Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Maternal methamphetamine use during pregnancy and child outcome: what do we know?

Trecia Wouldes, Linda LaGasse, Janie Sheridan, Barry Lester‘P’, ‘Pure’, or ‘Burn’ are names that have become associated with potent forms ofmethamphetamine made in illegal laboratories in New Zealand. The dramatic increasein the use of these drugs in New Zealand has largely been associated with the youngmale population. However, it has become apparent that a growing number of NewZealand women are also using methamphetamine during their pregnancy. Theobjective of this article was to review the literature that has associatedmethamphetamine-use with adverse developmental outcomes.What little we know about the effects of ‘methamphetamine-use during pregnancy onthe developing child’ comes from animal studies, a few human studies that have anumber of methodological problems, and the recent cocaine literature. Evidence fromthese studies suggest there are likely to be adverse developmental effects for childrenexposed prenatally to methamphetamine, either because of the drug
Data Lessons on Bank Behavior

We investigate the behavior of bank balance sheet's in the United States during 2007-2015. The goal is to deepen the understanding of the behavior of banks. During this period, bank aggregate book-equity losses were entirely offset by equity issuances whereas market-value losses were catastrophic and never recovered. We find evidence that supports a theory where banks target market leverage, but where adjustments to a target are very gradual. We also find that, in contrast to the pre-crisis period, during the post-crisis banks relied more on retained earnings rather than on assets sales to adjust to a market leverage target. We present a heterogeneous-bank model that rationalizes these facts and can serve as a building block for future work.
Learning process in marketing contract choice: the case of cereals in the Paris Basin

In the last two decades, the institutional environment of European cereal markets remarkably evolved, faced to the deregulation of the agricultural common markets and the subsequent emergence of new forms of internal and external competition. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was implemented as a buffer protecting producers against price volatility on international commodity markets thanks to guaranteed floor prices. Since the reform of this regulation, we observe the development of various types of contracts aiming at managing risk and uncertainty for the different stakeholders in the chain. This article aims to contribute to the scarce empirical literature dealing with marketing contract choices. Drawing on a large original data base describing the transactions between cereal producers and a French cooperative over 10 years (2007-2016) in the Paris Basin, we describe the strategies of producers and conclude that inertial behaviors are a very important factor explaining marketing choices. However, determinants relative to quality and performance matter, in an increasingly competitive international context. Acknowledgement :
New results on employing cumulants for retrieving sinusoids in colored non-Gaussian noise

A novel analysis is presented, which shows that signals consisting of sinusoids plus non-Gaussian noise have a new signal-to-noise ratio (NSNR) associated with their fourth-order cumulants. This NSNR is a multiple of the original SNR when the noise is colored and the original SNR is equal to or greater than one. Therefore, employing cumulants for harmonic retrieval problems is now an approach capable of handling not only Gaussian noise but also colored non-Gaussian noise. The presented analysis is verified via computer simulations.
Effects of Kraal Manure, Chicken Manure and Inorganic Fertilizer on Growth and Yield of Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. var Commander) in a Semi-arid Environment

The experiment was carried out at the Horticulture Department Farm, Faculty of Agriculture, Luyengo campus of the University of Swaziland to determine the yield of lettuce (Lactuca sativa) when fertilized with kraal manure, poultry manure and inorganic fertilizer, and to assess the rate of weed emergence on plots fertilized with various materials. The treatments were of kraal or chicken manure applied at 40 t/ha and 60 t/ha, and chemical fertilizer 2:3:2 (22) applied at 80 kg/ha. The results showed that growing lettuce using the five treatments significantly affected its growth rate, leaf number, fresh mass, dry mass and weed infestation. Lettuce grown with chicken manure at 60 t/ha was found to have higher leaf number, fresh mass, dry mass and apparently higher weed infestation as compared to the other treatments. There were no significant (p>0.05) growth parameter differences from the kraal manure at 40 t/ha and the chicken manure at 40 t/ha treatments. Lettuce grown using inorganic fertilizer had the least leaf number, leaf area, leaf area index, fresh and dry mass as compared to the other treatments. Weed infestation was found to be higher in the chicken manure treatments which had severe weed coverage, followed by the kraal manure treatments with intermediate weed coverage and finally the inorganic fertilizers treatment with least weed coverage. The application of chicken manure at 60 t/ha is preferred as it was associated with higher leaf number, leaf area , fresh and dry weights of lettuce. The application of chicken manures at 60 t/ha is therefore recommended for farmers to use to obtain higher yields of lettuce.
Crosstalk between TGF-beta and MAPK signaling during corneal wound healing.

