Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effect of group size and stocking density on the welfare and performance of hens housed in furnished cages during summer

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of group size and stocking density on the welfare and performance of hens housed in furnished cage systems during summer. A total of 924 Hy-Line Brown hens were assigned to three housing systems: a standard battery cage system (control, 4 hens per cage and 398 cm per hen), two furnished systems (including perches and nest); one with a small (SFC, 21 hens per cage; 586 cm per hen) and one with a large group size (LFC, 48 hens per cage; 543 cm per hen). The results showed that hens housed in SFC and LFC had a higher feed intake and a poorer feed efficiency compared to control hens. Laying rate and egg weight were not significantly affected by housing systems. Hens housed in LFC and SFC systems showed less sitting and more walking behaviours than control hens. SFC hens showed more nesting and less perching behaviours than LFC hens. Hens kept in SFC systems showed fewer signs of heat stress during summer, with less panting activity than LFC or control hens, and a relatively lower rectal temperature than controls. The rectal temperature of LFC hens did not differ from the SFC hens and controls. Blood concentrations of luteinising hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone and oestradiol were not significantly influenced. In conclusion, group size and stocking density in furnished cages have an effect on behaviour and performance of hens. The furnished cage systems with small group sizes were favourable for hen welfare without markedly affecting performance. Group size should be considered in the development of furnished cage systems.
Elements of a Fiscal Politics: Public Choice and Public Finance

The object of this paper is to indicate how public choice theory and orthodox normative tax theory may be integrated within a single coherent intellectual framework. Because public choice theory has quite different conceptual foundations from normative tax theory, this is no simple task. A purely positive fiscal theory, that derives tax arrangements as one aspect of the emergent political equilibrium, would leave no logical room for normative tax theory at all: the question as to what the tax system 'ought to be' becomes irrelevant, or at least inseparable from the broader question as to the appropriateness of general political institutions. However, if tax arrangements are viewed as part of the political institutional framework, normative tax theory can be admitted - but in a somewhat reformulated way. The paper aims to set out briefly the reformulations required. Copyright 1984 The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research.
Second‐class doctors? The impact of a professional career structure on the employment conditions of overseas‐ and UK‐qualified doctors

Career structures and their associated boundaries both offer and restrict career opportunities and provide the potential to be sites of unfair discrimination. Yet the impact of such structures is rarely explored. This article investigates the impact of a career structure on the employment conditions of a medical career grade in which some three-quarters of the doctors qualified overseas. The comparison of UK and overseas qualified doctors in the Staff and Associate Specialist Group provides an underexplored perspective on a professional career structure with a particular reference to reward, workload, autonomy and morale. The article draws on a quantitative study of 1,715 Staff and Associate Specialist doctors undertaken in 2004. The findings demonstrate a complex comparative picture with overseas-qualified doctors earning more, working for longer hours, having less autonomy and a lower morale than their UK-qualified comparators. We conclude by pointing to the potential for certain career structures to structurally and systematically disadvantage some groups.
NET ENERGY FOR GROWTH IN PIGS : APPLICATION TO LOW-PROTEIN , AMINO ACID SUPPLEMENTED DIETS

The cost of feed is at least 50% of the total cost of pig meat production with the energy component representing the greatest proportion. Therefore, from a practical point of view, it is important to estimate precisely the energy value of feeds, either for least-cost formulation purposes or for adapting feed supply to energy requirements of animals. Evaluation of energy content of pig feeds is usually based on their digestible (DE) or metabolizable (ME) energy contents. However, the closest estimate of the « true » energy value of a feed is given by its net energy (NE) content which takes into account the metabolic utilization of ME. Therefore, NE systems have been proposed. In addition, NE is the only system in which energy requirements and diet energy values are expressed on a same basis which should be independent of the feed.
Ambulatory surgery center and general hospital competition: Entry decisions and strategic choices

Background: General hospitals are consistently under pressure to control cost and improve quality. In addition to mounting payers’ demands, hospitals operate under evolving market conditions that might threaten their survival. While hospitals traditionally were concerned mainly with competition from other hospitals, today’s reimbursement schemes and entrepreneurial activities encouraged the proliferation of outpatient facilities such as ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) that can jeopardize hospitals’ survival. Purpose: The purpose of this article was to examine the relationship between ASCs and general hospitals. More specifically, we apply the niche overlap theory to study the impact that competition between ASCs and general hospitals has on the survival chances of both of these organizational populations. Methodology: Our analysis examined interpopulation competition in models of organizational mortality and market demand. We utilized Cox proportional hazard models to evaluate the impact of competition from each on ASC and hospital exit while controlling for market factors. We relied on two data sets collected and developed by Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration: outpatient facility licensure data and inpatient and outpatient surgical procedure data. Findings: Although ASCs do tend to exit markets in which there are high levels of ASC competition, we found no evidence to suggest that ASC exit rates are affected by hospital density. On the other hand, hospitals not only tend to exit markets with high levels of hospital competition but also experience high exit rates in markets with high ASC density. Practice Implications: The implications from our study differ for ASCs and hospitals. When making decisions about market entry, ASCs should choose their markets according to the following: demand for outpatient surgery, number of physicians who would practice in the surgery center, and the number of surgery centers that already exist in the market. Hospitals, on the other hand, should account for competition from ASCs while making market-entry decisions and while developing their strategic plans.
Automated smart grid planning considering flexibility options and voltage regulating assets

