Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Use of a Culture Medium (McCoy®), as a Method for Evaluating Bos indicus × Bos taurus Embryos

The aim of this study was to use culture medium (McCoy®) as a test to evaluate the classification of embryos after a primary grading using stereoscopic microscopy to further confirm whether embryos have been correctly scored by stereoscopic microscopy evaluating the level of apoptosis. Forty‐six Bos indicus embryos were collected with a non‐surgical method and evaluated with stereoscopic microscopy for scoring in three categories (good, fair and poor). Cell proliferation and apoptosis were assessed and compared between the control group (n = 14) at the onset of the experiment and in an experimental group (n = 32) after stored for 4 h in a culture medium. Embryos were processed using TUNEL and BrdU markers to determine the apoptosis and cell proliferation. Seventy‐four per cent of good quality embryos developed favourably after the 4 h of culture; 60% of fair embryos maintained their evolution, while 100% of poor quality embryos presented degenerative changes from the beginning. No statistical differences were found between the experimental and the control groups in the count of positive BrdU and apoptotic nuclei. In poor quality embryos, a higher number of apoptotic cells were found relative to good and fair embryos, both in the experimental and control groups (P < 0.05). These results suggest that the culture medium may be used for a short time as a fast, practical and non‐invasive alternative to further confirm whether embryos have been correctly scored by stereoscopic microscopy.
Financialisation risks and economic performance

Drawing on European Union data, this paper assesses the long-standing mainstream view that financialisation improves growth. We measure financialisation with private credit to GDP and capture characteristics of banking sector fragility with the ratio of credit to deposits and the ratio of bank capital to assets. We test the impact of these variables on four measures of economic performance: the growth rates of GDP per capita, consumption per capita, investment and inequality. We observe that credit has no effect on economic performance. However, the potential riskiness of the banking sector measured by the ratio of credit to deposits decreases GDP per capita and contributes to increasing inequality whereas the ratio of capital to assets has a negative impact on GDP per capita growth through its negative effect on investment. This effect is driven by countries with low GDP per capita. We also find that the potential side effects of excessive financialisation have a negative effect on growth.
Influence of Environmental pH on G2-Phase Arrest Caused by Ionizing Radiation

Abstract Park, H. J., Lee, S. H. , Chung, H. , Rhee, Y. H. , Lim, B. U. , Ha, S. W. , Griffin, R. J., Lee, H. S. , Song, C. W. and Choi, E. ;thK. Influence of Environmental pH on G2-Phase Arrest Caused by Ionizing Radiation. Radiat. Res. 159, 86–93 (2003). We investigated the effects of an acidic environment on the G2/M-phase arrest, apoptosis, clonogenic death, and changes in cyclin B1-CDC2 kinase activity caused by a 4-Gy irradiation in RKO.C human colorectal cancer cells in vitro. The time to reach peak G2/M-phase arrest after irradiation was delayed in pH 6.6 medium compared to that in pH 7.5 medium. Furthermore, the radiation-induced G2/M-phase arrest decayed more slowly in pH 6.6 medium than in pH 7.5 medium. Finally, there was less radiation-induced apoptosis and clonogenic cell death in pH 6.6 medium than in pH 7.5 medium. It appeared that the prolongation of G2-phase arrest after irradiation in the acidic environment allowed for greater repair of radiation-induced DNA damage, thereby decreasing the radiation-induced cell death. The prolongation of G2-phase arrest after irradiation in the acidic pH environment appeared to be related at least in part to a prolongation of the phosphorylation of CDC2, which inhibited cyclin B1-CDC2 kinase activity.
Untreated vestibular schwannomas: vertigo is a powerful predictor for health-related quality of life.