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to elucidate the mechanisms governing epithelial cell migration and proliferation during wound healing. METHODS The authors used wound healing of mouse corneal epithelium to examine the role TGF-β signaling plays during the healing process. To achieve this goal, they used transgenic mice in which the TGF-β receptor type II (Tbr2) was conditionally ablated from the corneal epithelium. Epithelium debridement wounds were made, followed by the assessment of cell migration, proliferation, and immunostaining of various signaling pathway components. RESULTS The authors showed that in the absence of TGF-β signaling corneal epithelial wound healing is delayed by 48 hours; this corresponds to a delay in p38MAPK activation. Despite the delayed p38MAPK activation, ATF2, a substrate of p38MAPK, is still phosphorylated, leading to the suppression of cell proliferation at the leading edge of the wound. These data provide evidence that in the absence of TGF-β signaling, the suppression of cell proliferation during the early stages of wound healing is maintained through the JNK activation of ATF2. CONCLUSIONS; Together the data presented here demonstrate the importance of the TGF-β and MAPK signaling pathways in corneal epithelial wound healing.
Oral anticoagulation use by patients with atrial fibrillation in Germany

Summary Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common significant cardiac rhythm disorder. Oral anticoagulation (OAC) is recommended by guidelines in the presence of a moderate to high risk of stroke. Based on an analysis of claims-based data, the aim of this contribution is to quantify the stroke-risk dependent OAC utilisation profile of German AF patients as well as the possible causes and the associated clinical outcomes of OAC under-use. Our data set was derived from two large mandatory German medical insurance funds. Risk stratification of patients was based on the CHADS2-score and the CHA2DS2-VASc-score. Two different scenarios were constructed to deal with factors potentially disfavouring OAC use. Causes of OAC under-use and its clinical consequences were analysed using multivariate analysis. Observation year was 2008. A total of 183,448 AF patients met the inclusion criteria. This represents an AF prevalence of 2.21%. The average CHADS2-score was 2.8 (CHA2DS2-VASc-score: 4.3). On between 40.5 and 48.7% of the observed patient-days, there was no antithrombotic protection by OAC, other anticoagulants or aspirin. Older female patients with a high number of comorbidities had a higher risk of OAC under-use. Patients who had already experienced a thromboembolic event had a lower risk of OAC under-use. In the observation year, 3,367 patients experienced a stroke (incidence rate 1.8%). In our multi-level Poisson random effects estimate, OAC use decreases the stroke rate by almost 80% (IRR 0.236). In conclusion, OAC under-use is widespread in the German market. It is associated with severe clinical consequences.
Impact of bank internal factors on profitability of commercial banks in Sri Lanka: a panel data analysis

Banking system takes a major part to provide better financial services to the people in a country. Aim of this study is to examine what extent bank internal factors impact on profitability of commercial banks in Sri Lanka. Capital adequacy, Operating cost efficiency, Non-performing loans, Bank size, Liquidity, Assets Quality and Managerial efficiency are considered as bank internal factors while Return on assets is considered as profitability measure of this study. Panel data has been collected from published financial statement of nine commercial banks listed on Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) for the period of ten years from 2006 to 2015. Fixed effect and random effect models are performed to investigate the best model to evaluate the impact of bank internal factors on profitability. Results of the study reveal that random effect model is the best model using Hausman specification test. As per the random effect model, capital adequacy has positive and significant impact on profitability while non-performing loan and operating cost efficiency have negative and significant influence on profitability. Rest of the selected variables such as bank size, liquidity, assets quality and managerial efficiency don't have any significant impact on profitability of commercial banks in Sri Lanka. The finding of this study provides information to present and future investors for making best decision on which internal factors should be well analyzed when they make investment on banking sector in Sri Lanka.
Does Increasing Central Government Transfer Improve Local Government Performance? A Case of Aceh Provincial Government

The objective of this study is to evaluate the financial performance of Aceh after receiving a series of significant transfer fund under Special Autonomy Fund (SAF) since 2008. The data were collected from secondary sources i. e. 2009 to 2016 financial reports of Aceh provincial government and news from electronic media. A descriptive quantitative analysis was carried out to analyze the performance of Aceh government before and after the SAF implementation. This study demonstrates that having more money does not necessarily lead to a higher financial performance of local government. Based on the financial ratio analysis, the performance after the SAF implementation has increased slightly compared to that before SAF. Additionally, the expenditures have raised gradually particularly in regards to operational expenditures. This situation is problematic particularly after the end of SAF period as the portion of locally-generated revenue (LGR) compared the total revenue is smaller than the portion of the operational expenditures. Thus, it is imperative for the Aceh government to expand its LGR through investment and creating more revenue centers.
Sustainable construction management in education sector

