Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Efficacy of Treatments for Patients with Chronic Liver Disease due to Coinfection with Hepatitis B and C Viruses

The hepatitis B virus (HBV) and the hepatitis C virus (HCV) are the leading causes of chronic liver disease. Patients with chronic liver disease who are co infected with both HBV and HCV develop cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) more rapidly than patients with monoinfection with HBV alone or HCV alone. However, standard-of-care recommendations have not been well established for patients with HBV/HCV co infection. In this study, a literature review was conducted on the efficacy of therapies for patients with HBV/HCV coinfection. Many papers reported that following combination therapy with interferon (IFN) plus ribavirin (RBV), there were no significant differences in the rate of achievement of a sustained virological response (SVR) to HCV between patients with HBV/HCV coinfection and patients with HCV monoinfection. However, the efficacy of these therapies for HBV infection in coinfected patients is complex. In patients with HBV/HCV coinfection characterized by a predominance of HCV, it is highly probable for serum hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) titers to decrease or disappear during or after IFN/RBV combination therapy. On the other hand, reactivation of HBV due to the suspected inhibition of HCV replication is sometimes detected in coinfected patients during or after IFN/RBV combination therapy.
Potency of Auxin Producing and Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria from Dryland in Rice Paddy Field

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of important and suitable corps in East Indonesia including North Central Timor (NCT) Regency. However, farmer NCT Regency have not yet use microbe as biofertilizer. The research aimed to isolate Indole Acetic Acid (IAA) producing by soil bacteria from paddy field in NCT Regency and to apply selected microbe in rice cultivation. Eight isolates were obtained and analyzed their IAA ability based on a colorimetric method using Salkowski reagent. The result showed that the producing eight isolates was able to synthesize IAA with the highest concentration produced by EP.01 isolate. The ability of these isolate to solubilize phosphate was measured by using Pikovskaya media. The EP.02 isolate has the highest ability to solubilize phosphate. The growth curve and IAA synthesis were created using EP.01 and EP.02 isolates as a model. Production of IAA was in line with the cells growth. Both EP.01 and EP.02 isolates were closely related to Bacillus sp. with 97.7 and 98.1% maximum identity, respectively. The application of Bacillus sp. solubilizer as biofertilizer on paddy field using randomized block design with the type of fertilizer as a single factor. Application of fertilizer used compost enriched with 50% NPK, had the best result on the number of filled grains per clump, dry weight of 1000 grains which were 30.76, 29.37 g and 6.3 t haG1, respectively.
Interest Rate Effects on Output: Evidence from a GDP Forecasting Model for South Africa

Forecasting models for output are presented to throw light on monetary transmission. Recent research finds multistep forecasting superior to recursive forecasting from a VAR model when structural breaks are present; there are important political and policy regime breaks in South Africa. The equilibrium correction models have a four-quarter ahead forecast horizon, appropriate for measuring interest rate effects. A stochastic trend measures underlying shifts in productivity and other supply side trends. The inclusion of important monetary policy regime shifts, which altered the output response to interest rates, and the control for other structural changes (e.g., trade liberalization), address the Lucas critique in forecasting output growth. There are important and persistent effects of high real interest rates, which significantly constrained growth in the 1990s, and significant potential growth benefits from fiscal discipline. South African growth appears to have become more responsive to the exchange rate with increasing trade openness in the 1990s.
The Future of Accessibility in International Higher Education

U SIR is a digi t al collec tion of t h e r e s e a r c h ou t p u t of t h e U nive r si ty of S alford. Whe r e copyrigh t p e r mi t s, full t ex t m a t e ri al h eld in t h e r e posi to ry is m a d e fre ely availabl e online a n d c a n b e r e a d , dow nloa d e d a n d copied for no nco m m e rcial p riva t e s t u dy o r r e s e a r c h p u r pos e s . Ple a s e c h e ck t h e m a n u sc rip t for a ny fu r t h e r copyrig h t r e s t ric tions.
Beyond disability and ethnicity challenges: Narrative of a Paralympian

