color differences in CAD/CAM lithium disilicate glass ceramics.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of variations in translucency and background on color differences (ΔE) for different shades of computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) lithium disilicate glass ceramics. MATERIALS AND METHODS A pilot study suggested n = 10 as an appropriate sample size for the number of lithium disilicate glass ceramic cylinders per group. High-transparency (HT) and low-transparency (LT) cylinders (diameter, 12 mm; length, 13 mm) were fabricated in three ceramic shades (BL1, A2, C3) using CAD/CAM technology and were cut into specimen disks (thickness, 1.2 mm; diameter, 12 mm) for placement on Natural Die (ND1 and ND4) backgrounds. Four combinations of translucency and background color were evaluated in terms of color differences for the three ceramic shades: group 1 (HT ND1, reference), group 2 (HT ND4), group 3 (LT ND1), and group 4 (LT ND4). A spectrophotometer was used to measure the color differences. Nonparametric tests (Kruskal-Wallis tests) were used to evaluate the color differences among the tested groups, and Mann-Whitney U tests with Bonferroni correction were used as post hoc tests. Furthermore, for each ceramic shade, the HT groups were compared to the LT groups using the Mann-Whitney U test. RESULTS Significant differences were present among the tested groups of the same ceramic shade (p < 0.001). The highest ΔE values were observed in the HT ND4 group for BL1, while the lowest ΔE values were found in the LT ND1 group for both A2 and C3. Further, the HT groups and the groups with a darker background (ND4) showed increased ΔE values compared with the other groups (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Within the limitations of this study, the results suggested that the translucency and background color significantly influenced the lithium disilicate glass ceramic color among the BL1, A2, and C3 ceramic shades. Changing the underlying color from a lighter background to a darker background resulted in increased color differences.
Drosophila BLM in Double-Strand Break Repair by Synthesis-Dependent Strand Annealing

Bloom syndrome, characterized by a predisposition to cancer, is caused by mutation of the RecQ DNA helicase geneBLM. The precise function of BLM remains unclear. Previous research suggested that Drosophila BLM functions in the repair of DNA double-strand breaks. Most double-strand breaks in flies are repaired by homologous recombination through the synthesis-dependent strand-annealing pathway. Here, we demonstrate thatDrosophila BLM mutants are severely impaired in their ability to carry out repair DNA synthesis during synthesis-dependent strand annealing. Consequently, repair in the mutants is completed by error-prone pathways that create large deletions. These results suggest a model in which BLM maintains genomic stability by promoting efficient repair DNA synthesis and thereby prevents double-strand break repair by less precise pathways.
Transcriptional regulation of STAT 3 by SPTBN 1 and SMAD 3 in HCC through cAMP-response element-binding proteins ATF 3 and CREB 2

The cytoskeletal protein Spectrin, beta, non-erythrocytic 1 (SPTBN1), an adapter protein to SMAD3 in TGF-β signaling, may prevent hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development by downregulating the expression of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3). To elucidate the as yet undefined mechanisms that regulate this process, we demonstrate that higher levels of STAT3 transcription are found in livers of heterozygous SPTBN1+/− mice as compared to that of wild type mice. We also found increased levels of STAT3 mRNA, STAT3 protein, and p-STAT3 in human HCC cell-lines after knockdown of SPTBN1 or SMAD3, which promoted cell colony formation. Inhibition of STAT3 overrode the increase in cell colony formation due to knockdown of SPTBN1 or SMAD3. We also found that inhibition of SPTBN1 or SMAD3 upregulated STAT3 promoter activity in HCC cell-lines, which is dependent upon the cAMPresponse element (CRE) and STAT-binding element (SBE) sites of the STAT3 promoter. Mechanistically, suppression of SPTBN1 and SMAD3 augmented the transcription of STAT3 by upregulating the CRE-binding proteins ATF3 and CREB2 and augmented the binding of those proteins to the regions within or upstream of the CRE site of the STAT3 promoter. Finally, in human HCC tissues, SPTBN1 expression correlated negatively with expression levels of STAT3, ATF3, and CREB2; SMAD3 expression correlated negatively with STAT3 expression; and the level of phosphorylated SMAD3 (p-SMAD3) correlated negatively with ATF3 and CREB2 protein levels. SPTBN1 and SMAD3 collaborate with CRE-binding transcription factors to inhibit STAT3, thereby preventing HCC development.
The effects of breathing-related sleep disorders on mood disturbances in the general population.

BACKGROUND Results of clinical studies suggest that there may be a relationship between breathing-related sleep disorders and depressive disorders. This study aims to assess the impact of breathing-related sleep disorder on major depressive disorder in the general population. METHOD A cross-sectional telephone survey was carried out between 1994 and 1999 in the general population of the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. A total of 18,980 randomly selected subjects aged 15 to 100 years and representative of the general population of their respective countries participated in the study. The questionnaire included a series of questions about sleep quality, breathing-related sleep disorder symptoms, mental disorders, and medical conditions. Data are presented using point prevalence. RESULTS 2.1% of the subjects were found with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome at the time of the interview, and 2.5% had some other type of DSM-IV breathing-related sleep disorder diagnosis. The association of DSM-IV breathing-related sleep disorder diagnosis and major depressive disorder diagnosis was found in 0.8% of the sample. As many as 18% of individuals with a major depressive disorder diagnosis also have a DSM-IV breathing-related sleep disorders diagnosis, and 17.6% of subjects with a DSM-IV breathing-related sleep disorders diagnosis have a major depressive disorder diagnosis. Multivariate models showed that even after controlling for obesity and hypertension, the odds of having a DSM-IV breathing-related sleep disorders diagnosis was 5.26 for individuals with a major depressive disorder diagnosis. CONCLUSION About 800 of 100,000 individuals have both a breathing-related sleep disorder and a major depressive disorder. The identification of 1 of these 2 disorders should prompt the investigation of the other disorder since nearly a fifth of them have the other disorder.
The effects of glycerol and guar-xanthan mixture on mechanical and barrier properties of starch based edible films - chemometric analysis

