Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pneumothorax in neonates: a level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit experience

Introduction: Pneumothorax occurs more frequently in the neonatal period than in any other period of life and is associated with increased mortality and morbidity. Several risk factors for pneumothorax, including respiratory pathology, invasive and non-invasive respiratory support, and predictors of mortality have been described.Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of pneumothorax, to assess risk factors and to describe the clinical characteristics, management and outcome of newborn infants with pneumothorax, as well as to identify predictors of mortality in these newborns.Methods: This retrospective case-control study included all newborns hospitalized in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of “Centro Hospitalar Sao Joao”, Porto, Portugal, between 2003 and 2014, with the diagnosis of pneumothorax. A control group was selected among the newborns without pneumothoraces, admitted to the same NICU during the same period. The collected data included: demographics and perinatal data, pneumothorax characteristics, classification, treatment and clinical outcomes.Results: Our study included 240 neonates (80 with pneumothoraces and 160 controls), of whom 145 were male (60.4%). Median gestational age was 37 (24-40) weeks and median birthweight 2,613 (360-4,324) grams. The prevalence in our NICU was 1.5%. Pneumothorax was significantly associated with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) (p = 0.010) and transient tachypnea of the newborn (TTN) (p < 0.001). Invasive mechanical ventilation (MV) (p = 0.016) and FiO2 ≥ 0.4 (p = 0.003), were independent risk factors for the development of pneumothoraces. The mortality rate was 13.8%. Hypotension, MV and thoracentesis followed by a chest tube insertion were found to be predictors of mortality in newborns with pneumothoraces, but pneumothorax per se was not a predictor of mortality.Conclusion: Pneumothorax is relatively frequent in the NICU. Its risk factors and predictors of mortality should be known in order to prevent and treat this critical situation. Pneumothorax itself was not a predictor of mortality, probably due to the adequate and prompt management used in the NICU.
Relative Effectiveness of Methionine Sources in Diets for Broiler Chickens

SUMMARY There is an ongoing discussion regarding the relative effectiveness of the hydroxy analog of methionine (liquid MHA-FA) relative to DL-methionine (DLM). Five experiments were carried out under local conditions in 4 different countries to further test and determine the relative effectiveness of liquid MHA-FA. Additionally, multiexponential regression was used to determine if it is the proper mathematical model for estimation of Met relative effectiveness. The trials were carried out at the Research Center Foulum, Perdue Farms Inc., a major Mexican integrator, the University of Arkansas, and at the University of Rio Grande do Sul. Basal diets in all trials were formulated to be deficient in Met but adequate in all other nutrients and energy. Broilers performed well in each experiment; significant responses showed the Met deficiency of the basal diets. Relative effectiveness estimates of diluted DLM (65%) was 63% on average (n = 6, based on 3 trials), confirming that simultaneous regression analysis represents the proper mathematical model for comparative nutritional purposes. Relative effectiveness of liquid MHA-FA relative to DLM was 64% (n = 11, based on all 5 trials) on average for weight gain, feed conversion, and breast meat yield.
Quantifying the impact of future land‐use changes against increases in GHG concentrations

The impact on atmospheric climate of future land‐use changes relative to the increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations is assessed in time‐slice simulations with the ARPEGE‐Climat atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM). Future land cover maps are provided by the IMAGE2.2 integrated model, developed by RIVM. We show that the relative impact of vegetation change to GHG concentration increase is of the order of 10% for a B2 scenario, and can reach 30% over localized tropical regions.
Vibrational Spectra ( FTIR , FT-Raman ) , NBO and HOMO , LUMO Studies of 2-Thiophene Carboxylic Acid Based On Density Functional Method

The molecular structure and vibrational spectra of 2-thiophene carboxylic acid (TCA) is calculated with the help of B3LYP density functional theory (DFT) using 6-31G** as basis set. The solid phase FTIR and FT-Raman spectra of TCA have been recorded in the range 4000 400 and 3500-50 cm respectively. On the basis of B3LYP calculations, the normal coordinate analysis is performed to assign the vibrational fundamental frequencies according to potential energy distribution (PED). The over estimations of the calculated wave numbers are corrected by the aid of scaled quantum mechanical force field methodology (SQMFF). The computational frequencies are in good agreement with the observed results. The stability of the molecule is analyzed using NBO analysis.The calculated HOMO and LUMO energies show that charge transfer that charge transfer occurs within the molecule.
Exploring the ethical basis for conservation policy: the case of inbred wolves on Isle Royale, USA

