Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Initial hydration status, fluid balance, and psychological affect during recreational exercise in adults

Abstract There is little information on the impact of hydration status on the psychological response to exercise despite potential implications for adherence to an exercise programme and for overall health and fitness. We investigated initial hydration status, fluid balance, and psychological responses associated with a typical recreational exercise session in healthy adults. Fifty-two participants performed a freely chosen gymnasium-based exercise session at a fitness centre, with ad libitum access to fluids. Urine samples were collected on arrival for analysis of osmolality. Sweat loss was estimated from the change in body mass after correction for fluid intake and urinary losses. Subjective psychological ratings were recorded before and after exercise. Pre-exercise urine osmolality was above 900 mOsmol · kg−1 (used as a threshold for hypohydration) in 37% of participants. Fluid intake during exercise was 390 ± 298 mL, while estimated sweat loss was 794 ± 391 mL. The percentage change from pre-exercise body mass was –0.62 ± 0.20%. Physically active adults who arrived to take part in exercise hypohydrated reported more negative changes in psychological affect in response to their subsequent freely chosen recreational exercise session than those classified as euhydrated prior to exercise (−0.2 ± 0.7 vs. 0.8 ± 0.7; P < 0.005).
Back-to-front Down-under? Estimating the Part-time/Full-time Wage Differential over the Period 2001-2003

In 2003, part-time employment in Australia accounted for over 42% of the Australian female workforce, nearly 17% of the male workforce, and represented 28% of total employment. Of the OECD countries, only the Netherlands has a higher proportion of working women employed part-time and Australia tops the OECD league in terms of its proportion of working men who are part-time. In this paper we investigate part-time full-time hourly wage gaps using important new panel data from the first four waves of the new Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey. We find that, once unobserved individual heterogeneity has been taken into account, part-time men and women typically earn an hourly pay premium. This premium varies with casual employment status, but is always positive, a result that survives our robustness checks. We advance some hypotheses as to why there is a part-time pay advantage in Australia.
Treatment of Coronary Spastic Angina, Particularly Medically Refractory Coronary Spasm

Coronary spasm plays an important role in the pathogenesis of variant angina as well as ischaemic heart diseases. Treatment with vasodilators such as long-acting calcium channel blockers and long-acting nitrates is generally effective in preventing coronary spasm; however, in some patients coronary spasm is refractory to standard therapy. Because of endothelial dysfunction, hyper-reactivity of coronary smooth muscle cells and other triggering factors involved in the pathogen-esis of coronary spasm, drugs capable of improving these conditions may be effective in preventing medically refractory coronary spasm. In addition, a spasm provocation test is frequently performed when diagnosing coronary spasms. Although intracoronary administration of nitroglycerin generally relieves the coronary spasm that results from this test, we have encountered patients who suffered haemodynamic instability during the test. Drugs that stabilize haemodynamics and dilate the coronary artery are effective in such situations. We review treatment options for coronary spasm that are refractory to the standard oral medications and to intracoronary infusion of nitroglycerin during the spasm provocation test.
Comparative study of charge transport in Si and Ge nanowires

We report on detailed calculations of charge mobility in small diameter Ge nanowires, and a comparison with equivalent diameter Si nanowires. The basis for the calculations is provided by band structure calculations within a sp3d5s* tight-binding scheme. Charge-phonon scattering rates are evaluated using Fermi's Golden Rule. Mobility calculations are performed using multi-subband momentum relaxation time approximation. In addition, high-field charge transport is also compared among the two classes of materials. High-field transport results are evaluated using ensemble Monte Carlo simulation. High-field transport behavior is found to be qualitatively similar between Si and Ge nanowires, while low-field mobility results show interesting behavior when compared to bulk Si and Ge. Besides providing a comparative analysis of the behavior of these materials, our work also helps to place an upper bound on their expected electronic response.
IMES - implantable myoElectric sensor system: Designing standardized ASICs

As a component of the RP2009 project, the IMES system has emerged as a strong candidate for extracting naturally-occurring control signals to be used for providing functional control of an upper body artificial limb. In earlier publications, we described various elements of this system as they were being researched and developed. Presently, the system has matured to a level for which it is now appropriate to consider application-specific-integrated circuits (ASIC) that are of a standardized form, and are suitable for clinical deployment of the IMES system. Here we describe one of our emerging ASIC designs that addresses the design challenges of the extracoporal transmitter controller. Although this ASIC is used in the IMES system, it may also be used for any command protocol that requires FSK modulation of a Class E converter.
Lifelong Learning and Digital Exclusion: Lessons from the Evaluation of an ICT Learning Centre and an Emerging Research Agenda

