Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Okun's Law across the Business Cycle: New Evidence on the Sources of Asymmetries

This paper examines possible sources of asymmetries in Okun’s law, which describes the relationship between cyclical changes in the unemployment rate and cyclical changes in output; that is, the relationship between deviations in unemployment from its natural rate and deviations in output from its trend. Macroeconomic shocks can generally explain the asymmetry in the Okun relationship between periods of economic expansion and contraction. We find no evidence of asymmetry between periods of positive and negative cyclical (above trend or below trend) output. In turn, we conclude that the asymmetry between periods of economic expansion and contraction results from policy decisions and exogenous shocks rather than an underlying structural component of the relationship such as inherent risk aversion among employers.
The Heterogeneous Effects of Eco-labels on Internalities and Externalities

The Energy Star program labels energy efficient goods and has been credited with reducing the external costs of energy consumption. Its social value is nonetheless ambiguous if, in its absence, consumers both over-value and under-value the energy consumption attribute of goods, relative to their economic preferences. The label must perform opposite tasks to guarantee an increase in consumer welfare: it must prompt some individuals to increase their valuation of the energy consumption attribute and others, to decrease it. Otherwise, the program could yield "negative dividends" by inducing losses in individual-level welfare that outweigh externality reductions. We develop a method to quantify the impact of the program on individual-level decision-making behavior and welfare. Using novel data from a stated choice experiment involving light bulbs, we illustrate the potential for negative dividends and that the value of programs such as the Energy Star depends on the choice set available to consumers.
Microstructural Characterization of Aluminum-Carbon Nanotube Nanocomposites Produced Using Different Dispersion Methods

Abstract This research focuses on characterization of the impact of dispersion methods on aluminum-carbon nanotubes (Al-CNTs) nanocomposite structure. Nanocomposites were produced by a conventional powder metallurgy process after the dispersion of the CNTs on the Al powders, using two approaches: (1) the dispersion of CNTs and mixture with Al powders were performed in a single step by ultrasonication; and (2) the CNTs were previously untangled by ultrasonication and then mixed with Al powders by ball milling. Microstructural characterization of Al-CNT nanocomposites was performed by optical microscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Microstructural characterization revealed that the use of ball milling for mixing CNTs with Al powders promoted the formation of CNT clusters of reduced size, more uniformly dispersed in the matrix, and a nanocomposite of smaller grain size. However, the results of HRTEM and Raman spectroscopy show that ball milling causes higher damage to the CNT structure. The strengthening effect of the CNT is attested by the increase in hardness and tensile strength of the nanocomposites.
The Degree of Employment of Faculty Members for Assessment Standards Defined by the American Educational Organizations in Assessing Student Learning at the University of Najran

This study investigates the faculty members' employment of assessment standards defined by the American educational organizations (NCME, AFT and NEA) to assessing student learning at the University of Najran from the students' point of view. To achieve the objective of the study, the questionnaire which consisted of 38 items distributed to seven standards was administered to 323 male and female students at some colleges. The results showed moderate level of the faculty members' employment of assessment standards. There were also statistically significant differences according to gender in favor of males and college in favor of practical college.
In Vivo Visualized Endolymphatic Hydrops and Inner Ear Functions in Patients With Electrocochleographically Confirmed Ménière’s Disease

