Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Yield, quality, nutrient uptake and economics of spring sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) as influenced by balanced fertilization in clay loam soils of Rajasthan

A field experiment was conducted from 201112 to 201314 at Agricultural Research Station, Kota, Rajasthan, to find out suitable nutrient-management practices for sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.). The experiment was consisted of 13 nutrient management practices, viz. control, N , N P , N P K (RDF), N P K +S , 200 200 60 200 60 40 200 60 40 40 N P K +Zn , N P K +Fe , N P K + Mn , N P K +S +Zn , N P K +S +Zn +Fe , N P K +S + 200 60 40 5 200 60 40 1 200 60 40 1 200 60 40 40 5 200 60 40 40 5 1 200 60 40 40 Zn +Fe +Mn , N P + S +Zn kg/ha as soil-test recommendation (STR) and FYM @ 20 t/ha were laid out in ran- 5 1 1 150 50 25 4 domized block design with 3 replications. Balanced fertilization of N P K along with S +Zn kg/ha had signifi- 200 60 40 40 5 cant influenced on tillers, number of millable canes (126,060/ha), single cane weight (880 g), cane yield (91.70 t/ha), commercial cane sugar yield (11.96 t/ha) and net profit ( 90,974/ha) over rest of the treatments being on a par with treatments of N P K +S , N P K +Zn , N P K +Fe , N P K +Mn , N P K +S +Zn +Fe , 200 60 40 40 200 60 40 5 200 60 40 1 200 60 40 1 200 60 40 40 5 1 N P K +S +Zn +Fe +Mn , N P +S +Zn kg/ha. Maximum nutrient uptake of N, P and K (265.3, 21.3 and 260 200 60 40 40 5 1 1 150 50 25 4 kg/ha) was recorded with application of N P K +S +Zn kg/ha over rest of the treatments and it was observed 200 60 40 40 5 higher positive net gain of N, P, K and S (8.5, 3.4, 16 and 3.7 kg/ha) was recorded over initial status of soil. The result showed that balanced application of N P K +S +Zn kg/ha may be recommended for obtaining higher 200 60 40 40 5 millable cane yield, net return and sustained soil health in spring planted in clay loam soils of Rajasthan.
Trying Out Mobility as a Service: Experiences from a Field Trial and Implications for Understanding Demand

The concept of mobility as a service (MaaS) has been proposed as a feasible way to achieve more sustainable transport. One example of such a service is UbiGo, a broker service for everyday urban travel developed and evaluated within the Go:Smart project in Gothenburg, Sweden. This paper presents evidence of travel behavior and related changes from a 6-month field operational test (FOT), during which 195 participants tested the new service. On the basis of the responses to participant questionnaires and interviews and the information recorded in travel diaries, change-enabling service attributes were identified. Such attributes included the transportation smorgasbord concept, simplicity, improved access and flexibility, and economy. Although not a service attribute per se, the FOT also enabled the new behaviors to be evaluated in a trial and a reevaluation of convenience. The broader implications of the findings of the FOT to obtain an understanding of travelers’ new choices and behaviors for the future design of MaaS are discussed. Service design and demand are not independent of each other, and if a mobility service is to change behavior (i.e., achieve an impact) as well as create added value, these goals need to drive design decisions and the deliberate, conscious development of service dimensions, such as customization, bundling, and the range of the offer. On the basis of the experiences gained, the authors emphasize the need for a more holistic and flexible perspective on mobility (and the design perspective on mobility services) that is focused on serving users’ needs and that involves capitalizing on synergies between public and private actors to develop the MaaS offer and better meet the urban mobility challenge ahead.
Empirical Analysis of the Key Drivers of Income Inequality in West Africa