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are playing an increasingly important role within society. There are concerns, however, about unequal access to ICTs and the dangers of digital exclusion. The UK government has prioritized the development of ICT skills and access to learning through ICTs, the key policy instrument being a network of ICT learning centres in deprived communities. This article reviews the evaluation of a local ICT learning centre, focusing on the impact of the centre in relation to reducing digital exclusion and impact on skills development. The evaluation highlights a number of policy tensions and areas for further investigation.
Quantitative Visualization of Dynamic Tracer Transportation in the Extracellular Space of Deep Brain Regions Using Tracer-Based Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Background This study assessed an innovative tracer-based magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system to visualize the dynamic transportation of tracers in regions of deep brain extracellular space (ECS) and to measure transportation ability and ECS structure. Material/Methods Gadolinium-diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-DTPA) was the chosen tracer and was injected into the caudate nucleus and thalamus. Real-time dynamic transportation of Gd-DTPA in ECS was observed and the results were verified by laser scanning confocal microscopy. Using Transwell assay across the blood-brain barrier, a modified diffusion equation was further simplified. Effective diffusion coefficient D* and tortuosity λ were calculated. Immunohistochemical staining and Western blot analysis were used to investigate the extracellular matrix contributing to ECS structure. Results Tracers injected into the caudate nucleus were transported to the ipsilateral frontal and temporal cortices away from the injection points, while both of them injected into the thalamus were only distributed on site. Although the caudate nucleus was closely adjacent to the thalamus, tracer transportation between partitions was not observed. In addition, D* and the λ showed statistically significant differences between partitions. ECS was shown to be a physiologically partitioned system, and its division is characterized by the unique distribution territory and transportation ability of substances located in it. Versican and Tenascin R are possible contributors to the tortuosity of ECS. Conclusions Tracer-based MRI will improve our understanding of the brain microenvironment, improve the techniques for local delivery of drugs, and highlight brain tissue engineering fields in the future.
Leadership Style, National Culture and Employee Satisfaction: Empirical Evidence from European R&D Companies

The purpose: Both academics and practitioners have demonstrated a keen interest in the topics of leadership style and employee performance within research and development (R&D) organisations. Much of the interest in these topics centres on claims that leadership style and local culture are linked to R&D performance. However, while the links between leadership and performance, leadership and culture, and work performance and employee satisfaction have been examined independently, few studies have investigated the association between all of these concepts. This study examines the relationship between leadership study and employee satisfaction in European R&D settings and provides empirical evidence that the leadership style is influenced by the national culture that is present. The paper presents a number of implications for theory and practice. Methodology: A quantitative study was carried out across a number of European R&D organisations, with the primary source of data obtained through the use of established surveys distributed to researchers and R&D leaders. Findings: Transformational leadership was found to be positively correlated with employee satisfaction in European R&D organisations and the scales of individualised consideration and inspirational motivation to exhibit the highest correlations with the researchers’ satisfaction among all of the leadership dimensions. Transactional leadership was found that does not support employee satisfaction, although the dimension of active management by exception contributes to researchers’ satisfaction. Leadership style and its individual dimensions were found to be dependent on the geographic location around Europe as a result of the effect of national culture. Whilst in Northern and Central European R&Ds transformational and transactional leaders have equal share, in the Southern European R&Ds the dominant leadership style was the transaction one, due to the higher power distance and the less flat structure in the society. In Southern European R&Ds the prevalent transformational dimension was idealised influence, while individualised consideration was the dominant one in Northern and Central European R&Ds. Research Implication: This study contributes to the body of knowledge on cross-national effects of leadership styles on employee satisfaction in European R&D organisations since the existing studies focus primarily on leadership style and performance. Practicality of the work: This work provides useful information about the effective leadership style, which brings satisfaction to researchers in European R&D organisations, and the prevalent leadership style in a given country as a result of the influence of national culture. Thus, it provides the knowledge required for a R&D organisation to set up appropriate training programs which will produce leaders who will be able get the best out of their researchers by ensuring high levels of employee satisfaction.
The impact of climate change on net revenue and food adequacy of subsistence farming households in South Africa

