Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Money used in gaming is associated with problem gambling: Results of the ESPAD 2019 Finland

Abstract Background and aims The convergence of gaming and gambling may pose a risk for adolescents. Thus, it is important to find out how these behaviours are associated with other addictive behaviours in order to develop efficient preventive measures for youth. The aim of this study was to examine 1) whether problematic gaming and money used for gaming activities are risk factors for gambling, and 2) what kind of impact adolescents’ substance use along with other factors related to friends and parents have on this association. Methods The European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs data, 2019 of Finnish adolescents aged 15 to 16 (N = 4595). Cross-tabulations with Rao-Scott’s chisquare tests were applied to study the associations of the background factors with gambling in the past 12 months. A multinomial logistic regression model was fitted for the outcome variable (gambling in the past 12 months) adjusted for all independent and background variables. Results Problematic gaming alone was not associated with gambling participation, whereas using money for digital games increased the risk of gambling. Boys gamble more than girls. The use of alcohol and drugs increased the risk of gambling. Parental monitoring reduced the risk of gambling, whereas hanging around weekly with friends increased the risk. Discussion and conclusions Using money on gaming sites may put some adolescents at risk of developing problems with either gaming or gambling. The link between using money in digital games and gambling participation calls for preventive measures, intervention and regulatory acts.
A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF VISUAL AND TRADITIONAL POST-MORTEM INSPECTION OF SLAUGHTER PIGS: ESTIMATION OF SENSITIVITY, SPECIFICITY AND DIFFERENCES IN NON-DETECTION RATES

Une etude de 183.383 carcasses porcines a ete faite dans un abattoir danois pour comparer la detection des lesions par une procedure d'inspection visuelle et par la traditionnelle inspection des viandes post-mortem. Le but de cette etude a la difference des taux de non detection &aft faible : environ une decouverte supplementaire pour 1.000 carcasses passees par inspection visuelle pour plus de la mottle (34/58) des lesions specifiques considerees. Cependant, la procedure d'inspection visuelle entraine un score significativement plus faible d'enregistrements que la methode traditionnelle pour certaines lesions, par exemple la contamination fecale ou par la bile qui etaient manquees respectivement sur 8,7 et 2 cas pour 1.000 carcasses. La difference des taux de non detection pour certain abcds depassait 2 p. mile. La spec cite des deux procedures etait tits elevee, mais la sensibilite moderee, plus basse en general pour la procedure d'inspection visuelle que pour l'autre, dans un echantillon choisi de conditions. Nous concluons que les procedures d'inspection des viandes pourraient etre reduites a des procedures d'inspection visuelle, sans risque pour la detection de la plupart des lesions. Cependant, l'abandon complet des methodes traditionnelles d'inspection necessite une analyse de risque de la securite alimentaire et de la sante humaine, associee a la plus faible capacite de l'inspection visuelle a detecter certaines lesions, notamment la contamination et les abcds. Ces recherches seront publiees comme suivi de la presente etude.
α‐Synuclein antisense transcript SNCA‐AS1 regulates synapses‐ and aging‐related genes suggesting its implication in Parkinson's disease

SNCA protein product, α‐synuclein, is widely renowned for its role in synaptogenesis and implication in both aging and Parkinson's disease (PD), but research efforts are still needed to elucidate its physiological functions and mechanisms of regulation. In this work, we aim to characterize SNCA‐AS1, antisense transcript to the SNCA gene, and its implications in cellular processes. The overexpression of SNCA‐AS1 upregulates both SNCA and α‐synuclein and, through RNA‐sequencing analysis, we investigated the transcriptomic changes of which both genes are responsible. We highlight how they impact neurites' extension and synapses' biology, through specific molecular signatures. We report a reduced expression of markers associated with synaptic plasticity, and we specifically focus on GABAergic and dopaminergic synapses, for their relevance in aging processes and PD, respectively. A reduction in SNCA‐AS1 expression leads to the opposite effect. As part of this signature is co‐regulated by the two genes, we discriminate between functions elicited by genes specifically altered by SNCA‐AS1 or SNCA's overexpression, observing a relevant role for SNCA‐AS1 in synaptogenesis through a shared molecular signature with SNCA. We also highlight how numerous deregulated pathways are implicated in aging‐related processes, suggesting that SNCA‐AS1 could be a key player in cellular senescence, with implications for aging‐related diseases. Indeed, the upregulation of SNCA‐AS1 leads to alterations in numerous PD‐specific genes, with an impact highly comparable to that of SNCA's upregulation. Our results show that SNCA‐AS1 elicits its cellular functions through the regulation of SNCA, with a specific modulation of synaptogenesis and senescence, presenting implications in PD.
Suicidal ideation and executive functioning in pediatric cancer

