Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
[Impact of pregnancy on female sexual function].

PURPOSE To investigate the impact of pregnancy on female sexual function. METHODS An analytical, cross-sectional study was conducted on 181 non-pregnant and 177 pregnant women aged 18 to 45 years. The study included premenopausal, sexually active women with a steady partner and excluded those taking antidepressants or with a diagnosis of depression. Eleven of these women (6.2%) were in the first trimester, 50 (28.2%), in the second trimester and 116 (65.5%), in the third trimester of pregnancy. The evaluation consisted of an interview in which the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) was applied. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software, version 16.0. The nonparametric Mann-Whitney test was used to compare the mean FSFI values of pregnant and non-pregnant women. RESULTS Sexual dysfunction was 40.4% among pregnant women and 23.3% among non-pregnant women, with a significant difference between the scores of the studied groups (p=0.01). The difference in the mean global FSFI values between the groups was also significant (p<0.0001). There were significant differences between pregnant and non-pregnant women regarding desire (p<0.0001), excitation (p=0.003), lubrication (p=0.02), orgasm (p=0.005) and satisfaction (p=0.03). The same was not observed regarding pain. CONCLUSION We conclude that pregnancy negatively influences female sexual function, particularly the desire and excitement domains, revealing the importance of addressing the issue by professionals dealing with pregnant women.
Dual-mode slot coupled ring dielectric resonator antenna with diversified radiation characteristics

The paper explores a dual-band ring dielectric resonator antenna with diversified far-field characteristics. Two important features of this research article are: (i) simplified excitation mechanism creates two radiating modes inside this ring DRA i.e. HEM11δ and TM01δ(ii) diversified radiation pattern obtains in different frequency bands i.e. broadsided in lower frequency band while end fire in upper one. The proposed radiator has been optimized on Ansoft HFSS EM simulator. Final results have been confirmed by using CST-MWS. The proposed structure works in two different radiating frequency bands and those are: 2.4–2.9 and 4.5–4.7 GHz.
Influence of opioids on immune function in patients with cancer pain: from bench to bedside

In patients with cancer, opioids are principally used for the management of acute surgical and chronic cancer‐related pain. However, opioids have many non‐analgesic effects, including direct and indirect effects on cancer cells and on anti‐tumour immunity (NK cells, macrophages and T‐cells). Direct effects on immune cells are manifested via opioid and non‐opioid toll‐like receptors, whereas indirect effects are manifested via the sympathetic nervous system and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis. Opioids can also decrease/alter immune cell infiltration into the tumour micro‐environment. Animal models have shown that this is not a class effect, in that morphine and fentanyl suppress NK cell cytotoxicity; buprenorphine does not affect NK cell cytotoxicity, whereas tramadol increases NK cell cytotoxicity, reducing metastasis. In healthy individuals, morphine suppresses and fentanyl enhances NK cell cytotoxicity. In patients undergoing surgery, fentanyl decreased and tramadol increased NK cell cytotoxicity; clinical outcomes were not determined. Meta‐analyses of opioid‐sparing surgical studies report an association between improved recurrence‐free and/or overall survival with regional/neuraxial anaesthesia compared with systemic opioids. In patients receiving opioids for non‐surgical cancer‐related pain, morphine has variable effects on immunity; clinical outcomes were not assessed. Although there is a potential association between systemic opioid administration and shorter survival in cancer patients with a prognosis of months to years, studies have not been designed to primarily assess survival, as a consequence of which causality cannot be apportioned. Pain is immunosuppressive, so analgesia is important. Opioids for cancer‐related pain will continue to be recommended until definitive data on the effects of opioids on clinical outcomes in specific patient groups becomes available.
Simulation modeling of the criminal justice system and process

The purpose of this paper is to provide a primer for criminal justice professionals and a resource for computer scientists on simulation modeling as it has been and can be applied to the criminal justice system and process (CJSAP). Simulation will be defined, as well as classified on analogdigital, abstract-concrete, and deterministic-probabilistic continuums. Ten conditions necessary for the criminal justice professional to seek a simulation modeling solution are spelled out, along with six conditions necessary for the effectiveness of simulation modeling. Some pitfalls of modeling in the CJSAP are discussed along with a caution about four types of criminal justice professionals that simulation scientists might encounter. A brief historical sketch of simulation is presented in a general context and to the CJSAP in particular. Successful simulation models that have been developed in the areas of overall criminal justice planning, police patrols, court management, juror management, corrections, parole/probation, juvenile deliquency, felony investigations, police communications, prosecution, and offender tracking are identified and described. An extensive list of 126 references is provided. The paper identifies areas within the CJSAP that still have not received attention from simulation modelers or for which there is a paucity of models.
Childhood overweight problem in a selected school district in Hawaii

