Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Association of Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha (TNF?) Gene Polymorphism with the Presence of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Background: Only 10-20% of chronic heavy smokers will develop into COPD. This indicates a different susceptibility to damages caused by smoking and that may be linked to genetic factors. The purpose of this study was to analyze the occurrence of COPD and its association with the polymorphisms; -308 G/A and -238G/A gene polymorphism in smokers. Methods: Case-control study, comparing the genetic group of people who have COPD (cases) and a group of people who doesn’t have COPD (control) with the same smoking history. Examination of lung function was done using spirometry and the existence of genetic polymorhism in the TNF? gene was performed using Polymerase Chain Reaction - Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms (PCR-RFLP). Results: From 186 subjects were enrolled, 93 people as the case group and 93 people as the control group. Analysis of the association between the -308G/A polymorphism with the COPD revealed the Odds Ratio (OR) of 0.436 (CI:0.224 - 0.850, and p :0.014). Polymorphism at -238G/A of the TNF? gene showed the OR of 2.094 (CI:0.608 to 7.211 and p :0.241). Conclusions: Polymorphism -308 TNF? gene shown to be a protective factor for the occurrence of COPD. Polymorphism -238 TNF? gene did not show any significant association with COPD. Keywords : Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, TNF? gene, Polymorphism
Establishing the Contexts of Disruptive Behaviours and Psychological Implications among Pre-Primary and Primary School Pupils

The study attempted to examine the contexts under which disruptive behaviors occur among pupils in pre-primary and primary schools in Nsukka Urban. The population of the study comprised all pre-primary and schools pupils. A sample of one hundred and sixty-four (164) pupils (both male and female) was drawn. Data was collected through observation. The mean was adopted for answering the research questions. The findings indicated that the context under which disruptive behaviors were displayed by pupils, include the following: when child lacks writing materials, when the environment is noisy, when the child is oppressed by his or her classmates, when the child is frustrated and when the child lacks adequate communication. The findings also indicated that with male pupils, disruptive behaviors occur frequently under all the five items, while with the female pupils disruptive behaviors occur frequently under four of the items and occur slightly on one the items. The psychological implications were also addressed in the study.
Firm Size, Contractual Problems and Organizational Decision-Making: Logistics for Perishable Goods

This paper examines formalized contracts between outsourcing logistics providers and companies in the perishable food industry by evaluating relationships with specificity and uncertainty. A sample of 55 outsourcing agreements were analyzed and found that exchanges are characterized by positive transaction costs arising from contractual problems such as investments in specific assets and information asymmetries. There are several types of specificity and the impact varies depending upon the company. Contractual agreements which are designed to address each type of specificity can provide firms a safeguard mechanism.
The Results of Clinical Examination of Children About One Year With Spinal Hernia

To study the main clinical symptom of spinal hernias with different variants of their location, shapes and combination of defects.Examination of 30 children with spinal hernias treated at the Department of Neurosurgery of the regional children’s hospital in Shymkent for 2013 2015. The age of patients ranged from 1 day to 1 year. The age of patients ranged from 1 day to 1 year. Of these, 12 were boys, girls 18. Children from birth to 1 month amounted to 17 (56.6%), from 1 month to 3 months 8 (26.6%) from 3 months to 6 months 3 (10.0%), from 6 months to 1 year 2 (6.7%). Among patients with spinal hernias accounted for most of the children with myelomeningocele (63.3%). A number of children with spinal hernia on the periphery of herniation within healthy skin and pilosity observed vascular pattern (50%). Children under 1 year with spinal hernias observed neurological changes of the lower extremities (paraparesis 63.3%, paraplegia 16.6%), pelvic disorders (70.5%) and the combination with other anomalies and malformations (hydrocephalus 93.3%, bilateral clubfoot 30.0%, congenital dislocation of the hip joint -13.3%, exotropia 10,0%).
Stimulating effect of low dose gamma-ray radiation on the growth and physiological activities of Chinese cabbage cultivars

