Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Application of the transient storage model to analyze advective hyporheic exchange with deep and shallow sediment beds

Hydrodynamic exchange between a stream and its bed plays an important role in solute transport in rivers. Stream‐subsurface exchange is known to occur due to several different mechanisms and different approaches have been used to model the resulting solute transport, but there has been little investigation of the ability of the various models to represent specific exchange processes. This work evaluates the ability of the semiempirical transient storage model (TSM) to represent advective hyporheic exchange driven by bed form‐induced pore water flows. The TSM is based on the idealized hypothesis that the flux of contaminants is proportional to the difference in concentration between the bed and the stream. To evaluate the ability of this simplified mass transfer relationship to reproduce advective hyporheic exchange, we apply the TSM to data sets for the exchange of conservative solutes with sand beds in laboratory flumes where bed form‐induced pumping is the dominant exchange mechanism. The results show that the simplified expressions used in the TSM can represent some but not all aspects of the pumping process. The TSM can represent advective exchange with shallow beds that have a defined exchange layer restricted by the presence of an impermeable boundary. In this case, transient storage parameters can be directly related to the streamflow conditions and the channel geometry. However, the TSM does not do a good job of representing exchange with a relatively deep sediment bed, where flow along different advective paths in the bed yields a wide distribution of exchange timescales.
Two cases of adult Still’s disease with abnormally high level of telomerase activity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells

We report two patients with adult Still’s disease with an abnormally high level of telomerase activity. The first patient was a 61-year-old woman. The mean telomerase activity value for peripheral blood mononuclear cells of healthy adults measured by our method was 0.13 ± 0.03, whereas that in this patient during the active phase was abnormally high, at more than 27.56. The patient was treated by steroid therapy and successfully brought into remission, during which the telomerase activity value for peripheral blood mononuclear cells was reduced to 2.22. The second patient was a 19-year-old man. Although he stayed in remission after steroid therapy, a reduction in the steroid dose resulted in recrudescence, at which time the telomerase activity value peripheral blood mononuclear cells was high, at 11.76. Elevated levels of telomerase activity have been reported in patients with various pathological conditions other than malignant tumors. However, our literature search failed to reveal a report on such a high level of telomerase activity in association with a benign disease.
Four-wheel drive vehicle crash involvement risk, rollover risk and injury rate in comparison to other passenger vehicles: estimates based on Australian and New Zealand crash data and on New Zealand motor vehicle register data

Recent analyses have established that 4WD vehicles are aggressive in crashes, causing comparatively more harm than other passenger vehicles when in collision with other road users, and have a high risk of rollover crashes. To assess the safety of these vehicles more completely, this study produced two analyses of risk: firstly, estimates of crash risk and injury rates using New Zealand data; and, secondly, induced exposure estimates of rollover risk using Australian and New Zealand crash data. (a)
Substorm trigger conditions

Critical conditions for the onset of fast interchange dynamics in the stressed geotail during the growth phase of the substorm are derived. We compare the ideal MHD interchange stability conditions (Hurricane, 1997) with kinetically modifled interchange{ ballooning motions. It is shown that fast interchange growth is possible only in the near{Earth boundary of the plasma sheet where the local plasma pressure is near unity since compressibility stabilizes the high beta geotail. The growth rate is proportional to the local current density and exceeds the ion bounce frequency in the local region of fl < 1. Only after su‐cient thinning of the current sheet will the kinetic theory growth rate exceed the bounce frequency of the ions which is the efiective condition for the substorm MHD{space{time scale unloading of the plasma energy stored in geotail.
Long‐term clinical outcome of schizophrenia with special reference to gender differences

