Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Validity of Functional Ambulation Performance Score for the Evaluation of Spatiotemporal Parameters of Children's Gait

ABSTRACT Gait characteristics of a healthy adult population have been used to develop the Functional Ambulation Profile (FAP) score to evaluate gait in patients with neuromuscular or musculoskeletal involvement (A. J. Nelson, 1974). Further technological progress allowed a more precise recording of walk parameters and propitiated the development of the Functional Ambulation Performance Score (FAPS). The authors aimed to explore the evolution of the FAPS in healthy children to determine what the lower limit of age would be to ensure reliability of this score. Participants were 32 children with normal development. A GAITRite® walkway was used to log the spatiotemporal parameters. Compared with values obtained in adults, the average FAPS was significantly lower for children under 12 years old. The interparticipant variability was particularly high for the younger children and decreased with age. Similar trends were observed regarding the intraparticipant variability. In conclusion, the authors observed that the FAPS is not suitable to compare the gait of different children younger than 12 years old. At least, the adult standards used to calculate FAPS would need to be modified if the score has to be applied to a pediatric population.
Segregation of tuberculosis patients by social, demographic and economic features on the model of Chisinau city and the role of community support

Department of Pneumophthisiology, Nicolae Testemitsanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy Phthisiology and Pulmonology Hospital of Chisinau BotanicaTerritorial Medical Association of Chisinau BouiucaniTerritorial Medical Association of Chisinau, Chisinau, the Republic of Moldova
A comparison of the Trojan Y Chromosome strategy to harvesting models for eradication of nonnative species

The Trojan Y Chromosome strategy (TYC) is a promising eradication method for biological control of nonnative species. The strategy works by manipulating the sex ratio of a population through the introduction of supermales that guarantee male offspring. In the current study, we compare the TYC method with a pure harvesting strategy. We also analyze a hybrid harvesting model that mirrors the TYC strategy. The dynamic analysis leads to results on stability of solutions and bifurcations of the model. Several conclusions about the different strategies are established via optimal control methods. In particular, the results affirm that either a pure harvesting or hybrid strategy may work better than the TYC method at controlling a nonnative species population.
Essential oils from Schinus terebinthifolius leaves – chemical composition and in vitro cytotoxicity evaluation

Context: In folk medicine, Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi (Anacardiaceae), has been used as a remedy for ulcers, respiratory problems, wounds, rheumatism, gout, diarrhea, skin ailments and arthritis, as well as to treat tumors and leprosy. Objective: To investigate the chemical composition and cytotoxicity of essential oil from leaves of S. terebinthifolius as well as the identification of active compounds from this oil. Material and methods: Essential oil from S. terebinthifolius leaves, obtained by hydrodistillation using a Clevenger-type apparatus, was characterized in terms of its chemical composition. Also, the crude oil was subjected to chromatographic separation procedures to afford an active fraction composed of α- and β-pinenes. These compounds, including hydrogenation (pinane) and epoxydation (α-pinene oxide) derivatives from α-pinene, were tested in vitro against murine melanoma cell line (B16F10-Nex2) and human melanoma (A2058), breast adenocarcinoma (MCF7), leukemia (human leukemia (HL-60) and cervical carcinoma (HeLa) cell lines. Results: Forty-nine constituents were identified in the oil (97.9% of the total), with germacrene D (23.7%), bicyclogermacrene (15.0%), β-pinene (9.1%) and β-longipinene (8.1%) as the main compounds. The crude essential oil showed cytotoxic effects in several cell lines, mainly on leukemia and human cervical carcinoma. Fractions composed mainly of α- and β-pinenes as well as those composed of individually pinenes showed effective activities against all tested cell lines. Aiming to determinate preliminary structure/activity relationships, α-pinene was subjected to epoxydation and hydrogenation procedures whose obtained α-pinene oxide showed an expressive depression in its cytotoxicity effect, similar as observed to pinane derivative. Discussion and conclusion: The obtained results indicated that the monoterpenes α- and β-pinenes could be responsible to the cytotoxic activity detected in the crude oil from leaves of S. terebinthifolius. In addition, it was possibly inferred that the presence of double bond in their structures, mainly at endocyclic position, is crucial to cytotoxic potential detected in these derivatives.
Short-term clinical outcome after acute symptomatic pulmonary embolism

