Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Physical Activity and Sleep Improvements in a Group of Equestrian Therapy Volunteers: A Pilot Study

This study aims to assess whether participation as a supportive volunteer in equestrian therapy (ET) sessions influences participants' physiological health-related parameters, including physical activity and sleep. Physical activity, measured in steps, and hours of sleep were measured in 10 subjects who participated regularly as volunteers in ET sessions using a triaxial accelerometer which continuously recorded their activity for 30 days. On the one hand, the subjects showed higher physical activity levels on days when they volunteered in ET sessions versus the days they did not. A significant difference and large effect magnitude were found. On the other hand, on the days they attended ET, they slept an average of 30 minutes more, with significant differences and a moderate effect. Thus, participation as a volunteer in ET sessions seems to have a positive influence on physical activity and sleep time, so it should be recommended as an activity to promote healthy habits.
Psychological Profiles of Treatment-Seeking Adults with Overweight and Obesity: A Cluster Analysis Approach

Background: Overweight and obesity are associated with depression and well-being. Some psychological characteristics play a role in explaining well-being and depression in obesity and in identifying specific patient profiles. However, subtyping individuals with overweight/obesity based on variables like self-esteem or stress has not often been done. Therefore, our objective was to explore the psychological profiles of treatment-seeking individuals overweight or with obesity and to compare their depression and well-being. Methods: Data regarding eating self-efficacy, well-being, depression, physical hunger, self-esteem, body satisfaction and perceived stress in individuals with overweight/obesity were collected from the ESTEAM cohort. Hierarchical cluster analysis and mean comparisons were performed on female (n = 1427) and male samples (n = 310). Results: Three psychological profiles were identified in both samples. The “High psychological concerns” profile and the “Low psychological concerns” profile were identical in both samples. The third profile, “Bodily concerns”, differed by sex and was characterized by appearance dissatisfaction for women and by appearance and eating concerns for men. The ”Low psychological concerns” profile presented the highest well-being and the lowest depression scores in both samples. Discussion: The findings support the hypothesis of the heterogeneity of individuals with overweight and obesity and suggest sex-related therapeutic approaches.
Multimodal Information Processing and Associative Learning in the Insect Brain

Simple Summary Insect behaviors are a great indicator of evolution and provide useful information about the complexity of organisms. The realistic sensory scene of an environment is complex and replete with multisensory inputs, making the study of sensory integration that leads to behavior highly relevant. We summarize the recent findings on multimodal sensory integration and the behaviors that originate from them in our review. Abstract The study of sensory systems in insects has a long-spanning history of almost an entire century. Olfaction, vision, and gustation are thoroughly researched in several robust insect models and new discoveries are made every day on the more elusive thermo- and mechano-sensory systems. Few specialized senses such as hygro- and magneto-reception are also identified in some insects. In light of recent advancements in the scientific investigation of insect behavior, it is not only important to study sensory modalities individually, but also as a combination of multimodal inputs. This is of particular significance, as a combinatorial approach to study sensory behaviors mimics the real-time environment of an insect with a wide spectrum of information available to it. As a fascinating field that is recently gaining new insight, multimodal integration in insects serves as a fundamental basis to understand complex insect behaviors including, but not limited to navigation, foraging, learning, and memory. In this review, we have summarized various studies that investigated sensory integration across modalities, with emphasis on three insect models (honeybees, ants and flies), their behaviors, and the corresponding neuronal underpinnings.
Causes and consequences of pair‐bond disruption in a sex‐skewed population of a long‐lived monogamous seabird

Abstract Many animals form long‐term monogamous pair bonds, and the disruption of a pair bond (through either divorce or widowhood) can have significant consequences for individual vital rates (survival, breeding, and breeding success probabilities) and life‐history outcomes (lifetime reproductive success [LRS], life expectancy). Here, we investigated the causes and consequences of pair‐bond disruption in wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans). State‐of‐the‐art statistical and mathematical approaches were developed to estimate divorce and widowhood rates and their impacts on vital rates and life‐history outcomes. In this population, females incur a higher mortality rate due to incidental fishery bycatch, so the population is male‐skewed. Therefore, we first posited that males would show higher widowhood rates negatively correlated with fishing effort and females would have higher divorce rates because they have more mating opportunities. Furthermore, we expected that divorce could be an adaptive strategy, whereby individuals improved breeding success by breeding with a new partner of better quality. Finally, we posited that pair‐bond disruptions could reduce survival and breeding probabilities owing to the cost of remating processes, with important consequences for life‐history outcomes. As expected, we showed that males had higher widowhood rates than females and females had higher divorce rates in this male‐skewed population. However, no correlation was found between fishing effort and male widowhood. Secondly, contrary to our expectation, we found that divorce was likely nonadaptive in this population. We propose that divorce in this population is caused by an intruder who outcompetes the original partner in line with the so‐called forced divorce hypothesis. Furthermore, we found a 16.7% and 18.0% reduction in LRS only for divorced and widowed males, respectively, owing to missing breeding seasons after a pair‐bond disruption. Finally, we found that divorced individuals were more likely to divorce again, but whether this is related to specific individual characteristics remains an important area of investigation.
Salt-Related Knowledge, Attitudes and Behavior in an Intervention to Reduce Added Salt When Cooking in a Sample of Adults in Portugal

