Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of home-based Tai Chi, Yoga or conventional balance exercise on functional balance and mobility among persons with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease: An experimental study

Background: Individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) invariably experience functional decline in a number of motor and non-motor domains affecting posture, balance and gait. Numerous clinical studies have examined effects of various types of exercise on motor and non-motor problems. But still much gap remains in our understanding of various therapies and their effect on delaying or slowing the dopamine neuron degeneration. Recently, Tai Chi and Yoga both have gained popularity as complementary therapies, since both have components for mind and body control. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether eight weeks of home-based Tai Chi or Yoga was more effective than regular balance exercises on functional balance and mobility. Methods: Twenty-seven individuals with Idiopathic PD (Modified Hoehn and Yahr stages 2.5–3) were randomly assigned to either Tai Chi, Yoga or Conventional exercise group. All the participants were evaluated for Functional Balance and Mobility using Berg Balance Scale, Timed 10 m Walk test and Timed Up and Go test before and after eight weeks of training. Results: The results were analyzed using two-way mixed ANOVA which showed that there was a significant main effect for time as F (1, 24) =74.18, p=0.000, ηp2=0.76 for overall balance in Berg Balance Scale. There was also significant main effect of time on mobility overall as F(1, 24) =77.78, p=0.000, ηp2=0.76 in Timed up and Go test and F(1, 24) =48.24, p=0.000, ηp2=0.67 for 10 m Walk test. There was a significant interaction effect for time×group with F(2, 24) =8.67, p=0.001, ηp2=0.420 for balance. With respect to mobility, the values F(2, 24) =5.92, p=0.008, ηp2=0.330 in Timed Up and Go test and F(2, 24) =10.40, p=0.001, ηp2=0.464 in 10 m Walk test showed a significant interaction. But there was no significant main effect between the groups for both balance and mobility. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that Tai Chi as well as Yoga are well adhered and are attractive options for a home-based setting. As any form of physical activity is considered beneficial for individuals with PD either Tai Chi, Yoga or conventional balance exercises could be used as therapeutic intervention to optimize balance and mobility. Further studies are necessary to understand the mind–body benefits of Tai Chi and Yoga either as multicomponent physical activities or as individual therapies in various stages of PD.
A-582941, cholinergic alpha 7 nicotinic receptor agonist, improved cognitive and negative symptoms of the sub-chronic MK-801 model of schizophrenia in rats

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVES Nicotinic receptor systems are involved in a wide variety of behavioural functions, including cognitive function, and nicotinic medications, may provide beneficial treatment for cognitive dysfunctions such as schizophrenia. According to the results of postmortem studies of schizophrenic patients, alpha 7 nicotinic acethylcholine receptor (α7 NAChR) binding levels and protein expressions were found to be decreased in cognition-related areas such as hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. In addition to this the fact that the prevalence of tobacco consumption is greater than healthy individuals encouraged research of nicotinic receptors in schizophrenia pathogenesis and treatment. In this study, we examined the effect of A-582941, a partial agonist of α7 NAChR, in the sub-chronic MK-801 model of schizophrenia in rats. METHODS Wistar Hannover rats were divided into five groups as follows and and all drug administrations were done intraperitoneally (i.p.) excluding the last dose of MK-801, which was done subcutaneously (s.c.): control (saline), vehicle (DMSO), MK-801 (0.2 mg/kg), MK-801 + A-582941 (1 mg/kg) and a positive control group (MK-801 + Clozapine) (5 mg/kg) (n = 8–10 in each). MK-801 was injected twice a day for 7 days. Prepulse inhibition of the acustic startle response (PPI) test was conducted after the last dose of MK-801 and animals were allowed to wait for a week for a washout period. A-582941 and Clozapine treatments were given for 10 days. The novel object recognition test (NORT) and social interaction (SI) and Morris water maze (MWM) tests were conducted. RESULTS PPI, discrimination index in NORT, social following behaviour in SI and swimming time in platform area in the MWM test were decreased by MK-801 injection, while latencies to platform finding in MWM and social avoidance in SI tests were increased. Clozapine increased the prepulse inhibition, discrimination index swimming in platform area and decreased platform-finding latencies and social avoidance in comparison with the MK-801 group. Although the A-582941 treatment has no effect on PPI, it increased the discrimination index, swimming time in platform area, following behaviour and decreased avoidance and platform-finding latencies. CONCLUSION Clozapine treatment improved the disruptive effect of MK-801 on PPI, NORT, and SI tests as expected. A-582941 treatment improved social deficits and cognitive dysfunctions on both visual and spatial memory. Therefore, A-582941 had a stronger effect on the negative symptoms and cognitive dysfunctions compared to that of Clozapine. The results of this study clearly suggested that α7 NAChR ligands might be a better treatment option, especially on cognitive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia.
Effect of Mentha spicata L. infusión on the productive performance and organoleptic characteristics of Cobb 500 broilers

