Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ontogenetic dietary shift and feeding strategy of Raja undulata Lacepède, 1802 (Chondrichthyes: Rajidae) on the Portuguese continental shelf

Under the scope of an ecosystem approach to fisheries, the understanding of trophic interactions is important for the assessment and consequently the proposal of suitable management measures. Raja undulata, like other rajids, is an important demersal predator in the Portuguese coastal community for which the biological and ecological information is still scarce. The ontogenetic dietary shift was investigated. Major length groups were defined through cluster analysis of the mean abundance of prey items. Prey diversity and feeding strategy were evaluated by length group. Multivariate analysis of variance was performed to test the influence of the factors sex, season and maturity on the diet of this species. It was concluded that R. undulata has a dietary ontogenetic shift within the definition of three major length groups (MLGs): 200-550 mm; 550-750 mm and 750-1000 mm. Diet varied from small and semi-pelagic to large and benthic prey. The feeding strategy of the species also changed from a generalised to a specialised diet. The decapod Polybius henslowi was the main prey item, especially for larger predators. Differences were found between sexes, maturity stages and seasons in each MLG.
Plant species diversity of homegarden agroforestry in Jabithenan District, North-Western Ethiopia

Homegarden agroforestry is believed to be more diverse due to the combination of crops, trees and livestock. The aim of this study was to assess plant species composition and diversity of homegarden agroforestry in Jabithenan district, North-western Ethiopia. Two sites purposively and two villages randomly from each site were selected. Plant species diversity inventories were carried out for 48 homegardens. All woody species and herbaceous species were counted and recorded in 10 x 10 m and 2 x 2 m plots, respectively. A total of 69 plant species (44 woody and 25 herbaceous) belonging to 40 families were recorded in the study homegarden. About 6-8 different species of plants per plot were recorded. Plant species such as Musa paradisiaca and Brassica integrifolia among herbs and Coffea arabica and Cordia africana among woody were the most frequently recorded species in the study Kebele. Of all woody species, C. arabica and C. africana showed the highest importance value index. Generally, according to the calculated diversity indices, the studied homegarden was found to be diverse Key word: Composition, diversity, importance value index.
Austrian Patients with Glioblastoma Multiforme and Their Families: Socioeconomic Aspects

Patients with glioblastoma multi- forme (GBM) are still confronted with an incur- able cancer disease affecting not only their body but also their personality and cognition. We pre- sent recent Austrian studies performed at the Medical University of Vienna on GBM patients dealing with socio-economic outcomes. By analyzing quality of life (QOL), performance status, living and working situations, muscular strength of subsets of GBM patients, as well as satisfaction with the care and the end-of-life (EOL) situation of GBM patients of their primary caregivers, we tried to assess the impact of glioblastoma on patients and their families. We found that GBM long-term survivors (LTS) were mainly independent in their activities of daily liv- ing and mostly also in instrumental activities of daily living, but showed some moderate cogni- tive deficits and suffered from financial difficul- ties. Only a minority of GBM LTS was able to stay in their respective jobs. Even with adolescent and young adult (AYA) patients diagnosed with GBM before 40 years only 1 / 3 succeeded in stay- ing employed after the diagnosis of GBM. Near half of the AYA patients returned to the house- hold of their parents, which reflects their loss of independence. Moreover, we found that patients with GBM present a significant loss of strength in the proximal musculature of the legs, impair- ing their ability of climbing stairs and walking very early in the disease course. The complex patterns of physical, neurological, and cognitive impairments in GBM cause their needs for sup- port starting very early in the disease. Family members become caregivers and are confronted with challenging life-changing situations. Thus, it is not surprising that family caregivers feel overstrained. We found that families with lower incomes and lower education levels showed higher distress levels as well as less satisfaction with the care of the patient, EOL care, and a worse bereavement adjustment. As a conclu- sion, in studies focusing on QOL and socio-eco- nomic impact of GBM we found an unmet need for support and information of patients and their caregivers. Eur Assoc NeuroOncol Mag 2013; 3 (2): 46-8.
Symptoms and Laboratory Findings of Patients Diagnosed with Typhoid Fever at the Time of Admission into the Health Service Facility

