Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Breast self-exams in a group of women participating in mammography screening Elżbieta Garwacka-Czachor, Adam Maciejczyk

Introduction. A key role in the struggle against breast cancer is played by secondary prevention, which includes breast self-exams, clinical tests, and mammography screening. The purpose of the study was to analyze the impact of age, education, and selected breast cancer risk factors on the frequency with which women participating in the mammography screening program perform breast self-exams. Material and methods. The study group consisted of 32,626 women aged 50–69, enrolled in the Early Breast Cancer Detection Program in Lower Silesia between January 2007 and 2011. The study was conducted by means of a diagnostic survey and the frequency of breast self-exams was analyzed as a function of age, education, and selected risk factors. Results. Only 14% of respondents, mostly younger and better educated, reported that they examined their breasts regularly every month. Exposure to risk factors had a negligible impact on the frequency of self-exams. Conclusions. Younger and better educated women were more likely to perform breast self-exams. Risk factors, such as a family history of breast cancer and the prolonged use of hormonal medication, did not have a significant impact on self-exam frequency. Monthly self-exams were more often reported by women suffering from breast-related ailments, probably because of the associated experience of pain and discomfort.
Export, Import and Economic Growth: Evidence from Sri Lanka

This research focuses on the research question as what extent the export and import influence on Economic growth in the Sri Lankan Perspective. Data on the economic growth, export and import from the year 1970 to 2010 were collected for the study purpose. The results revealed that, the export and import have the significant positive relationship with each other, and also, both export and import have the significant impact on the economic growth. Further, the export and import have been associated by 98 percent, which denotes that, there is strong positive association between export and import. We have suggested that, the small medium enterprises should be motivated towards export orientation. Meantime, the restrictions in the import of the raw materials to the industries should be implemented in the flexible way through the fiscal and monetary policy. In the further research, the performance of the external sector should be tested in the srilankan context to identify the cues in the export and import sector development and its policy framework.
On liveness: using arts workshops as a research method

Drawing on a research project using arts workshops to explore pain communication, we develop a methodological reflection on the significance of the liveness of arts-based methods. We discuss how liveness informed the design of workshops to provoke novel forms of communication; how it produced uncontrollable and unpredictable workshops, whose unfolding we theorize as ‘imprography’. It also constituted affective and collective experiences of ‘being there’ as important but difficult-to-record parts of the data, which raises challenges to current understandings of what constitutes data, particularly in the context of team research and in light of directives for archiving and reuse. We explore the implications of liveness for methodological practice.
Changes of the prevalence of adolescent mental problems during the last decade (2003-2013)

Background: Repeated cross sectional studies afford a possibility to get information of time trends of mental problems owing to the standardized questionnaires in different time points. Results of a systematic review of studies of adolescent mental health problems made by repeated cross sectional studies are reported in this systematic review. Method: Results of a systematic literature review in the field of adolescent mental health are presented. The age group initially included was 12-22 years old. Exemplary studies of specific mental disorders are used for comparison and gaining some insight of coherence of the evidence. Results: There is not clear evidence of changes in adolescent mental health during the last ten years. On the basis of these results it cannot be surely concluded if such changes ever happen in the large international scale. Still these results report regional differences in directions of changes and interesting differences between girls and boys, which may be explicable with regional, cultural and socioeconomic trends influencing differently on boys and girls. Conclusions: The dependence of definitions of mental health phenomena on cultural values and appreciations and the fundamentally social and communicative process of defining mental health and mental problems has resulted in the lack of objective methods to measure mental health. It looks unrealistic to expect that MRI (Magnetic resonance imaging) could provide research with objective measures of mental health in near future, because latest research has shown how even diverse cognitive, even short term, processes can produce alterations detectable by MRI in normal subjects.
Lipoprotein Lipase, Amylase and Triglyceride Alteration: Lean Diabetic and Obese (Non-Diabetic) Patients

