Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lactobacillus iners Is Associated with Vaginal Dysbiosis in Healthy Pregnant Women: A Preliminary Study

Vaginal dysbiosis has been identified to be associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as preterm delivery and premature rupture of membranes. However, the overall structure and composition of vaginal microbiota in different trimesters of the pregnant women has not been fully elucidated. In this study, the physiological changes of the vaginal microbiota in healthy pregnant women were investigated. A total of 83 healthy pregnant participants were enrolled, who are in the first, second, or third pregnancy trimester. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to explore the abundant bacteria in the vaginal microbiota. No significant difference in the abundance of Gardnerella, Atopobium, Megasphaera, Eggerthella, Leptotrichia/Sneathia, or Prevotella was found among different trimesters, except Lactobacillus. Compared with the first pregnancy trimester, the abundance of L. iners decreased in the second and third trimester while the abundance of L. crispatus was increased in the second trimester. Moreover, we also found that vaginal cleanliness is correlated with the present of Lactobacillus, Atopobium, and Prevotella and leukocyte esterase is associated with Lactobacillus, Atopobium, Gardnerella, Eggerthella, Leptotrichia/Sneathia, and Prevotella. For those whose vaginal cleanliness raised or leukocyte esterase became positive, the richness of L. iners increased, while that of L. crispatus decreased significantly. Our present data indicated that the altered vaginal microbiota, mainly Lactobacillus, could be observed among different trimesters of pregnancy and L. iners could be considered as a potential bacterial marker for evaluating vaginal cleanliness and leukocyte esterase.
DNA methylation profiling analysis identifies a DNA methylation signature for predicting prognosis and recurrence of lung adenocarcinoma

The aim of the present study was to identify candidate prognostic DNA methylation biomarkers for lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), since the modern precise medicine for the treatment of LUAD requires more biomarkers and novel therapeutic targets of interest. DNA methylation profiling data of LUAD were downloaded from The Cancer Gene Atlas portal. Differentially methylated genes (DMGs) were screened to differentiate between samples designated as good and bad prognosis. LUAD-associated methylation modules were obtained with the weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) package, followed by function enrichment analysis. Optimal prognostic DMGs were selected using the LASSO estimation-based Cox-PH approach and were used to construct a prognostic risk scoring system. The training set was dichotomized by risk score, into high- and low-risk groups. The differences in overall survival (OS) time or recurrence-free survival (RFS) time between the two groups were evaluated using a Kaplan-Meier curve. A total of 742 DMG samples were screened for good and bad prognosis. WGCNA identified three LUAD-associated modules, which were primarily associated with cytoskeleton organization, transcription and apoptosis. A nine-gene prognostic methylation signature was determined, which included C20orf56, BTG2, C13orf16, DNASE1L1, ZDHHC3, FHDC1, ARF6, ITGB3 and ICAM4. A risk score-based methylation signature classified the patients in the training set into high- and low-risk groups with significantly different OS or RFS times. The prognostic value of the methylation signature was successfully verified in a validation set. In conclusion, the present study identified a nine-gene methylation signature for the prediction of survival and recurrence in patients with LUAD and improved the understanding of the alterations in DNA methylation in LUAD.
COMPARISON OF COLOR AND ATTRACTANT TRAPS EFFECT USED FOR SAMPLING APPLE BLOSSOM BEETLE (TROPINOTA

This study was carried out to determine the most appropriate trap design for monitoring Tropinota hirta (Poda, 1761) (Coleoptera: Cetoniidae) among the commonly used traps in the world during the 2018. For this purpose, cherry gardens with three different loc. Atabey district, İslamköy and Pembeli villages of Isparta province were selected and the adult catch rates of the known binary attractant mixture (cinnamyl alcohol (3-phenyl-2-propen-1-ol) and transanethole [(1-methoxy-4-(1-propenyl) benzene)]) and white, light and dark blue color traps were compared with each other during the blooming period. As a result of the present study, the amount of adult catch of light blue color traps in the cherry blooming period was found to be significantly higher than the attractant and dark blue color traps which are regularly used in the world hence the use of this mentioned trap was found as the most effective biotechnical method for the controlling of T. hirta among the frequently used traps.
Learning to lead organizational change: assessment of a problem‐based simulation in Thailand