To clarify the stimulating effects of low dose gamma-ray radiation(60Co), 4 cultivars of Chineses cabbage (Brassica campestris L. cv. Hanyoreum, cv. Tropic emperor, cv. Manjeom and cv. Sulim eockari) and 1-5 years old seeds were irradiated with dose of 0.5 Gy-20 Gy and cultivated in the green house and the experimental field. The germination rate of seeds, early growth and yield of Chinese cabbage increased positively in low dose irradiation group. The increase of the seedling height and fresh weight in 8 Gy and 12 Gy irradiated groups was 20% and 40%, respectively. Old seeds irradiated by low dose gamma-ray radiation in the range 1-2 Gy of Manjeom and Sulim eockari cultivars showed remarkable growth, significantly compared to the new, 1-2 year old seeds. The germination rates and seedling heights of 3-, 4-, and 5-year old seeds increased at the 4 Gy-, 1 Gy-, and 0.5 Gy-irradiation group respectively. There were significant stimulating effects of radiation on the plant height, fresh weight and diameter of all seeds grown in the experimental field of 4 Gy- and 8 Gy-irradiation group. The seedlings grown from seeds treated by low dose gamma-ray radiation showed higher peroxidase and catalase activities than non-treated seedlings.
The influence of ethical dilemmas in the accounting

In this study a theoretical model of five dimensions is explained – Rest (1986) ethical decision making process; Jones (1991) moral intensity; need for cognition; personal attributes and financial information - in order to understand the conditions that lead policymakers to manipulate information and to understand the ethical issues in decision-making that lead or not, to a more useful accounting. The sample, by convenience, consisting of 442 individuals and this empirical study was conducted through a survey by an online questionnaire. Data collection was performed using SurveyMonkey® software and the model analysed by Structural Equation Analysis method. A structural model was obtained, seeming to indicate that the process of ethical and moral intensity decisions is associated with the individual need for cognition. The utility of accounting, preparation and presentation of financial statements are positively related to the educational level. In this sense, the results and the profitability of capital influence the moral intensity, it seems possible to conclude about the positive influence of academic ethics intention and accounting utility.
Personality and Cognitive Performance

The two experiments reported here are concerned with the influence of trait anxiety and other individual differences on cognitive performance using the face-in-the-crowd procedure. Participants completed questionnaires (EPQ-R; STAI; Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale) and across two experiments searched for discrepant faces in matrices of otherwise identical faces (in Experiment 1: threatening, happy, neutral targets against emotional or neutral backgrounds, and in Experiment 2: threatening, happy, sad and scheming targets against neutral distractors). The key findings from this study indicated that anxiety enhanced processing efficiency of positive emotional material when interacts with high psychoticism. Additionally, the vigilance for threatening and neutral faces was a characteristic of sanguine individuals with repressive coping while inefficient processing of threatening and neutral stimuli of non-defensive melancholic subjects. These results are discussed with reference to attentional control theory (Eysenck, Derakshan, Santos, & Calvo, 2007).
Dose-Response Relationships for Vanilla Flavor and Sucrose in Skim Milk: Evidence of Synergy

Regarding cross-modality research, taste-aroma interaction is one of the most studied areas of research. Some studies have reported enhancement of sweetness by aroma, although it is unclear as to whether these effects actually occur: depending on the cognitive strategy employed by panelists, the effects may disappear, e.g., forcing panelists into an analytical strategy to control for dumping may not be able to reveal perceptual interactions. Previous studies have largely focused on solutions and model foods, and did not test stimuli or concentrations relevant to real food applications. This study addresses these gaps: 18 vanilla flavored sucrose milks, varying between 0–0.75% (w/w) two-fold vanilla, and 0–5% (w/w) sucrose, were rated by 108 panelists for liking and perceived sweetness, vanilla flavor, milk flavor, and thickness. Interactions between vanilla and sucrose were measured using deviations of real mixtures from additive models (via the isobole method), indicating vanilla aroma does enhance perceived sweetness. However, the sweetness enhancing effect of vanilla aroma was not as pronounced as that of sucrose on vanilla flavor. Measurable cross-modal interactions occur despite using an analytical cognitive strategy. More work is needed to investigate the influence of perceptual strategy on the degree of taste-aroma interactions in real foods.
Singular stress behavior in a bonded hereditarily-elastic aging wedge. Part II: General heredity