This study reports a narrative which highlights the cultural influences over sporting experiences and focuses on the challenges in overcoming the barriers. The narrative provides a synopsis of the dynamics of ethnicity, culture and athleticism of an Islamic woman from the Islamic state of Malaysia. With an unstructured interview, the narrative was acquired and analyzed using Foucauldian discourse analysis in conjuncture to feminist poststructuralist theory. The results indicated the athlete to have experienced insensitive attitudes of people towards her participation in a strength sport like powerlifting. The analysis also revealed that the Paralympian was also subjected to the initial disagreement toward her participation in sports owing to her physical condition and womanhood. This study describes the pathway of successfully overcoming the challenges to compete in major sporting events.
Polyphenolic Content and Biological Activities of Post-Distillation Waste of Three Sage Species from the Republic of Macedonia

This research was aimed at investigating polyphenolic content, antioxidant and anti-neurodegenerative activities of post-distillation waste extracts of Macedonian Salvia amplexicaulis, S. jurisicii and S. ringens, for the first time. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents varied in a broad range (3.92146.49 mg GAE/g and 7.11-67.51 mg QE/g, respectively), with the highest values obtained for S. amplexicaulis and S. ringens extracts. Certain S. amplexicaulis and S. ringens extracts neutralized more than 80% of DPPH radicals at the highest concentration, while S. amplexicaulis extracts showed up to ≈50% inhibition of β-carotene oxidation in β-carotene/linoleic acid assay. Post-distillation waste extracts inhibited acetylcholinesterase (25.94-38.15%) and tyrosinase (18.84-59.52%), with the strongest inhibition of S. amplexicaulis extracts. The obtained results suggest that post-distillation waste of tested species, especially of S. amplexicaulis, show antioxidant and antineurodegenerative activities and could be considered as potential raw material rich in polyphenols.
Justifiable thrift or feverish animal spirits: What stirred the corporate credit crunch in Poland?

This paper concerns the problem of corporate credit in Poland and tries to determine the sources of banks’ unexpected hesitance to provide enterprises with additional liquidity, which was observed during the global financial crisis. It differentiates between fundamental and non-fundamental determinants, which – when combined – reconstruct the course of events that led to the slowdown. A special attention is devoted to variables believed to be behavioral and theoretically inconsistent with the conventional belief of how lending activities are coordinated. A structural vector autoregression (SVAR) is run and impulse response functions are produced to provide a numerical support for the developed theoretical framework.
International Monetary Fund From the SelectedWorks of Alberto Behar 2009 Tax wedges , unemployment benefits and labour market outcomes in the new EU members

There has been a widely accepted belief that certain labor market institution s, including high taxation and generous benefits, can lead to low employment and/or high unemployment. To what extent do such priors about tax wedges and unemployment be nefits apply to the new members of the EU? Principal Component Analysis (PCA) suggests the n ew members share similar characteristics to each other and should be grouped separately fr om the rest of Europe. There are statistically significant differences in the medians of unemploym ent benefits and the labor market outcomes of the less productive workers, but insignifica t differences in primeage outcomes and tax wedges. Within the new members, our non-parame tric analysis finds tax wedges and the duration of benefits (not the replacement ratio) are ass ociated with poor labor market outcomes, but the evidence is weak.
LoCuSS: THE MASS DENSITY PROFILE OF MASSIVE GALAXY CLUSTERS AT z = 0.2,

We present a stacked weak-lensing analysis of an approximately mass-selected sample of 50 galaxy clusters at 0.15 < z < 0.3, based on observations with Suprime-Cam on the Subaru Telescope. We develop a new method for selecting lensed background galaxies from which we estimate that our sample of red background galaxies suffers just 1% contamination. We detect the stacked tangential shear signal from the full sample of 50 clusters, based on this red sample of background galaxies, at a total signal-to-noise ratio of 32.7. The Navarro–Frenk–White model is an excellent fit to the data, yielding sub-10% statistical precision on mass and concentration: , (). Tests of a range of possible systematic errors, including shear calibration and stacking-related issues, indicate that they are subdominant to the statistical errors. The concentration parameter obtained from stacking our approximately mass-selected cluster sample is broadly in line with theoretical predictions. Moreover, the uncertainty on our measurement is comparable with the differences between the different predictions in the literature. Overall, our results highlight the potential for stacked weak-lensing methods to probe the mean mass density profile of cluster-scale dark matter halos with upcoming surveys, including Hyper-Suprime-Cam, Dark Energy Survey, and KIDS.
Effects of early and chronic exposure to high temperatures on growth performance, carcass parameters and fatty acids of subcutaneous lipid of broilers