Data about values are beneficial for resolving disagreements over conservation policy choices because values influence policy acceptance and compliance with conservation rules. Empirical conservation ethics integrate social science methods with conservation dilemmas to determine the origins of values and contribute new solutions to resolving debate. Using the case of genetically rescuing an inbred population of wolves as a policy exemplar, we explored (1) ethical paradigms invoked in justifying policy choices; (2) objects of moral relevance related to choices; and (3) ascriptions of responsibility for action. Discussion board posts revealed diverse ethical paradigms and ascriptions of responsibility, a strong tendency toward collectivism, and associations between some policy choices and ethical paradigms. Conservation ethics can help the conservation community better understand key human dimensions of conservation problems by providing a novel diagnostic framework for policy debate, structuring stakeholder engagement, and informing evaluation.
Silver and gold nanoparticles from Sargentodoxa cuneata: synthesis, characterization and antileishmanial activity

Leishmaniasis remains one of the fatal diseases worldwide and the conventional antileishmanial therapies are associated with several drawbacks. Therefore, there is a need to develop new antileishmanial strategies. Biogenic silver and gold nanoparticles possess broad-spectrum antimicrobial activities and could be future alternatives to current antimicrobial agents. In this report, we present a simple and green approach to synthesize silver and gold nanoparticles with efficient biological activities. Phytochemicals from Sargentodoxa cuneata were used to reduce and stabilize the silver and gold ions into metallic nanoparticles. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy (surface plasmon resonance), X-ray diffraction analysis (crystallinity), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (size and morphology), energy dispersive X-ray (elemental composition) and FTIR (surface functionalities). Under optimized conditions, the synthesized silver nanoparticles were spherical in shape, of small sizes (3–8 nm) and well dispersed. However, the gold nanoparticles were mostly hexagonal in shape with approximate sizes from 15 to 30 nm. Promising antileishmanial activity was shown by silver and gold nanoparticles with an IC50 value of 4.37 and 5.29 μg mL−1 respectively. Silver nanoparticles also exhibited significant antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (32 ± 3 mm), Pseudomonas araginosis (16 ± 2 mm), and Bacillus subtilis (18 ± 2 mm). The depicted biological activities of nanoparticles are not simply due to the capped silver and gold atoms but also to their surface macromolecules. Thus, the use of Sargentodoxa cuneata as a reducing and capping agent will retain its biological activity even after the depletion of maintained silver and gold. The findings of this study indicate that these nanoparticles could be an alternative, safe, and effective source of antileishmanial agents.
Records of predatory, con-specific and human induced mauls on fish from the Northeast Atlantic and Black Sea

Present study aims to describe records of mauled and con-specific injures in various fish inhabiting different environment and to discuss possible impacts on fish behavior and ontogenesis. The fish specimens were collected from the Black Sea and Azores Islands (NE Atlantic). Individuals of European flounder, Pleuronectes flesus, common stingray, Dasyatis pastinaca and turbot, Scophthalmus maximus with missing dorsal and caudal fins and flesh, were found in the Black Sea. Specimens with severe mauls of the ocean sunfish, Mola mola, almaco jack, Seriola rivoliana and sargo, Diplodus sargus were recorded from the Azores Islands. All of them were caught alive and survived severe mauls caused by predators or by accidents with propellers, fishing nets. The NE Atlantic records, although possibly caused by natural predation, are more probably than not the result of negative interactions with human activity. Numerous records of mauled fish species from both regions show that the problem with adverse effects of fisheries is quite important. Predatory and con-specific injuries obviously are compatible with basic fish vital functions of described cases. The problem with negative anthropogenic interactions seems to be insufficiently investigated and need more attention by responsible managers and decision makers.
Time stability and variability of Electronically Scanned Thinned Array Radiometer soil moisture during Southern Great Plains hydrology experiments

Variability and time‐stability analysis for field‐scale (800 m) Electronically Scanned Thinned Array Radiometer soil moisture within a satellite scale footprint (∼ 50 km) were quantified using observations from the Southern Great Plains Hydrology Experiment 1997 and 1999 (SGP97 and SGP99). The pixels' time‐stability properties were examined with respect to soil, vegetation and topographic parameters in order to determine which physical parameters can be used to identify good candidate observation locations for validating soil moisture from satellite observations and global‐scale model output. The results show that the time‐stability concept remains valid at the satellite scale. The root mean square error values were 1·47, 1·51, 1·93 and 2·32% for the 1st, 2nd, 50th and 100th most stable fields, respectively. The most stable locations had sand and clay percentages consistent with sandy loam soils and moderate to high normalized difference vegetation index values. Neither land cover nor topography properties could be used to identify potentially stable fields in the study region. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Electoral incentives : the interaction between candidate selection and electoral rules ∗

