Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Understanding the health and social care needs of people living with IBD: a meta-synthesis of the evidence.

AIM To undertake a metasynthesis of qualitative studies to understand the health and social needs of people living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). METHODS A systematic search strategy identified qualitative studies exploring the phenomenon of living with inflammatory bowel disease. Databases included MEDLINE, PsychInfo, EMBASE, CINAHL and the British Nursing Index via the OVID platform. Qualitative search filters were adapted from Hedges database (http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/hslt/miner/digital_library/tip_sheets/Cinahl_eb_filters.pdf). Qualitative empirical studies exploring the health and social needs of people living with inflammatory bowel disease were selected. Study eligibility and data extraction were independently completed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme for qualitative studies. The studies were analysed and synthesised using metasynthesis methodology. The themes from the studies allowed for common translations into a new interpretation of the impact of living with inflammatory bowel disease. RESULTS Of 1395 studies, six published studies and one unpublished thesis fulfilled the inclusion criteria. First iteration of synthesis identified 16 themes, 2nd iteration synthesised these into three main 2nd order constructs: "detained by the disease"; "living in a world of disease" and "wrestling with life". "Detained by the disease" is the fear of incontinence, the behaviour the patients display due to the fear, and the impact this has on the individual, such as social isolation and missing out on life events. All of these serve to "pull" the patient back from normal living. "Living in a world of disease" is the long term effects of living with a long term condition and the fear of these effects. "Wrestling with life" is the continued fight to thrive, the "push" to continue normal living. CONCLUSION The metasynthesis provides a comprehensive representation of living with IBD. The unmistakeable burden of incontinence is exposed and its ongoing effects are demonstrated. The combined overall impact of living with IBD is the tension these patients live with: "Pushed and pulled: a compromised life", people living with IBD experience a constant conflict throughout their lives, they push to be normal but IBD pulls them back. The impact of the fear of incontinence and behaviour of the individual as a result, requires further qualitative enquiry.
Enhanced Replication of Leishmania amazonensis Amastigotes in Gamma Interferon-Stimulated Murine Macrophages: Implications for the Pathogenesis of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis

ABSTRACT During Leishmania major infection in mice, gamma interferon (IFN-γ) plays an essential role in controlling parasite growth and disease progression. In studies designed to ascertain the role of IFN-γ in Leishmania amazonensis infection, we were surprised to find that IFN-γ could promote L. amazonensis amastigote replication in macrophages (MΦs), although it activated MΦs to kill promastigotes. The replication-promoting effect of IFN-γ on amastigotes was independent of the source and genetic background of MΦs, was apparently not affected by surface opsonization of amastigotes, was not mediated by interleukin-10 or transforming growth factor β, and was observed at different temperatures. Consistent with the different fates of promastigotes and amastigotes in IFN-γ-stimulated MΦs, L. amazonensis-specific Th1 transfer helped recipient mice control L. amazonensis infection established by promastigotes but not L. amazonensis infection established by amastigotes. On the other hand, IFN-γ could stimulate MΦs to limit amastigote replication when it was coupled with lipopolysaccharides but not when it was coupled with tumor necrosis factor alpha. Thus, IFN-γ may play a bidirectional role at the level of parasite-MΦ interactions; when it is optimally coupled with other factors, it has a protective effect against infection, and in the absence of such synergy it promotes amastigote growth. These results reveal a quite unexpected aspect of the L. amazonensis parasite and have important implications for understanding the pathogenesis of the disease and for developing vaccines and immunotherapies.
Essays on accounting conservatism and goodwill write-offs

One of the major features of financial reporting is conservatism. Accounting conservatism is traditionally defined by the adage “anticipate no profit, but anticipate all losses. ” Accounting conservatism is manifested in two general but distinct ways. First, conservatism can be unconditional, meaning that the book value of net assets is understated due to predetermined accounting practices (e.g. immediate expensing of research and development expenditures as incurred). Second, conservatism can be conditional, meaning that the book value of assets is written down under sufficiently adverse circumstances, but not up under favorable circumstances (e.g. goodwill impairment rules). This dissertation focuses only on conditional conservatism. The purpose of this dissertation is to increase our understanding of conditional conservatism through three inter-related essays. These essays seek to answer the following research questions: (1) Are standard measures of conditional conservatism affected by the asymmetry in cash flows? (2) How does “bad news” contribute to the persistence of accruals and cash flows? (3) Do firms manage fair value based goodwill write-offs under Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 142 (SFAS 142)? (4) What are the economic consequences of SFAS 142 goodwill write-offs? Collectively, the empirical results of this dissertation further our understanding of the determinants and implications of conditional conservatism. The first essay demonstrates that the asymmetry in cash flows biases standard measures of conditional conservatism. The second and third essays are one of the first to assess conservatism using an individual accrual account, namely, SFAS 142 goodwill write-offs. The second essay examines the reliability of goodwill write-offs, while the third essay provides evidence on the economic consequences of goodwill write-offs. The findings of these two essays are important for the debate on whether fair value measurements in financial statements are appropriate.
The indirect costs of back problems (dorsopathies) in Australians aged 45 to 64 years from 2015 to 2030: results from a microsimulation model, Health&WealthMOD2030

