Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Global manufacturing SO2 emissions: does trade matter?

A growth-decomposition (scale, technique and composition effect) covering 62 countries and seven manufacturing sectors over the 1990–2000 period shows that trade, through reallocations of activities across countries, has contributed to a 2–3% decrease in world SO2 emissions. However, when compared to a constructed counterfactual no-trade benchmark, depending on the base year, trade would have contributed to a 3–10% increase in emissions. Finally adding emissions coming from trade-related transport activities, global emissions are increased through trade by 16% in 1990 and 13% in 2000, the decline being largely attributable to a shift of dirty activities towards cleaner countries.
Purifying and Positive Selection Influence Patterns of Gene Loss and Gene Expression in the Evolution of a Plant Sex Chromosome System

Sex chromosomes are unique regions of the genome, with a host of properties that distinguish them from autosomes and from each other. Although there is extensive theory describing sex chromosome formation and subsequent degeneration of the Y chromosome, the relative importance of processes governing degeneration is poorly understood. In particular, it is not known whether degeneration occurs solely as a direct result of inefficient selection due to loss of recombination, or whether adaptive gene silencing on the Y chromosome results in most degeneration occurring neutrally. We used comparative transcriptome data from two related annual plants with highly heteromorphic sex chromosomes, Rumex rothschildianus and Rumex hastatulus, to investigate the patterns and processes underlying Y chromosome degeneration. The rate of degeneration varied greatly between the two species. In R. rothschildianus, we infer widespread gene loss, higher than previously reported for any plant. Gene loss was not random: genes with lower constraint and those not expressed during the haploid phase were more likely to be lost. There was indirect evidence of adaptive evolution on the Y chromosome from the over-expression of Y alleles in certain genes with sex-biased gene expression. There was no complete dosage compensation, but there was evidence for targeted dosage compensation occurring in more selectively constrained genes. Overall, our results are consistent with selective interference playing the dominant role in the degeneration of the Y chromosome, rather than adaptive gene silencing.
A Recipe for Success? Randomized Free Distribution of Improved Cooking Stoves in Senegal

Today more than 2.7 billion people rely on biomass as their primary cooking fuel, with profound implications for the environment and people's well-being. Wood provision is often time-consuming and the emitted smoke has severe health effects - both burdens that afflict women in particular. The dissemination of Improved Cooking Stoves (ICS) is frequently considered an eff ective remedy for these problems. This paper evaluates the take-up of ICS and their impacts through a randomized controlled trial in rural Senegal. Although distributed for free, the ICS are used by almost 100 % of households. Furthermore, we find substantial effects on firewood consumption, eye infections, and respiratory disease symptoms. These findings substantiate the increasing efforts of the international community to improve access to improved cooking stoves and call for a more direct promotion of these stoves.
Theory and simulation of diffusion-influenced, stochastically gated ligand binding to buried sites.

We consider the diffusion-influenced rate coefficient of ligand binding to a site located in a deep pocket on a protein; the binding pocket is flexible and can reorganize in response to ligand entrance. We extend to this flexible protein-ligand system a formalism developed previously [A. M. Berezhkovskii, A, Szabo, and H. -X. Zhou, J. Chem. Phys. 135, 075103 (2011)] for breaking the ligand-binding problem into an exterior problem and an interior problem. Conformational fluctuations of a bottleneck or a lid and the binding site are modeled as stochastic gating. We present analytical and Brownian dynamics simulation results for the case of a cylindrical pocket containing a binding site at the bottom. Induced switch, whereby the conformation of the protein adapts to the incoming ligand, leads to considerable rate enhancement.
Dislocation, crystallite size distribution and lattice strain of magnesium oxide nanoparticles