Summary Though studies have identified clinical variables that predict adverse events in patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE), they have typically not differentiated short-term from long-term predictors.This multicenter prospective cohort study included consecutive outpatients with objectively confirmed symptomatic acute PE.We analyzed the incidence and time course of death, venous thromboembolism (VTE) recurrence, and major bleeding, and we compared event rates during short-term (first week) and long-term (3 months) follow-up after the diagnosis of PE.We also assessed risk factors for short-term mortality. During the first three months after diagnosis of PE, 142 of 1,338 (10.6%) patients died.Thirty-six deaths (2.7%) occurred during the first week after diagnosis of PE,and 61.1% of these were due to PE.Thirty-eight patients (2.8%) had recurrent VTE during the three-month follow-up, though none of the recurrences occurred during the first week after diagnosis of PE. During the three-month follow-up, major bleeding occurred in 48 patients (3.6%). Twenty-one (1.6%) major bleeds occurred during the first week of follow-up,and nine of these were fatal. Short-term mortality was significantly increased in patients who initially presented with systolic arterial hypotension (odds ratio [OR] 3.35; 95% CI, 1.51-5.41) or immobilization due to a medical illness (OR 2.89; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.31-6.39). In con-clusion,during the first week after the diagnosis of PE, death and major bleeding occur more frequently than recurrent VTE. Patients with systolic arterial hypotension and immobilization at the time of PE diagnosis had an increased isk of short-term mortality.
A review of research on the mechanical stiffness in running and jumping: methodology and implications

Mechanical stiffness (vertical, leg and joint stiffness) can be calculated during normal human movements, such as running and hopping. Mechanical stiffness is thought to influence several athletic variables, including rate of force development, elastic energy storage and utilization and sprint kinematics. Consequently, the relationship between mechanical stiffness and athletic performance is of great interest to the sport and research communities. Unfortunately, these relationships are relatively unexplored by researchers. For example, there are no longitudinal studies that have investigated the effects of strength or power training on mechanical stiffness levels (calculated during human running). In addition to reviewing the available literature on the relationships between mechanical stiffness (calculated during human running) and functional performance, this review focuses its discussion on the various equipment and methods used to calculate leg‐spring stiffness during human running. Furthermore, future implications are presented for practitioners and researchers based on both the limitations and the gaps in the literature reviewed. It is our hope that a better understanding of mechanical stiffness will aid in improving the methodological quality of research in this area and its subsequent effect on athletic performance.
Effect of age on excess mortality in obesity.

CONTEXT The effect of age on excess mortality from all causes associated with obesity is controversial. Few studies have investigated the association between body mass index (BMI, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters), age, and mortality, with sufficient numbers of subjects at all levels of obesity. OBJECTIVE To assess the effect of age on the excess mortality associated with all degrees of obesity. DESIGN Prospective cohort study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS A total of 6193 obese patients with mean (SD) BMI of 36.6 (6.1) kg/m2 and mean (SD) age of 40.4 (12.9) years who had been referred to the obesity clinic of Heinrich-Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany, between 1961 and 1994. Median follow-up time was 14.8 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE All-cause mortality through 1994 among 6053 patients for whom follow-up data were available (1028 deaths) analyzed as standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) using the male-female population of the geographic region (North Rhine Westphalia) as reference. RESULTS The cohort was grouped into approximate quartiles according to age (18-29, 30-39, 40-49, and 50-74 years) and BMI (25 to <32, 32 to <36, 36 to <40, and > or =40 kg/m2) at baseline. The SMRs showed a significant excess mortality with an SMR for men of 1.67 (95% confidence interval, 1.51-1.85; P<.001) and an SMR for women of 1.45 (95% confidence interval, 1.34-1.57; P<.001). The excess mortality associated with obesity declined with age. For men, the SMRs of the 4 age groups were 2.46, 2.30, 1.99, and 1.31, respectively; for women, they were 1.81, 2.10, 1.70, and 1.26, respectively (Poisson trend test, P<.001). The SMRs increased with BMI but, within each BMI group, the SMRs decreased with age. The lowest SMRs (for men, 1.01; for women, 0.91) were obtained for patients older than 50 years with BMIs of 25 to less than 32 kg/m2. Thus, older men and women at a BMI range of 25 to less than 32 kg/m2 had no excess mortality. The highest SMRs (for men, 4.22; for women, 3.79) were calculated for the patients aged 18 to 29 years with a BMI of 40 kg/m2 or higher. CONCLUSIONS In this large cohort of obese persons, risk of death increased with body weight, but obesity-related excess mortality declined with age at all levels of obesity.
The Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Capital in the 21st Century