(1) Background: Excessive salt intake is associated with an increased risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease, so reducing it is critical. The main objective of this study was to verify whether one intervention to reduce added salt during cooking changed knowledge, attitudes and behavior (KAB) towards salt, and to analyze changes in the main sources of salt. (2) Methods: The intervention study was an 8-week randomized controlled trial with 97 workers from a public university. KAB in relation to salt were obtained through the WHO STEPwise questionnaire, and the main sources of salt were obtained by 24-h food recall and 24 h urinary sodium excretion over two days. (3) Results: After the intervention, participants in the intervention group reported a decrease in the addition of salt when cooking (p = 0.037), an increase in the percentage of subjects who avoided the consumption of processed foods (from 54.2% to 83.3%, p = 0.001), who looked for salt on food labels (from 18.8% to 39.6%, p = 0.013), and who bought low-salt food alternatives (from 43.8% to 60.4%, p = 0.039). However, there were no significant differences between the intervention group and the control group at baseline and post-intervention assessments. In the intervention group, after the intervention, the added salt decreased by 5%; food sources of salt such as the snacks and pizza group decreased by 7%, and the meat, fish and eggs group increased by 4%, but without statistical significance. (4) Conclusions: With innovative equipment for dosing salt when cooking, it is possible to change some dimensions of consumer behavior in relation to salt.
An Overview of Aerosol Properties in Clear and Cloudy Sky Based on CALIPSO Observations

A full understanding of the climatological properties of aerosols is an important step towards characterizing their effects on climate. Utilizing the observations from Cloud‐Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations, we study cloud‐free and cloudy aerosol properties with attention on aerosol and cloud layer relative vertical positions. On a global scale, the cloud‐free aerosols account for about 56% of all detected aerosols with a mean optical depth ( τ¯a ${\bar{\tau }}_{a}$ ) and mean uncertainty of 0.135 ± 0.047. The cloudy aerosols, accounting for 44%, have a larger τ¯a ${\bar{\tau }}_{a}$ and larger mean uncertainty of 0.143 ± 0.074 compared to the cloud‐free aerosols. The above‐cloud aerosols (∼4%), primarily composed of elevated smoke, dust/volcanic ash and polluted dust, have a much smaller τ¯a ${\bar{\tau }}_{a}$ of (0.056 ± 0.038). The below‐cloud aerosols (∼21%) have τ¯a ${\bar{\tau }}_{a}$ ∼ 0.165 ± $\pm \,$ 0.087. The below‐cloud and cloud‐free aerosols show close τa ${\tau }_{a}$ probability density distributions and similar aerosol types, indicating that cloud‐free aerosol climatologies from passive sensors are likely representative of all‐sky conditions. In addition, about 27% of the detected aerosol profiles are found to have cloud layers vertically connected to the detected aerosol layers. The lidar backscatter profiles of these aerosols have larger median values than the cloud‐free, above‐cloud and below‐cloud aerosols. The seasonal variations of the cloud‐free and the cloudy aerosols significantly vary with regions. Our results imply that quantifying the impact of clouds, particularly cirrus due to the wide coverage of cirrus‐aerosol overlap, on aerosol direct radiative effect is crucial to assess aerosols' roles in the Earth‐climate system.
Role of Molecular Diagnostics in The Early Diagnosis of Tuberculous Meningitis

Although tuberculosis (TB), caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis, affects the lungs in the majority of cases, it can also affect other parts of the body. It is most common in young children and HIV-infected patients, but it can also be found in adults with the condition. The most severe form of tuberculosis, tuberculous meningitis (TBM), is associated with the highest mortality and morbidity rates when compared to other forms of tuberculosis. Despite anti-tuberculosis treatment, tuberculosis-related mortality (TBM) remains a leading cause of death. TBM is difficult to diagnose early using immune-based and molecular-based methods because of the non-specific symptoms that occur in the disease and the low number of bacteria present in the target area, particularly the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). TBM patients have a high sensitivity and specificity for tuberculosis, but there is currently no established diagnostic method that can detect the infection with high accuracy in a timely manner. In addition, the emergence of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains complicates the diagnosis and treatment regimen for tuberculous bronchitis. It is the purpose of this review to summarise the difficulties associated with the currently employed molecular-based diagnostic methods as well as the potential future application of molecular diagnostic methods for TBM.
Die Bedeutung der Wasserrahmenrichtlinie für die Bundesländer