Investigation of stress singularity in a plane problem for bonded isotropic hereditarily elastic (visco-elastic) aging infinite wedge begun in [8] is continued here. The stress asymptotics at the singular point are obtained at initial time t"#0; at tPR for loads tending to harmonically oscillating or to constant ones in time. At small times, the power expansion with respect to time and the power-logarithmic asymptotic with respect to radius is presented. At finite times t3[0,R) as well as at tPR, the estimates for stresses at the singular point are obtained for sufficiently arbitrary loading behaviour. We shall use in this paper the notions and notations of [8]. References on the numbers of formulas and sections of [8] will be preceded by the symbol I, reference on Appendix denotes the Appendix of [8].
Syddansk Universitet Boson stars from self-interacting dark matter

We study the possibility that self-interacting bosonic dark matter forms starlike objects. We study both the case of attractive and repulsive self-interactions, and we focus particularly in the parameter phase space where self-interactions can solve well standing problems of the collisionless dark matter paradigm. We find the mass radius relations for these dark matter bosonic stars, their density profile as well as the maximum mass they can support.
Mountain-wave-induced record low stratospheric temperatures above northern Scandinavia

On 22 January 1997 1200 UT, the routine radiosonde from Sodankyla¨ , Finland, measured arecord low temperature of −94.5°C at 26 km. Mesoscale numerical simulations indicate strongmountain wave activity on this day. Two stratospheric temperature minima are simulated: onedirectly above the Scandinavian mountain ridge and another minimum in its lee about 500 kmto the east. Both minima are not resolved in the global analyses. The radiosonde profile as wellas the mesoscale model indicate that the eastern mesoscale temperature anomaly is caused byorographic inertia-gravity waves, i.e., hydrostatic mountain waves influenced by Coriolis force.Stratospheric ice clouds were observed visually and by ground-based lidar at Kiruna, Swedenand Sodankyla¨ , Finland on this day. The formation of these ice clouds required the cooling inthe mountain waves as the temperature according to global analyses was about 3 K above thefrost point. The occurrence of additional polar stratospheric ice clouds due to mountain-wavecooling increases the efficiency of chlorine activation and has implications for the resultingArctic ozone depletion. The extraordinary event under consideration occurred during a coldair outbreak with a cold front passing over the Scandinavian orography. This front was associatedwith strong winds in the lower troposphere. At the same time, northern Scandinavia waslocated below the inner edge of the polar vortex, where low synoptic-scale stratospheric temperaturesand a strong polar night jet are found. DOI: 10.1034/j.1600-0870.1999. 00028.x
Impacts of a High Nitrogen Load on Foliar Nutrient Status, N Metabolism, and Photosynthetic Capacity in a Cupressus lusitanica Mill. Plantation

At present, anthropogenic nitrogen deposition has dramatically increased worldwide and has shown negative impacts on temperate/boreal forest ecosystems. However, it remains unclear how an elevated N load affects plant growth in the relatively N-rich subtropical forests of Southern China. To address this question, a study was conducted in a six-year-old Cupressus lusitanica Mill. plantation at the Scientific Research and Teaching Base of Nanjing Forestry University, with N addition levels of N0 (0 kg ha−1 year−1), N1 (24 kg ha−1 year−1), N2 (48 kg ha−1 year−1), N3 (72 kg ha−1 year−1), N4 (96 kg ha−1 year−1), and N5 (120 kg ha−1 year−1). Leaf physiological traits associated with foliar nutrient status, photosynthetic capacity, pigment, and N metabolites were measured. The results showed that (1) N addition led to significant effects on foliar N, but had no marked effects on K concentration. Furthermore, remarkable increases of leaf physiological traits including foliar P, Ca, Mg, and Mn concentration; photosynthetic capacity; pigment; and N metabolites were always observed under low and middle-N supply. (2) High N supply notably decreased foliar P, Ca, and Mg concentration, but increased foliar Mn content. Regarding the chlorophyll, photosynthetic capacity, and N metabolites, marked declines were also observed under high N inputs. (3) Redundancy analysis showed that the net photosynthesis rate was positively correlated with foliar N, P, Ca, Mg, and Mn concentration; the Mn/Mg ratio; and concentrations of chlorophyll and N metabolites, while the net photosynthesis rate was negatively correlated with foliar K concentration and N/P ratios. These findings suggest that excess N inputs can promote nutrient imbalances and inhibit the photosynthetic capacity of Cupressus lusitanica Mill. , indicating that high N deposition could threaten plant growth in tropical forests in the future. Meanwhile, further study is merited to track the effects of high N deposition on the relationship between foliar Mn accumulation and photosynthesis in Cupressus lusitanica Mill.
A Randomized Double Blind Placebo Controlled Study Of Prophylactic Gabapentin For Prevention Of Postoperative Pain And Morphine Consumption In Patients Undergoing Mastectomy.

