Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ACREAGE RESPONSE OF SOYBEANS TO PRICE IN NIGERIA

The decision with regards to allocation of area to any crop by farmers among other things depends on the prices of the individual crop. The extent to which farmers respond to economic incentives is thus crucial to policy makers. This study was aimed at estimating the acreage response of soybean to changes in price in Nigeria from 1976 to 2012. Time series data in respect of soybean area harvested (hectares) and producer price of soybean in local currency (Naira/tonne) were obtained. Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) test and, the Johansen co integration technique were employed to test for the stationarity of the variables and the long-run relationship between variables respectively. Result indicates the presence of one co integrating long run equilibrium relationship between the variables. The Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) estimates showed that soybean price had a negative influence on the area harvested. Suggesting that a decrease in soybean price will result in reduction in area cultivated, leading to a decrease in profit and a decrease in profit gives disincentive to farmers to produce more. Therefore, positive price policy would undoubtedly encourage farmers to bring more area under soybean crop to boost the production of soybean in Nigeria.
Clinical Evaluation and Treatment of Soft Tissue Tumors

Soft tissue sarcomas are uncommon and frequently missed on examination, resulting in delays in diagnosis and, occasionally, inappropriate treatment. Sarcoma staging, the process of defining the local extent of tumor and potential distant spread, involves a thorough history and physical examination, directed imaging, and biopsy. Biopsy is a complicated procedure in approximately 20% of cases and should be performed only by experienced personnel and at a center with a multidisciplinary team familiar with the treatment of patients with soft tissue sarcomas. The goal of surgery is to obtain tumor-free margins. In conjunction with radiation therapy, surgery can then provide local disease control in more than 90% of patients. The role of chemotherapy in nonmetastatic disease is unclear and is of marginal efficacy in patients with metastases. Although most tumors recur within 2 to 5 years, long-term clinical and radiographic surveillance is necessary.
ELASTICITIES OF HOUSING DEMAND

Accurate estimates of housing demand elasticities are useful not only for housing forecasts and policies, but also for analyzing such diverse issues as the burden of property taxes and the suburbanization of metropolitan areas. However, despite voluminous empirical studies, estimates vary widely on the responsiveness of the demand for housing with respect to changes in permanent (or long-run expected) income and housing price. ' These differences have arisen largely from the use of grouped rather than micro household observations in the cross-section
A phylogenetic approach to determining the importance of constraint on phenotypic evolution in the neotropical lizard Anolis cristatellus

Question: Is the pattern of phenotypic divergence among populations influenced by constraint in the form of the genetic covariances among characters? Background: Quantitative genetic theory predicts that when evolutionary lineages diverge simultaneously by genetic drift, the pattern of among-population divergence will parallel the pattern of within-population genetic variation and covariation. Among-population divergence is measured by the variance–covariance matrix of population means (the D matrix), or by the variance–covariance matrix of independent contrasts (DIC). The latter avoids the assumption of simultaneous divergence by incorporating phylogenetic non-independence among lineages and was developed expressly for this study. Within-population genetic variation and covariation are measured by the additive genetic variance–covariance matrix (the G matrix). Organism: The Puerto Rican crested anole (Anolis cristatellus). Methods: We sampled A. cristatellus from seven divergent populations widely dispersed across the species’ range. These populations are sufficiently highly diverged to be considered evolutionarily independent lineages. We substituted the phenotypic variance–covariance matrix (P matrix) for G in evolutionary analysis. (Empirical studies have shown that P and G are frequently highly correlated for morphological traits.) In two populations, we estimated phenotypic variance–covariance matrices (P matrices) for 13 skeletal morphological traits, while in the remaining five we estimated mean phenotypes for the same traits. To test the hypothesis of constraint, we first calculated a pooled phenotypic variance–covariance matrix (P ) from all populations. We compared P ¯¯ to the variance–covariance matrix of population means (D) and of independent contrasts (DIC). Independent contrasts were calculated using a molecular phylogeny of the included lineages. Results: Comparison of P matrices between populations showed evidence that covariance structure is highly conserved in conspecific populations of A. cristatellus. Comparison of P with D and of P ¯¯ with DIC indicated significant similarity in both cases, suggesting that constraint has influenced phenotypic evolution and thus probably genotypic evolution in this species.
A novel oral insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor pathway modulator and its implications for patients with non-small cell lung carcinoma: A phase I clinical trial

