Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hindlimb sensory neuron number increases with body size

As an animal grows, its sensory systems face the task of maintaining sensitivity and discrimination in peripheral fields that are continually enlarging. Without the addition of neurons, existing cells would have to innervate a wider skin area, leading to a decrease in the precision with which stimuli are localized. Neurons were counted in the three dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) that innervate the hindlimb of the bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana). Profiles of neuronal nuclei containing the single nucleolus found in these cells were counted in every third section of serially cut ganglia. This means of assessing neuron number was validated by comparing these profile counts with three‐dimensional reconstructions of sensory neurons. Large frogs (10–17 cm) had more than twice as many DRG neurons as small frogs (3.3–5 cm). The rate of increase was greatest between 3 and 8 cm, when over 1,300 hindlimb sensory neurons were added for each 1 cm increase in body length. The possibility that selective survival of frogs with many neurons biases estimates of mean neuron number was ruled out by the finding that frogs drawn from the same closed population, half of which were sacrificed immediately and half of which were sacrificed after 1 year's survival, showed expected differences in neuron number. Horseradish peroxidase applied to particular hindlimb nerves retrogradely labeled more neurons in large frogs than small frogs, supporting the hypothesis that added neurons extend their axons to the periphery.
COGEX: A Logic Prover for Question Answering

Recent TREC results have demonstrated the need for deeper text understanding methods. This paper introduces the idea of automated reasoning applied to question answering and shows the feasibility of integrating a logic prover into a Question Answering system. The approach is to transform questions and answer passages into logic representations. World knowledge axioms as well as linguistic axioms are supplied to the prover which renders a deep understanding of the relationship between question text and answer text. Moreover, the trace of the proofs provide answer justifications. The results show that the prover boosts the performance of the QA system on TREC questions by 30%.
IMPACT OF CAPITAL STRUCTURE ON PERFORMANCE OF NON-FINANCIAL LISTED COMPANIES IN PAKISTAN

This study examines the relationship between capital structure and financial performance using a broad sample of 213 non-financial firms listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) over the period 1999- 2015. The relationship between financial performance and capital structure is estimated using fixed and random effect models. Sectorwise comparison shows that for the majority of sectors, higher shortand long-term debt has a significant negative impact on financial performance; however, magnitude of this effect varies across industries. The results suggest that in order to improve performance, companies’ management should decrease their reliance on debt finance.
Maternal and fetal outcome of pregnancy complicated by HELLP syndrome

Objective. The study evaluated the maternal and fetal outcome in 64 pregnancies complicated by HELLP syndrome. Methods. A retrospective analysis of the medical records was performed of patients with HELLP syndrome managed at this tertiary Obstetric unit between January 1996 and December 2005, who were admitted for preeclamsia/eclampsia and had documented evidence of hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes and low platelet count. Maternal and neonatal complications were recorded and analyzed. Results. The incidence of HELLP syndrome in the study was 8.3%. Mean gestational age at delivery was 32.4 ± 4.2 weeks and mean birth weight was 1851 ± 810 g. Forty-two percent of the patients had deliveries <32 weeks and 28% IUGR. Respiratory distress syndrome was the main indication for NICU admissions (33.9%). The PNM rate was 20%. Maternal morbidity rate was 34%. The most common maternal complications were abruptio placentae (36.4%) and DIC (31.8%). There was no maternal death. Conclusion. Once the diagnosis of HELLP syndrome is confirmed, the management depends on several obstetric and maternal variables like gestational age, severity of laboratory abnormalities and fetal status. As soon as the maternal condition is stabilized and fetal assessment is obtained, prompt delivery of the fetus is indicated. It is not yet established whether expectant management in preterm pregnancies with HELLP syndrome would improve perinatal outcome.
Increased frequency of G-protein beta 3-subunit 825 T allele in dialyzed patients with type 2 diabetes.

