Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
VEGF Profile in Early Undifferentiated Arthritis Cohort

Background and Objectives: Early undifferentiated arthritis (UA) is a group of inflammatory joint diseases that are not classified under any specific rheumatic or connective tissue disorder and might evolve into chronic inflammatory arthritis or may be a self-limiting condition. Early recognition and treatment are crucial for the future course of the disease. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an angiogenic regulator that induces the growth of new capillary blood vessels, which are important in joint invasion and destruction during the progression of chronic inflammatory arthritis. The aim of this study was to assess VEGF levels associated with sociodemographic, clinical, laboratory, and ultrasound findings in the early UA patient cohort as well as to evaluate VEGF as a potential prognostic marker for arthritis outcomes. Materials and Methods: Seventy-six patients with inflammatory arthritis in at least one joint, with a duration of arthritis <12 months at the study entry that did not meet any rheumatic disease classification criteria, were enrolled after informed consent was obtained. Patient’s sociodemographic, laboratory data, and clinical disease characteristics were recorded, VEGF levels were measured, and ultrasound (US) of tender and swollen joints was performed. Results: VEGF levels had positive correlation with conventional rheumatic disease activity and diagnostic markers: erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C–reactive protein (CRP), and rheumatoid factor (RF) (p < 0.05). RF-positive patients had higher VEGF values (p = 0.024). A statistically higher number of patients whose VEGF levels were below the median value presented with active infection (p = 0.046). In patients with a higher number of swollen joints, and a higher score of synovitis and power doppler (PD) seen on US, VEGF levels were statistically significantly higher. Patients who after 12-month follow-up developed rheumatoid arthritis (RA) had statistically higher VEGF levels at baseline compared with those who developed spondyloarthropathies (p = 0.028). Conclusions: This study demonstrated that VEGF levels significantly represented inflammatory processes that were present in the joints (number of swollen joints, synovitis, and PD changes) of the early UA cohort.
Trehalose Treatment in Zebrafish Model of Lafora Disease

Mutations in the EPM2A gene encoding laforin cause Lafora disease (LD), a progressive myoclonic epilepsy characterized by drug-resistant seizures and progressive neurological impairment. To date, rodents are the only available models for studying LD; however, their use for drug screening is limited by regulatory restrictions and high breeding costs. To investigate the role of laforin loss of function in early neurodevelopment, and to screen for possible new compounds for treating the disorder, we developed a zebrafish model of LD. Our results showed the epm2a−/− zebrafish to be a faithful model of LD, exhibiting the main disease features, namely motor impairment and neuronal hyperexcitability with spontaneous seizures. The model also showed increased inflammatory response and apoptotic death, as well as an altered autophagy pathway that occurs early in development and likely contributes to the disease progression. Early administration of trehalose was found to be effective for rescuing motor impairment and neuronal hyperexcitability associated with seizures. Our study adds a new tool for investigating LD and might help to identify new treatment opportunities.
Age Management in the Brazilian Context: A Theoretical Discussion

The aging of population and workforce has significantly impacted living conditions in society and organizations around the world. This scenario represents a challenge for public policymakers and for the labor market, whose future depends on the maintenance of the work capacity of the older workers and their continued participation in the labour market. In this context, age management policies are increasingly important as they play a crucial role in increasing and sustaining the participation of these workers in the labor market. This theoretical essay aims to discuss age management in the Brazilian context. Specifically, it seeks to present the concept of age management and its challenges for the organizations in Brazil. Age management has been defined as the best way to strategically deal with the changes resulting from the aging of the population and consequent changes in the labor market. We argue, in this study, that the phenomenon of aging has specific characteristics in Brazil, a country with a collectivist trait in which intergenerational affective-moral-financial responsibility is the main issue.
Programmed Cell Death-1/Programmed Cell Death-1 Ligand as Prognostic Markers of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Severity

Current research proves that immune dysregulation is a common feature of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and immune exhaustion is associated with increased disease mortality. Immune checkpoint molecules, including the programmed cell death-1 (PD-1)/PD-1 ligand (PD-L1) axis, may serve as markers of disease severity. Accordingly, in this study, we evaluated the expression of PD-1/PD-L1 in patients with COVID-19. Blood immunophenotypes of hospitalized patients with moderate (n = 17, requiring oxygen support) and severe (n = 35, requiring mechanical ventilation in the intensive care setting) COVID-19 were compared and associated with clinical, laboratory, and survival data. The associations between severity and lymphocyte profiles were analysed at baseline and after 7 and 14 days of in-hospital treatment. Forty patients without COVID-19 infection were used as controls. For PD-1-positive T and B lymphocyte subsets, notable increases were observed between controls and patients with moderate or severe COVID-19 for CD4+PD-1+ T cells, CD8+PD-1+ T and CD19+PD-1+ B cells. Similar trends were observed for PD-L1-positive lymphocytes, namely, CD4+PD-L1+ T cells, CD8+PD-L1+ T cells and CD19+PD-L1+ B cells. Importantly, all markers associated with PD-1 and PD-L1 were stable over time for the analysed time points in the moderate and severe COVID-19 groups. Increased abundances of PD-1+ and PD-L1+ lymphocytes were associated with disease severity and mortality and were stable over time in patients with moderate to severe COVID-19. These immune exhaustion parameters may be attractive biomarkers of COVID-19 severity.
ASEAN-5 forex rates and crude oil: Markov regime-switching analysis

