Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mixed‐longitudinal analysis of growth data from malian adolescent girls: Evidence for compensatory gain?

Cross‐sectional data have previously indicated poor growth and development among adolescent girls in Mali. These data have shown that Malian girls are shorter and lighter than their United States female counterparts. Many studies suggest that this evidence of poor growth and development is due to a combination of poor nutrient intake, high‐energy expenditure, and poor access to health care. At adolescence, individuals rarely follow a standard pattern of growth due to different biological timetables and expressions of pubertal growth. By examining velocity of growth, researchers can recognize developmental patterns such as compensatory gain. This study examines the growth rates of Malian girls over a 6‐month period. Anthropometric data were collected from a total of 1,045 adolescent girls ages 10–17 years. Height and weights were collected twice from the Segou Coura community in the town of Segou and from the Dioro Arrondissement in 1997. From these data, mixed longitudinal analyses were conducted. Both the height and weight velocity data showed patterns of delayed growth rates when compared with American girls. Although Malian girls are similar to American girls in that they tend to reach their peak height velocity at age 12, the Malian girls demonstrate a longer growth spurt than the American girls. This evidence of greater height velocity may be an indication of compensatory growth, or compensatory gain, and is partially supported from cross‐sectional data. While these Malian data do not show much evidence that certain stressors are relieved during adolescence, only more extensive longitudinal data can more fairly examine the issue. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 15:178–186, 2003. ©2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Evaluation and Influence of Gyrotron Cathode Emission Inhomogeneity

In order to evaluate the emission inhomogeneity of thermionic gyrotron cathode emitters, a novel definition of emission inhomogeneity and evaluating method from the current–voltage characteristics is described in this paper. Results for three different types of gyrotron oscillators at different emitter temperatures based on experimental data and mathematical treatment are considered in the investigation. The influence of emission inhomogeneity on gyrotron efficiency is numerically calculated using the 3-D codes ARIADNE and EURIDICE. The emitter inhomogeneity upper limits for the distributions of work function, temperature, and electric field are given at the end of this paper.
Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potentials in an Experimental Model of Bilirubin Neurotoxicity

of hyperbilirubinemia. The current incidence of neurological and audiological impairment due to bilirubin toxicity is largely unknown. Bilirubin encephalopathy is a good example of a neurological disease that, with current technology, is potentially preventable. More vigorous treatment can be easily performed if neonates at highest risk could be more precisely identified. There is a good animal model for the disorder, which is important because humans with hyperbilirubinemia usually have concurrent risk factors, e.g., hypoxia-ischemia and other illnesses. If bilirubin toxicity indeed causes isolated hearing loss and mental retardation, it may be one of the few preventable causes. A better understanding of bilirubin toxicity might lead immediately to more effective strategies for prevention. In an attempt to provide a more cohesive synthesis of the localization, reversibility, and pathogenesis of dysfunction due to bilirubin
The effect of corporate governance on firm’s capital structure of listed companies (Plantation) in Malaysia

This study has a purpose of examining the effects of corporate governance on the firm’s capital structure of listed companies in Malaysia from the year 2008 to the year 2017. This study covered a period of 10 years over 43 plantation companies listed in Bursa Malaysia. Besides, Pooled Ordinary Least Square (OLS) method was used to analyze the relationship between the dependent variable and the independent variables. The responding variable of this study is the capital structure which was calculated using the debt ratio. Meanwhile, the explanatory variables are firm size, CEO duality, managerial ownership, board of independence and profitability. Based on the empirical findings, only firm size are positively correlated with the debt ratio and CEO duality, managerial ownership, board of independence, and profitability exhibits a negative correlation with debt ratio. According to the t-statistic output, the explanatory variables which affect significantly affects the capital structure are firm size, board of independence, and profitability. Moreover, variables that do not significantly affect the capital structure are CEO duality and managerial ownership. The results conclude that managerial ownership and CEO duality are not strong predictor variables that can affect the capital structure of listed plantation companies in Malaysia.
EFFECT OF SOIL MANAGEMENT ON THEIR THERMAL PROPERTIES

In order to determine the effect of soil management on its thermal properties, undisturbed soil samples were taken from two tillage treatments (conventional and conservation treatment) at two depths (0-30cm and 30-60cm) of a Stagnic Luvisol (silt loam) before and after directly wheeling. The experimental field, located in Harste/Goettingen, Germany, was cultivated with sugar beet (Beta vulgaris). To calculate thermal properties of the soil, the volumetric water content (TDR needles) and temperature (pT 100 thermistors) during the simulation of the daily fluctuation of temperature were registered in laboratory and then the thermal conductivity, volumetric heat capacity and heat diffusivity were calculated following the damping depth method and the statistical-physical model. The results showed that different tillage systems as well as compaction influenced soil thermal properties. Conservational tillage treatment with more stable and better developed soil structure at a depth of 0-30cm (which represents ploughing depth and decides differences between soil management) presented higher water content as the main factor deciding soil thermal properties. According to this, values of thermal conductivity and volumetric heat capacity under this treatment were greater than under conventional. Thermal diffusivity, however, was lower. From the latter we can conclude that under conservation tillage treatment the soil can store more heat, but at the same time and as a result of the lower thermal diffusivity, the atmospheric variations do not affect the soil thermal regime strongly.
Optical Online Monitoring of Uric Acid Removal during Dialysis