Due to the growing number of distributed energy resources (DERs) and new loads, such as electric mobility, distribution system operators (DSOs) are facing an increasing complexity. Manual processes based on basic planning principles are confronted with new and potentially cost efficient technology options in the context of smart grids. These smart grid options comprise voltage regulating assets as well as flexibility options, such as flexible loads or planned DER curtailment. Their consideration implies the need for more elaborate planning and evaluation methods. In order to cope with these options, this paper presents a newly developed automated planning tool which can be incorporated into DSOs’ existing processes and IT infrastructure. The planning tool uses an optimization algorithm to handle the increased complexity and to provide an automated support for planning decisions of DSOs. The exemplary application in a real case study demonstrates the significant potential for cost reductions.
Plasma N-terminal Pro-atrial Natriuretic Peptide Predicts Death after Premature Myocardial Infarction, but not as well as Radionuclide Ejection Fraction. A Ten-year Follow-up Study

Objective –To assess N-terminal pro-atrial peptide (N-ANP) as a predictor of total and cardiac death in patients with previous premature myocardial infarction (MI). Design –In this prospective cohort study, we measured plasma N-ANP by ELIZA assays and ejection fraction (EF) by radionuclide ventriculography in a cohort of 247 patients (193 men and 54 women) who had had MI at a relatively young age (males: first MI at age h 55; females h 60). Results –After 10 years 44 patients had died, 36 from cardiac causes. After using a stepwise procedure to adjust for other prognostic factors (i.e. plasma total homocysteine (tHcy), C-reactive protein and age), the relative risk (RR) was 2.00 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.05-3.80) ( p = 0.03) for death of all causes and 2.32 (95% CI 1.19-4.55) ( p = 0.01) for cardiac death when the top quartile was compared to the three lower quartiles of N-ANP. When radionuclide EF entered the Cox model, N-ANP became insignificant as a predictor of mortality. Conclusion –N-ANP was a significant predictor of total death and cardiac death in young survivors of MI, but radionuclide EF was a more independent prognostic variable.
Founder effectiveness in leveraging entrepreneurial orientation

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the effects of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) on firm survival and examine whether founder chief executive officers (CEOs) are more effective than other types of managers at utilizing entrepreneurial orientation at initial public offerings (IPOs). Design/methodology/approach – Using survival analysis the authors investigate the effects of EO on firm survival as well as the moderating role of founder CEOs.Findings – The results suggest that EO increases post‐IPO survival. Further, founder‐CEOs moderate the EO‐survival relationship.Originality/value – The paper shows that entrepreneurial orientation enhances long‐term survival in IPO firms. Survival is an important, though generally overlooked consideration in EO research. The paper also concludes that firms with founder CEOs are more likely to value and implement EO. Finally, the paper addresses calls for greater use of secondary measures of EO.
EU and developing countries: an analysis of preferential margins on agricultural trade flows

The paper provides an analysis of the impact on trade of EU preferences in the agricultural sector. An explicit measure of the intensity of preference margins at the 6-digit tariff line level it is used. Moreover, the estimation framework takes into account the heterogeneity across exporters and products, as well as the potential selection bias implied by the presence of zero-trade flows. Preferences for agricultural products granted by the EU in 2004 are modeled by performing several regressions in order to compare the impact on different exporting countries and to highlight the contribution of different commodity groups. Even if the results confirm an overall positive impact of preferences on trade, significant differences emerge across products and between various exporters.
Are Primary Care Physicians, Public and Private Sector Specialists Substitutes or Complements? Evidence from a Simultaneous Equations Model for Count Data

In this paper, we examine the relationships between health care visits to general practitioners, public and private sector specialists using data from Italy, which has a mixed public-private health care system. We develop a simultaneous equations model that allows for the discreteness of measures of utilization and estimate this model using maximum simulated likelihood. Once common unobserved heterogeneity is properly accounted for, general practitioners, public and private specialists are found to be substitute sources of medical care. In contrast, a naive model finds they are complements.
A Solution for Crime Scene Reconstruction using Time-of-Flight Cameras

