Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adaptation and Validation of the Lithuanian-Language Version of the Olympic Value Scale (OVS)

Background: The Olympic Games is one of the biggest sports events which should express and promote Olympic ideals. Aiming to generate more insights on the expression of Olympic Values, the Olympic Value Scale (OVS) was developed to assess how people perceive values in relation to the Olympic Games. The aim of the present study was to examine the validity and reliability of the Lithuanian version of OVS (LT-OVS). Methods: The scale construct validity and reliability was tested using a sample of 365 university students (mean age 22.02, SD = 6.58; 49.9% male). After the evaluation of the scale structure, convergent and discriminant validity as well as reliability of the scale were evaluated by assessing composite reliability and average variance extracted (AVE), examining the square root of the AVE. For further validity analysis, associations between the LT-OVS factors and other variables were examined. Results: The original OVS captures three dimensions, which are appreciation of diversity, friendly relations with others, and achievement in competition. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the original three-factor structure of the OVS. The internal consistency values for all three subscales of the LT-OVS were 0.80 and higher. Convergent and discriminant validity criterions were met. Relations between the LT-OVS dimensions and attitudes towards fair play and Olympic Games were also revealed and discussed. Conclusions: This study makes a contribution by confirming the validity of the LT-OVS and encouraging future adaptation of it into other cultures and research on Olympic Values.
The Effect of Monitoring System on Risk Assessment of Aflatoxins in Iran's Pistachio Nuts Exported to the E.U. During 2012 - 2018

Pistachio has high nutritional value and popularity. The susceptibility of pistachio to aflatoxin contamination caused establishing a monitoring system introduced and implemented by the Ministry of Health in Iran to ensure consumers' access to safe and hygienic pistachios. In this research, aflatoxin contamination level in all consignments (7298) exporting to E.U. was examined using HPLC with fluorescence detection after immunoaffinity column clean up from Nov 2012 to Oct 2018. The average recoveries ranged 78.6% - 97.6%, with a relative standard deviation for reproducibility below 8.5% and expanded uncertainty of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) at spiked levels 1, 4, and 8 ng/g were 0.17, 0.57, 0.89 ng/g, respectively. The results showed that aflatoxin B1 and total (AFT) were detected in 1921 (23.4%) and 1927 cases (23.5%), with the mean values ranging from 2.18 - 4.6 ng/g and 2.8 - 5.1 ng/g during six consecutive years, respectively. Implementing an effective monitoring system for pistachio nuts could determine consignments contaminated with aflatoxins. Concerning AFB1, risk assessments recorded for dietary exposure dose, margin of exposure (MOE), Hazard Index (HI), estimated liver cancer risk, and cancer incidence attributable to dietary ranged 0.0132 - 0.1180 ng/kg.bw/day, 1441 - 12843, 0.21 - 1.84, 0.00071 - 0.00633 cases/105 population/year, 0.02 - 0.2%, respectively. Identification and rejection of contaminated cargos lead to an increase in MOE (> 10000), and it also guarantees that pistachio consumption is safe from a toxicology point of view. Due to the monitoring system, the estimation of liver cancer incidence attributable to dietary AFB1 was reduced (≤ 0.02%). It indicates that the consumption of pistachio poses no health risk for Europeans and Iranians.
Physical Health and Work Ability among Healthcare Workers. A Cross-Sectional Study

Healthcare workers’ age is increasingly rising, negatively affecting their physical health. In particular, workability is an emerging phenomenon that predominantly affects healthcare workers. This study aims to assess physical health status and workability among ageing healthcare workers. A cross-sectional study using the Work Ability Index (WAI) was performed. Data were collected in a university hospital in northern Italy. Data were collected voluntary through a questionnaire. Healthcare workers participating in the survey were contacted personally by two resident physicians. Thus, the total number of study participants was 220 among nursing aides, nurses, and physicians. Data were analyzed by performing ANOVA and regression to assess the differences between the healthcare workers and age groups. A generalized linear model was tested to evaluate the effect of age and task on workability. The majority of healthcare workers had good WAI values. Physicians’ workability was higher than nursing aides. Nursing aides suffered more from cardiovascular disorders, while physicians and nurses had more musculoskeletal disorders. However, the distribution was statistically different (χ2 = 24.03, p = 0.00), as most of the physicians’ workability values were good and good, while those of nursing aides and nurses were good and medium. In line with previous studies, the decrease in WAI with ageing is strictly dependent on the type of task assigned. Due to heavy physical tasks, nurses and nurses’ aides showed a greater WAI than physicians. This study highlights the critical issues faced by ageing healthcare professionals. In the near future, it is necessary to find solutions to cope with these changes and devise possible interventions aimed at ameliorating workability.
Is the Adjustment of Social Security Benefits Actuarially Fair, and If So, for Whom?

