Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Task Complexity Modulates Sleep-Related Offline Learning in Sequential Motor Skills

Recently, a number of authors have advocated the introduction of gross motor tasks into research on sleep-related motor offline learning. Such tasks are often designed to be more complex than traditional key-pressing tasks. However, until now, little effort has been undertaken to scrutinize the role of task complexity in any systematic way. Therefore, the effect of task complexity on the consolidation of gross motor sequence memory was examined by our group in a series of three experiments. Criterion tasks always required participants to produce unrestrained arm movement sequences by successively fitting a small peg into target holes on a pegboard. The sequences always followed a certain spatial pattern in the horizontal plane. The targets were visualized prior to each transport movement on a computer screen. The tasks differed with respect to sequence length and structural complexity. In each experiment, half of the participants initially learned the task in the morning and were retested 12 h later following a wake retention interval. The other half of the subjects underwent practice in the evening and was retested 12 h later following a night of sleep. The dependent variables were the error rate and total sequence execution time (inverse to the sequence execution speed). Performance generally improved during acquisition. The error rate was always low and remained stable during retention. The sequence execution time significantly decreased again following sleep but not after waking when the sequence length was long and structural complexity was high. However, sleep-related offline improvements were absent when the sequence length was short or when subjects performed a highly regular movement pattern. It is assumed that the occurrence of sleep-related offline performance improvements in sequential motor tasks is associated with a sufficient amount of motor task complexity.
Effects of Lactobacillus acidophilus on gut microbiota composition in broilers challenged with Clostridium perfringens

This study shows the effects of dietary supplementation with Lactobacillus acidophilus on the gut microbiota of broiler chickens challenged with Clostridium perfringens infection during a 21-day period according to pyrosequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene. In a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments, 308 1-day-old male Arbor Acres broiler chicks were analyzed for the effects of the probiotic (groups without or with L. acidophilus supplementation), pathogen challenge (groups without or with C. perfringens), and the effects of interaction. The infection decreased the number of Observed species, Chao1, and ACE of ileal microbiota and increased Chao1 of cecal microbiota of broilers, whereas L. acidophilus supplementation decreased the Shannon index of the ileal microbiota. Shannon index and Simpson indices were lower in the ileal microbiota than in the cecal microbiota. In the ileal microbiota, the control group had higher relative abundance of Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae in comparison with the other groups; however, the relative abundance of Gammaproteobacteria was significantly higher in the challenge group than in the other groups. C. perfringens infection tended to increase lactate concentration and decreasedconcentrations of formate, acetate and propionate in the ileum; decreased isobutyrate concentration; and tended to decrease isovalerate concentration in the cecum. Besides, L. acidophilus supplementation increased the concentration of lactate and butyrate and decreased concentrations of formate and propionate in the ileum, and increased concentrations of lactate and valerate in the cecum. In conclusion, C. perfringens infection and/or dietary supplementation with L. acidophilus modulated the relative abundance of some bacteria taxa, and the L. acidophilus supplementation helped to restore the microbial community disrupted by C. perfringens infection.
Cross-layer transmission rate/power policy for cognitive multi-access networks with imperfect sensing

We consider an underlay cognitive radio network with a primary user and a secondary user transmitting to a common receiver. The secondary user senses the primary user's channel to determine whether the primary user is active or idle. The secondary user's transmission policy is determined via a probabilistic cross-layer algorithm in which the secondary user's average packet delay is minimized subject to constraints on its average transmission power and the maximum probability of collision at the primary user. The proposed cross-layer algorithm determines the number of packets the secondary user transmits and the power policy used to transmit these packets.
The long-run equity performance of zero-leverage firms

Purpose - This paper aims to contribute to the existing finance literature on capital structure by examining the long-run equity performance of the firms that employ extremely conservative debt policy – zero leverage for three or five consecutive years. Design/methodology/approach - This paper measures the long-run equity performance of zero-debt firms with two commonly used methods: the buy-and-hold abnormal returns following Barber and Lyon, and the Fama and French three-factor models. The four-factor models are also used to check the robustness of the result. Findings - The authors find that zero-debt firms perform better over the long run based on the calendar-time portfolio regressions after adjusting for Fama-French factors. The results indicate that the persistent lack of debt in the capital structure seems an important determinant of stock returns, and the impact of extreme conservatism in debt policy is not fully captured by the theoretical and empirical risk proxies, such as beta, size, book-to-market, and momentum. Practical implications - The benefit of the present article for investors and portfolio managers is the identification of an additional important determinant of stock returns. Originality/value - This paper is the first article that thoroughly investigates the long-run stock returns of the firms that choose to stay debt free over an extended period of time.
The European Union: How does it work?