The Water Framework Directive defines basic principles of water protection at European level. It is to be implemented by Member States. In the Federal Republic of Germany this demands measures on the national level and on the level of Lander. The federal water act and the water laws of Lander are to be adapted onto the Directive. The legal instruments must be formed so in total that the demand good state can- be get through. That requires regulations which exceed the aquatic field and the sphere of the water laws. Essential instruments of the Water Framework Directive are the River Basin Management Plans and the measure programs to be developed from that. In order to meet these demands committees of the Working Group of the Federal States on water problems (LAWA) are already at the work. They elaborate different aids for the professional, legal and organizational transfer of the Water Framework Directive. Also the political will is decisive, however, to want to reach the ambitious destinations of the Directive.
Ensembling mitigates scanner effects in deep learning medical image segmentation with deep-U-Nets

Machine learning algorithms tend to perform better within the setting wherein they are trained, a phenomenon known as the domain effect. Deep learning-based medical image segmentation algorithms are often trained using data acquired from specific scanners; however, these algorithms are expected to accurately segment anatomy in images acquired from scanners different from the ones used to obtain training images for such algorithms. In this work, we present evidence of a scanner and magnet strength specific domain effect for a deep-U-Net trained to segment spinal canals on axial MR images. The trained network performs better on new data from the same scanner and worse on data from other scanners, demonstrating a scanner-specific domain effect. We then construct ensembles of the U-Nets, in which each U-Net in the ensemble differs from others only in initialization. Finally, we demonstrate that these UNet ensembles reduce the differential between in-domain and out-of-domain performance, thereby mitigating the domain effect associated with single U-Nets. Our study evidences the importance of developing software robust to scanner-specific domain effects to handle scanner bias in Deep Learning.
Impacts of positive and negative corporate social responsibility on multinational enterprises in the global retail industry: DEA game cross-efficiency approach

Abstract This study aims to investigate the effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on corporate performance in the global retail industry. We adopt the modified data envelopment analysis (DEA) game cross-efficiency approach in assessing the longitudinal efficiency of a sample of 414 listed retail firm-year observations given by Forbes 2000 between 2013 and 2018. The performance result indicates that the Americas retail industry is growing steadily and continues to dominate other regions. Not only the retail industry but all industries in Europe have severe environmental safety rules and management requirements in business operations, hence, Europe also scored high in both the overall environmental index in CSR and all their component indices. Additionally, panel regression revealed that the environmental dimension in CSR is significantly and directly correlated to firm performance. This study’s findings will provide practitioners and policymakers with managerial and strategic implications to enhance their efficiency by applying the CSR dimension in the retail industry.
Mobile Lightweight Wireless Systems: Second International ICST Conference, Mobilight 2010, May 10-12, 2010, Barcelona, Spain, Revised Selected Papers ... and Telecommunications Engineering)

This book constitutes the proceedings of the Second International ICST Conference, MOBILIGHT 2010 held in Barcelona, Spain, in May 2010. The 65 full papers presented were selected from more than 90 submissions and are organized in 3 workshops and 10 special sessions. Most of them include up-to-date results from research projects funded by the European Commission (NEWCOM++, REWIND, MIMAX, OMEGA, Self-NET, ICARUS, MOBILIA, INSPIRE). They focus on topics as mobility concepts, QoS provisions in wireless networks, advanced radio access techniques for energy-efficient communications, security and self-management in future internet wireless networks, experimental infrastructure for optimization and convergence, technologies for a converged ultra-broadband home network, advances on indoor positioning and multiuser scheduling, advanced physical layer optimization methods and user adaptive systems for mobile wireless systems.
Determinants of Bilateral Trade Balance Between Georgia and China

This paper aims to empirically examine the drivers of the bilateral balance of the trade model for the Georgian-Chinese economy from 2000 to 2020 and the influence of the Georgia-China free trade agreement on the Georgian-Chinese balance of trade. The Error Correction Model (ECM) of the ARDL was used to see if the balance of trade and its predictors have a long-term relationship. One of the ARDL’s defining properties is that it may be utilized in circumstances when there is minimal data, regardless of the level of variable integration. According to the findings, a perceived effective exchange rate has a statistically significant positive impact on the balance of trade in the long run and a statistically significant negative impact on the balance of trade in the short run. The output is shaped to favor the presence of the elasticity attitude’s J-Curve impact. The study also found that the comparative supply of money (MS) and GDP have only a minor impact on the trade balance in the medium and long run. The sponging and monetary methods are ineffective in characterizing the bilateral trade deficit between Georgia and China.
VEHICLE TELEMATICS WITH REAL TIME OPERATING SYSTEM