OBJECTIVE The aim of the present study was to characterize the relation between quality of life (QOL) and the four major complaints (hearing loss, tinnitus, vertigo, and unsteadiness) caused by unilateral vestibular schwannomas (VS) in a cohort of well-characterized untreated patients. METHODS One hundred ninety-nine consecutive patients (91 men, 108 women) with a mean age of 56.9 years were studied prospectively during the 4-year period from 2001 to 2004. The average length of time from symptom onset to the radiological diagnosis was 4.2 years. The patients were subject to a standardized examination including magnetic resonance imaging, evaluation of hearing acuity, balance function by stabilimetry, and a visual analogue scale self-evaluation of tinnitus and vertigo. Furthermore, the patients responded to two questionnaires: Short-Form 36 and the Glasgow Benefit Inventory. A reference population was recruited from 80 adults who visited Haukeland University Hospital as nonpatients or nonstaff members. All data were recorded prospectively in a customized case report form. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS software. RESULTS The response rates of the Short-Form 36 and Glasgow Benefit Inventory questionnaires were 91.5 and 89.9%, respectively. According to the Short-Form 36 questionnaire, the patients scored significantly below that of expected norms with the exception of physical function and mental health. Patients report negative benefit on the general and physical sections of the Glasgow Benefit Inventory questionnaire. Regression analysis showed that vertigo had a strong negative impact on QOL, whereas unilateral hearing loss and tinnitus had less impact on QOL. CONCLUSION Vertigo is the symptom causing the most pronounced negative effect on QOL in patients with VS. The more frequent VS symptoms, unilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, seem to be less important in the patients' perception of QOL as evaluated by the questionnaires used in this study. If vertigo could be relieved by treatment, this symptom should be a primary focus when discussing treatment options in small- to medium-sized VS.
Therapeutic Effect of Cereal Grains: A Review

Over the last few decades, life style changes have resulted in drastic increase in the incidence of diabetes all over the world, especially in the developing countries. Oral hypoglycemic agents and insulin form the main stay in controlling diabetes but they have prominent side effects and fail to significantly alter the course of diabetic complications. Appropriate diet and exercise programs that form a part of lifestyle modifications have proven to be greatly effective in the management of this disease. Dietary therapy is showing a bright future in the prevention and treatment of diabetes. Cereal grains which form the staple diet for humans in most of the countries are increasingly being used to treat diabetes and other associated disorders in view of their anti-diabetic and anti-lipidemic potential. Given this background, this paper reviews the possible mechanisms of lowering blood sugar and cholesterol levels possessed by various commonly consumed cereal grains. It is concluded that cereal grains are not only the potential sources of energy but also possess the therapeutic role in preventing metabolic disorders and decreasing the risk factors for cardiovascular and renal diseases.
Property Rights, Predation, and Productivity*

I develop a neoclassical growth model with imperfect property rights in which predation entails both waste of resources and deadweight losses. According to the model, in the United States, the welfare costs of crime represent a loss of 18.6 percent of consumption per capita. This loss is 57.8 percent for a country in the average of the last decile of the distribution of an index of business costs of crime across 94 countries. An increase of one standard deviation in the institutional quality index increases GDP per worker by 23 percent for a country in the average of the last decile of its distribution.
What is the impact of adolescent arthritis and rheumatism? Evidence from a national sample of Canadians.

OBJECTIVE Adolescent arthritis or rheumatism (AAR) has been shown to influence the activities, mental health, and healthcare utilization of affected individuals. However, these effects have never been estimated in a population-based sample. We examined the association of AAR with health status, health services use, health behaviors, and activity limitations. We also investigated the effect of socioeconomic status and family background on respondents with AAR. METHODS The 1996 National Population Health Survey is a nationally representative survey exploring the health status and behaviors of Canadians. Among the 26,012 individuals aged 12 to 19 with complete responses on the presence of chronic illnesses, the 213 self-reporting arthritis or rheumatism (AAR) were compared to: (1) all other adolescents as a single group; or (2) the group of 9161 adolescents reporting other chronic diseases (OCD) but not AAR, and the group of 16,638 adolescents without chronic disease (WCD). Between-group differences were examined for the following variables: health status; use of health services; presence of activity limitations in school, work, or at home; and school enrollment and work status. RESULTS Compared to those without, respondents with AAR reported more diagnoses of non-AAR chronic illnesses. Depression among AAR individuals was more prevalent than among non-AAR individuals, as was suffering from moderate or severe pain. Those with AAR were more likely than WCD individuals to use physician services, hospital services, and pain relief medications. AAR patients were more likely to be limited in their activities, and less likely to be enrolled in school than OCD or WCD individuals. CONCLUSION This study indicates a broad range of effects of AAR in a nationally representative sample. Arthritis or rheumatism affected measures of mental health, health service use, and the school, work, and home activities of affected individuals, compared to individuals without chronic disease or with other chronic disease.
Prudence and Precaution for Natural Resource and Climate Uncertainty