Anthropometric measurements were collected from 1,437 public school students in a selected school district in Hawaii every year from 1992 to 1996. Results showed that boys and girls of Hawaiian ancestry (HA) are generally taller in stature and somewhat heavier in weight than their non‐Hawaiian counterparts (Non‐HA). Also, there are no clear differences between the two groups in BMI, sums of skinfolds, waist and hip circumferences, and waist/hip circumference ratios. When compared to data from NHANES III (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), the median statures of HA boys and girls are very close to the median statures of NHANES III, but the body weights of HA are heavier at most ages. Also, the BMI values of HA are distinctly higher and their medians are closer to the 75th percentile of NHANES III. In addition, the values of the sums of skinfolds and the waist and hip circumferences of HA are also higher at most ages than NHANES III. These multiple anthropometric indicators suggest that there might be more overweight children and adolescents of HA. When compared to the statistics in NHANES III, there are twice as many HA and Non‐HA boys and girls classified as obese. Clearly, a serious childhood problem exists among the children in this selected school district in Hawaii. More research is needed in other school districts in Hawaii. Also, it is suggested in this study that using multiple anthropometric indicators, rather than a single one, may be more accurate and appropriate in determining overweight problems in a youth population. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 15:164–177, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Bank Concentration and Misallocation of Credit: Evidence from Firm Entry and Exit

This paper empirically investigates the effect of interbank competition and misallocation of credit on the creation and destruction of establishments. Using industry and prefecture level establishment data from Japan, we find that concentration in the banking sector negatively affects start-up and exit rates in industries with a greater dependence on external financing and a greater value of intangible fixed assets. Next, we examined the effect of banks’ misallocation of credit. We find the effect of bank concentration on start-up and exit rates in informational opaque industries is weakened by the presence of zombie, financially unhealthy, and otherwise insolvent firms. We also find firm entry in informational opaque industries is encouraged in a market where government capital injected banks operate, offsetting the negative effects of bank concentration. Banks’ non-performing loans have no significant effect on firm entry and exit. These results suggest bank loan market structure, the presence of zombie firms, and an increase of credit supply following capital injection into banks play a significant role regarding firm entry and exit.
Establishing trust in heterogeneous networks

Many scenarios require confidential communication and protection against active attackers. The way to establish trust between devices and authenticate these networks depends completely on the scenario. In Body Area Networks human biometrics can serve as a shared secret among devices. In real-time voice communication, the ZRTP protocol allows for interactive trust establishment by recognizing the peer's voice. In asynchronous networks, such as email, other interactive mechanisms have been deployed, such as key fingerprint verification. In our research, we are analyzing the security and usability of existing trust mechanisms for heterogeneous networks. Furthermore, we are proposing protocol changes and new mechanisms to establish trust between devices. In this paper an overview is given over existing and upcoming research in this area. For synchronous networks, human biometrics, such as human gait or a peer's voice, are used as trust anchors. For asynchronous networks, the usability of interactive public-key verification mechanism are analyzed as trust anchors.
Optimization of Formaldehyde Cross-Linking for Protein Interaction Analysis of Non-Tagged Integrin β1

Formaldehyde cross-linking of protein complexes combined with immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry analysis is a promising technique for analysing protein-protein interactions, including those of transient nature. Here we used integrin β1 as a model to describe the application of formaldehyde cross-linking in detail, particularly focusing on the optimal parameters for cross-linking, the detection of formaldehyde cross-linked complexes, the utility of antibodies, and the identification of binding partners. Integrin β1 was found in a high molecular weight complex after formaldehyde cross-linking. Eight different anti-integrin β1 antibodies were used for pull-down experiments and no loss in precipitation efficiency after cross-linking was observed. However, two of the antibodies could not precipitate the complex, probably due to hidden epitopes. Formaldehyde cross-linked complexes, precipitated from Jurkat cells or human platelets and analyzed by mass spectrometry, were found to be composed of integrin β1, α4 and α6 or β1, α6, α2, and α5, respectively.
Critical analysis of the successes and failures of homology models of G protein‐coupled receptors

