Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The reliability of puff topography and subjective responses during ad lib smoking of a single cigarette.

INTRODUCTION Acute smoking behavior (i.e., puff topography) and subjective responses during the ad lib smoking of a single cigarette in the laboratory may provide useful measures of smoking reinforcement and reward, respectively. However, the reliability of such measures is not clear, leaving uncertain the utility of a single assessment of smoking behavior as an individual difference measure. METHODS Dependent smokers (N = 94) smoked normally prior to each of 4 laboratory sessions during which they were instructed to smoke 1 cigarette of their preferred brand in ad libitum and unblinded fashion and then rate it for subjective effects. Puff topography (puff number, total volume, and maximum volume) was assessed via portable Clinical Research Support System device. Subjective reward and perception were assessed by visual analog scales of "liking" and "how strong," respectively. The reliability of puff topography and subjective measures was determined across days by intra-class correlations (ICCs). Differences due to sex and nicotine dependence (high and low Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence score) were also examined. RESULTS Reliability was highly significant for each measure. ICCs were . 70 for total puff volume, . 60 for maximum puff volume, . 73 for puff number, . 64 for liking, and . 78 for how strong. Reliability generally did not differ by sex or dependence, but absolute values for total volume and maximum puff volume were greater in men and in high dependent smokers. Liking was also greater in high dependent smokers. CONCLUSIONS Puff topography and subjective measures during the ad lib smoking of a single cigarette are highly reliable. Smoking responses during a single ad lib smoking session may be useful in identifying stable individual differences in smoking reinforcement and reward.
Polymorphism of β-lacto globulin gene in Barki and Damascus and their cross bred goats in relation to milk yield

β-LG gene polymorphism at the DNA level has been analyzed by PCR-RFLP and reported two novel genetic variants of the β-LG gene in Indian goats. However, no study has been reported in Barki Egyptian local goat breed, Damascus and their crossbred goats regarding β-LG polymorphism at DNA level. The association of β-LG polymorphism with milk yield has been reported in cows, sheep and Indian goats. However, this relation has not clarified yet in local or foreign goat breeds raised in Egypt. This study aimed to fingerprint β-LG gene in the Barki, Damascus and their crossbred goats in an attempt to have clear image about genotypes of β-LG gene in these breeds in relation to their milk yield. A total of 120 adult female does belonging to these three different genetic groups were analyzed by the PCR-RFLP method. The goats are raised by farmers in North West coast (Borg EL-Arab, Alexandria, Egypt) in which goats are living in natural habitats. The amplified product was observed as 426 bp and the restriction digestion with SacII revealed three genotypes, namely AA, AB and BB at the β-LG locus. The frequencies of AA, AB and BB genotypes were 0.1, 0.8, 0.1; 0.85, 0.1, 0.05; 0.41, 0.51, 0.08 in the Barki and Damascus and their crossbred goats, respectively. The frequency of (AA)genotype was higher in Damascus breed than Barki and Damascus x Barki crossbred and according to reference milk production was associated with significantly higher milk production in this goat breed as compared by the two other goat breeds.
39th Annual European Brain and Behaviour Society Abstracts

The EUROPEAN BRAIN AND BEHAVIOUR SOCIETY has held its 39th Annual General Meeting in Trieste, in the campus next to the Miramare castle and its park, co-hosted by SISSA, the International School for Advanced Studies, and ICTP, the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics. Alessandro Treves (SISSA) was the head and inspiration of the Local Organizing committee, supported by P. Battaglini, L. Chelazzi, M. Diamond and G. Vallortigara. All approaches relating brain and behaviour were represented at the meeting, which aimed to further expand the wide spectrum of previous EBBS AGMs, and to bring together integrative, system, cognitive, computational neuroscientists. See also the societies home page: http://www.ebbs-science.org/.
Load-independent Class EF inverters for inductive wireless power transfer

This paper will present the modelling, analysis and design of a load-independent Class EF inverter. This inverter is able to maintain zero-voltage switching (ZVS) operation and produce a constant output current for any load value without the need for tuning or replacement of components. The load-independent feature of this inverter is beneficial when used as the primary coil driver in multi-megahertz high power inductive wireless power transfer (WPT) applications where the distance between the coils and the load are variable. The work here begins with the traditional load-dependent Class EF topology for inversion and then specifies the criteria that are required to be met in order achieve load-independence. The design and development of a 240W load-independent Class EF inverter to drive the primary coil of a 6.78MHz WPT system will be discussed and experimental results will be presented to show the load-independence feature when the distance between the coils of the WPT system changes.
The Multidimensional Nature of Ageism: Construct Validity and Group Differences