Obesity, as well as type 2 diabetes mellitus, is a significant issue for health policy because it is so widespread in the population as a whole, and because of the high risk of complications it carries. Serum lipase and pancreatic amylase concentrations are used in conjunction with clinical findings to diagnose pancreatic disorders. The aim of this study was to differentiate the alterations in fasting dyslipidemia and serum levels of pancreatic enzymes in lean diabetics and non-diabetic obese. Triglyceride, lipase and amylase were measured in the serum collected from overnight fasting 300 volunteers those were separated into 3 groups; control group (non-diabetic and with normal weight), diabetics (normal weight) group and obese (non-diabetic) group. In this study, serum levels of triglyceride, amylase and lipase were significantly changed in obese group when compared to control group. But, only of triglyceride and amylase were increased significantly in diabetic group when compared to control group. On the other hand, serum lipase showed significant increase diabetic group when compared to obese group. In conclusion, serum triglyceride and amylase concentrations were higher in obese subjects than those with normal weight. The results of this study illustrated that serum lipase concentrations were decreased in obese subjects but increased in diabetic patients compared to the normal healthy subjects.
Residential demand for green electricity

This paper uses a large OECD web survey to shed light on preferences for renewable energy in the residential sector in six OECD countries. The key contributions are as follows. First, the authors propose to elicit willingness-to-pay (WTP) in a way that solves a consistency problem when a price, such as the price of green energy, is used as a payment vehicle in a survey. Given that the paper is only interested in the value of “green” energy per se, it is needed to take into account the fact that an increased electricity price implies lower consumption (and a utility loss). The authors thus elicit the value of “green electricity” as the maximum percentage of the current electricity bill the person is willing to pay to “re-mix” electricity supply such that it is based only on renewable energy. Second, using a multi-country survey, we find WTP to be in the order of a few percentages in each of the countries surveyed, buttressing the idea that it is difficult to extract a sizable price-premium in the market quite independently of where this strategy is tried (in the OECD, at least). Third, environmental concern/attitude consistently drives the decision to enter the (hypothetical) market for “green electricity”, while membership in environmental organizations typically affects how much a person wants to pay, given entry. Economic variables are less important.
PASSIVE SAMPLING OF PHARMACEUTICALS AND PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS IN AQUATIC ENVIRONMENTS

Passive sampling is a rapidly developing technology, which is widely used for the monitoring of pollutants in different environments. Passive sampling offers significant advantages over traditional grab sampling. In the present review, the authors summarize the current literature on the methods of passive sampling used in the environmental monitoring of polar or semi-polar compounds in aqueous matrices. Methods of calibrating, design and deployment of samplers are also discussed. A major focus of this review is the use of polar organic compound integrative samplers (POCIS) and their use in sampling and monitoring of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PCPs) in both equilibrium and non-equilibrium conditions.
A methodology approach to delineate functional economic market areas: With an iterative three-step spatial clustering procedure

This paper proposes an iterative three-step spatial clustering procedure to define Functional Economic Market Areas (FEMAs) with an evolutionary computational approach using flow data on economic linkages. FEMAs are needed as basic observation units in disaggregated economic data analysis, since those have to be taken at the spatial level at which the markets operate. Only then can analyses provide accurate and consistent results and allow useful interpretations of variables and the measurement of spillover effects between markets. Therefore FEMAs should, besides their use as analysis regions, serve as basic areas for regional policy or coordination of these. Although functional markets are particularly used in regional science, the proposed concept with the spatial clustering procedure is transferable to other economic fields like business management and marketing research, network or competition analyses. The presented methodology approach is a generalized and ubiquitous, disjunctive and contiguous delineation extended application based on the suggestion in RUSCHE (2009) of a joint application of the AMOEBA clustering procedure by ALDSTADT/GETIS (2006) and an interaction indicator on flow data. The methodology will be illustrated with real-world applications on German commuting data. Also presented is a possible way of computation and illustration of fuzzy market borders (differentiated border densities) as an extension to the procedure.
Quaderni di finanza Women on boards in Italy