ABSTRACT We investigate the influence of moves in oil prices on exchange rates of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand (the ASEAN-5 countries). We disentangle oil shocks, representing them by three components: demand shock, supply shock and risk shock, and examine their impact on the ASEAN-5 exchange rates by employing high-/low-volatility Markov regime-switching regressions for the period 2006 to Beckmann, Czudaj, and Arora 2020. We find that demand shocks make forex rates increase for net oil-producing as well as net oil-consuming economies. The impacts of supply shocks on forex rates for most economies are rather low. The risk shocks lead to depreciating effects on the ASEAN-5 currencies, supporting the notion that the open-oriented nature of ASEAN-5 economies makes them susceptible to constant fluctuations in the global oil market. Summary We study interactions between the price of crude oil and exchange rates of the ASEAN-5 economies. We decompose changes in oil price into demand-, supply- and risk-driven components. We show non-linear interrelations between movements in forex rates and price of oil. Demand shocks appreciate forex rates for both net oil-producer and net oil-consumer economies. Supply-driven moves in oil prices exercise a marginal influence on forex rates for most countries. Risk shocks have depreciating effects on the ASEAN-5 exchange rates.
Smart Beta Investing: An Alternative Investment Paradigm in Emerging Indian Equity Market

This paper fundamentally looks at the novel concept of Smart Beta investing in constructing a more efficient and well-diversified alternative investment. Smart beta has been a popular investment philosophy, although emerging countries have been slower to adopt and execute it. In this way, the study investigates the existence, performance, and robustness of smart beta strategies in a divergent financial market. Moreover, it is an initial attempt to integrate the framework of stock selection and stock weighting to construct and test smart beta strategies against the traditional Indian market benchmark (S&P BSE 500). The findings show that smart beta investing results in a better risk-return profile on an absolute and risk-adjusted basis. Furthermore, the results demonstrate the consistency and robustness of smart beta strategies in different market conditions and display their outperformance even in bearish market conditions.
Gender Differences in the Relationships Between Coach Transformational Leadership and Player Satisfaction and Commitment: A Meta-Analytic Review

This study meta-analyzed the relationships between coach transformational leadership and player satisfaction and commitment. We also examined the potential moderating effect of player gender on these relationships. In total, 182 effect sizes were obtained from 26 studies comprised of 6,715 participants. The analyses revealed that the overall direct effect of transformational leadership was moderate on both athletic satisfaction and exercise commitment. The effect of charismatic construct of transformational leadership was moderate on athletic satisfaction as well as exercise commitment. Finally, player gender was found to moderate the effects of the relationship between transformational leadership and athletic satisfaction and exercise commitment of players. Specifically, female players' satisfaction and commitment were more positively affected by transformational leadership compared with their male counterparts. Our findings suggests that effective leadership in sports is dependent on the interaction among leadership behaviors of the coach, personal characteristics of the players, and situational factors and highlights the importance of transformational leadership as an important requirement for creating a more positive and sustainable sports environment.
The Role of Work Culture in Mediating the Effect of Professional Competence and Work Motivation on Teacher Performance

The aim of the research is to examine at the direct and indirect effects of professional competence, job motivation, and work culture on teacher performance. A quantitative technique is used in this research. 193 teachers from 17 schools participated in the study, and 130 people were chosen as research samples based on Cronbach's Error and proportionate random selection. Professional competence (30 questions), work motivation (35 items), work culture (30 items), and teacher performance (48 items) are among the items that have been examined for validity and reliability using a questionnaire instrument. The descriptive analysis, classical assumption test, multiple linear regression analysis, and path analysis were employed in the data analysis. The findings of this study indicate that professional competence, job motivation, and workplace culture have an impact on performance. Job culture is influenced by factors such as professional competency and work motivation. Teacher performance is influenced by professional competence and job motivation, both of which are influenced by work culture.
Potential Impacts of Climate Change on the Habitat Suitability of the Dominant Tree Species in Greece