Abstract This paper examines the impact of climate change on poor households across South Africa who practise subsistence farming to supplement their household income and dietary requirements. We consider three production systems: specialized crops, livestock and mixed crop-livestock farming. In general, we find specialized crop farmers to be the most vulnerable, while mixed crop-livestock farmers appear to be least vulnerable, suggesting that crop-livestock diversification is a potential coping strategy among poor subsistence farming households. We observe qualitatively similar results when we use self-reported food adequacy as the outcome. Furthermore, predicted impact shows that the climatic changes will be mildly harmful at first but will grow over time and lead to a 151 per cent loss in net revenue by the year 2080. Interestingly, we observe that crop farmers receive higher revenue when land is owned by the household, while on the other hand, livestock farmers earn more revenue when the land is communal.
Theory and Application of an Integrated Land-Use and Transport Modelling Framework

Over twenty years of effort have gone into the development of a general framework for modelling land-use and transport interaction. This effort has been directed at integrating economic theory with operational planning methods in order to establish models that are advanced in theory, practical in operation, and useful in policymaking. The cornerstone of the resulting framework is that the location of activities and the economic linkages between them (in terms of goods, services or labour) are predicted by a spatially disaggregated input—output model with either conventional or more innovative forms. These economic linkages are converted into demands for transport that are assigned to modes and routes, taking account of congestion. Calculated measures of disutility in transport influence the location of activities through time. The entire system is based on a set of markets with ‘prices’ in money, time, or disutility units, making it possible to assess the effects of input policies or scenarios in economic and social terms as well as in physical units. This framework has been used to develop a wide range of models for different applications. The experience thus gained has helped identify a number of specific strengths and specific problem areas associated with the framework. The problem areas are, for the most part, related to practical difficulties that arise during calibration because of the complexity of the system. The various strengths of the framework make it most applicable in situations where there is a need for consistent land-use and transport predictions and evaluations, particularly in cases where there are relatively few observed data.
Mortgages and Financial Expectations: A Household-Level Analysis

We contribute to the literature on household mortgage debt by exploring one particular influence on mortgage debt at the household level, namely the financial expectations of the individuals within the household. Our theoretical model predicts a positive association between the quantity of mortgage debt and optimistic financial expectations. Our empirical findings based on household level data provide convincing support for our theoretical priors in that optimistic financial expectations are positively associated with the level of outstanding mortgage debt.
A Dynamic Equilibrium between Inflation and Minimum Wages in Sri Lanka

This paper explores the dynamic equilibrium between minimum wages and inflation in Sri Lanka. From a theoretical perspective, while minimum wages tend to be sluggish in the economy, changes in price levels are compulsive. This empirical investigation which includes causality, co-integration and error correction models, reveals the existence of a long-term equilibrium relationship between minimum wages and inflation, and a one-way causality between the two variables. An interruption in equilibrium leads not only to a significant adjustment process but also to structural changes in long-run equilibrium. Finally, macroeconomic stability is established through the impulse response function in a situation, where shocks are applied to both minimum wages and inflation. The study recommends policy-making entities contemplate a minimum wage adjustment process in a climate of unstable inflation.
A comparison between 90 degrees and 180 degrees selective laser trabeculoplasty.

PURPOSE To compare two regimens of SLT, ie, SLT with 25 laser spots on 90 degrees of trabecular meshwork and SLT with 50 laser spots on 180 degrees of trabecular meshwork in patients with open-angle glaucoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS In a prospective clinical study, the authors compared pressure-lowering effect of SLT in 2 groups of patients; 1 group (32 patients) received SLT with 25 laser spots on 90 degrees of trabecular meshwork, the other group (32 patients) SLT with 50 laser spots on 180 degrees of trabecular meshwork. RESULT There was no difference in the pressure reduction between these two treatment regimens. Moreover, the pressure reduction was not influenced by previous ALT treatments. The pigmentation in the trabecular meshwork is related to a delayed effect on the pressure lowering after SLT. CONCLUSION SLT with 25 laser spots on 90 degrees of trabecular meshwork has a similar pressure-lowering effect to SLT with 50 laser spots on 180 degrees of trabecular meshwork. The new treatment regimen with less laser spots could increase the repeatability of SLT and reduce potential tissue damage in the trabecular meshwork.
An Unlikely Urban Symbiosis: Urban Intensification and Neighbourhood Character in Collingwood, Vancouver