One of the fundamental roles of democratic institutions is to provide incentives to politicians to perform. The literature has focused on the role of electoral rules as a central force to understand politicians’ performance. In particular, plurality rule in single-member districts is believed to provide better incentives than proportional representation in multimember districts. In this paper, we argue that political parties also play an important role in providing incentives to politicians. We analyze the impact of the competition in the selection process of political parties as a source of incentives. Candidates exert costly effort to improve their appeal to voters. We contrast effort-based competitive selection to less competitive selection procedure. Unsurprisingly, we find that competitive selection systems are conducive to more effort. More interestingly, we show that the impact of competitive selection is larger under proportional representation than under plurality rule. When selection is not very competitive, plurality rule leads to more effort from politicians. When selection is very competitive, proportional representation leads to more effort. The intuition behind the result comes from the fact that under proportional representation, politicians compete not only to become a candidate but also for a better spot on the list parties offer to voters. ∗Valuable feedback and suggestions were provided by participants in several seminars and conferences and in particular by Olle Folke, Thomas Konig, Kai Konrad, Nicola Persico, Carlo Prato, Johanna Rickne, Otto Swank and Galina Zudenkova. †Department of Economics, Erasmus School of Economics, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam. crutzen@ese.eur. nl. ‡Department of Applied Economics, HEC Montréal. nicolas.sahuguet@hec.ca
Impact of weeding frequency in controlling flea beetles ( Podagrica spp . ) and yield of three varieties of okra ( Abelmoschus esculentus L . Moench ) in Gombe State , Nigeria

Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.) Moench) is an erect herbaceous plant and is one of the most important vegetable crops grown for its nutritional and economic value (Alao et al., 2011; Chopra et al., 2013). It is grown both in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world (Tindall, 1983; Anitha, 2007; FAO, 2012). In Nigeria okra is mainly grown for its leaves, fibers and immature pod which are used for consumption and commercial purpose (Anaso, 2008). The pod is rich in vitamins, minerals and fibre (Anaso and Lale, 2002). Okra cultivation is gaining popularity because of its high demand and economic return, being driven by both youth and woman (Anaso, 2008). Despite the economic and nutritional value of okra, its production in Nigeria is hampered by weed, pests and wrong choice of varieties. In the tropics, weeds are major pest of okra because they interfere with its production (Kumar, 2014). Weeds interference may reduce plant vigour, delay development and growth or suppression of specific characters but the ultimate effect of weed and wrong choice of variety is reduction of crop yield. Weeds reduce crop yield by interfering with crop growth through competition with crops for sunlight, water and nutrients (Takim and Uddin, 2010). Crop yield losses of annual crops due to weed in dry land environment could be as high as 7.2 million tons in fiber crops (Some and Sanon, 2009) thus leading to yield loss of about 50-90% (Das, 2011; Kumar and Chopra, 2013) Presence of weeds on crop land has also been found to increase insect pests’ damage probably because weeds provide a favourable environment for the insects (Anaso, 2008; Lado and Hussaini, 2010). Previous researchers have shown that alteration of tillage practices that give poorer weed control increase the density and diversity of insect pest populations within the habitat (Altieri and Todd, 1981; Altieri et al., 1981; Shelton and Edwards, ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Conviction Odds in Chicago Homicide Cases: Does Race/Ethnicity Matter?

This study investigates disparity as it exists in the conviction of Latino, African American, and White offenders in Chicago homicide cases. The study participants were adults who had been identified by the Chicago Police Department as suspects in homicide incidents for the years 1990 through 1995. Information about the offender, victim, homicide incident, and adjudication of the homicide case in court was collected from police and court records. Logistic regression modeling was used to determine the odds of conviction for Latino, African American, and White homicide offenders at the adjudication decision point of criminal case processing. Results indicated that in Chicago homicide cases, when deciding guilt or no guilt for Class M Felony murder, neither race nor ethnicity mattered; what did matter the most was the offender–victim relationship, the number of charges filed against the offender, and the mode of conviction. This study continues the important tradition in racial and ethnic disparity studies of measuring the effect of offender–victim dyads on case outcomes. It builds on prior research in 2 ways: (a) by measuring the impact of the offender–victim dyad's race and ethnicity on conviction odds and (b) by expanding the scope of case-processing research through examining decision making at the pre-sentence adjudication stage, a point researchers have heretofore rarely examined.
Small Area Shrinkage Estimation

The need for small area estimates is increasingly felt in both the public and private sectors in order to formulate their strategic plans. It is now widely recognized that direct small area survey estimates are highly unreliable owing to large standard errors and coefficients of variation. The reason behind this is that a survey is usually designed to achieve a specified level of accuracy at a higher level of geography than that of small areas. Lack of additional resources makes it almost imperative to use the same data to produce small area estimates. For example, if a survey is designed to estimate per capita income for a state, the same survey data need to be used to produce similar estimates for counties, subcounties and census divisions within that state. Thus, by necessity, small area estimation needs explicit, or at least implicit, use of models to link these areas. Improved small area estimates are found by "borrowing strength" from similar neighboring areas.
Collaborative Adaptive Down-Sampling And Upconversion - An Approach For Image Compression