The purpose of the study is to understand and identify the current courses on sustainability in construction in leading universities in India. The study is conducted on pan India basis and different courses have been compared and results were drawn. The research is conducted using a structured questionnaire survey from the respondents through all over India. Keeping in mind the end goal to evaluate the heartiness of the course educational programs at School of civil engineering K R Mangalam University, a correlation was led with establishment’s offering comparable projects. The findings of the study conclude that the curriculum at School of civil engineering K R Mangalam University is effective in imparting sustainability concepts in the built environment domain. The students who have progressed towards the end of the course appeared to have achieved a good level of understanding of both the general and specific aspects of sustainability and its applications to the built environment. With expanding the effect of human survival on condition and unending civil argument of our duty towards who and what is to come, sustainability has made some amazing progress.
Chronic pruritus – pathogenesis, clinical aspects and treatment

Chronic pruritus is a major symptom in numerous dermatological and systemic diseases. Similar to chronic pain, chronic pruritus can have a dramatic impact on the quality of life and can worsen the general condition of the patient considerably. The pathogenesis of itch is diverse and involves a complex network of cutaneous and neuronal cells. In recent years, more and more itch‐specific mediators and receptors, such as interleukin‐31, gastrin‐releasing peptide receptor or histamine H4 receptor have been identified and the concept of itch‐specific neurons has been further characterized. Understanding of the basic principles is important for development of target‐specific treatment of patients with chronic pruritus. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge about the pathophysiological principles of itch and provide an overview about current and future treatment options.
Workforce Diversity and Conflicts in Care Work: Managers' Perspectives

The care workforce in England is ethnically diverse yet little is known of how social care managers manage this aspect of human resources work. This article reports findings of a longitudinal study of the care workforce in four different parts of England to offer insights into managers’ views of staff demo graphic profiles, relationships, and management challenges and strategies. Three themes emerged from the analysis: sources of conflict; reactive approaches to limiting conflict; and, proactive approaches to preventing and limiting conflict. The study findings have implications for human resource management and the creation of supportive staff relationships within care work and for other countries where ethnic diversity is characteristic of the care workforce.
The rise of chain pharmacies in India: implications for public health.

Pharmacy retail markets in low and middle-income countries (LMIC) have traditionally been dominated by independently owned pharmacies, but economic growth has spurred the entry of pharmacy chains into these markets. Chains could be argued to have the potential to both improve quality and reduce price in comparison to independent pharmacies, however this has been little studied in LMICs. Using mixed methods, including a standardised patient survey, exit interviews with patients, and key informant interviews, research was undertaken to understand the effect of chain pharmacies, in India, on key public health concerns. The management of childhood diarrhoea and suspected tuberculosis was similarly substandard in chains and independents for most areas of assessment. However, chains sold significantly fewer harmful and prescription-only medicines for the diarrhoea patient. No significant price difference was found between chains and independents for the management of the TB case but the diarrhoea consultation was significantly cheaper at chains. Chains offered discounts on medicines, made possible by bulk purchasing and efficiencies in the supply chain. Customers patronising chain pharmacies were both more educated and relatively wealthier than those using independent pharmacies. In-depth interviews explored a set of hypotheses regarding how being organised in a chain may affect key behaviours relating to quality failures. In practice, few differences were identified: chains did not all have qualified pharmacists; the chain structure was not used to enforce regulation; and chain sales staff faced quite high-powered financial incentives. Chains did exert strong influence over customer service and sales, but the potential to exploit this control to improve quality was not realised. Given that the chains are not currently serving poorer groups, and the impact on quality of care was limited, any attempt to leverage this organisational model for public health improvement would require implementation of appropriate regulatory constraints and incentives.
Seven-Year Experience With a Surveillance Program to Reduce Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Colonization in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

