Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of athletic movement between elite junior and senior Australian football players

ABSTRACT This study compared the athletic movement skill between elite Under-18 (U18) Australian football (AF) and senior Australian Football League (AFL) players. The U18 sample (n = 13; 17.7 ± 0.6 years) were representatives of an elite talent development programme. The AFL players were classified accordingly; Group 1 (1–4 AFL seasons; n = 20; 21.2 ± 1.9 years) and Group 2 (>5 AFL seasons; n = 14; 26.3 ± 2.6 years). Participants performed an athletic movement skill assessment, inclusive of five foundational movements. Each movement was scored across three assessment points using a three-point scale. Total score for each movement (maximum of nine) and overall score (maximum of 63) were used as criteria. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to test the effect of developmental group (three levels) on the criteria. Receiver operating curves were built to examine the discriminant capability of the overall score. A significant effect of developmental group was noted, with the U18 sample having a lower mean total score for four of the five movements. Overall scores of 49/63 and 50/63 discriminated the elite U18 sample from Group 1 and Group 2, respectively. U18 players may have less developed athletic movement skills when compared to their senior AFL counterparts.
Non-parametric frequency response estimation using a local rational model

A review of the relationship between the frequency response function of linear system and the DFT of the input and output signals show that the output DFT is a sum of two terms. The first term contain the FRF multiplied with the input DFT and the second term capture the effect when the system is not operating in a periodic fashion. The utilization of these two terms when performing non-parametric frequency response function estimation has led to the previously developed Local Polynomial Method. This paper acknowledge that the two terms can better be approximated by local rational functions with a common denominator polynomial and a new method called Local Rational Method has been developed. Numerical simulations illustrate the performance of the new rational method in comparison with the polynomial one. The results suggest that the new rational method gives better performance when the system has a resonant behavior.
Dispersal and inhibitory roles of mannose, 2‐deoxy‐D‐glucose and N‐acetylgalactosaminidase on the biofilm of Desulfovibrio vulgaris

Biofilms of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) are often the major cause of microbiologically influenced corrosion. The representative SRB Desulfovibrio vulgaris has previously been shown to have a biofilm that consists primarily of protein. In this study, by utilizing lectin staining, we identified that the biofilm of D. vulgaris also consists of the matrix components mannose, fucose and N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc), with mannose predominating. Based on these results, we found that the addition of mannose and the nonmetabolizable mannose analog 2-deoxy-d-glucose inhibits the biofilm formation of D. vulgaris as well as that of D. desulfuricans; both compounds also dispersed the SRB biofilms. In addition, the enzyme N-acetylgalactosaminidase, which degrades GalNAc, was effective in dispersing D. vulgaris biofilms. Therefore, by determining composition of the SRB biofilm, effective biofilm control methods may be devised.
GABAergic phenotypic differentiation of a subpopulation of subventricular derived migrating progenitors

Olfactory bulb interneurons are continuously generated throughout development and in adulthood. These neurons are born in the subventricular zone (SVZ) and migrate along the rostral migratory stream into the olfactory bulb where they differentiate into local interneurons. To investigate the differentiation of GABAergic interneurons of the olfactory bulb we used a transgenic mouse which expresses green fluorescent protein (GFP) under the control of the glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 kDa (GAD65) promoter. During development and in adulthood GFP was expressed by cells in the SVZ and along the entire length of its rostral extension including the distal portion within the olfactory bulb. The occurrence of GAD65 mRNA in these zones was confirmed by PCR analysis on microdissected regions along the pathway. Polysialic acid neural cell adhesion molecule, a marker of migrating neuroblasts in adults, was coexpressed by the majority of the GFP‐positive SVZ‐derived progenitor cells. Cell tracer injections into the SVZ indicated that ≈ 26% of migrating progenitor cells expressed GFP. These data show the early differentiation of migrating SVZ‐derived progenitors into a GAD65–GFP‐positive phenotype. These cells could represent a restricted lineage giving rise to GAD65‐positive GABAergic olfactory bulb interneurons.
Not all contrast effects are created equal: extent of processing affects contrast strength

Prevailing theories of judgmental contrasts propose mechanisms ranging from relatively low versus high degrees of thought. The present research tests the hypothesis that the degree of thought involved in producing judgmental contrast has important implications. In three experiments, participants’ ability or motivation to engage in effortful thinking was manipulated. In Experiment 1, varying personal relevance produced equivalent contrast effects, but these judgments differed in certainty. In two additional studies, despite equivalent amounts of contrast, a manipulation of the order of the standards and target of comparison led to differences in certainty (Experiment 2) and attitude–behavioral intention correspondence (Experiment 3). This is the first research to show that amount of thinking has implications for the strength and consequences of the judgment.
Inhibition of Legionella pneumophila growth by gamma interferon in permissive A/J mouse macrophages: role of reactive oxygen species, nitric oxide, tryptophan, and iron(III)