BACKGROUND A polymorphism (C825T) in exon 10 of the gene encoding the beta 3 subunit of heterotrimeric G proteins (GN beta 3) has recently been described, and the T allele was found to be associated with late-onset hypertension. Because hypertension is a known risk factor for the development of clinically manifest progressive renal disease, we examined the C825T polymorphism in older hemodialysis patients suffering from nondiabetic renal disease or type 2 diabetes with presumed diabetic nephropathy, respectively, and in older healthy controls. METHODS Genotyping was performed by polymerase chain reaction, followed by restriction enzyme analysis. RESULTS The study showed that the frequency of the T allele in the nondiabetic patients on dialysis (0.232) was significantly (P < 0.03) lower than in older healthy controls (0.293). In contrast, the frequency was significantly (P < 0.02) higher in older patients with type 2 diabetes on dialysis. No significant change in T-allele frequency was noted in older patients with type 2 diabetes without microangiopathy (0.286). The odds ratios for patients with type 2 diabetes on dialysis versus nondiabetic patients on dialysis were 3.24 (1.3 to 7.9, P < 0.00079) for TT/CC and 1.82 (1.07 to 3.09, P < 0.02) for CT/CC. The respective odds ratios for patients with type 2 diabetes on dialysis versus controls were 2.05 (1.07 to 3.9, P < 0.028) for CT/CC and 1.216 (0.79 to 1.87; P < 0.37) for CT/CC. CONCLUSION The data do not support a role of the hypertension-associated T allele in the genesis of dialysis-dependent end-stage renal failure in general, but are compatible with a specific role of the T allele in the development or progression of diabetic nephropathy.
A PET Study of Somatosensory Discrimination in Man. Microgeometry Versus Macrogeometry

The regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured with 15O‐butanol and positron emission tomography (PET) in 10 healthy subjects in order to compare cerebral activation involved in the somatosensory discrimination of microgeometric features with cerebral activation associated with the discrimination of macrogeometric features. Subjects performed two‐alternative forced choice (2‐AFC) discriminations of pairs of stimuli from a series of quantified standardized stimuli that differed in roughness (microgeometry), and a separate 2‐AFC task of smooth tactile stimuli that differed in length (macrogeometry). Results are presented from three conditions: (1) a roughness discrimination task; (2) a length discrimination task; and (3) a control trial in which subjects were required to reproduce similar exploratory finger movements only, but without a specific stimulus to feel. Mean subtraction images were computed using the computerized adjustable brain atlas of Greitz et al. (1991, J. Comput. Assisted Tomogr., 15, 26–38) and areas of significant blood flow change were identified. Both the roughness and the length discrimination tasks activated overlapping cortical fields contralaterally in the anterior and posterior lip of the postcentral sulcus. However, in the length discrimination, activation of the posterior lip of the postcentral sulcus extended deeper into the sulcus and there was also a separate additional area of activation in the anterior part of the precentral gyrus. Furthermore, the length discrimination task activated fields in the overt part of the supramarginal gyrus bilaterally as well as fields in the angular gyrus bilaterally. Thus roughness discrimination uses only a subset of the cortical regions that are needed for the recovery of length information, which requires more extensive somatosensory processing. This finding may be partly explained in that length perception needs both edge detection of the stimuli used, as well as integrated information of surface length and velocity, which is not necessary for roughness perception. Specific differences in the acquisition of necessary tactile information between the two discrimination tasks was reflected in different sampling strategies.
Evaluation of DNA Damage in Different Stages of Mouse Spermatogenesis after Testicular X Irradiation

Abstract Cordelli, E. , Fresegna, A. M. , Leter, G. , Eleuteri, P., Spanò, M. and Villani, P. Evaluation of DNA Damage in Different Stages of Mouse Spermatogenesis after Testicular X Irradiation. Radiat. Res. 160, 443–451 (2003). To evaluate whether DNA alterations in mature spermatozoa could stem from DNA damage induced in immature germ cells, testis cells and spermatozoa were analyzed by the comet assay and by the sperm chromatin structure assay 14, 45 and 100 days after in vivo X irradiation of the testes. These times were selected, according to the mouse seminiferous epithelium cycle, to follow the DNA damage induced in different germ cell compartments. The cytotoxic action was assessed by DNA flow cytometric analysis of testicular cells. A dose-dependent increase of DNA damage in testis cells was observed 14 days after irradiation, whereas mature sperm cells were not affected. On the other hand, an increase in DNA strand breaks was seen in spermatozoa 45 days after treatment. DNA damage returned to the control levels 100 days after irradiation. The methods used to evaluate DNA damage gave comparable results, emphasizing the correlation between DNA fragmentation and susceptibility of sperm chromatin to denaturation. Both techniques showed the high radiosensitivity of differentiating spermatogonia. The overall results showed that DNA damage induced in pre-meiotic germ cells is detectable in primary spermatocytes and is still present in mature spermatozoa.
Maturation of mechanical properties of plantar flexor muscles in prepubertal children of the Northeast of Brazil