Background. A phase Ia/b dose-escalation study was performed to characterize the safety, efﬁcacy and pharmacokinetic properties of the oral small molecule insulin-like growth factor-1-receptor pathway modulator AXL1717 in patients with advanced solid tumors. Material and methods. This was a prospective, single-armed, open label, dose-finding phase Ia/b study with the aim of single day dosing (phase Ia) to define the starting dose for multi-day dosing (phase Ib), and phase Ib to define and confirm recommended phase II dose (RP2D) and if possible maximum tolerated dose (MTD) for repeated dosing. Results and Conclusion. Phase Ia enrolled 16 patients and dose escalations up to 2900 mg BID were successfully performed without any dose limiting toxicity (DLT). A total of 39 patients were treated in phase Ib. AXL1717 was well tolerated with neutropenia as the only dose-related, reversible, DLT. RP2D dose was found to be 390 mg BID for four weeks. Some patients, mainly with NSCLC, demonstrated signs of clinical benefit, including four partial tumor responses (one according to RECIST and three according to PET). The 15 patients with NSCLC with treatment duration longer than two weeks with single agent AXL1717 in third or fourth line of therapy showed a median progression-free survival of 31 weeks and overall survival of 60 weeks. Down-regulation of IGF-1R on granulocytes and increases of free serum levels of IGF-1 were seen in patients treated with AXL1717. AXL1717 had an acceptable safety profile and demonstrated promising efficacy in this heavily pretreated patient cohort, especially in patients with NSCLC. RP2D was concluded to be 390 mg BID for four weeks. Trial number is NCT01062620.
Accuracy Analysis of Shielding Effectiveness of Enclosures With Apertures: A Parametric Study

An analytical formulation for calculating shielding effectiveness (SE) was developed by Robinson. This analytical method, compared with numerical methods, can obtain SE faster and needs less computer memory. However, its accuracy depends on the distance p, which is from the observation point to the aperture. In this paper, a reference distance p̅, which determines whether Robinson's method is precise has been introduced. We define that Robinson's method has a high accuracy if p <; p̅ but a low accuracy if p <; p̅. The relationship between the value of p̅ with all related parameters has been intensively studied. The approximate formulation for calculating p̅̅̅ has also been obtained with the data fitting method. The transmission-line matrix method (TLM) and the finite-element method (FEM) are used to test the approximate formulation. Based on the calculation and analysis in this paper, we can easily get the value of p̅ through bringing all related parameters into the approximate formulation. Therefore, when using Robinson's analytical method to predict SE, we can get precise SE by setting observation points at positions p <; p̅.
Combination of forecasts for the price of crude oil on the spot market

In this paper, we present a combination of three forecast models, ARIMA, exponential smoothing and dynamic regression, in order to predict the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil spot price and the Brent North Sea (Brent) crude oil spot price. Using samples from the period between January 1994 and June 2012 (in-sample), we identify the parameters and estimate the models. The validated models are combined to perform a forecast out-of-sample between July 2012 and June 2013. The results demonstrate that among the three models tested in-sample with Brent Prices, based on the MAPE measurement error, the ARIMA (2,1,8) model produced the best result, and the dynamic regression model was the best in-sample model for the WTI price. In the validation phase, the dynamic regression models did not prove to be valid, and therefore the combinations are performed only with the ARIMA and exponential smoothing models. For both proxies of oil prices, the combination of forecasts using ARIMA and exponential smoothing (out-of-sample) performed better than individual ARIMA and exponential models and also better than our benchmark models (naive forecast and Neural Network model). Based on the results, it can be inferred that using to a combination of forecasts to predict WTI and Brent spot prices is promising. We also point out that the selected model is easily replicable in spreadsheets and forecasting software and is based only on the past or lagged WTI or Brent values for future predictions.
Variability of the caprine whey protein genes and their association with milk yield, composition and renneting properties in the Sarda breed: 2. The BLG gene