A/J mouse macrophages infected with Legionella pneumophila and treated with gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) in vitro developed potent antimicrobial activity. This antilegionella activity was independent of the macrophage capacity to generate reactive oxygen intermediates, since the oxygen radical scavengers catalase, superoxide dismutase, mannitol, and thiourea had no effect on the antilegionella activity of IFN-gamma-activated macrophages. Likewise, whereas the ability of IFN-gamma-activated macrophages to synthesize reactive nitrogen intermediates was markedly inhibited by the L-arginine (Arg) analogs, NG-monomethyl-L-arginine and L-aminoguanidine, as well as by incubation in L-Arg-free medium, their ability to inhibit the intracellular growth of L. pneumophila remained intact. The intracellular growth of L. pneumophila in A/J macrophages was inhibited by the iron(III) chelator desferrioxamine and reversed by Fe-transferrin as well as by ferric salts. Additionally, IFN-gamma-activated macrophages incorporated 28% less 59Fe(III) compared with nonactivated cells. Nonetheless, only partial blocking of growth restriction was observed when IFN-gamma-stimulated macrophages were saturated with iron(III). Indole-propionic acid, which appears to inhibit the biosynthesis of L-tryptophan (L-Trp), was an L-Trp-reversible growth inhibitor of L. pneumophila in macrophages, implying that the intracellular replication of this pathogen is also L-Trp dependent. However, an excess of exogenous L-Trp did not reverse the growth inhibition due to IFN-gamma, though a small synergistic effect was observed when the culture medium was supplemented with both iron(III) and L-Trp. We conclude that IFN-gamma-activated macrophages inhibit the intracellular proliferation of L. pneumophila by reactive oxygen intermediate- and reactive nitrogen intermediate-independent mechanisms and just partially by nutritionally dependent mechanisms. We also suggest that additional mechanisms, still unclear, may be involved, since complete reversion was never obtained and since at higher concentrations of IFN-gamma, iron(III) did not induce any significant reversion in the L. pneumophila growth inhibition.
Fiscally Responsible Mafia-clans

To work as an accountability mechanism, fiscal decentralization requires the democratic mechanism to function well. This is generally not the case where the quality of the institutional environment is weak, and local governments might be captured by local oligarchs. We explore this issue by studying how Italian municipalities reacted to an unexpected tax reform reducing tax autonomy at the local level. Focusing on three Southern provinces, where some municipal governments are captured by Camorra clans, our estimates suggest that captured municipalities are less responsive to incentives stemming from re-centralization. We also observe a different recomposition of spending between the two groups, which we interpret - according to our theoretical model - considering the different degrees with which clans can extract rents from public expenditure.
Socioeconomic and behavioral correlates of body mass index in black adults: the Pitt County Study.

BACKGROUND Obesity is more prevalent among Black women than Black men, but there is little information on the correlates of obesity in Blacks. This study describes the relations of sociodemographic factors and health behaviors to body mass index in a southern, Black population. METHODS In 1988, a community probability sample of 1784 Black adults, aged 25 to 50, was examined in Pitt County, NC. RESULTS More women than men were at least 20% overweight (57% vs 36%). The relation of socioeconomic status (a composite of education and occupation) to age-adjusted body mass index level was inverse in women but not in men. Body mass index did not differ with either current energy intake or energy expenditure. Smokers and drinkers had lower age-adjusted levels than non-smokers and abstainers. CONCLUSIONS Since the excess body mass index levels associated with low socioeconomic status in women could not be explained after controlling for adverse health behaviors, further epidemiologic study of risk factors for obesity in Black women is recommended.
Essays in household finance and banking

This thesis consists of three chapters that belong to the realm of household finance and banking. The first essay develops a structural model of mortgage demand and lender competition to study how leverage regulation a affects the equilibrium in the UK mortgage market. Using variation in risk-weighted capital requirements across lenders and across mortgages with differential loan-to-values, I show that a one-percentagepoint increase in risk-weighted capital requirements increases the interest rate by 10 percent for the average mortgage product. The estimated model implies that heterogeneous leverage regulation increases the concentration of mortgage originations, as large lenders exploit a regulatory cost advantage. Counterfactual analyses uncover potential unintended consequences of policies regulating household leverage, since banning the highest loan-to-value mortgages may reduce large lenders’ equity buyers, thereby affecting risk. The second essay, co-authored with Davide Fantino, exploits an allocation rule by the ECB for Targeted Long-Term Refinancing Operations on banks’ borrowing limit as an instrument to identify the effects of an expansion in banks’ funding availability on the cost of credit. Using transaction-level data from the Italian credit register and a difference-in-difference identification strategy, we show that treated banks decrease loan rates to the same firm by approximately 20 basis points relative to control banks. We then study how the effects of the liquidity injection vary with competition in the banking sector, exploiting the local nature of bank-firm lending relationships and exogenous variation from the historical development of Italian cities during the Renaissance. Our results suggest that banks’ market power can significantly impair the effectiveness of unconventional monetary policy, especially for safer and smaller firms. The third essay, co-authored with Philippe Bracke and Nic Garbarino, presents new evidence that lenders use down payment size to price unobservable borrower risk. We exploit the contractual features of a UK scheme that helps home buyers top up their down payments with equity loans. A 20 percentage point smaller down payment is associated with a 22 basis point higher interest rate at origination, and a higher ex-post default rate. Lenders see down payment as a signal for unobservable borrower risk, but the relative importance of this signal is limited, as it accounts for only 10% of the difference in interest rates between standard mortgages with 5% relative to 25% down payment.
Tuberculosis treatment effect on T-cell interferon-&ggr; responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific antigens

