Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of Different Doses of Vitamin E on the Incidence of Malformations in Pregnant Diabetic Rats

Background/Aims: Previously we have shown that administration of 150 mg of vitamin E (α-tocopherol) per day to rats having diabetes decreases the rate of embryo malformations and increases their maturation and size. The present study was addressed to determine the effects of different doses of vitamin E upon these parameters. Methods: Female rats were made diabetic (D) with streptozotocin, and from day 0 of gestation they were treated daily with 25 (D+25), 50 (D+50), 100 (D+100), 150 (D+150), and 500 (D+500) mg of vitamin E administered orally and were compared with control (C) animals. Results: On day 11.5 of gestation, crown-rump length, somite number, and protein and DNA levels were lower in D than in C embryos. Crown-rump length and somite number increased with 100 mg or higher doses of vitamin E, although the values observed in C embryos were not reached. The proportions of reabsorption and malformations were 24.7 and 50%, respectively, in D rats, and in the rats supplemented with vitamin E they decreased to 22.7 and 19% in D+25, 16.4 and 21.3% in D+50, 16.2 and 12% in D+100, 12.9 and 13.9% in D+150, and to 43.9 and 10.8% in D+500 rats, whereas the values were 6.8 and 4.9% in C animals. Conclusions: Administration of vitamin E to D rats decreases the rate of embryo malformations, dependent on the dose administered. However, high doses have a negative effect in the conceptus, as shown by the increased rate of reabsorptions in the D+500 group.
Procedural Justice, Obligation to Obey, and Cooperation with Police in a Sample of Ghanaian Immigrants

Theory and research highlight the importance of procedural justice for inculcating people’s obligation to obey and willingness to cooperate with legal authorities, yet questions remain about the universality of these relationships across cultures and contexts. We examine the influence of procedural justice and other factors on Ghanaian immigrants’ obligation to obey and willingness to cooperate with police. The findings suggest that when police are perceived to behave in a procedurally just manner, people feel an increased obligation to obey their directives and willingness to cooperate with them. Perceived police effectiveness does not influence Ghanaian immigrants’ obligation to obey police, but is the most dominant factor in shaping their willingness to cooperate with police. Respondents’ views of police in Ghana did not influence obligation or cooperation. The implications of the results for theory development, empirical research, and policies intended to improve police–immigrant relations are discussed.
New economic geography: history and debate

Abstract We synthesise the main conceptual discussion around New Economic Geography (NEG). We provide the background in adjacent fields of economics which made the surge of NEG possible. We then assess the state of the art in NEG and track the intellectual evolution of the field, focussing on the intrinsic criticism that it has been subject to throughout its history. This criticism has its roots in different conceptions of geography and history, as well as other methodological differences between economists and geographers. We analyse the evolution of the debate and communication between geographical economists and economic geographers.
Isolation, Identification and Cytotoxicity of a New Noroleanane-Type Triterpene Saponin from Salicornia bigelovii Torr.

Salicornia bigelovii Torr. has been consumed not only as a popular kind of vegetable, but also as a medicinal plant to treat hypertension, cephalalgia, scurvy and cancer. The present study was designed to investigate its chemical components and cytotoxic activity. A new noroleanane-type triterpene saponin, bigelovii C (1), was separated and purified from Salicornia bigelovii Torr. , along with four known triterpene saponins 2–5. The structure of bigelovii C was elucidated as 3-O-(6-O-butyl ester)-β-d-glucuropyranosyl-23-aldehyde-30-norolean-12, 20 (29)-dien-28-oic acid-28-O-β-d-glucopyranoside, according to various spectroscopic analysis and chemical characteristics. Besides Compounds 3 and 5, bigelovii C had potent cytotoxicity against three human cancer cell lines, MCF7 (breast cancer), Lovo (colon cancer) and LN229 (glioblastoma), especially MCF7. Bigelovii C inhibited the growth of MCF7 cells in dose- and time-dependent manners. Flow cytometry analysis revealed that the percentage of apoptotic cells significantly increased upon bigelovii C treatment. Rh123 staining assay indicated that bigelovii C reduced the mitochondrial membrane potential. The mechanism of cell death by bigelovii C may be attributed to the downregulation of Bcl-2 and upregulation of Bax, cleaved caspase-9, caspase-7 and PARP. These results suggested that bigelovii C may impart health benefits when consumed and should be regarded as a potential chemopreventative agent for cancer.
Device Comparability of Tablets and Computers for Assessment Purposes

