Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pattern of Twin Placentation in Ghana

Abstract A 2-year study involving macroscopic examination of twin placentae was conducted at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, Ghana to determine the proportions of the various types of twin placentation, cord insertions and number of cord vessels and their relationships. Of 765 twin-pair placentae examined, 398 (52%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 48.4%–55.6%) had fused dichorionic, 247 (32.3%, 95% CI 29.0%–35.7%) had separate dichorionic, and 119 (15.6%, 95% CI 13.1%–18.4%) had monochorionic diamniotic placentae; only one (0.1%, 95% CI 0.0%–0.8%) had monochorionic monoamniotic placentation. Of 1529 cords whose insertion could be determined, 1285 (84%) had disc, 172 (11.2%) marginal and 72 (4.7%) velamentous insertions. Only 10 (0.65%) cords had two vessels (i.e., single umbilical artery). Abnormal cord insertions (marginal and velamentous) were significantly more likely to occur in monochorionic than in dichorionic placentation (odds ratio [OR] 3.56, 95% CI 2.62–4.84), and in two-vessel than in three-vessel cords (OR 5.79, 95% CI 1.44–24.5). The prevalence of two-vessel cord in monochorionic was not significantly different from that in dichorionic placentation (OR = 0.60, 95% CI 0.10–2.67). Zygosity could be determined in 53.3% of twins from placental examination and babies' sex-pair combinations. In conclusion the most common twin placentation in Ghana is fused dichorionic. Abnormal cord insertion is more common in monochorionic than dichorionic placentation. Monoamniotic twins and single umbilical artery are less common than have been reported in other centers. Modern methods of DNA analysis are needed to establish zygosity in almost half of twin pairs.
I Will Pay Tomorrow, Or Maybe the Day After...

Procrastinating repayment in full on credit card debt is a problem affecting a large segment of the population. This paper studies the role that present-biased preferences and impatience play in the repayment behavior of consumers. Evidence from a field study provides empirical support to the hypothesis that individuals with present-biased preferences tend to adopt a strategic procrastination repayment behavior that is not optimal to accomplish repayment in full. More specifically, individuals suffering from self control issues and using credit cards to bridge unexpected shortage of income are more likely to fail to repay credit cards in full in the period after the purchase was completed, therefore carrying over a month-to-month balance. In addition, people with a simple present-biased revealed effect are also more likely to fall behind on credit card repayment, vis-a-vis those that have a higher marginal propensity to save. By the same token, we find that individuals consistently behave inconsistently, that is evidence from our sample indicates the predominance of dynamically inconsistent preferences, in opposition to the prescriptions of the neoclassical theory. In this regard, naive type of individuals with present-biased preferences consume beyond their income capabilities and are much more likely to carry over credit card debt into the next period, vis-a-vis individuals that are more sophisticated.
Rigidity of infinite disk patterns

Let P be a locally flnite disk pattern on the complex plane C whose combinatorics are described by the one-skeleton G of a triangulation of the open topological disk and whose dihedral angles are equal to a function £ : E! [0;…=2] on the set of edges. Let P ⁄ be a combinatorially equivalent disk pattern on the plane with the same dihedral angle function. We show that P and P ⁄ difier only by a euclidean similarity. In particular, when the dihedral angle function £ is identically zero, this yields the rigidity theorems of B. Rodin and D. Sullivan, and of O. Schramm, whose arguments rely essentially on the pairwise disjointness of the interiors of the disks. The approach here is analytical, and uses the maximum principle, the concept of vertex extremal length, and the recurrency of a family of electrical networks obtained by placing resistors on the edges in the contact graph of the pattern. A similar rigidity property holds for locally flnite disk patterns in the hyperbolic plane, where the proof follows by a simple use of the maximum principle. Also, we have a uniformization result for disk patterns. In a future paper, the techniques of this paper will be extended to the case when 0 • £ <… . In particular, we will show a rigidity property for a class of inflnite convex polyhedra in the 3-dimensional hyperbolic space.
Encoding of Coordinated Grasp Trajectories in Primary Motor Cortex

