Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Management of urethrovaginal fistulae

Purpose of review Urethrovaginal fistulae are a rare condition. It is a conceptual mistake to consider urethrovaginal fistulae to be synonymous with vesicovaginal fistulae. Urethrovaginal fistulae are a different entity requiring special attention and treatment. Due to the wide variety and individuality of the clinical manifestations of these injuries, it is practically impossible to find and create common guidelines for treatment. Taking into account the difficulty of urethrovaginal fistula treatment, we decided to conduct a review of the current literature on this subject. Recent findings Due to advances in obstetric care, urologists in the developed world encounter urethrovaginal fistulae rarely, and many of the fistulae seen are secondary to vaginal surgery. Surgical treatment procedures include direct primary anatomical repair and interpositional tissue restorations, mainly by Martius flap. Successful direct anatomical repair alone may result in the development of stress urinary incontinence or obstructed voiding in up to 50% of patients. Synthetic tape should be removed during fistula repair, which may lead to the resumption of stress incontinence. Summary Prevention of urethrovaginal fistulae can be achieved through both improvements in obstetric care and adequate training in vaginal surgery. The success of any surgical treatment depends on careful patient selection, and assumes knowledge of all possible treatment options. Potential work needs to be directed towards the application of the newest molecular technologies.
Health, Education and Economic Growth: Testing for Long-Run Relationships and Causal Links in the United States

This paper examines the causal relationships between human capital (Education, and Health) and Economic growth for the USA using time series approach for the period 1929-1997. We find cointegration between the variables under study. The EC-VAR investigations show bi-directional causality between Education and Health. Causality also exists from Education to Economic growth. On the other hand, causality is found between Health and Economic growth and not the reverse. We therefore perform variance decomposition and impulse response functions to see the importance of the impacts among these variables. The results show that the long-run dynamics of growth are slightly explained by past health and education level, and the health level account for 10% of the evolution of education in the long run.
Doping Control from a Global and National Perspective

Abstract: The practice of enhancing athletic performance through foreign substances was known from the earliest Olympic games. In 1967, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) established a Medical Commission responsible for developing a list of prohibited substances and methods. Drug tests were first introduced at the Olympic winter games in Grenoble and at the summer games in Mexico City in 1968. In February 1999, the IOC convened the World Conference on Doping in Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland. The Lausanne Declaration on Doping in Sport recommended creation of an International Anti-Doping Agency. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) was formed in Lausanne, Switzerland on the basis of equal representation from the Olympic movement and public authorities. One of the mandates of WADA was to harmonize the Olympic antidoping code and develop a single code applicable and acceptable for all stakeholders. The world antidoping code developed by WADA included creation of several international standards (IS). The purpose of each IS was harmonization among antidoping organizations. The ISs were developed for laboratories, testing, the prohibited list, and for therapeutic use exemptions (TUE). The objective of this manuscript is to present a brief history of doping in sport and describe creation of WADA in 1999. The components of the World Anti-Doping code (in particular, the Therapeutic Use Exclusion program or TUE) is described. The WADA code defines a TUE as “permission to use, for therapeutic purposes, a drug or drugs which are otherwise prohibited in sporting competition. ” Experiences of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport Doping Control Review Board are presented because this national TUE committee has been operational for over 12 years. The challenge of developing a rigorous global antidoping program requires acceptance of doping as a problem by sport organizations, athletes, and public authorities. Individual stakeholders must be prepared to preserve the values of sport, which means free from doping. This will require vigilance by all interested parties for the benefit of elite athletes and society overall.
Multi-Layer Diagnosis for Fault-Tolerant Networks-on-Chip

In order to tolerate faults that emerge in operating Networks-on-Chip, diagnosis techniques are employed for fault detection and localization. On various network layers, diverse diagnosis methods can be employed which differ in terms of their impact on network performance (e.g., by operating concurrently versus pre-empting regular network operation) and the quality of diagnostic results. In this contribution, we show how diagnosis techniques of different network layers of a Network-on-Chip can be combined into multi-layer solutions. We present the cross-layer information flow used for the interaction between the layers and show the resulting benefit of the combination compared to layer-specific diagnosis. For evaluation, we investigate the diagnosis quality and the impact on system performance to explore the entire design space of layer-specific techniques and their multi-layer combinations. We identify pareto-optimal combinations that offer an increase of system performance by a factor of four compared to the single-layer diagnosis.
3D Object Recognition by Surface Registration of Interest Segments

