Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gender, Vocational Education, and Economic Development: The Japanese Experience

Economic development in Japan prior to World War II involved the expansion of labor intensive manufacturing industries that employed a large proportion of women. This was accompanied by the growth in vocational education for women as well as for men. Was the growth in vocational education, especially of women, a result of the economic expansion or a cause? In the postwar period vocational education for women grew slightly, while that for men declined. Was this caused by continued economic growth or did vocational education, especially for women, play a causal role in postwar economic growth? This paper attempts to address these questions using a recently available data set and utilizing the vector error correction methodology. The results indicate that vocational education, especially of females, played a causal role. Thus vocational education may be important in the early stages of growth for todayâ€™s developing nations.
Radiation sensitivity and apoptosis in human lymphoma cells

Purpose : The impact of apoptosis on radiation-induced eradication of clonogenic tumour cells is uncertain. The aim was to analyse the relationship of different functional stages during the apoptotic process to cell death and clonogenic cell eradication. Materials and methods : Apoptosis in Jurkat T-cells was studied by morphology, light scatter and caspase activation. Mitochondrial integrity was determined by the mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ m) . Cell death was quantified using propidium iodide exclusion. Clonogenic cell death was determined using a dilution survival assay. The influence of Bcl-2 was tested using a Bcl-2 transfected Jurkat clone. Results : Irradiation induced profound apoptosis within 48 h associated with caspase activation and breakdown of ΔΨm. Inhibition of caspases abrogated the apoptotic morphology with no influence on breakdown of ΔΨm and survival. Over-expression of Bcl-2 abrogated all hallmarks of apoptosis; delayed cell death, however, had no influence on clonogenic survival after irradiation. Conclusion : Based on Bcl-2 as a positional marker, radiation-induced apoptosis can be divided into two stages: the initiation/decision phase, characterized by a breakdown of the mitochondrial membrane potential, and the execution phase, characterized by caspase activation. The execution phase had no influence on survival, whereas the initiation/decision phase controls immediate survival. However, abrogation of both phases did not influence radiation sensitivity.
A 451-nucleotide circular RNA from cherry with hammerhead ribozymes in its strands of both polarities

The sequence of 451 nucleotides of a cherry small circular RNA (csc RNA1) associated with a cherry disease has been determined. Both csc RNA1 and its complementary strand can form hammerhead structures similar to those found previously in other plant and animal small RNAs. In the branched secondary structure of lowest free energy of csc RNA1, the sequences involved in the hammerhead structures, which comprise approximately one-fourth of this RNA, are found opposite each other, forming part of a rod-like segment. Plus- and minus-strand full-length transcripts of csc RNA1 self-cleaved during transcription and after purification, as predicted by the hammerhead structures, which are stable and very probably act as single hammerhead structures. The minus-strand hammerhead structure of csc RNA1 is exceptional in having a central loop with only 11 conserved nucleotides, a situation previously observed in only one other natural hammerhead structure. Both hammerhead structures of csc RNA1 are also peculiar in having an A instead of a C preceding the self-cleavage sites. The in vivo concentration of the plus strand of csc RNA1 is only slightly higher than that of its complementary strand, and significant fractions of both strands are extracted from the tissue in the form of a complex. csc RNA1 has sequence similarities to viroids and especially to some viroid-like satellite RNAs; they also share some characteristics of their corresponding hammerhead structures with these satellite RNAs. These observations, together with the association in symptomatic tissue of csc RNA1 with a set of presumably viral double-stranded RNAs, suggest that csc RNA1 is a new viroid-like satellite RNA.
Entrepreneurial Orientation and Knowledge Transfer: analysis in Spanish family businesses