ABSTRACT The definition of what it means to take a test online continues to evolve with the inclusion of a broader range of item types and a wide array of devices used by students to access test content. To assure the validity and reliability of test scores for all students, device comparability research should be conducted to evaluate the impact of testing device on student test performance. The current study looked at the comparability of test scores across tablets and computers for high school students in three commonly assessed content areas and for a variety of different item types. Results indicate no statistically significant differences across device type for any content area or item type. Student survey results suggest that students may have a preference for taking tests on devices with which they have more experience, but that even limited exposure to tablets in this study increased positive responses for testing on tablets.
Deriving robust counterparts of nonlinear uncertain inequalities

In this paper we provide a systematic way to construct the robust counterpart of a nonlinear uncertain inequality that is concave in the uncertain parameters. We use convex analysis (support functions, conjugate functions, Fenchel duality) and conic duality in order to convert the robust counterpart into an explicit and computationally tractable set of constraints. It turns out that to do so one has to calculate the support function of the uncertainty set and the concave conjugate of the nonlinear constraint function. Conveniently, these two computations are completely independent. This approach has several advantages. First, it provides an easy structured way to construct the robust counterpart both for linear and nonlinear inequalities. Second, it shows that for new classes of uncertainty regions and for new classes of nonlinear optimization problems tractable counterparts can be derived. We also study some cases where the inequality is nonconcave in the uncertain parameters.
Efficient routing and data management in sensor networks using virtual cord routing (VCP)

We show the feasibility of efficient routing and service discovery in sensor networks using the Virtual Cord Protocol (VCP). Scalable and energy efficient data management is still a challenging topic in this domain. This problem domain is being addressed by recent Distributed Hash Table (DHT)based approaches for data management in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). In general, such solutions can be classified in three main categories: real location based, virtual location based, and location independent, whereby the most recent approaches for data management and routing in WSNs rely on virtual coordinates. Inspired by DHTs and bringing this idea down to the underlay, efficient routing paths can be maintained together with the capability to store information and data in a DHT-like system. The first solution in this field has been Virtual Ring Routing (VRR) [1]. It uses a location independent unique key to identify nodes and to organize them into a virtual ring. The problem of this protocol is that the adjacent nodes in the ring can be far away in the real network. Moreover, dead ends cannot be completely prevented. Later on, VCP has been proposed, which shows a couple of advantages compared to VRR [2]. The concept of the protocol always ensures reachability of all destinations and optimizes routes on the fly by exploiting information about physical neighbors. Using the concept of indirections, VCP also provides efficient resource and service discovery. This demo shows the applicability of VCP for efficient routing and data management in sensor networks. After evaluating the protocol using comprehensive simulation studies in previous work [2, 3], we implemented the protocol on the BTnode sensor node platform, which is based on an Atmel ATmega128 micro controller and a CC1000 radio transmitter. We show the feasibility of the protocol implementation in a small but easy to understand demo scenario. For demonstration purposes, we visualize the established cord and its dynamic updates as shown in Figure 1.
Routing optimization techniques for wireless ad hoc networks

Wireless ad hoc networks provide cost-effective Internet access and communication to environments that do not have fixed infrastructures such as sparsely populated areas. In this paper, we describe a new routing algorithm that can be utilized by ad hoc networks to provide quality of service to subscribers. The algorithm utilizes new routing optimization techniques that greatly enhance network performance.
Dejavu: an accurate energy-efficient outdoor localization system

We present Dejavu, a system that uses standard cell-phone sensors to provide accurate and energy-efficient outdoor localization suitable for car navigation. Our analysis shows that different road landmarks have a unique signature on cell-phone sensors; For example, going inside tunnels, moving over bumps, going up a bridge, and even potholes all affect the inertial sensors on the phone in a unique pattern. Dejavu employs a dead-reckoning localization approach and leverages these road landmarks, among other automatically discovered abundant virtual landmarks, to reset the accumulated error and achieve accurate localization. To maintain a low energy profile, Dejavu uses only energy-efficient sensors or sensors that are already running for other purposes. We present the design of Dejavu and how it leverages crowd-sourcing to automatically learn virtual landmarks and their locations. Our evaluation results from implementation on different android devices in both city and highway driving show that Dejavu can localize cell phones to within 8.4 m median error in city roads and 16.6 m on highways. Moreover, compared to GPS and other state-of-the-art systems, Dejavu can extend the battery lifetime by 347%, achieving even better localization results than GPS in the more challenging in-city driving conditions.
Structure-Based Phylogenetic Analysis of the Lipocalin Superfamily

