Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Menstruation and the Menopause Transition

This paper characterizes changes in menstrual bleeding during perimenopause, including bleeding changes that represent markers of the menopausal transition. Recent results from the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN), a multiethnic cohort study of midlife women, as well as data from other cohort studies of women in the midlife are reviewed. Emerging data describing subpopulation differences in the transition experience is highlighted . Early transition, defined as a persistent difference in consecutive menstrual cycle length of seven or more days, begins on average 6-8 years before the FMP. Late transition, defined by an episode of 60 or more days of amenorrhea, begins on average two years before the FMP. When treating women in the midlife, clinicians should pay careful attention to medical factors, including both conditions and treatments, that may increase menstrual blood loss or alter menstrual cycle characteristics sufficiently to obscure the onset of the menopausal transition or the FMP.
Binocular summation to gratings in the peripheral field in older subjects is spatial frequency dependent

Purpose. Binocular summation for contrast detection in the fovea is lower in older normal subjects. At present, no binocular summation data exist for contrast detection in older subjects in the peripheral field. Methods. Monocular and binocular contrast thresholds were measured for sine-wave gratings of 1 c/deg (F1) and 4 c/deg (F4) in the fovea in young and older visually normal subjects. Measurements were also obtained at 8 degrees in the superior field for gratings of 1 c/deg (P1) and 4 c/deg (P4). Results. Binocular summation ratios in young subjects at the fovea and periphery were not statistically different at either spatial frequency. In older subjects, analysis of the relevant conditions showed significantly lower summation ratios for: P4/F4 combination (p = 0.05), and P4/P1 combination (p = 0.03). No significant differences existed for F1/P1 and F1/F4 combinations (p > 0.05). Conclusions. Lowest binocular summation ratio is shown with older subjects for gratings of 4 c/deg in the periphery (P4). Further analysis suggests the possibility that this is due to a larger relative loss in binocular sensitivity. Data are discussed in terms of selective loss of binocular neurons mediating peripheral sensitivity in the ageing eye.
Mechanisms of Resistance to Hsp90 Inhibitor Drugs: A Complex Mosaic Emerges

The molecular chaperone Hsp90 holds great promise as a cancer drug target, despite some of the initial clinical trials of Hsp90 inhibitor drugs having not lived up to expectation. Effective use of these drugs will benefit greatly from a much more detailed understanding of the factors that contribute to resistance, whether intrinsic or acquired. We review how cell culture studies have revealed a number of different mechanisms whereby cells can be rendered less susceptible to the effects of Hsp90 inhibitor treatment. A major influence is Hsp90 inhibition causing strong induction of the heat shock response, a stress response that increases cellular levels of prosurvival chaperones such as Hsp27 and Hsp70. Another problem seems to be that these inhibitors do not always access the Hsp90 proteins of the mitochondrion, forms of Hsp90 that—in cancer cells—are operating to suppress apoptosis. It should be possible to overcome these drawbacks through the appropriate drug redesign or with the combinatorial use of an Hsp90 inhibitor with a drug that targets either heat shock factor or the chaperone Hsp70. Still though, cells will often differ in the key antiapoptotic versus proapoptotic activities that are dependent on Hsp90, in the key steps in their apoptotic pathways responsive to Hsp90 inhibition or Hsp70 level, as well as the extents to which their survival is dependent on oncogenic tyrosine kinases that are clients of Hsp90. A systems approach will therefore often be required in order to establish the most prominent effects of Hsp90 inhibition in each type of cancer cell.
Examining Beneficiation

Beneficiation, moving downstream, and promoting greater value added in natural resources are very common policy initiatives to stimulate new export sectors in developing countries, largely based on the premise that this is a natural and logical path for structural transformation. But upon closer examination, we find that very few countries that export raw materials also export their processed forms, or transition to greater processing. The quantitative analysis finds that broad factor intensities do a much better job of identifying patterns of production and structural transformation than forward linkages, which have an insignificant impact despite the fact that our data is biased against finding significant effects of factor intensities and towards finding significant effects of forward linkages. Moreover, the explanatory power of forward linkages is even smaller in sectors with high transport costs, and in sectors classified as primary products or raw materials, which are the most common targets of such policies. Finally, the results are the same even when only considering developed countries, meaning that colonial legacy inhibiting transitions to natural resource processing are not to blame. These results suggest that policies to promote greater downstream processing as an export promotion policy are misguided. Structural transformation favors sectors with similar technological requirements, factor intensities, and other requisite capabilities, not products connected in production chains. There is no reason for countries like South Africa to focus attention on beneficiation at the expense of policies that would allow other export sectors to emerge. This makes no sense conceptually, and is completely inconsistent with international experience. Quite simply, beneficiation is a bad policy paradigm.
Government expenditure-revenue nexus reconsidered for Nigeria: Does structural break matter?