The European Union: How Does It Work? is a perfect first introduction to the European Union, providing concise, accessible coverage of all the main actors, policies, and developments in the EU. An expert team of leading scholars and practitioners cuts through the complexity to explain clearly how the EU works in theory and practice. The book equips readers with the knowledge and skills required to master the subject. Throughout the text engaging and innovative features such as ‘How it really works’ and ‘Compared to what? ’ boxes support the analysis, helping readers to think broadly and critically about the reality of EU politics and policy-making. This edition reflects the ongoing changes in the European Union in the aftermath of the Eurozone crisis, and also the changing global context in which the EU operates. In addition, it features a discussion of the topical debate about the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the EU.
White matter lesions defined by diffusion tensor imaging in older adults

The cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying magnetic resonance imaging‐defined white matter (WM) changes associated with age‐related cognitive decline remain poorly defined. We tested the hypothesis that WM lesions in older adults, defined by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), arise in the setting of vascular brain injury (VBI) and are characterized by increased free radical injury and aberrant oligodendrocyte lineage (OL) cell response to injury.
They Reap But Do Not Sow: How Multinational Corporations are Putting an End to Virtuous Capitalism

The actions of “world‐based” multinational corporations (MNCs) have effectively decoupled the revenue generation and the production sides of the business equation. This decoupling has led to an end of “virtuous capitalism,” which has widespread ramifications for the societies within highly developed countries as well as those in developing and underdeveloped nations. This article presents an overview of the defining aspects of virtuous corporations and the linkages to virtuous capitalism. It then describes the actions of Apple Computer as emblematic of an MNC that is nonvirtuous in its practices. The article then discusses how the encouragement of globalized trade has prompted the shift away from virtuous capitalism and closes with a summary of possible actions that could reverse the decline in corporate virtue.
Robin Hood's Compromise: Land Reforms, Inequality, Redistribution and Moral Hazard

This Paper analyses an unusually conservative type of redistribution. We take land from the very rich, as usual, but give it to the rich instead of the poor. We show that this type of reform reduces agency costs, thus increasing productivity, total surplus in the economy, and workers’ welfare. Compared to the classic redistribution ‘to the tiller’ it does worse in terms of equity and does not give the poor a collaterizable asset but it is likely to be more sustainable, both economically and politically.
Short-term Variation in Occupational Exposure to Air Contaminants

Many industrial workers are exposed to air contaminants. A significant proportion of this exposure is found to occur as short peaks, a fact that has received limited attention in the literature. The present study focuses on short-term variation in air contaminant exposure measured at the level of seconds, linking exposure peaks to typical work situations in selected Swedish industries. The video exposure monitoring method was used to characterize this variation. Ten different videos were analyzed, from recordings varying in length between 15 and 34 minutes. Cumulative exposure for sampling intervals ranked from high to low, relative to the total exposure was calculated as a function of time. Measures of exposure variation included geometric standard deviation and maximum exposure divided by arithmetic mean. The results show that the characteristics of the variation differ between industrial situations. Samples from the stone, wood, and pharmaceutical industries generated the highest variation, implying that exposure peaks of short duration explain a large proportion of the total exposure. It can be concluded that video monitoring of exposure, combined with calculation of exposure variation as percentage of time accounting for given percentages of exposure, can help to reduce exposure to air contaminants in industrial situations by introducing more targeted control measures.
The associations between air quality and the number of hospital admissions for acute pain and sickle‐cell disease in an urban environment

The clinical severity of sickle‐cell disease (SCD) is dependent on genetic and environmental variables. Environmental factors have been poorly studied. We have investigated possible links between air pollution and acute pain in SCD. We retrospectively studied the numbers of daily admissions with acute sickle‐cell pain to King's College Hospital, London, in relation to local daily air quality measurements. We analysed 1047 admissions over 1400 d (1st January 1998–31st October 2001). Time series analysis was performed using the cross‐correlation function (CCF). CCF showed a significant association between increased numbers of admissions and low levels of nitric oxide (NO), low levels of carbon monoxide (CO) and high levels of ozone (O3). There was no association with sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide or PM10 (dust). The significant results were further examined using quartile analysis. This confirmed that high levels of O3 and low levels of CO were associated with increased numbers of hospital admissions. Low NO levels were also associated with increased admissions but did not reach statistical significance on quartile analysis. Our study suggests air quality has a significant effect on acute pain in SCD and that patients should be counselled accordingly. The potential beneficial effect of CO and NO is intriguing and requires further investigation.
[Renal cell carcinoma with colon metastases: an infrequent site for metastases].