This study estimates the total removal of uric acid (TRUA) by online UV absorbance measurements in the spent dialysate in two different dialysis centers in Estonia and Sweden. Sixteen dialysis patients were included. All dialysate was collected that gave the reference for TRUA. Two regression models were investigated: one for each patient (UV1) and one for the entire material (UV2). TRUA from the three methods was in the same order but showed a statistically significant difference when the UV2 model was built on data from both centers together. TRUA, (n = 56) was (mean ± SD, µmol): 5,854 ± 1,377 for reference, 6,117 ± 1,795 for UV1 and 5,762 ± 1,591 for UV2. Six patients were monitored 1 year after the first study session, using the same models as the previous year, still having a nonsignificant difference. The results show the possibility of estimating TRUA by using UV absorbance. The method appeared to be reliable also in long-term patient monitoring.
A four‐gene methylation marker panel as triage test in high‐risk human papillomavirus positive patients

Cervical neoplasia‐specific biomarkers, e.g. DNA methylation markers, with high sensitivity and specificity are urgently needed to improve current population‐based screening on (pre)malignant cervical neoplasia. We aimed to identify new cervical neoplasia‐specific DNA methylation markers and to design and validate a methylation marker panel for triage of high‐risk human papillomavirus (hr‐HPV) positive patients. First, high‐throughput quantitative methylation‐specific PCRs (QMSP) on a novel OpenArray™ platform, representing 424 primers of 213 cancer specific methylated genes, were performed on frozen tissue samples from 84 cervical cancer patients and 106 normal cervices. Second, the top 20 discriminating methylation markers were validated by LightCycler® MSP on frozen tissue from 27 cervical cancer patients and 20 normal cervices and ROCs and test characteristics were assessed. Three new methylation markers were identified (JAM3, EPB41L3 and TERT), which were subsequently combined with C13ORF18 in our four‐gene methylation panel. In a third step, our methylation panel detected in cervical scrapings 94% (70/74) of cervical cancers, while in a fourth step 82% (32/39) cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 or higher (CIN3+) and 65% (44/68) CIN2+ were detected, with 21% positive cases for ≤CIN1 (16/75). Finally, hypothetical scenario analysis showed that primary hr‐HPV testing combined with our four‐gene methylation panel as a triage test resulted in a higher identification of CIN3 and cervical cancers and a higher percentage of correct referrals compared to hr‐HPV testing in combination with conventional cytology. In conclusion, our four‐gene methylation panel might provide an alternative triage test after primary hr‐HPV testing.
Mesures de la luminosité absolue à l'expérience LHCb

Les mesures de la luminosite integree pour les experiences aupres de collisionneur ont un interet majeur. Ces mesures participent a la determination des sections efficaces de production des processus etudies, elles quantifient egalement les performances de l'accelerateur et des experiences. Deux methodes ont ete utilisees par l'experience LHCb pour determiner la mesure de la luminosite absolue enregistree durant la campagne 2010 de prise de donnees des collisions proton-proton a une energie de 7 TeV dans le centre de masse: outre la methode classique applelee "Van der Meer scan" une nouvelle technique est developpee permettant une determination directe des parametres de chaque faisceau en localisant les interactions faisceau-faisceau et les interactions faisceau-gaz residuel. Cette methode n'est possible que grace a la resolution du detecteur de vertex de LHCb et sa proximite avec la zone des faisceaux de protons et les parametres tels la position, les angles et les largeurs des faisceaux peuvent etre mesures. Les deux methodes sont decrites et leurs resultats discutes. De plus les techniques utilisees pour etendre les mesures de luminosite absolue a l'ensemble de la prise de donnees 2010 sont decrites.
"Colorblind" Policy in Black and White: Racial Consequences of Disenfranchisement Policy

