Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of fatigue on running mechanics associated with tibial stress fracture risk.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to investigate the acute effects of progressive fatigue on the parameters of running mechanics previously associated with tibial stress fracture risk. METHODS Twenty-one trained male distance runners performed three sets (Pre, Mid, and Post) of six overground running trials at 4.5 m.s(-1) (± 5%). Kinematic and kinetic data were collected during each trial using a 12-camera motion capture system, force platform, and head and leg accelerometers. Between tests, each runner ran on a treadmill for 20 min at their corresponding lactate threshold (LT) speed. Perceived exertion levels (RPE) were recorded at the third and last minute of each treadmill run. RESULTS RPE scores increased from 11.8 ± 1.3 to 14.4 ± 1.5 at the end of the first LT run and then further to 17.4 ± 1.6 by the end of the second LT run. Peak rearfoot eversion, peak axial head acceleration, peak free moment and vertical force loading rates were shown to increase (P < 0.05) with moderate-large effect sizes during the progression from Pre to Post tests, although vertical impact peak and peak axial tibial acceleration were not significantly affected by the high-intensity running bouts. CONCLUSION Previously identified risk factors for impact-related injuries (such as tibial stress fracture) are modified with fatigue. Because fatigue is associated with a reduced tolerance for impact, these findings lend support to the importance of those measures to identify individuals at risk of injury from lower limb impact loading during running.
Barriers and guidelines for public policies on climate change adaptation: A missed opportunity of scientific knowledge‐brokerage

Progress in formulating and implementing effective adaptation policies is often hampered by a wide variety of barriers that are well documented in the literature. Among the barriers are lack of awareness, certainty, resources and political commitment. Since these and other barriers can be overcome (e.g., by raising awareness, closing knowledge gaps, and increasing resources), numerous decision‐support frameworks (mainly written guidelines) have been developed for this purpose. The present paper takes stock of both the barriers in adaptation policymaking, as documented in the literature, and the guidelines that aim to facilitate public policies on climate change adaptation. It then compares to what degree selected adaptation guidelines serve as knowledge‐brokerage tools that provide guidance on how to overcome the barriers addressed in the scientific literature. The comparison shows that adaptation guidelines address barriers of adaptation policymaking neither comprehensively nor systematically. Since most adaptation guidelines focus on (subjective) experiences with good practices than on empirical research findings, we conclude that they represent a missed opportunity of scientific knowledge‐brokerage in climate change adaptation.
Does it take volume to move European electricity spot prices

By using time series of hourly spot prices and volumes of four European electricity markets, we show that the total traded volume has negligible impact in determining the volatility of electricity prices when spikes are excluded. This result is robust to the different econometric techniques adopted, namely a GARCH specification and a linear regression on price variances computed from data obtained from EEX, PowerNext, Omel and APX.
Mixed Welfare Systems and Hybrid Organizations: Changes in the Governance and Provision of Social Services

Abstract The provision and governance of personal social services is nowadays often thought as a matter of finding the right balance between market principles and state regulation. However often, personal social services depend as well from a third resource and mechanism of governance: It is the impact of the social capital of civil society, which makes itself felt not only by resources such as grants, donations, and volunteering, but as well by networking and social partnerships. A number of crucial changes in welfare and service provision have led to a situation, where service systems and service units, rather than being part of a clear-cut sector, have increasingly to be seen as hybrids, combining varying balances of resources and mixes of governance principles usually associated with the market, the state, and the civil society. Presented at the Sixth International Conference of the International Society for Third-Sector Research, Ryerson University and York University, Toronto, Canda, July 11–14, 2004.
Women’s Political Engagement Under Quota-Mandated Female Representation

Do affirmative action measures for women in politics change the way constituents view and interact with their female representatives? A subnational randomized policy experiment in Lesotho with single-member districts reserved for female community councilors provides causal evidence to this question. Using survey data, I find that having a quota-mandated female representative either has no effect on or actually reduces several dimensions of women’s self-reported engagement with local politics. In addition, implications from the policy experiment suggest that the quota effect is not accounted for by differences in qualifications or competence between the different groups of councilors, but rather stems from citizens’ negative reactions to the quota’s design.
Improvement by Spreading the Wealth

This study focuses on individual home run hitting in Major League Baseball. It is observed that the distribution of the rate of home run hitting is highly right skewed, but it is becoming discernibly less so over time. Frequencies of the lowest rates have been decreasing, whereas the frequencies of the higher rates are increasing. As a result, the mean rate as well as the standard deviation have both been increasing. On the other hand, relative variability as measured by the coefficient of variation has been decreasing over time. These observations lend support to an improvement in home run hitting in the sense that (a) more players are hitting a higher number of home runs, and (b) there is a more even distribution of home run hitting rates among players.
The inflation‐hedging characteristics of UK property

