Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nicorandil Mitigates Renal Oxidative Damage, Apoptotic, and Fibrotic Changes Induced by Cyclosporine-A in Rats

Cyclosporine A (CsA) is one of the immunosuppressive drugs broadly used in transplantation rejection. However, nephrotoxicity arising from its long-term use constrained its efficacy. This study investigated the advantageous role of nicorandil against CsA nephrotoxicity in rats. Rats were assigned into 5 groups (n= 6 each): control group, nicorandil group, CsA group, CsA+nicorandil group, CsA+nicorandil+glibenclamide group. CsA induced Nephrotoxicity orally for 21 days. The results exhibited that CsA nephrotoxicity manifested by increasing serum urea, creatinine, and uric acid in the orchestra with histopathological changes. There was a significant rise in oxidative damage parameters;malondialdehyde (MDA), reduced glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD) without relevant effect on nitric oxide (NO) level. CsA increased the expression of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) and collagen 1A1 by reverse transcriptase (RT-PCR) method with reduction of immunohistochemical expression of the Bcl2 level and increasing caspase-3 level. Administration of nicorandil significantly amelioratedoxidative changes with elevation in NO level. Nicorandil prevented the elevated serum markers associated with significant improvement in TGF-β, collagen IA1 and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) expression. Besides,immunohistochemical expression of Bcl2 significantly augmented with a reduction in caspase-3 in comparison with CsA. Glibenclamidedid not significantly have a role when combined with CsA and nicorandil. The renal protective effect of nicorandil was thought to be in part through anti-oxidant, anti-fibrotic, and antiapoptotic mechanisms. These results may offer additional nephroprotective mechanisms for nicorandil independent on its vasodilator effect.
Bias in common catch-curve methods applied to age frequency data from fish surveys

Catch curve analysis is often used in data-limited fisheries stock assessments to estimate total instantaneous mortality (Z). There are now six catch-curve methods available in the literature: the Chapman–Robson, linear regression, weighted linear regression, Heincke, generalized Poisson linear, and random-intercept Poisson linear mixed model. An assumption shared among the underyling probability models of these estimators is that fish collected for ageing are sampled from the population by simple random sampling. This type of sampling is nearly impossible in fisheries research because populations are sampled in surveys that use gears that capture individuals in clusters and often fish for ageing are selected from multi-stage sampling. In this study, I explored the effects of multi-stage cluster sampling on the bias of the estimates of Z and their associated standard errors. I found that the generalized Poisson linear model and the Chapman–Robson estimators were the least biased, whereas the random-intercept Poisson linear mixed model was the most biased under a wide range of simulation scenarios that included different levels of recruitment variation, intra-cluster correlation, sample sizes, and methods used to generate age frequencies. Standard errors of all estimators were under-estimated in almost all cases and should not be used in statistical comparisons.
Factors affecting the responsibility accounting in Vietnamese firms: A case study for livestock food processing enterprises

Article history: Received: April 16, 2019 Received in revised format: April 28 2019 Accepted: May 14, 2019 Available online: May 14, 2019 Responsibility accounting provides not only financial and non-financial information for decentralized managers but also it gives suitable responsibility for other parts or other responsibility centers to understand whether or not they work properly. Completing responsibility accounting in enterprises depends on many internal and external factors. This research uses quantitative research method to analyze the factors affecting the responsibility accounting in livestock food processing enterprises (LFPE) in Binh Dinh province, Vietnam. The results indicate that various factors affect the responsibility accounting including managerial decentralization, division the organization into responsibility centers, income and cost allocation, estimations, reality and estimation evaluation, reporting, rewarding, etc. Based on those results we offer some intuitive recommendations for firms to increase financial performance. © 2019 by the authors; licensee Growing Science, Canada
Evolución de la nómina y gastos corporativos del Banco de la República