Disenfranchisement policies were formulated with discriminatory intent in several states (Behrens, Uggen, and Manza 2003; Mauer 2001; Preuhs 2001). Does such discrimination persist? Do disenfranchisement laws disparately impact black voters? I argue that disenfranchisement policies target black citizens and impact black voters disparately compared with white voters. I show that disenfranchisement laws have a disparate impact on the black community that becomes increasingly disproportionate as disenfranchisement laws increase in severity. I find that disenfranchisement policies have a significant independent effect on voting rights in the black community and do not have a similar effect on white voters. I conclude that the ability of the black community to achieve adequate representation is substantially diminished as fewer and fewer blacks qualify for voter registration.
Private and public schools: A spatial analysis of social segregation in France

This article shifts our understanding of the geographies of education away from large cities. It provides a geographical and urban analysis of the contribution of differences in enrolment between the public and private sectors to social segregation in French middle schools. Using the mutual information index, we show that the contribution of public/private divergences is rising and is higher in middle-sized urban areas and central municipalities. These geographical areas, however, are not those where social segregation is highest, nor those where the private sector is commonly regarded as the main cause of segregation. Moreover, the gaps between the public and the private sectors are stronger at the local level. This confirms the idea that the private sector is indeed a tool for circumventing France’s School Map (la Carte scolaire) for allocating places to pupils and that private schools create additional social differences locally.
Factors affecting the quality of joint patents in China

This thesis expects to contribute to the understanding of the factors affecting the quality of joint patents based on empirical investigations using large datasets.The first empirical study looks at the propensity of different technology level sectors to engage in joint patenting activities. Higher industrial sectors are more likely to collaborate with universities for technological innovations.The second empirical study analyses the effects of co-ownerships with cross-border partners and universities on the quality of joint patents owned by Chinese firms. While cross-border co-ownership on its own is a strong predictor of joint patent quality, the positive effect of university co-ownership on quality is clearly observed when cross-border co-ownership is added. The evidence on the effect of organisational proximity (joint patents between subsidiaries of an enterprise) is ambiguous.The third empirical study investigates whether the relationships observed in China are also found in international evidence by using a larger data set for 80 countries covering industrialised emerging and developing countries. Collaborations between countries with substantial income differences, for example emerging and developed countries, positively impact on joint patent quality. Collaborations between low-income countries have been unsuccessful in improving patent quality.The fourth empirical study explores the roles of cognitive proximity and organizational proximity in shaping the innovation performance of firm-university collaborations in China. Cognitive proximity has a positive impact on the quality of joint patents. However, beyond a certain level of cognitive proximity, the positive impact on value creation diminishes. Organizational proximity is insignificantly related to the value of joint patents.In summary, joint patenting performance is stronger where there is greater cognitive proximity of firms with cross-border partners and universities and firms have a sufficiently high level of technological capacity. Generally organizational proximity is less significant
The Word on Banking - Social Ties, Trust, and the Adoption of Financial Products

This paper studies the importance of social interactions for the adoption of financial products. We exploit a unique dataset of friendships among United States students and a novel estimation strategy that accounts for possibly endogenous network formation. We find that not all social contacts are equally important: only those with a long-lasting relationship influence financial decisions. Moreover, the correlation in agents' behavior only arises among long-lasting ties in cohesive network structures. This evidence is consistent with an important role of trust in financial decisions. Repeated interactions generate trust among agents, which in turn aggregate in tightly knit groups. When agents have to decide whether or not to adopt a financial instrument they face a risk and might place greater value on information coming from agents they trust. These results can help to understand the growing importance of face-to-face social contacts for financial decisions.
Germ cell specific promoter drives ectopic transgene expression during embryogenesis

In this study, we used the male germ cell‐specific phosphoglycerate kinase 2 (Pgk2) promoter to generate Pgk2Cre transgenic mice to allow investigation of genes critically involved in meiosis. The Pgk2 promoter had been used previously to target transgene expression to spermatocytes and spermatids in several laboratories including ours. In several Cre targeting experiments using other promoters, ectopic Cre expression had been observed, but the timing and extent of this expression was not analyzed. We demonstrate that in adult mice the Pgk2Cre transgene is expressed specifically in spermatocytes and spermatids, as expected. However, in offspring from matings of Pgk2Cre mice and an H19loxP indicator strain, we discovered that recombination events had occurred in several, but not all, tissues to varying extents. The lacZ‐loxP transgenic indicator strain was next used to uncover ectopic Cre expression even in single cells, which indicated that the Pgk2Cre transgene is expressed between days 11 and 15 during embryogenesis in several tissues and organs. Using an RT PCR assay we were unable to detect endogenous Pgk2 mRNA during embryogenesis or in adult tissues other than testis. In conclusion, the Pgk2 promoter is a valid choice for targeting gene expression to meiotic male germ cells, since transient ectopic expression is unlikely to have a discernable effect in most studies, but it may be inappropriate for utilization with Cre recombinase. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 59:25–32, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Economic impact of total solids loading on enzymatic hydrolysis of dilute acid pretreated corn stover