: 50 patients each of ASA I –II were randomly allocated to two study groupsone group received gabapentin (1200mg) and other group received placebo 1 hour prior to surgery. Both groups received morphine (0.1mg/kg) as intraoperative analgesic at induction of anaesthesia. After the completion of mastectomy postoperative analgesia was assessed with visual analogue scale (VAS) method (0cmno pain and 10cmworst possible pain). Rescue analgesic was administered to patients whose VAS was above 3 (morphine 0.1mg/kg). Apart from VAS haemodynamic parameters and oxygen saturation were regularly recorded half hourly for first two hours, then hourly for next 4 hours and then 2 hourly till the patient requested for analgesia postoperatively.
Empirical Bayes Estimators with Uncertainty Measures for NEF-QVF Populations

The paper proposes empirical Bayes (EB) estimators for simultaneous estimation of means in the natural exponential fam- ily (NEF) with quadratic variance functions (QVF) models. Morris (1982, 1983a) characterized the NEF-QVF distributions which in- clude among others the binomial, Poisson and normal distributions. In addition to the EB estimators, we provide approximations to the MSE's of these estimators. Our approach generalizes the findings of Prasad and Rao (1990) for the random eects model where only area specific direct estimators and covariates are available. The EB esti- mators are derived using the theory of optimal estimating functions as proposed by Godambe and Thompson (1989). This is in contrast to the approach of Morris (1988) who found some approximate EB estimators for this problem. Also, unlike Morris (1988), we allow un- equal number of observations in dierent clusters in the derivation of the EB estimators. In finding approximations to the MSE's, we apply a bias-correction technique as proposed in Cox and Snell (1968). We
Advances in Surgical Options for Medically Refractory Epilepsy

The evolution of surgical treatment for medically refractory epilepsy (MRE) has been influenced over the last decade by substantial advancements in imaging- and device-related technology, as well as an expanding assemblage of prospective data that support the utilisation of surgery for MRE. These data, which have grown to include randomised trials and long-term follow up for established surgery, as well as large series for investigational procedures, have demonstrated safe, efficacious results with proper patient selection. Prospective randomised trials of three surgically implanted neuromodulatory devices, vagus nerve stimulators, deep brain stimulators and responsive neurostimulators have demonstrated safety and significant seizure frequency reduction. Numerous studies have provided strong evidence for the efficacy and safety of temporal lobe resective surgery and recent studies have focused on applying alternative approaches to open resective surgery for patients presumed to have a medial temporal seizure focus. These alternatives include stereotactic radiosurgery, radiofrequency ablation and a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided laser technique for thermal ablation. Current evidence for these new surgical options for the treatment of medically refractory epilepsy will be presented and discussed.
A test of the mobbing playback method for estimating bird reproductive success