This study tries to answer the following research questions in the context of family-owned firms: How is knowledge management related to entrepreneurship? How are knowledge management and entrepreneurship related to business performance? How does the family influence the above relationships? To answer these questions we performed a study to firms belonging to Family Business Regional Associations. The methodology used to analyze these relationships is based on a structural equation approach (SEM), specifically Partial Least Squares (PLS). The main value of this study is the proposition of two models. The first model analyzes the relationship among Knowledge Transfer (KT), Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) and Performance (PERF). The second model studies the Family Influence (FI) as a moderating variable of such relationships. As conclusion, in these family firms KT has a significant positive effect on EO, and the latter on PERF. FI strengthening moderates the relationship between KT and EO and PERF. The implications for managers are clear. Our study provides a theoretical and empirical basis for further study on KT and EO in family business.
Fish oil supplementation improves docosahexaenoic acid status of malnourished infants

AIM To investigate whether the low docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) status of malnourished, mostly breast fed, Pakistani children can be improved by fish oil (FO) supplementation. METHODS Ten malnourished children (aged 8–30 months) received 500 mg FO daily for nine weeks. The supplement contained 62.8 mol% (314 mg) long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids of the ω3 series (LCPUFAω3) and 22.5 mol% (112 mg) DHA. Seven FO unsupplemented children served as controls. Red blood cell (RBC) fatty acids were analysed at baseline and at the study end. RESULTS FO supplementation augmented mean (SD) RBC DHA from 2.27 (0.81) to 3.35 (0.76) mol%, without significantly affecting the concentrations of LCPUFAω6. Unsupplemented children showed no RBC fatty acid changes. One FO supplemented child with very low initial RBC arachidonic acid showed a remarkable increase from 4.04 to 13.84 mol%, whereas another with high RBC arachidonic acid showed a decrease from 15.64 to 10.46 mol%. CONCLUSION FO supplementation improves the DHA status of malnourished children. The supplement is apparently well absorbed and not exclusively used as a source of energy.
The economic consequences of divorce in six OECD countries

This article uses longitudinal data to estimate the shortand medium-term economic effects of divorce in the USA, the UK, Switzerland, Korea, Germany and Australia during the first decade of the 21st century. Based on the data collected during the 2000s, in all of the countries studied, divorce had, on average, negative effects on the equivalised household incomes of women. However, the extent and duration of the negative effects of divorce differed markedly between countries. In all of the countries, the effects of divorce on the equivalised household income of men were smaller than for women. Although, using the available data, it is not possible to definitely explain the differences between countries, the analysis presented in this article has demonstrated that the average economic effects of divorce, particularly for women, are heavily influenced by the social security system, the labour market, family models and the family law system of each country. While the social security system and institutional arrangements such as child support and spousal maintenance do influence women's post-divorce economic outcomes, what is most important in explaining cross-country differences is women's labour market earnings and the extent to which re-partnering occurs.
[Repair effects of close-to-bone needing combined with electroacupuncture on extracellular matrix of cartilage in rabbits with knee osteoarthritis].