This study was conducted to assess the effects of early and chronic exposure of broilers at a scorching temperature on growth performance, carcass parameters, fatty acid deposition and composition of subcutaneous lipids (SCL). Three hundred male chicks (Hubbard origin) of a day are reared for 50 days. They are divided into three groups, each of cent chicks. The chronic thermal environments are applied from the 8 th growing day: a neutral temperature (NT: 25 ± 2°C) for the first one, a moderate summer temperature (MT: 32 ± 2°C) for the second and hot temperature (HT: 37 ± 2°C) for the third. The results were summarized as follows: (1) from the 40 th day, a decrease of 37 g/d of feed intake (FI) related to HT was observed; (2) a higher body weight (BW) of NT chickens was recorded from the 40 th day; (3) regarding the early breeding, a higher daily weight gain (DWG) was recorded in HT chickens at the end of rearing; (4) compared to other temperature, the feed conversion ratio (FCR) of HT chickens was significantly better from 40 th day; (5) at the end of breeding, the yields EC/BW: eviscerated carcass weight (EC) on body weight (BW) were comparable as recorded in NT and HT chickens; (6) at the end of breeding, a decreased weight of pectoral muscle (PM) associated with the HT was observed: -17 and 20% compared with TM and TN, respectively; (7) a higher deposit of SCL up to 105g/Chicken and SCL/EC (+7.3% compared with NT) occur in the HT chickens mainly at the end of rearing; (8) conversely, the abdominal fat weight (AF) was higher in NT chickens from the 32 th day; (9) compared with NT chickens, an increase in the proportion of saturated fatty acids (SFA) and polyunsaturated (PUFA) of SCL was obtained in HT chickens of 50 days. No temperature effect on the monounsaturated fatty acids proportion (MUFA) of LSC has been highlighted. Finally, the HT resulted in a significant decrease of the UFA/SFA ratio reflecting a degree of SCL saturation greater in HT chicken carcass; (10) these results have shown that chickens can tolerate early and chronic higher temperatures.
Yield loss caused by yam mosaic virus (YMV) and cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) on the varieties of Dioscorea spp.

The main objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of the yam (YMV) and cucumber (CMV) mosaic viruses on the yield of ten yam varieties. Forty plants per variety in a greenhouse inoculated with each of the two viruses were compared to healthy plants. The DAS-ELISA and TAS-ELISA tests have confirmed the infection of the experimental plants. Our findings showed a reduction in the mass of tubers in the plants infected by these viruses. A viral concentration decreasing from the apical portion to the base portion of the infected tuber was recorded. The results showed that YMV and CMV cause yield losses of yams. The use of the apical portion of the tuber of which serology is not known, could be a source of infection and viral propagation. The harvest of the infected tuber when the stems are still fresh decreases by 50% the viral concentration in infected tubers.
Divergent responses of cryptic invasive watermilfoil to treatment with auxinic herbicides in a large Michigan lake

ABSTRACT Parks SR, McNair JN, Hausler P, Tyning P, Thum RA. 2016. Divergent responses of cryptic invasive watermilfoil to treatment with auxinic herbicides in a large Michigan lake. Lake Reserve Manage. 32:366–372. Invasive plants are a major concern for environmental managers around the world. Cryptic invasive taxa present additional challenges because of their potential to respond differently to management efforts while being difficult to distinguish morphologically. Here, we consider the potential for different responses of Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum) and hybrid watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum x Myriophyllum sibiricum), which cannot be reliably distinguished based on morphological characters. Laboratory studies show that hybrid watermilfoil genotypes can grow faster, branch more, and be less responsive to herbicide control methods designed for Eurasian watermilfoil. To date, however, there have been no statistical comparisons of the responses of hybrid versus Eurasian watermilfoil under operational management in the field. In this study, we use genetic methods to distinguish morphologically cryptic Eurasian and hybrid watermilfoil in Houghton Lake, Michigan, and test whether they exhibit divergent responses for distribution and abundance following treatment with 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid-amine and triclopyr. Our results suggest that treatment reduced the frequency of occurrence and abundance of pure Eurasian watermilfoil more than it did for hybrids in Houghton Lake. These findings highlight the importance of distinguishing these cryptic taxa during management evaluations.
An empirical investigation of selected strategy variables on firms performance: A study of supply chain management in large private manufacturing firms in Kenya