Objective To study the correlation between the degree of endolymphatic hydrops as detected in vivo by magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and the auditory and vestibular function in patients with definite Ménière’s disease. Study Design Prospective observational study. Setting Tertiary referral center for balance disorders. Subjects and Methods In this prospective study, 41 patients who fulfilled the criteria for definite unilateral Ménière’s disease according to the American Association of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery and who showed a summating potential–to–action potential ratio of greater than 0.4 on electrocochleography were included. Intratympanic contrast-enhanced 3 Tesla MR imaging of the inner ear was performed using a 3D Inversion Recovery Turbo Spin Echo sequence. The degree of endolymphatic hydrops was graded on a Likert scale (0–3) in the cochlea and by vestibular endolymph space ratio in the vestibulum. The degree of hydrops was then analyzed with respect to its correlation with audiometric hearing levels, interaural amplitude ratios of vestibular evoked myogenic potentials, degree of horizontal semicircular canal paresis on caloric irrigation, and disease duration. Results The degree of hearing loss and the disease duration correlated significantly with cochlear hydrops (r = 0.85; r = 0.34). Sacculus dysfunction was significantly correlated with vestibular hydrops (r = −0.47). There was no significant correlation between horizontal semicircular canal paresis and vestibular hydrops. Conclusion In patients with clinically and electrocochleographically confirmed definite Ménière’s disease, the degree of MR morphological hydrops severity correlates significantly with impairment of hearing function and sacculus function.
A critical appraisal of the research literature investigating fatigue in the individual with cancer

&NA; Fatigue is a commonly experienced symptom, which may be a component of virtually any disease and can have a psychological, physical, or mixed origin. Nurses need to understand the onset, duration, and progression of fatigue to intervene successfully with the cancer patient adapting to diagnosis and treatment. While the literature is an important source of information, results of research studies must be critically interpreted before proceeding with practice guidelines based on research findings. A critical appraisal of the research literature investigating the problem of fatigue in individuals with cancer was conducted. There is strong evidence to suggest that fatigue is a prevalent problem among cancer patients receiving chemotherapy and radiation therapy. However past research has been limited by methodological problems. Typically, studies fail to include a control group, do not control for possible confounding variables, and have restricted measurement to unidimensional scales with limited reliability and validity. While several correlates of fatigue have been postulated, research to date has found no consistent relationships among such correlates as weight loss, anemia, or psychological distress. This article reviews what is currently known about fatigue in the cancer patient and how future research could be designed to improve on past measurement and sampling problems.
Muscle synergies during incremental rowing VO2max test of collegiate rowers and untrained subjects.

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to evaluate the muscle synergies during incremental rowing VO2 max Test of collegiate rowers and untrained subjects. As a power endurance sport, high aerobic capacity was one of the determinants of rowing performance. The modulation of muscle recruitment patterns following specific physiological demands was an indication of the robustness of muscle synergies composition which was overlooked in previous studies. METHODS Ten male collegiate rowers and physically active untrained subjects were recruited. Muscle synergies were extracted from 16 rowing-specific muscles using Principal Component Analysis with varimax rotation. Incremental rowing VO2 max Test was performed on slides ergometer (SE). Rowing performance and physiological variables were analyzed. RESULTS Rowers exerted greater power output, more energy expenditure and better rowing economy compared to untrained subjects. Rowers preferred to row slower with longer strokes compared to the untrained subjects. Three muscle synergies with high indices of similarity of waveform patterns were extracted in both groups. Significant association was found between muscle synergies and rowing economy. CONCLUSIONS The findings of this study showed that muscle synergies were robust during aerobic-dominant activity for collegiate rowers and untrained subjects. Rowers and coaches could utilize the findings by emphasizing on muscle coordination training, which may enhance the rowing economy.
Stabilization of mutant Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1) protein by coexpressed wild SOD1 protein accelerates the disease progression in familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis mice

