Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
REFLECTIONS ON QUALITATIVE RESEARCH IN BUSINESS ENSAIO – ENSINO

Qualitative research, although very frequently used in companies, is infrequently discussed in academic texts in its global context. Some exceptions are Godoy (1995 a, b, c) and Silva et al. (2006), to name a few. The approaches of qualitative researchers’ articles and books often focus on specific methods or techniques used in those investigations, such as in-depth interviews, focus groups, case studies, ethnographies, grounded theory, etc. The objective of this essay is to discuss the characteristics, uses, and applications of qualitative research in the field of business. Thus, certain authors are compared and analyzed. First, there are considerations regarding the purpose of research studies; the differentiation between induction and deduction; methodology, methods, techniques and procedures; and positivism and interpretivism. Next, there is a discussion on the qualitative paradigm and the origin and field of qualitative research; explanation of validity and reliability in qualitative research; and triangulation. Some standard criticisms are mentioned at the end. The conclusion is that whereas qualitative research is seen as a broad term that covers many concepts, methods, techniques, and procedures that can obscure its understanding, it can also be very useful in generating new, creative, and efficient ways to conduct research work on business issues.
The impact of PTSD and mTBI on the relationship between subjective and objective cognitive deficits in combat-exposed veterans.

OBJECTIVE Cognitive complaints, such as attentional or memory concerns, are commonly reported by veterans diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or a history of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). The degree to which those complaints actually map onto measurable cognitive deficits is unclear and is likely complicated by the severity of trauma-related sequelae. In the present study we sought to characterize the degree to which PTSD symptoms and mTBI accounted for the relationship of subjective cognitive complaints to objective cognitive performance, with the goal of facilitating the accurate assessment of trauma-exposed veterans complaining of cognitive decline. METHOD A sample of 203 U.S. military veterans previously deployed to Iraq and/or Afghanistan were assessed for PTSD severity, history of blast and impact mTBI, objective cognitive function, and subjective cognitive complaints. Separate mediation analyses were conducted to explore the degree that PTSD severity, blast mTBI severity, and impact mTBI severity influenced the association between subjective cognitive complaints and objective cognitive performance. Models reflecting significant mediation were followed by post hoc moderated mediation analyses. RESULTS Subjective cognitive complaints and objective cognitive performance were significantly associated (β = -6.49, SE = 2.85, p = .03), but this relationship was mediated by PTSD severity (β= -2.95, SE = 2.86, p = .30). PTSD mediation was not moderated by either blast or impact mTBI. CONCLUSION The present results delineate the prominent impact of PTSD symptoms, relative to blast and impact mTBI, on cognition following combat. These findings highlight the importance of assessing for trauma-related psychopathology in those seeking neuropsychological assessment or rehabilitative care for cognitive complaints. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
Essential Oils as Antimicrobial Agents—Myth or Real Alternative?

Herbs and the essential oils derived from them have been used from the beginning of human history for different purposes. Their beneficial properties have been applied to mask unpleasant odors, attract the attention of other people, add flavor and aroma properties to prepared dishes, perfumes, and cosmetics, etc. Herbs and essential oils (EOs) have also been used in medicine because of their biological properties, such as larvicidal action, analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties, antioxidant, fungicide, and antitumor activities, and many more. Many EOs exhibit antimicrobial properties, which is extremely important in fields of science and industry, such as medicine, agriculture, or cosmetology. Among the 250 EOs which are commercially available, about a dozen possess high antimicrobial potential. According to available papers and patents, EOs seem to be a potential alternative to synthetic compounds, especially because of the resistance that has been increasingly developed by pathogenic microorganisms. In this review we summarize the latest research studies about the most-active EOs that are known and used because of their antimicrobial properties. Finally, it is noteworthy that the antimicrobial activities of EOs are not preeminent for all strains. Further investigations should, thus, focus on targeting EOs and microorganisms.
GMSimpute: a generalized two-step Lasso approach to impute missing values in label-free mass spectrum analysis

Abstract Motivation Missingness in label-free mass spectrometry is inherent to the technology. A computational approach to recover missing values in metabolomics and proteomics datasets is important. Most existing methods are designed under a particular assumption, either missing at random or under the detection limit. If the missing pattern deviates from the assumption, it may lead to biased results. Hence, we investigate the missing patterns in free mass spectrometry data and develop an omnibus approach GMSimpute, to allow effective imputation accommodating different missing patterns. Results Three proteomics datasets and one metabolomics dataset indicate missing values could be a mixture of abundance-dependent and abundance-independent missingness. We assess the performance of GMSimpute using simulated data (with a wide range of 80 missing patterns) and metabolomics data from the Cancer Genome Atlas breast cancer and clear cell renal cell carcinoma studies. Using Pearson correlation and normalized root mean square errors between the true and imputed abundance, we compare its performance to K-nearest neighbors’ type approaches, Random Forest, GSimp, a model-based method implemented in DanteR and minimum values. The results indicate GMSimpute provides higher accuracy in imputation and exhibits stable performance across different missing patterns. In addition, GMSimpute is able to identify the features in downstream differential expression analysis with high accuracy when applied to the Cancer Genome Atlas datasets. Availability and implementation GMSimpute is on CRAN: https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/GMSimpute/index.html. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
A Framework for associated pattern mining over Microarray database