In this work, we propose a method for three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of wide crime scene, based on a Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) approach. We used a Kinect V2 Time-of-Flight (TOF) RGB-D camera to provide colored dense point clouds at a 30 Hz frequency. This device is moved freely (6 degrees of freedom) during the scene exploration. The implemented SLAM solution aligns successive point clouds using an 3D keypoints description and matching approach. This type of approach exploits both colorimetric and geometrical information, and permits reconstruction under poor illumination conditions. Our solution has been tested for indoor crime scene and outdoor archaeological site reconstruction, returning a mean error around one centimeter. It is less precise than environmental laser scanner solution, but more practical and portable as well as less cumbersome. Also, the hardware is definitively cheaper.
Serial Measurement of Growth-Differentiation Factor-15 in Heart Failure: Relation to Disease Severity and Prognosis in the Valsartan Heart Failure Trial

Background— Growth-differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) is emerging as a prognostic biomarker in patients with coronary artery disease. Little is known about GDF-15 as a biomarker in patients with heart failure. Methods and Results— The circulating concentration of GDF-15 was measured at baseline (n=1734) and at 12 months (n=1517) in patients randomized in the Valsartan Heart Failure Trial (Val-HeFT). GDF-15 levels at baseline ranged from 259 to 25 637 ng/L and were abnormally high (>1200 ng/L) in 85% of patients. Higher levels were associated with features of worse heart failure and biomarkers of neurohormonal activation, inflammation, myocyte injury, and renal dysfunction. Baseline GDF-15 levels (per 100 ng/L) were associated with the risks of mortality (hazard ratio, 1.017; 95% confidence interval, 1.014 to 1.019; P<0.001) and first morbid event (hazard ratio, 1.020; 95% confidence interval, 1.017 to 1.023; P<0.001). In a comprehensive multiple-variable Cox regression model that included clinical prognostic variables, B-type natriuretic peptide, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and high-sensitivity troponin T, GDF-15 remained independently associated with mortality (hazard ratio, 1.007; 95% confidence interval, 1.001 to 1.014; P=0.02) but not first morbid event. At 12 months, the GDF-15 levels had increased by a similar amount in the placebo and valsartan groups (P=0.94). Increases in GDF-15 over 12 months were independently associated with the risks of future mortality and first morbid event also after adjustment for clinical prognostic variables, B-type natriuretic peptide, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and high-sensitivity troponin T and their changes. Conclusions— GDF-15 reflects information from several pathological pathways and provides independent prognostic information in heart failure. GDF-15 levels increase over time, suggesting that GDF-15 reflects a pathophysiological axis that is not completely addressed by the therapies prescribed in Val-HeFT.
Cocaine-induced brain activation detected by dynamic manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI)

Dynamic manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI) detects neuronal activity based on the passage of Mn2+ into active neurons. Because this mechanism is independent of any hemodynamic response, it is potentially ideal for pharmacological studies and was applied to investigate the acute CNS effects of cocaine in the rat. Dose-dependent, region-specific MEMRI signals were seen mostly in cortical and subcortical mesocorticolimbic structures. To verify the spatial accuracy and physiological mechanisms of MEMRI, neuronal activation following electrical forepaw stimulation revealed somatotopic signal enhancement in the primary and secondary somatosensory cortices, which was blocked by diltiazem, a Ca2+ channel antagonist. These data suggest that MEMRI may serve as a tool for investigating the effects of pharmacological agents and opens an application of MRI to study CNS drug effects at a systems level.
Change and Continuity in the Governance of Nonprofit Organizations in the United Kingdom: The Impact of Organizational Size

This article reports on the results of a survey of charities in England and Wales, which examined how their boards are changing and whether various external initiatives to improve board performance are having an effect. In particular, the research explored the impact of organizational size. The findings suggest that the size of the organization does matter, as a variety of board characteristics and changes vary with size. The article concludes by examining some of the implications of these findings for theory and practice.
The Nation's Health

three months of death, a large number of tuberculous cases are going about and infecting others. This, he thinks, is the probable explanation of the death-rate not declining further. The cause of undetected cases is the large number of open cases living uncontrolled amongst the general population. Infants and school children are systematically inspected by child welfare workers and school medical inspectors, and few cases of disease are missed by them. After leaving school, detection of disease is left to chance, and persons are usually far too advanced for effective treatment before they consult their doctor. Workers ought to be systematically examined for signs of early disease. Cancer Prevention.
Distributed connectivity restoration in Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks via depth adjustment