The aim of this research was to evaluate the effect of the Mentha spicata L. infusion on the performance and organoleptic characteristics of Cobb 500 broilers. The management, biosecurity and welfare of birds for open houses systems were followed, using a completely random design (CRD). Were used 200 1-day-old mixed chickens, in order to evaluate treatments effects during 35 days. Those were distributed in five treatments, with four réplicas, of 10 birds each to the following the groups: T1 (control), T2 (M. spicata infusion at 10%), T3 (M. spicata infusion at 20%), T4 (M. spicata infusion at 30%) and T5 (M. spicata infusion at 40%). The variables studied were broilers performance, carcass weight and organoleptic characteristics. The data was processed using with the statistical program Statgraphics Centurión XV.I, performing a multivariate analysis of variance and determining the factors with effect, and an ANOVA per week for the productive variables; contingency tables were prepared with organoleptic indicators data to determine differences (Chi-square test). Results show that the administration of M. spicata L. to drinkable water has no effect on broilers performance, with the exception of the feed intake, which decreases, reflecting a similar effect on visceral weight. The presence of flavonoids in the plant diminished the thickness of the abdominal fat because it favors the lipid metabolism of the birds. There was no difference in the smell of the meat, however, there were significant differences in the parameters of flavor, tenderness and juiciness.
Effect of BDNF layered hyaluronan nanoparticles on new bone formation

Bone healing is a complicate tissue repair process in the fracture gap. New implants should be able to promote bone formation and reduce side effects as well. Here, BDNF/hyaluronan-NPs were explored for their applicability in bone repair. Microscopy and scanning images showed that the number of human MSCs increased and their differentiation into osteoblast was promoted after application of BDNF. Real-time PCR revealed that the relative mRNA expression of both osteogenic and angiogenic genes significantly increased after stimulated by BDNF. Furthermore, consistent with these results, the administration of BDNF/hyaluronan-NPs induced bone formation in vivo and compatible with the surrounding tissue. We conclude that the combination of BDNF and hyaluronan-NPs could efficiently induced osteogenesis and osteoblast activity and facilitate induction of endothelial cells. Thus, BDNF/hyaluronan-NPs might be a promising approach for bone fracture treatment.
Boxing Practitioners Physiology Review 1. Kinanthropometric Parameters, Skeletal Muscle Recruitment and Ergometry

Seven percent voluntary body weight decrease by boxers requires 21 days while 4.4 percent increase needs only one day. Energy and fluid intakes reduction does not affect boxers punching force. Boxers effective punch masses and body weights correlate. Wrist girths and competition rankings of boxers correlate. Boxers show leanness body fat percentage. Boxers, generally highly mesomorphic, with increasing body weight, show ectomorphy decreases but endomorphy and mesomorphy increases. Vibration treatment enhances power in boxers arm flexors. Presence, nature and thickness of bandages and gloves donned influence boxers punch force. Stance posture adopted by boxers ends in locomotion functional parameters adaptations. Muscular recruitment sequence during rear straight punches may be influenced by the target height (head or body levels) and the boxer intention (produce maximal force or maximal speed). Handgrip strength: 1) increases from younger to older and from lighter to heavier boxers, and 2) correlates with competition ranking. Rear knee extension increases rear straight punching force to the head. Compared to uppercut and straight punches, the hook produces the highest change in hand velocity. Maximal forces are larger for the rear than the lead hand, and greater in more than in less experienced boxers. Hook punch force is greater than those of uppercut and straight punches. Boxer aim (produce maximum force or maximum speed) influence his punching force. Massage neither prevents a decrement in repeated performance nor has detrimental effects on performance, but increases recovery perceptions, compared with the passive rest intervention.
Econometric Assessment of the Effect of Small and Medium Enterprises on Economic Development (The ASE of Azerbaijan)

It is important to understand the effect of Small and medium enterprises (hereinafter-called SME) on economic development the dependent variable cannot have a causal impact on the past values of the endogenous regressors (Arellano and Bond, 1991). Relying on this fact, we construct instruments for possible endogenous SME growth variable using its own past values. After filtering out the variation (noise) in SME growth variable in current period which is not associated with its own lagged values we hope that there will not be any signal left in the predicted values of SME growth variable which can be affected by current period GDP contemporaneously. After doing so, we believe that any positive regression coefficient obtained is purely due to causality flowing from SME growth to GDP and not vice versa. Moreover, we use three different fixed effects model for robustness check purposes and find that the relationship between SME growth variable and GDP in each sector stays positive and statistically significant which makes our results more convincing.
The Effects of Chemotherapy on Cognition in Women with Breast Cancer