Microarray database is a typical Relational database ,which contains a large number of columns and a small number of rows, and it poses a great challenge for existing associated pattern mining algorithms that discover patterns in item enumeration space. Here I want to Review some algorithms which helps to explore the row enumeration space to mine associated patterns. The row enumeration algorithms are used to avoid searching the large number of columns /items enumeration space, but those algorithms can try to search the associated patterns in the row enumeration space. The column enumeration algorithms can not be scaled to microarray database, where as it is possible to scale the row enumeration algorithms to microarray database. So I can right to say that the associated patterns /rules can be the better search substitutes, which can minimize the search time and complexcity. So instead of searching the large number of columns in a microarray database (bioinformatics database), its associated framing patterns should be searched.
Long-term outcome after stifle arthroscopy in 82 Western performance horses (2003-2010).

OBJECTIVE To report the outcome of horses engaged in Western performance disciplines after stifle arthroscopy and identify prognostic factors for return to performance. STUDY DESIGN Retrospective case series. SAMPLE POPULATION Eighty-two Western performance horses undergoing stifle arthroscopy. METHODS Medical records were reviewed for horses involved in athletic performance/training for various Western performance disciplines and undergoing arthroscopy for lameness localized to the stifle. Follow-up was obtained ≥2 years postoperatively by telephone interviews with the owners. Preoperative and intraoperative findings as well as postoperative treatment were analyzed for their association with return to athletic performance as the primary outcome of interest. RESULTS The most common disciplines represented were cutting (n = 38), Western pleasure (n = 13), and reining (n = 13). Approximately 40% (32/82) of horses returned to intended use after surgery. Increased age, higher degree of lameness, longer duration of lameness, and the presence of partial-thickness cartilage lesions decreased the odds of returning to athletic performance. Postoperative therapies (intra-articular: stem cells, corticosteroids, interleukin-1 receptor antagonist protein, hyaluronic acid/polysulfated glycosaminoglycans; systemic: nonsteroid anti-inflammatory drugs, hyaluronic acid/polysulfated glycosaminoglycans, oral joint supplements) did not affect the odds of returning to intended use. CONCLUSION Less than half of the Western performance horses that underwent stifle arthroscopy returned to intended use. Older age, longer duration of lameness, and presence of partial-thickness cartilage lesions affected the odds of a horse returning to intended use. Postoperative therapies did not affect the outcome in this population. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE The prognosis of Western performance horses undergoing stifle arthroscopy is as guarded as that previously reported in horses of other disciplines.
Changes in hepatitis C burden and treatment trends in Europe during the era of direct-acting antivirals: a modelling study

Objectives Oral direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) for hepatitis C virus (HCV) have dramatically changed the treatment paradigm. Our aim was to project temporal trends in HCV diagnosis, treatment and disease burden in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. Design A mathematical simulation model of natural history of HCV infection. Participants HCV-infected patients defined based on country-specific age, fibrosis and genotype distributions. Interventions HCV screening practice and availability of different waves of DAA treatment in each country. Outcome measures Temporal trends in the number of patients who achieve sustained virological response (SVR), fail treatment (by drug regimen) and develop advanced sequelae from 2014 to 2030 in each country. Results We projected that 1 324 000 individuals would receive treatment from 2014 to 2030 in the five European countries and 12 000–37 000 of them would fail to achieve SVR. By 2021, the number of individuals cured of HCV would supersede the number of actively infected individuals in France, Germany, Spain and the UK. Under status quo, the diagnosis rate would reach between 65% and 75% and treatment coverage between 65% and 74% by 2030 in these countries. The number of patients who fail treatment would decrease over time, with the majority of those who fail treatment having been exposed to non-structural protein 5A inhibitors. Conclusions In the era of DAAs, the number of people with HCV who achieved a cure will exceed the number of viraemic patients, but many patients will remain undiagnosed, untreated, fail multiple treatments and develop advanced sequelae. Scaling-up screening and treatment capacity, and timely and effective retreatment are needed to avail the full benefits of DAAs and to meet HCV elimination targets set by WHO.
The Prevalence and Prognostic Value of Neuroimaging Abnormalities in the Acute Phase of Sepsis-Associated Encephalopathy