This paper re-examines the government expenditure-revenue nexus in Nigeria from 1970 to 2015. It utilizes the Lee and Strazicich (2003 and 2004) unit root tests that endogenously determines two/one structural breaks in intercept and slope to ascertain the stationarity of the data. The Toda-Yomamoto modified Wald (MWALD)-based causality test that arbitrage between the results with and without structural breaks was conducted to determine the direction of causality between the government expenditure and revenue. The results for the causality test without break suggest that bi-directional causality exists between government expenditure and revenue suggesting the existence of the fiscal synchronization hypothesis. However, the causality test with break reveals a unidirectional causality running from government expenditure to revenue indicating that the spend-revenue hypothesis holds. This finding is a clear departure from other studies on oil-rich countries; thus indicating that accounting for structural break is vital when determining the relationship between government expenditure and revenue for resource countries. This study, therefore, suggests that government should embark on the diversification of the economy away from oil in order to promote reliable and sustained sources of revenue for the nation.
Is the Dairy Relief Program Really Working? Evaluating Maine’s Tier Payment Program Using a Simulation Approach

This study addresses a common empirical problem where researchers are only able to obtain financial records for farmers, which limits the potential for analyzing exit decisions. In particular, dairy cost-of-production studies (e.g., Farm Credit East and Cornell) often grant researchers access to online record systems, which contain only farm cost and revenue data. We develop and apply a simulation approach to coping with such data to analyze exit decisions. We model exit decisions as a function of profitability and seasonality. We find that the tier program reduces the number of farms that exit and allows farms to remain in business longer. Dairy farms are an important source of livelihood in rural Maine communities. With price floors in place, dairy farms are less affected by price volatility, and rural communities have improved financial sustainability.
Morningness–eveningness and treatment response in major depressive disorder

In a large, prospective, 8-week open study of 721 outpatients receiving agomelatine treatment for a current major depressive episode (MDE), morningness–eveningness (Composite Scale of Morningness) was assessed before and after treatment to investigate possible changes in morningness–eveningness after treatment and evaluate whether morningness–eveningness at baseline predicted treatment response. A change towards morningness was observed after treatment. This change was greater in responders than non-responders. Moreover, being a morning type at baseline was an independent predictor of response to treatment. Once thought to be a trait variable, morningness–eveningness is a potential treatment target that should be systematically assessed in MDE patients.
Golden Sea Cucumbers (Stichopus Hermanii) as Growth Factors of Stem Cells

Stem cells can give a new hope to accelerate wound healing process and can also be used for the treatment of various diseases, including diseases on periodontal tissues (periodontitis) since there is still not any materials known to be able to attach wobbly teeth perfectly. Adult stem cells derived from bone marrow have widely been used nowadays. However, the number of stem cells is limited, consequently, growth factors are necessary to increase the proliferation of stem cells. Unfortunately, growth factors that have been used are still expensive and difficult to obtain. Therefore, an alternative to the use of growth factors from natural materials that can potentially accelerate wound healing process is necessary to be developed. Purpose: Golden Sea Cucumbers (Stichopus hermanii) is rich in both growth factors that can repair damaged cells and protein that reaches up to 82% of all components of the golden sea cucumbers, 80% of which is collagen. Therefore, this research aims to prove how great the potential of the Golden Sea Cucumbers (Stichopus hermanii) as natural growth factors on stem cells is. Method conducted aimed to analyze proliferation ability and osteogenic differentiation in Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSC) with the provision of the Golden Sea Cucumbers (Stichopus hermanii). Results: Based on the results of MTT assay, the provision of the Golden Sea Cucumbers (Stichopus hermanii) in cultured MSCs could enhance the proliferation of stem cells. In the provision of osteogenic induction medium, mineralization emerged in MSC culture, stained with alizarin red. The provision of the Golden Sea Cucumbers on MSC can improve the proliferation ability of MSC and can also increase the ability of MSCs to differentiate into osteoblasts.
Contributions of Melon Production to Livelihood Sustainability of Rural Farming Households in Oyo State, Nigeria.

