Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Association of MTHFR C677T and A1298C Polymorphisms with Methotrexate Response and Toxicity in Psoriasis

Background : Methotrexate (MTX) is used to treat psoriasis with various side effects and responsiveness. No predictive indicator of responsiveness or toxicity is available. Objective : To study the association of the C677T and A1298C polymorphisms in the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase ( MTHFR) gene with the responsiveness and side effects of MTX in psoriatic Thai patients. Methods : The polymorphisms were identified from 86 MTX-treated patients in three hospitals located in southern Thailand using allele-specific PCR. The patients were monitored for the effectiveness and toxicity of the MTX. Results : The C677T genotype frequencies for C/C, C/T, and T/T were 70.9, 26.8, and 2.3%, respectively, and those of the A1298C genotypes for A/A, A/C, and C/C were 57, 32.5, and 10.5%, respectively. Seventy-three patients (87.9%) responded to MTX. The non-responders had higher combined frequencies of C/T and T/T of the C677T (50%) than the responders (24.7%) with no statistical significance ( p = 0.131), but had a lower frequency of CC genotype of the A1298C, although not statistically different ( p =0.691). Eleven patients (12.8%) suffered toxicity. No association of these polymorphisms and MTX toxicity was found. Conclusion : The study did not show an association between these MTHFR polymorphisms with MTX response and toxicity in these patients.
Mathematical Modeling and Algebraic Technique for Resolving a Single-Producer Multi-Retailer Integrated Inventory System with Scrap

This study uses mathematical modeling along with an algebraic technique to resolve the production- distribution policy for a single-producer multi-retailer integrated inventory system with scrap in production. We assume that a product is manufactured through an imperfect production process where all nonconforming items will be picked up and scrapped in each production cycle. After the entire lot is quality assured, multiple shipments will be delivered synchronously to m different retailers in each cycle. The objective is to determine the optimal replenishment lot size and optimal number of shipments that minimizes total expected costs for such a specific supply chains system. Conventional method is by the use of differential calculus on system cost function to derive the optimal policy (Chiu et al., 2012c), whereas the proposed algebraic approach is a straightforward method that enables practitioners who may not have sufficient knowledge of calculus to understand and manage more effectively the real-life systems.
Current use of contraceptive method among women in a middle-income developing country

Background: Jamaica is a mid-range income developing country with an increasing population and public resource constraints. Therefore reproductive health issues are of critical importance in Jamaica. Aim: We examined the use of contraceptives among women and the factors that influence these women to use contraceptives. Materials and method: In the current study we utilized the secondary dataset for the Reproductive Health Survey conducted by the National Family Planning Board. The investigation was carried out with a stratified random sample of 7168 women aged between 15 and 49. The measures included demographic variables method of contraception used being in a relationship number of partners pregnancy status and sexual activity status along with other variables. Results: The majority of participants used some method of contraception (64%). The most popular method of contraception was a condom (32%). Results of a multivariate analysis suggests that the explanatory variables for the method of contraception used are age (OR = 0.98 95% CI: 0.98-0.99) social class (OR = 0.83 95% CI: 0.73-0.95) being in a relationship (OR = 3.35 95% CI: 2.80-4.02) the rural-urban dichotomy (OR = 1.16 95% CI: 1.02-1.32) being currently pregnant (OR = 0.01 95% CI: 0.00-0.02) currently having sex (OR = 2.29 95% CI: 1.95-2.70) number of partners (OR = 1.85 95% CI: 1.57-2.17) the age at which the women began using a contraceptive (OR = 0.99 95% CI: 0.98-1.00) and crowding (OR = 1.40 95% CI: 1.21-1.60). Conclusion: The findings are far-reaching and can be of use for aid policy formulation and intervention.
Syddansk Universitet The psychological impact of body contouring surgery

INTRODUCTION: Body contouring surgery is associated with changes in body image and identity. The primary aim of the study was to investigate a multidisciplinary assessment of potential psychological challenges before and after body contouring surgery. METHODS: Eight preand post-operative patients undergoing plastic surgery, two surgeons and two nurses were investigated using semi-structured and focus group interviews to capture the perspectives of both the healthcare professionals and the patients. Data were analysed using an interpretive descriptive approach and coded line-by-line until all relevant codes had been extracted. RESULTS: A total of seven psychological themes were identified, indicating that surgery alone cannot improve the patients’ psychological difficulties and that psychological care and management of the expected discomfort and body image is of considerable importance in providing continuity of care. CONCLUSIONS: The reported quality of life is of considerable importance to patients undergoing body contouring surgery after massive weight loss. Our findings may pro vide useful information for surgeons and healthcare professionals allowing them to develop patient education programmes, reduce discrepancies in patient expectations and improve patient satisfaction. FUNDING: none. TRIAL REGISTRATION: not relevant. The psychological impact of body contouring surgery Mike Mikkelsen Lorenzen1, Lotte Poulsen1, Signe Poulsen1, Jens Ahm Sørensen1 & Kirsten K. Roessler2
The Effect of Normal and Excessive Supplementation of Selenomethionine and Sodium Selenite in Laying Hens

Trial 1 was conducted to investigate the effects of using organic vs. inorganic selenium (Se) on egg quality and egg yolk vitelline membrane strength (VMS). Hens were fed a corn-soybean meal basal diet supplemented with 0, 0.2 ppm selenomethionine (SM), 0.2 ppm sodium selenite (SS), 0.4 SM, or 0.4 ppm SS. Supplementing SS at 0.2 ppm or SM at 0.4 ppm had the same effect to improve the VMS. In trial 2, hens were fed the same dietary treatments as in the first trial and added to a semi-purified corn starch-soybean meal basal diet. In this trial, Se content was predicted to be 0.09 ppm, so the hypothesis behind the trial was that supplementation of Se to a basal diet low in Se would bring more significant results in production and quality parameters, but with the analysis of feed done at the end of the trials, trial 2 ended up testing very high levels of Se. Yolk Se content was higher in all treatments supplemented with Se from either source than the control diet. There was an interaction effect of Se source and level on albumen Se content. Albumen Se content increased when SM levels in the diet increased, whereas when SS levels increased in the diet, there was no increase in egg albumen Se content. Our results indicated that Se supplementation from the organic and inorganic sources can be a good practice to increase some of the egg quality parameters, but more research is need to be conducted in conditions when the basal levels of Se are low.
Effect of Herbal Extracts on Some Haematological Parameters of Calves During Rearing

Abstract Clinically healthy Polish Holstein-Friesian calves were divided into two groups: a control group (12 individuals) and an experimental group (12 individuals). The experimental group calves received a mixture of 20% water herbal extracts prepared from Urtica dioica, Hb. , Hypericum perforatum, Hb. , Melissa officinalis, Fol. , Chamomillae recutita Anth., Calendula officinalis, Flos, and Plantago lanceolata, Fol. The mixture was given from the 2nd to 14th week of their life. Control calves received no addition of herbal extracts to their diet. Red blood cell count, white blood cell count, haemoglobin concentration, haematocrit value, and mean corpuscular volume were determined in the 4th, 9th, and 14th week of the experiment. The beneficial effect of the herbal mixture on the level of the examined haematological parameters was demonstrated in all tested weeks. In the calves from experimental group, a significantly higher red blood cell count, haemoglobin concentration, and corpuscular volume, and lower white blood cell count were found. There were no statistically significant differences in the haematocrit values between both groups.
Trading off between Value Creation and Value Appropriation: The Financial Implications of Shifts in Strategic Emphasis

Firms allocate their limited resources between two fundamental processes of creating value (i.e., innovating, producing, and delivering products to the market) and appropriating value (i.e., extracting profits in the marketplace). Although both value creation and value appropriation are required for achieving sustained competitive advantage, a firm has significant latitude in deciding the extent to which it emphasizes one over the other. What effect does strategic emphasis (i.e., emphasis on value creation versus value appropriation) have on firm's financial performance? The authors address this issue by examining the effect that shifts in strategic emphasis have on stock return. They find that the stock market reacts favorably when a firm increases its emphasis on value appropriation relative to value creation. This effect, however, is moderated by firm and industry characteristics, in particular, financial performance, the past level of strategic emphasis of the firm, and the technological environment in which the firm operates. These results do not negate the importance of value creation capabilities, but rather highlight the importance of isolating mechanisms that enable the firm to appropriate some of the value it has created.
Molt disruption and mortality of Locusta migratoria var. manilensis (Meyen) (Orthoptera: Acrididae) caused by insect growth regulators

The acute toxicity effects of topical applications of five insect growth regulators (IGRs) on the oriental migratory locust Locusta migratoria var. manilensis were assessed. Under laboratory conditions, at the highest tested dose rate of 300 ppm, the percent mortality and molt inhibition after two weeks for the five tested compounds were: flufenoxuron (97 and 83%), swallowwort alkaloids (48 and 85%), azadirachtin (100 and 93%), compound RH-5849 (45 and 22%), and pyriproxyfen (48 and 37%) respectively but low doses caused higher molt inhibition for compound RH-5849. These IGRs affected the timing of the subsequent molt, the average timing of the molt (of survivors) was delayed 0-2 days after treatments with flufenoxuron at dose rates between 18.75-300ppm, RH-5849 at dose rates between 150-300 ppm, but occurred 0-2 days early following treatment with azadirachtin, swallowwort alkaloids or pyriproxyfen at dose rates between 18.75-300ppm, and RH-5849 at dose rates between 37.5-75 ppm. Initial studies of the insecticidal effects of these insect growth regulators on L. migratoria manilensis show them to be very potent locust control agents. Key words : Insect growth regulators, Locusta migratoria var. manilensis (Meyen), biological control, sustainability.
Stochastic differential inclusions of semimonotone type in Hilbert spaces