Introduction To assess muscle mechanical properties in humans, hydraulic or motorized ergometer devices are often used in laboratories (Hof, 1998; Tognella et al., 1997). These ergometer devices are heavy equipment, and it is difficult to conduct experiments in other locations in order to evaluate different populations in their own environments. Therefore, a transportable ankle ergometer (Lambertz et al., 2008) was designed to conduct field experiments on mechanical properties of the triceps surae. To show the reliability of this new device, a validation study was conducted on healthy prepubertal children and compared to data of the literature.
Are taxes good for your health

The global framework for financing development, adopted in 2015, places great emphasis on mobilizing domestic resources to finance the Sustainable Development Goals, which include universal healthcare. In a recent paper Reeves et al. (2015) attribute progress towards universal healthcare to higher levels of taxation, but report a negative association between taxes on goods and services (indirect taxes) and health outcomes, which they hypothesise arises from the impact such taxes have on the real incomes of the poor. This paper revisits the relationship between tax types and health outcomes using the ICTD Government Revenue Dataset, which, crucially, isolates taxes from resource industries. As expected, we confirm increases in revenue are associated with increased public health expenditure; we find some weak evidence that greater reliance on direct taxes is associated with higher health spending and better outcomes, but no evidence that indirect taxes are deleterious to health. We argue these relationships cannot bear the weight of causal interpretation but that they offer some guidance on what to expect from increased domestic revenue mobilization.
Are DMDs a Good Choice in the Early Treatment of CIS and MS

About 2.5 million individuals worldwide are currently being affected by MS [1]. In Europe, mean annual cost per person with MS is estimated to be around €27,000 [2]. In the European Union, the estimated costs of MS are calculated to be at €9 billion per year [3]. In a survey among patients receiving Disease Modifying Drugs (DMD) in the United States in 2004, total average costs per patient were estimated as high as US$47,000 per year. Of these costs, 63% were direct costs, including 34% of total costs (US$16,000) for DMD [4]. Rotstein et al describe that prescriptions of the 4 DMDs used in MS (3 Beta Interferons and Glatiramer Acetate (GA)) increased by 50% over five years. Their cost jumped from 15 to 28 million dollars per year from 2001 to 2007 in Canada [5]. Therefore, the answer to the question posed here is probably worth a few Billion dollars.
Serum gastrin level and pepsinogen I/II ratio as biomarker of Helicobacter pylori chronic gastritis.

AIM to find out biomarker as diagnostic tool of H. pylori chronic gastritis. METHODS the design of present study was a diagnostic test and there were 104 subjects with H. pylori chronic gastritis who fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The diagnosis of H. pylori chronic gastritis was based on histopathological examination and PCR with ureC primer of the gastric biopsy specimen. In addition, we also performed the examination of serum gastrin, pepsinogen (PG) I and PG (pepsinogen) II level. By using analysis of receiver operating characteristic (ROC), an optimal cut off point of serum gastrin, PGI and PGII level as well as PGI/PGII ratio was determined. Analysis of bivariate logistic regression was used to determine the involved independent variables and possibilities as biomarkers. Significance level was determined by p value <0.05. RESULTS we found optimal cut off points on serum gastrin, PGI and PGII level as well as the PGI/PGII ratio at 5.89 pmol/L; 82.5 µg/L; 6.48 µg/L and 13.6 respectively. By using the analysis of bivariate logistic regression, we found gastrin level with p = 0.078 (OR 2.75;95%CI 0.89-8.45) and PGI/PGII ratio with p = 0.000 (OR 14.63;95%CI 3.55-60.63). The opportunity of gastrin level and PGI/PGII ratio as biomarkers was 0.8 with 47% sensitivity, 83% specificity, 74% PPV, 61% NPV, 65% accuracy, LR+ = 2.76 and LR- = 0.64. CONCLUSION gastrin level of >5.89 pmol/L and PGI/PGII ratio ≤13.6 can be utilized as biomarkers of H. pylori chronic gastritis.
An Exploratory Investigation into the Antecedents of Satisfaction, Brand Attitude, and Loyalty within the (B2B) eCRM Industry