Transgenic mice carrying familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (FALS)‐linked mutant Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1) genes such as G93A (G93A‐mice) and G85R (G85R‐mice) genes develop limb paresis. Introduction of human wild type SOD1 (hWT‐SOD1) gene, which does not cause motor impairment by itself, into different FALS mice resulted in different effects on their clinical courses, from no effect in G85R‐mice to acceleration of disease progression in G93A‐mice. However, the molecular mechanism which causes the observed difference, has not been clarified. We hypothesized that the difference might be caused by the stability of mutant SOD1 proteins. Using a combination of mass spectrometry and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay, we found that the concentration of G93A‐SOD1 protein was markedly elevated in tissues of transgenic mice carrying both G93A‐ and hWT‐SOD1 genes (G93A/hWT‐mice) compared to that in G93A‐mice, and also found that the concentration of G93A‐SOD1 protein had a close relation to the disease duration. The concentration of metallothionein‐I/II in the spinal cord, reflecting the degree of copper‐mediated oxidative stress, was highest in G93A/hWT‐mice, second in G93A‐mice, and normal in the mice carrying hWT‐SOD1 gene. These results indicated that the increase of G93A‐SOD1 protein was responsible for the increase of oxidative stress and disease acceleration in G93A/hWT‐mice. We speculate that coexpression of hWT‐SOD1 protein is deleterious to transgenic mice carrying a stable mutant such as G93A‐SOD1, because this mutant protein is stabilized by hWT‐SOD1 protein, but not to transgenic mice carrying an unstable mutant such as G85R‐SOD1, because this mutant protein is not stabilized by hWT‐SOD1.
Exploring the facilitators and barriers to engagement in physical activity for people with multiple sclerosis

Purpose. To explore the relationship that cognitive behavioural and other previously identified variables have with physical activity engagement in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Methods. This study adopted a cross-sectional questionnaire design. Participants were 282 individuals with MS. Outcome measures included the Physical Activity Disability Survey – Revised, Cognitive and Behavioural Responses to Symptoms Questionnaire, Barriers to Health Promoting Activities for Disabled Persons Scale, Multiple Sclerosis Self-efficacy Scale, Self-Efficacy for Chronic Diseases Scales and Chalder Fatigue Questionnaire. Results. Multivariable stepwise regression analyses found that greater self-efficacy, greater reported mental fatigue and lower number of perceived barriers to physical activity accounted for a significant proportion of variance in physical activity behaviour, over that accounted for by illness-related variables. Although fear-avoidance beliefs accounted for a significant proportion of variance in the initial analyses, its effect was explained by other factors in the final multivariable analyses. Conclusions. Self-efficacy, mental fatigue and perceived barriers to physical activity are potentially modifiable variables which could be incorporated into interventions designed to improve physical activity engagement. Future research should explore whether a measurement tool tailored to capture beliefs about physical activity identified by people with MS would better predict participation in physical activity.
Modulation of Ras and a-Factor Function by Carboxyl-Terminal Proteolysis

Prenylated proteins contain a covalently linked cholesterol intermediate near their carboxyl-termini. Maturation of most prenylated proteins involves proteolytic removal of the last three amino acids. Two genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, RCE1 and AFC1, were identified that appear to be responsible for this processing. The Afc1 protein is a zinc protease that participates in the processing of yeast a-factor mating pheromone. The Rce1 protein contributes to the processing of both Ras protein and a-factor. Deletion of both AFC1 and RCE1 resulted in the loss of proteolytic processing of prenylated proteins. Disruption of RCE1 led to defects in Ras localization and signaling and suppressed the activated phenotype associated with the allele RAS2val19.
Antenna pattern correction using Cauchy-Gauss modelling

Antenna measurement in a semi-anechoic chamber is always affected by multipath effects. In this paper, Cauchy and Gauss models of the measurement in the time domain and the noise, and the Bayesian estimation theory are applied to identify clearly the direct and reflected waves. Then, it is possible to recover the distortionless radiation pattern removing the reflected waves. Satisfactory results have been found in the comparison between retrieved radiation patterns and the reference ones.
Anatomical and functional correlates in major depressive disorder: The contribution of neuroimaging studies