The oxide of magnesium nanoparticles synthesized using sol-gel method and analysis of the structural properties was conducted. The functional groups of nanoparticles has been analysed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR). Dislocations, average size of crystal, strain, stress, the energy density of crystal, crystallite size distribution and morphologies of the crystals were determined based on X-ray diffraction profile analysis. The morphological of the crystal was analysed based on the image resulted from SEM analysis. The crystallite size distribution was calculated with the contention that the particle size has a normal logarithmic form. The most orientations of crystal were determined based on the textural crystal from diffraction data of X-ray diffraction profile analysis. FT-IR results showed the stretching vibration mode of the Mg-O-Mg in the range of 400.11-525 cm−1 as a broad band. The average size crystal of nanoparticles resulted is 9.21 mm with dislocation value of crystal is 0.012 nm−2. The strains, stress, the energy density of crystal are 1.5 x 10−4; 37.31 MPa; 0.72 MPa respectively. The highest texture coefficient value of the crystal is 0.98. This result is supported by morphological analysis using SEM which shows most of the regular cubic-shaped crystals. The synthesis method is suitable for simple and cost-effective synthesis model of MgO nanoparticles.
Vegetation Dynamics in the Upper Guinean Forest Region of West Africa from 2001 to 2015

The Upper Guinea Forest (UGF) region of West Africa is one of the most climatically marginal and human-impacted tropical forest regions in the world. Research on the patterns and drivers of vegetation change is critical for developing strategies to sustain ecosystem services in the region and to understand how climate and land use change will affect other tropical forests around the globe. We compared six spectral indices calculated from the 2001–2015 MODIS optical-infrared reflectance data with manually-interpreted measurements of woody vegetation cover from high resolution imagery. The tasseled cap wetness (TCW) index was found to have the strongest association with woody vegetation cover, whereas greenness indices, such as the enhanced vegetation index (EVI), had relatively weak associations with woody cover. Trends in woody vegetation cover measured with the TCW index were analyzed using Mann–Kendall statistics and were contrasted with trends in vegetation greenness measured with EVI. In the drier West Sudanian Savanna and Guinean Forest-Savanna Mosaic ecoregions, EVI trends were primarily positive, and TCW trends were primarily negative, suggesting that woody vegetation cover was decreasing, while herbaceous vegetation cover is increasing. In the wettest tropical forests in the Western Guinean Lowland Forest ecoregion, declining trends in both TCW and EVI were indicative of widespread forest degradation resulting from human activities. Across all ecoregions, declines in woody cover were less prevalent in protected areas where human activities were restricted. Multiple lines of evidence suggested that human land use and resource extraction, rather than climate trends or short-term climatic anomalies, were the predominant drivers of recent vegetation change in the UGF region of West Africa.
Uses and Gratifications factors for social media use in teaching: Instructors’ perspectives

This research was motivated by an interest in understanding how social media are applied in teaching in higher education. Data were collected using an online questionnaire, completed by 333 instructors in higher education, that asked about general social media use and specific use in teaching. Education and learning theories suggest three potential reasons for instructors to use social media in their teaching: (1) exposing students to practices, (2) extending the range of the learning environment, and (3) promoting learning through social interaction and collaboration. Answers to open-ended questions about how social media were used in teaching, and results of a factor analysis of coded results, revealed six distinct factors that align with these reasons for use: (1) facilitating student engagement, (2) instructor’s organization for teaching, (3) engagement with outside resources, (4) enhancing student attention to content, (5) building communities of practice, and (6) resource discovery. These factors accord with a Uses and Gratifications perspective that depicts adopters as active media users choosing and shaping media use to meet their own needs. Results provide a more comprehensive picture of social media use than found in previous work, encompassing not only the array of media used but also the range of purposes associated with use of social media in contemporary teaching initiatives.
Calidad de la carne del toro de Lidia en España