This paper extends and contributes to the literature on the drivers of income inequality in West Africa. Principally, it empirically assesses the impact of key domestic and external drivers of income inequality with a view to drawing key lessons for West African countries. Using the dynamic system GMM estimation procedure, the authors analyze an unbalanced pooled time series data set of income distribution in 17 West African countries from 1970 to 2011. Our inequality measures, the market (gross) and net income inequality coefficients, are from a global inequality dataset, which ensures data comparability both through time and across countries. Our novel finding shows strong support for a dynamic, non-monotonic, inverted U-shaped, effect of inequality in the model (as expressed by the lagged values of income inequality). We find evidence of existence of the Kuznets curve in the sub-region, which proposed that inequality may rise with the initial increase in per capita income but will decline subsequently. A non-monotonic, Kuznets-type effect is found for political globalization. Our results also show that access to secondary education (skill premium) social globalization, age dependency (for net income inequality) and democracy strongly and significantly equalize income in West Africa. The authors find that population density, natural resources dependence, domestic investment rate, government consumption expenditure, trade openness, inward foreign direct investment, international remittances, and civil conflicts appear to be income disequalizing in the sub-region. The policy lessons and implications are discussed.
The Soros media 'empire': The power of philanthropy to engineer consent

Recent critical scholarship has drawn attention to the antidemocratic influence of conservative philanthropists on the evolution of global media systems, but few media researchers have focused on the similarly antidemocratic trends that have resulted from the influence of Left-leaning capitalist funders. In fact, some commentators, recognizing the successful ideological cohesion of the Right's media strategies, have instead of calling for a democratic alternative, simply suggested that progressives should attempt to emulate the Right's (antidemocratic) strategizing: indeed while many people may think that the pro-free market doctrine of Right- leaning philanthropoids may receive better funding than liberal ('progressive') foundations this is not necessarily the case. Instead, the Right has simply acted with more cohesion, and consciously worked at influencing policy makers and politicians at an ideological level, while the Left has adopted a more haphazard reactive approach to tempering the excesses of our capitalist society. In most cases researchers have also tended to assume that liberal funders have only had noble (progressive) intentions to strengthen democracy, and while this may be true to a point, this paper will demonstrate that this charity is ultimately given to sustain capitalism (albeit a less harsh version compared with that proposed by their fellow Right-wing philanthropists). Using the example of George Soros' philanthropic foundations—the best known one being his Open Society Institute—which at one point were distributing some $500 million a year to ostensibly progressive causes, this paper will highlight Soros' involvement in creating and/or sustaining 'independent' media outlets worldwide. This paper will provide a brief sketch of the contours of Soros' global media empire, which unlike Rupert Murdoch's, is barely mentioned (let alone criticized) by communications researchers. It is hoped that by delineating Soros' massive yet so far undocumented impact on global media, critical scholars will begin to think more seriously about how alternative, more democratic media systems might be launched and sustained.
Human resource management practices and voluntary turnover: a study of internal workforce and external labor market contingencies

Abstract We tested relationships between employee quit rates and two bundles of human resource (HR) practices that reflect the different interests of the two parties involved in the employment relationship. To understand the boundary conditions for these effects, we examined an external contingency proposed to influence the exchange-based effects of HR practices on subsequent quit rates – the local industry-specific unemployment rate – and an internal contingency proposed to shape employees’ conceptualization of their exchange relationship – their employment status (i.e. full-time, part-time and temporary employment). Analyses of lagged data from over 200 Canadian establishments show that inducement HR practices (e.g. extensive benefits) and performance expectation HR practices (e.g. performance-based bonuses) had different effects on quit rates, and the former effect was moderated by unemployment rate. The effects of HR practices on quit rates did not differ between FT and PT employees, but a different pattern of main and interactive effects was found among temporary workers. These findings suggest that employees’ exchange-based decisions to leave may be less affected by the number of hours they expect to work each week, and more by the number of weeks they expect to work.
Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Based Therapy of Inflammatory Lung Diseases: Current Understanding and Future Perspectives