The hypothesis that T-cell interferon-&ggr; responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific antigens decline as disease activity diminishes with tuberculosis (TB) treatment has generated interest in the interferon-&ggr; release assays (IGRAs) as treatment-monitoring tools. We studied the effect of TB treatment on these responses as measured by the QuantiFERON-TB® Gold In-tube (QFT-IT) and T-SPOT.TB® assays. 275 sputum culture-positive, HIV-uninfected pulmonary TB patients were tested with QFT-IT and T-SPOT.TB® at baseline, treatment completion and 6 months thereafter. The QFT-IT was also performed at the end of the intensive phase. The time-treatment effect on the qualitative and quantitative IGRA results was determined. There were significant declines in the positivity rates and quantitative results of both IGRAs with treatment. The QFT-IT positivity rate was significantly lower than the T-SPOT.TB®. The test reversion rate was significantly different for the two assays (13.9% for T-SPOT.TB® versus 39.2% for QFT-IT). 79% and 46% tested positive with T-SPOT.TB® and QFT-IT respectively at 6 months post-treatment completion. The kinetics of the quantitative responses was not significantly different between subjects with and without risk factors for disease relapse. That a substantial proportion of patients remained test-positive after TB treatment would suggest a limited role of IGRAs as treatment monitoring tools.
Body lift, drag and power are relatively higher in large-eared than in small-eared bat species

Bats navigate the dark using echolocation. Echolocation is enhanced by external ears, but external ears increase the projected frontal area and reduce the streamlining of the animal. External ears are thus expected to compromise flight efficiency, but research suggests that very large ears may mitigate the cost by producing aerodynamic lift. Here we compare quantitative aerodynamic measures of flight efficiency of two bat species, one large-eared (Plecotus auritus) and one small-eared (Glossophaga soricina), flying freely in a wind tunnel. We find that the body drag of both species is higher than previously assumed and that the large-eared species has a higher body drag coefficient, but also produces relatively more ear/body lift than the small-eared species, in line with prior studies on model bats. The measured aerodynamic power of P. auritus was higher than predicted from the aerodynamic model, while the small-eared species aligned with predictions. The relatively higher power of the large-eared species results in lower optimal flight speeds and our findings support the notion of a trade-off between the acoustic benefits of large external ears and aerodynamic performance. The result of this trade-off would be the eco-morphological correlation in bat flight, with large-eared bats generally adopting slow-flight feeding strategies.
Soil nutrient heterogeneity alters competition between two perennial grass species

Differences in root foraging behavior between species have been well documented, but the effects of these differences on belowground competitive ability are only beginning to be studied. Here we report the results of a competition experiment in homogeneous and heterogeneous soils between two species that differ in their ability to acquire nutrients from patchy environments. The perennial grasses Festuca rubra and Anthoxanthum odoratum have comparable growth rates, but results of previous studies with isolated plants designated the latter species as the more effective forager, probably due to its higher physiological plasticity (stronger increase in nutrient uptake rates per unit root mass in enriched nutrient patches). We introduced nutrient soil heterogeneity at two spatial scales. In a fine-grained heterogeneous treatment, the nutrient-rich patches were smaller and more concentrated than in a coarse-grained heterogeneous (checkerboard) treatment. Overall, the level of nutrient availability in these hete.
Simulation numerique des efforts aleatoires exerces par un ecoulement turbulent annulaire

Les structures tubulaires immergees dans un fluide vibrent comme consequence de l'ecoulement. La caracterisation de ces forces est necessaire pour les calculs vibratoires predictifs. Cette these porte sur la determination du spectre de forces aleatoires agissant sur un tube en ecoulement axial turbulent. Un code de simulation numerique d'ecoulements annulaires a grand nombre de reynolds (10 6) a ete developpe. Les equations de navier-stokes 3d avec un modele les sont discretisees en differences finies sur un maillage decale en coordonnees cylindriques. L'analyse des experiences existantes dans la litterature montre que le diametre hydraulique joue un role important sur l'excitation turbulente. Dans un premier temps des experiences de laboratoire ont ete simulees numeriquement. La comparaison calcul-experiences du spectre de pression est bonne. Ensuite nous avons applique cette methode pour simuler de nouvelles experiences en faisant varier le diametre hydraulique et la vitesse de l'ecoulement.
Neurological involvement in antiphospholipid syndrome: clinical and instrumental evaluation in 21 consecutive cases

