Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gender equality and electoral corruption: some insights from the local elections in Macedonia

ABSTRACT This research note highlights that gender equality is a necessary condition for eradicating petty forms of electoral corruption. Drawing on primary observations of an Albanian electoral district in the second round of the municipal elections in Macedonia in 2017, I illustrate that a sophisticated and well-conceived electoral code, as well as competent staff at the electoral station could be insufficient to eradicate all forms of corruption completely. Despite their best efforts, election boards were frequently unable to prevent family and group voting of the traditional segments of the population. Even after being told not to do so, traditional men either frequently assisted one or several traditional women in filling out the ballot or literally filled it out for them.
Processes, Motivations, and Issues for Migrating to Microservices Architectures: An Empirical Investigation

Microservices have been getting more and more popular in recent years, and several companies are migrating monolithic applications to microservices. Microservices allow developers to independently develop and deploy services, and ease the adoption of agile processes. However, many companies are still hesitant to migrate because they consider microservice as a hype or because they are not aware of the migration process and the benefits and issues related to migration. For this purpose, we conducted a survey among experienced practitioners who already migrated their monoliths to microservices. In this paper, we identify a process framework based on the comparison of three different migration processes adopted by the interviewed practitioners, together with the common motivations and issues that commonly take place during migrations. In this work, we describe the results and provide an analysis of our survey, which includes a comparison of the migration processes, a ranking of motivations, and issues and some insights into the benefits achieved after the adoption. Maintainability and scalability were consistently ranked as the most important motivations, along with a few other technical and nontechnical motivations. Although return on investment was expected to take longer, the reduced maintenance effort in the long run was considered to highly compensate for this.
Market discipline and banking crises in Russia: A Reverse Engineered Pitch

Research is a long journey for a new early career researcher and PhD student. At the early stage, the new researcher needs to build up the “brick” foundation and to communicate well with the advisory team regarding their research progress. Pitching research developed by Faff (2015; 2017) can be a strong tool for answering the confusion of beginner researcher in their initial journey. This pitching research letter offers the author’s experience in implementing Faff’s (2015; 2017) template to the reverse engineering pitch in the area of banking market discipline. This pitching research template has been applied to a published article by Karas et al. (2013), who investigated the market discipline in Russian banking. In addition, this letter conveys a personal reflection regarding the pitching template.
Female mating preferences and offspring survival: testing hypotheses on the genetic basis of mate choice in a wild lekking bird

Indirect benefits of mate choice result from increased offspring genetic quality and may be important drivers of female behaviour. ‘Good‐genes‐for‐viability’ models predict that females prefer mates of high additive genetic value, such that offspring survival should correlate with male attractiveness. Mate choice may also vary with genetic diversity (e.g. heterozygosity) or compatibility (e.g. relatedness), where the female's genotype influences choice. The relative importance of these nonexclusive hypotheses remains unclear. Leks offer an excellent opportunity to test their predictions, because lekking males provide no material benefits and choice is relatively unconstrained by social limitations. Using 12 years of data on lekking lance‐tailed manakins, Chiroxiphia lanceolata, we tested whether offspring survival correlated with patterns of mate choice. Offspring recruitment weakly increased with father attractiveness (measured as reproductive success, RS), suggesting attractive males provide, if anything, only minor benefits via offspring viability. Both male RS and offspring survival until fledging increased with male heterozygosity. However, despite parent–offspring correlation in heterozygosity, offspring survival was unrelated to its own or maternal heterozygosity or to parental relatedness, suggesting survival was not enhanced by heterozygosity per se. Instead, offspring survival benefits may reflect inheritance of specific alleles or nongenetic effects. Although inbreeding depression in male RS should select for inbreeding avoidance, mates were not less related than expected under random mating. Although mate heterozygosity and relatedness were correlated, selection on mate choice for heterozygosity appeared stronger than that for relatedness and may be the primary mechanism maintaining genetic variation in this system despite directional sexual selection.
Temperature sensors based on D-shaped Fiber Bragg Grating coated with different thin films