Few studies have investigated how the cortex encodes the preshaping of the hand as an object is grasped, an ethological movement referred to as prehension. We developed an encoding model of hand kinematics to test whether primary motor cortex (MI) neurons encode temporally extensive combinations of joint motions that characterize a prehensile movement. Two female rhesus macaque monkeys were trained to grasp 4 different objects presented by a robot while their arm was held in place by a thermoplastic brace. We used multielectrode arrays to record MI neurons and an infrared camera motion tracking system to record the 3-D positions of 14 markers placed on the monkeys' wrist and digits. A generalized linear model framework was used to predict the firing rate of each neuron in a 4 ms time interval, based on its own spiking history and the spatiotemporal kinematics of the joint angles of the hand. Our results show that the variability of the firing rate of MI neurons is better described by temporally extensive combinations of finger and wrist joint angle kinematics rather than any individual joint motion or any combination of static kinematic parameters at their optimal lag. Moreover, a higher percentage of neurons encoded joint angular velocities than joint angular positions. These results suggest that neurons encode the covarying trajectories of the hand's joints during a prehensile movement.
Identifying coverage perimeter of heterogeneous wireless sensor networks

Perimeter surveillance is one of the major applications of sensor networks. The perimeter represents the physical extent of the region to be monitored and depending on the application, it is required to sense the intrusion enter the monitored region or leave from the monitored region of the object being monitored. In this paper, the problem of identifying the perimeter of the wireless network’s coverage region is addressed. We present a distributed algorithm to find out those sensor nodes that are on the perimeter of coverage (or coverage holes) in the region. We have considered random sensor networks that have sensor nodes with heterogeneous sensing ranges. Our proposed algorithm uses the location neighborhood information to determine if the sensor node enclosed by neighboring nodes, and consequently, if it is located within the interior of the wireless sensor network. We provide performance metrics to analyze the performance of our approach and the simulation shows that the algorithm provides fairly accurate results.
In Vitro Protective Effects of Lycium barbarum Berries Cultivated in Umbria (Italy) on Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells

Lycium barbarum is a famous plant in the traditional Chinese medicine. The plant is known to have health-promoting bioactive components. The properties of Lycium barbarum berries cultivated in Umbria (Italy) and their effect on human hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2) have been investigated in this work. The obtained results demonstrated that the Lycium barbarum berries from Umbria region display high antioxidant properties evaluated by total phenolic content and ORAC method, on hydrophilic and lipophilic fractions. Moreover, on HepG2 cell line Lycium barbarum berries extract did not change cell viability analyzed by MTT and Trypan blue exclusion assay and did not induce genotoxic effect analyzed by comet assay. Furthermore, it was demonstrated, for the first time, that the berries extract showed a protective effect on DNA damage, expressed as antigenotoxic activity in vitro. Finally, Lycium barbarum berries extract was able to modulate the expression of genes involved in oxidative stress, proliferation, apoptosis, and cancer. In particular, downexpression of genes involved in tumor migration and invasion (CCL5), in increased risk of metastasis and antiapoptotic signal (DUSP1), and in carcinogenesis (GPx-3 and PTGS1), together with overexpression of tumor suppressor gene (MT3), suggested that Umbrian Lycium barbarum berries could play a protective role against hepatocellular carcinoma.
Simulation of the AUC Changes after Generic Substitution in Patients

To address the debate on the safety of generic substitution quantitatively, the author compared the change in AUC in virtual patients who were simulated for several different scenarios of generic substitution. In four scenarios of original (branded) to generic and generic to generic substitution, 5,000 virtual patients were simulated per scenario using the programming software R. The mean population AUC of generics ranged from 90-110% (scenarios A and B) and 80-123.5% (scenarios C and D) of the AUC of the original. Those patients who had an AUC change (ratio) as a result of drug substitution of less than 0.67 or greater than 1.5 were considered to be in potential danger due to the substitution. We found that less than 6% of patients fell outside of the cutoff range of 0.67-1.5 as a result of original to generic substitution. However, in the case of generic to generic substitution, the proportion was as high as 9-12%. This alerts us to the potential danger of generic substitution, especially for drugs with narrow therapeutic indices.
The Effects of Genders of Prospective Teachers on their Attitudes towards Teaching Profession: A Meta-Analysis

One of the factors supporting the professional success of prospective teachers is their attitudes towards teaching profession. Many studies have been carried out on determining the attitudes of prospective teachers towards teaching profession. One of the main questions in those studies is to determine if the gender is effective or not. In this study, the meta-analysis was performed in order to determine the effects of gender on the attitudes of prospective teachers towards teaching profession between 2010 and 2015. As a result of database scanning, it has been seen that there were 34 publications that contain related data for meta-analysis. According to the performed analyses, it was concluded that there was no publication bias and it was required to perform analysis according to random effects model. According to meta-analysis results, the general impact level of the publications was 0.323 and they were at small size level. In other words, attitudes of female students towards teaching profession were higher than that of male students. According to the analyses from the aspect of score type of the departments, at which the prospective teachers were studying, it can be said that the differentiation by scores was significant and the attitudes of female and male students were similar in science-math scores. In analyses performed from the aspect of geographical regions of study, it was concluded that the differentiation was not significant.
Counting Ion and Water Molecules in a Streaming File through the Open-Filter Structure of the K Channel