La Asamblea Nacional Constituyente de 1991 introdujo importantes modificaciones a las funciones que venia ejerciendo el Banco de la Republica. La nueva Carta no solo declaro que el Banco estaria organizado como una persona de derecho publico, con autonomia administrativa, patrimonial y tecnica, sino que tambien limito algunas de sus funciones. Como resultado de las funciones otorgadas por la Constitucion de 1991, y de una modernizacion en los procesos del Banco, desde finales de 1990 su nomina de personal ha disminuido en un 52%. Asi mismo, la politica de austeridad ha permitido que los gastos corporativos disminuyan, en terminos reales, 22% entre 1998 y 2002. En esta Nota se hace una breve descripcion del proceso de reduccion en la nomina del Banco, asi como de la evolucion de sus gastos corporativos.
Revisión de diseños relevantes para enfermería: parte 2: diseños de investigación cualitativa

This second article of the series “An Overview of Research Designs Relevant to Nursing” presents qualitative research designs. Phenomenological, ground theory, ethnography, narrative inquiry, and other related qualitative-related research methodologies are described. In addition, the importance of qualitative research as groundwork for quantitative studies is discussed. This link between qualitative and quantitative research is fundamental to promote evidence-based nursing practice.
Investigation of Azo-COP-2 as a Photoresponsive Low-Energy CO2 Adsorbent and Porous Filler in Mixed Matrix Membranes for CO2/N2 Separation

AbstractAs a nanoporous polymer, Azo-COP-2 has been reported for having exceptional CO2/N2 separation performance. In this study, we further investigate the application of Azo-COP-2 as a potential for low-energy CO2 adsorbent and porous filler in mixed matrix membranes for CO2/N2 separation. As an adsorbent, thanks to the presence of azobenzene in its framework, Azo-COP-2 showed lower CO2 uptake when irradiated with UV light than its normal condition. Azo-COP-2 also exhibited a highly efficient CO2 photoswitching between its irradiated and non-irradiated state that has not been observed previously in any nanoporous polymer. Combined with high CO2/N2 selectivity, this property renders Azo-COP-2 to be an excellent candidate for low-energy CO2 capture. A beneficial property was also exhibited by Azo-COP-2 once they were used as porous filler in mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs) using three different polymer matrices: Matrimid, polysulfone and PIM-1. Both permeability and selectivity of the MMMs could be simultaneously improved once ideal interaction between Azo-COP-2 and the polymer could be established. It was found that Azo-COP-2 – polysulfone composites had the best performance. In this case, it was observed that the CO2 permeability and CO2/N2 selectivity could be increased up to 160% and 66.7%, respectively. The strategy then shows the great potential of Azo-COP-2 not only for an advanced low-energy CO2 adsorbent but also to improve the performance of conventional polymeric membrane for CO2 post-combustion capture.
Evaluating the Impact of Public Start-Up Assistance - Results from an Econometric Approach

This paper analyzes the medium-term growth performance of firms that exclusively received start-up assistance from programs administered by the Deutsche Ausgleichsbank (DtA), a state owned bank, within two years after startup. I apply a parametric selection approach that controls for two potential sources of self selection (receipt of assistance, complete interview data). The empirical analysis shows that firms receiving assistance perform better in terms of employment growth over a six year period.
Becoming academic writers : author identity in a Malawian university