We present new temperature sensing devices based on side-polished Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBGs) coated with TiO2, Fe and Pd thin films. The temperature sensing mechanism was based on the wavelength shift of the returned Bragg signal, as measured by an optical spectrum analyzer (OSA). The Bragg grating wavelength shift of the reflected optical signal is a function of the environmental temperature, which is related to the difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) between thin films and SMF-28 fiber. The D-shaped FBG temperature sensors are measured in the range of 27-118.5°C. The experimental results show that the temperature sensitivity of the D-shaped FBG can be improved when it is coated with a material that has a high CTE. For the proposed temperature sensors using thin films coated on the D-shaped FBG fiber, the sensitivity of 12.2 pm/oC for the D-shaped FBG sensor with Pd coating is higher than that without coating.
A predictive model of subcutaneous glucose concentration in type 1 diabetes based on Random Forests

In this study, an individualized predictive model of the subcutaneous glucose concentration in type 1 diabetes is presented, which relies on the Random Forests regression technique. A multivariate dataset is utilized concerning the s.c. glucose profile, the plasma insulin concentration, the intestinal absorption of meal-derived glucose and the daily energy expenditure. In an attempt to capture daily rhythms in glucose metabolism, we also introduce a time feature in the predictive analysis. The dataset comes from the continuous multi-day recordings of 27 type 1 patients in free-living conditions. Evaluating the performance of the proposed method by 10-fold cross validation, an average RMSE of 6.60, 8.15, 9.25 and 10.83 mg/dl for 15, 30, 60 and 120 min prediction horizons, respectively, was attained.
Application of Support Vector Regression Method in Stock Market Forecasting

Stock market forecasting has attracted a lot of research interests in previous literature, and recent studies have shown that artificial neural networks (ANN) method achieved better performance than traditional statistical ones. ANN approaches have, however, suffered from difficulties with generalization, producing models that can overfit the data. This paper employs a relatively new machine learning technique, support vector machines (SVM), to the stock market forecasting problem in an attempt to provide a model with better explanatory power. To evaluate the prediction accuracy of SVM, we compare its performance with three-layer fully connected backpropagation neural networks (BNN). The experiment results show that SVM outperforms the BNN.
Terfenadine modifies airway narrowing induced by the inhalation of nonisotonic aerosols in subjects with asthma.

A change in osmolarity of the respiratory tract is a potent stimulus for provoking an attack of asthma. The mechanism for this is thought to be the release of histamine and other mediators from airway mast cells. We studied the effect of a potent and selective H1 receptor antagonist on the airway response to nonisotonic aerosols (NIA) in 12 asthmatic subjects 19 to 57 yr of age. Terfenadine (T) (180 mg) or its placebo (P) was given 150 min before challenge with NIA. The FEV1 was measured before and after the inhalation of aerosols of isotonic (0.9%), hypertonic (1.8, 3.6, 4.5, and 5.4%), and hypotonic NaCl (0.6, 0.3, and 0%) aerosols. Each concentration of aerosol was inhaled for 3 min, and each day the concentration was increased or decreased until a 20% fall in FEV1 was recorded. Terfenadine caused a significant reduction in airway narrowing as assessed by (1) the percent fall in FEV1 (hypertonic mean +/- 1 SD P, 26.1 +/- 9.5 versus T, 15.6 +/- 14, p = 0.025; hypotonic P, 29.8 +/- 13.1 versus T, 16.6 +/- 13.1, p less than 0.02); (2) the lowest FEV1 percent predicted (%FEV1) (hypertonic P, 61 +/- 13 versus T, 76 +/- 16, p less than 0.005; hypotonic P, 56 +/- 10 versus T, 78 +/- 14, p less than 0.001) documented at the dose common to both placebo and terfenadine test days; (3) the difference in %FEV1 before and after challenge (hypertonic, p less than 0.034; hypotonic, p less than 0.035). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Effect of adenosine and adenosine analogues on cyclic AMP accumulation in cultured mesangial cells and isolated glomeruli of the rat