Climate change is affecting species distribution and ecosystem form and function. Forests provide a range of ecosystem services, and understanding their vulnerability to climate change is important for designing effective adaptation strategies. Species Distribution Modelling (SDM) has been extensively used to derive habitat suitability maps under current conditions and project species distribution shifts under climate change. In this study, we model the current and future habitat suitability of the dominant tree species in Greece (Abies cephalonica, Abies borisii-regis, Pinus brutia, Pinus halepensis, Pinus nigra, Quercus ilex, Quercus pubescens, Quercus frainetto and Fagus sylvatica), based on species-specific presence data from the EU-Forest database, enhanced with data from Greece that is currently under-represented in terms of tree species occurrence points. By including these additional presence data, areas with relatively drier conditions for some of the study species were included in the SDM development, yielding a potentially lower vulnerability under climate change conditions. SDMs were developed for each taxon using climate and soil data at a resolution of ~1 km2. Model performance was assessed under current conditions and was found to adequately simulate potential distributions. Subsequently, the models were used to project the potential distribution of each species under the SSP1-2.6 and SSP5-8.5 scenarios for the 2041–2070 and 2071–2100 time periods. Under climate change scenarios, a reduction in habitat-suitable areas was predicted for most study species, with higher elevation taxa experiencing more pronounced potential habitat shrinkages. An exception was the endemic A. cephalonica and its sister species A. borisii-regis, which, although currently found at mid and high elevations, seem able to maintain their potential distribution under most climate change scenarios. Our findings suggest that climate change could significantly affect the distribution and dynamics of forest ecosystems in Greece, with important ecological, economic and social implications, and thus adequate mitigation measures should be implemented.
Novel Design Methodologies for CNFET-Based Ternary Sequential Logic Circuits

The quest for efficient technologies beyond the traditional CMOS (Complementary-Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) technology has led researchers to explore newer technologies like the CNFET(Carbon-Nanotube-Field-Effect-Transistor). CNFETs are being used to design and implement various ternary logic circuits. Multivalued logic (MVL) requires multiple threshold voltages that are possible to obtain using CNFETs by modifying the physical dimensions of their CNTs (Carbon Nano Tubes). The ternary sequential logic circuits like ternary D-latch, D-flipflop, and counters existing in literature have been implemented either using STIs (Standard Ternary Inverters) or successor-predecessor circuits. This paper proposes a new design methodology for a ternary D-flipflop that uses a ternary buffer and two STIs designed using two power supplies. Two hybrid architectures for ternary D-flipflop designs have also been proposed that are implemented using a combination of ternary buffer, STIs and successor-predecessor circuits. Using these ternary D-flipflop designs, ternary 3- trit synchronous and asynchronous counters are designed in this paper. The proposed designs are simulated using HSPICE and a standard Stanford CNFET model. The proposed ternary D-flipflops show an improvement of up to 93.5% in power, up to 44.7% in delay and up to 94.3% in PDP compared to existing designs.
inhibition of epithelial tissue injury promotion of lymphohematopoietic graft-versus-host reactions and in graft-versus-host disease reflect γ Paradoxical effects of IFN

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Banking Sector Development and Economic Growth in Sri Lanka: An Econometric Analysis

Purpose: This study aims to explore the role of the banking sector in elevating the economic growth of Sri Lanka by identifying the short-run and long-run relationship between banking sector development and economic growth in Sri Lanka. Design/Methodology/Approach: This study uses annual data for the period 1960 to 2019 from World Bank's Global Financial Development Database and World Development Indicators. Odedokun's model, which assumes the causation between financial development to economic growth, is employed using the bound test within the ARDL framework. Findings: The estimated long-term parameter of the banking industry development indicator was found to be positively affected economic growth by supporting supply-led growth model. The estimations of the Error Correction Model provide a broad picture of the short-term relationship, and the results are highly consistent with the results of the long-term model. Granger Causality test found that the banking sector development granger cause to the GDP indicating a unilateral relationship. Originality: This study differs from the existing studies, which focus on the neoclassical one-sector aggregate production model. Financial development is input along with other real sector variables to identify the short-run and long-run relationship with the help of a newly developed econometric approach.
Narcissistic personality features and contingencies of self-worth: What are the foundations of narcissistic self-esteem?