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam P ru d en ce a n d P rca u io n fo r N a tu ra l R so u ce a n d C im a te U n crta in ty This PhD thesis examines the optimal macroeconomic policy response to the uncertainties associated with natural resources and climate change. Both areas require explicit government intervention, which is subject to fundamental normative assumptions affecting the valuation of costs and benefits occurring in an uncertain future. If a decision maker is prudent, that is, less risk averse at higher income levels, uncertainty about future income leads to additional saving and postponing of consumption. For natural resource uncertainty, prudent policy takes the form of additional, precautionary, saving of resource revenues, often in the form of a sovereign wealth fund, which should be optimally allocated in financial markets to minimize exposure to uncertainty. For climate uncertainty, prudent policy generally leads to a higher optimal carbon tax, reflecting a higher social cost of emitting CO2. Starting from a continuous-time, time-separable, dynamic stochastic welfare optimisation framework with recursive preferences, this thesis uses perturbation methods to develop leading-order estimates of the effects of economic and climatic uncertainty on this optimal tax. The result is a simple analytical rule for the optimal carbon tax, which allows for uncertain economic growth prospects, uncertainty in climate damages and uncertain climate sensitivity whose distribution is skew and time dependent, as well as for correlation between the uncertainties. Finally, this thesis provides quantitative estimates of the savings policy and carbon tax that maximize welfare in an uncertain world.
Profitability and persistency in the service industry: the case of QISMUT+3

ABSTRACT The aim of this study is to evaluate profitability determinants and profit persistency of Islamic and conventional banks operating in top nine Islamic Finance oriented-countries that are named as QISMUT+3 (Qatar, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, UAE, Turkey, Bahrain, Kuwait and Pakistan). For this purpose, it uses bank specific, market structure, and macroeconomic variables that are utilized from Orbis Bank Focus and World Bank database. To capture endogeneity problem and unobserved heterogeneity, dynamic approach is used by employing system GMM estimation. The major findings of the study show higher profit persistency of Islamic banks (IBs) than conventional banks (CBs). The results also suggest that profitability determinants of IBs and CBs are different. Concerning the risk behavior, bank capitalization and credit risk variables are more important for CBs. Crisis results attribute better resilience to Islamic banks.
Three-Level PWM Floating H-Bridge Sinewave Power Inverter for High-Voltage and High-Efficiency Applications

This paper presents a topology of a single-phase floating full-bridge three-level pulse width modulation (PWM) power inverter suitable for high-voltage/high-power dc-ac conversion. High power efficiency is obtained thanks to the slow (50/60 Hz) biasing of the H-bridge power supply terminals, allowed by a particular arrangement and control of two complementary active neutral point clamped voltage-source converters. As result, the main PWM switching voltage as well as the maximum drain-source voltage VDSS of related transistors are reduced to one-half of the input VDD voltage. This is allowed by the internally generated and accurately balanced middle-node voltage VDD/2. Consequently, advantageous rDS(on) of the low-voltage transistors, along with reduced switching PWM voltage result in considerable decreasing of power losses in whole output power range. This paper introduces the main concept of the floating H-bridge topology, and presents in detail the circuit realization. The performances are demonstrated on 450VDC/230VAC 2 kW power inverter exhibiting 98.6% peak efficiency and realized in very small 100 × 60 × 30 mm3 volume.
Factors Affecting Mobile Payment Adoption Intention: An Indian Perspective