This paper focuses on the joint effect of selected strategy variables on performance of large private manufacturing firms of the supply chains in Kenya. To guide the study, two specific objectives have been used namely: 1) to determine the independent effects of core competencies, strategy, strategy implementation and core capabilities on firms performance, 2) to determine the joint effect of core competencies, strategy, strategy implementation and core capabilities on firms performance. Hypotheses are tested through the analysis of both the independent and joint effects of the variables on firms’ performance. There is empirical evidence that the independent effect of core competencies, core capabilities, strategy, strategy implementation on firms performance is weaker compared to the joint effect of the same variables. A sample of about 52 large private manufacturing firms of the supply chains which are members of Kenya Association of Manufacturers is used.
Prediction of the Geometrical Accuracy of the Machined Surface of the Tool Steel EN X30WCrV9-3 after Electrical Discharge Machining with CuZn37 Wire Electrode

The geometrical accuracy of the machined surface can generally be understood mainly as accuracy of shape, orientation, position and run-out. As a general rule; it is quantified by the corresponding deviations from the nominal area. The size of the geometric deviation from the nominal area may in practice affect the conventionally measured value of the dimension, even if the required dimensional tolerance is adhered to. Since electro–erosive machining technology belongs to very precise finishing technologies; even the small geometrical accuracy deviation has a negative impact on the resulting quality of machined surfaces. The aim of the experiments was to contribute to the knowledge database, which defines the influence of the process parameters at electrical discharge machining with the CuZn37 tool electrode on errors of geometrical accuracy of the machined surface. On the basis of the results of the experimental measurements, graphical dependencies were determined which predict geometrical accuracy of the machined surface in terms of the maximum deviation of flatness after electrical discharge machining of tool steel EN X30WCrV9-3 (W.-Nr. 1.2581) with CuZn37 wire electrode of 0.20 mm diameter to determine the appropriate combination of process parameters.
Geometric interpretation of the dark energy from projected hyperconical universes

This letter explores the derivation of dark energy from a locally conformal projection of hyperconical universes. It focuses on the analysis of theoretical compatibility between the intrinsic view of the standard cosmology and an adequate transformation of hyperconical manifolds. Choosing some parametric family of locally conformal transformations and taking regional (second order) equality between the Hubble parameter of both theories, it is predicted that the dark energy density is $\Omega_{\Lambda} = 0.6937181(2)$. In particular, we used a radially distorted stereographic projection, the distortion parameter of which is theoretically predicted about $\alpha = 0.325 \pm 0.005$ and empirically fitted as $\alpha = 0.36 \pm 0.02$ ($\chi_0^2 = 562$) according to 580 SNe Ia observations.
Genome shotgun sequencing and development of microsatellite markers for gerbera ( Gerbera hybrida H.) by 454 GS-FLX