This project explores the dialectic between the identities which social essayist literacy traditions encourage and novice writers’ view of such identities (Lillis, 2001) as novices transition to university education in a Malawian university. To do this, the study adopts the view of academic writing as social semiosis with identity implications (Ivanic, 1998). This position is predicated on the view that saying something is a performative act which hails a social being (Gee, 1996). Therefore, in asking novice writers to write in a certain way, the academy implicitly asks them to take on new discoursal identities. The study examines the dialectic that ensues from this. Such dialectic is largely examined from an Ubuntu perspective which stipulates that selfhood is brought about in interaction with and because of the “other” (cf., Swanson, 2007, 2009). To achieve this, the study adopts “ethnography as method” (Lillis, 2008) or “talk around text”. Novice academic texts were analysed to isolate the identity positions which they performatively enacted. Then, in a discourse based interview set up (Hyland, 2012a), participants were given an opportunity to explicate why as well as how they created the positions identified. The emerging data from these talks were then analysed using Bamberg’s (1997) model of interactive positioning to explore further how these novices perceive themselves in light of the emerging positions in their written texts. The findings of this study point to academic writing as a “stage managed form of interaction” (Thompson, 2001) in which what goes into the essay is hardly determined by the individual writer. The study’s findings highlight that the contents of most novice essays are determined by “the reader/assessor” (Ivanic, 1998) and the impressions novices want to create for this authoritative “other”. Novice writers’ attempts to performatively take up authoritative positions in their writing are however hampered by both a lack of knowledge of academic writing conventions as well as a reverence for secondary discourse. This makes their writing to be either “voiceless” or mildly assertive. They thus struggle to dialogically assert themselves as authoritative since authoritativeness in academic writing is contingent on the “other”. This is something novice academic writers in Malawi struggle to negotiate.
Fertility Intentions and Their Realization in Couples: How the Division of Household Chores Matters

Most research on Europe indicates that a gender-balanced division of family work tends to increase childbearing probabilities, but empirical results vary substantially. The present article proposes explanations for this observed discrepancy. It develops prior research further by (1) studying short-term fertility intentions and their realization within the subsequent 4 years, (2) analyzing the role of the spouses’ satisfaction with the division for the effects that the division may have on childbearing, (3) proving a mediation by relationship satisfaction, and (4) considering gender as well as parity as moderators. Using data from two waves of the Generations and Gender Survey, we show that the division of work affects childbearing intentions. We find that the effect (a) depends on the spouses’ satisfaction with the division, (b) is partly moderated by relationship satisfaction, and (c) varies by parity. The division of household labor, however, seems of less importance for the realization of childbearing intentions.
The Effects of Horticultural Activity with Reminiscence Materials and Singing Time on the Ability to Recall Words and Depression in the Elderly with Mild Dementia

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of horticultural activities with reminiscence materials and singing songs on the ability to recall words and depression in the elderly with mild dementia. A total of 20 sessions of a horticultural therapy program was held once or twice a week from July 14, 2015 to November 3, 2015 for the elderly with mind dementia at the social welfare center in D city. The subjects of this study were 13 women and the mean age was 81.2 years. The ability to recall words significantly improved from 8.6±1.8 before the program to 9.4±0.6 after the program (p =.012). However, there was no significant difference in the score of depression after the program. Synergistic effects were generated by applying horticultural activities, singing and reminiscence therapy activities simultaneously, and it was effective in recalling memories. As emotional functions were associated with hormones in vivo, there were emotional ups and downs at each session and short-term alternative therapies were not sufficient to completely eliminate neurotoxic substances caused by dementia.
Enrichment of mGluR 7 a in the Presynaptic Active Zones of GABAergic and Non-GABAergic Terminals on Interneurons in the Rat Somatosensory Cortex

metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs). We used immunocytochemical methods to define the location of the group III receptor mGluR7a in glutamatergic and GABAergic terminals innervating GABAergic interneurons and pyramidal cells. Immunoreactivity for mGluR7a was localized in the presynaptic active zone of both identified GABAergic and presumed glutamatergic terminals. Terminals innervating dendritic spines showed a variable level of receptor immunoreactivity, ranging from immunonegative to strongly immunopositive. The frequency of strongly mGluR7a positive terminals innervating the soma and dendrites of mGluR1α/somatostatin-expressing interneurons was very high relative to other neurons. On dendrites that received mGluR7a-enriched glutamatergic innervation, at least 80% of GABAergic terminals were immunopositive for mGluR7a. On such dendrites virtually all (95%) vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) positive (GABAergic) terminals were enriched in mGluR7a. The targets of VIP/mGluR7aexpressing terminals were mainly (88%) mGluR1α-expressing interneurons, which were mostly somatostatin immunopositive. Parvalbumin positive terminals were immunonegative for mGluR7a. Some parvalbumin immunoreactive dendrites received strongly mGluR7a positive terminals. The subcellular location, as well as the cell type and synapse-specific distribution of mGluR7a in isocortical neuronal circuits, is homologous to its distribution in the hippocampus. The specific location of mGluR7a in the presynaptic active zone of both glutamatergic and GABAergic synapses may be related to the proximity of calcium channels and the vesicle fusion machinery. The enrichment of mGluR7a in the main GABAergic, as well as in the glutamatergic, innervation of mGluR1α/somatostatinexpressing interneurons suggests that their activation is under unique regulation by extracellular glutamate.
Does the quality of institutions enhance savings? The case of Sub-Saharan Africa