OBJECTIVE To observe the effects of close-to-bone needing combined with electroacupuncture (EA) on cartilage collagen type Ⅱ/discoidin domain receptor/matrix metalloproteinase 13 (collagen type Ⅱ/DDR2/MMP 13) signaling pathway in rabbits with knee osteoarthritis (KOA), and to explore the possible action mechanism of this method on repair of extracellular matrix of knee cartilage. METHODS Forty New Zealand white rabbits were randomly assigned into a normal group (10 rabbits) and a model establishing group (30 rabbits). The Hulth-Telhag technique was applied to establish the model of KOA, and X-ray was used for outcome assessment. The rabbits with successful modeling were randomly assigned into a model group, a close-to-bone needing group, a regular acupuncture group, 10 rabbits in each one. The rabbits in the close-to-bone needing group were treated with close-to-bone needing and EA; the rabbits in the regular acupuncture group were treated with regular acupuncture and EA. "Neixiyan" (EX-LE 4), "Dubi" (ST 35), "Yinlingquan" (SP 9), "Zusanli" (ST 36) and "Liangqiu" (ST 34) were selected in the two groups. The intervention was given for 20 min, once a day; the intervention of 5 days made 1 session, 2 days as the interval and totally 4 sessions were given. Rabbits in normal and model group were immobilized without any treatment. After the treatment, western blotting method was applied to evaluate the expression of DDR2 and collagen type Ⅱ; the activity of collagen type Ⅱ, DDR2 and MMP 13 was assessed by immunohistochemistry method; the mRNA expression of DDR2 and MMP 13 was determined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). RESULTS Compared with the normal group, the activity expression of collagen type Ⅱ were significantly reduced in the other groups (all P<0.01),while the activity and mRNA expression of DDR2 and MMP 13 were notably increased (all P<0.01). Compared with the model group, the activity expression of collagen type Ⅱ in the close-to-bone needing group and regular acupuncture group were increased (all P<0.01), while the activity and mRNA expression of DDR2 and MMP 13 were reduced (all P<0.01). Compared with the regular acupuncture group, the activity and mRNA expression of MMP 13 and DDR2 in the close-to-bone needing group were reduced (all P<0.01), while the activity expression of collagen type Ⅱ were increased (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS The close-to-bone needing combined with EA and regular EA could both promote the repair of knee cartilage, where closing-to-bone needing combined with EA shows a superior efficacy. The mechanism may be associated with the blocking effect of collagen type Ⅱ/DDR2/MMP13 signaling pathway and the inhibiting effect of degradation in extracellular matrix of cartilage.
The Quantity and Quality Adjustment of Births when Having More is Not Subsidized: the Effect of the TANF Family Cap on Fertility and Birth Weight

I examine whether the family cap policy that reduces or eliminates incremental welfare benefits for additional births born to mothers already on welfare would affect both the quantity and quality of births in terms of birth weight. I find that the family cap produces very pronounced effect on reducing out of wedlock birth and low birth weight rates among teenagers. The evidence suggests that the family cap policy might not just produce a deterrent effect on non-marital childbearing but also a quality effect on birth: those births that actually occur are endowed with better health in terms of birth weight.
Low Complexity and Fast Computation for Recursive MDCT and IMDCT Algorithms

Fast algorithms are derived for modified discrete cosine transform (MDCT) and inverse MDCT (IMDCT) in this brief. The proposed algorithms based on type II discrete cosine transform and type II discrete sine transform not only adopt a unified architecture for both MDCT and IMDCT computations but also take only N/8 + 1 computational cycles for each output sequence. Compared with previous IMDCT approaches, the number of preprocessing multiplications of the proposed IMDCT algorithm is reduced by 87.5%. In addition, the coefficient requirements for preprocessing in the proposed IMDCT algorithm can be reduced by 50%, and the number of multiplications for the recursive kernel is greatly decreased by up to 87.5%. The proposed algorithms in terms of hardware costs take two fewer multipliers and six fewer adders than some well-known recursive algorithms. Therefore, the proposed architecture is better suited for various audio codecs.
Derivatives for multiple-valued functions induced by Galois field and Reed-Muller-Fourier expressions

In classical mathematics, Newton-Leibniz differential operators determine the coefficients in the Taylor series. At the same time, there are relationships between the Fourier coefficients of a (differentiable) function and its derivative. By analogy, Boolean differential operators are viewed as coefficients of Taylor-MacLaurin series-like expressions for switching functions, usually denoted as Reed-Muller expressions. Spectral interpretation of these expressions, permits us to relate the Boolean difference to the coefficients in Fourier series-like expressions for switching functions. This paper considers these two possible ways of the introduction of differential operators for multiple-valued (MV) functions. We defined the logic derivatives and Gibbs derivatives for MV functions as coefficients in the Taylor-MacLaurin series for MV functions and through relationships to Fourier series-like coefficients, respectively.
Prevalence of Anxiety and Depression in Pulmonary Hypertension and Changes during Therapy