This paper presents findings of a study that evaluated the instructional effectiveness of a problem‐based learning module constructed around a computer simulation, Making Change Happen™. The Leading Organizational Change (LOC) course sought to enable students in a graduate management program in Thailand to learn to lead complex changes in organizations. This research compared student evaluation data collected from 1696 students who studied the LOC class over a seven‐year period with evaluations of other courses that employed problem‐based learning and courses that used a variety of instructional methods. The results revealed that students’ ratings of the LOC course were both consistently high in absolute terms, and significantly higher than the comparison courses. The learning design employed in the LOC course facilitates students’ action‐directed learning, enhances student engagement, and uses assessment methods that support student learning. While the study did not directly assess learning outcomes, the results suggest that the problem‐based, simulation‐centered approach employed in the LOC course successfully responds to key critiques leveled at education in the professions in general, and management education in particular.
The Disposition Effect of Taiwanese Open-end Mutual Fund Investors: Recursive Threshold Model in Variable

A unique data set with complete information of purchase and redemptions of individuals and institutions in the Taiwan open-end equity mutual fund market. With the monthly data, we employ the recursive ordinary least square model in variable to identify the determinants of purchasing and redemption activities over a 56-month period. In this study, two models with different assumption about investors’ behavior are discussed. The first model incorporates the assumption that investors choose funds on the basis of past capital returns. In the second model, we assume investors choose funds according to the excess return of each fund. Our results show that investors in Taiwan have two types of disposition effect. For all disposition effect types, we find investors flock to recent high performing funds but their behavior is different in loss domain. First, we find that investors are not to redeem the funds with past negative capital return, we call that “insignificant redemption disposition effect”. Second, we find investors are significantly less willing to flee from past extremely negative excess return but the unwilling to redeem the funds with moderate negative excess return is not significant. We call that “less willing redemption disposition effect”. Our findings offer direct support for the disposition effect in Taiwan open-end mutual fund market. Our finding also supports that the investors in Taiwan prefer funds with improving performance and lower transaction fees. We find that investors are risk-seeking in gain domain, which implies that the investor’s behavior in Taiwan is not consistent with the prospect theory.
COMPARISON OF THE PERFORMANCES OF THREE STATE-OF-THE-ART OCEAN WAVE MODELS IN EXTREME STORM CASES

In this study the three state-of-the-art third generation ocean wave models, namely, the wave model WAM, the model Wavewatch-III (hereinafter referred as WW3) and the near shore wave model SWAN are used to simulate wave height for two extreme storms which traversed the Canadian buoy network in the Northwest Atlantic during the periods 19-23 January 2000 and 12-16 January 2002, respectively, producing significant wave heights in excess of 9 m at some of the buoy locations. Wave height simulations using these models are done on two grids, namely, a coarse grid with a resolution of 0.5 covering the area 25N 70N and 80W 15W and a fine grid with a resolution of 0.1 nested within the coarse grid and covering the area 42N 48N and 62W 47W. The WAM and the WW3 model run on the coarse grid while the SWAN model and a nested version of the WAM run on the fine grid using the boundary conditions provided by the coarse grid WAM. The areas covered by the two grids and the locations of the buoys used in wave verification are shown in Fig. 1. The models are forced by winds generated by the Canadian Meteorological Centre (CMC) weather prediction model at three-hourly intervals and are spun up for a period of two days. The coarse grid winds drive both the coarse grid WAM and WW3 while the fine grid winds drive both SWAN and the nested version of the WAM. The primary objective of this study is to compare the performances of these models running in shallow water mode in extreme storm cases. The basic formulations of the three models are briefly described in section 2. Model results and discussions are presented in section 3 followed by summary and conclusions in section 4.
Power and the Mediating Role of Reciprocal and Complementary Emotions Why Anger and Disappointment Affect Other ' s Bargaining Behavior Differently : The Moderating Role of

In two experiments, the authors investigated the interpersonal effects of anger and disappointment in negotiations. Whereas previous research focused on the informational inferences that bargainers make based on others’ emotions, this article emphasizes the importance of affective reactions. The findings of this study show that anger evoked a complementary emotion (fear) in targets when reported by a high-power bargainer but evoked a reciprocal emotion (anger) when reported by a low-power bargainer. This reciprocal anger led participants to offer less to low-power counterparts who reported anger. Disappointed bargainers, however, evoked a complementary emotion (guilt) in participants and increased offers, regardless of the bargainer’s power position.
The International Competitiveness of the U.S. Corn-Ethanol Industry

