Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Can living mulches in intercropping systems reduce the potential nitrate leaching? Studies of organic cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis) and leek (Allium porrum L.) production across European conditions

Abstract The effect of introduction strategy for living mulches (LMs) to reduce the potential nitrate leaching was investigated when grown with vegetables with high nitrogen (N) demand and low use efficiency in four European countries: Italy, Slovenia, Germany and Denmark over 2 yr. The plant N uptake and soil nitrate N content at harvest, in the autumn, and in the following spring were measured below open-pollinated and hybrid cultivars of cauliflower and leek crops. The cultivars performed differently over the 2 yr. In Italy and Slovenia, when LM of burr medic or white clover was broad sown (addition design ADD) at the same time as crop transplanting, the N uptake of crops was hampered without increasing the total aboveground N accumulation. Delaying LM sowing by 2.5–4 weeks maintained the N uptake of crops. In Germany, delaying white clover sowing for a month in cauliflower reduced soil nitrate at the start of leaching by 17–33 kg N ha−1 in the ADD design and 25 kg N ha−1 in the substitution design (SUB), where rows of cash crops were replaced by rows of LM. An overwintering LM of grass–clover incorporated in strips and root pruned decreased soil nitrate at the start of the leaching period by 35 kg N ha−1 in cauliflower, and in leek, an LM of dyer's woad decreased the soil nitrate by 55 kg N ha−1 at harvest and 30 kg N ha−1 at the start of leaching. The effect of delayed LM sowing depended on the LM species and system design. Overall, the SUB and ADD designs showed potential to reduce nitrate leaching, whereas the ADD design had stronger competition against either cash crop or LM. The key to reduce soil nitrate N without jeopardizing crop yields may be to identify suitable growing periods, sometimes combined with root pruning, for each LM species and system design. The LM introduction strategy can be used to control competition and reduce the potential leaching, but the performance depends on the intensity of the interspecific competition and the local conditions.
Linking Excessive Disinflation and Output Movements in an Emerging, Small Open Economy -- A Hybrid New Keynesian Phillips Curve Perspective

Excessive disinflation and the flattening of the Phillips curve are recently popular phenomena in many advanced economies. In the environment of low inflation, the fading relationship between the price dynamics and the adjustments in the domestic real activity is vigorously investigated for highly developed economies. Still little evidence has been presented for emerging, small open economies. In this paper I address this issue by investigating the behavior of the Phillips curve for Poland. In particular, I aim at answering the question whether a Phillips curve flattening or a steepening can be observed during the recent abrupt disinflation. The outstanding problem of considerable uncertainty accompanying the model specification is accounted for by estimating a substantial number of regressions and exploring the cross-section properties of the hybrid Nkpc parameters. The results advocate that a statistically significant relationship between inflation and the domestic real activity developments persists. However, in the recently observed disinflation period the Phillips curve tends to flatten as the inflation’s sensitivity with respect to changes in economic slack diminishes. That notwithstanding, the impact of external factors rises significantly. Conditional ex-post forecasts suggest that while only a limited number of Phillips curve specifications manage to explain the disinflation process in Poland, employing unemployment gap or real Gdp as economic slack proxies delivers the most accurate inflation forecasts.
Monoclonal B‐cell lymphocytosis in the population of Slovenian region of Lower Carniola

Monoclonal B‐cell lymphocytosis (MBL) is a premalignant asymptomatic condition characterized by the presence of a small population of monoclonal B lymphocytes (less than 5 × 109/L) in the venous blood of otherwise healthy individuals. Incidence of MBL is higher among first‐degree relatives of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and also increases with age and among men. We compared the incidence of MBL found in the same environment in both an open general population and relatives of CLL patients.
Original article: Sinonasal pathology in nonallergic asthma and COPD: ‘united airway disease’ beyond the scope of allergy

Background: In contrast to the epidemiological and clinical association between allergic rhinitis and asthma, upper airway inflammation is less characterized in patients with nonatopic asthma and virtually unexplored in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Here, sinonasal pathology is studied in patients with allergic asthma, nonallergic asthma and COPD.
Pentoxifylline in severe alcoholic hepatitis: a prospective, randomised trial.

