Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Combined Effects of two emerging Environmental Stressors (Perfluorooctane Sulfonate and Carbon Dioxide) on Estrogenic Responses of juvenile Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua)

Predicted climate changes have been suggested to alter future distribution and toxicity of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Until now, little effort has been put into investigating such interactive effects between POPs and elevated CO2 levels (hypercapnia) in the aquatic environment. In the present study, juvenile Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) were exposed to the emerging POP perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS; 0, 100 and 200 µg/L) for 1 hour/day in 5 days, followed by changes in elevated water CO2 saturation (0, 0.3 and 0.9%) for 3, 6 and 9 days. Endocrine disrupting potential of PFOS and elevated CO2 levels, both singly and in combination, were examined by analyzing levels of sex steroid hormones (E2, T, 11-KT) and transcript expression of estrogen responsive genes (ER-α, Vtg-α, Vtg-β, ZP-2, ZP-3), in addition to steroid and xenobiotic metabolism (CYP1A, CYP3A) and hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF-1α). Elevated CO2 produced increased levels of sex steroid hormones (E2, T, 11-KT) with concomitant increases in transcriptional expression of estrogen responsive genes. PFOS produced a weak time- and dose-dependent estrogenic effect as measured in mRNA expression of estrogen responsive genes, but no effect on steroid hormone levels. Exposure to elevated CO2 and PFOS in combination produced gene expression patterns that are different from the effects observed for CO2 and PFOS alone, indicating interactive effects. These observations suggest that hypercapnia and emerging POPs such as PFOS in combination could modulate the estrogen signaling in juvenile Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), with potential consequences for sexual development and reproduction. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report hypercapnia-induced sex steroid disruption in any fish species or lower vertebrate. These findings suggest a potential for adverse effects of increased anthropogenic CO2 emissions on sexual development and reproduction in fish. This also raises the question whether such interactive effects might be observed in other aquatic species and with other endocrine disrupters and POPs as well. Such findings could have implications for the accuracy of current risk assessments of emerging POPs, under changing climatic conditions.
Outcomes Of A Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Driven Front-Line Care Delivery Model In An Academic Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

Background: Determining the conditions that promote high performing advanced nursing practice is important because hospitals are increasingly dependent on the use of nurse practitioners (NPs) to deliver front-line care to acute and critically ill patients. Objective: To describe the outcomes of a front-line care model that uses certified pediatric acute care NPs, limits work hours and night time and weekend patient-to-provider ratio, on the outcomes of patients cared for in an academic Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). Methods: A retrospective quasi-experimental design was used to describe the outcomes of an NP Team model compared to a physician-only, Traditional Medical Team model that existed simultaneously in the same PICU. Results: Patients cared for by the NP Team had lower mean acuity, experienced equivalent mortality, shorter length of stay (LOS), and with the exception of Catheter Related Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI), slightly lower device associated hospital acquire infection rates compared to those cared for by a Traditional Medical Team. Conclusions: In an academic PICU, a front-line care delivery model that used certified pediatric acute care NPs who were intermittently supplemented by pediatric hospitalist pediatricians and residents, and that limits work hours and night time and weekend patient-to-provider ratio, resulted in outcomes that are at least equivalent to those of traditional medical teams.
Examination of Affective, Cognitive, and Behavioral Factors and Suicide-Related Outcomes in Children and Young Adolescents

Examined the role of affective, cognitive, and behavioral factors in the occurrence of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and suicidal intent in child and young adolescent (N = 175, ages 6 to 13 years) psychiatric inpatients. The results indicated that (a) self-reported depressed mood, negative automatic thoughts, hopelessness about the future, and anhedonia were all significantly associated with suicide-related outcomes, and these relations remained statistically significant even after depressed mood was controlled; (b) suicidal participants (both ideators and attempters) were distinguished from nonsuicidal participants by higher scores on measures of depressed mood, negative automatic thoughts, and hopelessness; and (c) participants who reported making a suicide attempt were distinguished from those who did not by higher scores on a measure of anhedonia and a higher number of previous suicide attempts. The results demonstrate the importance of negative automatic thoughts and anhedonia, and provide support for the role of hopelessness and previous suicide attempts in the occurrence of different suicide-related outcomes in children and young adolescents.
Some Determinants of the Socially Responsible Investment Decision: A Cross-Country Study

This paper develops a general model of investor choice to analyze socially responsible investment (SRI). Drawing on data from a large survey of investors across five countries, we show that SRI may be driven more by investor attitudes toward the social aims of firms rather than by financial returns. We also show that investors who are concerned about social issues as consumers appear to extend this behavior into their portfolio strategies. We find little evidence that demographic factors affect SRI, but some indirect evidence that market context in terms of institutional ownership and the regulatory environment may play a role.
A Review on Menu Performance Investigation and Some Guiding Propositions

