Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Using the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study to determine risk factors for delayed development and neuro-psychiatric symptoms in the offspring of parents with epilepsy

Introduction: Antiepileptic drug (AED) teratogenicity is suspected to be the main cause of impaired development in children of women with epilepsy. However, many factors may confound the reported risks. The purpose of this review is to characterize the epilepsy cohort in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) and show how it can be used to detangle various risk factors for adverse outcome in children of mothers with epilepsy. Methods: MoBa is a large, long-term prospective, family-based cohort study. The database is linked to the Medical Birth Registry of Norway. The epilepsy cohort consists of mothers and their children representing more than 700 pregnancies. Blood samples were obtained from the mother during pregnancy and from the umbilical cord after delivery, and AED concentrations were measured. Validated screening tools determined the frequency of maternal confounding risk factors and adverse offspring outcomes. Risk estimates were reported as adjusted odds ratios with confidence intervals using the remaining MoBa cohort as a reference (n=107,597). Outcome in offspring of women with epilepsy without AED treatment in pregnancy and of fathers with epilepsy were used to separate the effect of epilepsy from the effect of in utero exposure to AEDs. Results: Socioeconomic and psychiatric risk factors for adverse offspring outcomes were more frequent in mothers with epilepsy. The frequency of adverse offspring outcome was increased at 6, 18 and 36 months for verbal, motor and social development. Children of women with epilepsy without AED treatment and of fathers with epilepsy were generally similar to children of women without epilepsy. Conclusion: Children of mothers with epilepsy are at risk of adverse outcomes. AED exposure emerges as the most important risk factor.
Imitation, Contagion, or Exertion? Using a Tax Reform to Reveal How Colleagues' Sick Leaves Influence Worker Behaviour

We analyse the social interaction effects in sick-leave behaviour in the workplace, using high-quality Norwegian matched employer–employee data with detailed individual information on sick leaves during the 2004–2006 period. We find that social interaction effects in sick-leave behaviour in the workplace do exist, and that the effects are noticeable in size. The strong relationship between the sick-leave rates among colleagues is not solely the result of contagious diseases, nor is it caused by improved informational quality or by the increased workload for the non-absent workers. Evidence supports the existence of reciprocal worker behaviour that is unrelated to joint leisure-seeking activities.
Estimating utilization distributions from fitted step-selection functions

Habitat-selection analyses are often used to link environmental covariates, measured within some spatial domain of assumed availability, to animal location data that are assumed to be independent. Step-selection functions (SSFs) relax this independence assumption, by using a conditional model that explicitly acknowledges the spatiotemporal dynamics of the availability domain and hence the temporal dependence among successive locations. However, it is not clear how to produce an SSF-based map of the expected utilization distribution. Here, we used SSFs to analyze virtual animal movement data generated at a fine spatiotemporal scale and then rarefied to emulate realistic telemetry data. We then compared two different approaches for generating maps from the estimated regression coefficients. First, we considered a naive approach that used the coefficients as if they were obtained by fitting an unconditional model. Second, we explored a simulation-based approach, where maps were generated using stochastic simulations of the parameterized step-selection process. We found that the simulation-based approach always outperformed the naive mapping approach and that the latter overestimated home-range size and underestimated local space-use variability. Differences between the approaches were greatest for complex landscapes and high sampling rates, suggesting that the simulation-based approach, despite its added complexity, is likely to offer significant advantages when applying SSFs to real data.
Algebraic Properties of Quasihomogeneous and Separately Quasihomogeneous Toeplitz Operators on the Pluriharmonic Bergman Space

We study some algebraic properties of Toeplitz operator with quasihomogeneous or separately quasihomogeneous symbol on the pluriharmonic Bergman space of the unit ball in . We determine when the product of two Toeplitz operators with certain separately quasi-homogeneous symbols is a Toeplitz operator. Next, we discuss the zero-product problem for several Toeplitz operators, one of whose symbols is separately quasihomogeneous and the others are quasi-homogeneous functions, and show that the zero-product problem for two Toeplitz operators has only a trivial solution if one of the symbols is separately quasihomogeneous and the other is arbitrary. Finally, we also characterize the commutativity of certain quasihomogeneous or separately quasihomogeneous Toeplitz operators.
Studies on the sensitivity of some species and cultivars of lawn grasses on salinity with sodium chloride during the seed germination and first year of growth

Abstract In the years 2005 - 2006 studies were conducted in a growth chamber and a vegetation hall which compared tolerance to NaCl salinity of seeds and plants of some lawn grasses. The effect of sodium chloride salinity on the germination of 4 species of grasses i.e. Lolium perenne cv. ‘Info’, Festuca rubra cv. ‘Audio’, Agrostis capillaris cv. ‘Niwa’, Poa pratensis cv. ‘Alicja’ and 4 cultivars of Lolium prenne - ‘Nira’, ‘Stadion’, ‘Ronija’, ‘Darius’ was studied. The grass seeds germinated in Petri dishes, in darkness, at the temperature of 24°C. