Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Content Analysis of Interview on Engaged Fatherhood

The article involves an exploratory study. It mainly reviews articles published in 2010s dealing with fatherhood issue. It has revealed that the typical behaviour of fathers nowadays is related with the changes in society concerning the understanding of masculinity and femininity. The relatively new concept of caring masculinity is being reflected in legislation of many countries, however, there are barriers to its realization due to employer resistance. The society should realize that it benefits from father involvement in child’s life (engagement in child’s entertainment and educational activities, moral and financial responsibility for the child), as happier and more stable families have to be borne in mind while creating obstacles to fathers sharing the baby care with mothers. A convenience purposive sampling was applied to hold an interview with researchers. Ten people from nine various countries responded to interview questions placed on Academia platform. The keywords in the answers were codified, and their frequency was counted. It was concluded that father engagement vs. father involvement and father absence from the child’s life corresponds to the needs of contemporary society. Father engagement has individual (child, father) and social benefits, as well as individual benefits include medical, social, cognitive, and psychological benefits.
Platelets and Cardioprotection: The Role of Nitric Oxide and Carbon Oxide

Nitric oxide (NO) and carbon monoxide (CO) represent a pair of biologically active gases with an increasingly well-defined range of effects on circulating platelets. These gases interact with platelets and cells in the vessels and heart and exert fundamentally similar biological effects, albeit through different mechanisms and with some peculiarity. Within the cardiovascular system, for example, the gases are predominantly vasodilators and exert antiaggregatory effects, and are protective against damage in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury. Indeed, NO is an important vasodilator acting on vascular smooth muscle and is able to inhibit platelet activation. NO reacts with superoxide anion (O2(−•)) to form peroxynitrite (ONOO(−)), a nitrosating agent capable of inducing oxidative/nitrative signaling and stress both at cardiovascular, platelet, and plasma levels. CO reduces platelet reactivity, therefore it is an anticoagulant, but it also has some cardioprotective and procoagulant properties. This review article summarizes current knowledge on the platelets and roles of gas mediators (NO, and CO) in cardioprotection. In particular, we aim to examine the link and interactions between platelets, NO, and CO and cardioprotective pathways.
Role of Extracellular DNA in Bacterial Response to SOS-Inducing Drugs

The SOS response is a conserved stress response pathway that is triggered by DNA damage in the bacterial cell. Activation of this pathway can, in turn, cause the rapid appearance of new mutations, sometimes called hypermutation. We compared the ability of various SOS-inducing drugs to trigger the expression of RecA, cause hypermutation, and produce elongation of bacteria. During this study, we discovered that these SOS phenotypes were accompanied by the release of large amounts of DNA into the extracellular medium. The release of DNA was accompanied by a form of bacterial aggregation in which the bacteria became tightly enmeshed in DNA. We hypothesize that DNA release triggered by SOS-inducing drugs could promote the horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes by transformation or by conjugation.
New Methods in Parameterized Algorithms and Complexity

i Acknowledgements First of all, I would like to thank my supervisor Pinar Heggernes for her help and guidance, both with my reasearch and with all other aspects of being a graduate student. This thesis would not have existed without her. Thomassen and Yngve Villanger. A special thanks goes to Saket Saurabh, with whom I have shared many sleepless nights and cups of coffee preparing this work. Thanks to my family, especially to my mother and father. In more than one way, i am here largely because of you. I would also like to thank my friends for filling my life with things other than discrete mathematics. You mean a lot to me, hugs to all of you and kisses to one in particular. Thanks also to the Algorithms group at the University of Bergen, you are a great lot. An extra thanks goes to my table-tennis opponents, even though this thesis exists despite of your efforts to keep me away from it. Finally, thanks to Pasha for being furry and having whiskers.
Editorial: Insights in: Psychopathology research

COPYRIGHT © 2023 Stoyanov, Telles Correia, Bechara, Turel and Noel. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. Editorial: Insights in: Psychopathology research
An intuitive way to calculate a lower bound on a convergence threshold for LDPC codes

Belief-propagation decoding for low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes only performs well if the decoder does not get stuck during information exchange between variable and check nodes, i.e. performs above a certain threshold. As the binary erasure channel and the binary symmetric channel are both the least and most informative channels from information combining point of view (depending on the type of nodes being considered (variableor check-)), one can calculate upper and lower bounds on the required mutual information that has to be sent over the channel for successful iterative decoding, see [1]. In this paper we present an additional easily understandable methodology for calculation of the lower bound for the required mutual information (denoted “best performance” bound in [1]). Our method is intuitive as its approach is based on EXIT charts.
Study of Water Freezing in Low-Fat Milky Ice Cream with Oat β-Glucan and Its Influence on Quality Indicators

