Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sex differences in contractile properties and fatigue resistance of human skeletal muscle

To explore the cause of higher skeletal muscle fatigue resistance in women than men, we used electrically evoked contractions (1 s on, 1 s off, 30 Hz, 2 min), which circumvent motivational bias and allow examination of contractile properties. We compared 29 men [26.5 (7.0) years old; mean (s.d.)] with 35 women [25.4 (7.6) years old]. Strength of the quadriceps muscle was higher in men than women (P < 0.001). The lower maximal rate of relaxation in women (P= 0.002) indicates that their muscles were slower than those of men. The torque declined less in women than in men [37.7 (10.7) versus 29.9 (10.0)%; P= 0.002], and was not related to muscle strength or size, as determined with magnetic resonance imaging. The sex difference in fatigability was also seen when the circulation to the leg was occluded [torque declined 76.9 (10.8) versus 59.5 (16.9)% in men versus women, respectively; P= 0.008]. The maximal rate of relaxation correlated with the fatigability of the muscle under all conditions (correlations ranging from 0.34 to 0.51, P < 0.02). We conclude that the sex‐related difference in skeletal muscle fatigue resistance is not explicable by differences in motivation, muscle size, oxidative capacity and/or blood flow between sexes, but might be related to differences in fibre type composition.
High‐resolution immunolocalization of osteopontin and osteocalcin in bone and cartilage during endochondral ossification in the chicken tibia

The ultrastructural distribution of two noncollagenous proteins, osteopontin (OPN) and osteocalcin (OC), originally extracted from bone matrix and proposed to play an important role in bone formation, was examined in the matrices of bone and cartilage from embryonic and postnatal chicken tibial growth plates by high‐resolution immunocytochemistry using the colloidal gold technique. In bone, immunolabeling patterns using polyclonal antibodies against chicken OPN and OC were generally similar in that both showed an intense, but regionally variable, labeling of mineralized bone matrix and small mineralization loci dispersed throughout the osteoid and containing prominent condensed organic material. Unmineralized osteoid showed weak‐to‐moderate labeling. In the mineralized bone matrix proper, labeling was predominantly associated with amorphous, electron‐dense patches of organic material among the collagen fibrils. In growth plate cartilage, both proteins first appeared related to calcified cartilage in the hypertrophic zone, although the labeling patterns were somewhat different. For OPN, gold particles were mostly associated with an organic lamina limitans‐like density containing condensed, filamentous organic matrix at the periphery of small nodules and large masses of calcified cartilage, with additional moderate labeling throughout the interior of the calcified cartilage. For OC, labeling was observed over filamentous structures throughout the calcified cartilage matrix, with some, but less, labeling at the periphery. In the lowermost zones of the growth plate, the major reaction using both antibodies was found over a layer of dense, amorphous organic material at the periphery of the calcified cartilage at the future bone/calcified cartilage interface, a labeling pattern that persisted following bone deposition at these sites. OPN and to a lesser extent OC were also concentrated in cement (resting, reversal) lines. Throughout the bone and cartilage of the tibia, cells of both the osteoblastic and the osteoclastic lineages were found directly apposed to labeled surfaces and lamina limitans of organic matrix containing OPN and OC. In summary, it is concluded form the immunocytochemical data presented here that the association of OPN and OC with mineralized regions of the extracellular matrices of bone and cartilage and the accumulation of these proteins at tissue surfaces and interfaces are consistent with the hypotheses that they play a role in the extracellular mineralization process per se and/or that they may mediate cell adhesion and dynamics. © Willey‐Liss, Inc.
Trends in corruption and regulatory burden in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

This study assesses levels and trends in corruption and the administrative burden from government regulation of private firms. It is largely based on the fourth round of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)-World Bank Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Surveys (BEEPS) covering over 11,000 firms in 29 countries in Europe and Central Asia (ECA). The report provides an update of the progress that ECA countries have made since 2005, extends (in certain respects) the analysis of corruption and regulatory burden on firms provided in the earlier Anticorruption in Transition (ACT) reports covering the period from 1999 to 2005, and in several instances provides comparisons of ECA countries to similar countries outside of the region using the World Bank enterprise surveys and other sources of data. Despite making significant progress on administrative bribery overall, corruption is cited more frequently by firms in the region as an obstacle to doing business than any other problem, with the exception of tax rates. In part, this continued perception of corruption as one of the most serious problems for business may reflect slower progress on other aspects of corruption not measured directly in firm-state interactions covered by the BEEPS.
UNDERSTANDING AND MITIGATING UNCERTAINTY IN ONLINE ENVIRONMENTS: A LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS OF THE ROLE OF TRUST AND SOCIAL PRESENCE.