Advances in cancer treatment have led to increasing numbers of survivors left to struggle with the long-term adverse effects of disease and treatment. Many possible effects have been described including anxiety, depression, as well as physical side effects and consequences of cancer treatment. One particular adverse effect that is frequently reported but often overlooked in clinical practice is disturbances of cognitive functioning. Cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) is a growing area of research with important clinical implications for current patients and survivors. Despite a huge increase in this research endeavour in the last 20 years, many important questions remain unanswered due, in large part, to methodological limitations of many of the studies. The overall goal of this dissertation is to critically examine previous CRCI research from a methodological perspective. It will explore limitations and confounds in this research and provide suggestions for improving future work. This dissertation is comprised of three manuscripts, a critical literature review and two original papers, addressing specific research questions. The first original paper addresses the disparity between the results of objective (performance-based) and subjective (self-report) measures of cognition that is typically observed in samples of cancer patients, using multilevel modeling to explore the hypothesis that this is due to failure to address measures of change over time. Despite negative findings, the methodological approach taken to this research question provided greater evidence for this subjective-objective disparity as well as methodological suggestions for future studies. The second original paper explores the sensitivity and validity of a computerized cognitive test for measuring CRCI to determine if it might be an appropriate alternative to traditional, resourceintensive neuropsychological testing. This study found that, although the computerized measure of cognitive functioning was not sensitive enough to detect changes at the individual level or
Brief communication (Original). National survey of helminthiasis in Thailand

Abstract Background: Helminth infections continue to pose serious health problems in Thailand. The infections of greatest concern are opisthorchiasis and hookworm. Objectives: We evaluated the prevalence of these infections. The Thai Ministry of Health established a national health plan in 1995 to coordinate health plans for the provincial public health sectors. Methods: A national survey based on probability sampling, interviews, and stool examinations was conducted in 2009 to gather prevalence information of the helminth infections. Results: We found an overall prevalence of helminthiasis among 15,555 Thai people of 18.1%. The highest prevalence was found in the northeastern regions of Thailand. By comparison with previous surveys conducted over the past 5 decades, the prevalence rates have decreased. However, pockets of high infection remain, particularly in the north and northeast of Thailand. Conclusions: Targeted intervention by means of educational programs and public health intervention, and continuing surveillance are indicated.
Givs: Fine-Grained Gesture Control for Mobile Devices in Driving Environments

New media and communication technologies like mobile devices are nowadays widely used everywhere for providing rich functionalities and highly personalized services. However, using such a device in a driving environment is still very inconvenient and unsafe to be controlled by the driver. The touchscreen operations are one major obstacle since multi-touchscreen is optimized for hand-held usage scenarios. To overcome this limitation, we propose to replace some most used touch operations with gesture controls for mobile devices in a driving environment. Gesture control is simple, more flexible and requires less eye focus, which makes it more suitable for in-vehicle usages. In this paper, we design Givs, a fully functional gesture control system for mobile devices in a driving environment. Givs leverages the latest motion sensing technology to enable ubiquitous and driving-friendly gestures. Compared to other off-the-shelf gesture recognition solutions, Givs is optimized for in-vehicle use cases and is designed to overcome various limitations caused by real driving conditions, including bumpy road conditions, significant noise introduced by car vibration and technical limitations of motion sensors. Our extensive in-vehicle tests and participant experience experiments demonstrate that Givs well assists users in accomplishing various types of tasks and support human-machine interaction in driving environments such as personal vehicle and public transport, with high accuracy and fast responsiveness, while promoting drivnig convenience and safety.
Investigation and integration of spatial analyses in benthic habitat mapping with application to nearshore Arctic environments

The field of benthic habitat mapping has entered an era of automated statistical methods that have increased the capacity to produce maps as marine management tools. Spurred by a confluence of advances in acoustic remote sensing, open-source statistical tools, GIS, and computing power, these methods facilitate quick and objective mapping of habitats and physical seabed characteristics. Their performance and accessibility have led to widespread uptake, yet key spatial issues associated with these methods have not fully translated into the benthic habitat mapping workflow. Towards establishing “best practices”, this thesis explores the application of several spatial concepts to benthic habitat mapping using three Canadian Arctic case studies. Relationships between seabed morphology and benthic habitats are well-established. Though recognized as a critical element in the field of geomorphometry, the scale dependence of these relationships is commonly neglected in habitat mapping. Chapter 2 provides evidence of the scale dependence of benthic terrain variables and demonstrates methods for testing and selecting from among many variables and scales for modelling the distribution of sediment grain size near Qikiqtarjuaq, Nunavut. Given challenges associated with marine data collection that are pronounced in the Arctic, benthic habitat maps commonly utilize multi-year and multisource datasets. Despite apparent advantages, there can be substantial challenges associated with the compatibility and spatial properties of such data. Chapter 3 demonstrates that spatially autocorrelated samples are likely to inflate estimates of predictive performance and uses a spatial resampling strategy to estimate and correct for inflation in a multi-model Arctic clam habitat map near Qikiqtarjuaq, Nunavut. Classified seabed maps are a common requirement for marine management and one of two broad approaches are often selected to produce them. Chapter 4 examines differences between classification and continuous modelling approaches in a spatial context to produce classified seabed sediment maps for inner Frobisher Bay, Nunavut. Non-spatial methods failed to indicate whether models could extrapolate to unsampled areas, which was a requirement for this study. When evaluated in a spatial context, the qualities of the classification approach made it more suitable, which was a function of ground-truth dataset characteristics and the predictive goals of the model. Non-spatial techniques may be appropriate for interpolation, but the ability to extrapolate needs to be examined in a spatial context.
Effects of Dietary Bacillus coagulans D3372 Supplementation as Probiotics on Broiler Performance, Ileal Microflora, Meat Quality, Nutrient Retention, and Metabolizable Energy