Several studies suggested the neural networks modulating aspects of emotional behaviour to be implicated in the pathophysiology of mood disorders. These networks involve the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) and closely related areas in the medial and caudolateral orbital cortex (medial prefrontal network), amygdala, hippocampus, and ventromedial parts of the basal ganglia, where alterations in grey matter volume and neurophysiological activity are found in cases with recurrent depressive episodes. Such findings hold major implications for models of the neurocircuits that underlie depression. In particular, evidence from lesion analysis studies suggests that MPFC and related limbic and striato-pallido-thalamic structures organize emotional expression. The aim of this paper is to review the contribution of the most relevant studies with single photon emission tomography (SPECT), positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to the understanding of pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD), with particular focus on the reversibility of functional correlates with treatment.
Disruption of Myc-Tubulin Interaction by Hyperphosphorylation of c-Myc during Mitosis or by Constitutive Hyperphosphorylation of Mutant c-Myc in Burkitt's Lymphoma

ABSTRACT Somatic mutations at Thr-58 of c-Myc have been detected in Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) tumors and have been shown to affect the transforming potential of the Myc oncoprotein. In addition, the N-terminal domain of c-Myc has been shown to interact with microtubules in vivo, and the binding of c-Myc to α-tubulin was localized to amino acids 48 to 135 within the c-Myc protein. We demonstrate that c-Myc proteins harboring a naturally occurring mutation at Thr-58 from BL cell lines have increased stability and are constitutively hyperphosphorylated, which disrupts the in vivo interaction of c-Myc with α-tubulin. In addition, we show that wild-type c-Myc–α-tubulin interactions are also disrupted during a transient mitosis-specific hyperphosphorylation of c-Myc, which resembles the constitutive hyperphosphorylation pattern of Thr-58 in BL cells.
Accuracy of a new echographic method (RULES, radiofrequency ultrasonic local estimators) in prostate cancer diagnosis.

BACKGROUND This study evaluated the accuracy of a new echographic method named RULES (radiofrequency ultrasonic local estimators) in the diagnosis of prostate cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS A double-blind prospective study was carried out on 105 patients mean age 66.6 years, prostate specific antigen (PSA) >4 ng/ml with clinical and/or biochemical suspicious of prostate cancer. Patients were submitted to transrectal prostate biopsy (8 to 12 cores) using a traditional echograph connected to a new hardware/ software platform named FEMMINA (fast echographic multiparameter multi image novel apparatus) that processes the echo signal by a RULES (radiofrequency ultrasonic local estimators) algorithm. Histological findings were compared to B-mode and RULES modality. RESULTS Cancer was detected in 32/105 patients, of which 26/32 were determined as positive with the RULES method. RULES had better positive predictive value, negative predictive value, sensitivity, specificity and accuracy than B-mode. CONCLUSION Results obtained with RULES are encouraging and, if further confirmed, could help to reduce the number of unnecessary prostatic biopsies.
Towards an era of epidemiological databases for autoimmune diseases

Nowadays, autoimmune diseases are among the leading causes of death for a remarkable number of patients all around the world. Recent studies have witnessed that the epidemiological indices for a specific disease can vary according to ethnic and geographical parameters. As a result, the genetic epidemiology of autoimmune diseases is a major matter of study for the worldwide scientific community. We have previously reported the development of dAUTObase (www.dAUTObase.org), a database recording solely epidemiological data of autoimmune diseases in various populations around the globe. Here, we present an important upgrade of the dAUTObase system focused on the development of new data visualization tools oriented to further assist the effective data querying and the mining process.
Enamel Fluoride in Relation To Severity of Human Dental Fluorosis