Disparities in Social Security claiming ages have risen since the early 1990s. With high earners increasingly likely to delay claiming, and also living longer on average than lower earners, late claimants may differ in critical ways from early claimants. Using Social Security Administration data and focusing on men, we find that late claimants have lower mortality than those who claim at age 62, so late claimants are adversely selected. As a result of selective claiming combined with improvements in actuarial adjustments, the return on delayed claiming has become systematically positive for those who actually delay, but not for those who claim early. We further find that selective claiming increases benefits more for those with higher lifetime earnings because their return on delaying exceeds actuarially fair amounts by larger margins. Lastly, we find that selective claiming has a modest effect on total payouts, but a more consequential effect on inequality in lifetime benefit payouts. In the aggregate, the increase in trust fund payouts as a result of adverse selection in claiming was 0.5% for the most recent retiring cohorts. Yet, lifetime benefit payouts are 1.9% higher for those in the highest quartile of lifetime earnings as a result of claiming-age differences, compared to what payouts would be if they had the same claiming ages as those in the lowest quartile. This contributes 2.8% to the difference in expected lifetime benefits between the highest and lowest quartiles. in to to for lifetime earners. expectancy and claiming-age differences interact to alter lifetime payouts for earners.
The Effect of Infection Precautions on Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase Enterobacteriaceae Colonization Among Nurses in Three Beirut Hospitals

Background and objective Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-PE) are rapidly emerging worldwide. This study aimed to assess the effect of contact precaution (CP) on ESBL-PE-colonization rates among nurses in three hospitals in Beirut, Lebanon, where ESBL is endemic, in order to define the risk factors for colonization. Accordingly, the ongoing use of CP to prevent ESBL-PE transmission to healthy nurses was evaluated. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in three hospitals. Hospital 1 required CP, Hospital 2 had recently stopped CP, and Hospital 3 had stopped it three years previously. Questionnaires and stool-collection containers were distributed to all patient care nurses in those three hospitals. The Returned samples were tested using the agar dilution technique. Results A total of 269 out of 733 nurses volunteered to participate; 140 met the inclusion criteria (no recent hospitalization, antibiotic use, or known ESBL-PE colonization) and provided samples. Among them, 15% were ESBL-positive. Compared to nurses from Hospital 3, nurses from Hospital 1 were 59% less likely to be colonized, while nurses from Hospital 2 were 62% more likely to be colonized. Conclusion In hospitals where CP is in place for ESBL-positive patients, ESBL-PE prevalence in nursing staff was significantly lower. Additionally, a work experience of two to four years increased the odds of ESBL-PE colonization in comparison with longer nursing experience. CP may be a justifiable means of protection against ESBL-PE transmission to healthy nurses. The risk factors for colonization were discontinuation of CP and a shorter clinical work experience.
Tuning and performance comparison of multiresonant piezoelectric shunts

This work presents tuning rules for piezoelectric shunts aiming to mitigate multiple structural resonances. Starting from a specification procedure of the shunt characteristics, the electrical parameters are derived for shunt topologies proposed in the literature, namely Hollkamp’s shunt, the current flowing shunt, the series parallel impedance structure and the current blocking shunt. Effective vibration mitigation of multiple structural modes is demonstrated numerically and experimentally on a piezoelectric beam. Performance in terms of vibration reduction obtained with the different shunts is shown to be comparable if similar shunt characteristics are considered.
Positive Impulse Phase versus Propulsive Impulse Phase: Correlations between Asymmetry and Countermovement Jump Performance

The relationship between asymmetry and performance is still undetermined in the literature. Methods of assessing asymmetry have been inconsistent and focused on the analysis of jumping asymmetry. Dual ground reaction forces are prevalent in athlete monitoring, though underutilized in asymmetry research. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship of countermovement jump (CMJ) impulse asymmetry to performance in collegiate soccer athletes. Male and female athletes were selected from an ongoing athlete research repository database of NCAA D-I soccer athletes. All athletes contributed two maximal effort unweighted (CMJ0) and weighted countermovement jumps (CMJ20) using the mean for calculations. Propulsive phase asymmetry scores (PrPAS) and positive impulse asymmetry scores (PIAS) were calculated to determine the magnitude of asymmetry for each prospective phase. Statistically significant correlations were found between CMJ0 jump height and unweighted PIAS (r = −0.43) in females. Males had statistically significant correlations between CMJ20 jump height and weighted PIAS (r = −0.49). Neither unweighted PrPAS nor weighted PrPAS produced statistically significant correlations (r < 0.26) to their prospective jump heights. When assessing CMJ asymmetry, it is recommended to conduct both weighted and unweighted CMJ testing, utilizing PIAS as the metric to be assessed.
Seismic Behaviour of Tunnel Form Concrete Building Structures