OBJECTIVES. The objectives of this study were to determine the incidence rates of neonatal methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus colonization and infection after the implementation of a NICU methicillin-resistant S aureus surveillance and isolation program and to describe the characteristics of infants with methicillin-resistant S aureus colonization and invasive disease. METHODS. From August 2000 through August 2007, all infants admitted to the study NICU were screened for methicillin-resistant S aureus colonization with weekly nasal/rectal swabs; colonized or infected infants were isolated and cared for as a cohort. The annual incidence rates of methicillin-resistant S aureus colonization and infection were monitored, and characteristics of methicillin-resistant S aureus-colonized and -infected infants were compared. Data were collected from infant, maternal, and hospital laboratory records. RESULTS. During the study period, 7997 infants were admitted to the NICU and 102 methicillin-resistant S aureus-colonized or -infected infants (1.3%) were identified. The incidence of methicillin-resistant S aureus decreased progressively from 1.79 cases per 1000 patient-days in 2000 to 0.15 cases per 1000 patient-days in 2005, but the incidence then increased to 1.26 cases per 1000 patient-days in 2007. Fifteen of the 102 case infants (14.7%) had invasive infections; no significant differences between infected and colonized infants were identified. Methicillin-resistant S aureus isolates with 14 different antibiograms were found during the study period. There was a shift from isolates predominantly likely to be hospital-associated in 2000–2004 to those likely to be community-associated in 2006–2007. CONCLUSIONS. A continuous program of weekly methicillin-resistant S aureus surveillance cultures and isolation of affected infants was associated with a variable incidence of methicillin-resistant S aureus colonization over a 7-year study period. Methicillin-resistant S aureus was not eradicated from this tertiary-care NICU, and our data suggest that infants were colonized by multiple different methicillin-resistant S aureus strains during the study period.
Acute transplantation of olfactory ensheathing cells or Schwann cells promotes recovery after spinal cord injury in the rat

We compared the neurological and electrophysiological outcome, glial reactivity, and spared spinal cord connectivity promoted by acute transplantation of olfactory ensheathing cells (group OEC) or Schwann cells (group SC) after a mild injury to the rat spinal cord. Animals were subjected to a photochemical injury of 2.5 min irradiation at the T8 spinal cord segment. After lesion, a suspension containing 180,000 OECs or SCs was injected. A control group (group DM) received the vehicle alone. During 3 months postsurgery, behavioral skills were assessed with open field‐BBB scale, inclined plane, and thermal algesimetry tests. Motor (MEPs) and somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) were performed to evaluate the integrity of spinal cord pathways, whereas lumbar spinal reflexes were evaluated by the H reflex responses. Glial fibrillary acidic protein and proteoglycan expressions were quantified immunohistochemically at the injured spinal segments, and the preservation of corticospinal and raphespinal tracts caudal to the lesion was evaluated. Both OEC‐ and SC‐transplanted groups showed significantly better results in all the behavioral tests than the DM group. Furthermore, the OEC group had higher MEP amplitudes and lower H responses than the other two groups. At the injury site, the area of spared parenchyma was greater in transplanted than in control injured rats. OEC‐transplanted animals had reduced astrocytic reactivity and proteoglycan expression in comparison with SC‐transplanted and DM rats. Taken together, these results indicate that transplantation of both OEC and SC has potential for restoration of injured spinal cords. OEC grafts showed superior ability to reduce glial reactivity and to improve functional recovery. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Fetal Central Nervous System Development and Alcohol — The Evidence So Far

Currently in the UK, there is no absolute guidance about alcohol consumption in pregnancy. The guidance for drinking during pregnancy is one or two units of alcohol one or two times weekly, but conservative advice is to abstain as a cautionary measure [1]. Despite the lack of consensus about the safe levels of alcohol consumption in pregnancy, there is increasing evidence of the impact of alcohol on the developing central nervous system. This article explores the evidence regarding alcohol consumption and its effects on the developing fetal central nervous system.
Value of the Mean Platelet Volume in Evaluation of Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome

Background: Increased mean platelet volume (MPV) is a central process in the pathophysiology of coronary artery disease (CAD). Objectives: To investigate whether assessment of MPV, besides the traditional risk factors, enhances the assessment process for the risk of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Materials and Methods: This study included 81 patients, divided into 2 groups; group I included 61 patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS); further subdivided into group I a (37 Tn +ve patients) and group I b (24 Tn -ve patients) and group II included 20 completely healthy age matched as a control group; all patients were subjected to; history taking, clinical examination, ECG, assessment of MPV and lipid profile. Results: Tn +ve ACS patients had the highest MPV (13.3 ± 2.4fL), MPV correlated significantly with total cholesterol level, LDL level, and Tn level, P<0.001). By multivariate analysis, only MPV significantly increased the probability of Tn +ve ACS development (B ± SE=0.078 ± 0.028, t=2.8, 95% CI 0.022-0.133 with an odds ratio=0.358, P=0.007). MPV of ≥11.1 fL was the best cut-off value in predicting Tn +ve ACS with a sensitivity of 84% and a specificity of 65% (P=0.000). Conclusion: Our study determined that the MPV can facilitate the risk stratification for ACS occurrence. Which could be used as an alarming sign in follow up of patients with CAD to predict those at risk of Tn +ve ACS.