Lipocalins constitute a superfamily of extracellular proteins that are found in all three kingdoms of life. Although very divergent in their sequences and functions, they show remarkable similarity in 3-D structures. Lipocalins bind and transport small hydrophobic molecules. Earlier sequence-based phylogenetic studies of lipocalins highlighted that they have a long evolutionary history. However the molecular and structural basis of their functional diversity is not completely understood. The main objective of the present study is to understand functional diversity of the lipocalins using a structure-based phylogenetic approach. The present study with 39 protein domains from the lipocalin superfamily suggests that the clusters of lipocalins obtained by structure-based phylogeny correspond well with the functional diversity. The detailed analysis on each of the clusters and sub-clusters reveals that the 39 lipocalin domains cluster based on their mode of ligand binding though the clustering was performed on the basis of gross domain structure. The outliers in the phylogenetic tree are often from single member families. Also structure-based phylogenetic approach has provided pointers to assign putative function for the domains of unknown function in lipocalin family. The approach employed in the present study can be used in the future for the functional identification of new lipocalin proteins and may be extended to other protein families where members show poor sequence similarity but high structural similarity.
THE IMPACT OF EARLY EXPERIENCE ON CURRENT MENTAL HEALTH AND QUALITY OF PARENTING IN INCARCERATED MOTHERS

iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . iv LIST OF TABLES . viii LIST OF FIGURES . ix CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Attachment . 1 Overview . 1 Secure Attachment . 3 Insecure and Disorganized Attachment Styles . 8 Parental Incarceration . 23 Summary and Purpose of Study . 26 CHAPTER TWO: METHOD Participants . 31 Measures . 31 Early Experiences . 31 Adult Mental Health . 33 Adult Parenting Behaviors . 34 Quality of Parent-Child Relationship . 35 Demographics . 35 Procedure . 36 CHAPTER THREE: RESULTS . 37 Measurement Model . 40
Performance of Routine Helicobacter pylori Invasive Tests in Patients with Dyspepsia

Background. This study was designed to compare the accuracy of three different invasive methods for the detection of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection in patients with dyspepsia. These tests included culture, histology, and the rapid urease test (CLO test). Methods. H. pylori infection was diagnosed prospectively in 246 untreated dyspeptic patients who underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. The gold standard for H. pylori infection was based on a positive culture or both a positive histological examination and a CLO test. Results. H. pylori was diagnosed in 33.3% of the patients. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and overall accuracy were as follows: histology from the antrum (95.12; 95.12; 90.7; 97.5; 95.12%); histology from the antrum and corpus (95.12; 95.12; 90.7; 97.5; 95.12%); histology from the corpus (76.83; 96.95; 92.65; 89.33; 90.24%); culture (91.46; 100; 100; 95.91; 97.15%); a CLO test from the antrum and corpus (85.59; 100; 100; 93.71; 95.52%); a CLO test from the antrum (64.63; 100; 100; 84.97; 88.21%); a CLO test from the corpus (69.51; 100; 100; 96.77; 89.83%), respectively. Conclusions. Antral biopsy histology and culture are the best methods for the diagnosis of H. pylori infection in our cohort of patients with dyspepsia.
Comparative performance evaluation of small , medium and large U . S . commercial banks : 1997-2002

We use the profit efficiency test (PROFEFF) and return on asset (ROA) to examine the performance of small U.S. commercial bank with asset size $100milliom to $300million with medium size banks with asset size $1billion to $5billion and large banks with asset size greater than $5billion.for the period for 1997-2002. We find that medium size banks achieved the highest efficiency and profitability during the period but had the highest level of non current loan. The small banks are more profit efficient and profitable than large banks. They have the least provision for loan loss, lowest comparative non current loan and actual loan loss.
mRNA capping: biological functions and applications

The 5′ m7G cap is an evolutionarily conserved modification of eukaryotic mRNA. Decades of research have established that the m7G cap serves as a unique molecular module that recruits cellular proteins and mediates cap-related biological functions such as pre-mRNA processing, nuclear export and cap-dependent protein synthesis. Only recently has the role of the cap 2′O methylation as an identifier of self RNA in the innate immune system against foreign RNA has become clear. The discovery of the cytoplasmic capping machinery suggests a novel level of control network. These new findings underscore the importance of a proper cap structure in the synthesis of functional messenger RNA. In this review, we will summarize the current knowledge of the biological roles of mRNA caps in eukaryotic cells. We will also discuss different means that viruses and their host cells use to cap their RNA and the application of these capping machineries to synthesize functional mRNA. Novel applications of RNA capping enzymes in the discovery of new RNA species and sequencing the microbiome transcriptome will also be discussed. We will end with a summary of novel findings in RNA capping and the questions these findings pose.
Predicting Critical Transitions in ENSO Models. Part I: Methodology and Simple Models with Memory

AbstractA new empirical approach is proposed for predicting critical transitions in the climate system based on a time series alone. This approach relies on nonlinear stochastic modeling of the system’s time-dependent evolution operator by the analysis of observed behavior. Empirical models that take the form of a discrete random dynamical system are constructed using artificial neural networks; these models include state-dependent stochastic components. To demonstrate the usefulness of such models in predicting critical climate transitions, they are applied here to time series generated by a number of delay-differential equation (DDE) models of sea surface temperature anomalies. These DDE models take into account the main conceptual elements responsible for the El Nino–Southern Oscillation phenomenon. The DDE models used here have been modified to include slow trends in the control parameters in such a way that critical transitions occur beyond the learning interval in the time series. Numerical results .
“Too Many Cooks Spoiling a Soup”? Making Sense of a Distributed, Multi-party IS Project