In this paper, we are going to use a practical approach of uniform down sampling in image space and yet making the sampling adaptive by spatially varying, directional low-pass pre-filtering. The resulting down-sampled pre-filtered image remains a conventional square sample grid, and, thus, it can be compressed and transmitted without any change to current image coding standards and systems. The decoder first decompresses the lowresolution image and then up-converts it to the original resolution in a constrained least squares restoration process, using a 2-D piecewise autoregressive model and the knowledge of directional low-pass pre-filtering. The proposed compression approach of collaborative adaptive down-sampling and upconversion (CADU) outperforms JPEG 2000 in PSNR measure at low to medium bit rates and achieves superior visual quality, as well. The superior low bit-rate performance of the CADU approach seems to suggest that over-sampling not only wastes hardware resources and energy, and it could be counterproductive to image quality given a tight bit budget. Keyword Down-sampling, image compression
Method for estimating the soil capacity of atmospheric dinitrogen fixation.

Importance of nitrogen in the nutrition of all living on earth, made the scientists to study the extent of the atmospheric nitrogen fixation by unsymbiotic microflora in soil. The methods of quantitative estimation, used in the 20 century, have not been entirely satisfactory, because they overlooked the nitrification processes, testing fixed nitrogen by the Kjeldahl method only. This paper suggests a more complete method for determining the natural contribution of atmospheric nitrogen fixation to the soil. This method takes into account both the Norganic and N-NH 4 as quantified by the Kjeldahl method and the nitric N produced by mineralization of the N compounds resulting from dinitrogen fixation during the soil incubation period.
The ZARADEMP Project on the incidence, prevalence and risk factors of dementia (and depression) in the elderly community: I. The context and the objectives

Background and Objectives: The public health dimension of the problem of dementia and depression in the elderly population is well documented, but epidemiological data are generally considered to be insufficient and, at times, contradictory. This paper identifies relevant research areas for the 7ARADEMP Project, which follows the Zaragoza Study (or ZARADEMP 0) and is part of both EURODEM and EURODEP Studies. Methods: Review of the literature. Hypotheses emerging in previous studies of this research group. Results: The following relevant objectives to study in relation to dementia (and depression) have been identified: a) potential variations over time in the prevalence rate; b) provision of reliable estimations of incidence rates, specific for age and gender; c) data about the course and natural history of so called mild cognitive deficit; d) association between hypothesized risk factors and cases of dementia (and depression) and its most frequent subtypes; and e) testing of hypotheses related to the overlap between dementia and depression and, specifically, to what extent depression has an increased risk for DAT. Other objectives of the study are also reviewed, in particular the cross-cultural comparison of findings in Zaragoza and in other European cities incorporated in both EURODEM and EURODEP Studies. The importance of maintaining good, contemporary methodological standards is emphasized. Conclusions: A number of relevant research areas in the epidemiology of both dementia and depression in the elderly have been identified. Case-control studies based on incident cases of dementia of the Alzheimer's type (DAT) to adequately assess risk factors seem particularly timely.
An FT-IR spectroscopic study of the role of hydrogen bonding in the formation of liquid crystallinity for mixtures containing bipyridines and 4-pentoxybenzoic acid

We have studied the relationships between liquid crystallinity and hydrogen bonding in mixtures containing 4-pentoxybenzoic acid, 5OBA, and five bipyridines, XBiPy, with spacers having different flexibilities, namely: 4,4′-bipyridine (BiPy), 1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethane (EthaBiPy), trans-1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethylene (EthylBiPy), 4,4′-trimethylene-dipyridine (PropBiPy), and 4,4′-tetramethylene-dipyridine (ButBiPy). The XBiPy/5OBA mixtures exhibit liquid crystal behaviour for a range of acid concentrations, and predominantly smectic behaviour. The 1 : 2 mixtures have been studied using temperature-dependent Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, FT-IR, with particular focus on the Fermi bands associated with the hydroxyl groups and on the carbonyl stretching regions. The latter has been interpreted in terms of contributions arising from a number of species, namely the heterocomplex, and free, dimeric and oligomeric acid species. This analysis reveals that the heterocomplexes formed by hydrogen bonding between the unlike species tend to be the dominant species but at all temperatures coexist in equilibria with acid monomers, dimers and oligomers. The hydrogen bond strength in the heterocomplexes is predicted by molecular modelling to be stronger than that in the acid dimers. The smectic behaviour of these mixtures is accounted for in terms of the stabilisation of the layered structures arising from hydrogen bonded catemer strands. The liquid crystal behaviour of these and similar hydrogen bonded liquid crystals, HBLCs, cannot be explained solely by the formation of the heterocomplex between the unlike species, but instead a more realistic view must take into account the presence and concentrations of various different supramolecular species and the interactions between them.