We present a critical assessment of the performance of our homology model refinement method for G protein‐coupled receptors (GPCRs), called LITICon that led to top ranking structures in a recent structure prediction assessment GPCRDOCK2010. GPCRs form the largest class of drug targets for which only a few crystal structures are currently available. Therefore, accurate homology models are essential for drug design in these receptors. We submitted five models each for human chemokine CXCR4 (bound to small molecule IT1t and peptide CVX15) and dopamine D3DR (bound to small molecule eticlopride) before the crystal structures were published. Our models in both CXCR4/IT1t and D3/eticlopride assessments were ranked first and second, respectively, by ligand RMSD to the crystal structures. For both receptors, we developed two types of protein models: homology models based on known GPCR crystal structures, and ab initio models based on the prediction method MembStruk. The homology‐based models compared better to the crystal structures than the ab initio models. However, a robust refinement procedure for obtaining high accuracy structures is needed. We demonstrate that optimization of the helical tilt, rotation, and translation is vital for GPCR homology model refinement. As a proof of concept, our in‐house refinement program LITiCon captured the distinct orientation of TM2 in CXCR4, which differs from that of adrenoreceptors. These findings would be critical for refining GPCR homology models in future. Proteins 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
African National Anthems: Their Value System and Normative 'Potential'

Arguably, a national anthem defines a country’s identity. Globally, it it regarded as a symbol of national unity. In Africa, they assert a country’s independence from colonial imperialism. Despite their strong symbolism and nationalistic ingenuity, national anthems have remained latent in both academic and policy discourses. Moreover, they not only exhibit nationalistic elements, but also propagandistic, aggressive or even chauvinistic constructs. In view of this dichotomy, the debate continues to deepen as the dilemma unveils, how to reconcile the positive elements of the national anthems with the antagonistic lyrics they produce in order to promote values and norms for full realization of ‘African potentials? ’ Drawing upon Ian Manners’s concept of ‘normative power,’ this article employs thematic network analysis tools to examine the pattern of lyrics within the African national anthems as potential sources of ‘norms’ for framing the philosophy of ‘African potentials. ’ This article goes beyond the common argument that national anthems are historical effigies to discover the ‘potentials’ within the diversity of constructs emerging from their lyrics and thematic
Effects of isolated hip abductor fatigue on frontal plane knee mechanics.

PURPOSE Anterior cruciate ligament injuries and patellofemoral pain syndrome are both common and significant injuries to the knee that have been associated with hip weakness. Prospective studies have linked the risk of experiencing either injury to alterations in the frontal plane knee angle and moment during activity. These components of knee mechanics are theorized to be affected by hip abductor weakness. The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of isolated hip abductor fatigue-induced weakness on lower extremity kinematics and kinetics in recreationally active women. METHODS Twenty participants performed cut, jump, and run tasks off a raised platform while three-dimensional motion analysis data were collected.Participants then performed an isolated hip abductor fatigue protocol in side lying against isokinetic resistance, followed immediately by repeated biomechanical data collection. Separate repeated-measures ANOVA (P G 0.05) were used for each dependent variable. RESULTS After the hip fatigue protocol, regardless of task, the knee angle at initial ground contact was more adducted (pre = 0.7 degrees +/- 3.4 degrees, post = 1.2 degrees +/- 3.9 degrees, F(1,19) = 5.3, P = 0.032), the knee underwent greater range of motion into abduction (pre = 0.7 degrees +/- 1.5 degrees, post = 2.1 degrees +/- 1.6 degrees, F(1,19) = 73.2, P < 0.001), and there was a greater internal knee adductor moment (pre = -2.6 +/- 13.3 N x m, post = 4.7 +/- 14.1 N x m, F(1,19) = 41.0, P < 0.001) during the weight acceptance phase of stance. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates that simulated hip abductor weakness causes small alterations of frontal plane knee mechanics. Although some of these alterations occurred in directions associated with increased risk of knee injury, changes were small in magnitude, and the effect of these small changes on knee injury risk is unknown.
State-of-the-art social customer relationship management

ABSTRACT The rise of social media challenges the traditional notion of customer relationship management (CRM) and has led to the emergence of social CRM. This study collected and content-analyzed recent literature along the intersection between social media and CRM, to present an overview of the social CRM research in tourism and hospitality. Findings indicate that most studies focus on the context of hotel and restaurant. These studies lack a solid theoretical underpinning and tend to adopt qualitative research methods. Five research themes are identified from supply-focused research, while two themes are observed from demand-focused research. Overall, uneven attention has been paid by researchers in the field, with more emphasis on supply than on demand sides. According to the findings of the literature review, a conceptual framework and a research agenda are presented. Theoretical and practical implications to the tourism and hospitality industry are also discussed.
What's Behind the Figures? Quantifying the Cross‐Country Exporter Productivity Gap

We present a simple framework that allows us to examine the cross-country exporter productivity gap without accessing confidential firm-level data. This gap depends on the three readily available statistics: the productivity gap between two countries; the export participation rates; and export premia. This gap holds irrespective of the distribution underlying firm productivity and irrespective of the presence of fixed costs. Under specific conditions, allocative efficiency may affect the exporter productivity gap. The empirical analysis globally validates this exercise.
Paths to nursing leadership.