Background: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) leads to reduced health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Objective: To investigate the prevalence and course of anxiety and depression and their association with HRQoL, disease severity and survival in PH. Methods: 131 PH patients (91 pulmonary arterial, 30 chronic thromboembolic, 10 due to lung disease; 84 female, 47 male) had repeated assessments with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), HRQoL, six-minute walk distance and WHO functional class during a mean course of 16 ± 12 months. Results: Among the 49 incident and 82 prevalent PH patients, the HADS score was positive in 53%/21% (depression), 51%/24% (anxiety) and 63%/26% (total score) (all p < 0.05). The HADS score was improved at the second assessment in incident patients. The HADS score correlated with HRQoL at all consecutive assessments and with functional class until the third assessment, but not with baseline hemodynamics, age or gender. Conclusion: Mood disorders remain underdiagnosed in PH. The higher prevalence of anxiety/depression in incident versus prevalent patients and the improvement over time may indicate an amelioration of mood disorders after PH diagnosis and treatment.
Fast Radial Symmetry for Detecting Points of Interest

A new transform is presented that utilizes local radial symmetry to highlight points of interest within a scene. Its low-computational complexity and fast runtimes makes this method well-suited for real-time vision applications. The performance of the transform is demonstrated on a wide variety of images and compared with leading techniques from the literature. Both as a facial feature detector and as a generic region of interest detector the new transform is seen to offer equal or superior performance to contemporary techniques at a relatively low-computational cost. A real-time implementation of the transform is presented running at over 60 frames per second on a standard Pentium III PC.
Folate, vitamin B12, and serum total homocysteine levels in confirmed Alzheimer disease.

BACKGROUND Recent studies suggest that vascular disease may contribute to the cause of Alzheimer disease (AD). Since elevated plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) level is a risk factor for vascular disease, it may also be relevant to AD. OBJECTIVE To examine the association of AD with blood levels of tHcy, and its biological determinants folate and vitamin B12. DESIGN Case-control study of 164 patients, aged 55 years or older, with a clinical diagnosis of dementia of Alzheimer type (DAT), including 76 patients with histologically confirmed AD and 108 control subjects. SETTING Referral population to a hospital clinic between July 1988 and April 1996. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Serum tHcy, folate, and vitamin B12 levels in patients and controls at entry; the odds ratio of DAT or confirmed AD with elevated tHcy or low vitamin levels; and the rate of disease progression in relation to tHcy levels at entry. RESULTS Serum tHcy levels were significantly higher and serum folate and vitamin B12 levels were lower in patients with DAT and patients with histologically confirmed AD than in controls. The odds ratio of confirmed AD associated with a tHcy level in the top third (> or = 14 micromol/L) compared with the bottom third (< or = 11 micromol/L) of the control distribution was 4.5 (95% confidence interval, 2.2-9.2), after adjustment for age, sex, social class, cigarette smoking, and apolipoprotein E epsilon4. The corresponding odds ratio for the lower third compared with the upper third of serum folate distribution was 3.3 (95% confidence interval, 1.8-6.3) and of vitamin B12 distribution was 4.3 (95% confidence interval, 2.1-8.8). The mean tHcy levels were unaltered by duration of symptoms before enrollment and were stable for several years afterward. In a 3-year follow-up of patients with DAT, radiological evidence of disease progression was greater among those with higher tHcy levels at entry. CONCLUSIONS Low blood levels of folate and vitamin B12, and elevated tHcy levels were associated with AD. The stability of tHcy levels over time and lack of relationship with duration of symptoms argue against these findings being a consequence of disease and warrant further studies to assess the clinical relevance of these associations for AD.
Efficacy of Higher Dose 13.3 mg/24 h Rivastigmine Patch on Instrumental Activities of Daily Living in Patients with Mild-to-Moderate Alzheimer's Disease