An object recognition system Based on registering repeatable interest segments from 3D surfaces is presented. The strength of this approach lies in its independence of local features, which can be unreliable when corrupted by noise, and indistinct for certain objects and surfaces. The proposed framework is Based on recent advances in segmenting 3D data into repeatable interest segments, followed by efficient surface registration of model and scene segments, where pose clustering returns the best pose candidates. A quality measure Based on reprojection of the model points and pose refinement are then used to select the best pose. The proposed method is demonstrated experimentally to be both accurate and robust when tested against a variety of partially occluded free-form objects in cluttered scenes, achieving an average accuracy of 93% on an accurate and high resolution LiDAR data set, and 81% on a noisy and low resolution Kinect data set.
Specialist Accommodation: Definition, Markets Served, and Roles in Tourism Development

This anicle defines specialist accommodation facilities and reviews their role in tourism development. The growth of specialist accommodation establishments is discussed in the contert of recent trends in the tourism market. Drawing from a broad range of inter national research studies, the article reviews the role of specialist accommodation in rural development and in meeting the needs of special-interest markets. Taking an international perspective, it also compares specialist accommodation guests with those of traditional accommodation establishments using data from a national survey of U.S. travelers. Differ ences in the sociodemographic and travel characteristics of the two types of accommoda tion guests are highlighted. Suggestions for future research on specialist accommodation establishments are provided.
Expression of Progesterone Receptor (PR) A and B Isoforms in Mouse Granulosa Cells: Stage-Dependent PR-Mediated Regulation of Apoptosis and Cell Proliferation1

Abstract The intracellular progesterone receptor (PR) in the mammalian ovary is a part of the physiological pathway that facilitates ovulation. Two PR isoforms (A and B) exist, with different molecular and biological functions. Previous studies have revealed that the cellular ratio of the PR isoforms is important for progesterone-responsive tissues and is under developmental control in different species. However, the relative expression of PR isoforms in the ovary is unknown. In this study we have demonstrated first that the expression of both PR isoforms in mouse granulosa cells was rapidly up-regulated by hCG treatment and dramatically down-regulated when the granulosa cells were undergoing luteinization. The relative level of protein expression of the A and B forms was 2:1 and the highest total PR protein expression was found after hCG stimulation. Second, we demonstrated that the expression of PR protein was specific to granulosa cells of periovulatory follicles and was absent in undifferentiated granulosa cells of growing follicles. It was not detected in other cell types (i.e., corpora lutea or any stage of follicles with features of apoptosis). Third, we demonstrated that treatment with the PR antagonist RU 486 in vivo resulted in down-regulation of both isoforms in parallel with increased activation of caspase-3, a decreased level of proliferating cell nuclear antigen, and a reduced rate of ovulation. Fourth, we demonstrated, in vitro, that the PR antagonists RU 486 and Org 31710 increased internucleosomal DNA fragmentation parallel with a decrease in DNA synthesis in granulosa cells, which express PR. These results indicate that PR and its isoforms participate in regulation of ovulation, along with suppression of granulosa cell apoptosis and promotion of cell survival in the mouse ovary.
Which Interest Rate for Evaluating Projects?

Abstract: Selecting the interest rate for evaluating potential projects is a key part of the capital budgeting problem. Approaches include (1) the marginal or weighted average cost of capital (WACC), (2) the opportunity cost of capital (from IRR ranking), (3) the theoretically optimal intersection of the first two, (4) risk adjusted rates for equity from capital asset pricing theory—which are usually folded into the WACC as the equity component of the WACC, and (5) portfolio selection models with organizational and political factors. This article describes each approach's theoretical basis, strengths, and weaknesses. The article then attempts to reconcile these disparate approaches into a practical and theoretically sound approach to the project selection problem.
Detection of chewing motion in the elderly using a glasses mounted accelerometer in a real-life environment

This paper describes a method of detecting an elderly person's chewing motion using a glasses mounted accelerometer. A real-life dataset was collected from 13 elderly adults, aged 65 or older, during meal times in a care facility. A supervised classifier is used to automatically distinguish between epochs of chewing and non-chewing activity. Results are compared to a lab dataset of 5 young to middle-aged adults captured in previous work. K-Nearest Neighbor, Random Forest and Support Vector Machine classifiers are evaluated. All are able to achieve similar performance, with the Support Vector Machine performing the best with an F1-score of 0.73
Optimal control of gene expression for fast proteome adaptation to environmental change