The work is devoted to the study of the functional and technological properties of oat β-glucan in low-fat milky ice cream (2% fat) in comparison with the stabilization system Cremodan® SI 320. β-glucan (0.5%) has a greater effect on the cryoscopic temperature of ice cream mixes than Cremodan® SI 320 in the same amount (decrease by 0.166 °C vs. 0.078 °C), which inhibits the freezing process of free water in ice cream during technological processing in the temperature range from −5 to −10 °C. Microscopy of ice cream samples after freezing and hardening shows the ability of β-glucan to form a greater number of energy bonds due to specific interaction with milk proteins. Analysis of the microstructure of ice cream samples during 28 d of storage confirms the ability of oat β-glucan to suppress the growth of ice crystals more effectively than Cremodan® SI 320. Oat β-glucan gives ice cream a rich creamy taste, increases overrun and resistance to melting, which brings this type of frozen dessert closer to a full-fat analogue (10% fat).
Research progress of cognitive impairment in schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a common type of mental illness that is difficult to diagnose and describe in psychiatric consultations. The symptoms of schizophrenia are categorized into three main categories: positive, negative, and cognitive impairment. These symptoms are considered the core clinical symptoms of the condition, and cognitive impairment is becoming a direction for further research on this subject. This article aims to review the various aspects of schizophrenia's cognitive impairment and provide a diagnosis and treatment guide for this condition.
Beyond the heuristic approach to Kolmogorov-Smirnov theorems

The theory of weak convergence has developed into an extensive and useful, but technical, subject. One of its most important applications is in the study of empirical distribution functions: the explication of the asymptotic behavior of the Kolmogorov goodness-of-fit statistic is one of its greatest successes. In this article a simple method for understanding this aspect of the subject is sketched. The starting point is Doob's heuristic approach to the Kolmogorov-Smirnov theorems, and the rigorous justification of that approach offered by Donsker. The ideas can be carried over to other applications of weak convergence theory.
Consensus Statement on Animals’ Relationship with Pediatric Oncohematological Patients, on Behalf of Infectious Diseases and Nurse Working Groups of the Italian Association of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology

Contact with animals in pediatric oncohematologic patients is associated with many benefits, but the risk of contracting zoonoses, even if low, must be considered by clinicians. In order to assess the awareness about this topic, we surveyed the Italian pediatric oncohematology centers, which resulted in heterogeneous responses. The Infectious Diseases Working Group and the Nurse Working Group of the Italian Association of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, together with veterinarians from the National Federation of Italian Veterinarians, drew up a consensus document to unify the indications to be given to families with the aim of guaranteeing a safe interaction between patients and animals and improving the collaboration of clinicians with veterinarians and families.
Emergency Colectomies in the Elderly Population—Perioperative Mortality Risk-Factors and Long-Term Outcomes

Background: As the population ages emergency surgeries among the elderly population, including colonic resections, is also increasing. Data regarding the short- and long-term outcomes in this population is scarce. Methods: A retrospective study was performed to investigate mortality and mortality risk factors associated with emergent colectomies in older compared to younger patients in a single university affiliated tertiary hospital. Patients with metastatic disease, colectomy due to trauma or index colectomy within 30 days prior to emergent surgery were excluded. Results: Operative outcomes compared among age groups, included 30-day mortality, mortality risk-factors and long-term survival. 613 eligible patients were included in the cohort. Mean age was 69.4 years, 45.1% were female. Patients were divided into four age groups: 18–59, 60–69, 70–79 and ≥80-years. Thirty-day mortality rates were 3.2%, 11%, 29.3% and 37.8%, respectively and 22% for the entire cohort. Risk-factors for perioperative death in the younger group were related to severity of ASA score and WBC count. In groups 60–69, 70–79, main risk-factors were ADL dependency and ASA score. In the ≥80 group, risk-factors affecting perioperative mortality, included ASA score, pre-operative albumin, creatinine, WBC levels, cancer etiology, ADL dependency, and dementia. Long-term survival differed significantly between age groups. Conclusion: Perioperative mortality with emergency colectomy increases with patients’ age. Patients older than eighty-years undergoing urgent colectomies have extremely high mortality rates, leading to a huge burden on medical services. Evaluating risk-factors for mortality and pre-operative discussion with patients and families is important. Screening the elderly population for colonic pathologies can result in early diagnosis potentially leading to elective surgeries with decreased mortality.
Sarcoidosis, Mycobacterium paratuberculosis and Noncaseating Granulomas: Who Moved My Cheese