Neurocognitive impairments and psychological distress are among the most common difficulties experienced by children treated for cancer. Elevated rates of suicidal ideation (SI) are documented among cancer survivors, and a link between neurocognitive deficits and SI is evident, yet the relationship between SI and pediatric cancer‐related neurocognitive effects has not yet been studied.
“Magic” Number of Treadmill Sessions Needed to Achieve Meaningful Change in Gait Speed After Stroke

Abstract The purpose of this systematic review was to determine the number of treadmill training sessions needed to make a meaningful change in gait speed for chronic stroke survivors. Relevant databases were searched up through February 2020. Articles were included if they fit the following criteria: stroke onset more than 5 mos, intention to treat with traditional treadmill training, and gait speed included as an outcome. Change in gait speed after intervention was used to classify treadmill groups as responders (at least 0.1 m/sec change) or nonresponders (less than 0.1 m/sec change). Seventeen articles met our criteria, resulting in a total of 19 intervention groups. Ten groups were classified as responders and completed a mean of 30.5 sessions within 6 wks, whereas nonresponders completed 20.4 sessions within 10 wks, indicating that at least 30 treadmill sessions (preferably in a period of 10 wks and at least 40 mins per session) is necessary to reach a meaningful change in gait speed. Although these trends were noted between the responder and nonresponder groups, no firm conclusions can be drawn regarding the “magic” number of sessions chronic stroke survivors should perform given the low correlation between number of sessions and change in gait speed.
Plant community responses to experimental climate manipulation in a Welsh ombrotrophic peatland and their palaeoenvironmental context

We test whether vegetation community composition from a 10‐year climate manipulation experiment on a Welsh peat bog resembles vegetation communities during periods of climate change inferred from a peat core. Experimentally warmed and combined warmed and droughted treatments drove significant increases in ericaceous shrubs but Sphagnum was unaffected. Similarly, Calluna vulgaris seeds increase during inferred warmer periods in the palaeoecological record. Experimental short‐term episodic drought (four 4‐week drought treatments) did not affect vegetation. Plant community composition has undergone several abrupt changes throughout the past c. 1500 years, often in response to human disturbance. Only slight changes occurred during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (c. 950–1250 Common Era [CE]) in vegetation and hydrology, while abrupt changes occurred during the Little Ice Age (c. 1300–1850 CE) when water tables were highest, suggesting that these shifts were driven by changes in water table, modulated by climate. A period of water table drawdown c. 1800, synchronous with historical records of increased drainage, corresponds with the development of the present‐day vegetation community. Modern analogues for fossil material, characterized by abundant Rhynchospora alba and Sphagnum pulchrum, are more common after this event. Vegetation changes due to climate inferred from the palaeo record differ from those observed in the experiments, possibly relating to differences in the importance of drivers of vegetation change over varying timescales. Whereas temperature is frequently identified as the dominant driver of plant community change in experiments, sustained changes in water table appear to be more important in the long‐term record. We find evidence that recent climate change and other anthropogenic stressors (e.g. drainage, heavy metal and nitrogen pollution) may promote the development of novel plant communities without analogues in the fossil record. These communities may be poorer at sequestering carbon and may respond differently to future climate change.
Antimicrobial compounds from an FDA‐approved drug library with activity against Streptococcus suis