The study was carried out to assess the contributions of melon production to livelihood sustainability of rural farming households in Oyo State, Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 96 respondents for the study. Data for the study was collected with the aid of a well structured interview guide and focus group Discussion. Descriptive statistics was used to describe the objectives while the hypotheses were analyzed using Chi-Square and Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC). Cost and returns analysis was used to compute the profitability of melon production. Result showed that majority (89.58%) of the respondents were less than 50 years old with mean age of 41.00 years. Also, majority (78.12%) were males while 21.88% were females. Further more, (51.04%) of the respondents did not have formal education while 48.96% had one form of education or the other. The mean household size was 5 people. The result also indicated that most (69.79%) of the respondents had been in melon farming for more than 7 years. Estimated average income of the melon farmers for the previous farming season was ? 74,508.50/ha Cost and returns analysis revealed an estimated sum of ? 23, 16/ha in the previous farming season. Chi Square analysis showed that there was significant association between the respondents’ sex (? 2 = 51.96, df = 8, p < 0.05); marital status (? 2 = 59.26, df = 18, p < 0.05) and their utilization of income derived from sales of melon produced. Also, Pearson Product Moment Correlation analysis shows that there was significant relationship between the respondents’ age (r= 0.21, p < 0.05); household size (r= 0.14, p < 0.05), level of Education (r = 0.87, p < 0.05) and their utilization of income derived from sales of melon produced. Also, there was an inverse relationship between constraints to melon production and profit (r = -0.19, p < 0.05). However, the efficient productivity and profitability of melon were affected by climate change (100%), limited access to agricultural extension service support (98.96%), pest and diseases out break (97.92%), and non-availability of shelling and oil extraction devices (96.80%). The study concluded that melon production was profitable and it contributed to rural farmers’ household food security and livelihood sustainability. It was recommended that extension agents should design and provide necessary support that can boost melon production while government should supply subsidized melon-shellers/extractors to support melon farmers in the study area. Keywords : Contributions, Melon production, Sustainability, Rural farmers, Livelihood, Profitability.
Comparison of Fine-Needle Aspiration and Core Needle Biopsy under Ultrasonographic Guidance for Detecting Malignancy and for the Tissue-Specific Diagnosis of Salivary Gland Tumors

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Diagnostic test accuracy studies for ultrasonography-guided fine-needle aspiration and ultrasonography-guided core needle biopsy have shown inconclusive results due to their heterogenous study designs. Our aim was to compare the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography-guided fine-needle aspiration versus ultrasonography-guided core needle biopsy for detecting malignant tumors of the salivary gland and for the tissue-specific diagnosis of salivary gland tumors in a single tertiary hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study was approved by our institutional review board and informed consent was waived. Four hundred twelve patients who underwent ultrasonography-guided fine-needle aspiration (n = 155) or ultrasonography-guided core needle biopsy (n = 257) with subsequent surgical confirmation or clinical follow-up were enrolled. We compared the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography-guided fine-needle aspiration and ultrasonography-guided core needle biopsy regarding malignant salivary gland tumors and the correct tissue-specific diagnosis of benign and malignant tumors. We also tested the difference between these procedures according to the operator's experience and lesion characteristics. RESULTS: The inconclusive rates of ultrasonography-guided fine-needle aspiration and ultrasonography-guided core needle biopsy were 19% and 4%, respectively (P < .001). The overall accuracy of ultrasonography-guided core needle biopsy for diagnosing malignant tumors was significantly higher than that of ultrasonography-guided fine-needle aspiration (P = .024). The correct tissue-specific diagnosis rates of ultrasonography-guided fine-needle aspiration and ultrasonography-guided core needle biopsy were 95% versus 97% for benign tumors (P = .648) and 67% versus 80% for malignant tumors (P = .310). Trainees showed significantly lower accuracy with ultrasonography-guided fine-needle aspiration than with ultrasonography-guided core needle biopsy for diagnosing malignant tumors (P = .021). There was no difference between the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography-guided fine-needle aspiration and ultrasonography-guided core needle biopsy according to the internal composition of the lesions. There were no complications requiring intervention or hospitalization in our patients. CONCLUSIONS: Ultrasonography-guided core needle biopsy is superior to ultrasonography-guided fine-needle aspiration in detecting and characterizing malignant tumors of the salivary gland and could emerge as the diagnostic method of choice for patients presenting with a salivary gland mass.
The restorative effects of green spaces with animals on stress

Past research on restorativeness has concentrated mainly on the potential of vegetation, scenic environments, parks, and open spaces rather than on natural environments with animals. At present, the restorative effects of green spaces with animals on people's general well-being and psychological stress remain unclear. This study argues that green spaces with animals, such as zoo, are also likely to have a restorative influence on human psychological stress and overall well-being. A between-group experiment was conducted, in which 80 randomly selected visitors of the Malaysian National Zoo were asked to answer two scales, i.e. the adapted Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) and the Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS). Results showed that, contrary to the hypothesis, there is no significant relationship between stress and restorative effects of the green spaces with animals. However, statistical data indicate that most participants reported experiencing higher levels of restorative effects and lower levels of stress after they visited the zoo. These findings are generally supportive of cognitive model of attention restoration and point to the importance of enhancing the restorative qualities of the zoo’s environment and rebuilding the unity between man and nature.
Identification and Phylogeny of Enterobacter sakazakii Relative to Enterobacter and Citrobacter Species