The variability of the promoter region and the 3′UTR (exon-7) of the BLG gene, encoding the β-lactoglobulin, was investigated by sequencing in 263 lactating Sarda goats in order to assess its association with milk traits. Milk traits included: milk yield, fat, total protein and lactose content, pH, daily fat and protein yield (DFPY), freezing point, milk energy, somatic cell count, total microbial mesophilic count, rennet coagulation time (RCT), curd firming rate (k20) and curd firmness (a30). A total of 7 polymorphic sites were detected and the sequence analysed was given accession number KM817769. Only three SNPs (c.−381C>T, c.−323C>T and c.*420C>A) had minor allele frequency higher than 0·05. The effects of farm, stage of lactation and the interaction farm × stage of lactation significantly influenced all the milk traits (P < 0·01, P < 0·001) except for lactose content and SCS, which were not affected by the farm, and RCT and k20, which were not affected by the stage of lactation. The BLG gene polymorphism influenced milk yield and DFPY, in relation to SNPs c. −381C>T and c. *420C>A (P < 0·01 and P < 0·05). All three SNPs affected milk pH, and this association was highly significant at c. −381C>T (P < 0·001). The c. −381TT homozygous goats showed lower pH, RCT and k20 than c. −381CT (P < 0·05). In conclusion the polymorphism of the goat BLG gene did not affect the total protein content of the Sarda goat milk, and only weakly influenced RCT and k20. On the other hand, an interesting effect on milk yields and DFPY emerged in two SNPs. This information might be useful in dairy goat breeding programs.
Belimumab for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus

Given their pivotal role in autoantibody production, B-cells have become an attractive therapeutic target in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Belimumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody against B lymphocyte stimulator (BLyS), a B-cell survival factor, was licensed in 2011 for the treatment of autoantibody-positive SLE. The BLISS-52 and BLISS-76 Phase III trials successfully demonstrated that belimumab (10 mg/kg) with standard therapy significantly decreased disease activity in SLE patients compared to placebo with standard therapy. Overall, belimumab has been found to be safe and well tolerated. While the BLISS-52 and BLISS-76 studies are the largest clinical trials in SLE to date, they mainly focused on musculoskeletal, mucocutaneous, hematologic and general constitutional features of the disease. Patients with severe lupus nephritis and severe central nervous system disease were excluded from these trials. Studies of belimumab in lupus nephritis are ongoing that may clarify the role of this agent in the clinical management of SLE.
Nutritional status of mentally retarded children in north‐west Spain. I. Anthropometric indicators

Aim: To evaluate the nutritional status of mentally retarded children in the region of Galicia in north‐west Spain, on the basis of anthropometric variables. Methods: The following variables were determined in a sample of 128 mentally retarded children (81 M, 47 F): birth weight, body weight, height/length, head circumference, mid‐arm circumference, mid‐arm muscle circumference, triceps skinfold thickness, subscapular skinfold thickness, arm area, arm muscle area, arm fat area, arm lean‐to‐fat ratio, Shukla's nutrition index and Quetelet's body mass index (BMI). A preliminary statistical analysis indicated that most information content could be maintained considering only eight of these variables. A factor analysis of the resulting 8 × 128 (variables by subjects) data matrix was performed, identifying two factors (FA1 and FA2) that together explained 82% of total variance. Taking these factors as indicators of nutritional status, the data were analysed for possible effects of age, gender, socioeconomic and family environment, intelligence quotient (IQ), presence/absence of cerebral palsy, quality of diet, appetite and antiepileptic use. Results: The analysis suggested that most subjects were in the normal nutrition range, but about 33% showed either borderline or definite malnutrition. Mean score on FA2 showed a significant negative correlation with age. Children with cerebral palsy had lower mean scores on both factors, and scores on both factors varied with IQ. Children with definite malnutrition had a significantly lower IQ than those in the normal nutrition range. Mean score on both factors varied with appetite and quality of diet. The mean FA1 score of children from inland‐rural areas was significantly lower than that of children from coastal or urban areas. Mean FA1 score increased with increasing age of the parents. The prevalence of obesity was 13% when obesity was defined on the basis of Shukla's nutrition index, and 19% when defined on the basis of FA1 score.
Response to selection for net feed intake in beef cattle.