Typhoid fever is a systemic infection caused by the Gram-negative bacilus Salmonella typhii. Typhoid fever spreads through food or drink contaminated with S.typhii. Diagnosis is established through anamnesis, physical examination and laboratory assessment. Aims of this study are to identify the frequent symptoms and the results of laboratory assessment of patients diagnosed with typhoid fever. Medical records of adult, male and female patients diagnosed with typhoid fever during the year 2016 and with Immunoglobuline-G anti Salmonella Test Score 4 - 6, enrolled in this study. Medical records used as a source of information of complaints, vital signs, and clinical laboratory results at the time of admission. Some of the most frequent complaints were fever, folowed by nausea, headache, vomit, diarrhea or loose stool. Fourteen (82.4% of total) patients presented with fever, fever with relative bradycardia covered 12 (70.6% of total patients). Immunoglobuline-G (Ig-G) anti Salmonella test score 4-5 (positive indication) were more frequent than score ³ 6 (strong indication of typhoid fever). Leucocyte count <5000/uL covered 29.4% of patient. Thrombocyte count <100.000 /uL covered 17.6%. The most frequent complaints at the time of admission were fever, followed by nausea, headache, vomit, diarrhea or loose stool. This study found relative bradycardia and bicytopenia, and positive indication of Ig-G anti Salmonella Test Score were more frequent than strong indication of typhoid fever.
Drawing a Turkish Concept Map: Numbering Method

The objective of this study was to investigate the perception of Turkish middle school students about three methods of drawing concept maps. The methods were: (1) writing relationships between concepts on lines as a complete sentence, (2) writing relationships as a paragraph below the concept map, and (3) the numbering methodconnecting concepts using numbers and explaining relationships next to each number below the concept map. A total of 53 students, whose ages ranged from 14 to 15 years old, participated in the study. The results indicated that the numbering method allowed the students to construct a clear map and with this method the information was conveyed in a more organized manner. However, the study also indicated that with numbering method the information was presented indirectly.
Preferential segmentation of restaurant attributes through conjoint analysis

Conjoint analysis has emerged as a contemporary research technique to reveal consumers’ preference towards choosing a particular restaurant. Through some focus group discussions, a list of restaurant attributes was identified as important for restaurant‐goers in deciding where to dine. While the research was based on Hong Kong experience, the research technique can be generalised to restaurant choices in other countries. It is possible to segment the restaurant market by different meal purposes (i.e. family meal, business meal and tourists) and employee groups (i.e. service sector, hotels and floating restaurants). The concept of decentring was applied in the study to help reveal restaurant preferences as perceived by the respondents standing in the shoes of others.
Does Class Count? Class Structure and Worsening Inequality in China and India

In this paper, we investigate the question of whether class structure matters in understanding the increasing inequality in China and India. We argue that almost the entire increase in the overall Indian inequality between 1993-94 and 2004-05 is explained by the rising inequality between classes rather than within them, whereas in the case of China, the entire increase in inequality between 1995 and 2002 appears to be explained by the rising inequality within classes. The increased distance between urban and rural elites that are more stratified at the top (such as formal sector owners, managers and professionals in urban areas and rentier classes like moneylenders and absentee landlords in rural areas), and those classes that are stratified at the bottom such as unskilled urban workers, agricultural workers and marginal farmers, helps us understand the distributional dynamics of the Indian growth story. In the Chinese case too, while the between-class inequality explains an even higher part (than in the Indian case) of the overall inequality, we argue that the rise in overall inequality that is seemingly explained by the rise in intra-class inequality is actually explained by the phenomenon of “administrative urbanization. ” We analyze the class structures in India and China and decompose (using the methodology of Yitzhaki 1994) the overall inequality into inter-class and intra-class terms while investigating the trends towards stratification. Finally we offer our policy suggestions. 1 We thank the Economic Research Center, Graduate School of Economics, at Nagoya University for inviting the first two authors as visiting researchers when this research was conducted. We thank the participants of the workshop on “International Comparison of Income Inequality” conducted at Nagoya University, Japan on June 27 th and 28 th , 2009 for their helpful comments and suggestions in preparing this draft. We also thank Ajit Zacharias, YV Reddy, Jayati Ghosh and Sudheer Kilaru for their useful comments on an earlier draft. 2 Corresponding Author; Assistant Professor, Economics, University of Hyderabad, India, Email: vamsi.vakul@gmail.com 3 Researcher, Institute of Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, Email: weizhoung@vip.sina. com 4 Professor, Graduate School of Economics, Nagoya University, Japan, Email: setsu@soec.nagoya-u.ac. jp
A study of self-confidence of adolescents in relation to their gender, locality and academic achievement