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become a global concern. Developing novel antimicrobials is one of the most effective approaches in tackling AMR. Considering its relatively low cost and risk, drug repurposing has been proposed as a valuable approach for novel antimicrobial discovery. The aim of this study was to screen for antimicrobial compounds against Streptococcus suis, an important zoonotic bacterial pathogen, from an Food and Drug Administration (FDA)‐approved drug library.
Low Voltage, Low Power, Inverter-Based

An operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) is a major building block and consumes most of the power in switched-capacitor (SC) circuits, but it is difficult to design low-voltage OTAs in scaled CMOS technologies. Instead of using an OTA, this paper proposes an inverter-based SC circuit and its application to low-voltage, low-power delta-sigma modulators. Detailed analysis and design optimizations are also provided. Three inverter-based modulators are implemented for an implantable pacemaker, a CMOS image sensor, and an audio codec. The modulator-I for an implantable pacemaker achieves 65-dB peak-SNDR for 120-Hz bandwidth consuming 0.73 W with 1.5 V supply. The modulator-II for a CMOS image sensor implemented with 320-channel parallel ADC architecture achieves 63-dB peak-SNDR for 8-kHz bandwidth consuming 5.6 W for each channel with 1.2-V supply. The modulator-III for an audio codec achieves 81-dB peak-SNDR with 20-kHz band- width consuming 36 W with 0.7-V supply. The prototype modulators achieved high power efficiency maintaining sufficient performances for practical applications.
Detection of Point Scatterers in Medical Ultrasound

We present an overview of the detection of point scatterers in ultrasound images and suggest strategies for evaluating and measuring the detection performance. We use synthetic aperture Field II simulations of a point scatterer in speckle background and evaluate how common imaging techniques affect point target detectability. We discuss how to compare different methods and calculate confidence intervals. In general, applying speckle reduction methods reduces the point detection performance. However, the results show that it is possible to smooth the speckle background and preserve relatively high performance with a suitable and optimized method. The different detection performances of the advanced beamforming methods coherence factor (CF), phase coherence factor (PCF), and Capon’s minimum variance (MV) are presented and benchmarked with standard delay-and-sum (DAS). The results show that CF achieves slightly better detection performance than DAS for weak point scatterers, whereas PCF and MV perform worse than DAS. Choice of apodization window and adaptive aperture size affects the probability of detection. Results show that methods that preserve spatial resolution have better detection performance of point scatterers.
Minimizing Iridium Oxide Electrodes for High Visual Acuity Subretinal Stimulation

Abstract Vision loss from diseases of the outer retina, such as age-related macular degeneration, is among the leading causes of irreversible blindness in the world today. The goal of retinal prosthetics is to replace the photo-sensing function of photoreceptors lost in these diseases with optoelectronic hardware to electrically stimulate patterns of retinal activity corresponding to vision. To enable high-resolution retinal prosthetics, the scale of stimulating electrodes must be significantly decreased from current designs; however, this reduces the amount of stimulating current that can be delivered. The efficacy of subretinal stimulation at electrode sizes suitable for high visual acuity retinal prosthesis are not well understood, particularly within the safe charge injection limits of electrode materials. Here, we measure retinal ganglion cell (RGC) responses in a mouse model of blindness to evaluate the stimulation efficacy of 10, 20, and 30 μm diameter iridium oxide electrodes within the electrode charge injection limits, focusing on measures of charge threshold and dynamic range. Stimulation thresholds were lower for smaller electrodes, but larger electrodes could elicit a greater dynamic range of spikes and recruited more ganglion cells within charge injection limits. These findings suggest a practical lower limit for planar electrode size and indicate strategies for maximizing stimulation thresholds and dynamic range.
A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: An increasing number of studies have been reporting combination therapy using herbal medicines and anticancer drugs, and the synergistic effects of this combination have gainedmuch attention across themedical community. In this study, we will review and summarize all published studies that have investigated the synergistic interaction between herbal medicines and anticancer drugs. Methods:We will search the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases. Studies investigated the synergistic interaction between herbal medicines and anticancer drugs will be included. The selection and extraction process will be performed by 2 independent reviewers, and we will perform qualitative synthesis. Discussion: The present study is being performed to investigate the herbal medicines and anticancer drugs that are used concomitantly, and to determine the combinations that are expected to show a synergistic effect. This knowledge will provide new insights into the possible role of herbal medicines in anticancer treatment. Review registration: Trial registration: OSF Registration number: DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/H5QS9. Abbreviation: SR = systematic review.
Measurement of shaft-rate modulated electric fields of a ship in a shallow sea