An endogenous growth model with a simple climate system is used to examine the potential impacts of climate change on the capital-to-net income ratio and the net of depreciation share of income to capital, a measure of wealth concentration and income distribution between capital and labour respectively, over the next two centuries. If climate change only directly affects production, as usually assumed, the capital-to-net income ratio will increase as compared to what it would be in the absence of climate change. The capital-to-income ratio will increase even further if climate change affects labour productivity. In both cases, the increase in the ratio after 2100 is due to the stock of capital being depleted at a lower rate than net income is falling. However, the capital-to-net income ratio will be lower and eventually fall if damage from climate change increases the depreciation rate of capital; this decline is marginally reduced if climate change impacts both capital and labour productivity. In the case where climate change impacts the depreciation of capital, the ratio after 2100 is falling because the stock of capital is destroyed faster than net-income is falling. Furthermore, climate change reduces the net share of income accruing to capital in all scenarios with dramatic changes in the case of climate change affecting the depreciation of capital. Emissions abatement almost completely mitigates these impacts on the capital-to-net income ratio and the net share of income to capital.
Diffusion in phospholipid bilayer membranes: dual-leaflet dynamics and the roles of tracer–leaflet and inter-leaflet coupling

A variety of observations—sometimes controversial—have been made in recent decades when attempting to elucidate the roles of interfacial slip on tracer diffusion in phospholipid membranes. Evans–Sackmann theory (1988) has furnished membrane viscosities and lubrication-film thicknesses for supported membranes from experimentally measured lateral diffusion coefficients. Similar to the Saffman and Delbrück model, which is the well-known counterpart for freely supported membranes, the bilayer is modelled as a single two-dimensional fluid. However, the Evans–Sackman model cannot interpret the mobilities of monotopic tracers, such as individual lipids or rigidly bound lipid assemblies; neither does it account for tracer–leaflet and inter-leaflet slip. To address these limitations, we solve the model of Wang and Hill, in which two leaflets of a bilayer membrane, a circular tracer and supports are coupled by interfacial friction, using phenomenological friction/slip coefficients. This furnishes an exact solution that can be readily adopted to interpret the mobilities of a variety of mosaic elements—including lipids, integral monotopic and polytopic proteins, and lipid rafts—in supported bilayer membranes.
Adolescent ethanol intake alters cannabinoid type‐1 receptor localization in astrocytes of the adult mouse hippocampus