In this paper, we study the existence of generalized solu- tions for the innite dimensional nonlinear stochastic differential inclu- sions dx( t) 2 F ( t;x( t)) dt + G( t;x( t)) dWt in which the multifunction F is semimonotone and hemicontinuous and the operator-valued multifunc- tion G satises a Lipschitz condition. We dene the It^ o stochastic integral of operator set-valued stochastic processes with respect to the cylindrical Brownian motion on separable Hilbert spaces. Then, we generalize the existence results for differential inclusions in (H. Abedi and R. Jahanipur, Nonlinear differential inclusions of semimonotone and condensing type in Hilbert spaces, Bull. Korean Math. Soc. , 52 (2015), no. 2, 421{438. )
Effect of Postweld Heat Treatment on Microstructures and Hardness of TIG Weldment between P22 and P91 Steels with Inconel 625 Filler Metal

This research aims at searching for the optimal postweld heat treatment condition of the TIG weld joint between P22 (2.25Cr) and P91 (9Cr) steels using Inconel 625 as filler metal. The postweld heat treatment at 750°C for 2, 4 and 6 hours was applied in order to reach the proper microstructure and hardness for high performance in mechanical properties at elevated temperatures. It is recommended that postweld heat treatment at 750°C for 2 hours is the proper condition to reduce the hardness of heat affected zone (HAZ) of P91 steel.
Recent highlights from Cluster, the first 3-D magnetospheric mission

Abstract. The Cluster mission has been operated successfully for 14 years. During this time period, the evolution of the orbit has enabled Cluster to sample many more magnetospheric regions than was initially anticipated. So far, the separation of the Cluster spacecraft has been changed more than 30 times and has ranged from a few kilometres up to 36 000 km. These orbital changes have enabled the science team to address a wide variety of scientific objectives in key regions of Earth's geospace environment: the solar wind and bow shock, the magnetopause, polar cusps, magnetotail, plasmasphere and the auroral acceleration region. Recent results have shed new light on solar wind turbulence. They showed that the magnetosheath can be asymmetric under low Mach number and that it can contain density enhancement that may affect the magnetosphere. The magnetopause was found to be thinner and to have a higher current density on the duskside than on the dawnside. New methods have been used to obtain characteristic of the magnetotail current sheet and high-temporal-resolution measurements of electron pitch angle within flux transfer events (FTEs). Plasmaspheric wind has been discovered, and the refilling of the plasmasphere was observed for the first time over a very wide range of L shells. New models of global electric and magnetic fields of the magnetosphere have been obtained where Cluster, due to its polar orbit, has been essential. Finally, magnetic reconnection was viewed for the first time with high-resolution wave and electron measurements and acceleration of plasma was observed during times of varying rate of magnetic reconnection. The analysis of Cluster data was facilitated by the creation of the Cluster Science Data System (CSDS) and the Cluster Science Archive (CSA). Those systems were implemented to provide, for the first time for a plasma physics mission, a long-term public archive of all calibrated high-resolution data from all instruments.
The role of input in second language oral ability development in foreign language classrooms: A longitudinal study

The current project longitudinally investigated the extent to which first-year Japanese university students developed their second language (L2) oral ability in relation to increased input in foreign language classrooms. Their spontaneous speech was elicited at the beginning, middle and end of one academic year, and then judged by linguistically trained coders for pronunciation, fluency, vocabulary and grammar qualities. According to the statistical analyses, the total amount of input (operationalized as number of English classes taken and L2 use outside of classrooms) was significantly related to the participants’ quick and immediate development of fluency and lexicogrammar during the first semester. Their pronunciation development was mixed, either subject to continuous change over two academic semesters (for prosody) or limited within the timeframe of the study (for segmentals). Similar to naturalistic L2 speech learning, the findings support the multifaceted role of input in different areas of oral proficiency development in foreign language classrooms.
Democratizing Nanotechnology Dialogs: From Attitude and Knowledge to Trust and Communication for a Sustainable Development of Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology is big business. With rapid innovation and expansion of the field, financial stakes are high. This study is based on the assumption that the development of nanotechnology in Sweden today is controlled by economic interests rather than democratic values and sustainable development. This is considered problematic, and the overall aim with this study is to propose alternative principles for governing nanotechnology development. Three concrete questions are answered: Which social actor(s) should be entrusted with governing nanotechnology? How well does communication about nanotechnology work within and across different groups of social actors? How could communication about nanotechnology be improved to further democratic principles and a sustainable development of nanotechnology? These questions will be answered in both descriptive (narrative) and interpretive (theoretical-analytical), as well as normative (with suggestions for improvement) ways. A limited, semi-structured, qualitative interview study has been conducted with nine respondents as a basis for descriptive answers. Findings from the theoretical field of Science and Technology Studies (STS) are applied in order to find theoretical answers. Normative answers are based on the theoretical STS framework, the author’s personal expertise as an engineer in the field of nanotechnology, and other researchers’ studies from primarily the UK and the USA. The conclusions show that the traditional categories 1) attitude towards, and 2) knowledge about nanotechnology are considered inappropriate for studying social aspects of nanotechnology. The author puts forward trust and communication as alternative and more democratic measures. The participants’ accounts are used to argue why it is important that public participation permeates all levels of daily life, rather than being confined to specific events such as consensus conferences or citizen forums.
The microstructure of mechanically alloyed Al – Mg determined by X-ray diffraction peak profile analysis