This study aims to make a review of the existing menu analysis approaches in order to reflect different perspectives on menu performance and to establish some theoretical relations between menu performance and menu variables including planning, pricing and designing. The literature review resulted with a classification of the menu analysis approaches and also revealed that popularity, profitability and cost are the principal dimensions of the menu performance adopted by the different menu analysis methods. Consequently, the current paper suggests six propositions on the relationships between the menu performance dimensions and menu planning, pricing and designing variables.
Effect of Different Sizes of Intraocular Lens on Early Changes of Posterior Capsular Opacification

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of different sizes of Intra Ocular lens (IOL) on frequency of development of early changes of posterior capsular opacification (PCO) Patients and Methods: A descriptive study of 12 months’ duration was conducted in department of ophthalmology, Federal Government Services Hospital Islamabad. A non-probability convenient sample of 100 patients aged 58 to 77 years was divided equally into two groups, A and B. Each group was again divided into A-1, A2 depending on overall lens diameter of 12 mm, 13 mm respectively and B-1, B-2 for optic diameter of 5.25 mm, 6mm respectively. Each subgroup comprised of 25 patients. Planned phacoemulsification was performed on all patients. Follow up with patient’s symptoms, Snellen’s charts and slit lamp examination was done on day 7, 30 days, 6 months and a year after surgery. All the results were entered on patient's Performa. Results: In group A where overall IOL size was used, comprising A1(12 mm) & A2(13 mm), 12% (n=3) of (A1) group developed PCO in 1st 12 months and 16% (n=4) of (A2) group developed PCO in 1st 12 months. In group B where optic size was used, comprising B1 (5.25 mm) & B2 (6mm), 24% (6 patients) of B1 group developed PCO and 16% (4 patients) of B-2 group developed PCO during 1st 12 months. Conclusion: IOL of smaller optic size was associated with higher percentage of early changes of PCO than that of larger optic size. IOL of larger overall size was associated with higher percentage of early changes of PCO than that of smaller overall size. Keywords
What impact do public sex offender registries have on community safety?

Sexual offending has a significant impact on victims and can cause considerable angst within the community. The effective management of sex offenders in the community is of paramount importance. This paper reviews the latest empirical evidence from Australia and overseas regarding the effectiveness of public and non-public sex offender registries. Results show that while public sex offender registries may have a small general deterrent effect on first time offenders, they do not reduce recidivism. Further, despite having strong public support, they appear to have little effect on levels of fear in the community. While the evidence is limited to a small number of US studies, non-public sex offender registries do appear to reduce reoffending by assisting law enforcement. The review concludes by highlighting important considerations to help inform future decisions about the feasibility of a public register in Australia.
A circle-based method for detection of neural fibre cross-sections in classically stained 2D electron micrographs

Recent developments in electron microscopy now permit the unambiguous reconstruction of even the smallest neural fibres by human experts. However, manual reconstruction of an interesting volume of neural tissue would take thousands of person-years. Techniques to automate such reconstruction are therefore highly desirable and currently under active development. Here we present a novel circle-based technique and assess its performance on classically stained electron micrographs of the molecular layer of mouse cerebellar cortex. We compare its performance to a recently published pixel-based classifier (ilastik), selected because a similar random forest classifier from the same group has shown promising results on images of neural tissue. The performance of our algorithm and that of ilastik are similar, achieving approximately 50% on an overlap-based f-measure.
HIV infection and economic growth

This paper presents an endogenous growth model based on a simplified ‘learning by doing’ model. In this model, a negative shock, namely HIV infection, leads to a stationary active population. We show it is possible to neutralize the effects of the HIV shock while at the same time insuring steady economic growth. However, this result vanishes in the absence of a policy to fight against the HIV shock. Further, an increase of the HIV infection rate negatively affects the growth rate of the economy. This last finding implies that a high and sustainable economic growth rate is incompatible with a high incidence of HIV infection of the active population.
The Irish Referendums on the Lisbon Treaty: Did the Recession Save Lisbon?

On 2 October 2009 Irish citizens voted in favour of the Lisbon Treaty, which they had rejected only sixteen months earlier. This article investigates the reasons for the shift from ‘no’ to ‘yes’ focusing on the economic recession and the legal guarantees provided to Ireland after the failed first referendum. The question this article tries to answer is: Did the recession save Lisbon? The recession is, however, not the only reason for the success of the yes-campaign. The legal guarantees provided to Ireland help the Government reduce fears about Lisbon in terms of sovereignty and military neutrality. The recession and the legal guarantees together defused the spirited no-campaign and put the yes-campaign on the road to success. In the conclusion I discuss the broader question of whether the failed referendums on Nice and Lisbon are a sign a growing Euroscepticism in Ireland. I conclude that the failed referendums do not forecast a growing Euroscepticism, but may point to a growing lack of trust in national elites.
Proposal of a pre-clinical test to assess the biomechanical performance of shoulder prostheses