Multi-story reinforced concrete (RC) tunnel form buildings have been increasingly employed for mass construction industry in many countries. This system is very attractive for the medium to high-rise buildings with repetitive plans due to satisfactory performance during past earthquake, industrialized modular construction technique, low cast and also saving in construction time. Recent studies show that the current seismic codes and guidelines do not provide sufficient requirements for seismic design of these structures. The designers ought to adopt the traditional force based design methodology of framed structures for tunnel form. In this methodology, the fundamental period and the proposed behaviour factor (R factor) are used to compute the design base shear of a structure. Most seismic codes specify empirical formula to estimate the fundamental vibration period of building. Prior studies have shown that the empirical equations for predication of fundamental periods of this specified type of structures, may yield to inaccurate results. Some of new equations were suggested and a varied rang of parameters were considered to achieve a certain formulas. In this study, the fundamental period and mode shapes of tunnel form buildings, one of the basic parameters of seismic behaviour in linear response was investigated. Previous suggested formulas were studied and compared with each other. Some finite elements analysis carried out to show the influence of each parameter on the fundamental period. The results showed that the IBC 2006 formula for estimating the period of this type of structures, is still more reliable than other formulas which derived by different authors in recent studies.
“A little harder to find your place:” Latinx LGBTQ + youth and family belonging

Abstract There is a dearth of research about Latinx LGBTQ + youth’s experiences with family belonging. To address this gap in the literature, this phenomenological study explored the experiences of eight Latinx LGBTQ + youth as they relate to belonging within a familial context. Five themes were identified: (a) definitions of belonging and the importance of belonging to family, (b) family rejection/fear of rejection, (c) culture of queer invisibility, (d) divergent experiences among non-parental family members, and (e) resilience. This article presents the themes as they relate to Latinx LGBTQ + young people’s experiences of family belonging and discusses implications for future research and practice.
Flexible Implementation of the Trilinearity Constraint in Multivariate Curve Resolution Alternating Least Squares (MCR-ALS) of Chromatographic and Other Type of Data

Multivariate Curve Resolution Alternating Least Squares (MCR-ALS) can analyze three-way data under the assumption of a trilinear model using the trilinearity constraint. However, the rigid application of this constraint can produce unrealistic solutions in practice due to the inadequacy of the analyzed data to the characteristics and requirements of the trilinear model. Different methods for the relaxation of the trilinear model data requirements have been proposed, like in the PARAFAC2 and in the direct non-trilinear decomposition (DNTD) methods. In this work, the trilinearity constraint of MCR-ALS is adapted to different data scenarios where the profiles of all or some of the components of the system are shifted (not equally synchronized) or even change their shape among different slices in one of their data modes. This adaptation is especially useful in gas and liquid chromatography (GC and LC) and in Flow Injection Analysis (FIA) with multivariate spectroscopic detection. In a first data example, a synthetic LC-DAD dataset is built to investigate the possibilities of the proposed method to handle systematic changes (shifts) in the retention times of the elution profiles and the results are compared with those obtained using alternative methods like ATLD, PARAFAC, PARAFAC2 and DNTD. In a second data example, multiple wine samples were simultaneously analyzed by GC-MS where elution profiles presented large deviations (shifts) in their peak retention times, although they still preserve the same peak shape. Different modelling scenarios are tested and the results are also compared. Finally, in the third example, sample mixtures of acid compounds were analyzed by FIA under a pH gradient and monitored by UV spectroscopy and also examined by different chemometric methods using a different number of components. In this case, however, the departure of the trilinear model comes from the acid base speciation of the system depending on the pH more than from the shifting of the FIA diffusion profiles.
Central stress processing, T-cell responsivity to stress hormones and disease severity in multiple sclerosis

Abstract Epidemiological, clinical and neuroscientific studies support a link between psychobiological stress and multiple sclerosis. Neuroimaging suggests that blunted central stress processing goes along with higher multiple sclerosis severity, neuroendocrine studies suggest that blunted immune system sensitivity to stress hormones is linked to stronger neuroinflammation. Until now, however, no effort has been made to elucidate whether central stress processing and immune system sensitivity to stress hormones are related in a disease-specific fashion, and if so, whether this relation is clinically meaningful. Consequently, we conducted two functional MRI analyses based on a total of 39 persons with multiple sclerosis and 25 healthy persons. Motivated by findings of an altered interplay between neuroendocrine stress processing and T-cell glucocorticoid sensitivity in multiple sclerosis, we searched for neural networks whose stress task-evoked activity is differentially linked to peripheral T-cell glucocorticoid signalling in patients versus healthy persons as a potential indicator of disease-specific CNS–immune crosstalk. Subsequently, we tested whether this activity is simultaneously related to disease severity. We found that activity of a network comprising right anterior insula, right fusiform gyrus, left midcingulate and lingual gyrus was differentially coupled to T-cell glucocorticoid signalling across groups. This network’s activity was simultaneously linked to patients’ lesion volume, clinical disability and information-processing speed. Complementary analyses revealed that T-cell glucocorticoid signalling was not directly linked to disease severity. Our findings show that alterations in the coupling between central stress processing and T-cell stress hormone sensitivity are related to key severity measures of multiple sclerosis.
A new modelling procedure of the engine room ventilation system for work risk prevention and energy saving