Spaniard beef derived from “running bulls” are consumed during the festival days as has become traditional at every annual San Fermin fair. However, eating quality, safety and chemical composition of beef derived from these animals are generally unknown. The present work characterized beef from San Fermin ´s fighting bulls (SFRB) by conducting microbiological test analyses of selected physical-chemical traits including fatty acid composition of intramuscular lipids during ageing. Beef from fighting bulls was characterized by a dark red colour, due to its high pH values (pH48hours= 6.2). However, this beef did not show any dry firm dark (DFD) characteristic, as usually occurs with meat from other beef breeds with final pH higher than 6.0. The high myoglobine content (10.6 mg·g-1) and the low intramuscular fat percentage (1.5%) provide this beef with adequate nutritional properties for the diet/health consumer. The fatty acids (FA) profile stands out because of its high nutritional interest, due to the fact that polyunsaturated FA were higher than 20% of total FA in the muscle. The obtained results allow the differentiation of this kind of beef and it will contribute to setting up a quality mark or label because consumer evaluates positively those meat products that come from animals reared in extensive livestock systems.
Development and evaluation of a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire for estimating omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid intakes in Indonesian children.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE A balance ratio of dietary omega-3 (n-3) and omega-6 (n-6) fatty acids reduces childhood obesity. However, few studies have focused on validation of semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire (SFFQ) for determining the n-3 and n-6 intakes in children. Therefore, a valid SFFQ for assessing n-3 and n-6 intakes among Indonesian children is required. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN A cross-sectional study was conducted by selecting 89 healthy children through multistage random sampling. Dietary intakes were assessed using the SFFQ and a 3-day non-consecutive 24-h recall. Randomly selected children (n=35) were assessed for plasma phospholipid fatty acid (PFA). In total, 78 food items in the SFFQ, as in the Thai, Vietnamese, and American food composition databases, were validated using dietary recall and PFA. The SFFQ was readministered after 4 weeks to assess its reproducibility. The validity and reproducibility of the SFFQ were determined by Bland-Altman analysis. RESULTS Favourable agreement was found between the SFFQ and recall for docosahexanoic acid, eicosapentanoic acid, docosapentanoic acid, and arachidonic acid, but not for total n-3, n-6, α-linolenic acid, or linoleic acid. Significant correlations were found between the SFFQ estimations and plasma n-6 and LA (r=0.40, p=0.025; and r=0.42, p=0.018, respectively). A 95% limit of Bland-Altman agreement was observed between the first and repeat SFFQ for all fatty acids. CONCLUSION The proposed SFFQ is sufficiently valid and reliable for assessment of essential fatty acids intakes in Indonesian children.
Mandibular angle fractures: two-miniplate fixation and complications.

BACKGROUND Noncompression monocortical miniplate fixation of the mandibular angle is an accepted and reliable method for providing rigid internal fixation. High complication rates have been reported for internal fixation of angle fractures. OBJECTIVE To analyze the outcome and complications in cases in which patients were treated with 2-miniplate fixation at the mandibular angle. DESIGN A retrospective analysis of outcomes for a case series. SETTING Treatment performed at a level 1 trauma-rated teaching hospital. METHODS From May 1992 to September 2001, a total of 88 patients with angle fractures of the mandible were treated with 2-miniplate fixation. Sixty-eight of the 88 patients, with 70 angle fractures, were included in the study; 13 were unavailable for follow-up and 7 had less than the minimum follow-up of 6 weeks. The time of trauma to treatment, cause of injury, and associated fractures were recorded. Postoperative complications, including infection, malunion, nonunion, dehiscence, osteomyelitis, and nerve injury due to surgical manipulation, were tabulated. Follow-up examinations were performed up to 12 weeks after surgery, with additional examinations if necessary. Postreduction panoramic radiographs were obtained in most cases. RESULTS No patients treated with monocortical 2-miniplate fixation had malunion, nonunion, or osteomyelitis. Twelve (17.6%) of the 68 patients were identified as having at least 1 postoperative complication. Postoperative infection occurred in 2 patients (2.9%). Infection was controlled with oral antibiotic therapy. One patient required removal of miniplates after the acute phase resolved. Occlusal disturbances were noted in 4 patients (5.9%) (2 with a slight anterior open bite, 1 with a crossbite, and 1 with premature contact of a molar) after surgery. Three of the 4 patients had associated midfacial or multiple mandibular fractures. None required further surgery. Wound dehiscence, with exposure of an underlying plate, occurred in 4 patients (5.9%); the wounds were treated conservatively and subsequently resolved. Nerve injury due to surgical manipulation occurred in 3 patients (4.4%). CONCLUSIONS Monocortical 2-miniplate fixation of the mandibular angle is a reliable and effective technique for providing rigid fixation. The complications were minimal in our study, and the infection rate was 2.9%, which is comparable to or better than the infection rate reported with the use of a single miniplate fixation technique in other studies. Disturbances of occlusion were associated with midfacial or additional mandibular fractures. In view of the contradictory published results, further studies are needed to determine the ideal approach for noncompression monocortical plate fixation of angle fractures.
Previous Exercise Effects in Cisplatin-Induced Renal Lesions in Rats