ABSTRACT Over the last three decades, there has been increasing disparity in savings across regions and income groupings globally. In this paper, we investigate whether the quality of institutions explains the saving disparities in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Utilizing comprehensive panel data and spanning the period 1980–2015, we estimate a savings model using the two-step instrumental variable generalized method of moment (2SIV-GMM) estimator. Our results show that the impact of institutions on savings behaviour differs across regions and income groupings, and in SSA, in aggregate. We find that the level and growth of per capita income and terms of trade enhance savings whereas government consumption expenditure, financial sector development and the elderly dependency rate are savings impeding. The findings are robust to alternative model specification and highlight the importance of institutions in influencing savings behaviour in SSA.
An Approximate Shapley-Folkman Theorem

The Shapley-Folkman theorem shows that Minkowski averages of uniformly bounded sets tend to be convex when the number of terms in the sum becomes much larger than the ambient dimension. In optimization, Aubin and Ekeland [1976] show that this produces an a priori bound on the duality gap of separable nonconvex optimization problems involving finite sums. This bound is highly conservative and depends on unstable quantities, and we relax it in several directions to show that non convexity can have a much milder impact on finite sum minimization problems such as empirical risk minimization and multi-task classification. As a byproduct, we show a new version of Maurey's classical approximate Carath\'eodory lemma where we sample a significant fraction of the coefficients, without replacement, as well as a result on sampling constraints using an approximate Helly theorem, both of independent interest.
Maxent modeling for predicting the spatial distribution of three raptors in the Sanjiangyuan National Park, China

Abstract Upland buzzard (Buteo hemilasius), Saker falcon (Falco cherrug), and Himalayan vulture (Gyps himalayensis) are three common large raptors in the Sanjiangyuan National Park (SNP), China's first national park. Among them, Upland buzzard and Saker falcon play a significant role in controlling plateau rodent populations and reducing the transmission of pathogens carried by rodents. The Himalayan vulture can provide services for the redistribution and recycling of nutrients in the ecosystem, and play an irreplaceable role in the celestial burial culture of Tibetans in China. Exploring their habitat suitability is important for the protection of the three raptors. Our research was based on the current distribution of Upland buzzard, Saker falcon, and Himalayan vulture that we had extensively surveyed in the Sanjiangyuan National Park from 2016 to 2017. Combined with the correlation analysis of environmental variables, we utilized maximum entropy model (MaxEnt) to evaluate and compare the habitat suitability of the three species in the Sanjiangyuan National Park. Elevation, climate, and human disturbance factors, which had direct or indirect effects on species survival and reproduction, were all included in the model. Among them, elevation was the most important environmental variables affecting the suitability of habitats of three species. Temperature‐related factor was another important predictor. The high (>60%) suitable habitat areas for Upland buzzard, Saker falcon, and Himalayan vulture were 73,017.63, 40,732.78, and 61,654.33 km2, respectively, accounted for 59.32%, 33.09%, and 50.08% of the Sanjiangyuan National Park and their total suitable area (i.e., the sum area of high and moderate habitats) reached 96.07%, 60.59%, and 93.70%, respectively. Besides, the three species have overlapping areas for the suitable habitats, which means that overlapping areas should be highly valued and protected. Therefore, understanding the distribution of suitable habitats of the three raptors can provide useful information and reasonable reference for us to put forward suggestions for their protection and regional management.
Efficiency of Crystal Violet Stain to Study Mitotic Figures in Oral Epithelial Dysplasia