Abstract This study projected the indirect costs of back problems through lost productive life years (PLYs) from the individual's perspective (lost disposable income), the governmental perspective (reduced taxation revenue, greater welfare spending), and the societal perspective (lost gross domestic product, GDP) from 2015 to 2030, using Health&WealthMOD2030—Australia's first microsimulation model on the long-term impacts of ill-health. Quantile regression analysis was used to examine differences in median weekly income, welfare payments, and taxes of people unable to work due to back problems with working full-time without back problems as comparator. National costs and lost GDP resulting from missing workers due to back problems were also projected. We projected that 90,000 people have lost PLYs due to back problems in 2015, increasing to 104,600 in 2030 (16.2% increase). People with lost PLYs due to back problems are projected to receive AU$340.91 less in total income and AU$339.77 more in welfare payments per week than full-time workers without back problems in 2030 and pay no income tax on average. National costs consisted of a loss of AU$2931 million in annual income in 2015, increasing to AU$4660 million in 2030 (60% increase). For government, extra annual welfare payments are projected to increase from AU$1462 million in 2015 to AU$1709 million in 2030 (16.9% increase), and lost annual taxation revenue to increase from AU$671 million in 2015 to $961 million in 2030 (43.2% increase). We projected losses in GDP of AU$10,543 million in 2015, increasing to AU$14,522 million in 2030 due to back problems.
The Role of FABP5 in Radiation-Induced Human Skin Fibrosis

Radiation-induced skin fibrosis is a detrimental and chronic disorder that occurs after radiation exposure. The molecular changes underlying the pathogenesis of radiation-induced fibrosis of human skin have not been extensively reported. Technical advances in proteomics have enabled exploration of the biomarkers and molecular pathogenesis of radiation-induced skin fibrosis, with the potential to broaden our understanding of this disease. In this study, we compared protein expression in radiation-induced fibrotic human skin and adjacent normal tissues using iTRAQ-based proteomics technology. We identified 186 preferentially expressed proteins (53 upregulated and 133 downregulated) between radiogenic fibrotic and normal skin tissues. The differentially expressed proteins included keratins (KRT5, KRT6A, KRT16 and KRT17), caspase-14, fatty acid-binding protein 5 (FABP5), SLC2A14 and resistin. Through bioinformatic analysis of the proximal promoters, common motifs and corresponding transcriptional factors were identified that associate with the dysregulated proteins, including PAX5, TBX1, CLOCK and AP2D. In particular, FABP5 (2.15-fold increase in fibrotic skin tissues), a transporter of hydrophobic fatty acids, was investigated in greater detail. Immunohistochemistry confirmed that the protein level of FABP5 was increased in fibrotic human skin tissues, especially in the epidermis. Overexpression of FABP5 resulted in nuclear translocation of SMAD2 and significant activation of the profibrotic TGF-β signaling pathway in human fibroblast WS1 cells. Moreover, exogenous FABP5 (FABP5-EGFP) could be incorporated by skin cells and intensify TGF-β signaling, indicating a communication between the microenvironment and skin fibrosis. Taken together, our findings illustrate the molecular changes during radiation-induced human skin fibrosis and the critical role of FABP5 in activating the TGF-β signaling pathway.
Safety Stock Adjustments to Meet Desired Service Level Requirements

Safety stock levels can be calibrated via simulation procedures to increase the likelihood that the planned for performance will actually be met in practice. Gudum and de Kok [1] proposed a simulation based safety stock adjustment procedure that is motivated by the problem of comparing lot-sizing rules. We refine the procedure by presenting a better algorithmic representation so that practitioners can more readily understand and implement the procedure. We extend the study by considering the problem of comparing other lot-sizing rules; namely, lot-for-lot, part-period balancing and least unit cost. Experiments illustrate how the safety stock adjustment procedure performs under a number of demand scenarios.
Eye Estimation to detect Drowsiness

An Eye estimation technique has been developed, using a non-intrusive machine vision based concepts. The system uses a small monochrome security camera that points directly towards the driver’s face and monitors the driver’s eyes in order to detect fatigue This paper describes how to find the eyes, and determine the status of the eyes are open or closed. An application of Viola Jones algorithm is used for Face detection and tracking. The Haar like feature is developed, which was a primary objective of the project. Haar like feature is a classifier which is trained with a few hundreds of positive and negative examples that are scaled to the same size. The system deals with using information obtained for the binary version of the image to find the edges of the face, which narrows the area of where the eyes may exist.Taking into account the knowledge that eye regions in the face present in uppermost quadrants, we consider extraction of eyes for calculations. Once the eyes are located, we can use various Matlab image processing tool to determine whether the eyes are open or closed.
Constrained by Red Tape