Direct and correlated responses in postweaning feed efficiency and growth traits resulting from 5 years of divergent selection for net feed intake (NFI) in beef cattle were evaluated. Approximately two generations of selection were achieved in both the high and low feed efficiency selection lines. Direct selection response (high minus low line) in NFI per year was 0.249 kg/day. Correlated responses in yearling weight and average daily gain were not significant. However, annual correlated responses in feed intake (0.24 kg/day) and feed conversion ratio (0.24) were significant (P<0.05).
FKF1 F-Box Protein Mediates Cyclic Degradation of a Repressor of CONSTANS in Arabidopsis

The temporal control of CONSTANS (CO) expression and activity is a key mechanism in photoperiodic flowering in Arabidopsis. FLAVIN-BINDING, KELCH REPEAT, F-BOX 1 (FKF1) protein regulates CO transcription, although the molecular mechanism is unknown. We demonstrate here that FKF1 controls the stability of a Dof transcription factor, CYCLING DOF FACTOR 1 (CDF1). FKF1 physically interacts with CDF1, and CDF1 protein is more stable in fkf1 mutants. Plants with elevated levels of CDF1 flower late and have reduced expression of CO. CDF1 and CO are expressed in the same tissues, and CDF1 binds to the CO promoter. Thus, FKF1 controls daily CO expression in part by degrading CDF1, a repressor of CO transcription.
Navigating through times of scarcity : the intensification of a gift-giving economy after dollarization in rural Zimbabwe

This article explores financial strategies used by smallholder farmers in the face of the challenging conditions following the economic crisis in the early 2000s in Zimbabwe. It considers the sources, circulation and importance of cash among farmers in the cash-scarce society that emerged with hyperinflation and subsequent dollarization and that rendered farmers' savings worthless. The article is based on transaction diaries from 20 farmers in two different rural communities in Zimbabwe. These diaries provided details of expenditures in a three-week period in November/December 2010 and intend to provide insight into the day-to-day realities that affects many in Zimbabwe. These diaries show the very limited inflow of cash and that many households did not have any cash at their disposal. Contrary to other sources, our data suggest that the importance of remittances in these villages is far less than expected. Furthermore, in contrast with standard economic thinking, farmers rarely reverted to 'instantaneous barter'. Instead, the shortage of cash resulted in an intensification of gift-giving in kind in which small gifts were exchanged between family members, neighbours and other close relations and that were especially important to meet daily household needs of farmers and their families.
Plasma levels and production of soluble stem cell factor by marrow stromal cells in patients with aplastic anaemia