Presents results of an investigation of the inflation‐hedging characteristics of UK property. Evaluates the various methods of decomposing inflation into its “expected” and “unexpected” components, using new time series data on inflation expectations produced by a questionnaire survey of informed market participants. Utilizes the power and suitability of causality and cointegration analysis to examine the relationship between inflation and property returns. Analyses the sensitivity of the results about the hedging capabilities of property to the removal valuation induced “smoothing” from property returns. Concludes that property is best seen as offering hedging characteristics that are only revealed in the long run.
Selección adversa en la convocatoria docente para educación primaria, media y básica en Colombia

Este artículo analiza la elección de docentes en educación básica y media en Colombia bajo un modelo de selección adversa. Se hace seguimiento a la situación salarial, al cambio institucional y a los resultados de uno de los concursos para Medellín. Los salarios relativos de vinculación a la carrera docente son competitivos, aunque los incentivos en el tiempo son exiguos. En la selección a los profesionales no docentes, les va relativamente mejor en las pruebas escritas pero pierden dicha ventaja al evaluar la hoja de vida y la entrevista, evidenciando una alta injerencia de las autoridades territoriales. Se concluye que un cambio, tanto en la ordenación y valoración, como en la administración de ambas actividades delegándolas en instituciones independientes, aumentaría la eficiencia. Palabras clave: selección adversa, selección docente, incentivos, salarios, calidad de la educación. Clasificación JEL: A21, D82, J31. Abstract: This paper analyses the selection of teachers in basic and media education in Colombia under an adverse selection model. We monitor the teacher´s wages and the institutional change, and the results of one of the contests for Medellin. The relative wages of attachment to the teaching profession are competitive, but the incentives are limited in time. In the analyzed contest the non-teaching professionals are going relatively well in the written tests, but lose that advantage in the analysis of their curriculum vitae and the interview, evidencing a high interference by local authorities in those results. We conclude that a change in management and valuation, as in the administration of both activities, delegating in independent institutions increase the efficiency. Keywords: Adverse selection, teaching selection, incentives, wages, education quality. JEL Classification: A21, D82, J31. Résumé: Cet article analyse le concours d.enseignants pour l. école préélémentaire, l. école élémentaire et l.enseignement secondaire en Colombie en adoptant un modèle de sélection adverse. On fait le suivi aux salaires et au changement institutionnel et on analyse ensuite les résultats du concours pour la ville de Medellín. On trouve que les salaires relatifs de démarrage associés à la carrière d.enseignant sont compétitifs mais qu.en revanche les incitations dans la durée sont réduites. Les résultats du concours pour les professionnels non enseignants montre que ceux-ci obtient relativement un meilleur résultat dans les épreuves écrites, mais ils ratent davantage le CV et l.entretient, ce qui montre une forte ingérence des autorités territoriales. On conclut que le fait de déléguer á des institutions indépendantes l.organisation et l. évaluation des concours, constitue un changement important dans la efficience de la fonction publique. Mots clef: sélection adverse, concours pour enseignants, incitations, salaires, qualité de l. éducation. Classification JEL: A21, D82, J31.
Internationalization and the Spaces of Temporary Labour: The Global Assembly of a Local Workforce

An increasing number of low-status consumer service jobs in the UK are undertaken by economic migrants, who are often recruited through the aegis of employment agencies. This article explores the use of migrant agency workers by a London hotel and a hospital, looking at the ways in which such a labour force is recruited and assembled in parts of the service sector in Greater London. It argues that even in the most locally-based of service-sector jobs, typically involving face to face interactions, new sets of transnational connections are producing a globalized labour force.
Arabidopsis irregular xylem8 and irregular xylem9: Implications for the Complexity of Glucuronoxylan Biosynthesis[W]