The authors investigated the factor structure and construct validity of the Fraboni Scale of Ageism (FSA; M. Fraboni, R. Saltstone, & S. Hughes, 1990) and the age and gender differences in ageism scores. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the multidimensional nature of FSA scores and generally corroborated the initial factor structure reported by M. Fraboni, with some notable exceptions. Essentially, the present findings were aligned with theoretical models of ageism that emphasize both cognitive facets and affective facets. That is, on the basis of their factor analytic findings, the authors redefined Fraboni's original factors of Antilocution, Avoidance, and Discrimination as Stereotypes, Separation, and Affective Attitudes, respectively, because of the clustering of items within factors. The revised 3-factor structure accounted for 36.4% of the variance in FSA scores. FSA factor scores significantly related to other scores from other measures of age-related attitudes, with higher correlations among factors that were similar in terms of their cognitive nature versus their affective nature. Finally, younger individuals and men had significantly higher ageism scores on the FSA than older individuals and women. The authors discussed the importance of adequately assessing ageism, with particular emphasis devoted to the understanding of age bias.
A Double-blind, Placebo-controlled, Dose–Response Pilot Study Evaluating Intradiscal Etanercept in Patients with Chronic Discogenic Low Back Pain or Lumbosacral Radiculopathy

Background:In recent years, convincing evidence has emerged implicating tumor necrosis factor α as a causative factor in radiculopathy and discogenic back pain. But although preliminary open-label studies demonstrated promising results for the treatment of low back pain with tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitors, early optimism has been tainted by a controlled study showing no significant benefit in sciatica. To determine whether outcomes might be improved by a more direct route of administration, the authors evaluated escalating doses of intradiscal etanercept in 36 patients with chronic lumbosacral radiculopathy or discogenic low back pain. Methods:A double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study was conducted whereby six patients received 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0, or 1.5 mg etanercept intradiscally in each pain-generating disc. In each escalating dose group of six patients, one received placebo. A neurologic examination and postprocedure leukocyte counts were performed in all patients at 1-month follow-up visits. In patients who experienced significant improvement in pain scores and function, follow-up visits were conducted 3 and 6 months after the procedure. Results:At 1-month follow-up, no differences were found for pain scores or disability scores between or within groups for any dose range or subgroup of patients. Only eight patients remained in the study after 1 month and elected to forego further treatment. No complications were reported, and no differences were noted between preprocedure and postprocedure leukocyte counts. Conclusions:Although no serious side effects were observed in this small study, a single low dose of intradiscal etanercept does not seem to be an effective treatment for chronic radicular or discogenic low back pain.
Participation in online activation (#) campaigns: A look at the drivers in an African setting

Online brand activation is in vogue and has been used by several brand giants (e.g. Apple, Adidas, etc.) to create viral campaigns that invite consumers to join brand-initiated conversations. The opportunities therein for brand visibility and customer engagement are immense. However, to leverage it, brand communicators must first understand the characteristics of persons most likely to participate in it and target them, a question that is yet to be addressed in the budding literature on the subject. For brand communicators, particularly in developing economies such as Ghana where low internet penetration levels and high associated costs may hinder participation, this is a critical gap in their quest to justify the relevance of online activations to boost brand visibility and customer engagement. This study sought to address this gap by testing a model of the drivers of participation in online activations using a consumer survey (N = 278), set in a recent online activation campaign in Ghana. The findings suggest that persons who trust the activated brand would be inclined to participate in it, suggesting the need for brand communicators to first work on building trust. The study also finds that individuals who are susceptible to interpersonal influence are less likely to participate in such activations. Possible explanations for this are explored in the study along with their implications.
Cutting Edge: B and T Lymphocyte Attenuator and Programmed Death Receptor-1 Inhibitory Receptors Are Required for Termination of Acute Allergic Airway Inflammation1

T cell activation is regulated by coordinate interaction of the T cell Ag receptor and costimulatory signals. Although there is considerable insight into processes that regulate the initiation of inflammation, less is known about the signals that terminate immune responses. We have examined the role of the inhibitory receptors programmed death receptor-1 and B and T lymphocyte attenuator in the regulation of allergic airway inflammation. Our results demonstrate that there is a temporally regulated expression of both the receptors and their ligands during the course of allergic airway inflammation. Following a single inhaled challenge, sensitized wild-type mice exhibit peak inflammation on day 3, which resolves by day 10. In contrast, mice deficient in the expression of programmed death receptor-1 or B and T lymphocyte attenuator have persistent inflammation out to 15 days following challenge. Thus, these receptors are critical determinants of the duration of allergic airway inflammation.
Measuring Green Banking Practices on Bank’s Environmental Performance: Empirical Evidence from Kathmandu valley