During acute or chronic lung injury, inappropriate immune response and/or aberrant repair process causes irreversible damage in lung tissue and most usually results in the development of fibrosis followed by decline in lung function. Inhaled corticosteroids and other anti-inflammatory drugs are very effective in patients with inflammatory lung disorders, but their long-term use is associated with severe side effects. Accordingly, new therapeutic agents that will attenuate ongoing inflammation and, at the same time, promote regeneration of injured alveolar epithelial cells are urgently needed. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are able to modulate proliferation, activation, and effector function of all immune cells that play an important role in the pathogenesis of acute and chronic inflammatory lung diseases. In addition to the suppression of lung-infiltrated immune cells, MSCs have potential to differentiate into alveolar epithelial cells in vitro and, accordingly, represent new players in cell-based therapy of inflammatory lung disorders. In this review article, we described molecular mechanisms involved in MSC-based therapy of acute and chronic pulmonary diseases and emphasized current knowledge and future perspectives related to the therapeutic application of MSCs in patients suffering from acute respiratory distress syndrome, pneumonia, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
The role of school health centers in health care access and client outcomes.

OBJECTIVES We describe the impact of school health centers in Alameda County, California, on adolescents' access to care and their mental and physical health outcomes. METHODS We used a multimethod evaluation of 12 school health centers to track data on clients (n=7410), services, and provider-reported outcomes; client pre-post surveys (n=286); and student focus groups (n=105 participants). RESULTS School health centers were the most commonly reported source of medical (30%), family planning (63%), and counseling (31%) services for clients. Mental health providers reported significant improvements (P<.05) from baseline to follow-up in clients' presenting concerns and resiliency factors. Medical providers and clients also reported general improvements in reproductive health, particularly in the use of birth control other than condoms. Student focus group participants noted that school health centers helped improve access to services students might not seek out otherwise, particularly counseling and family planning services. Furthermore, students noted that they liked school health centers because of their confidentiality, free services, convenience, and youth-friendly staff. CONCLUSIONS School health centers increase access to care and improve mental health, resiliency, and contraceptive use.
Phenotypic and functional changes of circulating monocytes and polymorphonuclear leucocytes from elderly persons

The function and phenotype of monocytes and granulocytes in the elderly is consistently remodelled. Because leucocyte adhesion molecules play important roles in mediating a wide variety of leucocyte functions, age‐related changes in their expression on granulocyte and monocyte surfaces could be partially responsible for immune dysfunctions during senescence. Considering the central role of innate immunity in the process of immunosenescence and the involvement of cell adhesion molecules (CAM) in the great majority of leucocyte functions, we studied the expression of CD50 and CD62L adhesion molecules in peripheral blood granulocytes and monocytes from healthy elderly and young subjects. We show here that the percentage of granulocytes and monocytes expressing CD62L is decreased in the elderly, whereas its density expression is unchanged on both cell types. A downregulation of the density expression of CD50 at a per cell level characterizes granulocytes in the elderly, whereas CD50 expression on monocytes from old subjects shows a peculiar attitude: its density expression decreases whereas the number of positive cells is expanded. The downregulation of this receptor on granulocytes from aged people could determine a state of hyperactivation contributing to the proinflammatory status of the elderly, while the lower expression on monocytes could therefore contribute to the impaired antigen presentation in the elderly. On the other hand, the increased number of CD50 positive monocytes in the elderly, despite its decreased density expression at a per cell level, could be interpreted as an attempt to counteract the inability to mount strong immune responses. Both CD50 and CD62L changes in ageing polymorphonuclear (PMN) cells allow recognition as non‐self or senescent self to permit macrophages in the liver and spleen to remove them from the circulation. The increased proportion of granulocytes and monocytes lacking CD62L and the downregulation of CD50 intensity expression on both cell types may suggest a state of in vivo activation. Therefore, CD50 and CD62L shedding from the cell surface of activated granulocytes and monocytes could be interpreted as a tentative to counteract the dangerous effects of an excessive chronic inflammation in the elderly. However, the increased proportion of CD62L negative granulocytes in the elderly leads to an impairment in cell adhesion which is the first line of response to acute inflammatory stimuli. This phenomenon likely contributes to the increased susceptibility to acute infections of elderly people.
High-level production of human parathyroid hormone (hPTH) by induced expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae was used as host for high-level production of intact human parathyroid hormone (hPTH). The yield increased about 30-fold by changing from the constitutive MFalpha promoter to the inducible CUP1 promoter in the expression cassettes, use of another host strain, and optimization of growth conditions where especially the pH value was crucial. The secreted products consisted mainly of intact hormone, hPTH(1-84). In addition, two C-terminally truncated forms that lacked the four or five last amino acid residues, hPTH(1-80) and hPTH(1-79), were identified. These hPTH forms migrated aberrantly by SDS-PAGE as 14-kDa proteins, while the real masses measured by mass spectrometry on HPLC-purified products were about 9 kDa. Availability of such easily purified truncated forms will be valuable for studies of how the C-terminal residues affect the structure and function of the hormone. Combination of mutations and disruptions of the host genes encoding proteinase A, B, carboxypeptidase Y, and Kex1p or Mkc7p did not influence the C-terminal deletions. The secretion of hPTH could be enhanced by overexpression of the yeast syntaxin gene SSO2, but the total level of the hormone was not improved due to impaired growth.
A Computer-Aided Diagnosis System With EEG Based on the P3b Wave During an Auditory Odd-Ball Task in Schizophrenia