Mutations of Arabidopsis thaliana IRREGULAR XYLEM8 (IRX8) and IRX9 were previously shown to cause a collapsed xylem phenotype and decreases in xylose and cellulose in cell walls. In this study, we characterized IRX8 and IRX9 and performed chemical and structural analyses of glucuronoxylan (GX) from irx8 and irx9 plants. IRX8 and IRX9 are expressed specifically in cells undergoing secondary wall thickening, and their encoded proteins are targeted to the Golgi, where GX is synthesized. 1H-NMR spectroscopy showed that the reducing end of Arabidopsis GX contains the glycosyl sequence 4-β-d-Xylp-(1→4)-β-d-Xylp-(1→3)-α-l-Rhap-(1→2)-α-d-GalpA-(1→4)-d-Xylp, which was previously identified in birch (Betula verrucosa) and spruce (Picea abies) GX. This indicates that the reducing end structure of GXs is evolutionarily conserved in woody and herbaceous plants. This sequence is more abundant in irx9 GX than in the wild type, whereas irx8 and fragile fiber8 (fra8) plants are nearly devoid of it. The number of GX chains increased and the GX chain length decreased in irx9 plants. Conversely, the number of GX chains decreased and the chain length heterodispersity increased in irx8 and fra8 plants. Our results suggest that IRX9 is required for normal GX elongation and indicate roles for IRX8 and FRA8 in the synthesis of the glycosyl sequence at the GX reducing end.
Distribution and Activation of CD8+ T Cells in the Duodenal Mucosa before and after HIV Seroconversion

CD8+ T cells in the intestinal mucosa influence the HIV-associated pathogenesis, but little is known about the dynamics of mucosal CD8+ T cell counts and activation of these cells during the course of infection. In this study, mucosal CD8+ T cells in the duodenum were studied at different stages of HIV infection, starting from the seronegative phase. In seronegative acute HIV infection, CD8+ T cell counts increased in the epithelium, but not in the lamina propria. Infiltration of the lamina propria by peripherally expanded CD8+ T cells was observed after seroconversion. Highest increase in the expression of perforin, the rate-limiting molecule for cytotoxic CD8+ T cell activity, was evident in the lamina propria of seronegative acutely HIV-infected patients. The number of perforin-expressing cells in the lamina propria of acutely HIV-infected patients was positively associated with biomarkers of enterocyte damage and microbial translocation. After seroconversion, perforin expression was downregulated in the lamina propria, but not in the epithelium. In conclusion, our findings demonstrate that intraepithelial and lamina propria CD8+ T cells exhibit different dynamics of numerical alteration and cytotoxic activity in HIV-infected patients. Moreover, our results suggest that perforin-dependent cytotoxic mechanisms by CD8+ T cells could impair the intestinal mucosal barrier already in the seronegative phase of acute HIV infection, thereby inducing microbial translocation as one of the earliest pathological events in HIV infection.
The Sudden Rediscovery of Housing Supply as a Key Policy Challenge

Housing supply was suddenly rediscovered as a major challenge for English housing policy in the early 2000s, after nearly three decades of neglect. There does appear to be a problem of inadequate and unresponsive housing supply in England, by international or historical standards. Although shortcomings of the house building industry and limited public investment play a part, the most important factor explaining England's housing supply problem is the operation of the land-use planning system. Policies, procedures and incentives are all implicated. The most important impact is a long-term real rise in the price of housing, differentiated by region, which is damaging both economically and socially, although there are some compensating benefits in terms of the environment. The Barker Inquiry has proposed a radical supply agenda, which has been substantially accepted by the present government. This proposes that planning targets should be geared to affordability, with more land released and market-contingent mechanisms, more social housing and supporting infrastructure investment. There is room for debate about the magnitudes involved, the role for more proactive approaches to development and the best fiscal mechanisms and incentives. However, given the fraught political economy of housing and planning in the pressured regions, there is considerable doubt as to whether these measures will be implemented on the requisite scale.
Dermoscopy for discriminating between lichenoid sarcoidosis and lichen planus.

T HE LESIONS SHOWN WERE LOCATED ON the forearm of a 47-year-old man (Figure 1A), the forearm of a 51-yearold man (Figure 1B), and the trunk of a 55-year-old woman (Figure 1C), all of them presenting with a lichenoid rash. Dermoscopy revealed 2 differential patterns in these lesions: (1) reticular, white Wickham striae (WS) (Figure 2A) in the papules shown in Figure 1A and (2) round to oval, yellowbrown, homogeneous patches (YPs) (Figure 2B and C) and absence of WS in the lesions shown in Figure 1B and C. A histopathologic diagnosis of lichen planus (LP) was made in 1 patient (Figure 1A, inset), and lichenoid sarcoidosis was diagnosed in the other 2 patients (Figure 1B and C, insets). Lichenoid sarcoidosis represents 1% to 2% of cutaneous sarcoidosis cases and mimics LP. The examples illustrated herein show that dermoscopy may be useful for discriminating between the lesions of LP and those of lichenoid sarcoidosis. The absence of WS and the presence of YPs should prompt clinicians to perform a biopsy to rule out a granulomatous skin disease in clinically lichenoid lesions. Dermoscopy and diascopy of sarcoidosis lesions reveal individual yellow nodules (“grains of sand”) or a yellow-brown discoloration (“applejelly” sign). Yellow-brown homogeneous patches are not specific for sarcoidosis, but they are indicative of a granulomatous skin disease (sarcoidosis, lupus vulgaris, leishmaniasis). Conversely, dermoscopy of active LP lesions reveals the characteristic WS but not the YPs.
An Implicit Clientele Test of the Relationship between Taxation and Capital Structure