The research paper aims to analyze the impact of green banking practices on bank’s environmental performance in Nepal. The casual relational research design has been adopted in the study. The simple and stepwise multiple regression analysis have been performed to accomplish the objective of the research. The research paper follows cross-sectional qualitative research with descriptive outcome. The Chronbach’s Alpha has been used to analyze the reliability of instruments and data. The 189 samples have been collected from the banks using convenience sampling method. The SPSS software has been used to tabulate and analyze the data. The research paper concluded the energy efficient equipment and green policy posed the significant impact on bank’s environmental performance; green loan and green project as not. Similarly, the environmental training contributed mild to bank’s environmental performance. The findings of the paper suggested the role of banks and government in encouraging environmentally sustainable technologies as highly important for increasing bank’s reputation and awareness among customers.
String actuated upper limb exoskeleton based on surface electromyography control

This paper discusses a non-pattern recognition method for the exoskeleton implementation. The exoskeleton was controlled using electromyography signal (EMG). The EMG signals were collected at the biceps and processed digitally to control the exoskeleton. The proposed method was a modified low pass filter (LPF) 2nd order using zero crossing (ZC) as a feature extraction. In this study, the proposed method was implemented on a microcontroller using ARM STM32F429 and Discovery board. The output of the model was used to control the exoskeleton using a motor servo. The accuracy was measured using the root mean square error (RMSE) and the Pearson correlation coefficient (CC). In this study, The maximal CC for three varies speed was 0.9856±0.0012 and the RMSE was 10.30° ± 0.484°. This research found that the correlation between the predicted and actual angle was closed. It indicates that the model ZC-LPF could be applied for an upper limb exoskeleton.
Postdischarge treatment costs following closure of a state geropsychiatric ward: comparison of 2 levels of community care.

OBJECTIVES The purposes of this study were to (1) examine the cost of community-based health care services for geropsychiatric inpatients discharged into the community after the closure of an inpatient state geropsychiatric unit and (2) compare costs for patients treated with extra support through an Expanded Community Services (ECS) program to patients treated traditionally. METHOD This study was a 6-month prospective, observational analysis of 30 patients discharged in conjunction with a ward closure in October 2002 (17 patients were nonrandomly assigned to the ECS program, and 13, to standard care). We analyzed costs of care, mortality, and rehospitalization rates derived from Medicaid paid claims and other data sources and compared costs to an estimate of hospital costs had the patients not been discharged. Patients were discharged to various community placements including long-term care facilities, assisted living facilities, and adult family homes in Eastern Washington State. RESULTS Costs for community care were approximately half of estimated costs for hospital care. Patients treated in the ECS program, representing the most severely in-need discharges, had costs of care that were nonsignificantly higher than non-ECS patients but still significantly lower than estimated hospital care. No differences in mortality or rehospitalization rates were found between ECS and non-ECS patients. CONCLUSION Costs of community care were significantly lower than hospital care. Quality of life for patients in the community settings versus the hospital was not assessed. The ECS program was able to maintain high-risk geropsychiatric patients in the community comparably to less severely ill patients at less than hospital costs. Recommendations are provided for ways to establish community treatment programs for deinstitutionalized elderly patients with serious mental illness.
Local streams and global tides - Understanding coastal marine governance in Fiji and Solomon Islands

This PhD thesis contributes to understanding coastal marine governance in Fiji and Solomon Islands. It examines community-based marine resource management (CBMRM) approaches based on customary marine governance systems, while also considering interactions with the national governance frameworks for coastal fisheries in both countries. Based on qualitative research methods and analysis, this study uses a range of conceptual and analytical lenses. A social-ecological system (SES) perspective serves to identify key contextual factors and actors that influence the governance of coral-reef SESs. A gender lens is used to distill women’s and men’s differentiated roles and participation in marine resource use and governance. Furthermore, this study ascertains drivers of local (non-) compliance with and enforcement of CBMRM. Finally, a legal pluralism perspective is taken to scrutinize the interactions across the different governance systems in place, i.e., customary governance systems and the national governance systems for coastal fisheries. Overall, this thesis aims to address the challenge of how to sustainably use and manage marine (coral reef) resources in Fiji and Solomon Islands. It identifies points of leverage to improve coastal marine governance that are relevant both for policy and practice, and which may be useful for the local, national and subnational levels.
The Sharia Supervisory Board: Does it Influence Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure by Islamic Banks? A Review

This paper aims at reviewing current empirical studies on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) disclosure in Islamic banks in an attempt to elicit a general conclusion of relevance of the Sharia Supervisory Board (SSB) to the level of Islamic Banks’ corporate social responsibility disclosure and its improvement. The paperis based on a comprehensive review of researches that explore and discuss the issue of CSR disclosure in Islamic banks. The study suggests that despite Islamic banks’ assertion of commitment to Sharia teachings, such commitment does not appear to be translated in their disclosure of socially related undertakings; their CSR disclosure is far below average. The influence of the SSB on CSR disclosure is found to be a positive one. This implies that SSBs have the potentials to further enhance and improve the quality of Islamic banks CSR reporting. This however, requires changes regarding the position and functioning of SSB as an element of Sharia corporate governance. The paper contributes to the growing debate on CSR from Islamic perspective by providing some insights and suggestions and opens doors for more researches to arrive at a deeper understanding of the determinants of disclosure practices in Islamic banks.
A survey of energy-drink consumption among medical students.