Extant public management studies examining the management of environmental challenges predominantly concentrate on the management of the erratic dimension of environmental challenges, that is, shocks. Whereas there is strong evidence that environmental shocks can be effectively managed, much less is known about more predictable environmental constraints that, likewise, challenge the organization’s functioning. The present article studies the moderating effects of managerial networking on the negative relation between environmental constraints—that is, red tape—on organizational performance. We hypothesize that red tape negatively affects public service performance. We further hypothesize that “downward,” “upward,” “sideward,” and “outward” managerial networking orientations attenuate the negative effect of red tape on public service performance. The hypotheses are tested on a data set of Dutch primary schools (n = 523), which includes managerial networking and perceived red tape variables as well as objective, independently measured, school performance data. The results show that perceived personnel red tape negatively affects school performance but that perceived general external red tape positively affects school performance. The negative effect of personnel red tape on school performance is attenuated by “outward”-oriented managerial networking.
Multiple Perfects in Scottish Gaelic

In this paper I investigate three particles in Scottish Gaelic (hereafter SG) which share a particular syntactic distribution, and argue that they all share a particular type of semantics: namely, perfect aspectual semantics. I argue that the semantics of these constructions share something fundamental: the relation that is predicated between event time (ET) and reference time (RT), which is a precedence relation (rather than a containment relation, as is seen in perfectives and imperfectives). I further argue that there are two precedence relations between ET and RT that can be realized in a language and still have the same basic type of semantics: ET prior to RT or RT prior to ET. The former relation is that found in “typical” perfect constructions; the latter, I will argue, is that found in constructions like gu ‘about to’ in SG. I will call these constructions “prospective” perfects, and traditional perfects “retrospective” perfects. I also argue that in SG, there are restricted versions of both types of perfect, which are often glossed as ‘have just’ and ‘be about to’. I claim that the existence of the restricted perfects challenges the assertion in Iatridou, et al. (2001) that the interval between ET and RT does not have “a distinguished status” in the perfect. The paper is organized as follows: Section 2 gives background on SG and grammatical aspect. In section 3 I propose sets of characteristics to test for perfect semantics. In section 4 I apply these tests to the phenomena in SG, and argue that what we are seeing are variations on perfect semantics. In section 5 I give semantic analyses of the particles that instantiate these semantics in SG.
Business process redesign based on "one piece flow": concept, methodology and application

Business process redesign (BPR) is not old-fashioned in this changing business environment. This paper mainly explores how to link BPR with "one piece flow" production pattern, which is originated from just-in-time (JIT), in order to gain a better performance when global manufacturing becomes frequent. After briefly introducing BPR concept and the characteristics of "one piece flow" production pattern, it discusses the reasons of combining them, the possibilities and benefits of doing so. Then, methodology of the combination is described. On the base of BPR methodologies' literature review, a framework of business process redesign based on "one piece flow" is brought forward. And finally, a case study is presented. It is about an elevator manufacturer, which began to carry out "one piece flow" production pattern in 2002. As an example, it suggests how its production planning process is redesigned under the framework.
Pharmacokinetics of drugs in spontaneously or secondary hypertensive rats

Abstract 1. Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) and deoxycorticosterone acetate–salt-induced hypertensive rats (DOCA–salt rats) have been developed as animal models for human essential (idiopathic or primary) and secondary hypertensions, respectively. 2. In order to identify pharmacokinetic changes (mainly non-renal clearance, CLNR) in 16-week-old SHRs due to hereditary characteristics and/or neither the hypertensive state itself, we reviewed the pharmacokinetics of drugs in 6- (blood pressure within a normotensive range) and 16-week-old SHRs and 16-week-old DOCA–salt rats compared with respective control rats. 3. We reviewed changes in CLNRs of drugs which are primarily metabolized via hepatic microsomal cytochrome P 450 enzymes (CYPs) based mainly on data from hypertensive rats, and present the data in terms of changes in in vitro hepatic intrinsic clearance (CLint), free fraction in plasma (fp) and hepatic blood flow rate (QH) depending on the hepatic excretion ratios of drugs. In general, changes in the CLNRs of drugs in this category were well-explained by the above-described factors. 4. We also reviewed and discussed the mechanism of urinary excretion of drugs (i.e. glomerular filtration and active renal secretion or reabsorption) in hypertensive rats.
The chicken or the egg: An experimental study of democracy survival, income, and inequality