Urban intensification is a key planning strategy for all major Australian cities, but proposals for higher density buildings in established neighbourhoods are frequently opposed by local residents on the basis that they would be ‘out of character’. In this article, the opportunities for urban intensification to reinforce and enhance the existing character of a place are explored through a case study of a Vancouver neighbourhood where a proposed high-rise project was initially resisted by community members, but has subsequently been embraced by them. It is argued that in this case, through a participatory and debate-centred planning process, urban intensification and neighbourhood character became mutually dependent in an unlikely form of urban symbiosis.
Food appropriation through large scale land acquisitions

The increasing demand for agricultural products and the uncertainty of international food markets has recently drawn the attention of governments and agribusiness firms toward investments in productive agricultural land, mostly in the developing world. The targeted countries are typically located in regions that have remained only marginally utilized because of lack of modern technology. It is expected that in the long run large scale land acquisitions (LSLAs) for commercial farming will bring the technology required to close the existing crops yield gaps. While the extent of the acquired land and the associated appropriation of freshwater resources have been investigated in detail, the amount of food this land can produce and the number of people it could feed still need to be quantified. Here we use a unique dataset of land deals to provide a global quantitative assessment of the rates of crop and food appropriation potentially associated with LSLAs. We show how up to 300–550 million people could be fed by crops grown in the acquired land, should these investments in agriculture improve crop production and close the yield gap. In contrast, about 190–370 million people could be supported by this land without closing of the yield gap. These numbers raise some concern because the food produced in the acquired land is typically exported to other regions, while the target countries exhibit high levels of malnourishment. Conversely, if used for domestic consumption, the crops harvested in the acquired land could ensure food security to the local populations.
Sequence Diversity at Cyt-b and Co-1 mtDNA Genes in Animal TaxaProved Neo-Darwinism

Nucleotide sequences of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) depict the process of molecular evolution and speciation in animals. A dataset of about twenty three thousand sequences of 2 genes, Cyt-b and Co-1, among different species was analyzed at 5 taxa ranks across the Animal Kingdom. The results support the prevalence of a geographic or allopatric speciation and suggest that Darwin’s gradual evolution in animals also prevails at the molecular level. The approach suggested allows recognize the geographic and other speciation modes, using the set theory equations and genetic terms as their components. The suggested approach may solve a key problem of the Biological Species Concept, i.e. the inability of evolutionary studies to monitor the reproductive isolation among species in nature, by defining a species rank with measurable estimates of genetic parameters.
Mechanical ventilation and acute renal failure*

Objective:To review the current literature on possible mechanisms by which mechanical ventilation may initiate or aggravate acute renal failure. Data Source:A Medline database and references from identified articles were used to perform a literature search relating to mechanical ventilation and acute renal failure. Data Synthesis:Acute renal failure may be initiated or aggravated by mechanical ventilation through three different mechanisms. First, strategies such as permissive hypercapnia or permissive hypoxemia may compromise renal blood flow. Second, through effects on cardiac output, mechanical ventilation affects systemic and renal hemodynamics. Third, mechanical ventilation may cause biotrauma—a pulmonary inflammatory reaction that may generate systemic release of inflammatory mediators. The harmful effects of mechanical ventilation may become more significant when a comorbidity is present. In these situations, it is more difficult to maintain normal gas exchange, and moderate arterial hypoxemia and hypercapnia are often accepted. Renal blood flow is compromised due to a decreased cardiac output as a consequence of high intrathoracic pressures. Furthermore, the effects of biotrauma are not limited to the lungs but may lead to a systemic inflammatory reaction. Conclusions:The development of acute renal failure during mechanical ventilation likely represents a multifactorial process that may become more important in the presence of comorbidities. Development of optimal interventional strategies requires an understanding of physiologic principles and greater insight into the precise molecular and cellular mechanisms that may also play a role.
Quick-Start and XCP on a network processor: Implementation issues and performance evaluation

The quick-start extension of the transmission control protocol (TCP), as well as the explicit control protocol (XCP), are experimental congestion control schemes that use router feedback to overcome limitations of TCPpsilas standard mechanisms. Both approaches require additional packet processing in every router and therefore raise the question whether, and how, this can be achieved in high-speed routers. This paper studies the realization complexity of the quick-start and XCP router functions on a network processor. We show that in both cases synchronization issues among parallel processing entities have to be considered, and that this affects the router performance. We develop and compare different synchronization mechanisms for highly parallel packet processing. Our prototype implementation on an Intel IXP network processor allows to quantify the impact on throughput and delay caused by the additional packet processing in the fast path. The measurements reveal that quick-start and XCP processing is feasible at multiple Gbit/s line speed, with quick-start being simpler to scale.