Prosthesis commercialization requires the compliance of regulations that ensure the safe use of prosthesis. However, several prostheses have been withdrawn from the market due to their high failure rates, which is a strong indicator of the lack of suitable pre-clinical tests that allow a more rigorous evaluation of its performance and effectiveness. Thus, the main objective of this doctoral thesis consisted in the development of a pre-clinical test capable of accessing shoulder prosthesis performance. For this purpose, a multi-body model of the intact shoulder containing all muscle groups was used in the first stage in view to identify and characterize those that most contribute to the 90o abduction movement, being them the deltoid, the infraspinatus, the supraspinatus and the subscapularis. Two in vitro models were constructed using composite bone structures of the humerus and of the scapula. In the intact model the cartilage and the inferior glenohumeral ligament were considered and in the implanted model a non-cemented anatomical prosthesis (Comprehensive® Total Shoulder System) and a central post in porous metal for glenoid fixation were used. Strain gage rosettes were used to measure the deformation suffered by the bone structures when positioned at 90o abduction and subjected to loading. Finite element models (FEM) of the intact and implanted shoulder, that replicate the in vitro models, were developed. The FEM were subjected to the same loading scenarios as the in vitro models. The comparison between the strains determined numerically and experimentally allowed FEM validation. Stress and strain distribution inside the bone structures, determined with the FEM of the implanted shoulder, agree with the clinical observations present in literature. This indicates that, in a general way, the developed FEM predicts bone behavior in the presence of a prosthesis and may be considered a pre-clinical test to evaluate shoulder implants performance. To verify that the pre-clinical test developed is sensitive to small differences in implant design and that can be used to predict shoulder prosthesis performance, a new central fixation post in polyethylene was used. Stress and strain distributions determined using the FEM with the new fixation post are (once again) in agreement with clinical observations, confirming that the developed FEM can be used for the pre-clinical evaluation of other shoulder implant designs, allowing to analyze their performance before clinical use.
Assessment of factors influencing farmers’ nutrition knowledge and intake of traditional african vegetables in Tanzania

Traditional African Vegetables (TAVs) form a significant component of many families’ diets in Tanzania. Traditional African Vegetables contribute to reduction of malnutrition, stunting and poor health among consumers by providing vitamins and essential minerals in family diets. However, the consumption of vegetables is still below the per capita per day intake level recommended by World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization, causing millions of deaths annually due to nutrientdeficiency related diseases. This study examined the factors that influence the nutrition knowledge, frequency intake and farming households’ attitudes towards consumption of traditional vegetables. The Standard Poison and the Generalized Poison models were used for analysis. Factor analysis was used to assess the attitudes towards TAVs consumption. Data were collected from randomly selected 63 households in Arumeru District of Tanzania in the months of July to November 2015. Generalized Poison model results showed that gender of the respondent, years of schooling, age of the respondent, household size and TAVs farm size influenced farmers’ nutrition knowledge. Frequency intake of TAVs is influenced by the farmers’ age, annual household income, household size, TAVs farm size and market price of TAVs. Factor analysis results indicated that medicinal properties of traditional vegetables positively influenced farmers’ intake of vegetables. The “health factor” accounted for 31.4% of the total variance in the principal components analysis. ‘Personal perception factor’ accounted for 13.79% whereas ‘personal taste factor’ accounted for 12.71% of the total variance. It was concluded that rural farming households consume traditional vegetables majorly because of their health attributes. Thus, there is need to improve medicinal and nutritional knowledge of these crops among households. These findings imply that consumption of TAVs can be enhanced by educating households on nutrition importance and medicinal attributes of TAVs. Besides, farmers need training on simple but user-friendly technologies that could prolong storage and preserve freshness as well as nutritional contents of traditional vegetables. Keywords: Traditional vegetables, nutrition knowledge, frequency intake, farmers’ attitude, Arumeru District
The Impact of Sleep Improvement on Food Choices in Adolescents with an Eveningness Circadian Preference

Author(s): Asarnow, Lauren | Advisor(s): Harvey, Allison | Abstract: Purpose: The aim was to investigate the relationship between sleep and desire for and intake of weight gain promoting foods at pre-treatment and following an intervention designed to improve sleep in adolescents with late bedtimes. Methods: A sample of adolescents with late bedtimes was randomized to an intervention designed to improve sleep (TranS-C-Youth) or a control condition (Psychoeducation) and their food desire and intake in the morning was assessed at pre-treatment and post-treatment. Results: At pre-treatment more sleep was associated with increased desire for dairy. No effects on desire for and intake of weight promoting food were observed for TranS-C-Youth compared to Psychoeducation. Adolescents with earlier bedtimes at post-treatment relative to pre-treatment ate more low Glycemic Index and dairy foods at post-treatment. This effect was not observed in those who did not improve their bedtime at pre-treatment relative to post-treatment. Conclusions: These findings suggest that bedtime improvement can improve breakfast choices, an important meal for obesity prevention during adolescence.
Wage differences among Ph.D.s by area of knowledge: are science areas better paid than humanities and social ones? The Spanish case