The aim of this work was to evaluate the simultaneous effect of glycerol (30%, 40%, 50%) and guar-xanthan gum addition (0.1%, 0.3%, 0.5%) effect on starch based edible film mechanical and barrier properties. According to Response Surface Methodology, the most influential parameter in the second order polynomial models calculation was the percentage of glycerol, while the linear term of guar-xanthan content was important only for second order polynomial model calculation for tensile strength and water vapor permeability. According to Principal Component Analysis, samples grouping along the first component are primarily due to the content of glycerol, which is also confirmed by ANOVA analysis. According Cluster Analysis, two separate clusters are observed on the dendrogram, which includes the right (with the increased value of tensile strength) and the left cluster (with the increased value of elongation break and water vapor permeability). The observed distance the two clusters is considerable (approx. 80). [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR-31055: Osmotic dehydration of food - energy and environmental aspects of sustainable production]
Media, Tasks, and Communication Processes: A Theory of Media Synchronicity

This paper expands, refines, and explicates media synchronicity theory, originally proposed in a conference proceeding in 1999 (Dennis and Valacich 1999). Media synchronicity theory (MST) focuses on the ability of media to support synchronicity, a shared pattern of coordinated behavior among individuals as they work together. We expand on the original propositions of MST to argue that communication is composed of two primary processes: conveyance and convergence. The familiarity of individuals with the tasks they are performing and with their coworkers will also affect the relative amounts of these two processes. Media synchronicity theory proposes that for conveyance processes, use of media supporting lower synchronicity should result in better communication performance. For convergence processes, use of media supporting higher synchronicity should result in better communication performance. We identify five capabilities of media (symbol sets, parallelism, transmission velocity, rehearsability, and reprocessability) that influence the development of synchronicity and thus the successful performance of conveyance and convergence communication processes. The successful completion of most tasks involving more than one individual requires both conveyance and convergence processes, thus communication performance will be improved when individuals use a variety of media to perform a task, rather than just one medium.
Mouse Model for Thoracic Congenital Scoliosis

This study sought to produce a dose–response curve for acute and chronic maternal carbon monoxide (CO) exposure versus vertebral anomalies in mouse offspring and to determine the critical day of exposure. In Part I, pregnant CD-1 mice were exposed to an acute dose of CO at 9 days of gestation. A positive dose–response relationship of acute maternal CO exposure and vertebral anomalies in the offspring was produced. In Part II, pregnant females were exposed to chronic CO for the first 11 days of gestation. Chronic exposure to CO did not produce significant vertebral anomalies. In Part III, pregnant females were exposed to an acute dose of 600 ppm of CO at gestation day 8, 9, or 10. Day 9 in this mouse breed is the critical day for maternal exposure to CO. The detected anomalies were predominately in the thoracic spine.
On the Exact Null Distribution of the Generalised Likelihood Ratio Test for Analysing Unreplicated Factorial Designs

Al‐Shiha and Yang (1999) proposed a multistage procedure for analysing unreplicated factorial experiments, which is based on the statistic that is derived from the generalised likelihood ratio test statistic under the assumption of normality. It was shown by their simulation study that the method is quite competitive with Lenth's (1989) method. In their paper, because of the difficulty of determining the null distribution analytically, the quantiles of the null distribution were empirically simulated. In this paper, we give the exact null distribution of their test statistic, which makes it possible to calculate the critical values of the test. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
The Verification of Real Time Systems Using the TINA Tool

Abstract In this paper, we propose a method for building a Timed Transition Graph (TTG) that uses a single clock from the state class graph of a bounded time Petri Net (TPN). To build this TTG a special state class construction - available in Tina - is used. This structure can be used to calculate “quantitative” temporal properties for the worst case scenario. It is possible to check efficiently several properties over the same TTG if no design modifications are made. Such properties are represented by a framework proposed in the literature were TCTL properties are defined on TPN.
The Effect of Informedness and Consensus on Price and Volume Behavior

This paper presents a partially revealing rational expectations model of competitive trading to identify two effects of information releases; an informedness effect and a consensus effect. The informedness effect measures the extent to which agents become more knowledgeable, and the consensus effect measures the extent of agreement among agents at the time of an information release. We demonstrate that informedness and consensus generally occur jointly when information is disseminated, and that unexpected price changes and trading volume are each influenced by both informedness and consensus. Thus, interpretations of unexpected price changes and volume associated with information releases are conceptually similar. Since informedness and consensus each affect both the variance of price changes and volume, our paper provides an economic rationale for examining both price and volume effects at the time of information releases. MPIRICAL researchers have traditionally used unexpected price changes to measure the information content of public disclosures of information (e.g., Beaver 1968; Atiase 1985). An announcement is said to contain information if it alters investors' beliefs about the value of an asset (e.g., Beaver 1981, 117). Research in accounting indicates that the variance of unexpected price changes increases at the time of earnings announcements and that unexpected price changes are positively correlated with the unexpected component of earnWe have benefited from conversations with Doug Diamond, Raffl Indjejikian, Oliver Kim, Rob Vishny, and from comments from Bill Kinney, John Long, several referees (especially Russ Lundholm), and participants at the University of Chicago and Cornell University. Holthausen gratefully acknowledges support from the Center for Research in Security Prices and the Institute of Professional Accounting at the University of Chicago. Verrecchia gratefully acknowledges financial assistance from Arthur Young & Company and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Manuscript received August 1988. Revision received April 1989. Accepted August 1989.