BACKGROUND Role of corticosteroids in treatment of severe alcoholic hepatitis (SAH) is controversial. Pentoxifylline (PTX), an inhibitor of TNF, has also been shown to decrease short term mortality in SAH. Aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of PTX on short term mortality, renal and hepatic functions in patients with SAH. METHODS Fifty patients with SAH {Maddrey's Discriminant Function (DF) > or = 32} were prospectively enrolled. Twenty five patients received PTX (400 mg orally, three times a day), and 25 received placebo for 4 weeks. Serum tumor necrosis factor (TNF) was measured in both groups. RESULTS Baseline characteristics of the two groups were similar. At 4 weeks, mortality in PTX group was lower than that in controls {20% (5/25) versus 40% (10/25) respectively; p = 0.216; RR 0.5; 95% CI 0.19-1.25}. Renal failure was the cause of mortality in 20% (1/5) patients in PTX group, and 70% (7/10) in controls (p = 0.11). Significant reduction in urea, creatinine, DF and TNF was noted in PTX group. Reduction in TNF did not correlate with reduction in creatinine or DF. CONCLUSIONS In patients with SAH, PTX leads to a significant improvement in renal and hepatic functions, and a trend towards decreased short term mortality.
An application of artificial neural networks and PCA for stator fault diagnosis in inverter-fed induction motors

This paper presents a method for fast classification of stator short-circuit faults in a inverter-fed induction motor operating at steady-state, under a wide range of speed and load conditions. Induction motors are widely used in several industrial applications due to its robustness, low cost and high reliability. Early detection and proper fault diagnosis reduce the maintenance cost and also increase process effectiveness. The amplitude of the stator current signal, in the time domain is presented as input to a multilayer perceptron (MLP) network for the classification of stator faults. After a proper discretization of the current signal, the technique of principal components analysis (PCA) is applied allowing a reduction of the classifier complexity. Results obtained from 750 experimental tests are provided and compared to validate this study. The obtained results indicate that this approach can be employed to classify stator short-circuit faults in inverter-fed induction motors.
Towards global identities: internationalization of teacher training at the Heidelberg University of Education

The article offers an insight into the complex problem area of strategic internationalization of teacher education as exemplified by the experience of the Heidelberg University of Education. This paper discusses three major issues: the state of the debate regarding internationalization, the obstacles and difficulties which counteract that implementation as well as the major forces driving it’s implementation. This discussion highlights the difficult relationship between the demands of globalization and diversity in school life on the one hand and the yet to be established curricula for the internationalization of teacher training as a criteria of quality on the other hand. Finally, several aspects of the internationalization strategy of the Heidelberg University of Education are presented, from which the authors expect major advances in the training of teachers. The goal of teacher education must strive to sensitize teachers in the 21st century to adopt” global identities” and empower them to become cross-culturally competent to communicate and to act.
Laparoscopy-assisted surgery for colorectal neoplasm is justifiable regardless of advanced age.

BACKGROUND/AIMS Laparoscopy-assisted surgery has been applied in patients with colorectal disease and resulted in favorable outcome compared with open surgery. However, it is not reported exclusively in terms of the curative mean in the geriatric patients with colorectal neoplasm yet. The aim of this study was to confirm the pros and cons of laparoscopy-assisted surgery for colorectal neoplasm in geriatric patients. METHODOLOGY Seventy-four patients with colorectal neoplasm underwent laparoscopic surgery and all their charts were retrospectively reviewed. Fourteen patients were 75 years of age or older and compared with the remaining non-aged 60 patients in STUDY 1, and also compared with 46 aged patients who underwent open surgery in STUDY 2. RESULTS In STUDY 1, the compiled total frequency of preoperative concomitant disease was significantly higher in the LAS-aged group. In STUDY 2, the mean operative time of the laparoscopic group was significantly longer than that of the open group. Mean estimated blood loss of the laparoscopic group was significantly smaller than that in the open group. Postoperative oral resumption and duration of hospital stay tended to be shorter in the laparoscopic group than in the open group. CONCLUSIONS Laparoscopy-assisted surgery is a satisfactory treatment for colorectal neoplasm, even in geriatric patients.
Long-Term Patterns in CD4 Response Are Determined by an Interaction Between Baseline CD4 Cell Count, Viral Load, and Time: The Asia Pacific HIV Observational Database (APHOD)