Abstract Accurate measures of reproductive performance in birds are vital to effective conservation and management of populations. We evaluate the effectiveness of a recently proposed method to estimate reproductive performance based upon behavior of breeding birds during responses to Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) mobbing calls. We examined whether responses of Black-throated Blue Warblers (Dendroica caerulescens) to mobbing calls were related to measures of reproductive performance as determined in a nest monitoring study. We found that individuals that were successful reproducers were more likely to exhibit a response to the mobbing calls. Successfully reproducing individuals were more likely to display evidence of reproductive success (e.g., carrying nesting material, carrying food) when they responded to the mobbing call. Observations of reproductive success, however, depended on the distance of the observation to the nest site of the individual. We conclude that responses to mobbing calls have limited utility for discerning variability in reproductive success among territories. However, if the research objective is to obtain coarse comparative estimates of reproductive success at large spatial scales over which reproductive output is likely to be highly variable, then observations generated by the mobbing playback method may suffice.
ERP Implementation and Interoperability Growth as Organization Improvement Agents in Public Administration Further Development

Further public administration development depends on numerous various influences - stakeholders' and public needs, so when planned to be developed, implemented or improved, they have to be carefully considered. ERP and/or other system need to be incorporated according to specific conditions. Interoperability represents strong support for implementation, integration or further development for public administration. This paper aims for contribution to awareness growth and platform for further work. Considering various case studies, ERP implementation, interoperability, critical success factors and contingency approach, paper aims for further development in this area. ERP becomes a platform for further ICT development towards quantum computing.
Benchmark Comparison of Natural Convection in a Tall Cavity

A comparison of the commercial code COMSOL is performed with the bench- mark solutions provided by the literature for a tall, dierentially heated rectangular cavity for aspect ratios of 8, 15, 20, and 33. At small Rayleigh numbers the ow is dominated by conduction. As the Rayleigh number is in- creased the ow becomes unstable, rst result- ing in multicellular secondary ow patterns, and then as the Rayleigh number is further increased becoming turbulent. For this work a range of Rayleigh numbers from 1e3 to 3e5 is considered for a Prandtl number of 0.71. The predicted wavenumber, critical Rayleigh num- ber, and characteristic streamfunctions are compared with experimental work reported in the literature. The eect of COMSOL's anisotropic and crosswind numerical diusion values are also evaluated.
A catalogue of isolated massive white dwarfs. Mass distribution of massive stars

We present in this paper a catalogue of 112 massive isolated white dwarfs, with masses M > 0.8 M� . Mass deter- minations and other parameters of white dwarfs were compiled from the available literature. For each star we present averaged values of mass, effective temperature, logarithm of surface gravity log g, radius, distance, and the surface magnetic field for magnetic white dwarfs. The mass distribution of our sample is a slowly decreasing continuum function for masses larger than 0.9 M� , with an overlapping secondary maximum at 1.04 M� . We conclude that the mass distribution of known massive magnetic white dwarfs is flat, whereas nonmagnetic WDs exhibit a steeper mass distribution towards the highest masses. The secondary maximum at 1.04 Mis caused exclusively by nonmagnetic white dwarfs. We note that the 4 most massive stars with masses M ≥ 1.3 Mare magnetic white dwarfs. Our results show also, that the occurrence of magnetism in massive white dwarfs does not depend on the cooling age (above Teff = 5000 K).
Stability of symbiotic dinoflagellate type in the octocoral Briareum asbestinum

Coral bleaching — the loss of photosynthetic algal symbionts from their cnidarian hosts — can lead to coral mortality and subsequent reef degradation. To understand the phenomenon of coral bleaching it is imperative to understand natural fluctuations in symbiotic dinoflagellate diver- sity and density. In this study, Symbiodinium type, based on length variation in domain V of the chloroplast large subunit of rDNA (cp23S rDNA), and cell densities were followed in 2 populations of the octocoral Briareum asbestinum over 1 yr. Symbiodinium type varied little over the course of the study despite anomalously cold sea surface temperatures during January 2003, when B. asbestinum populations experienced a significant loss of symbionts. This provides some of the first evidence that Caribbean octocorals are susceptible to cold-water bleaching events. Furthermore, the symbiont stability observed within B. asbestinum contributes to an increasing number of studies suggesting that many zooxanthellate coral species may not respond to fluctuating environments by changing symbionts.