This study aims to identify the factors affecting mobile payment (m-payment) adoption intention in India by proposing a conceptual framework based on technology acceptance model (TAM). In addition to construct of TAM, four user-centric constructs have been added to evaluate m-payment adoption intention in India. The proposed research framework was empirically tested by data collected from 381 potential m-payment service users, through online and offline survey. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM) technique. The results exhibit that perceived ease of use (PEOU), perceived usefulness (PU), trust, and self-efficacy (SE) have a significant positive impact on m-payment adoption intention. However, subjective norms (SN) and personal innovativeness (PI) have no significant impact on m-payment adoption intention. Findings of the study have important theoretical and practical implications, particularly to understand important user-centric factors affecting m-payment adoption.
Evaluation of antibacterial agents in a high-volume bovine polymorphonuclear neutrophil Staphylococcus aureus intracellular killing assay

A bovine polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) monolayer system was used to determine the ability of different antibiotics to kill surviving intracellular Staphylococcus aureus. The following classes of antimicrobial agents were tested in this high-volume assay procedure: aminocyclitol, beta-lactam, coumarin, lincosaminide, macrolide, naphthalenic ansamycin, paulomycin, peptide, quinolone, and tetracycline. The activities of these compounds were compared with those of positive (rifampin), negative (cloxacillin), and non-antibiotic-treated controls. Only oxytetracycline, the ansamycins (rifampin, rifamycin SV, streptovaricin A, C, and D), paulomycin, and paldimycin caused a significant reduction in the viable count of intracellular S. aureus. Of these, however, the intracellular killing by the streptovaricins was directly related to the cytotoxicity (as determined by trypan blue exclusion) of these compounds for the PMNs. Although the paulomycins were cytotoxic for the PMNs, the cytotoxic and the intracellular killing activity of these new compounds could be distinguished. The relevance of these results to the therapeutic effectiveness of these antibiotics in the treatment of bovine staphylococcal mastitis is discussed.
Control Strategy for Three Phase Inverter Supply Based on Back-to-Back

The paper is talked about a 3-phase 4-leg style of supply system. The part of converter is a power-factor variable and can be decreased the pollution of power net. While the converter can be adapted to the input line voltage's fluctuation. The bus DC voltage is very stable. The inverter is adopted to four-legged in order to suit unbalanced load. The inverter brings to a simple and effective control algorithm of proportion and resonant controller. The system can maintain a good capability under unbalanced loads. A 30KW supply system is manufactured, which based on theoretical analysis. The system makes use of double DSP and carries out the algorithm. Two DSP chips exchange the information through dual-RAM. The experiment results further verity the validity of the proposed control method.
Low dose cabergoline for hyperprolactinaemia is not associated with clinically significant valvular heart disease.