Background/Aims: Physical training has beneficial effects on endothelial function and can influence the regeneration of the endothelial cell. We investigated the effect of physical training on cisplatin (CP)-induced acute kidney injury and assessed the impact of training on endothelial structure and function, and on the inflammatory processes in rats. Methods: We injected male Wistar rats subjected to previous physical training in treadmill running (trained, TR) or not (sedentary, SED) with CP (5 mg/kg) (TR+CP and SED+CP groups, respectively). Five days after the injections, blood and urine samples were collected to evaluate renal function and kidneys were harvested for morphological, immunohistochemical, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and analysis of nitric oxide (NO) levels. Results: Rats treated with CP showed increased levels of plasma creatinine and sodium and potassium fractional excretion. These alterations were associated with increase in tubulointerstitial lesions and macrophage number, reduction of endothelial cells, and increased VEGF, vimentin, and α-smooth muscle actin expression in the outer renal medulla in the SED+CP group. We also found increased levels of renal IL-1β and increased excretion of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and transforming growth factor-β compared with controls. These changes were milder in trained rats, associated with increased levels of renal tissue NO, and increased expression of p-eNOS and stromal cell-derived factor-1α (a chemokine involved in kidney repair) in the kidneys of CP-injected trained rats. Conclusions: The protective effect of previous training in CP-treated rats was associated with reduced endothelial cell lesions and increased renal production of NO in trained rats.
Ultrastructure and cytopathology of a rickettsia-like organism causing systemic infection in the redclaw crayfish, Cherax quadricarinatus (Crustacea: decapoda), in Ecuador.

A study of the ultrastructural characteristics of an intracellular bacterium infecting the redclaw crayfish, Cherax quadricarinatus, a pathogen referred to previously as a rickettsia-like organism (RLO), revealed the presence of different developmental stages. These included a rod-shaped and uniformly electron-dense elementary body (EB) and an intermediate body (IB). The length of the EB varied between 0.48 and 0.6 microm, and the diameter was 0.3 microm. The IB was 0.75 to 1.1 microm long by 0.36 to 0.44 microm in diameter. Although the EB of this bacterium has ultrastructural characteristics similar to those of Rickettsiella, no information is available regarding its genetic relationship to this genus, and the intracellular bacterium should continue to be referred to as a rickettsia-like organism. The hemocytes had different levels of infection, and the RLO proliferated inside these cells. The EB appeared to be free in the cytoplasm of infected hemocytes and other cells; however, this might be a fixation artifact. The EB was also contained in membrane-bound vacuoles along with the IB. RLO colonies were observed inside small granular cells. No large granular cells were observed in the sections examined; therefore, no data were obtained regarding infection of this type of hemocyte. The fixed phagocytes on the external side of the terminal hepatic arterioles had an activated interrupted layer containing RLO bacteria. Stem cells in the hematopoietic tissue were also infected, and some cells were apparently being released into circulation.
The Effects of Early and Late Epidural Analgesia on Delivery Period and Labour Practice