The following exploratory study considers a model explaining brand loyalty relative to the electronic Customer Relationship Management (hereafter referred to as eCRM) industry. The model focuses specifically on B2B relationships, and includes customer satisfaction, attitude, brand trust, affect, value, and resistance to change as model constructs. This model, exploratory in nature, begins to help sift out the relative direct and indirect influences of an increasingly complex number of known antecedents to customer loyalty. Particularly noteworthy is our failure to find a direct relationship between e-satisfaction and loyalty. Rather, we find that the e-satisfaction loyalty relationship appears mediated by brand attitudes in this study. We also report evidence that post-consumption affect appears more closely related to brand attitude than e-satisfaction. Service provider trust also emerges as an important antecedent to brand attitude and satisfaction in this exploratory study. Managerial and research implications of the tentative results reported herein are presented and discussed.
Greasing the Wheels of Commerce? Corruption and Foreign Investment

There are considerable scholarly debates regarding the real consequences of corruption. Recent studies have argued that predictable corruption, in which bribers are guaranteed the delivery of government services, is less distortional and more efficiency-enhancing than arbitrary corruption in which officials engage in simple plunder. Yet the empirical evidence is mixed. By leveraging a vignette experiment embedded in an original firm survey in China, we find that overseas investors always consider corruption detrimental. There is some evidence that high-productivity and fixed-asset intensive investors might view predictable corruption more favorably than arbitrary corruption. Additionally, we find that compared to arbitrary corruption, predictable corruption is not associated with a significantly higher probability of market entry, but it increases the likelihood of majority ownership. Overall, the results provide little evidence that corruption “greases the wheels of commerce” even in a most likely case and suggest that the perceived benefits of predictable corruption are limited.
Stereotactic Ablative Body Radiotherapy (SABR) in Pulmonary Oligometastatic/Oligorecurrent Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Patients: A New Therapeutic Approach.

AIM Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is characterized by poor prognosis. Palliative chemotherapy and/or best supportive care are considered standard treatment. Nevertheless, for patients with limited distant metastases (1-5 metastases), called oligometastatic disease, better prognosis has been observed. We evaluated response rate, survival, time to progression and toxicity in oligometastatic/oligorecurrent NSCLC patients treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) delivered to all active sites in the lung. PATIENTS AND METHODS Twenty-nine lung metastases in 22 patients affected by oligometastatic/oligorecurrent NSCLC were treated with SBRT to all active sites of disease. Inclusion criteria were: controlled primary tumor with complete response or stable disease after surgery/radiotherapy/combined therapy; ≤4 synchronous or metachronous lung metastases at the time of treatment; no other active sites of distant metastases. RESULTS Response to treatment was as follows: complete response in 21% of lesions, partial response in 69% of metastases, stable disease in 10%. Ninenty-one percent of patients had complete metabolic response, and 9% had a partial metabolic response. Median follow-up was 18 months. The 1-year and 2-year OS was 86% and 49%, respectively. The 1-year and 2-year PFS was 79% and 40%, respectively. Median time to progression and median OS were 18 months and 24 months, respectively. Local control was 93% at 1 year and 64% at 2 years. Overall, acute toxicity occurred in 18% (4/22) of patients; two patients experienced grade 2 pneumonitis. Grade ≤2 late toxicity occurred in 50% of patients. No grade ≥3 toxicities were recorded. CONCLUSION Aggressive stereotactic radiotherapy is a feasible and well-tolerated treatment for oligometastatic/oligorrecurrent NSCLC patients with lung metastases offering longer survival. Ablative radio therapy has a potential role in the management of well-selected stage IV NSCLC patients while increasing their quality of life and survival.
Islamic Banking: Main Requirements for Provision of Islamic Financial Products and Their Enhancement in the Kenyan Banking Industry

iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT . vi DEDICATION. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS . viii LIST OF FIGURES . x LIST OF TABLES . xi LIST OF ACRONYMS . xii CHAPTER ONE . 1 1.0 INTRODUCTION. 1 1.1 Background of the Study . 1 1.2 Problem Statement . 4 1.3 Purpose of the Study . 5 1.4 Research Questions . 5 1.5 Significance of the Study . 6 1.6 Scope of the Study . 7 1.7 Definition of Terms. 7 1.8 Chapter Summary . 8 CHAPTER TWO . 9 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW . 9 2.
A FURTHER GENERALIZATION OF THE KAKUTANI FIXED POINT THEOREM, WITH APPLICATION TO NASH EQUILIBRIUM POINTS