1 Changes in intracellular levels of adenosine 3′:5′‐cyclic monophosphate (cyclic AMP) were studied in rat isolated glomeruli and cultured glomerular mesangial cells exposed to adenosine and to the preferential A1 receptor agonist N6‐R‐1‐methyl‐2‐phenylethyl adenosine (R‐PIA), or the potent A2 adenosine receptor agonist 5‐(N‐ethylcarboxamide)adenosine (NECA). 2 Whereas NECA and adenosine triggered a dose‐dependent increase in cyclic AMP values with EC50 values of approximately 10−6 m and 3 × 10−5 m respectively, R‐PIA lowered cyclic AMP levels at concentrations of 10−6 m or less and increased them at higher concentrations. 3 The time‐course of the increase induced by 10−6 m NECA was slower than that induced by 10−4 m adenosine. Adenosine produced a maximal stimulation within the first minute, whereas the effect of NECA in both glomeruli and mesangial cells was noticeable only from the second minute of incubation. 4 The effects of the agonists R‐PIA and NECA on the cyclic AMP system were blocked respectively by the A1 adenosine receptor antagonist, 8‐cyclopentyl‐1, 3‐dipropylxanthihe (DPCPX) at 10−6 m and the A2 antagonist N‐(2‐dimethylaminoethyl)‐N‐methyl‐4‐(2, 3, 6, 7‐tetrahydro‐2,b‐dioxo‐1, 3‐dipropyl‐1H‐purin‐8‐yl) benzene sulphonamide (PD115,199) at 10−6 m. Theophylline, a known antagonist of adenosine receptors, inhibited the action of adenosine on cyclic AMP in mesangial cells. Dipyridamole, an inhibitor of the uptake of adenosine by the cells, enhanced the response to adenosine. 5 These results suggest the existence of A1 and A2 adenosine receptors with opposite actions on intracellular levels of cyclic AMP in both glomeruli and mesangial cells. Adenosine seems to increase cyclic AMP through the activation of a surface adenosine receptor with pharmacological properties distinct from those exhibited by the A2 adenosine receptor.
Design of a robust receiver architecture for scintillation monitoring

Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) signals traversing small scale irregularities present in the ionosphere may experience fast and unpredictable fluctuations of their amplitude and phase. This phenomenon can seriously affect the performance of a GNSS receiver, decreasing the position accuracy and, in the worst scenario, also inducing a total loss of lock on the satellite signals. This paper proposes an adaptive Kalman Filter (KF) based Phase Locked Loop (PLL) to cope with high dynamics and strong fading induced by ionospheric scintillation events. The KF based PLL self-tunes the covariance matrix according to the detected scintillation level. Furthermore, the paper shows that radio frequency interference can affect the reliable computation of scintillation parameters. In order to mitigate the effect of the interference signal and filter it out, a wavelet based interference mitigation algorithm has been also implemented. The latter is able to retrieve genuine scintillation indices that otherwise would be corrupted by radio frequency interference.
Acquisition of complementation

ABSTRACT This study concerns the acquisition of complex sentences with perception and epistemic verbs that take a second verb in their complements. The acquisition of complementation began between two and three years of age in this longitudinal study of four children's spontaneous speech. The results of the study showed that (1) complement types and complementizer connectives and (2) the discourse contexts in which complementation occurred were specific to individual matrix verbs. The most frequent verbs acquired were the perception verbs see and look and the epistemic verbs think and know. Developments in both discourse and syntax indicated that these verbs expressed attitudes of certainty/uncertainty toward the content expressed in their complements. The results are discussed in terms of both linguistic and psychological factors in the acquisition of complex sentences with complementation.
A novel intracellular isoform of VEGFR‐1 activates Src and promotes cell invasion in MDA‐MB‐231 breast cancer cells