Severe sepsis is a common form of critical illness that affects approximately 750,000 people in the USA annually [1]. Morbidity and mortality, especially within the first year after severe sepsis are exceedingly high, making sepsis the 10th leading cause of death in the USA [1,2]. Acute cognitive or neurologic dysfunction during sepsis, known collectively as sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE), is the most common form of encephalopathy in the intensive care unit (ICU) [3-5]. Although it remains unclear whether the pathological processes associated with neurologic and cognitive dysfunction during sepsis are fully reversible, SAE has been linked to a two-fold increase in mortality and elevated risk for long-term cognitive deficits [4,6,7]. Currently, the ability to successfully treat and identify patients most vulnerable to SAE is limited by an incomplete knowledge of the underlying pathogenesis and neurobiology of this syndrome.
Long‐Run Fiscal Multipliers for Autonomous Prefectures in China

We overcome the problems of data availability and investigate the fiscal multipliers in autonomous prefectures in China. We first estimate the long-run elasticity of gross regional production with respect to fiscal expenditure in autonomous prefectures, using autoregressive distributed lag models. The estimated long-run elasticity is much less than unity, however, and the estimated fiscal multipliers for prefectures are between 0.61 and 4.93, with an average of 1.93. These results indicate that additional fiscal expenditure is still effective in increasing local income and promoting economic growth for most of the autonomous prefectures.
Bridging Levels of Analysis in Risk Perception Research: The Case of the Fear of Crime

This paper offers a theoretical treatise that bridges the social and the psychological in risk perception research. We first outline research into the psychology of risk. We then speculate on the idea that people develop a structured narrative to risk, which includes morality, trust, and the dense social meaning of a danger and its impact. From this vantage point, we are better placed to move from psychological analyses of risk perception to the sort of analysis of culture that Mary DOUGLAS provides. Throughout the article we lean on crime as an example.
Economic Analysis of Blackjack: An Application of Prospect Theory

With prior gains, a stock trader becomes more risk-seeking until the gains are cancelled out by further losses. A losing hockey team tends to pull out the goalie in the nal minute of the game even this increases the chance of losing more scores. The rst example is called \house money eect" and the second \break even eect". These behaviours are conformable with the implications of prospect theory developed by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky. These hypotheses are usually tested by behavioural economists under laboratory environments. On the contrary, we analyse the actual behaviours of blackjack players using data collected in a casino. Our results indicate that less than half of the gamblers follow the optimal strategies in the game. But they increase their eort when the wagers are higher. More interestingly, only a moderate fraction of the gamblers exhibits the house money eect and/or
THE EFFECT OF NATURAL ANTIOXIDANTS ON THE OXIDATIVE PROCESSES IN BEEF

Addition of natural antioxidants is one of the ways to extend the durability of meat and meat products. The effects of added pepper extracts on the colour and potential redox changes of beef patties during storage were studied. There were four types of etha- nol based extracts of two types of pepper (sweet and hot), compacted at different tempera- tures: 35 and 50°C. Experimental material consisted of meat samples produced from lean beef 24-hours postmortem. The colour in a CIE L*a*b* systems was examined using an X-Rite reflection spectro-colorimeter. Oxidation-reduction potential was determined using a pH meter (CPC-501) set to the milivolt scale and equipped with a redox electrode ERPt- -13. The results indicate the influence of extracts of different types of pepper added on oxidation-reduction potential values. Meat samples with pepper extract compacted at 35°C addition had a lower oxidation-reduction potential compared with the samples with pepper extract compacted at 50°C addition. Oxidation-reduction potential values of meat samples increased during storage. No significant effects of type of a particular pepper ex- tract on redox potential values were observed. Pepper extracts increased redness (a* value) of meat samples compared to the control, but had no effects on L* values (light- ness). During storage of meat samples slight changes of CIE a* parameters were noted.
A novel conserved enhancer at zebrafish zic3 and zic6 loci drives neural expression

Identifying enhancers and deciphering their putative roles represent a major step to better understand the mechanism of metazoan gene regulation, development, and the role of regulatory elements in disease. Comparative genomics and transgenic assays have been used with some success to identify critical regions that are involved in regulating the spatiotemporal expression of genes during embryogenesis.
Adaptive MIMO Neural Network Model Optimized by Differential Evolution Algorithm for Manipulator Kinematic System Identification

In this paper, an adaptive MIMO neural network model is used for simultaneously modeling and identifying the forward kinematics of a 3-DOF robot manipulator. The nonlinear features of the robot manipulator kinematics system are modeled by an adaptive MIMO neural network model based on differential evolution algorithm. A differential evolution algorithm is used to optimally generate the appropriate neural weights so as to perfectly characterize the nonlinear features of the forward kinematics of a 3-DOF robot manipulator. This paper supports the performance of the proposed differential evolution algorithm in comparison with the conventional back-propagation algorithm. The results show that the proposed adaptive MIMO neural network model trained by the differential evolution algorithm for identifying the forward kinematics of a 3-DOF robot manipulator is successfully modeled and performed well. Keywords-Differential Evolution (DE); Back-Propagation Algorithm; Nonlinear System Identification; Robot Manipulator.
Black hole feedback in a multiphase interstellar medium