AIM: To evaluate mitotic activity in the different grades of oral epithelial dysplasia using 1% crystal violet stain. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A descriptive study was conducted in the Department of Histopathology of the Post Graduate Medical Institute, Lahore on a total of thirty-three cases of the Oral Epithelial Dysplasia (OED). Fresh, frozen paraffin-embedded archival tissue blocks were collected from Lahore General Hospital, Lahore & Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Department of Nawaz Sharif Hospital, Yakki Gate, Lahore. The representative sections were taken and, after processing, mounted on glass slides and stained with H&E and crystal violet stains. The stained slides were then examined under an optical microscope. The efficacy of 1% crystal violet stain to identify mitotic figures in the different grades of oral epithelial dysplasia was assessed with the sample t-test. A difference of p < 0.05 was considered to be significant. RESULTS: A comparison of the mitotic figure count in two categories in sections stained with both stains showed a statistically significant difference. An increase in the mean mitotic count was noted in the sections of OED stained with crystal violet in comparison to the sections of OED stained with H&E which was statistically significant (p = 0.00). CONCLUSION: Counting of mitotic cell is the rapid and simplest way of evaluating the proliferative activity of cells. Crystal violet stain can be a rationalised step in the staining of mitotic figures compared to the usual H&E staining and can be employed as a selective stain during routine histopathological procedures.
Phonological Awareness in Learning Literacy

This study was designed to establish the existence of different levels of phonological awareness and their relationship with the mastery of the alphabetic code in Spanish language. The article focusses on two topics which have been the object of research in recent years. The first refers to the study of phonological awareness and the second, to the influence this awareness has on the acquisition of literacy.
Identification of the Space-Time Variability of Hydrological Drought in the Arid Region of Northwestern China

Drought monitoring is crucial to water resource management and strategic planning. Thus, the objective of this study is to identify the space-time variability of hydrological drought across the broad arid region of northwestern China. Seven distributions were applied to fitting monthly streamflow records of 16 gauging stations from 10 rivers. Finally, the general logistic distribution was selected as the most appropriate one to compute the Standardized Streamflow Index (SSI). The severity and duration of hydrological droughts were also captured from the SSI series. Moreover, we investigate the relationship between hydrological drought (SSI) and meteorological drought (Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI)) at different time scales. The results show that drought duration and severity decreased over time in the Aibihu, Irtysh, Kaidu, Aksu, Yarkand, Hoton, Shule, Heihe (upstream), and Shiyang Rivers. However, the Tarim (upstream) and Heihe (middle stream) Rivers showed increasing drought duration and severity and this can be attributed to recent decades human activities. Furthermore, two correlation coefficient patterns between SSI and SPEI were found for the rivers of interest, an “increasing-decreasing” pattern for the Irtysh, Heihe, and Shiyang Rivers, where the precipitation is the main runoff supply, and an “increasing-stable” pattern for Aibihu and the Kaidu, Aksu, Yarkand, Hotan, and Shule Rivers, where glacier melt water provided a relatively high supply of runoff. Our findings are a contribution towards implementing effective water resources evaluation and planning in this arid region.
Understanding the Politics of the Learning Crisis

This chapter reflects on the key contribution of this volume to debates around global education, and offers critical comments as to how this analysis can be further developed. Conventional analyses of education systems in developing countries typically identify what can be termed ‘proximate causes’ to poor quality education, often located within the sector itself, and on the basis of this, offer solutions that are either technocratic, or rest hope in electoral democracy. This volume offers a useful corrective to such understandings. Using the concepts of policy domains and political settlements, the framework developed here helps move beyond simplistic discourse of ‘democracy’ to examine the complexities in how government types influence outcomes in education. More work however remains to be done. The cases can only draw on limited data on education quality, we need to be cautious of claims that particular settlement ‘types’ lead to certain outcomes, and further linkages to policy and practice would be beneficial.