An indicator of competitive position, the cost difference between ethanol import from Brazil with sugar processing and domestic production with corn in the United States under ideal conditions without tariffs in the ethanol market, is developed conceptually. An ex ante version of the indicator that is based on historical prices and today's technology is calculated for the last 30 years and subjected to time series analysis. Results suggest that there are no trends, but there are cyclical periods of advantage for both industries. Further, long-term averages suggest that profits would be similar in both countries under ideal trade conditions. However, the corn wet-milling industry may have slightly higher profits than other processes and locations. Finally, the U.S. dry-milling industry could improve its competitive position using modified corn varieties with high starch content, and using corn residues for biomass generation of electrical and heat energy.
FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF DOLUTEGRAVIR SODIUM SOLID DISPERSIONS AND FAST DISSOLVING TABLETS USING POLOXAMER-188 AND JACK FRUIT SEED STARCH AS EXCIPIENTS

Objective: The current work mainly focuses on solubility enhancement of dolutegravir which is a biopharmaceutical classification system Class-II drug using jack fruit seed starch (JFS2) as excipient which improves the drug release. Materials and Methods: Starches were extracted using aqueous and alkali methods (sodium hydroxide at 0.1%, 0.25%, and 0.5% concentrations) from jack fruit seed powder. These starches were evaluated for phytochemical and physicochemical parameters. Fast dissolving tablets were prepared using dolutegravir sodium solid dispersion, JFS2, and croscarmellose sodium (CCS) in various concentrations using wet granulation technique. Various pre- and post-compression parameters were evaluated along with in vitro drug release studies; characterization studies such as Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and stability studies. Results: Phytochemical tests revealed the presence of only starch in all extracts. Starch prepared from 0.1% sodium hydroxide (JFS2) showed best physicochemical properties. From in vitro dissolution studies, it was observed that solid dispersion formulation DF3 containing dolutegravir sodium and poloxamer-188 in 1:1.5 ratios showed a better dissolution rate. From in vitro dissolution studies, tablet formulations DFT6 and DFT9 containing 12.5% w/w of JFS2 and 12.5% w/w of CCS showed enhanced dissolution rate compared with other formulations. FTIR and DSC studies revealed that there were no major interactions between drug and excipients. XRD studies revealed the nature of formulations. Accelerated stability studies showed that all tablets were stable. Conclusion: The tablets prepared using jack fruit starch seed starch revealed the superdisintegrant property of starch.
Global meteorological influences on the record UK rainfall of winter 2013–14

The UK experienced record average rainfall in winter 2013–14, leading to widespread and prolonged flooding. The immediate cause of this exceptional rainfall was a very strong and persistent cyclonic atmospheric circulation over the North East Atlantic Ocean. This was related to a very strong North Atlantic jet stream which resulted in numerous damaging wind storms. These exceptional meteorological conditions have led to renewed questions about whether anthropogenic climate change is noticeably influencing extreme weather. The regional weather pattern responsible for the extreme UK winter coincided with highly anomalous conditions across the globe. We assess the contributions from various possible remote forcing regions using sets of ocean–atmosphere model relaxation experiments, where winds and temperatures are constrained to be similar to those observed in winter 2013–14 within specified atmospheric domains. We find that influences from the tropics were likely to have played a significant role in the development of the unusual extra-tropical circulation, including a role for the tropical Atlantic sector. Additionally, a stronger and more stable stratospheric polar vortex, likely associated with a strong westerly phase of the stratospheric Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO), appears to have contributed to the extreme conditions. While intrinsic climatic variability clearly has the largest effect on the generation of extremes, results from an analysis which segregates circulation-related and residual rainfall variability suggest that emerging climate change signals made a secondary contribution to extreme rainfall in winter 2013–14.
The Effect of Government Social Spending on Income Inequality in OECD: A Panel Data Analysis