As an intrinsic characteristic, the shaft-rate modulated electric field of a ship is an important signal source in underwater domain. A measurement system is designed to measure the shaft-rate modulated electric field of a ship. Taking into consideration the pressure bearing, watertightness and other problems, the system is made up of sensors, signal condition circuits, and data acquisition and processing system. After the measurement system is sunk down to the seabed, it is difficult to regulate orientation, attitude and other sensor parameters. It is also hard to control the environment around the system. Therefore, the status information of the seabed is recorded for posterior calibration. Frequency analysis and time-frequency analysis methods are used for signal processing. Experiment results show that the spatial distribution of shaft-rate modulated electric field has a significant regional property and apparent traffic characteristic.
OmniCrawl: Comprehensive Measurement of Web Tracking With Real Desktop and Mobile Browsers

Abstract Over half of all visits to websites now take place in a mobile browser, yet the majority of web privacy studies take the vantage point of desktop browsers, use emulated mobile browsers, or focus on just a single mobile browser instead. In this paper, we present a comprehensive web-tracking measurement study on mobile browsers and privacy-focused mobile browsers. Our study leverages a new web measurement infrastructure, OmniCrawl, which we develop to drive browsers on desktop computers and smartphones located on two continents. We capture web tracking measurements using 42 different non-emulated browsers simultaneously. We find that the third-party advertising and tracking ecosystem of mobile browsers is more similar to that of desktop browsers than previous findings suggested. We study privacy-focused browsers and find their protections differ significantly and in general are less for lower-ranked sites. Our findings also show that common methodological choices made by web measurement studies, such as the use of emulated mobile browsers and Selenium, can lead to website behavior that deviates from what actual users experience.
Training vs. Competition in Sport: State Anxiety and Response of Stress Hormones in Young Swimmers

Abstract This study was aimed to assess the neuroendocrine response to stress induced by different sports environments (a regular training session and a competitive event), to define the contribution of psychological and physical stress, and to check the possible relationship between state-anxiety and stress hormones responses to competitive and non-competitive sports practices. Twelve young national-level male swimmers participated in this investigation. Endorphins, adrenocorticotropin, and prolactin plasma levels were measured at baseline conditions (t0), before a regular swimming training session (t1), and before and after real swimming competition consisting of 100 m freestyle (t2 and t3, respectively). Moreover, state-anxiety was evaluated in all assessment time-points. The results showed no differences in endorphin, adrenocorticotropin, prolactin and state-anxiety between t0 and t1; however, significant increases in endorphins (142%), prolactin (137%) and state-anxiety (13%) were observed in t2. Huge stress response was observed in t3 (increases of 354%, 387%, and 250% for endorphins, adrenocorticotropin, and prolactin, respectively) although state-anxiety decreased slightly. Lastly, a lack of the relationship between stress hormones and state-anxiety was found in all conditions. Mental and especially physical stress associated with sports competition induces a significant release of stress hormones which is not relevant for the regular training session.
Comparison of the Ramp and Step Incremental Exercise Test Protocols in Assessing the Maximal Fat Oxidation Rate in Youth Cyclists