Uncertainty has been widely touted as the primary barrier to e-commerce adoption. To better understand the nature of uncertainty and mitigate its potentially harmful impact on e-commerce, this study draws upon agency theory to identify and examine three antecedents of uncertainty -- information asymmetry, seller opportunism, and privacy concerns. In turn, trust and social presence are hypothesized as the key factors that facilitate e-commerce adoption by mitigating these three sources of uncertainty. The proposed structural model is tested in the context of online prescription filling with a sample of 357 online consumers. The longitudinal results support the proposed hypotheses, delineating the mechanisms by which trust and social presence facilitate e-commerce adoption through the mediating role of uncertainty and its three underlying dimensions. Implications for enhancing our understanding of e-commerce adoption and mitigating uncertainty in online environments by integrating sociological and economic .
Teacher Mobility: Can Financial Incentives Help Disadvantaged Schools to Retain Their Teachers?

This paper studies teacher mobility in France using unique matched teacher-school data. All tenured teachers in lower secondary schools are included in the analysis. Some institutional features of the French educational system are particularly interesting for analyzing the effect of non-pecuniary factors on mobility decisions: completely centralized wage setting; explicit and centralized mobility rule setting; a career-based system where teachers are civil servants and rarely quit. Moreover, a specific program, implemented in September 1990, awards bonuses to teachers in some disadvantaged areas (Zones d'Education Prioritaire). Together, these give us the opportunity to assess the impact of this type of financial incentives. We find that teachers tend to switch schools when they work in establishments with a high proportion of less able students, students from minority groups and/or students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. In addition, teachers who do not work in the region where they were born are more likely to move. Finally, regarding pecuniary factors, it appears that the incentives driven by bonuses are not sufficient to retain teachers in ZEP schools.
Locomotor Training in People With Parkinson Disease

The purpose of this article is to consider the role of the physical therapist in locomotor training for people with Parkinson disease. The ways in which disease progression, medication status, environmental conditions, individual factors, and the goals of locomotor tasks contribute to clinical decision making are explored. Using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, gait training will be considered in relation to impairments of body structure and function, activity limitations, and participation restrictions in people who are newly diagnosed through to those with end-stage disease. Based on the principles of neural adaptation and clinical research findings, practical suggestions are made on how to provide the most efficient and effective physical therapy services at different stages of Parkinson disease.
How Clutter Affects Advertising Effectiveness

ABSTRACT Consolidating past findings on clutter with analysis of four new data sets, we document the empirical patterns for how advertising works in television and radio with different levels of clutter. We find that advertising avoidance is similar in low and high clutter environments, so when there is more clutter, audiences really do see more advertisements. Doubling the clutter, however, does not halve the number of advertisements recalled, and in less clutter audiences are less likely to correctly identify the advertised brand in commercials they do recall. Overall, we find that the impact of clutter is not large, especially when compared to creative elements of executions.
Poor sleep quality is associated with preterm birth.

STUDY OBJECTIVES Preterm birth (PTB) is a major public health priority and the most common adverse pregnancy outcome. Several risk factors have been identified, but a gap in the understanding of the underlying etiology of PTB persists. Poor sleep quality is a correlate of adverse health outcomes. Therefore, we evaluated whether sleep quality during pregnancy was a clinically relevant risk factor for PTB. DESIGN Observational. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS Participants included 166 pregnant women (mean age = 28.6 ± 5.5 years). Self-report questionnaires, including the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), were administered at 14-16, 24-26, and 30-32 weeks gestation. Logistic regression models were used to evaluate whether sleep quality was associated with preterm delivery. Poor sleep quality was a predictor of preterm birth, with the largest effects in early pregnancy (14-16 weeks) (OR: 1.25 95% CI [1.04-1.50], P = 0.02) and more modest effects in later pregnancy (30-32 weeks) (OR: 1.18 95% CI [0.98-1.42], P = 0.07). With every one-point increase on the PSQI, the odds of preterm birth increase 25% in early pregnancy and 18% in later pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS Poor sleep quality, in both early and late pregnancy, is associated with an increased risk of delivering preterm. Currently the specific pathway(s) through which disturbed sleep contributes to PTB are unknown. We suggest that poor sleep may contribute to increased risk for PTB both independently, as well as in conjunction with other established risk factors, such as stress.
Brand origin in an emerging market: perceptions of Indian consumers

Purpose – The study aims to examine the usefulness of the brand origin concept in shaping the perceptions of Indian consumers.Design/methodology/approach – Guided by recent advance in social identity theory and social motivation theory, a dynamic iterative model of brand origin recognition is proposed. Six hypotheses were tested using a sample of 145 consumers from west of India. Using paired t‐test, average consumer preference of brand origin was analysed for different product categories. A factor analysis with varimax rotation for determining band images was also carried out.Findings – The results demonstrated that most consumers can recognise the brand origin correctly but the power of recognition decreases when the brand has a long history of “localization”. Distinguished trajectories of consumer perceptions of foreign brands and domestics brands were projected, and this allowed one to extend existing country of origin (CO) research to brand of origin research.Practical implications – The results impl.
Evaluation of the transarticular external skeletal fixator for the treatment of tarsocrural instability in 32 cats