OBJECTIVE Recent trials suggest that using ergot-derived dopamine agonists such as cabergoline in the treatment of Parkinson's disease is associated with an increased risk of valvular heart disease. However, the dose of cabergoline used to treat hyperprolactinaemia is considerably less than that used in Parkinson's disease. DESIGN AND METHODS A cross-sectional comparative assessment. Forty-four patients treated with cabergoline for hyperprolactinaemia underwent transthoracic echocardiography and were compared with 566 sequential subjects complaining of palpitations, taken from a contemporary echocardiography database. RESULTS The mean cumulative dose of cabergoline in the cases was 311 mg. There was no significant, severe or moderate, right- or left-sided valvular regurgitation in either group. Left heart: in the mitral and aortic valves, the rate of mild and trivial valvular regurgitation was not different between the two groups. Right heart: mild tricuspid and pulmonary regurgitation on colour Doppler alone was increased significantly in the cabergoline group, odds ratios of 3.1 and 7.8 respectively (95% confidence interval 1.0-9.6 and 0.8-78.4, P=0.04 and P<0.0001 respectively). CONCLUSION Cabergoline at doses sufficient to suppress hyperprolactinaemia for a period of 3-4 years is not associated with an increased risk of clinically significant valvular regurgitation.
[Association of CTLA-4 promoter -1722 polymorphism with systemic lupus erythematosus in Chinese].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the possible association of cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) promoter -1722 polymorphism with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in the population in southern China. METHODS A total of 103 SLE patients (13 males and 90 females with an average age of 33.63+/-12.58 years) diagnosed according to the SLE diagnostic criteria of the American College of Rheumatology revised in 1982 and 110 healthy ethnically matched controls (21 males and 89 females with an average age of 27.49+/-8.60 years), all from southern China, were enrolled in the study. DNA was extracted from EDTA-treated blood samples according to the standard isolation procedure. The restriction fragment length polymorphism-polymerase chain reaction was used to analyze CTLA-4 promoter-1722 polymorphism in SLE patients and healthy controls. RESULTS Compared with the controls, the SLE patients had higher frequencies of TC genotype (42% vs 58%, P<0.05) and lower frequency of CC genotype (25% vs 15%, P<0.05). There were no significant differences in the frequencies of TT genotype, alleles and phenotypes between SLE patients and controls; however, significant differences in the frequencies of TT genotype and alleles of CTLA-4 promoter -1722 were found among different races (P<0.05). CONCLUSION CTLA-4 promoter -1722 polymorphism appears to be associated with SLE susceptibility in southern Chinese population.
Price‐Level Co‐Movements within Currency Unions: An Alternative Integration Metric

This paper analyses currency union integration by testing whether price levels in member countries possess a common stochastic trend. The trace statistic test for cointegration proposed by (Johansen, 1995) demonstrates the presence of such a trend for most unions. A disaggregated analysis identifies a common stochastic trend for several though fewer than half of country pairs within a union. Some unions such as the Eurozone have small shares of cointegrated country pairs. Yet, the share of cointegrated country pairs is large relative to countries outside currency unions. Comparison to a control group (country pairs where one country belongs to a given union and the other country does not) indicates that the cointegration found within a currency union is a union‐specific trait and not a feature of the individual countries within the union. These results provide an alternative metric to intraunion trade for gauging the extent of currency union integration.
Pencil-beam scanning proton therapy for anal cancer: a dosimetric comparison with intensity-modulated radiotherapy

Abstract Background. Concurrent chemoradiotherapy cures most patients with anal squamous cell carcinoma at the cost of significant treatment-related toxicities. Intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) reduces side effects compared to older techniques, but whether proton beam therapy (PBT) offers additional advantages is unclear. Material and methods. Eight patients treated with PBT for anal cancer were chosen for this study. We conducted detailed plan comparisons between pencil-beam scanning PBT via two posterior oblique fields and seven-field IMRT. Cumulative dose-volume histograms were analyzed by Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and plan delivery robustness was assessed via verification computed tomography (CT) scans obtained during treatment. Results. Compared to IMRT, PBT reduced low dose radiation (≤ 30 Gy) to the small bowel, total pelvic bone marrow, external genitalia, femoral heads, and bladder (all p < 0.05) without compromising target coverage. For PBT versus IMRT, mean small bowel volume receiving ≥ 15 Gy (V15) was 81 versus 151 cm3, mean external genitalia V20 was 14 versus 40%, and mean total pelvic bone marrow V15 was 66 versus 83% (all p = 0.008). The lumbosacral bone marrow dose was higher with PBT due to beam geometry. PBT was delivered with ≤ 1.3% interfraction deviation in the dose received by 98% of the clinical target volumes. Conclusion. Pencil-beam scanning PBT is clinically feasible and can be robustly delivered for anal cancer patients. Compared with IMRT, PBT reduces low dose radiation to important organs at risk in this population. While the clinical benefit of these differences remains to be shown, existing data suggest that limiting low dose to the small bowel and pelvic bone marrow may reduce treatment toxicity.