OBJECTIVE To determine the frequency and pattern of energy drink consumption among medical school students, their knowledge of its effects and side effects and to see its relation with alcohol and cigarette usage. METHOD The descriptive analytical study was conducted at Marmara University Medical School, Istanbul, Turkey from October 2011 and January 2012. A semi-structured questionnaire was filled by students who were asked about their socio-demographic status and their energy drink consumption. SPSS 12 was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS The mean age of the 390 students in the study was 20.98+/-1.96 years (range:16-27). Of them, 204 (52.3%) were females and 186 (47.7%) were males. Overall 52(13.3%) were smoking regularly at least one cigarette per day; 122(31.3%) were consuming alcohol; 127 (32.6%) had consumed energy drinks at least once and 73(18.8%)more than once. In terms of perception, 110(28.2%) students said energy drinks were similar to sports drinks, while only 121(41.1%) named the brands correctly; 96 (24.6%) students did not answer this particular question. CONCLUSION Although consumption of energy drinks was common among medical students, the knowledge of ingredients and knowledge of health risks of energy drinks among them was unsatisfactory.
Adolescent health behavior, contentment in school, and academic achievement.

OBJECTIVES To examine the association between health behavior indicators, school contentment, and academic achievement. METHODS Structural equation modeling with 5810 adolescents. RESULTS Our model explained 36% of the variance in academic achievement and 24% in school contentment. BMI and sedentary lifestyle were negatively related to school contentment and academic achievement, but physical activity was positively related to school contentment and academic achievement (P < .01). School contentment was strongly related to academic achievement but only a weak mediator of the health behavior indicators. CONCLUSION Findings may inform the efforts to improve academic achievement and the general health status of youth.
Personal Best Time, Percent Body Fat, and Training Are Differently Associated With Race Time for Male and Female Ironman Triathletes

Abstract We studied male and female nonprofessional Ironman triathletes to determine whether percent body fat, training, and/or previous race experience were associated with race performance. We used simple linear regression analysis, with total race time as the dependent variable, to investigate the relationship among athletes' percent body fat, average amount of weekly training, and best time in an Ironman triathlon. For male athletes, percent body fat (r2 = 0.57, p < .001) was related to total race time but not average weekly training. For women, percent body fat showed no association with total race time; however, average weekly training volume was related to total race time (r2 = .43, p < .01). Percent body fat and average weekly training were not correlated in either gender. Speed in training was not associated with race performance in either gender. For men (r2 = .56, p < .001) and women (r2 = .45, p < .05), personal best time in an Ironman triathlon was related to total race time. We concluded that percent body fat was related to race performance in male athletes and to average weekly training in female athletes. Personal best time in an Ironman triathlon was associated with total race time for both male and female athletes.
[Effects of propofol on intraocular pressure in surgery of strabismus in children].

Propofol was assessed for eye surgery in 20 children. ASA group I or II, 2-14 year-old, randomly assigned to 2 equal groups. Premedication, analgesia and muscle paralysis were similar in both groups. Group P patients were given an induction dose of 4 mg.kg-1 propofol, followed by an infusion of 15 mg.kg-1.h-1 for the first half hour, and then 10 mg.kg-1.h-1 to maintain anaesthesia. Group C patients were given 10 mg.kg-1 thiopentone for induction and halothane for maintenance. The quality of anaesthesia was assessed by monitoring adverse effects, heart rate, blood pressure, the length of anaesthesia, the delay of the first spontaneous breath and eye opening, and extubation. Intraocular pressure was measured before and 3 min after intubation, and 5 min after extubation. The quality of anaesthetic induction and maintenance were very similar in both groups. Pain occurred more frequently at the injection site with propofol (p less than 0.01). Children in group P recovered more quickly, and extubation was possible much earlier in this group (p less than 0.05). However, restlessness was significantly more frequent in group P (n = 9) than in group C (n = 1) (p less than 0.01). Systolic, diastolic blood pressure and heart rate were significantly lower in group P (p less than 0.05; 0.001; 0.001 respectively). No significant decrease in intraocular pressure in both groups was observed. The use of propofol for eye surgery in children is acceptable, despite some restlessness during recovery.