Summary The medical records of all cats with tarsocrural joint instability that were treated between June 2002 and December 2008 at the Royal Veterinary College were retrospectively reviewed. A total of 32 cats were identified. Information gathered included signalment, type of injury (subluxation or luxation), concurrent fractures, presence of soft tissue wounds, transarticular external skeletal fixation (TESF) type, configuration of TESF (number of pins proximal and distal to the joint), duration of hospitalisation, duration of TESF prior to removal, complications and cost. A significant association was identified between the length of hospitalisation and the presence of wounds. Similarly a significant association was present between wounds and final cost of treatment. Additionally, the authors found that a high number of implant related complications were present when only two pins were used proximal and distal to the tarsocrural joint, but this association was not significant.
Tectonic control of Yarlung Tsangpo Gorge revealed by a buried canyon in Southern Tibet

The Himalayan mountains are dissected by some of the deepest and most impressive gorges on Earth. Constraining the interplay between river incision and rock uplift is important for understanding tectonic deformation in this region. We report here the discovery of a deeply incised canyon of the Yarlung Tsangpo River, at the eastern end of the Himalaya, which is now buried under more than 500 meters of sediments. By reconstructing the former valley bottom and dating sediments at the base of the valley fill, we show that steepening of the Tsangpo Gorge started at about 2 million to 2.5 million years ago as a consequence of an increase in rock uplift rates. The high erosion rates within the gorge are therefore a direct consequence of rapid rock uplift. Sediment cores from a buried canyon upstream of the Tsangpo Gorge support a rapid uplift event to explain gorge formation. [Also see Perspective by Whipple] Tibetan gorge avoids a tectonic aneurysm Rapid tectonic uplift was responsible for the immense Tsangpo Gorge on the eastern edge of the Tibetan plateau 2.5 million years ago. Wang et al. found a buried canyon upstream from the gorge along the Yarlung Tsangpo River that began filling with sediments after sudden uplift. Drill cores of the buried canyon sediments show the same river gradient as found downstream of the gorge. The constant river gradient strongly suggests a rapid uplift event created the gorge, rather than river incision as previously believed. Science, this issue p. 978
The Study of Consequences of Acceptance Technology When It Is Mandatory: A Conceptual Framework

While appearance of the technology can help employees and organizations achieve the optimized performance, it may have some negative consequences if it is not accepted by employees. Previous studies found some unintended consequences due to system rejection or acceptance by employees including job satisfaction and turnover intention. This paper finds other consequences including psychological contract, organizational commitment and turnover intention and then provides a conceptual framework.
An empirical study of RFID implementation in the warehousing industry

Purpose – RFID mandates by large retailers and various government agencies made it a requirement for some large organizations to implement RFID technology, while other medium to small organizations are still evaluating the potential costs and benefits of such adoption. This paper examines whether empirical data support the hype on RFID.Design/methodology/approach – A survey was sent to Warehousing Education and Research Council (WERC) members at manufacturing firms, third party warehousing/logistics providers, wholesaler/distributors, and retail firms to determine whether they are implementing RFID technology and what challenges they are facing.Findings – A high percentage of respondents are not currently considering RFID technology. Companies implementing or considering RFID plan to invest a significant amount of money into this technology over the next three years. But a number of concerns still exist and skepticism remains about the potential for RFID to deliver cost savings or a positive ROI in the ne.
Nanoscale and Mesoscale Properties of Nanostructured Carbon Films

Abstract A multi‐scale investigation of nanostructured carbon films has been performed by means of inelastic light scattering (Raman and Brillouin scattering). Carbon films with different nano‐ and mesostructure have been deposited from supersonic cluster beams in a low energy deposition regime by exploiting aerodynamic focusing effects. Acoustic phonon propagation in the porous amorphous structure, where disorder acts as a damping factor, is investigated by Brillouin scattering. Depending on the nano‐ and meso‐structure, acoustic phonons can either propagate along the medium, which acts as an elastic continuum at the meso‐scale (i.e., hundreds of nm), or turn to overdamped oscillations localized by the structural disorder. Nevertheless, we show that it is always possible to measure the elastic constants of thin and porous films, when other techniques (e.g., nano‐indentation) become critical. At the nano‐scale, Raman scattering measurements show the typical structure of an amorphous carbon, where the structural disorder is affected by the primeval cluster mass distribution. The synthesis of cluster‐assembled carbon films and the in situ Raman characterization in a UHV system allowed to observe the presence of a relevant fraction of sp 1‐hybridized carbon chains (also known as carbynoid structures) embedded in the sp 2 amorphous network.
Intellectual Property Rights Protection and Trade