This research study was conducted to study Self-Confidence of adolescents in relation to their gender, locality and academic achievement. For this purpose 1000 adolescents (361 male and 639 female students) among them 671 urban and 329 rural adolescents between the age range of 17 to 19 years have taken. Self-confidence inventory developed by Dr Rekha Gupta was used to find out the selfconfidence among adolescents. Students result is considered to determine the academic achievement. To analyze and interpret the data, mean, S.D. , ttest and Pearson Product Correlation coefficient was used. The findings revealed that significant difference was found between male and female adolescents in relation to their self-confidence. While no significant difference was found between male and female adolescents in relation to their academic achievement . Finding also shows significant difference was found between urban and rural adolescents in relation to their self-confidence. While significant difference was found between urban and rural adolescents in relation to their academic achievement. A positive correlation was found between self-confidence and academic achievement of adolescents.
Histopathological alterations in liver anatomy after exposure to chlorpyrifosin zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Chlorpyrifos is an organophosphate pesticide widely used in agriculture and aquaculture. This study investigated its effects on histopathology of zebrafish (Danio rerio) liver. For this six adult male and six adult female zebrafish were exposed to 200 μg/L of chlorpyrifos for 24h, 48h, 72h and 96hrs. Chlorpyrifos toxicity on liver histopathological changes were examined by light microscopy. Structural damage spotted in the liver were vacuolization and presence of sinusoid spaces were observed. The present study indicated that chlorpyrifos causes histopathological damage in liver tissue.
Parenting behaviour and adolescent behavioural and emotional problems: The role of self-control

Cross-sectional data from 1359 boys and girls aged 10–14 years investigated whether parenting behaviours are directly or indirectly (through building self-control) associated with emotional (depression, stress, low self-esteem) and behavioural (delinquency, aggression) problems among adolescents. Replicating existing findings, both types of problems were directly, negatively related to adaptive parenting behaviour (high parental acceptance, strict control and monitoring, and little use of manipulative psychological control). Extending existing findings, self-control partially mediated the link between parenting behaviour and adolescent emotional and behavioural problems. Contrary to earlier suggestions, there was no sign that high self-control was associated with drawbacks or increased risk of psychosocial problems.
Information Technology and Customer Service Performance among Insurance Companies in Nigeria

Information technology (IT) has been regarded as an enabler of business process. Despite the significant progress made in IT business-value research, findings have been mixed and inconsistent. This study aims at finding out if IT resources per se can account for variations in customer service performance among insurance companies in Nigeria. Using primary data obtained through field survey of 402 insurance companies in Nigeria, three hypotheses were tested with the aid of ordinary least square regression. Results show that all the three components of IT namely, IT infrastructure, IT technical skills and IT spending have weak relationship with customer service performance. This study recommends that in order to realise benefits from IT investments, IT resources must be accompanied by a judicious mix of management, economic, and human resources. Keywords: Information technology, customer service performance, insurance companies.
Proteomic Profile Modification of Anaplastic Medulloblastoma after in-Vivo Radiotherapy: A Case Study

Medulloblastoma (MDB) is an aggressive tumor of Central Nervous System (CNS). Radiotherapy after radical surgery has an important role in treatment of standard and high risk patients and is followed by intensive chemotherapy. To explore modifications of protein expression induced by in vivo radiotherapy proteomic analysis was performed on a case of Anaplastic MDB. 2D-gel electrophoresis and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry detected qualitative differences of protein expression in Anaplastic MDB at diagnosis and in relapse after radiotherapy. Relevant proteomic data were confirmed by western blot and Real-Time PCR analysis, validating the presence of Sthatmin 1 (STMN1), Heat shock protein 60 (HSP60), HSP27 and Disulfide Isomerase (ER60) among the six proteins present in both samples. The most relevant modification induced by radiotherapy was a drastic reduction of the total number of proteins (60.6%) and the appearance of few new proteins. The modifications and the striking simplification of proteins expressed by the tumor after radiotherapy may allow to tailor subsequent chemotherapy on a rational basis. A proteomic guided chemotherapy may be of great benefit to patients.
Exogenous ascorbic acid increases resistance to salt of Silybum marianum (L.)