Two types of VEGFR‐1 receptors have been characterized: a full‐length transmembrane receptor and a truncated extracellular soluble isoform (sVEGFR‐1). We report here the characterization, in normal and cancer cells, of a new family of intracellular isoforms of VEGFR‐1 resulting from alternative initiation of transcription in intronic sequences of the gene. While the classical isoforms of VEGFR‐1 were barely detectable in MDA‐MB‐231 breast cancer cells, one of the intracellular isoforms transcribed from intron 21 (i21VEGFR‐1) was the main isoform expressed in these cells. The new transcript encodes for a protein that contains only the phosphotransferase domain and the carboxyterminal tail of VEGFR‐1. Treatment of MDA‐MB‐231 cells with siRNA specific for the tyrosine domain of VEGFR‐1 suppressed the expression of i21VEGFR‐1, downregulated phosphorylation of Src at tyrosine 418, and reduced markedly the invasion capacity of these cells in vitro. Accordingly, overexpression of transfected i21VEGFR‐1 in MDA‐MB‐231 cells upregulated the active form of Src and increased invasiveness of MDA‐MB‐231 cells. The expression of i21VEGFR‐1 in MDA‐MB‐231 cells was inhibited by retinoic acid. Both, activation of Src and downregulation by retinoic acid, have been reported in other intracellular members of the Fms/Kit/PDGFR family of tyrosine kinases, particularly in the intracellular isoform of c‐kit, analogous structurally to i21VEGFR‐1 and frequently expressed in cancer cells. J. Cell. Biochem. 110: 732–742, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Increased Activity of Intestinal Acyl-CoA: Cholesterol Acyltransferase in Rats With Streptozocin-Induced Diabetes and Restoration by Insulin Supplementation

We examined the activities of intestinal acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) and cholesterol esterase, enzymes regulating cholesterol absorption, in rats with streptozocin-induced diabetes (STZ-D) to clarify the effect of diabetes on cholesterol absorption. Three weeks after the induction of diabetes, plasma cholesterol levels were slightly but significantly increased in diabetic rats compared with control animals, whereas a far more remarkable increase in plasma cholesterol was observed in diabetic rats when fed an atherogenic diet containing 1% cholesterol, 0.5% cholic acid, and 5% lard. Microsomal ACAT activity in intestinal mucosa was three times higher in diabetic than in control rats. However, no significant difference in the enzyme activity could be detected between diabetic animals fed control chow and those fed the atherogenic diet. Furthermore, insulin supplementation given to diabetic rats caused a reduction of enzyme activity to the levels found in control animals. In contrast, cholesterol esterase activity in rat intestinal mucosa was unaffected by either the induction of diabetes or the atherogenic diet feeding. In conclusion, we disclosed that apparent ACAT activity in intestinal mucosa is elevated in STZ-D rats. Therefore, we postulate that enhancement of CoA-dependent cholesterol esterification in the intestine might be one of the major factors responsible for hypercholesterolemia in diabetes.
Phosphorylation restores activity of L‐type calcium channels after rundown in inside‐out patches from rabbit cardiac cells.

1. Rundown of L‐type calcium channels was studied in inside‐out patches made from single isolated rabbit ventricular myocytes, using barium as the charge carrier. 2. In the cell‐attached patches single‐channel activity was stable for more than 15 min after the patch pipette sealed. beta‐Receptor stimulation by isoprenaline caused a characteristic increase in opening probability and the appearance of prolonged openings. When the patch was excised to the inside‐out configuration and exposed to a simple ionic solution, channel activity disappeared within 1‐2 min and never reappeared spontaneously. 3. After rundown of L‐type channel activity in the excised patch, exposure of the inside face of the patch to MgATP and the catalytic subunit of the cyclic AMP‐dependent protein kinase (PKAc) resulted in recovery of Ca2+ channel activity. Under these conditions channel activity could be even greater than under control cell‐attached conditions, resembling channel activity after exposure to isoprenaline. This recovery of activity persisted many minutes, usually until the patch was lost. Addition of MgATP alone caused a small transient increase in channel activity in some patches. 4. Recovery of activity by MgATP and PKAc could be prevented by prior exposure of the excised patch to protein kinase inhibitor (PKI), or it could be abruptly terminated by exposure to PKI after recovery of activity. Addition to the pipette solution of okadaic acid, a protein phosphatase inhibitor, greatly slowed rundown. These findings support the proposal that dephosphorylation is an important component of rundown, and that phosphorylation is needed for channel opening activity. 5. Single‐channel conductance was not altered by patch excision, but it was reduced after exposure of the excised patch to MgATP and PKAc. Mg2+ was responsible for this effect, probably by direct channel block from the inside, and Mg2+ also caused a negative shift in the channel activation, as expected from shielding of inside fixed negative charges.
Development and characterization of multiple emulsions for controlled release of Trichilia catigua (Catuaba) extract