In most applications of Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks, network connectivity is required for data exchange, data aggregation and relaying the data to a surface station. However, such connectivity can be lost due to failure of some sensor nodes which creates disruptions to the network operations. In this paper, we present two algorithms, namely BMR and DURA, which can detect network partitioning due to such node failures and re-establish network connectivity through controlled depth adjustment of nodes in a distributed manner. The idea is to first identify whether the failure of each node will cause partitioning or not based on localized information. If partitioning is to occur as a result of the possible failure of a particular node, both BMR and DURA designates backup nodes to handle the recovery in the future. While DURA aims to localize the recovery process and minimize the movement overhead on the nodes, BMR strives to reduce the recovery completion time at the expense of increased movement overhead by employing a two-phase block movement. The performance of the proposed approaches is validated through extensive simulations. The results indicated that DURA can provide energy savings as much as a centralized exhaustive approach while BMR provided the fastest recovery time.
Herpes simplex virus (HSV) suppression with valacyclovir reduces rectal and blood plasma HIV-1 levels in HIV-1/HSV-2-seropositive men: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial.

BACKGROUND Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection is common among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected persons, and HSV reactivation increases plasma and genital HIV-1 levels. We studied HIV-1 levels during HSV suppression in coinfected persons in a placebo-controlled crossover trial. METHODS Twenty antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naive HIV-1/HSV-2-seropositive men who have sex with men in Lima, Peru, with CD4 cell counts >200 cells/ microL were randomized to receive either valacyclovir at 500 mg twice daily or placebo for 8 weeks, after which they underwent a 2-week washout period and then received the alternative regimen for 8 weeks. Specimens included daily anogenital swabs (for HSV DNA polymerase chain reaction [PCR]), thrice weekly rectal mucosal secretions (for HIV-1 RNA and HSV DNA PCR) obtained by anoscopy, and weekly plasma (for HIV-1 RNA PCR). Outcomes were rectal and plasma HIV-1 RNA levels by treatment arm. RESULTS HIV-1 was detected in 73% of 844 rectal and 99% of 288 plasma specimens. HSV was detected in 29% and 4% of mucocutaneous specimens obtained during placebo and valacyclovir administration, respectively (P<.001). Valacyclovir resulted in a 0.16 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.07-0.25; P=.0008; 33% decrease) log(10) copies/mL lower mean within-subject rectal HIV-1 level and a 0.33 (95% CI, 0.23-0.42; P<.0001; 53% decrease) log(10) copies/mL lower plasma HIV-1 level, compared with values for placebo. CONCLUSIONS Valacyclovir significantly reduces rectal and plasma HIV-1 levels in HIV-1/HSV-2-coinfected men. HSV suppression may provide clinical benefits to persons not receiving highly active ART as well as public health benefits.
Acute Effects of Blood Flow Restriction on Muscle Activity and Endurance During Fatiguing Dynamic Knee Extensions at Low Load

Wernbom, M, Järrebring, R, Andreasson, MA, and Augustsson, J. Acute effects of blood flow restriction on muscle activity and endurance during fatiguing dynamic knee extensions at low load. J Strength Cond Res 23(8): 2389-2395, 2009-The purpose of this study was to investigate muscle activity and endurance during fatiguing low-intensity dynamic knee extension exercise with and without blood flow restriction. Eleven healthy subjects with strength training experience performed 3 sets of unilateral knee extensions with no relaxation between repetitions to concentric torque failure at 30% of the 1 repetition maximum. One leg was randomized to exercise with cuff occlusion and the other leg to exercise without occlusion. The muscle activity in the quadriceps was recorded with electromyography (EMG). Ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) and acute pain were collected immediately, and delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) was rated before and at 24, 48, and 72 hours after exercise. The results demonstrated high EMG levels in both experimental conditions, but there were no significant differences regarding maximal muscle activity, except for a higher EMG in the eccentric phase in set 3 for the nonoccluded condition (p = 0.005). Significantly more repetitions were performed with the nonoccluded leg in every set (p < 0.05). The RPE and acute pain ratings were similar, but DOMS was higher in the nonoccluded leg (p < 0.05). We conclude that blood flow restriction during low-intensity dynamic knee extension decreases the endurance but does not increase the maximum muscle activity compared with training without restriction when both regimes are performed to failure. The high levels of muscle activity suggest that performing low-load dynamic knee extensions in a no-relaxation manner may be a useful method in knee rehabilitation settings when large forces are contraindicated. However, similarly to fatiguing blood flow restricted exercise, this method is associated with ischemic muscle pain, and thus its applications may be limited to highly motivated individuals.