In this paper we investigate the state of the art of women representation in Italian corporate boards, trying also to assess its determinants. We find that female presence still concerns the minority of companies and a small number of women. Moreover, female directorship is associated to some characteristics of firms and of women themselves, depending in particular on whether they are related (through family links) to the controlling agent. Two very different models emerge. On the one hand, familyaffiliated women are more present in smaller companies, with a concentrated ownership operating in the consumers sector. On the other hand, not-affiliated women are more common in widely held companies or in firms owned by a foreign shareholder, in the IT/telecommunication sector, and in companies with younger and more independent boards. In both models the presence of institutional investors and board size positively affect female representation. Finally, we investigate possible relationships between gender diversity and some performance and governance outcomes. While we find no correlation between women representation and performance, the relationship with some “good governance” proxies seems to be negative. Specifically, the average board attendance and the number of board meetings are lower in diverseboard companies, though the latter result is mainly driven by family-affiliated women. * Bank of Italy; ** Consob. Opinion expressed in this paper are exclusively the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Bank of Italy and Consob. The authors wish to thank Marcello Bianchi, Clara Graziano, Fabiano Schivardi, Giovanni Siciliano, the participants to the IFABS 2011 Conference (Rome, Università Roma Tre, 30 June-2 July 2011) and to the Workshop “Il genere entra nell’economia” (Rome, Banca d’Italia, 26 September 2011) for their useful comments.
Spatial distribution of stored grain insects in a rice storage and processing facility in Brazil

This study describes the spatial distribution of stored product insects captured biweekly using foodbaited cage traps in a large rice storage and processing facility, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Monitoring started in August 2009 and will be carried out for 1 year, the first 5 months of sampling being presented in this study. From end of August 2009 until the end of December 2009, a total of 9893 insects were captured in the 99 cage traps. The most abundant species were: Carpophilus spp. (76%), Typhaea stercorea (8.6%), Ahasverus advena (5.5%), Tribolium castaneum (2.3%), Sitophilus oryzae (2%), Sitophilus zeamais (1.5%), Ephestia spp. (1.2 %), Cryptolestes ferrugineus (1%), Rhyzopertha dominica (0.64%), Oryzaephilus surinamensis (0.6%), Anthicus floralis (0.4%), Lasioderma serricorne (0.25%). The first two species, which make up for 84.6% of the insects collected, are not considered pests in stored grain, rather are attracted by moldy material present in residues or even in the bait material. The other insects, including primary and secondary species, comprised about 15% of the total trapped. The spatial distribution of the most important species infesting rice grain and of the total insect number was analyzed using Surfer 6.04 (Golden software, Golden, CO, USA) and contour maps were constructed to target areas for sanitation. Except for trap 66, located by the rice hulk storage box, the spatial distribution we observed using the contour maps showed that the greatest number of insects was mostly captured in cages placed in the receiving area, around the dryers, as well as outside of the structure where grain residues frequently accumulate. As indicated on the maps for total number of insects, a few isolated infested spots were detected. The parboiled rice area had the least amount of insects, except for trap 61, placed outside the structure. The population of primary and the most important secondary insect species, as well as the overall number of insects, decreased after sanitation and physical control measures were applied. Our observations confirm that insect monitoring is an essential tool for targeting and evaluating the control measures adopted in the quality program of rice storage and processing facilities. Keywords : Insect monitoring; Spatial distribution; Stored grain pests; Stored rice
An analysis of shock noise components

Screech and broadband shock-associated noise linked to the presence of a shockcell structure in supersonic jets are reviewed in this paper. Only underexpanded supersonic circular jets issued from a convergent nozzle are considered here. An overview of the flow and of these two noise components is presented, based on recent experimental and numerical work. Flight effects on broadband shock-associated noise are also introduced, within the framework of aeronautical applications.
Granger Causality Between Exports, Imports and GDP in France: Evidance from Using Geostatistical Models

This paper introduces a new way of investigating linear and nonlinear Granger causality between exports, imports and economic growth in France over the period 1961_2006 with using geostatistical models (kiriging and Inverse distance weighting). Geostatistical methods are the ordinary methods for forecasting the locatins and making map in water engineerig, environment, environmental pollution, mining, ecology, geology and geography. Although, this is the first time which geostatistics knowledge is used for economic analyzes. In classical econometrics there do not exist any estimator which have the capability to find the best functional form in the estimation. Geostatistical models investigate simultaneous linear and various nonlinear types of causality test, which cause to decrease the effects of choosing functional form in autoregressive model. This approach imitates the Granger definition and structure but improve it to have better ability to investigate nonlinear causality. Taking into account t e results of linear and non linear (using geostatistical method) causality analysis, results give strong evidence that there was causality running from GDP to trade. Additionally, the nonlinear causality analysis also leads to the conclusion that export was a causal factor for import. Our result supports the GLE model in France.
Spatial variability and human disturbance in shallow subtidal hard substrate assemblages: a regional approach