Abstract Considering the antioxidant activity of the Trichilia catigua extract (TCE), the aim of the current study was to develop and characterize W/O/W multiple emulsions containing different vegetable oils as a platform to deliver a TCE. The extract displayed antioxidant activity (IC50) of 4.59 µg/mL and total phenol content (TPC) of 50.84%. Formulations were prepared by the phase-inversion emulsification method and analyzed for morphological appearance, pH, conductivity, droplet size and distribution, content of active, rheological properties, in vitro release, skin permeation, and stability. Formulations prepared with canola oil were selected and displayed regular morphology, mean diameter 2.77 µm (without TCE), 3.07 µm with 0.5% and 3.23 µm with 1.0% TCE. Rheometry (flow) showed pseudoplastic behavior with minimal thixotropy for both systems. TCE could be released from emulsions containing 1.0% and 0.5% TCE in a controlled manner for 16 and 23 h, respectively. The emulsions allowed good retention of TCE in the skin (stratum corneum, epidermis, and dermis). In a 180-d assessment of accelerated chemical stability, TPC was more reduced for the emulsions at 40 °C; other parameters remained stable. Multiple emulsions containing TCE were developed, exhibited good characteristics, and may be considered for future investigations as anti-aging formulations for the skin.
Combat Related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Multiple Case Report Using Virtual Reality Graded Exposure Therapy with Physiological Monitoring

The current report summarizes case studies from an Office of Naval Research (ONR) funded project to compare the effects of Virtual Reality Graded Exposure Therapy (VRGET) with a treatment as usual control condition in active-duty Navy Corpsmen, Navy SeaBees and Navy and Marine Corps Support Personnel. Details of the collaborative program between the Virtual Reality Medical Center (VRMC) and Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD) will be discussed.
Motivation and background of participants and providers of self-harvest gardens in Germany

Abstract Different forms of urban agriculture have gained increased interest and participation in Germany. One form of urban agriculture is self-harvest gardening where participants can lease a plot in a field with various vegetables. However, in Western Europe, little is known about self-harvest garden participants and providers or their motivation and social background. Therefore, in 2015 a survey was conducted with 173 participants and 34 providers from different regions and cities in Germany. The study aimed to compile a self-characterization of people engaged in this form of gardening on a national level. The outcome of the survey captures an emerging phenomenon. While many of the self-harvest gardens can be assigned as grassroot initiatives, participants generally characterized themselves as having a middle or high income, a sustainable lifestyle, high level of education and high nutritional awareness. Disproportionally often, females were engaged in self-harvest gardening. Providers were mainly farmers with a high affinity to organic agriculture. Often the farmers had synergistic effects with other activities like farm shops. Location of the garden area, good support by the providers, promotional marketing and social activities were identified as factors for successful self-harvest gardens. The main incentive for the participants seem to be their engagement in the production of local and healthy food, which can be taken into account by the providers when considering their future focus. On the other hand, problems with bad harvest, theft and vandalism were challenges for some self-harvest gardens. While, legal problems were not a major concern for the providers.
Dilemma of concepts and strategies for the prevention of spread of HIV in relation to human behavior, law and human rights

The new prevalence data regarding the estimated global number of human immunodeficiency virus positive (HIV+) cases, i.e., including people who are either aware or unaware of their HIV infection in 2010, lead many to wonder why the increase in incidence has reached today’s unprecedented level and escalated within such a short time. This, in spite of prevention campaigns in countries affected by HIV/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) with their urgent messages aimed at preventing HIV transmission by promoting changes in individual’s behavior. This article analyzes the background of the prevention strategies, in particular their political, social and legal concepts in terms of human rights, and reveals traits of human behavior not considered thus far. A radical reappraisal is necessary, at social and legislative levels, as well as options additional to current concepts. When ethical issues come up, they become blamed for outmoded moralistic positions. However, ignoring the reality has led to dire consequences from prioritizing individual human rights over society’s collective need to prevent the spread of HIV.