BACKGROUND Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) represents approximately 3% of malignant tumors in adults and occurs in a M:F ratio of 1.5:1.0. Although in most cases it occurs in persons 50 to 70 years of age, there are also reports in children. Clear cell carcinoma is the most frequent histological type, and 30% of renal carcinomas have metastasized at the time of diagnosis. The objective of the present study is to report colon metastasis of clear cell carcinoma that required surgery and chemotherapy. CLINICAL CASE We report the case of a 60-year-old male with a history of metastatic RCC. His treatment consisted of cytoreductive radical nephrectomy and interferon because of pulmonary disease. He was followed-up for 8 years. Nevertheless, he presented with hematochezia and underwent colonoscopy where a splenic flexure tumor was demonstrated. Biopsy reported a clear cell tumor. We performed a left hemicolectomy. Pathology report was clear cell carcinoma with involvement of the colon from the mucosa to serosa. The patient again received interferon. Currently, there is no evidence of tumor activity and the patient is being followed-up. CONCLUSIONS RCC metastases are most frequent in lung, liver, and bone and less frequent in brain, skin, and soft tissue. Metachromic metastases are identified in the first to second year after nephrectomy in most cases. Survival of patients who present metastasis <1 year after nephrectomy is 33 months vs. patients who present metastasis after 1 year from nephrectomy (55 months). Metastatic clear cell carcinoma requires surgery and immunotherapy. Surgery is the first step for disease control and metastatecomies are indicated in localized disease or when one organ is affected and surgically accessible.
Do IFRS Based Earnings Announcements Have More Information Content than Canadian GAAP Based Earnings Announcements

Using event study methodology in a Canadian setting, this paper investigates whether the information content of earnings announcements increased for Canadian Venture Exchange (TSXV) firms and Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) firms following mandatory adoption of international financial reporting standards (IFRS) in Canada. Comparing the two exchanges is interesting because there is generally more information asymmetry between investors and TSXV firms than between investors and TSX firms. A priori, it may be argued that there would be higher information content in the IFRS based earnings announcements for both TSXV and TSX exchange firms in Canada as compared to the Canadian GAAP based earnings announcements because IFRS allows greater flexibility to provide relevant information. If IFRS enables higher transfer of information through earnings announcements, this may benefit investors in TSXV firms more than investors in TSX firms. However, the additional flexibility to provide relevant information in the IFRS-based annual earnings announcements might reduce reliability by increasing uncertainty in the information of the earnings announcements. Our findings indicate that the information content, measured by abnormal stock return volatility and abnormal trading volume during the announcement period, decreased following the adoption of IFRS for both TSXV firms and TSX firms. The results of this study are relevant for US policy makers in their decision to implement IFRS.
The Effect of Household Characteristics on Poverty and Living Standards in South Africa

This paper uses panel data from South Africa to examine the effect of household characteristics on poverty and living standards and how they have changed over the five years following the dismantling of apartheid. I estimate the standard of living using two alternative methodologies. First, I use probit analysis to examine the poverty status of the household. Second I use quantile regressions to examine the standard of living of the household at different points on the income distribution. The main measure of the standard of living is per adult equivalent household income, which adjusts household income by the scale and composition adjusted household size. The estimation results show that the sex of the household head, the education attainment of the household head, ethnicity and region of residence have significant effects on both the poverty status and standard of living of the household.
Latent cytokines for targeted therapy of inflammatory disorders

Introduction: The use of cytokines as therapeutic agents is important, given their potent biological effects. However, this very potency, coupled with the pleiotropic nature and short half-life of these molecules, has limited their therapeutic use. Strategies to increase the half-life and to decrease toxicity are necessary to allow effective treatment with these molecules. Areas covered: A number of strategies are used to overcome the natural limitations of cytokines, including PEGylation, encapsulation in liposomes, fusion to targeting peptides or antibodies and latent cytokines. Latent cytokines are engineered using the latency-associated peptide of transforming growth factor-β to produce therapeutic cytokines/peptides that are released only at the site of disease by cleavage with disease-induced matrix metalloproteinases. The principles underlying the latent cytokine technology are described and are compared to other methods of cytokine delivery. The potential of this technology for developing novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of diseases with an inflammatory-mediated component is discussed. Expert opinion: Methods of therapeutic cytokine delivery are addressed. The latent cytokine technology holds significant advantages over other methods of drug delivery by providing simultaneously increased half-life and localised drug delivery without systemic effects. Cytokines that failed clinical trials should be reassessed using this delivery system.
Assessment of feasibility of workplace health promotion.