The mechanisms underlying the selective permeation of ions through channel molecules are a fundamental issue related to understanding how neurons exert their functions. The “knock-on” mechanism, in which multiple ions in the selectivity filter are hit by an incoming ion, is one of the leading concepts. This mechanism has been supported by crystallographic studies that demonstrated ion distribution in the structure of the Streptomyces lividans (KcsA) potassium channel. These still pictures under equilibrium conditions, however, do not provide a snapshot of the actual, ongoing permeation processes. To understand the dynamics of permeation, we determined the ratio of the ion and water flow [the water-ion coupling ratio (CRw-i)] through the KcsA channel by measuring the streaming potential (Vstream) electrophysiologically. The Vstream value was converted to the CRw-i value, which reveals how individual ion and water molecules are queued in the narrow and short filter during permeation. At high K+ concentrations, the CRw-i value was 1.0, indicating that turnover between the alternating ion and water arrays occurs in a single-file manner. At low K+, the CRw-i value was increased to a point over 2.2, suggesting that the filter contained mostly one ion at a time. These average behaviors of permeation were kinetically analyzed for a more detailed understanding of the permeation process. Here, we envisioned the permeation as queues of ion and water molecules and sequential transitions between different patterns of arrays. Under physiological conditions, we predicted that the knock-on mechanism may not be predominant.
The Supply of Trade Credits: Evidence from the UK

The extension of trade credit is considered to be a form of short term financing that many firms use from both the supply and demand sides. This paper focuses on testing the theoretical determinants on trade credit and examines whether 1) creditworthy firms that have access to both external and internal financing, 2) they experience growth in profits and sales, and 3) price discrimination can actually motivated the extension of trade credit. The paper uses a large sample of data from the UK. We identify whether the decision to offer trade credit as measured by the level of account receivables depends, on firm's size. We draw a distinction between small, medium and large firms, and find evidence that the decision to extend trade credit and the relationship to the firm's ability to access finance, intermediate, or price discriminate can to a large extent be determined by the size of the firm.
Collaborative learning: towards a solution for novice programmers

Students continue to struggle with learning to program, for reasons that we hypothesise are not solely cognitive. This paper reports on the results of a survey indicating that as students progress through a first programming unit, they enjoy it less, find it more difficult than they expected, and have less confidence in being able to successfully complete it. The students also believed that collaborative learning would have a beneficial impact on their learning outcomes and make studying programming more engaging, interactive, and fun. As a precursor to trialling collaborative problem solving and programming in introductory programming units at QUT, collaborative learning and its potential positive effect on the learning outcomes of programming students is investigated.
Unit size in unit selection speech synthesis

In this paper, we address the issue of choice of unit size in unit selection speech synthesis. We discuss the development of a Hindi speech synthesizer and our experiments with different choices of units: syllable, diphone, phone and half phone. Perceptual tests conducted to evaluate the quality of the synthesizers with different unit size indicate that the syllable synthesizer performs better than the phone, diphone and half phone synthesizers, and the half phone synthesizer performs better than diphone and phone synthesizers.
Turning the Other Cheek : Leniency and Forgiveness in an Uncertain World

We study the experimental play of the repeated prisoner's dilemma when intended actions are implemented with noise. In treatments where cooperation is an equilibrium, subjects cooperate substantially more than in treatments without cooperative equilibria. Furthermore, cooperative strategies yielded higher payoffs than uncooperative strategies in the treatments with cooperative equilibria, and successful strategies were " lenient " in not retaliating for the first defection and/or " forgiving " in trying to return to cooperation after inflicting a punishment. In all settings there was considerable strategic diversity, indicating that subjects had not fully learned the distribution of play. There was no difference across treatments in giving in a post-experiment dictator game, and dictator giving was not correlated with cooperation in the treatments with high returns on cooperation. We conclude that cooperation in settings with cooperative equilibria is primarily driven by strategic considerations. We are grateful to Pedro Dal Bó and Guillaume Frechette for sharing their data and code with us, and for taking the time to reply to our numerous queries. We thank 1. Introduction Repeated games with observed actions have a great many equilibrium outcomes when players are patient, as shown by the various folk theorems. 1 These theorems show that cooperative play is possible when players are concerned about future rewards and punishments, but since repeated play of a static equilibrium is always an equilibrium of the repeated game, the folk theorems do no predict that cooperation will in fact occur. suggest that in these games players do indeed tend to cooperate when there is a cooperative equilibrium, at least if the gains to cooperation are sufficiently large, 2 and there are evolutionary arguments for why this should be the case. 3 Outside of the laboratory, actions are often observed with noise: someone who claims they worked hard, or that they were too busy or sick to help, may or may not be telling the truth, and an awkward or inconvenient action may have been well-intentioned. The folk theorem also applies to repeated games with this sort of imperfectly observed actions (Fudenberg, Levine and Maskin [1994]), and the evolutionary arguments for cooperative equilibria are even stronger here, as the possibility that punishment may be triggered by " mistake " decreases the viability of unrelenting or grim strategies that respond to a single bad observation by never cooperating again. 4 This paper studies experimental play of the repeated prisoner's dilemma when …
Transcatheter Arterial Chemoembolization for Intermediate-Stage Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Clinical Outcome and Safety in Elderly Patients