Salinity stress has negative effects on agricultural yield throughout the world, affecting production whether it is for subsistence or economic gain. This study investigates the inductive role of vitamin C and its application mode in mitigating the detrimental effects of irrigation with diluted (10, 20 and 30 %) NaCl + water on Silybum marianum L. plants. The results show that 10% of salt water exhibited insignificant changes, while the higher levels impaired growth by reducing seed germination, dry weights of shoot and root, water status and chlorophyll contents. However, irrigation with salt water enhanced carotenoids and antioxidant enzyme activities. The detrimental effects of salt water were ameliorated by application of 100 ppm ascorbic acid (vitamin C). The inductive role of vitamin was associated with the improvement of seed germination, growth, plant water status, carotenoids, endogenous ascorbic acid and antioxidant enzyme activities. Moreover, vitamin C alone or in combination with 30% NaCl water increased the intensity of protein bands as well as synthesized additional new proteins with molecular weights of 205, 87, 84, 65 and 45 kDa. This could increase tolerance mechanisms of treated plants towards water salinity.
Genomic evidence of speciation and adaptation in diatoms

Diatoms are one of the most species-rich groups of eukaryotic microbes known. Diatoms are also the only group of eukaryotic micro-algae with a diplontic life history, suggesting that the ancestral diatom switched to a life history dominated by a duplicated genome. A key mechanism of speciation among diatoms could be a propensity for additional stable genome duplications. Across eukaryotic taxa, genome size is directly correlated to cell size and inversely correlated to physiological rates. Differences in relative genome size, cell size, and acclimated growth rates were analyzed in isolates of the diatom Ditylum brightwellii. Ditylum brightwellii consists of two main populations with identical 18s rDNA sequences; one population is distributed globally at temperate latitudes and the second appears to be localized to the Pacific Northwest coast of the USA. These two populations co-occur within the Puget Sound estuary of WA, USA, although their peak abundances differ depending on local conditions. All isolates from the more regionally-localized population (population 2) possessed 1.94 ± 0.74 times the amount of DNA, grew more slowly, and were generally larger than isolates from the more globally distributed population (population 1). The ITS1 sequences, cell sizes, and genome sizes of isolates from New Zealand were the same as population 1 isolates from Puget Sound, but their growth rates were within the range of the slower-growing population 2 isolates. Importantly, the observed genome size difference between isolates from the two populations was stable regardless of time in culture or the changes in cell size that accompany the diatom life history. The observed twofold difference in genome size between the D. brightwellii populations suggests that whole genome duplication occurred within cells of population 1 ultimately giving rise to population 2 cells. The apparent regional localization of population 2 is consistent with a recent divergence between the populations, which are likely cryptic species. Genome size variation is known to occur in other diatom genera; we hypothesize that genome duplication may be an active and important mechanism of genetic and physiological diversification and speciation in diatoms.
External Debt And Gross Domestic Product In Bangladesh: A Co-Integration Analysis

External Debt (ED) is considered as a significant source of income for developing countries. Bangladesh relied on foreign debt to finance its balance of payments deficit and saving investment gap. Primary objective of this paper is to explore the relationship between external debt and Gross Domestic Products in Bangladesh for the period of 1972-2010, using time series econometric technique. We took a point of glance of external debt and economic performance of Bangladesh. The results show that there is a positive significant correlation between Gross Domestic Products (GDP) and External Debt (ED). The empirical results suggest the existence of long-run relationship between GDP and ED. The result of Granger’s Causality test implies that there is bi-directional causality runs through GDP to ED as well as ED to GDP.
Energy Ratio (E-R) for the Standard Penetration Test Based on Measured Field Tests

The Standard Penetration Test (SPT) is often used to estimate the soil parameters for geotechnical design projects, using the NSPT index. However, these estimates are performed based on empirical correlations without any scientific basis. Moreover, the test has a large inherent results dispersion due to the use of different types of equipment and execution procedures. Since the NSPT index depends on the amount of energy that is effectively transmitted to the sampler during the hammer fall, it is fundamental to be able to estimate this energy. Given the importance of estimating the energy that reaches the SPT sampler, an instrumented subassembly was developed in order to simultaneously assess the amount of energy transmitted to the drill rods, at sections just above the sampler and just below the anvil. This paper presents a series of SPT experimental results carried out in two different sites located in the State of São Paulo, using two different equipment set-ups (with manual and automatic tripping mechanisms), enabling the assessment of the top and bottom energy ratio under different conditions. Results show that for hand lifting hammer and automatic trip hammer systems the difference in the energy ratio is not significant. However, the dispersion of the results for the hand lifting hammer system is more pronounced due to execution procedures, equipment and operators.