Clinical and histological similarities between sarcoidosis and tuberculosis have driven repeated investigations looking for a mycobacterial cause of sarcoidosis. Over 50 years ago, “anonymous mycobacteria” were suggested to have a role in the etiology of sarcoidosis. Both tuberculosis and sarcoidosis have a predilection for lung involvement, though each can be found in any area of the body. A key histopathologic feature of both sarcoidosis and tuberculosis is the granuloma—while the tuberculous caseating granuloma has an area of caseous necrosis with a cheesy consistency; the non-caseating granuloma of sarcoidosis does not have this feature. This article reviews and reiterates the complicity of the infectious agent, Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) as a cause of sarcoidosis. MAP is involved in a parallel story as the putative cause of Crohn’s disease, another disease featuring noncaseating granulomas. MAP is a zoonotic agent infecting ruminant animals and is found in dairy products and in environmental contamination of water and air. Despite increasing evidence tying MAP to several human diseases, there is a continued resistance to embracing its pleiotropic roles. “Who Moved My Cheese” is a simple yet powerful book that explores the ways in which individuals react to change. Extending the metaphor, the “non-cheesy” granuloma of sarcoidosis actually contains the difficult-to-detect “cheese”, MAP; MAP did not move, it was there all along.
Unilateral Markov fields

Recently, there has been considerable interest in some specialized binary lattice processes. However, this exciting work has been rather fragmentary and heuristic. Rigorous proofs are provided for the existence of some classes of stationary unilateral Markov fields on infinite square lattices. (Neighbours are sites which are horizontally, vertically, or diagonally adjacent.) Many of the difficulties are avoided by characterizing stationary unilateral Markov fields on finite lattices first. Detailed analyses are given for both binary and Gaussian variables.
Laser thermal preconditioning enhances dermal wound repair

Preconditioning tissues with an initial mild thermal stress, thereby eliciting a stress response, can serve to protect tissue from subsequent stresses. Patients at risk for impaired healing, such as diabetics, can benefit from therapeutic methods which enhance wound repair. We present a laser thermal preconditioning protocol that accelerates cutaneous wound repair in a murine model. A pulsed diode laser (λ = 1.86 μm, τp = 2 ms, 50 Hz, H = 7.64 mJ/cm2) was used to precondition mouse skin before incisional wounds were made. The preconditioning protocol was optimized in vitro and in vivo using hsp70 expression, cell viability, and temperature measurements as benchmarks. Hsp70 expression was non-invasively monitored using a transgenic mouse strain with the hsp70 promoter driving luciferase expression. Tissue temperature recordings were acquired in real time using an infrared camera. Wound repair was assessed by measuring hsp70 expression, biomechanical properties, and wound histology for up to 24 d. Bioluminescence (BLI) was monitored with the IVIS 200 System (Xenogen) and tensile properties with a tensiometer (BTC-2000). The in vivo BLI studies indicated that the optimized laser preconditioning protocol increased hsp70 expression by 15-fold. The tensiometer data revealed that laser preconditioned wounds are ~40% stronger than control wounds at 10 days post surgery. Similar experiments in a diabetic mouse model also enhanced wound repair strength. These results indicate that 1) noninvasive imaging methods can aid in the optimization of novel laser preconditioning methods; 2) that optimized preconditioning with a 1.86 μm diode laser enhances early wound repair.
Bamboo Shoots Modulate Gut Microbiota, Eliminate Obesity in High-Fat-Diet-Fed Mice and Improve Lipid Metabolism

Bamboo shoots (BS) have a variety of nutritional benefits; however, their anti-obesity effect and its underlying mechanism of action are still unclear. In this study, we investigated the protective effect of BS against high-fat diet (HFD)-induced gut dysbiosis in mice. After 12 weeks of feeding C57BL/6J mice either on a normal or an HFD with or without BS, metabolic indicators, including blood lipids and glucose tolerance, were measured. 16S rRNA gene sequencing and metabolomics were used to identify alterations in gut microbiota composition and fecal metabolic profiling. The results demonstrated that BS supplementation reduced body weight by 30.56%, mitigated liver damage, and improved insulin resistance and inflammation in obese mice. In addition, BS increased short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) levels and SCFA-producing bacteria (e.g., Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group and Norank_f_Muribaculaceae), and reduced levels of harmful bacteria (e.g., Blautia and Burkholderia–Paraburkholderia). Finally, BS increased many beneficial fecal metabolites, such as fatty acids and bile acids, which are highly relevant to the altered gut microbiota. Based on the modulatory effect of BS on microbiota composition and gut metabolite levels observed in this study, we suggest that BS may be beneficial in treating obesity and its related complications.
Steady State Analysis of Base Station Buffer Occupancy in a Cellular Mobile System