BACKGROUND A simple empirically based method for assessment of the feasibility of workplace health promotion programs is described, focusing on cancer hazards (lifestyles, workplace hazards, deficient early detection). The basic components of feasibility are addressed: extent of hazards; needs of employees for hazard reduction and acceptability of WHP; and social context. METHODS The procedure consists of six modules: guidelines on feasibility assessment; employee questionnaire; interview checklists for probing attitudes of management and partners (social context); data form; debriefing; and assessment of feasibility. Pretesting was completed in 16 workplace communities representing industry, construction, transport, telecommunications, health care, lodging and catering, teaching, and municipality jobs in five countries; a total of 1,085 subjects completed the employee questionnaire on health hazards, needs, and acceptability. RESULTS The method demonstrated its utility in obtaining and summarizing the necessary data. Feasibility was assessed for the 16 test communities. CONCLUSION The procedure can be customized; it has a high degree of face validity or understandability, and it is applicable in a wide variety of settings.
Microchannel networks for electrophoretic separations

UV excimer laser photoablation was used to micro‐machine polymer substrates not only to drill microchannel structures but also to change the surface physical properties of the substrates. We first describe how UV laser photoablation can be used for the patterning of biomolecules on a polymer and discuss parameters such as surface coverage of active antibodies and equilibration time. Secondly, we show how to design a single‐use capillary electrophoresis system comprising an on‐chip injector, column and electrochemical detector. The potential of this disposable plastic device is discussed and briefly compared to classical systems. Finally, preliminary results on protein separation by isoelectric focusing on a disposable microchip are presented.
Efficiencies of Rice Production in Union Territory of Pondicherry

The efficiency of paddy farms in the Union Territory of Pondicherry has been measured for the year 2005- 06 using data envelopment analysis (DEA). It has revealed that about 12.62 per cent of the farmers who operate rice farms belong to the most efficient category (90-100 per cent) and 23.45 per cent belong to the least efficient group (less than 50 pr cent), with the mean technical efficiency of 64 per cent. The allocative efficiency measure has indicated that about 15.86 per cent of the farmers belong to the most efficient category and 21 per cent to the least efficient group, with the mean allocative efficiency of 76 per cent. This suggests that the farms on an average, produce only about two-thirds of the potential output level. Also, there is possibility to increase the output level by 36 per cent in the short-run. The mean allocative efficiency measure has indicated that the rice farmers could reduce the costs by about 24 per cent by adoption of appropriate technologies and management practices. The returns to scale co-efficient have been found fairly distributed, suggesting that there is no systematic pattern in farms being too big or too small. More than one-third of the farmers belong to the most efficient scale group (90-100 per cent) and 4.18 per cent operate the farms in the least scale efficient group. Most of the allocative inefficiency can be attributed to over-use of labour, fertilizers and chemicals and this situation warrants policy interventions. Concerted efforts are essential to bridge the gap between awareness level and adoption of technologies by strengthening the agricultural extension system.
The Art of Listening on Social Media Platforms: How Firms Follow Users on Social Media Fan Pages

Organizations seeking to improve user engagement continue to invest in fan pages on social media platforms anticipating that in a progressive global marketplace users will utilize these technologies, which will enhance organizational competitive advantages. With the steady growth of the number of users who followed firm fan pages it is not clear whom should firms listen to? Since fan page followers participate and contribute to fan pages in various ways, a one size fits all strategy to select users to follow them back may not work. To address these issues, we focus on firm fan pages on Twitter. Using tweets generated by active users on fan pages, this study examines firms’ strategy of following back users on their fan pages. We examine users based on their activities, nature, and sentiments of their contents created and disseminated. We apply topic modeling and sentiment analysis to the tweets of two prominent airline fan pages in pacific region. We discuss the results obtained from a set of almost 21277 tweets of the 4735 active users. Our results show that automated categorization via LDA-based topic modeling and sentiment analysis of the users tweets can help firms select whom to follow back. We find that firms follow back their users based on a mix of users’ activities, topic of content created or disseminated and sentiments of their contents. Results and managerial implications are discussed. The outcomes of this paper help businesses to invest wisely on their social media activities and specifically fan page management.
Welding characteristics of different albumin species with and without fatty acids

Albumin solders from different species have been used for laser tissue welding without a complete understanding of possible differences between them. The breaking strength of four different species of serum albumin (human, bovine, porcine, and canine), both fatty acid containing (FAC) and fatty acid free (FAF), was determined to evaluate the welding ability of each type of albumin.