A sample of 94 first‐admitted schizophrenics and 47 patients with schizophreniform disorder (DSM‐III) was personally re‐examined after a mean of 10 years (by Retterstöl), and 110 of the patients after a mean of 31 years (by the author). Nearly half of the patients were admitted in 1946‐1948 (long‐term) and the remaining in 1958‐1961 (short‐term). Average outcome was significantly more favourable for short‐term than for long‐term patients. Single marital status and no, minimal or mild psychosocial stressor at onset (Axis IV) predicted poor long‐term outcome. At 10‐year follow‐up there was no difference between men and women in clinical outcome. No substantial change was revealed in men at last follow‐up, whereas on average women had clearly deteriorated.
Common Sense, Strict Incompatibilism, and Free Will

Peter van Inwagen and Colin McGinn hold that there are strong arguments for strict incompatibilism , i.e. for the claim that the free will thesis (F) is inconsistent not just with determinism but with the negation of determinism as well. Interestingly, both authors deny that these arguments are apt to justify the claim that (F) is false. I argue that van Inwagen and McGinn are right in taking the fact that epistemic commitment to (F) is deeply rooted in common sense to cast doubt on arguments to the conclusion that (F) is false. However, instead of declaring free will to be a mystery (van Inwagen) or claiming that the problem of free will amounts to a problem whose correct solution is cognitively closed to human intellect (McGinn), I propose to simply view the problem of free will as a hard problem – its hardness being due to the fact that it involves a large variety of concepts whose correct explication is philosophically moot.
NON‐PROGRESSIVE ATAXIA: ORIGINS, BRAIN PATHOLOGY AND IMPAIRMENTS IN 78 SWEDISH CHILDREN

This population‐based study refers to 78 Swedish children with non‐progressive ataxia from a total population of 3.1 million inhabitants. Inclusion criteria were ataxic gait without any signs of spasticity, dyssynergia, dysmetria and intention tremor. CT and/or MRI studies were available from 70 patients (90%). Infratentorial pathology was revealed in 27%. and findings were considered normal in 61%. If CT was normal, of recent date and of good quality, MRI did not add any new information. In half of the cases with pathological CT, however, MRI provided new information. The origin was considered prenatal in 45% (familial in 17%), perinatal in 4% and unclassifiable in 51%. 60% were mentally retarded; in the rest, cognitive development was near normal (18%) or normal (22%). Speech development was delayed in 88%, and 58% had visual dysfunction.
Molecular Genetics of Febrile Seizures

Summary: Febrile seizures are the most common form of convulsion, occurring in 2–5% of infants in Europe and North America and in 6–9% in Japan. In large families, the febrile seizure (FS) susceptibility trait is inherited by the autosomal dominant pattern with reduced penetrance. Two putative FS loci, FEB1 (chromosome 8q13‐q21) and FEB2 (chromosome 19p13.3) have been mapped. A clinical subset of FS, termed generalized epilepsy with febrile seizures plus (GEFS+), was reported. In GEFS+ families, a mutation in the voltage‐gated sodium channel β1 subunit gene (SCN1B) at chromosome 19q13.1 and two mutations of the same α1 subunit gene (SCN1A) at chromosome 2q24 were identified. These loci are linked to febrile convulsions in large families. We conducted a genome‐wide linkage search for FS in one large family with subsequent linkage confirmation in 39 nuclear families using nonparametric allele‐sharing methods, and found a new FS susceptibility locus, FEB4 (chromosome 5q14‐q15). In contrast to the FEB1, FEB2, and GEFS+ genetic loci, linkage to FEB4 was suggested in nuclear FS families, indicating that FEB4 may be the most common linkage locus in FS families.
Hepatitis A infection in patients with chronic viral liver disease: a cross-sectional study in Jahrom, Iran