The aim of this study was to test whether the concentrations of fluoride in fluorotic human enamel are related to the degree of severity of dental fluorosis classified according to the index described by Thylstrup and Fejerskov. Teeth representing the entire spectrum of human dental fluorosis were analyzed. Fluoride concentrations were determined by serial acid-etching from surface to interior of blocks of enamel cut from each tooth. Fluoride was measured by ion electrode and calcium by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The results showed that the pattern of distribution of fluoride in fluorotic enamel is similar to that described for normal enamel. Increasing severity of fluorotic lesions was associated with increasing concentrations of fluoride throughout the enamel. It is concluded that although further studies are required to establish the relative contribution of fluoride which may be taken up posteruptively by fluorotic enamel, the findings support the hypothesis that the TF index reflects increasing exposure to fluoride during tooth development.
Pressure ulcer healing with an intensive nutrition intervention in an acute setting: a pilot randomised controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the feasibility of recruitment, retention, intervention delivery and outcome measurement in a nutritional intervention to promote pressure ulcer healing in an acute setting. METHOD Some 50 tertiary hospital patients with stage II or greater pressure ulcer were randomised to receive either individualised nutritional care by a dietitian, including prescription of wound healing supplements; or standard nutritional care. Relevant nutritional and pressure ulcer (PU) parameters were collected at day 5, 10, 15, 22 and then weekly or until discharge. RESULTS The median length of hospital stay was 14 days (1-70) with 29 patients discharged by day 15. There were 24 patients discharged before their PU fully healed. Per cent change in valid PU area and score measures from baseline to day 15 were chosen for outcome data analysis to account for varying initial size and severity of the wound and length of stay. There was a larger percentage reduction in PU measures in the intervention group, but this was not statistically significant. Little difference was found in nutritional intake between the control and intervention groups indicating a requirement to focus on effective delivery of the intervention in future studies. Future studies in the acute setting need to account for length of stay and ideally follow patients until full healing. CONCLUSION Results indicate a positive association with nutrition intervention and PU healing and that a rigorously designed and adequately powered study is feasible.
Effect of 3,4-Dihydroxyacetophenone on Endothelial Dysfunction in Streptozotocin-induced Rats With Type 2 Diabetes

Abstract: This study investigated whether 3,4-Dihydroxyacetophenone (DHAP) could improve endothelial function in streptozotocin-induced type 2 diabetic rats. Sprague–Dawley rats were randomly divided into control, diabetic, and diabetic DHAP-treated animals. After treatment with DHAP for 8 weeks, endothelial function was determined by measuring endothelium-dependent vasodilatation (EDV) of the thoracic aorta. Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) activity and nitric oxide (NO) production in endothelial cells and nuclear transcription factor kappa B (NF-&kgr;B) expression and superoxide anion production in the aorta were determined. DHAP treatment reduced serum levels of triglycerides, cholesterol, malondialdehyde, and tumor necrosis factor &agr;, and enhanced serum adiponectin levels. Endothelium-dependent vasodilatation was significantly attenuated in rats with diabetes and increased significantly after DHAP treatment. NO levels and eNOS activity in endothelial cells were significantly reduced, and NF-&kgr;B activation and superoxide production increased in rats with diabetes compared with the control group. DHAP treatment enhanced NO levels and eNOS activity and decreased NF-&kgr;B activation and superoxide production. These findings suggest that DHAP could improve endothelial function in streptozotocin-induced type 2 diabetic rats. The mechanism may be related to the enhancement of eNOS activity and NO production by reducing plasma lipid levels, oxidative stress, and inflammatory activity.
A Region-Based Normalized Cross Correlation Algorithm for the Vision-Based Positioning of Elongated IC Chips

With the development of integrated circuit (IC) chips, many elongated chips with small amounts of textures have begun to be used in IC packaging and manufacturing. Traditional template-matching methods are not effective for positioning these chips; this limitation results in IC equipment that cannot accurately pick up an elongated IC chip or may package a nonworking IC chip onto an electronic device. In this paper, a novel region-based normalized cross correlation algorithm that uses a signal function to separate the influences of the IC chip and the background pixel information is proposed. To obtain an increased speed, the bounding box of the IC chip is employed to rapidly estimate the region of interest of an IC chip in a target image. Various experiments using LED sorting equipment demonstrate that our algorithm results in correct positioning for elongated IC chips and can distinguish good chips from nonworking chips with reasonable accuracy. When the size of the target image is 512 × 512 pixels and the size of the template image is smaller than 140 × 140 pixels, the matching time of our algorithm is less than 14 ms. This algorithm may have many applications in the field of IC packaging.