The 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) standards organizations makes great efforts in order to reduce the latency of 5G mobile networks to the least possible extent. Recently, these networks are associated with big buffers to maximize the network utilization and minimize the wasted wireless resources. However, in existence of the TCP congestions, having bottlenecks are still expected on radio access networks (RANs) data paths. Consequently, this influences the network performance and reduces its quality of services (QoSs). Apparently, studying and improving the behavior of buffers deployed at 5G mobile networks devices can contribute to solving these problems (at least by reducing the queuing time at these buffers). In this paper, we study the buffer behavior of base stations in a 5G mobile network at steady state. We consider a cellular mobile network consisting of finite number of users (stations, terminals, and mobiles). At any time-slot, a station may be using the channel (busy) or not using the channel (idle). Since system analysis of cellular mobile networks in general form is rather complex, solutions are always obtained in closed forms or by numerical techniques. A two-dimensional traffic system for cellular mobile networks is presented, and the main performance evaluations are derived. Moreover, different moments of the base station buffer occupancy are calculated. The study reveals that there is a correlation between the state of the mobile stations (busy or idle) and the expected buffers occupancy of the base station. In addition, the results discussions demonstrate some important factors and parameters that affect the base station buffers and the overall network performance. These factors can be further worked on and controlled to obtain the least possible latency in next generation mobile networks.
Targeted neuroplasticity in spatiotemporally patterned invasive neuromodulation therapies for improving clinical outcomes

COPYRIGHT © 2023 Asp, Chintaluru, Hillan and Lujan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. Targeted neuroplasticity in spatiotemporally patterned invasive neuromodulation therapies for improving clinical outcomes
Improved Total Variation Algorithms to Remove Noise

The standard TV model is prone to lose important information while processing images with rich textures,and generally,it uses the gradient,which is sensitive to noise,to detect edges.To overcome these weaknesses,two improved models are proposed.Based-on the standard TV model,model A has two improvements:one is to introduce an edge detecting function to induct diffusion,the other is to use the module of a wavelet transform to detect edges.These improvements make model A not only can smooth according to the feature of the image but also can effectively suppress noise,therefore,it shows much better performance on preserving edges.Model B,which is proposed based on the feature of noise in wavelet domain,is a simplified version of model A on computational complexity.Numerical experiments show that both the proposed models outperform the standard total variation model.
Resonant Couplings in U-Shaped Fibers for Biosensing

U-shaped tight curvatures in optical fibers lead to resonant couplings between the fundamental and higher order modes that are sensible to different parameters, such as strain or temperature, for example. The optical response of the sensor consists on the shift of the resonant wavelength of the coupling. In the case of singlemode fibers, the coupling involves a so-called “cladding mode” and, due to its evanescent field, the curved region will be sensible to changes in the external medium, as well. In this paper, we present the fabrication and characterization of a robust, easy-to-make, U-shaped fiber sensor based on singlemode telecom fiber and its application for biosensing. The resonant nature of the sensing mechanism presents the advantage of large dynamic ranges for RI variations without the ambiguity of other techniques such as interferometry. We studied the performance of the U-shaped fiber sensor for different bending radii, to optimize its sensitivity and detection limit at 1550 nm operation wavelength, as well as the effect of temperature on its response. The shift of the resonant wavelength was measured in detail as a function of the external RI within the range [1.33-1,37]; the detection limit was established in (2.88 ± 0.03) × 10−5 RIU. Furthermore, the device was successfully tested as a proof of concept biosensor, using a system model antigen-antibody (BSA-aBSA).
Multi-functionality of luminescent glasses for energy applications

Rare-earth-(RE) doped barium borate glasses are investigated for their potential use as photon downshifting cover glasses for CdTe solar cells and as converters for white light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The glasses are doped with trivalent RE ions such as Eu3+ and Tb3+, resulting in an intense luminescence in the red (Eu3+) and green (Tb3+) spectral range upon excitation in the ultraviolet and blue ranges. Doping the glasses with two different RE ions enables broader absorption, which is necessary for both photovoltaic applications and for the appropriate color mixing needed for use in white LEDs. Though the single-doped cover glasses already reveal a slight increase in the short-circuit current density of CdTe solar cells, the double-doped glasses allow for even higher efficiency gains due to the significantly broader spectral range for absorption. For an Eu3+/Tb3+ double-doped glass with an RE doping level of 1 at. % each, an efficiency increase of 1.32% can be achieved. Furthermore, the Eu3+/Tb3+ double-doped glasses enable appropriate color mixing in the green-to-red spectral range by varying the RE doping level accordingly.