In process integration studies of the biomass‐to‐ethanol conversion process, it is necessary to understand how cellulose conversion yields vary as a function of solids and enzyme loading and other key operating variables. The impact of solids loading on enzymatic cellulose hydrolysis of dilute acid pretreated corn stover slurry was determined using an experimental response surface design methodology. From the experimental work, an empirical correlation was obtained that expresses monomeric glucose yield from enzymatic cellulose hydrolysis as a function of solids loading, enzyme loading, and temperature. This correlation was used in a technoeconomic model to study the impact of solids loading on ethanol production economics. The empirical correlation was used to provide a more realistic assessment of process cost by accounting for changes in cellulose conversion yields at different solids and enzyme loadings as well as enzyme cost. As long as enzymatic cellulose conversion drops off at higher total solids loading (due to end‐product inhibition or other factors), there is an optimum value for the total solids loading that minimizes the ethanol production cost. The optimum total solids loading shifts to higher values as enzyme cost decreases. © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog. , 2010
Strategic Determinants of Organizational Performance of Maize Seed Companies in Kenya

xviii CHAPTER ONE . 1 INTROUCTION . 1 1.1 Background of the Study . 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem . 8 1.3 Objectives of the Study . 10 1.4 Research Hypotheses . 11 1.5 Significance of the Study . 11 1.6 Scope of the Study . 13 1.7 Limitations of the Study . 13 CHAPTER TWO . 14 LITERATURE REVIEW . 14 2.
The relationship of hydraulic conductance to root system characteristics of peach (Prunus persica) rootstocks

Specific rootstocks can differentially influence the vegetative growth and development of fruit trees. However, the physiological mechanism involved in this phenomenon has been elusive. Recent research comparing different peach (Prunus persica L. Batsch) rootstocks suggests that the rootstock effect on vegetative growth in peach trees is associated to water relations and more specifically to differences in rootstock hydraulic conductance. This study was intended to confirm differences in hydraulic characteristics of similar size peach trees grafted on different rootstocks and to examine root system characteristics that could be associated with rootstock hydraulic limitations. Trees on rootstocks that were known to have a size-controlling effect when grown under field conditions had lower rootstock conductance than trees on the vigorous (control) rootstock when rootstock hydraulic conductance was measured with both the high-pressure and evaporative flow methods. Rootstocks with the lowest hydraulic conductance had less fine root surface area and length per unit root dry weight than the more vigorous (control) rootstock. However, contrary to previous field studies, in this study there were no significant differences in dry matter production and distribution among trees on the different rootstocks suggesting that whatever the normal growth control mechanism was, it did not differentially influence growth under the specific conditions of this study. This research confirmed that peach rootstocks exhibiting size-controlling behavior under field conditions differed in their hydraulic and morphological characteristics under controlled growth conditions even when those growth conditions negated the expression of the size-controlling behavior.
Possible Potential of Facebook to Enhance Learners' Motivation in Mobile Learning Environment.

Facebook is world’s leading social network, 29% of its active members represent Pakistan. This study utilized Facebook for teachers’ in-service training. Thirty teachers from different parts of Pakistan took part in this training that lasted for ten weeks. The researcher tested the impact of three independent variables namely: social interactions, quality of experiences and behavior on learners’ motivation (dependent variable). The hypothesis of this study propose a positive impact of independent variables on the dependent variable, the research was able to prove the hypothesis.
Morphology of the Levator Veli Palatini Muscle Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Background No studies have reported the circumference and diameter of the levator veli palatini muscle at multiple points along its length and from both views (frontal and lateral). The purpose of this study was to provide quantitative data regarding the levator muscle morphology along the length of the muscle using magnetic resonance imaging and advanced three-dimensional computer technology. Methods Ten Caucasian male subjects participated in the study. Subjects were scanned using a Siemens 3 T Trio. Levator muscle measures were obtained using a two-dimensional image plane. A three-dimensional model was used to measure the circumference and muscle diameter (in two directions) at six points along the length of the levator muscle. Results Levator muscle length ranged from 41.67 mm to 52.85 mm across all subjects. Mean extravelar muscle length was 30.55 mm (SD, 2.8 mm) and 30.01 mm (SD, 2.9 mm) for right and left muscles. The mean circumference at the origin was 18.90 mm (SD, 2.6 mm). At the second point, the muscle circumference mean increased slightly (mean, 22.40 mm; SD, 4.9 mm). The means for the remainder of the measures (points 3, 4, 5, and 6) were consistent, showing little to no change. Conclusion Circumference and diameter values were similar to those reported in previous literature. The muscle did diverge at the point where the muscle bundle entered the velum, as it has been previously described. Instead, the muscle diverges near the midline insertion becoming sparser (smaller superior-to-inferior diameter).