Objective: To design a Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system using an optimized methodology over the P3b wave in order to objectively and accurately discriminate between healthy controls (HC) and schizophrenic subjects (SZ). Methods: We train, test, analyze, and compare various machine learning classification approaches optimized in terms of the correct classification rate (CCR), the degenerated Youden's index (DYI) and the area under the receiver operating curve (AUC). CAD system comprises five stages: electroencephalography (EEG) preprocessing, feature extraction, seven electrode groupings, discriminant feature selection, and binary classification. Results: With two optimal combinations of electrode grouping, filtering, feature selection algorithm, and classification machine, we get either a mean CCR = 93.42%, specificity = 0.9673, sensitivity = 0.8727, DYI = 0.9188, and AUC = 0.9567 (total-15 Hz-J5-MLP), or a mean CCR = 92.23%, specificity = 0.9499, sensitivity = 0.8838, DYI = 0.9162, and AUC = 0.9807 (right hemisphere-35 Hz-J5-SVM), which to our knowledge are higher than those available to date. Conclusions: We have verified that a more restrictive low-pass filtering achieves higher CCR as compared to others at higher frequencies in the P3b wave. In addition, results validate previous hypothesis about the importance of the parietal-temporal region, associated with memory processing, allowing us to identify powerful {feature,electrode} pairs in the diagnosis of schizophrenia, achieving higher CCR and AUC in classification of both right and left Hemispheres, and parietal-temporal EEG signals, like, for instance, the {PSE, P4} pair (J5 and mutual information feature selection). Significance: Diagnosis of schizophrenia is made thoroughly by psychiatrists but as any human-based decision that has a subjective component. This CAD system provides the human expert with an objective complimentary measure to help him in diagnosing schizophrenia.
Prognostic significance of N-Cadherin expression in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND N-Cadherin (CDH2) is a calcium-dependent adhesion protein, whose de novo expression, re-expression, up-regulation and down-regulation in human tumors has been demonstrated. The aim of the present work was to define the prognostic role of N-Cadherin in a large series of oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs). MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 94 selected OSCCs were quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed by immunohistochemistry for N-Cadherin. The association between protein expression and clinico-pathological parameters was assessed by statistical analysis. RESULTS In neoplastic tissue, N-Cadherin levels were more evident than in normal peritumoral epithelium (p<0.05). Protein staining was mainly detected in the neoplastic cells, and only focal nuclear positivity was observed. Expression of cytoplasmic N-Cadherin correlated significantly with poor histological differentiation (p<0.05). Furthermore, we have observed significant a statistical trend for stage and a correlation with worst patient outcome, also confirmed by Kaplan-Meier estimates. CONCLUSION Our work has underlined the key-role of N-Cadherin in oral carcinogenesis and in the prognostic stratification of patients.
Understanding the Sources of Exchange Rate Fluctuation in Sudan