Significance For rapid growth in different environments, bacterial cells must perpetually adapt their enzyme levels to efficiently metabolize different sets of nutrients in different surroundings. When environmental shifts are frequent and swift, the bacteria must rapidly adjust the levels of all their different proteins—their proteome. We have theoretically identified the best gene-expression strategy for rapid proteome adjustment upon environmental change and found simple, general descriptions for the dynamic change of the proteome composition and the adaptation time following such optimal strategy. Our work predicts important aspects of bacterial physiology and connects it with the population genetics and evolution of bacterial populations. Our theory is relevant to understanding antibiotic resistance and the development of strategies for maximal biomass production. Bacterial populations growing in a changing world must adjust their proteome composition in response to alterations in the environment. Rapid proteome responses to growth medium changes are expected to increase the average growth rate and fitness value of these populations. Little is known about the dynamics of proteome change, e.g., whether bacteria use optimal strategies of gene expression for rapid proteome adjustments and if there are lower bounds to the time of proteome adaptation in response to growth medium changes. To begin answering these types of questions, we modeled growing bacteria as stoichiometrically coupled networks of metabolic pathways. These are balanced during steady-state growth in a constant environment but are initially unbalanced after rapid medium shifts due to a shortage of enzymes required at higher concentrations in the new environment. We identified an optimal strategy for rapid proteome adjustment in the absence of protein degradation and found a lower bound to the time of proteome adaptation after medium shifts. This minimal time is determined by the ratio between the Kullback–Leibler distance from the pre- to the postshift proteome and the postshift steady-state growth rate. The dynamics of optimally controlled proteome adaptation has a simple analytical solution. We used detailed numerical modeling to demonstrate that realistic bacterial control systems can emulate this optimal strategy for rapid proteome adaptation. Our results may provide a conceptual link between the physiology and population genetics of growing bacteria.
Proving the pudding: optimising the structure of academic development

This paper questions the value of the current trend towards mandating formal teaching accreditation in higher education and argues that the ‘just-in-time’ nature of short training programmes coupled with on-going occasional mentoring is likely to result in more productive professional development for academic teachers. Specifically, the paper considers the increasing use of the graduate certificate as a means to improve practice despite the sparseness and contradictory nature of evidential data (as opposed to surveys of perceptions) supporting their efficacy as instruments of professional development. Finally the paper presents a case for less formal training and development, arguing that because universities have changed substantially in response to demands for greater access in terms of a much wider intake; in response to the increasing managerial emphasis on productivity and in response to the maelstrom of unmediated communication that has characterised the early part of the twenty-first century, a more pragmatic approach to academic development is required.
Foreign direct investment into Denmark before 1939: Patterns and Scandinavian contrasts

Drawing on a new database, this article presents the first systematic description and assessment of inward FDI into Denmark before World War II. A total of 168 cases were identified, with British, American and German firms dominating the overall picture as might be expected. The composition varies, however, over time and industries. The material shows that FDIs arrived in five distinct ‘waves’ each characterised by a lead nation and industry. The period under observation saw the transformation of an agricultural Denmark into an industrialised nation, which is reflected in the five waves, which were primarily directed towards ‘new’ industries. The article thus offers a link to Danish economic history in general. The material also enables a comparison with FDI into Norway and Sweden over the same period. For the purposes of allowing a discussion of the comparative aspect, FDI-related attitudes, legislation and policies are outlined. While Norway was an anti-FDI hardliner, Sweden took a softer stand and Denmark never abandoned its liberal attitudes. This new material allows us to conclude that, from an FDI perspective, the three nations were not one unit: Denmark broke the ‘Scandinavian pattern’.
On the Relation of Graph Grammars and Graph Automata

It is shown that a strong relationship exists between sets of graphs defined by graph (walking) automata with markers available and sets defined by graph grammars. Polynomial recognition algorithms are presented for certain classes of sets and it is argued that the existence of polynomial algorithms for other classes is doubtful. Other properties of the classes of sets defined by graph automata and graph grammars are also studied.
Glucocorticoid-Induced Leucine Zipper Inhibits the Raf-Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase Pathway by Binding to Raf-1

ABSTRACT Glucocorticoid-induced leucine zipper (GILZ) is a leucine zipper protein, whose expression is augmented by dexamethasone (DEX) treatment and downregulated by T-cell receptor (TCR) triggering. Stable expression of GILZ in T cells mimics some of the effects of glucocorticoid hormones (GCH) in GCH-mediated immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory activity. In fact, GILZ overexpression inhibits TCR-activated NF-κB nuclear translocation, interleukin-2 production, FasL upregulation, and the consequent activation-induced apoptosis. We have investigated the molecular mechanism underlying GILZ-mediated regulation of T-cell activation by analyzing the effects of GILZ on the activity of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family members, including Raf, MAPK/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2 (MEK-1/2), ERK-1/2, and c-Jun NH2-terminal protein kinase (JNK). Our results indicate that GILZ inhibited Raf-1 phosphorylation, which resulted in the suppression of both MEK/ERK-1/2 phosphorylation and AP-1-dependent transcription. We demonstrate that GILZ interacts in vitro and in vivo with endogenous Raf-1 and that Raf-1 coimmunoprecipitated with GILZ in murine thymocytes treated with DEX. Mapping of the binding domains and experiments with GILZ mutants showed that GILZ binds the region of Raf interacting with Ras through the NH2-terminal region. These data suggest that GILZ contributes, through protein-to-protein interaction with Raf-1 and the consequent inhibition of Raf-MEK-ERK activation, to regulating the MAPK pathway and to providing a further mechanism underlying GCH immunosuppression.
Determinants of Female Fertility in Taiwan, 1966–2001: Empirical Evidence from Cointegration and Variance Decomposition Analysis*