Maritime transport is one of the primary international objectives for energy saving and pollution reduction, in agreement with the International Maritime Organization. Within the most interesting energy-saving topics, the ventilation system of the engine room must be highlighted, which represents about 5% of the nominal power of a modern ship. Nevertheless, its energetic optimization is not simple and must consider also work risk criteria, since the engine room is the hottest and, in consequence, one of the hazardous places in the ship. In this research, a complete three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics model of the engine room of a real ship has been developed in order to identify the hottest places and fully characterize their thermal conditions. On the basis of this analysis, a mathematical model of the maximum working time allowed has been defined, which can be directly used to design an efficient control algorithm for the ventilation system. In a complementary way, the minimum time required to rest in the control engine room to release the cumulated heat has also been analysed, in order to optimize its set-point conditions.
Performance Assessment of Buried Pipelines at Fault Crossings *

A methodology for seismic performance assessment of onshore buried steel pipelines at fault crossings is presented. Probabilistic fault displacement hazard analysis is performed at first to determine the magnitude of the three fault displacement components in space. Next, three-dimensional (3-D) structural analysis of the pipeline via a nonlinear beam-type finite element model allows accounting for the different effect of imposed displacements in each axis. Finally, convolving of seismic hazard and structural response results in joint hazard surfaces of compressive and tensile strains that can be used to estimate the mean annual rate of exceeding any limit-state of interest under the influence of demand and capacity uncertainty.
Program Repair With Repeated Learning

A key challenge in generate-and-validate automated program repair is directing the search for fixes so that it can efficiently find those that are more likely to be correct. To this end, several techniques use machine learning to capture the features of programmer-written fixes. In existing approaches, fitting the model typically takes place before fix generation and is independent of it: the fix generation process uses the learned model as one of its inputs. However, the intermediate outcomes of an ongoing fix generation process often provide valuable information about which candidate fixes were “better”; this information could profitably be used to retrain the model, so that each new iteration of the fixing process would also learn from the outcome of previous ones. In this paper, we propose the Liana technique for automated program repair, which is based on this idea of repeatedly learning the features of generated fixes. To this end, Liana uses a fine-grained model that combines information about fix characteristics, their relations to the fixing context, and the results of test execution. The model is initially trained offline, and then repeatedly updated online as the fix generation process unravels; at any step, the most up-to-date model is used to guide the search for fixes—prioritizing those that are more likely to include the right ingredients. In an experimental evaluation on 732 real-world Java bugs from 3 popular benchmarks, Liana built correct fixes for 134 faults (83 ranked as first in its output)— improving over several other generate-and-validate program repair tools according to various measures.
Reference intervals and physiological variations of the macro-mineral plasma concentrations in Ouled Djellal ewes

Abstract. This study aimed to establish values and reference intervals of macro-mineral plasma concentrations, as well as the variations of these variables depending on the physiological stages of Ouled Djellal ewes, reared in the Northeast of Algeria. Six plasma macro-mineral elements: calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), potassium (K), and chlorine (Cl), were analyzed in blood samples belonging to one hundred thirty-four (n=134) healthy Ouled Djellal ewes (2-5 years old). Obtained levels were statistically analyzed using Reference Value Adviser software in order to establish the reference intervals. In addition, a follow-up study using thirty (30) ewes was carried out to determine the variations of these same parameters depending on the animals’ physiological stages. Animals were subjected to blood sampling during seven periods of their reproductive cycle (dry period; early gestation; mid-gestation; late gestation; early lactation; mid-lactation; after weaning). Reference intervals values for the studied macro elements were: Ca (66-106.7 mgl/L), P (30.5-85 mg/L), Mg (17-32 mg/L), Na (132.6-165 mEq/L), K (3.8-6.2 mEq/L) and Cl (98-123.9 mEq/L). The follow-up study showed significant variations of these macro-elements according to the animal’s reproductive stages. In late gestation, both calcium and magnesium levels increased significantly; however, they showed a significant decrease in early lactation. Phosphatemia was significantly higher in both dry and empty ewes. The lowest values of sodium and potassium were recorded at the beginning of lactation. Chlorine plasma levels decreased very significantly in mid-lactation. Such results provide baseline information that permits monitoring the impact of various mineral disturbances in this breed and checking the animal’s health status depending on its physiological stage.