Ultrafast outflows (UFOs) from supermassive black holes (SMBHs) are thought to regulate the growth of SMBHs and host galaxies, resulting in a number of observational correlations. We present high-resolution numerical simulations of the impact of a thermalized UFO on the ambient gas in the inner part of the host galaxy. Our results depend strongly on whether the gas is homogeneous or clumpy. In the former case all of the ambient gas is driven outward rapidly as expected based on commonly used energy budget arguments, while in the latter the flows of mass and energy decouple. Carrying most of the energy, the shocked UFO escapes from the bulge via paths of least resistance, taking with it only the low-density phase of the host. Most of the mass is however in the high-density phase, and is affected by the UFO much less strongly, and may even continue to flow inwards. We suggest that the UFO energy leakage through the pores in the multiphase interstellar medium (ISM) may explain why observed SMBHs are so massive despite their overwhelmingly large energy production rates. The multiphase ISM effects reported here are probably under-resolved in cosmological simulations but may be included in prescriptions for active galactic nuclei feedback in future simulations and in semi-analytical models.
Cardiac autonomic dynamics during sleep are lost in patients with TIA and stroke

Ischaemic stroke is accompanied by important alterations of cardiac autonomic control, which have an impact on stroke outcome. In sleep, cardiac autonomic control oscillates with a predominant sympathetic modulation during REM sleep. We aimed to assess cardiac autonomic control in different sleep stages in patients with ischaemic stroke. Forty‐five patients enrolled in the prospective, multicentre SAS‐CARE study but without significant sleep‐disordered breathing (apnea–hypopnea index < 15/hr) and without atrial fibrillation were included in this analysis. The mean age was 56 years, 68% were male, 76% had a stroke (n = 34, mean National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale [NIHSS] score of 5, 11 involving the insula) and 24% (n = 11) had a transitory ischaemic attack. Cardiac autonomic control was evaluated using three different tools (spectral, symbolic and entropy analysis) according to sleep stages on short segments of 250 beats in all patients. Polysomnographic studies were performed within 7 days and 3 months after the ischaemic event. No significant differences in cardiac autonomic control between sleep stages were observed in the acute phase and after 3 months. Predominant vagal modulation and decreased sympathetic modulation were observed across all sleep stages in ischaemic stroke involving the insula. Patients with ischaemic stroke and transitory ischaemic attack present a loss of cardiac autonomic dynamics during sleep in the first 3 months after the ischaemic event. This change could represent an adaptive phenomenon, protecting the cardiovascular system from the instabilities of autonomic control, or a risk factor for stroke, which precedes the ischaemic event.
Genomic variation predicts adaptive evolutionary responses better than population bottleneck history

The relationship between population size, inbreeding, loss of genetic variation and evolutionary potential of fitness traits is still unresolved, and large-scale empirical studies testing theoretical expectations are surprisingly scarce. Here we present a highly replicated experimental evolution setup with 120 lines of Drosophila melanogaster having experienced inbreeding caused by low population size for a variable number of generations. Genetic variation in inbred lines and in outbred control lines was assessed by genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) of pooled samples consisting of 15 males per line. All lines were reared on a novel stressful medium for 10 generations during which body mass, productivity, and extinctions were scored in each generation. In addition, we investigated egg-to-adult viability in the benign and the stressful environments before and after rearing at the stressful conditions for 10 generations. We found strong positive correlations between levels of genetic variation and evolutionary response in all investigated traits, and showed that genomic variation was more informative in predicting evolutionary responses than population history reflected by expected inbreeding levels. We also found that lines with lower genetic diversity were at greater risk of extinction. For viability, the results suggested a trade-off in the costs of adapting to the stressful environments when tested in a benign environment. This work presents convincing support for long-standing evolutionary theory, and it provides novel insights into the association between genetic variation and evolutionary capacity in a gradient of diversity rather than dichotomous inbred/outbred groups.
Simulation of dosage process of viscous products

The paper presents an investigation of transient flow of viscous incompressible material from inside of the nozzle to outside in to a forming box by using specially developed 3-D numerical model. Model is fitted for quantitative analysis of product flow parameters in the area, which is characterised as having free surfaces and makes no restrictions to free flow of the product. An optimal law of the forming box movement was obtained in order to improve the box filling quality and guarantee a nice product levelling of it’s free top surface. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.5755/j01.mech. 20.5. 7753