This paper examines the sources of real exchange rate fluctuations in Sudan using Structure Vector Autoregressive technique, over the period 1979–2010. The analysis has focused on the impact of three macroeconomics shocks on fluctuations of real exchange rate, namely, supply, real demand and nominal shocks. The result shows that the real demand shocks play a significant role in explaining the variations in real exchange rate. This implies that the real demand factors such as, government spending and money supply are the major sources of depreciation of real exchange rate. By contrast, supply shocks and nominal shocks have small impact of real exchange rate.
[Resistence of Escherichia coli, the most frequent cause of urinary tract infection in children, to antibiotics].

INTRODUCTION Urinary tract infections (UTI) take the second place in the incidence of bacterial infection in children. Escherichia coli is a cause of infection in 85-90%. A periodic evaluation of the resistance to antimicrobial drugs has to be performed in each geographic region, since investigations confirmed that the resistance of bacteria causing UTI has been in progress. MATERIAL AND METHODS A retrospective investigation has been performed, comprising the two time periods in the range of 10 years in order to identify the prevalence and resistance of the bacteria causing UTI in the patients treated at the Department of Nephrology of Institute for Child and Youth Health Care of Vojvodina. RESULTS During the first investigated period from January 1996 up to December 1997, there were 163 urin analyses performed vs 134 urine analyses in the second period, starting from January 2006 to December 2007. In both periods, Escherichia coli, was the most frequent cause of UTI (82.1% in 1996/97 vs 86.50% in 2006/07). During this ten-year period, the resistance of Escherichia coli increased both to ampicillin (from 53% to 69% (p > 0.05) and to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (34% vs 55%; p < 0.05) as well as to cephalexin (4% vs 36%, p < 0.05) which has been lately used in our region as a drug of choice in empiric therapy of the suspect UTI. DISCUSSION There have been records on a slow increase of the Escherichia coli resistance to ceftazidim, gentamycin and nalidixic acid, but significant increase to ampicillin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and cephalexin. CONCLUSION For the initial therapy of UTI in the Province of Vojvodina we recommend: perorally--ephalosporins I, II and III generation, and in case when the child is not capable to get therapy perorally, or in the case of highly febrile infant--ephalosporins III generation parenterally.
The effect of advice to walk 2000 extra steps daily on food intake.

BACKGROUND It is currently unclear how physical activity and diet interact within the ranges of activity seen in the general population. This study aimed to establish whether a small, acute, increase in physical activity would lead to compensatory change in energy intake and nutrient balance, and to provide power analysis data for future research in this field. METHOD Twelve participants were studied over 7 days of habitual activity and 2 weeks after instruction to increase physical activity by 2000 steps per day. Physical activity was assessed using a diary, the 'activPAL' activity monitor and a pedometer. Dietary analyses from prospective food diaries were compared between the first and third weeks. RESULTS Participants increased step-counts (+2600 steps per day, P = 0.008) and estimated energy expenditure (+300-1000 kJ day(-1), P = 0.002) but did not significantly change their energy intake, dietary composition or number of meals per day. From reverse power analysis 38 participants would be needed to exclude a change in energy intake of 400 kJ day(-1) with 90% power at P < 0.05; 400 kJ day(-1) would compensate for a 2000 steps per day increase in physical activity. CONCLUSION These results did not demonstrate any compensatory increase in food consumption when physical activity was increased by walking an average of 2600 additional steps per day. Power analysis indicates that a larger study (n = 38) will be necessary to exclude such an effect with confidence.