Vehicle Telematics has Vehicle tracking employs the use of an electronic module or device, regarded as Vehicle Tracking Device, and installed in the vehicle to empower the owner or other person in charge to track the location of vehicle. Global Positioning Systems (GPS) modules are being used by most of the vehicle tracking devices and systems for accurate location of the vehicle. Real Time Operating System (RTOS) on the device ensures determinism among the execution of tasks of data collection and transmission to the server at distant location. Location of the vehicle along with rest of the information can be observed on electronic maps through Internet. Vehicle tracking systems can be used for the purpose of fleet management functions such as routing and dispatch as well as for collection of on-board information, monitoring driver’s behavior, vehicle’s status and security.
Antibody-Like Phosphorylation Sites. Theme for Studies of Cancer, Aging and Evolution

Sequence similarities were found between protein and DNA sequences encoding certain part of conserved variable immunoglobulin domains (i.e. conserved IgV) and phosphorylation sites. Hypermutation motifs were then indicated in the majority of the corresponding non-IgV nucleotide sequences. According to database confirmations or double prediction of phosphorylation sites, 80% of the selected human and mouse IgV-related phosphorylation sites or their highly probable candidates exhibited substrate relationship to atax-ia-telangiectasia-mutated kinase known as ATM. In accordance with litera-ture data, inactivation of ATM by mutations can participate in the mechan-isms of carcinogenesis, neurodegeneration and possibly also in aging. In agreement with this relationship, some of the selected IgV-/ATM-related segments formed molecules specifically involved in carcinogenesis. The selected IgV-related sequence segments were also similar to certain segments of higher plants containing immunoglobulin-like repeats and related regions. Bioinformatic analysis of some selected plant sequences then indicated the presence of catalytic domains composing serine/threonine/tyrosine recep-tor/receptor-like kinases, which are considered important structures for evolution of very early and part of later Ig-domain-related immunity. The ana-lyzed conserved domain similarities also suggested certain interesting structural and phylogenic relationships, which need to be further investigated. This review in fact briefly summarizes the findings on the subject from the last twenty years.
Marine Demospongiae: A Challenging Treasure of Bioactive Compounds

In the last decades, it has been demonstrated that marine organisms are a substantial source of bioactive compounds with possible biotechnological applications. Marine sponges, in particular those belonging to the class of Demospongiae, have been considered among the most interesting invertebrates for their biotechnological potential. In this review, particular attention is devoted to natural compounds/extracts isolated from Demospongiae and their associated microorganisms with important biological activities for pharmacological applications such as antiviral, anticancer, antifouling, antimicrobial, antiplasmodial, antifungal and antioxidant. The data here presented show that this class of sponges is an exciting source of compounds, which are worth developing into new drugs, such as avarol, a hydroquinone isolated from the marine sponge Disidea avara, which is used as an antitumor, antimicrobial and antiviral drug.
Approach to Neonatal Hypocalcemia

Hypocalcemia in neonates is defined as total serum calcium concentration less than 7.5–8 mg/dL and/or ionized calcium less than 4.4 mg/dL in neonates ( > 1500 g) and total serum calcium concentration less than 7 mg/dL or ionized calcium less than 3.6 mg/dL in low-birth-weight neonates ( < 1500 g). About 80% of the calcium transfer across the placenta occurs in the last trimester. Parathyroid hormone-related peptide (PTHrP) regulates the positive calcium balance in the placenta. Postpartum serum calcium level in neonates depends on an intricate relationship between PTH and renal and skeletal factors. Based on the timing of the presentation, hypocalcemia can be early onset (develops in the first 72 hours of life) and late onset (occurs after 72 hours of life). Causes of early-onset hypocalcemia include prematurity, SGA, IUGR, birth asphyxia, diabetes mellitus, or toxemia in the mother. Late-onset neonatal hypocalcemia may be caused by increased dietary phosphate content, neonatal vitamin D deficiency, hypomagnesemia, hypoparathyroidism, or parathyroid hormone resistance. We present a neonate with hypocalcemia due to transient hypoparathyroidism secondary to maternal adenoma. A thorough history and physical examination are essential to identify at-risk asymptomatic infants who need screening for hypocalcemia. Neonatal hypocalcemia can be a serious event and can cause serious morbidity and mortality. Majority of the early as well as transient late neonatal hypocalcemia resolves completely, while lifelong treatment may be required in some cases depending on the etiology.