SUMMARY Infection with hepatitis A virus (HAV) in patient with chronic liver disease (CLD; due to hepatitis B or hepatitis C) may cause severe disease and fulminant liver failure. This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of HAV antibodies in patients infected with HCV or HBV in Iran (Jahrom city). A total of 159 patients with underlying CLD were recruited between September 2012 and February 2013. Serum samples were collected from each patient and tested for anti-HAV using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The overall seroprevalence of total anti-HAV was 79·2%. Patients aged 20–30 years had the lowest (28·3%) anti-HAV seropositivity and those aged >50 years had the highest (95%) seropositivity. The overall prevalence of anti-HAV in patients with chronic HCV and HBV infection was 93·7% and 77·1%, respectively. The anti-HAV seropositivity in liver cirrhosis patients was 100% compared to CLD patients. Because of low HAV immunity in younger CLD patients, vaccination against HAV should be considered.
Quantification of radiation induced DNA double-strand breaks in human fibroblasts by PFGE: testing the applicability of random breakage models

Purpose : To assess the applicability of methods of quantification of double-strand breaks (DSB) based on the random breakage paradigm, measuring yield and distribution of DSB induced by varying radiation quality. Material and methods : 240 kVp X-rays and 238 Pu α -particles were used to induce DSB in AG01522B primary human fibroblasts. DNA molecular weight distributions were resolved by means of three pulsed-field gel-electrophoresis (PFGE) protocols, which, when combined together, allowed separation and quantification of double-stranded fragments between 5.7 Mbp and 12 kbp. Several analytical methods quantified the DSB yields. Results : Data showed significant differences in the fragmentation patterns according to radiation quality. For both X-rays and α -particles, it was observed that the shape of the fragmentation profiles deviates from the prediction of a random breakage mechanism. This is in contrast to other studies where sparsely ionizing radiations appeared to distribute breaks uniformly throughout the genome. Deviations from random breakage were more evident after high linear energy transfer (LET) radiation, which showed an excess of breaks <1 Mbp and a deficit in the production of fragments >1 Mbp, a value that could be dose-dependent. Conclusions : Current methods of DNA fragmentation analysis after induction of DSB may lead to contradictory conclusions on both DSB yields and distributions. This study showed that the application of different DSB quantification methods, derived from random breakage or supported by its concepts, resulted in different radiation biological effectivenesses (RBE) for the induction of DSB, depending on how these methods were employed. To compare experimental results from different laboratories, care should be taken to provide as many details as possible about the application of methods of quantification of DNA damage. For all the methods used, total DSB yields resulted in RBE less than those for mutation induction or reproductive cell death, suggesting that total DSB yields only gave a limited indication of the severity of the inflicted damage. Production of correlated breaks on the chromatin loop structures by single particle-track traversals may explain the deviations observed between experimental data and the predictions of the random breakage paradigm.
Effects of power variation on cycle performance during simulated hilly time-trials

Abstract It has previously been shown that cyclists are unable to maintain a constant power output during cycle time-trials on hilly courses. The purpose of the present study is therefore to quantify these effects of power variation using a mathematical model of cycling performance. A hypothetical cyclist (body mass: 70 kg, bicycle mass: 10 kg) was studied using a mathematical model of cycling, which included the effects of acceleration. Performance was modelled over three hypothetical 40-km courses, comprising repeated 2.5-km sections of uphill and downhill with gradients of 1%, 3%, and 6%, respectively. Amplitude (5–15%) and distance (0.31–20.00 km) of variation were modelled over a range of mean power outputs (200–600 W) and compared to sustaining a constant power. Power variation was typically detrimental to performance; these effects were augmented as the amplitude of variation and severity of gradient increased. Varying power every 1.25 km was most detrimental to performance; at a mean power of 200 W, performance was impaired by 43.90 s (±15% variation, 6% gradient). However at the steepest gradients, the effect of power variation was relatively independent of the distance of variation. In contrast, varying power in parallel with changes in gradient improved performance by 188.89 s (±15% variation, 6% gradient) at 200 W. The present data demonstrate that during hilly time-trials, power variation that does not occur in parallel with changes in gradient is detrimental to performance, especially at steeper gradients. These adverse effects are substantially larger than those previously observed during flat, windless time-trials.
Internalization Choices under Competition – A Game Theoretic Approach