Aim: The aim of our study was to compare clinical outcomes between elderly patients aged ≥75 years (elderly group, n=66) with intermediate hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) undergoing transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) and younger patients aged <75 years (control group, n=84) with intermediate HCC undergoing TACE. Methods: Clinical outcomes, including overall survival (OS) and tumor response rate at initial therapy, were compared between these two groups. Results: The median survival time and the 1- and 3-year cumulative OS rates were 2.90 years and 84.1% and 48.0%, respectively, in the elderly group and 2.44 years and 78.2% and 39.3%, respectively, in the control group (p=0.887). The objective response rate in the elderly group was 81.8% (54/66 patients), while that in the control group was 78.6% (66/84 patients) (p=0.227). Conclusion: Elderly patients with intermediate HCC undergoing TACE had a prognosis comparable with that of younger patients with intermediate HCC undergoing TACE.
The relationship between customer-perceived employee emotional competence (EEC) and rapport as drivers of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty: An analysis across different service types

The purpose of this research was to investigate the differential effect of the dimensions of customer-perceived EEC (i.e., perception, understanding, and regulation of customer emotions), on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, as well as how and to what extent rapport mediates these effects. Next to that, these relationships were investigated across two service types: (1) high-contact, customized, personal services, and (2) moderate contact, standardized services. The data were collected by means of an anonymous web-based questionnaire. For analyzing the data, partial least squares (PLS) path modeling was applied. The results show that the EEC dimensions do have different effects on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Also, these effects are dependent on service type. In high-contact, customized, personal services, regulation of customer emotions (RCE) has a positive relationship with both customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, whereas in moderate contact, standardized services, understanding of customer emotions (UCE) has a positive relationship with customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, and perception of customer emotions (PCE) has a positive relationship with customer loyalty. Furthermore, the mediating role of rapport appears to be dependent on service type. In high-contact, customized, personal services, there is a positive relationship between rapport and customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Here, rapport mediates the relationship between RCE and customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. In moderate contact, standardized services however, rapport is not related to customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. These findings suggest that, depending on the service type, managers of service firms should select and train employees on the emotional competences that are relevant for creating customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.
A Keck High-Resolution Spectroscopic Study of the Orion Nebula Proplyds

We present the results of spectroscopy of four bright proplyds in the Orion Nebula obtained at a velocity resolution of 6 km s-1. After careful isolation of the proplyd spectra from the confusing nebular radiation, the emission-line profiles are compared with those predicted by realistic dynamic/photoionization models of the objects. The spectral line widths show a clear correlation with ionization potential, which is consistent with the free expansion of a transonic, ionization-stratified, photoevaporating flow. Fitting models of such a flow simultaneously to our spectra and HST emission-line imaging provides direct measurements of the proplyd size, ionized density, and outflow velocity. These measurements confirm that the ionization front in the proplyds is approximately D-critical and provide the most accurate and robust estimate to date of the proplyd mass-loss rate. Values of (0.7–1.5) × 10-6 M⊙ yr-1 are found for our spectroscopic sample, although extrapolating our results to a larger sample of proplyds implies that 0.4 × 10-6 M⊙ yr-1 is more typical of the proplyds as a whole. In view of the reported limits on the masses of the circumstellar disks within the proplyds, the length of time that they can have been exposed to ionizing radiation should not greatly exceed 104 yr—a factor of 30 less than the mean age of the proplyd stars. We review the various mechanisms that have been proposed to explain this situation, and conclude that none can plausibly work unless the disk masses are revised upward by a substantial amount.