Many empirical studies investigate the relationships between economic development, inequality, and democracy survival; however, establishing causal links with naturally occurring cross-country data is problematic. We address this question in a laboratory experiment, where in democracy citizens can invest in profitable projects and vote on income taxation. In the alternative regime -- autocracy -- efficient investment levels and equitable redistribution are implemented exogenously, but there is a risk of resources being partially expropriated. Citizens can voluntarily switch from democracy to autocracy by a majority vote, which mimics recent historical examples, where voters voluntarily delegate political powers to an autocrat in exchange for a promise of high taxation and redistribution. We find that the likelihood of democracy breakdown increases with the degree of inequality but does not vary with productivity. The link between productivity and democracy survival depends critically on the degree of sophistication of the median voter.
Urban Space Distribution and Sustainable Transport

ABSTRACT In many cities of the world, road space is increasingly contested. Growing vehicle numbers, traffic calming and the development of new infrastructure for more sustainable transport modes such as bicycles have all contributed to pressure on available space and conflicts over the allocation of space. This paper provides the first assessment of urban transport infrastructure space distribution, distinguishing motorized individual transport, public transport, cycling and walking. To calculate area allocation, an assessment methodology was developed using high-resolution digital satellite images in combination with a geographical information system to derive area measurements. This methodology was applied to four distinctly different city quarters in Freiburg, Germany. Results indicate that space is unevenly distributed, with motorized individual transport being the favoured transport mode. Findings also show that if trip number to space allocation ratios are calculated, one of the most sustainable transport modes, the bicycle, is the most disadvantaged. This suggests that area allocation deserves greater attention in the planning and implementation of more sustainable urban transport designs.
FRODOCK 2.0: fast protein-protein docking server

UNLABELLED The prediction of protein-protein complexes from the structures of unbound components is a challenging and powerful strategy to decipher the mechanism of many essential biological processes. We present a user-friendly protein-protein docking server based on an improved version of FRODOCK that includes a complementary knowledge-based potential. The web interface provides a very effective tool to explore and select protein-protein models and interactively screen them against experimental distance constraints. The competitive success rates and efficiency achieved allow the retrieval of reliable potential protein-protein binding conformations that can be further refined with more computationally demanding strategies. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION The server is free and open to all users with no login requirement at http://frodock.chaconlab.org CONTACT pablo@chaconlab.org SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
A Neural Network Model for Taxonomic Responding with Realistic Visual Inputs

We propose a neural network model that accounts for the emergence of the taxonomic constraint in early word learning. Our proposal is based on Mayor and Plunkett (2010)’s neurocom-putational model of the taxonomic constraint and overcomes one of its limitations, namely the fact that it considers arti-ﬁcially built, simpliﬁed stimuli. In fact, while in the original model the visual stimuli are random, sparse dot patterns, in our proposed solution they are photographic images from the ImageNet database. In our model the represented objects in the image can be of different size, color, location in the picture, point of view, etc. We show that, notwithstanding the augmented complexity in the input, the proposed model compares favorably with respect to Mayor and Plunkett (2010)’s model.
Effects of chronic nitric oxide synthase inhibition on cerebral arterioles in Wistar–Kyoto rats

Objective Cerebral arterioles in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP), but not in Sprague–Dawley rats with hypertension induced by nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibition, undergo inward remodeling. The goal of this study was to determine whether development of vascular inward remodeling may depend on genetic factors. Design We examined effects of NO synthase inhibition on the structure of cerebral arterioles in Wistar–Kyoto rats (WKY), a rat strain genetically distinct from Sprague–Dawley. Methods Pressure (servonull), diameter (cranial window) and cross-sectional area of the vessel wall (CSA, histologically) were measured in maximally dilated (EDTA) cerebral arterioles in WKY, untreated (n = 8) or treated for 3 months with the NO synthase inhibitor NG-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME) (10 mg/kg per day, n = 10) in the drinking water, and in untreated SHRSP (n = 7). Results Treatment with l-NAME in WKY increased mean cerebral arteriolar pressure (69 ± 7 versus 47 ± 7 mmHg, P < 0.05) and pulse pressure (30 ± 3 versus 17 ± 1 mmHg, P < 0.05) to levels significantly lower than in SHRSP (98 ± 5 and 35 ± 1 mmHg respectively, P < 0.05). CSA was significantly greater in l-NAME-treated WKY and SHRSP than in untreated WKY (1692 ± 50 and 1525 ± 98 μm2 respectively, versus 1224 ± 85, P < 0.05). External diameter was significantly less in l-NAME-treated WKY than in untreated WKY (119 ± 5 versus 135 ± 4 μm, P < 0.05) but significantly greater than in SHRSP (98 ± 1 μm, P < 0.05). Conclusion Cerebral arterioles undergo hypertrophy and remodeling in WKY with l-NAME-induced hypertension. These findings suggest that genetic factors present in WKY and SHRSP may play a role in the development of vascular inward remodeling during chronic hypertension in rats.