AIM The aim was to explore why nurses enter nursing leadership and apply for a management position in health care. The study is part of a research programme in nursing leadership and evidence-based care. BACKGROUND Nursing has not invested enough in the development of nursing leadership for the development of patient care. There is scarce research on nurses' motives and reasons for committing themselves to a career in nursing leadership. METHOD A strategic sample of 68 Finnish nurse leaders completed a semistructured questionnaire. Analytic induction was applied in an attempt to generate a theory. FINDINGS A theory, Paths to Nursing Leadership, is proposed for further research. Four different paths were found according to variations between the nurse leaders' education, primary commitment and situational factors. They are called the Path of Ideals, the Path of Chance, the Career Path and the Temporary Path. CONCLUSION Situational factors and role models of good but also bad nursing leadership besides motivational and educational factors have played a significant role when Finnish nurses have entered nursing leadership. The educational requirements for nurse leaders and recruitment to nursing management positions need serious attention in order to develop a competent nursing leadership.
Image denoising using block classification in Contourlet domain

This paper presents a new image denoising method using block classification in Contourlet domain. The noise image is divided into 8×8 blocks. These blocks can be decomposed by the Contourlet into directional subbands while the block classification method provides the directional feature of input blocks. Based on this directional information, we propose the different thresholding processes with each input block. Thus, the new denoising algorithm proposed achieves better tradeoff between details retain and noises removal. Several experimental results show that the proposed new function is very effective and gives better performance both in terms of PSNR and in visual quality.
Investigating the association between synchronization and social capital

Social capital has been studied in economics, sociology and political science as one of the key elements that promotes the development of modern societies. It can be defined as the source of capital that facilitates cooperation through shared social norms. In this work we investigate whether and to what extent synchronization aspects of mobile communication patterns are associated with social capital metrics. Interestingly, our results show that our synchronization-based approach well correlates with existing social capital metrics (i.e., Referendum turnout, Blood donations, and Association density), being also able to characterize the different role played by high synchronization within a close proximity-based community and high synchronization among different communities. Hence, the proposed approach can provide timely, effective analysis at limited cost over a large territory.
Intrapreneurial Self-Capital: A Key Resource for Promoting Well-Being in a Shifting Work Landscape

Intrapreneurial Self-Capital (ISC) represents a promising individual resource that might be enhanced through intervention to help individuals cope adaptively with the ongoing changes that characterize the world of work and other life challenges in the 21st century. In order to examine the promise of this construct, the present study analyzed the relationship between ISC and both hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, controlling for the effects of personality traits, which are substantially stable and not amenable to psychological intervention. The Intrapreneurial Self-Capital Scale (ISCS), the Big Five Questionnaire (BFQ), the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), the Meaning in Life Measure (MLM), and the Flourishing Scale (FS), were administered to 563 Italian university students. Hierarchical regressions analyses showed that ISC explained a percentage of incremental variance beyond that accounted for by personality traits in relation to both hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. These results support the premise that ISC may be a promising resource for fostering both hedonic and eudaimonic well-being.
A parallel computing engine for a class of time critical processes

This paper focuses on the efficient parallel implementation of systems of numerically intensive nature over loosely coupled multiprocessor architectures. These analytical models are of significant importance to many real-time systems that have to meet severe time constants. A parallel computing engine (PCE) has been developed in this work for the efficient simplification and the near optimal scheduling of numerical models over the different cooperating processors of the parallel computer. First, the analytical system is efficiently coded in its general form. The model is then simplified by using any available information (e.g., constant parameters). A task graph representing the interconnections among the different components (or equations) is generated. The graph can then be compressed to control the computation/communication requirements. The task scheduler employs a graph-based iterative scheme, based on the simulated annealing algorithm, to map the vertices of the task graph onto a Multiple-Instruction-stream Multiple-Data-stream (MIMD) type of architecture. The algorithm uses a nonanalytical cost function that properly considers the computation capability of the processors, the network topology, the communication time, and congestion possibilities. Moreover, the proposed technique is simple, flexible, and computationally viable. The efficiency of the algorithm is demonstrated by two case studies with good results.
Feature extraction via multiresolution analysis for short-term load forecasting

The importance of short-term load forecasting has been increasing lately. With deregulation and competition, energy price forecasting has become a big business. Bus-load forecasting is essential to feed analytical methods utilized for determining energy prices. The variability and nonstationarity of loads are becoming worse, due to the dynamics of energy prices. Besides, the number of nodal loads to be predicted does not allow frequent interactions with load forecasting experts. More autonomous load predictors are needed in the new competitive scenario. This paper describes two strategies for embedding the discrete wavelet transform into neural network-based short-term load forecasting. Its main goal is to develop more robust load forecasters. Hourly load and temperature data for North American and Slovakian electric utilities have been used to test the proposed methodology.