The paper studies developing countries' incentives to protect intellectual property rights (IPR). IPR enforcement is U-shaped in a country's market size relative to the aggregated market size of its trade partners: small/poor countries protect IPR to get access to advanced economies' markets, while large emerging countries tend to free-ride on rich countries' technology to serve their internal demand. Asymmetric protection of IPR, strict in the North and lax in the South, leads in many cases to a higher level of innovation than universal enforcement. An empirical analysis conducted with panel data covering 112 countries and 45 years supports the theoretical predictions.
Personal preferences of tween shoppers

Purpose – This paper seeks to shed light on the behaviors of a group of consumers referred to as “tween”, a sub‐group of Generation Y, described as pre‐adolescents, aged 9 to 15, who are be“tween” the children and juniors markets, by taking previously tested measures and applying them to “tween” girls. The work of Blackwell et al. indicates that individual tastes and preferences are expected to have an effect on to whom tweens look for purchasing cues.Design/methodology/approach – The first section of the survey included demographic items consisting of tweens' age, grade level and race. Section two of the survey consisted of nine items used to determine the influence of two reference groups: parents and friends. Items adapted from the personal involvement index were used to measure the personal involvement of tweens in apparel purchases. Store patronage was measured by assessing the frequency with which participants patronized each of eight given retail settings.Findings – Future research should replicate.
Innovation Management in the German Transportation Industry

This article develops a conceptual framework for innovation management in logistics service providers, taking both a macro-sectoral and a micro-firm level perspective. Empirical data pertaining to the German transportation industry is applied in order to illustrate the current situation. In the analysis, the author distinguishes between various types of innovation: (1) product/service and process innovation, (2) market novelties, product-range novelties and product imitations, and (3) ad hoc and planned innovation. The results indicate that despite the importance of innovation for the competitiveness of logistics service providers, innovation activities of firms in this industry and the share of innovators are at a low level compared to other industries. Only 30% of the LSP's are innovators. LSP innovation rests less on structured innovation, new product development and new product commercialization processes, instead, becomes often visible in form of technological advanced infrastructure and equipment investments. It is recommended that in the future LSP's should make more use of one or all forms of innovation activity discussed in this article.
Excessive weight--muscle depletion paradox and cardiovascular risk factors in outpatients with inflammatory bowel disease.

BACKGROUND Evidence suggests a nutritional transition process in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Obesity, which was once an uncommon occurrence in such patients, has grown in this population at the same prevalence rate as that found in the general population, bringing with it an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Objective The aim of the present study was to determine the nutritional status and occurrence of cardiovascular risk factors in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. METHODS A case-series cross-sectional study was conducted involving male and female adult outpatients with inflammatory bowel disease. Data were collected on demographic, socioeconomic, clinical and anthropometric variables as well as the following cardiovascular risk factors: sedentary lifestyle, excess weight, abdominal obesity, medications in use, comorbidities, alcohol intake and smoking habits. The significance level for all statistical tests was set to 5% (P< 0.05). RESULTS The sample comprised 80 patients with inflammatory bowel disease, 56 of whom (70.0%) had ulcerative colitis and 24 of whom (30.0%) had Crohn's disease. Mean age was 40.3±11 years and the female genre accounted for 66.2% of the sample. High frequencies of excess weight (48.8%) and abdominal obesity (52.5%) were identified based on the body mass index and waist circumference, respectively, in both groups, especially among those with ulcerative colitis. Muscle depletion was found in 52.5% of the sample based on arm muscle circumference, with greater depletion among patients with Crohn's disease (P=0.008). The most frequent risk factors for cardiovascular disease were a sedentary lifestyle (83.8%), abdominal obesity (52.5%) and excess weight (48.8%). CONCLUSION The results of the complete anthropometric evaluation draw one's attention to a nutritional paradox, with high frequencies of both - muscle depletion, as well as excess weight and abdominal obesity.
Tourist perceived image of local cuisine: the case of Bosnian food culture

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the underlying dimensions of local cuisine image by identifying the key cuisine attributes tourists rely on in their evaluations of local cuisine; and to identify those dimensions of local cuisine image which have the strongest influence of tourist satisfaction with food experience. These issues are addressed within the context of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an emergent tourism market in Western Balkans. Design/methodology/approach – The research is exploratory. The city of Sarajevo was chosen as a study setting. Image of local cuisine was measured by using a multi-attribute approach in which several food attributes are specified and incorporated into the measurement instrument. Data from convenience sample of foreign tourists (n=402) were quantitatively analyzed using multivariate and descriptive statistics. Findings – Results suggest that the local cuisine image compromises four components (dimensions): “food uniqueness and cultural heritage”, “food quality .