ABSTRACT Although different aspects of narcissism share certain similarities, it is believed that they may differ with regard to the domains upon which feelings of self-worth are based. To explore this possibility, the present research examined the associations that narcissistic personality features had with domain-specific contingencies of self-worth. Across five studies (N = 846/751/1,055/471/257), the assertive/extraverted, antagonistic/disagreeable, and vulnerable/neurotic aspects of narcissism had similar associations with the competition-based contingency. However, these aspects of narcissism diverged in their associations with other contingencies of self-worth. The pattern that emerged for vulnerable/neurotic narcissism suggested that it was characterized by a broad desire to please others in order to receive external validation. In contrast, the results for the assertive/extraverted and antagonistic/disagreeable aspects of narcissism were more complex and suggested that these aspects of narcissism were characterized by the desire to demonstrate superiority over others. Communal narcissism was included in Study 5 and its pattern of associations with the contingencies of self-worth was similar to the results for assertive/extraverted narcissism. These results demonstrate the similarities and important differences between narcissistic personality features with regard to contingencies of self-worth. Discussion will focus on the implications of these results for understanding the foundations of narcissistic self-esteem.
Physico-Chemical and Mechanical Characterization of Triumfetta Pentandra Bast Fiber from the Equatorial Region of Cameroon as a Potential Reinforcement of Polymer Composites

ABSTRACT This study aims at characterizing Triumfetta Pentandra (TP) bast fibers from the equatorial region of Cameroon and evaluating its potential as a strengthening agent in a polymer matrix. The fibers were extracted from the bark of the plant by water retting method and subjected to phytochemical, morphological, thermal, and mechanical characterization. Phytochemical analysis revealed that the fibers were made up of several elementary fibers cross the whole section, which were composed of celluloses (61.10%), hemicelluloses (14.30%), lignins (17.73%), pectins (5.65%), and other extracts (0.86%). A fiber density of 0.351 g/cm3, was recorded which was relatively small compared to other plant fibers. They are hydrophilic with a water absorption of 183.31%, which corresponds to the presence of free hydroxyl functions as confirmed from the spectrometry study (FTIR). Also, the fibers exhibit significant thermal stability up to 220°C with a peak thermal decomposition of cellulose located at 380°C. A crystallinity index of 28.84% was obtained. Finally, mechanical studies indicated; a tensile Young’s modulus of 1.85 GPa, tensile strength of 1503.57 MPa and an elongation at break of 8%. These results show that Triumfetta Pentandra fibers are very suitable for reinforcing polymer matrix composite materials.
Ultra Super Fast Authentication Protocol for Electric Vehicle Charging Using Extended Chaotic Maps

Due to the explosive increase of electric vehicles (EVs) and universal charging stations (CS), achieving fast authentication is an important topic in the vehicle-to-grid (V2G) network at present. Fast authentication cannot only forcefully defend potential adversaries but also can greatly speed up the charging process between EVs and CSs. Although many researchers have realized this problem and proposed some lightweight cryptographic protocols for fast EV charging, desired security features are not entirely satisfied, such as man-in-the-middle attacks, replay attacks, and impersonation attacks. In this article, we propose an ultra super fast authentication protocol for EV charging by utilizing the characteristics of extended chaotic maps. Furthermore, in view of the unsolved security issues mentioned previously, our proposed protocol can provide elaborate solutions to eliminate these possible attacks in a provable manner. Finally, compared with the relevant authentication protocols for V2G network, the communication and computation costs of our protocol are decreased a lot.
Minimally Invasive Surgery Periodontal Therapy for the Treatment of Intrabony Periodontal Defects: A Systematic Review

Background: Minimally invasive therapeutic approaches have become the standard of care for many medical procedures. Conventional periodontal surgical therapies involve extensive tissue reflection, resulting in increased morbidity which stands to reason out that Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) approach for periodontal therapy would result in less morbidity and better esthetics for the patient. Thus, the aim of this review is to assess the clinical efficacy of MIS periodontal therapy compared to conventional access flap surgery for the treatment of intrabony periodontal defects. Materials and Methods: An electronic and manual search was done to identify and collect studies evaluating MIS periodontal therapy for the treatment of intrabony periodontal defects in terms of periodontal probing depth (PPD) reduction, clinical attachment level (CAL) gain, and gingival recession (REC) with a minimum of 6 month follow-up published in English. Six studies which satisfied the inclusion criteria were included for the review and the data extracted. Results: The six included studies contributed to a total of 193 patients who underwent 93 MIS therapies for treating intrabony defects with at least a 6-month follow-up. Clinical evaluation showed a PPD reduction ranging from 3.55 ± 0.88 mm to 5.2 ± 1.6 mm, while CAL gain ranged from 2.82 ± 1.19 mm to 4.5 ± 1.1 mm, while the change in gingival margin level ranged from 0.06 mm to 0.5 mm. Only one study directly compared single flap approach (SFA) (a type of MIS) to double flap approach (papilla preservation flap) which reported PPD reduction and CAL gain to be better in SFA. Conclusion: Even though the above evidence compels us to believe that minimally invasive periodontal surgery is less invasive, less time consuming, and less morbid, the lack of enough studies directly comparing MIS with conventional access flap surgeries suggest that these conclusions are arbitrary. Thus, there is currently an absence of adequate evidence to substantiate the beneficial effect of minimally invasive periodontal surgical approach compared to a conventional access flap surgery for the treatment of intrabony periodontal defects.