This study investigates the determinants of the fertility rate in Taiwan over the period 1966-2001. Consistent with theory, the key explanatory variables in Taiwan's fertility model are real income, infant mortality rate, female education and female labor force participation rate. The test for cointegration is based on the recently developed bounds testing procedure while the long-run and short-run elasticities are based on the autoregressive distributed lag model. Among our key results, female education and female labor force participation rate are found to be the key determinants of fertility in Taiwan in the long run. The variance decom-position analysis indicates that in the long run approximately 45percent of the variation in fertility is explained by the combined impact of female labor force participation, mortality and income, implying that socioeconomic development played an important role in the fertility transition in Taiwan. This result is consistent with the traditional structural hypothesis. Copyright 2006 East Asian Economic Association and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Satisfaction and Experience With a Supervised Home-Based Real-Time Videoconferencing Telerehabilitation Exercise Program in People with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Telerehabilitation, consisting of supervised home-based exercise training via real-time videoconferencing, is an alternative method to deliver pulmonary rehabilitation with potential to improve access. The aims were to determine the level of satisfaction and experience of an eight-week supervised home-based telerehabilitation exercise program using real-time videoconferencing in people with COPD. Quantitative measures were the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire-8 (CSQ-8) and a purpose-designed satisfaction survey. A qualitative component was conducted using semi-structured interviews. Nineteen participants (mean (SD) age 73 (8) years, forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) 60 (23) % predicted) showed a high level of satisfaction in the CSQ-8 score and 100% of participants reported a high level of satisfaction with the quality of exercise sessions delivered using real-time videoconferencing in participant satisfaction survey. Eleven participants undertook semi-structured interviews. Key themes in four areas relating to the telerehabilitation service emerged: positive virtual interaction through technology; health benefits; and satisfaction with the convenience and use of equipment. Participants were highly satisfied with the telerehabilitation exercise program delivered via videoconferencing.
Linear and Nonlinear Spectroscopy by a Common-Path Birefringent Interferometer

We introduce a passive common-path interferometer to replace Michelson interferometers in the Fourier-transform spectroscopy. Our device exploits birefringence to introduce a highly accurate delay between two orthogonal polarization components by continuously varying the material thickness. Due to its inherent delay stability and reproducibility, it can be used even for short wavelengths (down to ~200 nm) without the need for any active control or position tracking. We first demonstrate its performances in linear spectroscopy, by implementing a spectrometer and a spectrophotometer. We then extend its use to nonlinear spectroscopy and, in combination with lock-in detection at MHz modulation frequencies, illustrate its application to pump-probe spectroscopy with high sensitivity (ΔT/T<;3·10-6 in 1-s integration time) and broad spectral coverage (>500 nm) and to broadband stimulated Raman scattering microscopy in the CH stretching region.
Human Tim-Tipin complex affects the biochemical properties of the replicative DNA helicase and DNA polymerases

Tim (Timeless) and Tipin (Tim-interacting protein) form a stable heterodimeric complex that influences checkpoint responses and replication fork progression. We report that the Tim-Tipin complex interacts with essential replication fork proteins and affects their biochemical properties. The Tim-Tipin complex, reconstituted and purified using the baculovirus expression system, interacts directly with Mcm complexes and inhibits the single-stranded DNA-dependent ATPase activities of the Mcm2-7 and Mcm4/6/7 complexes, the DNA unwinding activity of the Mcm4/6/7 complex, and the DNA unwinding and ATPase activity of Cdc45-Mcm2-7-GINS complex, the presumed replicative DNA helicase in eukaryotes. Although stable interactions between Tim-Tipin and DNA polymerases (pols) were not observed in immunoprecipitation experiments with purified proteins, Tim was shown to interact with DNA pols α, δ, and ɛ in cells. Furthermore, the Tim-Tipin complex significantly stimulated the pol activities of DNA pols α, δ, and ɛ in vitro. The effects of Tim-Tipin on the catalytic activities of the Mcm complexes and DNA pols are mediated by the Tim protein alone, and distinct regions of the Tim protein are responsible for the inhibition of Mcm complex activities and stimulation of DNA pols. These results suggest that the Tim-Tipin complex might play a role in coupling DNA unwinding and DNA synthesis by directly affecting the catalytic activities of replication fork proteins.