Twenty‐one consecutive women with the antiphospholipid syndrome were investigated with a full cardiological and neurological examination including a semi‐structured interview. They were also systematically studied with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), transcranial Doppler (TCD), duplex sonography of neck vessels and transesophágeal echocardiography (TEE). Nearly 67% of patients had signs or symptoms suggestive of CNS involvement Migraine‐like headache, stroke, ocular disorders and epilepsy were the most frequent disturbances. MRI was abnormal in 65% of patients who underwent the examination and showed two distinct patterns of abnormality: either territorial infarctions or multiple subcortical spotty lesions. TCD showed in one case a stenosis affecting the main trunk of the middle cerebral artery. TEE demonstrated potentially emboligenic mitral vegetations in 72% of patients. These findings suggest that antiphospholipid syndrome is burdened with a high rate of complications affecting the CNS, which are likely to be mostly thromboembolic. It is possible that both cardiogenic embolism and in situ thrombosis of cerebral vessels occur. Given the relative absence of conventional vascular risk factors, antiphospholipid antibodies are likely to represent a true risk factor for cerebrovascular disease through the mechanism of an immunologically mediated hypercoagulable state.
Variability in home-measured blood pressure and heart rate: associations with self-reported insomnia and sleep duration

Objective Both self-reported sleep disorders and higher variability in home blood pressure (BP) and home heart rate (HR) have been associated with increased cardiovascular mortality. The objective of our study was to assess the associations of the variability in home-measured BP and HR with self-reported insomnia and sleep duration. Methods We studied a representative sample of Finnish adult population with 1908 study participants aged 41–74 years. BP/HR measurements were performed on 7 consecutive days. The variability in home-measured BP/HR was defined as the standard deviation of morning − evening, day-by-day and first − second measurements. Self-reported insomnia and sleep duration questionnaires were used to classify participants with sleep disorders. Results Results from Finn-home study show that morning − evening, day-by-day (morning and evening) and first − second home BP variability variables were significantly higher in participants with persistent insomnia than in those without insomnia. Morning − evening, day-by-day, morning day-by-day and first − second measurements of home HR variability variables were significantly higher in participants with persistent insomnia than in those without insomnia. Systolic morning − evening, day-by-day and morning day-by-day variables of home BP variability were significantly higher in long sleepers and systolic morning day-by-day, diastolic day-by-day and diastolic first − second measurement of home BP variability variables were higher in short sleepers than in the reference group. Insomnia combined with short sleep duration further increases home BP/HR variability. Conclusion As self-reported sleep disorders are associated with greater variability in home BP/HR and both have cardiovascular prognostic value, we encourage physicians to evaluate these easily obtainable measurements in clinical practice to help identify patients at risk.
The implementation of a dual dispatch system in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is associated with improved short and long term survival

Aims: To determine the impact of a dual dispatch system, using fire fighters as first responders, in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) on short (30 days) and long term (three years) survival, and, to investigate the potential differences regarding in-hospital factors and interventions between the patient groups, such as the use of therapeutic hypothermia and cardiac catheterization. Methods and results: OHCAs from 2004 (historical controls) and 2006–2009 (intervention period) were included. During the intervention period, fire fighters equipped with automated external defibrillators (AEDs) were dispatched in suspected OHCA. Logistic regression analyses of outcome data included: the intervention with dual dispatch, sex, age, location, aetiology, witnessed status, bystander-cardiopulmonary resuscitation, first rhythm and therapeutic hypothermia. In total, 2581 OHCAs were included (historical controls n=620, intervention period n=1961). Fire fighters initiated cardiopulmonary resuscitation and connected an AED before emergency medical services’ arrival in 41% of the cases. The median time from dispatch to arrival of first responder or emergency medical services shortened from 7.7 in the control period to 6.7 min in the intervention period (p<0.001). The 30-day survival improved from 3.9% to 7.6% (p=0.001), adjusted odds ratio 2.8 (confidence interval 1.6–4.9). Survival to three years increased from 2.4% to 6.5% (p<0.001), adjusted odds ratio 3.8 (confidence interval 1.9–7.6). In the logistic regression analysis including in-hospital factors we found no outcome benefit of therapeutic hypothermia. Conclusions: The implementation of a dual dispatch system using fire fighters in OHCA was associated with increased 30-day and three-year survival. No major differences in the in-hospital treatment were seen between the studied patient groups.