ABSTRACT The phylogenetic relationships of Enterobacter sakazakii strains were investigated using 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) and hsp60 sequencing. Each analysis distributed E. sakazakii strains among four clusters, indicating substantial taxonomic heterogeneity. The E. sakazakii type strain 16S rDNA sequence was 97.8% similar to that of Citrobacter koseri but 97.0% similar to that of Enterobacter cloacae.
The α 1-adrenergic receptor is involved in hepcidin upregulation induced by adrenaline and norepinephrine via the STAT 3 pathway † Running title : hepcidin regulation via α 1-adrenergic receptor

1. Laboratory of Molecular Iron Metabolism, The Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Hebei Province, College of Life Science, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, 050016, Hebei Province, P.R. China 2. Bioreactor and Protein Drug Research and Development Center of Hebei Universities, Hebei Chemical and Pharmaceutical College, Shijiazhuang, 050026, Hebei Province, P. R. China 3. The 3 hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, 050051, Hebei Province, P.R. China 4. Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK 5. Chengde Medical University, Chengde, 067000, Hebei Province, P. R. China
Comparing Noisy Patches for Image Denoising: A Double Noise Similarity Model

This paper presents a concept of noise similarity (NS), which can be used to refine the comparison of noisy patch and enhance the denoising power of the nonlocal means (NLM) filter. The fact behind this concept is that the similarity of noisy patch should depend on not only the underlying signal (noise free patches), but also the noise. Based on the concept of noise similarity, we derived a double NS (DNS) model, which converts the denoising problem into the problem of reducing two kinds of noise: one is the superimposed additive noise; the other is the deviation error, defined as another kind of noise denoting the difference between similar pixels on their true intensities. The former corresponds to noise suppression, while the latter corresponds to the restoration of image details. To evaluate the effectiveness of the DNS model, we proposed an iterative version of the NLM filter, where the two noise similarities can work collaboratively in the framework of maximum a posterior. Finally, the experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach can provide competitive performance when compared with other state-of-the-art NLM filters.
perovskite in NaFeF 3 . Implications for ABX 3 and A 2 X 3 systems at ultrahigh pressure .

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Oral health of smokers and e-cigarette users: a case-control study

The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the oral health of cigarette smokers, e-cigarette smokers, and non-smokers. This observational study involved 120 participants; 40 each in the control, cigarette, and e-cigarette groups respectively. Oral health examination was conducted according to the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. Dental caries was evaluated using the DMFT index, while the periodontal parameters assessed using plaque, gingivitis, gingival bleeding, and calculus indices. The results from the 3 groups were compared using analysis of variance (MANOVA), the outcomes of which were significant for the Gingival Index (p = 0.000), Plaque Index (p = 0.012), and Bleeding Index (p = 0.001) of periodontal health. Post-hoc tests with Bonferroni correction revealed significant differences in the Gingival Index between the control and cigarette groups (p = 0.001), as well as cigarette and e-cigarette groups (p = 0.000). Meanwhile, Bleeding Index was only significantly different between the control and e-cigarette groups (p = 0.001). For Plaque Index, significant differences were seen between the control and cigarette groups (p = 0.016). There were no significant differences in the other periodontal health parameters, as the p values of the Calculus Index and DMFT Index were 0.955 and 0.702 respectively. In conclusion, e-cigarettes had potentially detrimental effects on oral health.
An 8–16 Gb/s, 0.65–1.05 pJ/b, Voltage-Mode Transmitter With Analog Impedance Modulation Equalization and Sub-3 ns Power-State Transitioning

Serial link transmitters which efficiently incorporate equalization, while also enabling fast power-state transitioning to leverage dynamic power scaling, are necessary to meet future systems' I/O requirements. This paper presents a scalable voltage-mode transmitter which offers low static power dissipation and adopts an impedance-modulated 2-tap equalizer with analog tap control, thereby obviating driver segmentation and reducing pre-driver complexity and dynamic power. Topologies that allow for rapid power-up/down, including a replica-biased voltage regulator to power the output stages of multiple transmit channels and per-channel quadrature clock generation with injection-locked oscillators (ILO), enable fast power-state transitioning. Energy efficiency is further improved with capacitively driven low-swing global clock distribution and supply scaling at lower data rates, while output eye quality is maintained at low voltages with automatic phase calibration of the local ILO-generated quarter-rate clocks. A prototype fabricated in a general purpose 65 nm CMOS process includes a 2 mm global clock distribution network and two transmitters that support an output swing range of 100-300 mV with up to 12 dB of equalization. The transmitters achieve 8-16 Gb/s operation at 0.65-1.05 pJ/b energy efficiency and sub-3 ns power-up/down times.