Cannabinoid type‐1 (CB1) receptors are widely distributed in the brain and play important roles in astrocyte function and the modulation of neuronal synaptic transmission and plasticity. However, it is currently unknown how CB1 receptor expression in astrocytes is affected by long‐term exposure to stressors. Here we examined CB1 receptors in astrocytes of ethanol (EtOH)‐exposed adolescent mice to determine its effect on CB1 receptor localization and density in adult brain. 4–8‐week‐old male mice were exposed to 20 percent EtOH over a period of 4 weeks, and receptor localization was examined after 4 weeks in the hippocampal CA1 stratum radiatum by pre‐embedding immunoelectron microscopy. Our results revealed a significant reduction in CB1 receptor immunoparticles in astrocytic processes of EtOH‐exposed mice when compared with controls (positive astrocyte elements: 21.50 ± 2.80 percent versus 37.22 ± 3.12 percent, respectively), as well as a reduction in particle density (0.24 ± 0.02 versus 0.35 ± 0.02 particles/μm). The majority of CB1 receptor metal particles were in the range of 400–1200 nm from synaptic terminals in both control and EtOH. Altogether, the decrease in the CB1 receptor expression in hippocampal astrocytes of adult mice exposed to EtOH during adolescence reveals a long lasting effect of EtOH on astrocytic CB1 receptors. This deficiency may also have negative consequences for synaptic function.
Extraocular surgery for implantation of an active subretinal visual prosthesis with external connections: feasibility and outcome in seven patients

Background: Due to low energy levels in microphotodiode-based subretinal visual prostheses, an external power supply is mandatory. We report on the surgical feasibility and the functional outcome of the extraocular part of an approach to connect a subretinal prosthesis to an extracorporeal connector in the retro-auricular space via a trans-scleral, transchoroidal cable. Methods: Seven volunteers with retinitis pigmentosa received an active subretinal implant; energy was supplied by gold wires on a trans-sclerally, transchoroidally implanted polyimide foil leading to the lateral orbital rim where it was fixated and connected to a silicone cable. The cable was implanted subperiostally beneath the temporal muscle using a trocar to the retro-auricular space where it penetrated the skin for connection to a stimulator. To avoid subretinal movement of the implant, three tension relief points have been introduced. Results: All implantations were performed as planned without complications, and no serious adverse events occurred in the postoperative period. Fixation of the implants was stable throughout the entire study duration of 4 weeks; permanent skin penetration proved to be uncomplicated. Motility was minimally restricted in downgaze and ab-/adduction. Explantation was uneventful. Conclusion: The above-described procedure provides a method for stable fixation of a subretinal device with a trans-scleral, transchoroidal cable connection to an extracorporeal connector.
Placing entrepreneurship and firming small town economies: manufacturing firms, adaptive embeddedness, survival and linked enterprise structures

ABSTRACT SMEs make a major contribution to the economy of cities and places. The relationship between firms and place is increasingly explained through the application of city-based externality models. Such explanations have limited validity in a number of contexts. One of these is in the economies of small- and medium-sized towns and communities (SMST). Whilst convention has sought to apply core-periphery explanations to the functioning of firms within SMSTs, the economies of SMSTs and entrepreneurial processes of SME embedding, adaptation and survival in such places are more complex. This paper explores these entrepreneurial processes in the context of manufacturing firms in five SMSTs in the West Midlands, UK. The paper uses interview data to understand the relationships between SMEs and place through the development of successive and evolving linked enterprise structures. Through these linked enterprise structures, SMEs engage in a process of adaptive embeddedness, resulting in new resource configurations through fluid iterations of structural, emotional, and circumstantial embeddedness. This paper is the first to identify and explore these different forms of embeddedness.
The influence of glutamatergic antagonism on motor variability, and comparison to findings in schizophrenia patients

Objective The primary aim of this explorative study was to investigate the influence of the glutamatergic N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist memantine on motor activity in healthy subjects. Secondarily, we wanted to compare these data to findings in a sample of schizophrenia patients. Methods The healthy subjects acted as their own controls in an open‐within‐subject design. Motor activity was recorded with an actigraph worn for 24 h in the drug‐free, and steady‐state memantine conditions, respectively. Motor activity levels for 1‐min intervals were analysed by means of both linear and nonlinear methods. The schizophrenia patients were monitored only once, without memantine manipulation. Results The root mean square successive differences (RMSSD) and the RMSSD/SD ratio were increased by memantine, and memantine was also associated with lower autocorrelation (lag 1) but in recordings from the right arm only. These movement patterns partly corresponded to those found in a sample of drug‐treated schizophrenia patients. Total activity level, standard deviation (SD) and sample entropy were not significantly different in the memantine versus drug‐free condition. Conclusion The findings suggest a role for the NMDA receptor in the regulation of motor activity in healthy individuals as memantine increased the variability in the motor recordings and the alterations between adjacent motor recordings. It is suggested that the findings may be relevant to the role played by glutamate and the NMDA receptor functioning to the motor disturbances in schizophrenia.
Relationships between Exercise Regulations and Motivational Consequences in University Students