Background: Stabilizing/reducing decline in the ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs) is important in management of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Methods: Post hoc analysis of OPtimizing Transdermal Exelon In Mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease (OPTIMA), a double-blind trial comparing 13.3 and 9.5 mg/24 h rivastigmine patch in patients with AD demonstrating functional and cognitive decline with 9.5 mg/24 h patch. Efficacy on Alzheimer’s disease Cooperative Study-instrumental ADL (ADCS-IADL) items, higher level function (HLF), and autonomy factors was assessed. Results: The ADCS-IADL, HLF, and autonomy factors favored 13.3 mg/24 h patch at all time points, reaching significance from weeks 16 to 48, 24 to 48, and 32 to 48, respectively. Higher dose patch demonstrated significantly greater efficacy on 10 of 17 ADCS-IADL items at 1 or more time points (P < .05 vs 9.5 mg/24 h patch). More adverse events were observed with higher dose patch; study discontinuations were similar between the doses. Conclusions: Greater efficacy of 13.3 versus 9.5 mg/24 h patch on ADL, including autonomy and HLF factors, supports this additional dosing option to prolong patients’ independence.
SHARED UNDERSTANDING ON THE CONCEPT OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION BY TEACHERS AND BUSINESSMEN / THE CONCEPT OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION IN LITHUANIAN SCHOOLS SHARED BY TEACHERS AND BUSINESSMEN

The article highlights the importance of entrepreneurship education in a modern day educational institution. Strategic documents of the EU invite the educational institutions to cooperate more actively with the business world in order to have the best quality entrepreneurship education. So the main aim of the research is to determine the concept of entrepreneurship shared by teachers and businessmen. Firstly, the concept of entrepreneurship and its development is reviewed, taking into account the legislations and scientist observations. The second part of the article presents the similarities and differences on the concept of entrepreneurship from the point of view of teachers and businessmen. These differences can suggest what relevant aspects, indicated by the representatives of the business world, could be included into the process of organization of the entrepreneurship education and to improve.
Epidemiological and Economic Impact of Monovalent and Pentavalent Rotavirus Vaccines in Low and Middle Income Countries: A Cost-effectiveness Modeling Analysis

Background: The competing choices of vaccination with either RV1 or RV5, the potential budget impact of vaccines on the EPI with different prices and new evidence make important an updated analysis for health decision makers in each country. The objective of this study is to assess cost-effectiveness of the monovalent and pentavalent rotavirus vaccines and impact on children deaths, inpatient and outpatient visits in 116 low and middle income countries that represent approximately 99% of rotavirus mortality. Methods: A decision tree model followed hypothetical cohorts of children from birth up to 5 years of age for each country in 2010. Inputs were gathered from international databases and previous research on incidence and effectiveness of monovalent and pentavalent vaccines. Costs were expressed in 2010 international dollars. Outcomes were reported in terms of cost per disability-adjusted life-year averted, comparing no vaccination with either monovalent or pentavalent mass introduction. Vaccine price was assumed fixed for all world low-income and middle-income countries. Results: Around 292,000 deaths, 3.34 million inpatient cases and 23.09 million outpatient cases would occur with no vaccination. In the base-case scenario, monovalent vaccination would prevent 54.7% of inpatient cases and 45.4% of deaths. Pentavalent vaccination would prevent 51.4% of inpatient cases and 41.1% of deaths. The vaccine was cost-effective in all world countries in the base-case scenario for both vaccines. Cost per disability-adjusted life-year averted in all selected countries was I$372 for monovalent, and I$453 for pentavalent vaccination. Conclusion: Rotavirus vaccine is cost-effective in most analyzed countries. Despite cost-effectiveness analysis is a useful tool for decision making in middle-income countries, for low-income countries health decision makers should also assess the impact of introducing either vaccine on local resources and budget impact analysis of vaccination.
Perioperative analgesia in pediatric surgery

Purpose of review Poor pain management has continued to be a problem after pediatric surgery. This review examines the current situation and recent advances in the area. Recent findings Nonopioids such as paracetamol and NSAIDs play an increasing role as components of multimodal analgesia in children. However, studies on the safety and efficacy of many adjuvants in pediatrics are still lacking. The use of opioids is influenced understandably by safety concerns about respiratory depression, but data on its incidence are poor. The role of regional techniques in the treatment of pain after pediatric surgery is growing in line with the developments in adults; the emphasis here is more on peripheral techniques too. Summary The concept of multimodal analgesia including the use of regional analgesic techniques is governing the current developments and discussions in the area of pediatric postoperative analgesia.