The objective of this research was to develop and characterize microsatellite markers for gerbera. We used shotgun sequencing with Roche 454 GS-FLX Titanium technology to identify microsatellite loci in gerbera genomic DNA ( Gerbera hybrida ). The total length of non-redundant sequences obtained was 22,527,019 bp, which consisted of 3,085 contigs and 28,249 singletons. We assembled 61,958 reads into 3,085 contigs, of which 114 (3.70%) contained microsatellite repeats. The average G+C content was 39.3%. Functional annotation to known sequences yielded 14.7% unigenes in the ‘Raon’ cultivar. Analysis of the gerbera genome DNA (‘Raon’) general library showed that sequences of (AT), (AG), (AAG) and (AAT) repeats appeared most often, whereas (AC), (AAC) and (ACC) were the least frequent. Primer pairs were designed for 80 loci. Only eight primer pairs produced reproducible polymorphic bands in the 28 gerbera accessions analyzed. A total of 30 alleles were identified from the eight polymorphic SSR loci, with two to eight alleles per locus (average level of 3.75). These markers will be useful for investigating genetic diversity and differentiation in gerbera. Keywords: Genetic diversity, genomics, microsatellite isolation, pyrosequencing, SSRs. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 11(29), pp. 7388-7396, 10 April, 2012
Effects of salicylic acid foliar application on growth and antioxidant potential of basil ( Ocimum basilicum L . )

Karalija, E. , Parić, A. : Effects of salicylic acid foliar application on growth and antioxidant potential of basil (Ocimum basilicum L.). Biologica Nyssana, 8 (2), December, 2017: 145-150. Salicylic acid is one of endogenous plant growth regulators that plays a key role in many physiological processes. The present study analysed the effect of different concentrations (0, 0.01, 0.1, ad 1.0 mM) of salicylic acid on morphological parameters, photosynthetic pigments, protein, proline, total carbohydrates, and secondary metabolites content as well as peroxidase activity. One month after sowing seedlings were replanted in new pots, and salicylic acid was applied in form of a foliar spray. Plants were harvested 60 days after salicylic acid application. Results showed that foliar application of salicylic acid induces long-term changes in plant growth and metabolism. We recorded increase in leaf area, secondary metabolites and peroxidase activity. Reduction in total sugar and proline content is also recorded. Decrease in proline content is probably result of degradation of proline in stress induced conditions.
A Sovereign Wealth Fund to Lift Germany’s Curse of Excess Savings

As an alternative to the present system of intermediation of the German savings surplus, this paper suggests that the risk-adjusted rate of return could be improved by creating a sovereign wealth fund for Germany (designated DESWF), which could invest excess German savings globally. Such a DESWF would offer German savers a secure vehicle paying a guaranteed positive minimum real interest rate, with a top-up when real investment returns allowed. The vehicle would invest the funds in a portfolio that is highly diversified by geography and asset classes. Positive real returns can be expected in the long run based on positive real global growth. Since, in this case, a significant amount of funds would flow outside the euro area, the euro would depreciate, which would help crisis countries presently struggling to revive growth through exports and to close their external deficits so as to recoup their international credit-worthiness. Target imbalances would gradually disappear and German claims abroad would move from nominal claims on the ECB to diversified real and nominal claims on various private and public foreign entities in a variety of asset classes.
A performance assessment of the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) via comparison with the Canadian Lightning Detection Network (CLDN)

Abstract. The World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) uses globally-distributed Very Low Frequency (VLF) receivers in order to observe lightning around the globe. Its objective is to locate as many global lightning strokes as possible, with high temporal and spatial ( Through a comparison with measurements made by the Canadian Lightning Detection Network (CLDN) between May and August 2008 over a 4° latitude by 4° longitude region centered on Toronto, Canada, this study found that WWLLN detection was most sensitive to high peak current lightning strokes. Events were considered shared between the two networks if they fell within 0.5 ms of each other. Using this criterion, 19 128 WWLLN strokes (analyzed using the Stroke_B algorithm) were shared with CLDN lightning strokes, producing a detection efficiency of 2.8%. The peak current threshold for WWLLN detection is found to be ~20 kA, with its detection efficiency increasing from 11.3% for peak currents greater than 20 kA to 75.8% for peak currents greater than 120 kA. The detection efficiency is seen to have a clear diurnal dependence, with a higher detection efficiency at local midnight than at local noon; this is attributed to the difference in the thickness of the ionospheric D-region between night and day. The mean time difference (WWLLN − CLDN) between shared events was −6.44 μs with a standard deviation of 35 μs, and the mean absolute location accuracy was 7.24 km with a standard deviation of 6.34 km. These results are generally consistent with previous comparison studies of the WWLLN with other regional networks around the world. Additional receiver stations are continuously being added to the network, acting to improve this detection efficiency.