Abstract : Kakutani's Fixed Point Theorem states that in Euclidean n-space a closed point to (non-void) convex set map of a convex compact set into itself has a fixed point. Kakutani showed that this implied the minimax theorem for finite games. The object of this note is to point out that Kakutani's theorem may be extended to convex linear topological spaces, and implies the minimax theorem for continuous games with continuous payoff as well as the existence of Nash equilibrium points.
CHARACTERIZATION OF ACTIVATED CARBONS PREPARED FROM SUGARCANE BAGASSE BY ZnCl2 ACTIVATION

Activated carbons were prepared from the agricultural waste of sugarcane bagasse by the chemical activation with zinc chloride (ZnCl2) at the activation temperature of 500°C with soaking time of 0.5 hour. The influence of activation parameters on the final carbon products was examined by varying the impregnation ratio (i.e., mass ratio of added ZnCl2 to bagasse) and bagasse size. The physical properties of carbon products were characterized by nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms (at 77 K) and helium displacement method. The surface area and pore volume of carbons were thus obtained by the BET equation and t-plot method. Also, the particle density and porosity of carbons were estimated by the total pore volume and true density. The increases of the values of surface area and pore volume are approximately proportional to the impregnation ratio. The microporous carbon product with the BET surface area of 905 m2/g and total pore volume of 0.44 cm3/g was obtained in the present study. Further, the adsorption isotherms of two acid dyes from aqueous solutions onto the carbon products were performed at 30°C. The results show that the adsorption isotherms of acid dyes with high molecular weight or large molecular size on the microporous adsorbents of activated carbons are plateau forms, indicating multilayer adsorptions, which may be attributed to the steric hindrance of the adsorbate molecules.
Chemotropism and Cell Fusion in Neurospora crassa Relies on the Formation of Distinct Protein Complexes by HAM-5 and a Novel Protein HAM-14

In filamentous fungi, communication is essential for the formation of an interconnected, multinucleate, syncytial network, which is constructed via hyphal fusion or fusion of germinated asexual spores (germlings). Anastomosis in filamentous fungi is comparable to other somatic cell fusion events resulting in syncytia, including myoblast fusion during muscle differentiation, macrophage fusion, and fusion of trophoblasts during placental development. In Neurospora crassa, fusion of genetically identical germlings is a highly dynamic and regulated process that requires components of a MAP kinase signal transduction pathway. The kinase pathway components (NRC-1, MEK-2 and MAK-2) and the scaffold protein HAM-5 are recruited to hyphae and germling tips undergoing chemotropic interactions. The MAK-2/HAM-5 protein complex shows dynamic oscillation to hyphae/germling tips during chemotropic interactions, and which is out-of-phase to the dynamic localization of SOFT, which is a scaffold protein for components of the cell wall integrity MAP kinase pathway. In this study, we functionally characterize HAM-5 by generating ham-5 truncation constructs and show that the N-terminal half of HAM-5 was essential for function. This region is required for MAK-2 and MEK-2 interaction and for correct cellular localization of HAM-5 to “fusion puncta. ” The localization of HAM-5 to puncta was not perturbed in 21 different fusion mutants, nor did these puncta colocalize with components of the secretory pathway. We also identified HAM-14 as a novel member of the HAM-5/MAK-2 pathway by mining MAK-2 phosphoproteomics data. HAM-14 was essential for germling fusion, but not for hyphal fusion. Colocalization and coimmunoprecipitation data indicate that HAM-14 interacts with MAK-2 and MEK-2 and may be involved in recruiting MAK-2 (and MEK-2) to complexes containing HAM-5.