Abstract The aim of this study was to examine propositions stemming from Self-Determination Theory (SDT) that contend motivational consequences vary as a function of different regulations in the exercise domain. Participants (N = 276; n = 98 men; n = 178 women) completed inventories assessing exercise regulations, current exercise behavior, and behavioral intentions to continue exercising for the next 4 months and the effort and importance associated with exercise participation. Bivariate analyses indicated autonomous exercise regulations (identified and intrinsic) were the strongest correlates of each motivational consequence across both sexes, and introjected regulation was positively associated with exercise consequences in women. Simultaneous multiple regression analyses indicated that exercise regulations accounted for a sizeable portion of the variance across each motivational consequence in both sexes (R2adj values ranged from .20 to .53). Both regression and structure coefficients revealed that introjected regulation was a stronger motivational force in women than men, and identified regulation was the most important predictor of all three motivational consequences in both sexes. Collectively, these findings suggest that exercise regulations differentially predict motivational consequences across sexes, and future research using this theoretical framework for examining motivational issues pertinent to the exercise domain appears warranted.
Domestic Firms, Exporters and Importers: A Systemic Perspective

Based on the exponentially growing literature in recent years on international trade and firm performance, this paper develops a general theory for this area based on systemic logic and game theory. After developing two theorems on the dynamics of the domestic market, we direct our attention to establishing results on exports to either less developed or advanced markets. Finally, a general theory is formulated regarding international trade (exports and imports) that includes selected indices of firm performance (productivity, profitability, wages, and survival). In addition to confirming empirical findings in the literature, we also delineate some suggestions for future research. This paper introduces systemic thinking into the study of international trade that is expected to provide a much needed framework for public debates and policy decision making.
Value of an Exercise Workload ≥10 Metabolic Equivalents for Predicting Inducible Myocardial Ischemia

Background—We sought to identify extensive ischemia on exercise echocardiography (ExE) relative to workload in patients without known coronary artery disease and to investigate whether ExE is useful in predicting outcomes in those with high exercise capacity (≥10 metabolic equivalents [METs]) plus a maximal test (≥85% of their maximal age-predicted heart rate [MAPHR]). Methods and Results—The analysis was performed on 4269 patients who underwent ExE, of whom 3995 achieved ≥85% of their MAPHR. These patients were divided according to the reached workload (<7, 7–9, or ≥10 METs) and compared for ExE results. Outcomes in the group achieving ≥10 METs plus ≥85% of their MAPHR (n=2221) were specifically assessed. Ischemia was defined as new/worsening wall motion abnormalities with exercise. ExE results were different between groups because the METs were lower. Still, among patients achieving ≥10 METs plus ≥85% of their MAPHR, 9.3% had extensive ischemia and 6% multiterritory disease. During follow-up in this subgroup, 108 patients died and 42 had a major cardiac event. Annualized mortality and major cardiac event rates were 0.84% and 0.32% in patients without ischemia versus 2.26% and 0.84% in those with ischemia, respectively (P<0.001 and P=0.002, respectively). Ischemia was an independent predictor of mortality (hazard ratio, 1.88; 95% confidence interval, 1.23–2.89; P=0.004) and major cardiac event (hazard ratio, 2.39; 95% confidence interval, 1.22–4.71; P=0.01). Conclusions—Patients without known coronary artery disease achieving ≥10 METs plus ≥85% of their MAPHR may still have ischemia. However, the low event rates even in those with ischemia limit the usefulness of imaging for assessing outcomes in this group.