Background:Random effects models were used to explore how the shape of CD4 cell count responses after commencing combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) develop over time and, in particular, the role of baseline and follow-up covariates. Methods:Patients in Asia Pacific HIV Observational Database who first commenced cART after January 1, 1997, and who had a baseline CD4 cell count and viral load measure and at least 1 follow-up measure between 6 and 24 months, were included. CD4 cell counts were determined at every 6-month period after the commencement of cART for up to 6 years. Results:A total of 1638 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria with a median follow-up time of 58 months. Lower post-cART mean CD4 cell counts were found to be associated with increasing age (P < 0.001), pre-cART hepatitis C coinfection (P = 0.038), prior AIDS (P = 0.019), baseline viral load ≤100,000 copies per milliliter (P < 0.001), and the Asia Pacific region compared with Australia (P = 0.005). A highly significant 3-way interaction between the effects of time, baseline CD4 cell count, and post-cART viral burden (P < 0.0001) was demonstrated. Higher long-term mean CD4 cell counts were associated with lower baseline CD4 cell count and consistently undetectable viral loads. Among patients with consistently detectable viral load, CD4 cell counts seemed to converge for all baseline CD4 levels. Conclusions:Our analyses suggest that the long-term shape of post-cART CD4 cell count changes depends only on a 3-way interaction between baseline CD4 cell count, viral load response, and time.
Dyslipidemia Among Perinatally HIV-Infected Children Enrolled in the PACTS-HOPE Cohort, 1999-2004: A Longitudinal Analysis

Background: Protease inhibitor (PI)-containing regimens have led to improved survival among HIV-infected children. However, adverse effects, including dyslipidemia, may put children at risk for cardiovascular disease. Methods: Serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels were recorded on perinatally HIV-infected children participating in the PACTS-HOPE cohort (1999-2004). Hypercholesterolemia (HC) was defined as cholesterol ≥200 mg/dL and hypertriglyceridemia (HT) as triglycerides ≥150 mg/dL. HC and HT were modeled over time using generalized estimating equations. Results: For 178 children, 47% met criteria for HC and 67% for HT at least once during the study period. In generalized estimating equation models, PI use, undetectable viral load, and immunologic category 3 were independent predictors of HC. HT was significantly associated with PI use and body mass index (BMI) ≥90th percentile for age and gender. Among children on PI-containing regimens, HC was significantly associated with multiple PIs and undetectable viral load; HT was predicted by body mass index ≥90th percentile and ritonavir use. The prevalence of clinical lipodystrophy was 5.6% (10/178). Conclusions: Children on PI-containing regimens have a higher risk of both HC and HT. Lipid levels should be measured regularly in children on antiretroviral treatment. Interventions such as diet, exercise, or lipid-lowering drug therapy may benefit some children.
Anatomical anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: transtibial versus outside-in technique: SIGASCOT Best Paper Award Finalist 2014.

PURPOSE the aim of this study was to compare clinical results and location of the femoral tunnel with transtibial (TT) and outside-in (OI) techniques in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction using in vivo 3D CT analysis. METHODS we prospectively followed up 40 ACL reconstructions in which femoral tunnel placement was performed using two different techniques: TT [20] and OI [20]. Clinical evaluation was based on IKDC and KOOS scores and radiographic analysis with specific 3D CT scans. Tunnel coordinates were calculated using the Bernard-Hertel quadrant method to define the insertion point of the ACL. RESULTS excellent clinical results were achieved in both groups, which showed comparable IKDC and KOOS scores. Two failures were recorded, both in the TT group. In the high-to-low direction, the position of the femoral tunnel, as measured using the quadrant method, was too high in the TT group, compared to what was observed in the OI group: 10.5 ± 6.9% (0-29%) and 30.2 ± 5.4% (19-42%), (p=0.043). CONCLUSIONS we found that with the TT technique, compared with the OI technique, the femoral tunnel was located higher in the high-to-low direction and was in a slightly shallower position in the deep-to-shallow direction. Using the OI technique the femoral tunnel was in a position closer to the anatomical ACL footprint than with the TT technique. A femoral tunnel position far from the anatomical footprint of the native ACL would result in a higher failure rate. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE level II, prospective comparative study.
Decrease in numbers of glandular cell groups in post‐LLETZ liquid‐based cytology preparations

Objective: Large loop excision of the transformation zone (LLETZ) has become standard of care in the management of cervical squamous neoplasia and with cone biopsy glandular intraepithelial neoplasia. Controversy remains about the long‐term effects of this traumatic procedure. The aim of this study was to count and compare the number of endocervical glandular cell groups in pre‐ and post‐LLETZ cervical preparations using liquid‐based cytology to establish a cyto‐morphological correlate of destruction of the transformation zone.
Automated detection of exudates for diabetic retinopathy screening