Quantitative information about spatial patterns in subtidal hard substrate assemblages is scant. Such information is necessary to understand the responses to anthropogenic disturbances in these habitats. Along the coast of Apulia (Southern Italy), the collection of the European date mussel Lithophaga lithophag ais a strong source of disturbance: harvesting is carried out by demolition of the rocky substrate and causes epibiota disappearance. A hierarchical sampling design was used to quantify the spatial variability of subtidal epibenthic assemblages and the extent of rock damage due to L. lithophaga harvesting along 360 km of rocky coasts in Apulia. The surveyed coast was divided into 8 adjacent sectors, and replicate samples were taken by visual inspection at each of the 3 sites nested in each sector. Multivariate analyses indicated that assemblages differed consistently with spatial scale, variability being higher at the largest scale. However, variability among sites within each sector was also detected. Patchiness (i.e., average similarity among quadrats) was consistent among sectors. Some species were identified as 'important' in characterising and/or differentiating sectors. The pattern of distribution of these species as well as total cover and number of species were analysed by analysis of variance. Results recorded a considerable source of variation at site level. Damage by L. lithophaga fishing was shown to be extremely widespread. A humped relationship between patchiness and disturbances by L. lithophag afisheries was obtained. In particular, patchi- ness at a small scale was highest at 'intermediate' levels of damage, because disturbance produces patches of different size and/or age, leading to 'mosaic' landscapes of epibenthic assemblages.
Captive Great Blue Heron Predation on Farmed Channel Catfish Fingerlings

Abstract In a series of experiments, we examined feeding behavior of captive great blue herons Ardea herodius and estimated their ability to affect commercial production of fingerling channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus. Specifically, we determined the following: (1) the biomass of channel catfish fingerlings necessary to maintain the body mass of wild-caught captive great blue herons, (2) capture rates of captive great blue herons foraging on channel catfish fingerlings, (3) evaluation of the losses of catfish fingerlings to heron predation, and (4) the effects of selected catfish pond conditions on heron capture rates and body mass changes. Consistent with previous studies, captive herons required approximately 300 g of live catfish daily to maintain their body mass. Based on evaluation of seine haul indices and inventory data, there was no significant difference (P > 0.05) in numbers of catfish lost over time between control ponds in which herons were excluded and test ponds where herons foraged freely.
MAKING VOCABULARY MEMORIZATION STRATEGIES MORE EFFECTIVE AND ENJOYABLE FOR FIRST YEAR CHINESE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

The paper reports an effort to assist a small volunteer group of Chinese university students to overcome the great difficulties encountered in learning vocabulary by introducing them to three techniques, each proven to promote successful vocabulary learner, as an alternative to the traditional rote memorisation to which they are accustomed. Eight female first-year English majors at Jingchu University of Technology, Jingmen, Hubei, volunteered. For a period of eight weeks, their teacher, the first author, trained them in a number of vocabulary learning techniques. Their progress and attitude towards the new techniques were carefully monitored. The results indicated that the new techniques led to better learning than the traditional method. The study pointed to the need to teach further strategies, such as learning lexical bundles and better time management.
Environmental Crime Comes of Age: The Evolution of Criminal Enforcement in the Environmental Regulatory Scheme

The environmental crimes program in the United States has entered its third decade, yet questions remain about what makes an environmental violation criminal. Our environmental laws make only limited distinctions between criminal and civil liability, so theoretically the same conduct could give rise to criminal, civil, or administrative enforcement. This article will reconsider concerns that have been raised historically about the role of criminal enforcement under the environmental laws and will suggest an answer to the question of what makes an environmental case criminal. The article addresses claims that the complexity of environmental law makes it a difficult fit for criminal enforcement and that the mental state requirements for environmental crime make it possible for corporate officials to be convicted for conduct that they do not know is occurring. The article considers the role of prosecutorial discretion in environmental cases and asserts that criminal prosecution should be reserved for cases involving (1) significant harm of risk of harm to the environment or public health; (2) deceptive or misleading conduct; (3) deliberate efforts to operate outside the regulatory system; or (4) significant and repetitive violations of environmental laws. By limiting criminal prosecution to these cases, prosecutors can ensure that criminal enforcement will advance the goals of the environmental regulatory scheme.