Research Summary<br>A long-standing void in international business literature is understanding whether and how the internalization choices of competing multinational enterprises (MNEs) affect each other. This paper presents a game-theoretic, location-allocation mathematical model that predicts the organizational boundaries of competing MNEs. Given multiple players in the market, the game analyzes the competition between MNEs with respect to market share, yielding Nash equilibria that determine how many MNEs will be left in the market, and whether their production and marketing sites are internalized or outsourced. Results of computational experiments suggest that the internalization choices of profit maximizing MNEs that compete with each other, sharply deviate from the internalization choices ignoring such competition. <br><br>Managerial Summary<br>We present a game theory model of the effect of competition between multinational enterprises (MNEs) on their decisions whether to outsource or internalize production and marketing activities. Our model predicts that, at the presence of even modest knowledge transfer costs, such competition likely results in a monopoly outcome. The monopolistic MNE outsources production and builds on the resources that are freed due to this outsourcing to establish more R&amp;D units and internalize marketing units. In addition, our model shows that when knowledge transfer costs are negligible, entry barrier reduce and more competitors arises. These competing MNEs will split markets between them in order to avoid direct competition, will have a greater propensity to outsource their marketing sites, and will need fewer marketing sites to control worldwide sales. <br>
Wnt Modulating Agents Inhibit Human Cytomegalovirus Replication

ABSTRACT Infection with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) continues to be a threat for pregnant women and immunocompromised hosts. Although limited anti-HCMV therapies are available, development of new agents is desired. The Wnt signaling pathway plays a critical role in embryonic and cancer stem cell development and is targeted by gammaherpesviruses, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV). HCMV infects stem cells, including neural progenitor cells, during embryogenesis. To investigate the role of Wnt in HCMV replication in vitro, we tested monensin, nigericin, and salinomycin, compounds that inhibit cancer stem cell growth by modulating the Wnt pathway. These compounds inhibited the replication of HCMV Towne and a clinical isolate. Inhibition occurred prior to DNA replication but persisted throughout the full replication cycle. There was a significant decrease in expression of IE2, UL44, and pp65 proteins. HCMV infection resulted in a significant and sustained decrease in expression of phosphorylated and total lipoprotein receptor-related protein 6 (pLRP6 and LRP6, respectively), Wnt 5a/b, and β-catenin and a modest decrease in Dvl2/3, while levels of the negative regulator axin 1 were increased. Nigericin decreased the expression of pLRP6, LRP6, axin 1, and Wnt 5a/b in noninfected and HCMV-infected cells. For all three compounds, a correlation was found between expression levels of Wnt 5a/b and axin 1 and HCMV inhibition. The decrease in Wnt 5a/b and axin 1 expression was more significant in HCMV-infected cells than noninfected cells. These data illustrate the complex effects of HCMV on the Wnt pathway and the fine balance between Wnt and HCMV, resulting in abrogation of HCMV replication. Additional studies are required to elucidate how HCMV targets Wnt for its benefit.
Immunomodulatory and Antioxidant Activity of Pomegranate Juice Incorporated with Spirulina and Echinacea Extracts Sweetened By Stevioside