The effect of the nominal Mg content and the milling time on the microstructure and the hardness of mechanically alloyed Al-rich Al–Mg solid solutions is studied. The crystallite size distribution and the dislocation structure are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) peak profile analysis and the hardness is obtained from depth-sensing indentation tests. Magnesium gradually goes into solid solution during ball milling and after 3 h an almost complete solid solution is attained. With increasing milling time, the Mg concentration in solid solution, the dislocation density and the hardness increase, whereas the crystallite size decreases. A similar tendency of these parameters is observed at a particular duration of ball milling with increasing nominal Mg content. After 3 h milling there are no changes in both the microstructure and the hardness. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) Quantification under Conceptual Covers

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TCF 7 L 2 splice variants have distinct effects on b-cell turnover and function

Type 2 diabetes manifests when the b-cell fails to secrete sufficient amounts of insulin to maintain normoglycemia and undergoes apoptosis. The disease progression results from an interplay of environmental factors and genetic predisposition. Polymorphisms in T-cell factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) strongly correlate with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). While TCF7L2 mRNA is upregulated in islets in diabetes, protein levels are downregulated. The loss of TCF7L2 induces impaired function and apoptosis. By analyzing human isolated islets, we provide three explanations for this opposite regulation and the mechanisms of TCF7L2 on b-cell function and survival. (i) We found TCF7L2 transcripts in the human b-cell, which had opposite effects on b-cell survival, function and Wnt signaling activation. While TCF7L2 clone B1, which lacks exons 13, 14, 15 and 16 induced b-cell apoptosis, impaired function and inhibited glucagon-like peptide 1 response and downstream targets of Wnt signaling, clones B3 and B7 which both contain exon 13, improved b-cell survival and function and activated Wnt signaling. (ii) TCF7L2 mRNA is extremely unstable and is rapidly degraded under pro-diabetic conditions and (iii) TCF7L2 depletion in islets induced activation of glycogen synthase kinase 3-b, but this was independent of endoplasmic reticulum stress. We demonstrated function-specific transcripts of TCF7L2, which possessed distinct physiological and pathophysiological effects on the b-cell. The presence of deleterious TCF7L2 splice variants may be a mechanism of b-cell failure in T2DM.
Land use in the karstic lands in the Mediterranean region

Karstic lands have special importance in terms of soil formation and land-use. Soil appears only on the flat and slightly undulating karstic lands, while soils are found along the cracks and bedding surfaces between the layers on the hilly karst areas although these lands are rocky in appearance. Karstic lands in the hilly area are not conducive to cultivation. But rocky areas create a favourable habitat for the growth of forests except in an arid climate. Because the tree roots easily follow and develop along the cracks in the limestone. As a general rule soil erosion does not occur on sub-horizontal karst surfaces due to the fact that atmospheric waters easily infiltrate along the cracks. Natural generation of vegetation like the maquis-type occurs via the root suckers, but coniferous trees such as cedar, fir, pine through seed dispersal. The clearance of natural vegetation on the karstic lands leads to the formation of bare lands. That is why the slopes of the limestone hillsides have been converted into bare and/or rocky terrains in places where natural vegetation has been completely destroyed.
The Determinants of Leverage of Listed Companies

This aim of this paper is to empirically investigate the determinants of leverage of listed companies. The study sample included 121 listed companies on the Jordanian Stock Exchange extended from the period 2007 to 2010. The sample covered the industrial and services sectors while the financial sector was excluded from the study. For the data analysis, regression model was employed; the explanatory variables comprised of firm liquidity, size, growth rate, profit, and tangibility, whereas the independent variable was the leverage ratio. The results show that for both industrial and services sectors; there were no statistical significant relationship. When the two sectors were separated, the results for the industrial sector revealed that liquidity and tangibly have significant relationship with leverage, whereas the results for the services sector revealed that the growth rate, liquidity, and tangibility have significant relationship with leverage.