Methods: Group I (n=25) was the early epidural analgesia (EEA) group, which the epidural analgesia began to be applied when cervical dilatation was 2-3 cm; Grup II (n=25) was regarded as the late epidural analgesia (LEA) group, which the epidural analgesia began to be applied when cervical dilatation was 4-5 cm. Grup III (n=25) was, on the other hand, the control group (C), that involved pregnant women who did not demand painless childbirth.
Self-Controlled Feedback and Trait Anxiety in Motor Skill Acquisition

This study examined the relationship between trait anxiety (TA) and self-controlled (SC) frequency of feedback in the acquisition of the overhead volleyball serve. Forty-eight adolescent girls performed 240 acquisition trials, with the provision of knowledge of results (KR). After 48 h, they performed 16 transfer no-KR trials. Although no interactions were found on either acquisition or transfer, the high-anxious girls requested more feedback than the low-anxious ones. Also, feedback was requested more after accurate than after inaccurate trials.
Managers' perception of mobile technology adoption in the Life Insurance industry

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that influence the adoption of mobile technology by considering the information technology (IT) managers’ perception. The research identified the key challenges managers faced and whether management would adopt mobile technology or not. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative approach was used for this research, whereby an explanatory research was utilised. Questionnaires were developed and distributed to respondents who were in management and leadership positions and who were responsible for IT within their organisations. Demographic variables of age, gender differences, level of education, level of experience and culture were tested for association to the perceived factors and adoption. A χ2 of association was used to test the association between demographic variables and mobile technology adoption. Findings The results found that perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, perceived complexity and perceived cost are important factors for adoption. However, perceived risk was a key factor in the adoption of mobile technology. Mobile strategy adoption must consider perceived risk factors central to the adoption. The younger generation (20 to 40) years found it easier to adopt technology than the older generation of 41 years and older. Individuals with a post matriculation level of education understood the importance of risk and cost required for adoption. Research limitations/implications Purposive sampling from a single industry (Life Insurance) was used. Limited literature was available regarding managers perception of mobile technology adoption in the Life Insurance industry. Practical implications The research offers managers insight into the important factors that need to be considered in adopting mobile technology. Originality/value With mobile technology being pervasive, the research seeks to provide managers with the insight in managing the adoption of the technology.
An Unusually Aggressive Large Cell Carcinoma of the Lung: Undiagnosed until Autopsy

Large cell carcinoma (LCC) of the lung has a rapid mean volume doubling time (VDT) of around 67-134 days. In some cases of LCC where the VDT is extremely rapid, clinical presentation may mimic acute lung pathologies such as pneumonia. We describe a rare presentation of an aggressive LCC of the lung with an estimated VDT of around two weeks. A 52-year-old male with a history schizophrenia presented with fever, cough, and dyspnea for three weeks duration. His medical history was significant for a recent admission six weeks before current presentation for myocardial infarction (MI) and pneumonia. Chest radiograph during the current admission showed a new right lung infiltrate and he was treated for healthcare-associated pneumonia. However, the patient developed acute respiratory failure due to right lung collapse requiring intubation and mechanical ventilation. An urgent bronchoscopy revealed an obstructing endobronchial mass in right mainstem bronchus. A computed tomography (CT) scan of the chest showed encasement of right upper and lower lobe bronchus with extensive mediastinal lymphadenopathy. The patient expired within the next 24 hours. The autopsy showed undifferentiated LCC of lung metastatic to the regional lymph nodes. Of note is the fact that the patient had CT chest in his prior admission which showed no signs of lung or mediastinal mass. We report a case of LCC which manifested as pneumonia over a six-week period with a calculated doubling time of 14.1 days. Oxidative stress secondary to recent MI and schizophrenia may have a role in the unusual aggressiveness in this case.