Automated image analysis is being widely sought to reduce the workload required for grading images resulting from diabetic retinopathy screening programmes. The recognition of exudates in retinal images is an important goal for automated analysis since these are one of the indicators that the disease has progressed to a stage requiring referral to an ophthalmologist. Candidate exudates were detected using a multi-scale morphological process. Based on local properties, the likelihoods of a candidate being a member of classes exudate, drusen or background were determined. This leads to a likelihood of the image containing exudates which can be thresholded to create a binary decision. Compared to a clinical reference standard, images containing exudates were detected with sensitivity 95.0% and specificity 84.6% in a test set of 13 219 images of which 300 contained exudates. Depending on requirements, this method could form part of an automated system to detect images showing either any diabetic retinopathy or referable diabetic retinopathy.
Determination of fruit origin by using 26S rDNA fingerprinting of yeast communities by PCR–DGGE: preliminary application to Physalis fruits from Egypt

The determination of geographical origin is a demand of the traceability system of import–export food products. One hypothesis for tracing the source of a product is by global analysis of the microbial communities of the food and statistical linkage of this analysis to the geographical origin of the food. For this purpose, a molecular technique employing 26S rDNA profiles generated by PCR–DGGE was used to detect the variation in yeast community structures of three species of Physalis fruit (Physalis ixocarpa Brat, Physalis pubescens L, Physalis pruinosa L) from four Egyptian regions (Qalyoubia, Minufiya, Beheira and Alexandria Governments). When the 26S rDNA profiles were analysed by multivariate analysis, distinct microbial communities were detected. The band profiles of Physalis yeasts from different Governments were specific for each location and could be used as a bar code to discriminate the origin of the fruits. This method is a new traceability tool which provides fruit products with a unique biological bar code and makes it possible to trace back the fruits to their original location. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A study of occupational health and safety measures in the Laundry Department of a private tertiary care teaching hospital, Bengaluru

Introduction: The Laundry Department plays an important role in preventing the spread of infection and continuously supplying clean linen to various departments in any hospital. Objectives of the Study: To identify existing practices and occupational safety and health (OSH) measures in the Laundry Department and to assess the use of personal protective equipments (PPEs) among health care workers. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in a private tertiary care teaching hospital. An observation checklist was developed, which was partially based on occupational hazard checklist of OSHA for Laundry Department. This was field tested and validated for applicability for this study. Results: The potential biological hazards are infections through exposure to aerosols, spills and splashes during various activities, fungal infection due to wet clothes and environment and infections through fomites. The potential physical hazards are injuries due to slips and falls, exposure to heat, humidity, dust, noise, and vibration. The potential chemical hazards are contact dermatitis and allergic asthma due to exposure to detergents, phenyl solution, bleaching powder, and soap oil solution. The potential ergonomic hazards are musculoskeletal diseases and repetitive stress injuries at the shoulder, elbow, and small joints of the hands. PPEs were not used consistently in most areas of the department.
Predictors of change in depressive symptoms from preschool to first grade

Abstract Children's depressive symptoms in the transition from preschool to school are rarely investigated. We therefore tested whether children's temperament (effortful control and negative affect), social skills, child psychopathology, environmental stressors (life events), parental accuracy of predicting their child's emotion understanding (parental accuracy), parental emotional availability, and parental depression predict changes in depressive symptoms from preschool to first grade. Parents of a community sample of 995 4-year-olds were interviewed using the Preschool Age Psychiatric Assessment. The children and parents were reassessed when the children started first grade (n = 795). The results showed that DSM-5 defined depressive symptoms increased. Child temperamental negative affect and parental depression predicted increased, whereas social skills predicted decreased, depressive symptoms. However, such social skills were only protective among children with low and medium effortful control. Further, high parental accuracy proved protective among children with low effortful control and high negative affect. Thus, interventions that treat parental depression may be important for young children. Children with low effortful control and high negative affect may especially benefit from having parents who accurately perceive their emotional understanding. Efforts to enhance social skills may prove particularly important for children with low or medium effortful control.
Social Network of Bugis Weavers at Wajo Regency, South Sulawesi

The penetration of market economic system and the development of weaving technology within Wajo society has polarized Wajo weavers into three groups, Gedongan weaver, ATBM weaver and weaving entrepreneur. It indicates a different economic action conducted by those three groups in responding the economic market and technology development. This research aims to describe the moral basic in developing and utilizing network in weaving activities practiced by the three groups. The research uses qualitative approach with constructive paradigm. Data collection techniques used are in-depth interview method, participative observation and documentation. Data is analyzed using data reduction, presentation and conclusion. Research result indicates that production and distribution network of weavers involve social solidarity and economic interest and those networks take place in the form of horizontal and vertical relationship.Gedongan weavers use social solodarity network more than economic interest network. ATBM weavers tend to be in between solidarity and economic interest. Whereas, weaving entrepreneur use economic interest network more than solidarity network.