Income inequality is one of the issue which is most discussed and struggled for its solution throughout the history of economics. Since the 1990s, income inequality has increased in most of the OECD (The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries as in the whole world. Government social spending is one of the most important means of directly regulating income inequality. This study investigated the effect of goverment social spending on income inequaltiy for 21 OECD countries by analyzing Panel Data. According to the findings obtained, government social spending affect income inequality positively. Income inequality decreases when the government social spending increase. It has been proved that government social spending was more effective than education expenditures in regulating income inequality. It is also understood that unemployment and population growth affected the income inequality negatively. Besides, there is a negative relationship between openness, education expenditures, elderly population, education participation and income inequality.
Managerial incentives under competitive pressure: Experimental investigation

We investigate the effects of competition on managerial incentives and effort in a laboratory experiment. Each owner offers compensation to his manager in two different contexts: monopoly and Cournot duopoly. After accepting the compensation, the manager chooses an effort level to increase the probability of reduced costs of his firm. Theory predicts that the entry of a rival firm in a monopolistic industry affects negatively both the incentive compensation and the effort level. Our experimental findings confirm that the entry of a rival firm reduces the incentive compensation but not the manager’s effort level. However, despite the reduction of the incentive compensation, the manager continues to accept the contract offers and exert the same level of effort.
Many-body localization in a finite-range Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model and holography

We study the level statistics of a generalized Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model with two-body and one-body random interactions of finite range by exact diagonalization. Tuning the range of the one-body term, while keeping the two-body interaction sufficiently long-ranged, does not alter substantially the spectral correlations, which are still given by the random matrix prediction typical of a quantum chaotic system. However a transition to an insulating state, characterized by Poisson statistics, is observed by reducing the range of the two-body interaction. Close to the many-body metal-insulator transition, we show that spectral correlations share all features previously found in systems at the Anderson transition and in the proximity of the many-body localization transition. Our results suggest the potential relevance of SYK models in the context of many-body localization and also offer a starting point for the exploration of a gravity-dual of this phenomenon.
An Investigation of E-Procurements Risks

“…e-Commerce is like marriage; both have to get some benefit out of it to work…’” Consultant The aim of this paper is to present an interpretation of the risk issues currently concerning e-Procurement. In seeking to explore a developing area of theory, the current perception of practitioners has been investigated and reconciled with existing related literature. This was approached through in-depth interviews with a variety of stakeholders in organisations that have embarked upon e-Procurement. After developing a literature-based taxonomy, current perceptions and practices were reviewed and refined, providing a foundation for the further development of a system for classification of key risks in e-Procurement, and a guide towards identification of risks and best practice.
2D FE and 2DOF Simulations of Ground Shock Experiments – Reflection Pressure Time History Dependency due to the Charge ́s and Structure ́s Properties

This paper analyses, by using 2D axial symmetry Finite Element (FE) with Autodyn, the structural response of a well-defined structure; a suspended piston-spring system buried in sand subjected to ground shock from an explosive charge. The parameters varied in the simulations were charge size, charge distance, reflection area of the piston, piston mass, and spring stiffness. Earlier experiments from 1980s, conducted by S. Hultgren, FortF, showed that the reflection pressure over time was dependent on the mass and stiffness of the structure. Here, some more parameters were varied in simulations to see how well a two-degree-of-freedom model (2DOF) can capture the main behaviour of the structural response. The first aim of the FE simulations was to better understand the physics of the observed experimental results, which has been confirmed in earlier studies [1], [2]. Based on this, the second aim was to find a methodology that can use simplified relationships for ground shock prediction, from e.g. ConWep, in combination with simplified models such as 2DOF, to predict the structural response of e.g. a buried concrete wall.
The Beta Exponentiated Pareto Distribution with Application to Bladder Cancer Susceptibility

A general class of univariate distributions generated by beta random variables, proposed by Eugene et al. (2002) and Jones (2009), has been discussed for many authors. In this paper, the beta exponentiated Pareto distribution is introduced and studied. Its density and failure rate functions can have different shapes. It contains as special models several important distributions discussed in the literature, such as the beta-Pareto and exponentiated Pareto distributions. We provide a comprehensive mathematical treatment of the distribution and derive expressions for the moments, generating and quantile functions and incomplete and L-moments. An explicit expression for R\'enyi entropy is obtained. The method of maximum likelihood is used for estimating the model parameters and the observed information matrix is derived. The flexibility of the new model is illustrated with an application to a real data set.