| A study was carried out to investigate the impacts of supplemental diets with Bacillus coagulans D3372 as a probiotic (BCP) on broiler performance, ileal microflora, meat quality, nutrient retention, and metabolizable energy. Six hundred one-day-old chicks were randomly allotted in 4 treatments with 5 replicates (30 birds in each replication with similar ratio of male and female) for 35 days. Dietary treatments were (T0) basal diet (BD) without BCP, (T1) BD + 105 CFU of BCP/g of diet, (T2) BD + 106 CFU of BCP/g of diet, and (T3) BD + 107 CFU of BCP/g diet. The BCP supplementation of broiler diets improved the body weight gain and reduced the feed conversion ratio at the final of experimental periods (P<0.05), compared with that fed T0. Nevertheless, the inclusion of probiotics had no effects on ileal Lactobacillus and E. coli counts of broilers (P>0.05). Chicks fed probiotics had a significant reduction of carcass cholesterol levels (P<0.05) than that fed T0 diet. Addition of BCP in broiler diets markedly enhanced protein (P<0.05) and fat (P<0.05) retentions compared with those of the T0 group. However, BCP supplementation significantly improved true metabolizable energy (P<0.05) and nitrogen-corrected metabolizable energy (P<0.05) of broilers. This suggests that dietary addition with BCP can promote growth performance by improving the protein retention, fat retention, and metabolizable energy utilizations of broiler chickens, and reduce cholesterol levels of the carcass, with no impact on ileal microflora.
Experimental study of the Helmholtz resonance of a violin

The violin supports a Helmholtz resonance, acting like a driven, damped harmonic oscillator. The amount of damping can be measured from the width of the response curve, and also from the decay of an undriven oscillator. The phase shift between driver and resonator is also consistent with theory. Shifts in resonant frequency due to changing the aspect ratio of the f hole are measured and found to be in qualitative agreement with a convenient formula for the resonant frequency associated with a long thin aperture.
Experimental constraints on the solidification of a hydrous lunar magma ocean

The identification of hydrogen in a range of lunar samples and the similarity of its abundance and isotopic composition with terrestrial values suggest that water could have been present in the Moon since its formation. To quantify the effect of water on early lunar differentiation, we present new analyses of a high‐pressure, high‐temperature experimental study designed to model the mineralogical and geochemical evolution of the solidification material equivalent to 700 km deep lunar magma oceans first reported in Lin et al. (2017a). We also performed additional experiments to better quantify water contents in the run products. Water contents in the melt phases in hydrous run products spanning a range of crystallization steps were quantified directly using a secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). Results suggest that a significant but constant proportion (68 ± 5%) of the hydrogen originally added to the experiments was lost from the starting material independent of run conditions and run duration. The volume of plagioclase formed during our crystallization experiments can be combined with the measured water contents and the observed crustal thickness on the Moon to provide an updated lunar interior hygrometer. Our data suggest that at least 45–354 ppm H2O equivalent was present in the Moon at the time of crust formation. These estimates confirm the inference of Lin et al. (2017a) that the Moon was wet during its magma ocean stage, with corrected absolute water contents now comparable to estimates derived from the water content in a range of lunar samples.
Does the Financial Crisis Change the Effect of Financing on Investment? Evidence From Private SMEs

Abstract This paper examines the real effects of the financial crisis on private firms in the Netherlands. We find that investments of small and medium-sized private enterprises declined significantly both during and after the financial crisis. We also find that investments become less dependent on internal finance than on external finance during the crisis period. However, the impacts of the two financing sources on firm investment during the post-crisis period do not differ. The findings of the study suggest that borrowing from banks remained critical in determining the investments of private SMEs during the financial crisis of 2008–2009.