This paper presents a test for the existence of debt clienteles in which the latter are represented by progressive personal tax brackets. The test generates some evidence consistent with the implication of debt clientele theory that, over time, firms' debt ratios should vary with the relative tax incentives which their investors have to hold debt. Changes in the relative structure of taxes, however, at best only partially account for the time series behavior of debt ratios, especially in the case of high debt firms.
cis-3-Methyl-1-phenyl-8a,9,10,11,12,12a,12b-hexahydro-1H,3bH-pyrazolo[3,4:2′,3′]pyrano[4′,5′,6′-kl]xanthene

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C23H22N2O2, contains two independent molecules, A and B. The cyclohexane ring of molecule B is disordered, with occupancies for the major and minor conformers of 0.570 (9) and 0.430 (9), respectively. The cyclohexane ring adopts a boat conformation in molecule A and in the major conformer of molecule B, and a chair conformation in the minor conformer of molecule B. In both independent molecules, one of the dihydropyran rings adopts a boat conformation while the other is in a half-chair conformation. The dihedral angle between the pyrazole and phenyl rings is 16.0 (1)° in molecule A and 12.9 (1)° in molecule B. The crystal packing is stabilized by C—H⋯O and C—H⋯N intermolecular hydrogen bonds.
An Iterative Mammographic Image Thresholding Algorithm For Breast Cancer Detection

Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer among women and affects approximately one million women worldwide. If breast cancer is found at an early stage, this improves the chances of recovery. Mammograms are a good way of identifying abnormalities in the breast in its early stages. Several image processingalgorithms have been developed to assist physicians in detecting tumors in mammographic images.The segmentation of these images performs as an important antecedent step for advanced medical application, such as computer-aided diagnosis (CAD). Brink and Pendock (1996) proposed a sequential method to improve version of Li and Lee (1993) to find optimal threshold using minimum cross entropy thresholding technique (MCET) based on Gaussian distribution. In this paper, we improve the previous works by developing a fast iterative algorithm for MCET. Our proposed method is applied on mammographic images and results obtained are encouraging. Keywords-Breast cancer, Mammograms, CAD, Minimum Cross Entropy Thresholding, Gaussian Distribution, Iterative algorithm.
Reshaping Employment Relations in the UK Voluntary Sector: an Exploratory Study into the Impact of Best Value

Abstract This paper provides exploratory insights into the impact of the UK government's Best Value policy on employment policies in voluntary organisations. Best Value is one of a number of institutional pressures on HR policies within the sector: many of which have positive implications for the conduct of HR and delivering care. However, the data also reveal tensions in this institutional environment with regard to meeting demands of twenty-four hour care and family-friendly policies for the workforce. Moreover, continuation of aspects of the New Public Management agenda within Best Value means that pressure on pay and conditions in the sector persist, raising concerns regarding worker morale and quality of care.
Dominant Negative Effects of a Non-conducting TREK1 Splice Variant Expressed in Brain*

Two-pore domain potassium (K2P) channels modulate neuronal excitability throughout the entire CNS. The stretch-activated channel TREK1 (K2P2.1) is expressed widely in brain and has been linked to depression, neuroprotection, pain perception, and epilepsy. Little, however, is known about the regulation of TREK1 expression on the transcriptional and translational level or about its trafficking to the plasma membrane. Here we have used PCR techniques to identify a splice variant of TREK1 expressed in the brain, which encodes a heavily truncated TREK1 protein retaining a single transmembrane domain. Functional expression of this splice variant TREK1ΔEx4 in tsA201 cells in the presence or absence of wild type TREK1 revealed that TREK1ΔEx4 has no channel activity itself but reduced TREK1 whole cell current amplitude. Confocal analysis of the expression of fluorescently tagged TREK1 variants revealed that TREK1ΔEx4 is translated, but it is retained in the intracellular compartment. Additionally, TREK1ΔEx4 reduced the level of TREK1 expression in the plasma membrane. Long and short forms of TREK1 derived from alternative translation initiation are differentially affected by TREK1ΔEx4, with the short form (lacking the first 41 amino acids at its N terminus) unaffected. This differential regulatory role of TREK1ΔEx4 will alter the functional profile of TREK1 current in neurons where they are expressed. These results indicate that the N-terminal domain and first transmembrane domain of TREK1 are likely to be important for channel dimerization and trafficking to the plasma membrane.