Abstract The incremental exercise test is the most common method in assessing the maximal fat oxidation (MFO) rate. The main aim of the study was to determine whether the progressive linear RAMP test can be used to assess the maximal fat oxidation rate along with the intensities that trigger its maximal (FATmax) and its minimal (FATmin) values. Our study comprised 57 young road cyclists who were tested in random order. Each of them was submitted to two incremental exercise tests on an electro-magnetically braked cycle-ergometer - STEP (50 W·3 min-1) and RAMP (~0.278 W·s-1) at a 7-day interval. A stoichiometric equation was used to calculate the fat oxidation rate, while the metabolic thresholds were defined by analyzing ventilation gases. The Student’s T-test, Bland-Altman plots and Pearson’s linear correlations were resorted to in the process of statistical analysis. No statistically significant MFO variances occurred between the tests (p = 0.12) and its rate amounted to 0.57 ± 0.15 g·min-1 and 0.53 ± 0.17 g·min-1 in the STEP and RAMP, respectively. No statistically significant variances in the absolute and relative (to maximal) values of oxygen uptake and heart rate were discerned at the FATmax and FATmin intensities. The RAMP test displayed very strong oxygen uptake correlations between the aerobic threshold and FATmax (r = 0.93, R2 = 0.87, p < 0.001) as well as the anaerobic threshold and FATmin (r = 0.88, R2 = 0.78, p < 0.001). Our results corroborate our hypothesis that the incremental RAMP test as well as the STEP test are reliable tools in assessing MFO, FATmax and FATmin intensities.
A novel compact stair-shaped multiband fractal antenna for wireless communication systems

Abstract The growing demand for enhanced capacities, broadband services, and high transmission speeds to accommodate speech, image, multimedia, and data communication simultaneously puts a requirement for antenna to operate in multiple frequency bands. A novel compact fractal antenna based on self-similar stair-shaped fractal geometry is proposed in this paper. The fractal antenna is designed by modifying the patch antenna through the iterative process using stair-shaped fractal geometry. The third iteration results in a tri-band response, and the antenna resonate at 3.65, 4.825, and 6.325 GHz with impedance bandwidths of 75.6, 121.2, and 211.4 MHz, respectively. The antenna is designed in CST Microwave studio, and evaluated for operating bands and radiation characteristics. Prototype for the third iteration of the fractal antenna is fabricated on FR-4 substrate which is further tested for measured operating bands and radiation characteristics. The simulated and measured results show good agreement.
Biomechanical Effects of Flamenco Footwork

Abstract Footwork is one of the basic features of flamenco dancing and is performed in traditional high-heeled shoes. The purpose of this study was to analyse the mechanical profile of flamenco dancing in terms of vertical ground reaction force, and knee joint kinematics of the supporting limb in footwork technique in order to understand causes which predispose injuries derived from the practice of flamenco dancing. The participant in our study was a professional female flamenco dancer (34 years, 58 kg, 1.65 m) who performed the ZAP 3 test, a sequence of single strikes of the feet performed continuously for 15 s. 3D lower extremity kinematic data were collected using a five-camera motion analysis system (Vicon; Oxford Metrics Ltd., Oxford, UK). Ground reaction forces were recorded using a Kistler force plate. Our analysis was based on 30 cycles of each lower limb consisting of 177 footwork steps. The vertical component of the ground reaction force did not reveal any significant differences between the left and the right limb. The most dynamic strike was provided by the heel (twice the participant's body weight). The mean angular displacement of the supporting limb’s knee was ~27°. Results reveal that these impacts could make the knee joint more prone to injuries.
A Mini Review of the Effects of NSP and Exogenous Enzymes in Broiler Diets on Digestibility and Some Intestinal Functions

Summary NSP (non-starch polysaccharides) are a large group of compounds, which vary greatly in their chemical structure and properties. They are linked with the use of some of the alternative proteins or energy feed ingredients in broiler nutrition. Exogenous enzymes which act on NSP are sometimes in broiler production with the purpose of increasing digestibility of nutrients and consequently increasing broiler performance in production. This paper will attempt to review changes occurring in the digestive tract as a result of the use of feed with NSP soluble and insoluble in water, and the effect of NSPase on them, in terms of how an animal organism is burdened or helped to overcome the problems.