This paper analyses wage differences among workers with doctoral studies depending on their specialised area of knowledge (humanities and social studies or science) and on their type of job (university teacher or other professional activity). Traditionally, science-related activities have been associated with higher wages than humanities and social studies ones due to the fact that the market tends to value higher the productivity of disciplines considered to be sciences. By estimating an endogenous switching model and applying the Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition, we have observed the existence of a positive wage difference in favour of Ph.D.s of humanities or social studies for university teachers, and for the Ph.D.s of science in other professions.
A Feasibility Study Assessing a Culturally Relevant Physical Activity Intervention for Midlife Filipino Women

Introduction: Regular participation in physical activity (PA) can prevent chronic disease and mental illness across the lifespan and during later adulthood. Few PA interventions have been implemented in underserved Filipino American women to address health related outcomes among this population. Purpose: This study assessed the effect of a culturally relevant community-based Zumba® program on anthropometrics, physical fitness, and exercise motivation among midlife Filipino women. Methods: We employed a single-group pretest-posttest design. Twenty-one female participants were recruited from Filipino community-based organizations (CBOs) in the Greater Philadelphia region. Sixteen female participants (N=16, M age = 55.88, SD = ± 9.479) completed the 8-week program, which consisted of attending three Zumba classes per week at the Filipino CBOs, which was led by a certified Zumba instructor of Filipino ethnicity. A paired samples t-test was conducted to detect the differences between the pre-and post-outcome measures. Results: A total of 16 out of 21 participants completed the intervention and the post-intervention assessment (76% retention rate). Adherence to the Zumba classes was 42.46% among participants who completed the post-intervention. With regards to pre- and post- primary outcome measures, there was a significant reduction in body weight (-3.18±2.61 lbs., p 2, p = 0.002), and increase in flexibility (1.93±3.22 cm, p = 0.035) among participants. There were no statistically significant differences in exercise motivation inventory (EMI-2) subscales, except affiliation scores increased among participants overall (-0.750±1.38, p = 0.047). Discussion: The incorporation of this community-based program can be a promising approach for potentially enhancing health outcomes for underserved Asian American populations such as Filipino Americans. Future research can examine the long-term impacts of Zumba and other exercise modalities for chronic disease prevention and management.
Differences of Born Body Length, History of Infectious Diseases, and Development between Stunting and Non-Stunting Toddlers

ABSTRACTBackground: Stunting reflects the largely result of inadequate nutrition and attacks recurring infections in the first 1.000 days of life, that cause in develepmental obstacles. Purpose: This study was to analyze the differences born body length, history of infectious diseases, development between stunting, and non stunting children age 24-36 months. Methods: The type of this research was observational analytic with case control study. The sample size was 68 toddlers consist of 34 stunting childrens as case group and 34 non stunting children as control group in the catchment area of Jagir Public Helath Center in Surabaya. Sampling technique using simple random sampling. The observed variabls were born body length, history of infectious diseases, and child development. The data were collected using microtoise, questionnaire, and Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST) sheets. Data were analyzed using chi square test. Results: This research showed significancy between stunting and non stunting children with difference of born body length (p = 0,01), history of infectious diseases (p = 0,01), and toddlers’ development (p = 0,01). Conclusion: There were difference variables of born body length, history of infectious diseases, and development between stunting and non stunting children age 24-36 months.
An Affect-Based, Hierarchical Model of Temperament and Its Relations With Internalizing Symptomatology

Examined the tripartite model of personality, which emphasizes negative affectivity (NA) and positive affectivity (PA) as central organizing dimensions of personality that are useful for discriminating psychopathologies. Conceptualizations of youth temperament also include second-order, organizing factors of negative emotionality/ neuroticism and positive emotionality/extroversion that may differentially predict psychopathologies. A community sample of 290 10- to 17-year-old youth completed the Emotionality, Activity, and Sociability Temperament Survey (EAS), Positive and Negative Affectivity Schedule, and measures of symptoms of anxiety and depression. Factor analysis replicated the 5-factor structure of the EAS and revealed 2 independent second-order factors, negative temperament (NT) and positive temperament (PT). NT and PT demonstrated convergent and discriminant relations with NA and PA. Consistent with the tripartite model, NT was associated with both anxiety and depression scores, but PT was related to depression scores only.