Abstract This paper analyzes collaboration in a distributed, multiparty information system (IS) development and implementation project. Existing research on collaboration in IS projects, and particularly in distributed, multiparty IS projects, is reviewed. In addition, collaboration is empirically analyzed by utilizing a phenomenographic approach. Empirical analysis shows that collaboration as a theme emerged strongly. Different organizations viewed the project and collaboration in the project in divergent ways, but there were also varied and contradictory views within the organizations. Implications both for research and practice are discussed.
Life Satisfaction as a Determinant of Life Engagement

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of life satisfaction on life engagement. A total of 210 University students participated in the study. Before conducting the study, the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) and the Life Engagement Test (LET) were translated into Bangla and validated in Bangladeshi culture. Exploratory Factor Analysis identified a one factor model for the SWLS, accounting for 55.55% of the total variance and a one factor model for the LET, accounting for 46.80% of the total variance. Both the measures showed good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α=.79, for SWLS and Cronbach’s α=.77 for LET), and construct validity. The regression analysis showed that the model was significant and explained 19.3% of the variance in subject’s life engagement (R 2 =.193, p=.001). Standardized β value indicates that life satisfaction was positively correlated with life engagement (β=.444, p=.001) and significantly predicted this criterion. Implications of the findings for theory, research and practice are discussed.
Growth of the adult goldfish eye. III. Source of the new retinal cells

The manner in which new cells are added to the growing adult goldfish retina was examined using 3H‐thymidine radioutography. Cell proliferation leading to the formation of neurons is restricted to the retinal margin at the ora terminalis. New retina is added in concentric rings, with slightly more growth dorsonasally. The rate of cell addition is variable, averaging 12,000 cells/ day. These new cells account for about 20% of the total increase in retinal area; the remaining 80% is due to hypertrophy, or expansin, of the retina. In contrast to all of the other retinal cells, the rods do not appear to participate in the retinal expansion. This hypothesized immobility of the rods would create a shearing strain between the retinal layers resulting in a shift in their position relative to the other cells. Were they to maintain synaptic contacts with the same horizontal and bipolar cells, the rod axons would have to be elongated peripherally or the post‐synaptic cell dendrites displaced centrally. Since neurons with this morphology have not been found in the goldfish retina, these observations suggest that the rods must be changing their synaptic connections as the retina grows.
A Selfish Game-Theoretic Approach for Cognitive Radio Networks with Dynamic Spectrum Sharing

To meet the dynamic spectrum access of cognitive radio (CR), the selfish game-theoretic model is identified for multi-hop networking with CR nodes, which matches well with the physical administrative structure in real-life situations. This paper investigates user communication session via a cross-layer optimization approach, with joint consideration of power control, scheduling, and routing. Both the channel quality and the spectrum substitutability are discussed. A utility function is built, for the secondary user to obtain the spectrum demand function. Also, in terms of spectrum access opportunities, an equilibrium pricing scheme is presented to show that it is close to optimal in most scenarios. The proposed game-theoretic CR spectrum sharing algorithm (GCSS) highlights the trend of spectrum pricing design that it is not necessarily bad for the network users to behave selfishly. Experimental and simulation results are provided as verification of the analyses and solutions.
Development and validation of EMP-3: an instrument to measure physician's attitudes toward ethnic minority patients.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The growing diversity of patient populations challenges health care providers. Physicians' attitudes and perceptions toward cultural diversity in health care could be partly contributing to difficulties in communication between physicians and ethnic minority patients. To evaluate these attitudes and perceptions, an instrument was developed and validated. METHODS A preliminary version of the instrument was developed through literature research and expert consultation and completed by 112 family physicians. Factor analysis was performed and reliability and construct validity tested. RESULTS The instrument revealed three factors that were interpreted as: (1) physicians' task perception and ideas on cultural differences in health and health care, (2) physicians' attitudes toward physician-patient communication with minority patients, and (3) physicians' perception of minority patients' needs in communication. Moderate but significant correlations were found between factors of the EMP-3 and practice organization, practice location, and physicians' gender. Several factors of the Jefferson Empathy Scale, the Patient Practitioner Orientation Scale, and the Health Beliefs and Attitude Scale related to the first two factors of the EMP-3. CONCLUSIONS This instrument, designed specifically to measure physicians' attitudes toward cultural diversity, showed moderate validity and reliability results. Further adaptations and evaluation could be useful.