Pomegranate juice (PJ), Spirulina platensis extract (SP) and Echinacea purpurea Extract (EP) was chromatographically analyzed by High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for phenolic and flavonoid compound. Also, this extracts was determined for total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC) and antioxidant activates in terms of scavenging DPPH free radicals. The TPC of (PJ) was 26.15mg gallic acid/g of extract, and TFC was 17.6 mg catechin/g of extract, while total phenolic content for (SP) and (EP) extracts were 0.153, 0.773mg gallic acid/ml, respectively. The total flavonoids content for each of them was 2.599, 8.063mg catechin/ml, respectively. Identification of phenolic compounds showed high amount of ellagic acid, pyrogallol, catechein, benzoic, cinnamic, syringic, gallic, aminobenzoic, protocatechuic, catechol, epicatechein, caffeine, P.OH. benzoic, caffeic, vanillic, p-Coumaric, Ferulic, -Coumaricand Salycilic. Also, identification of the flavonoids compounds appeared high amount of rutin, quercitrin, Hisperidin, Quercetrin, luteolin, kampferol, narengin and rosmarinic. Formulated pomegranates beverage (FPB) was also investigated for antioxidant activities and total phenolics content. Furthermore, phagocytosis inhibition test was carried out to measure immunomodulatory activity of pomegranate juice, stevioside, Spirulina, echinacea and formulated pomegranates beverage. Immunological tests showed highly significant increase in phagocytosis of macrophages for Formulated pomegranate beverage (FPB). Depending on sensory evaluation, the formulated pomegranates beverage showed overall acceptance compared to normal pomegranate juice. So, it could be concluded the suitability of pomegranate juice, spirulina, echinacea and stevioside as a supplementation in the production of health promoting beverage.
Clinical, biochemical and molecular characterization of peroxisomal diseases in Arabs

Shaheen R, Al‐Dirbashi OY, Al‐Hassnan ZN, Al‐Owain M, Makhsheed N, Basheeri F, Seidahmed MZ, Salih MAM, Faqih E, Zaidan H, Al‐Sayed M, Rahbeeni Z, Al‐Sheddi T, Hashem M, Kurdi W, Shimozawa N, Alkuraya FS. Clinical, biochemical and molecular characterization of peroxisomal diseases in Arabs.
The Role of Gender in Potato Production and Marketing: Case of Sheka Zone, Southwest Ethiopia

The objective of the study was assessing gender roles in potato production and marketing in the study area. Relevant information was gathered from 193 potato producers by using primary and secondary sources of data. The data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics. The result indicated that in seed collection (46.3%), land preparation (60.3%), planting (96.8%), weeding (50.3%), cultivation (32.6%), Harvesting (38%), transporting (39.9%) and marketing (68.9%) of women respondents participate. Decisions about production and marketing of potato in the study area was mainly taken by men and in some cases, women participates. The main challenges that hinder gender participation in potato production and marketing was lack of access and control over assets(19.2%), lack of control of income(30.6%), Lack of land (6.7%) and lack of decision making on potato production(39.9%). Therefore, increasing opportunities for women, giving recognition, encouraging, documenting and disseminating their role can have a positive influence on productivity of potato.
Sources of stress in university nursing students.

"It's a bad time of year for the students. This happens all the time. " Too often, statements like these are offered in explanation of particularly stressful periods in the lives of university nursing students. Such statements are inadequate to justify stress that interferes with optimal functioning or to absolve faculty members of responsibility to minimize undue stress. A belief that at least some of the stress in the lives of students could be reduced prompted a study of the sources of stress in a particular baccalaureate nursing program. PROBLEM Stress is an unusual phenomenon. A certain amount of stress is critical to motivate students to learn, while stress beyond the optimal level can lead to failure, unhappiness, and economic loss (Rothrock, 1974). One of the tasks of educators is to manipulate the environment so that stress is kept to a level that will promote development of the student.
In situ observations of early oxide formation in steel under hot‐rolling conditions

A technique was developed to study in situ the early stages of the reaction between iron and air. Using a high‐temperature microscope, we observed at temperatures between 1000°C and 1050°C and within the first 30 s of reaction, the formation of iron‐oxide layers on the surface of low‐carbon steel. We observed the nucleation and growth of a first layer of iron oxide and the consecutive formation in sequence, of higher iron oxides sweeping over the surface of the former oxide. The grain boundaries of the steel substrate remain visible for quite some time following exposure to an oxidizing atmosphere indicating that diffusion through steel grain boundaries may have a determining influence on the formation of oxides. These findings emphasize the importance of conducting further studies to better understand the kinetics and mechanisms by which iron‐oxide layers form in the early stages of oxidation.