Defective marrow stroma or microenvironment have been proposed as one of several mechanisms to account for bone marrow failure in aplastic anaemia (AA). Stem cell factor (SCF), the ligand for the c‐kit receptor, is produced mainly by marrow stromal cells and seems to reflect the haemopoietic function of bone marrow stroma. We measured the plasma levels of soluble SCF in 87 patients with AA and investigated the production of soluble SCF by the marrow stromal cells of 46 patients with acquired AA. The mean plasma SCF concentrations in the AA patients and normal controls were not significantly different (1098 ± 398 pg/ml versus 1160 ± 316 pg/ml, respectively), and there was no significant correlation between the peripheral blood counts and the SCF concentrations. However, the mean SCF concentration in patients who received prednisolone ± anabolic steroids at the time of sampling was significantly lower than that in the patients who did not receive both agents. We did not find any correlation between the changes in SCF concentrations and the response to immunosuppressive therapy, although it did increase significantly after bone marrow transplantation. The ability of marrow stromal cells to release soluble SCF did not differ significantly between the patients with AA and normal controls. We conclude that soluble SCF production does not appear to be altered in patients with AA and that defective production of soluble SCF is unlikely to be the cause of AA in most patients.
Treatment continuation rate in relation to efficacy and toxicity in long-term therapy with low-dose methotrexate, sulfasalazine, and bucillamine in 1,358 Japanese patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effectiveness of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, namely, methotrexate (MTX), sulfasalazine (SSZ) and bucillamine (BUC) at low-doses (4, 6 or 8 mg MTX, 500 or 1,000 mg SSZ, and 100 or 200 mg BUC) in 1,358 patients with a follow-up of at least 12 months and more than 120 months. METHODS Clinical assessments were based on the number of painful joints (NPJ) and that of swollen joints (NSJ), CRP level, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, rheumatoid factor level and morning stiffness before and after treatment. Results were evaluated on the basis of the duration of treatment for each drug with inefficacy or inadequate efficacy as one endpoint for discontinuation and adverse drug reactions (ADRs) as the other in single agent and combination therapy. The incidence and nature of ADRs in single and combination treatment are described. RESULTS The effects of MTX, SSZ and BUC on clinical parameters were monitored over the first three months, and in particular, NPJs and NSJs were found to decrease significantly during single agent MTX or BUC treatment over 108 months. CRP levels remained significantly improved for more than 120 months with MTX. In the single and combination long-term treatments, continuation rate with inefficacy or inadequate efficacy as the end point achieved for each of the treatments were 83.1% for MTX, 76.0% for BUC, 68.5% for SSZ, and in the case of the combination treatments, these rates were 83.3% for MTX + BUC and 71.0% for MTX+SSZ. Continuation rates using ADRs as the end point were 88% for SSZ, 79.6% for BUC and 79.4% for MTX. The incidences of ADRs for the various treatments were: MTX 22.2%, SSZ 11.0%, BUC 20.6%, MTX + BUC 30.0% and MTX + SSZ 31.2%. CONCLUSION MTX showed the highest efficacy even though it was administrated at a low dose (6-8 mg), as a single agent or in combination with other treatment. However, in combination treatments, the continuous duration of treatment ending in ADRs as the end point were lower than those in single treatments with MTX, SSZ and BUC.
Optimization of anaerobic digestion of municipal solid waste in combined process and sequential staging

The optimization of anaerobic digestion aims to maximize organic waste stabilization after a short digestion period. This paper presents the optimization performance of the combined anaerobic digestion and sequential staging concept in a thermophilic, solid-state batch system as a treatment technology prior to landfill. The former involves enhanced pre-stage flushing with the addition of microaeration and inoculum in the methane phase. The latter involves leachate cross-recirculation between the mature and fresh waste reactors without conducting a pre-stage operation. The optimized process for combined anaerobic digestion showed that reducing the pre- stage operation with the maximum removal of organics from the waste bed is beneficial. Moreover, the sequential staging concept offers an improved process over the combined anaerobic digestion wherein the specific methane yield of 11.9 and 7.2 L CH4 kg-1 volatile solids (VS) per day was achieved, respectively. After 28 days of operation, the sequential staging process showed an improved waste stabilization with 86 and 79% mass and volume reduction, respectively. A higher methane yield of 334 L CH4 kg-1 VS with 86% VS reduction, which is equivalent to 84% process efficiency was obtained.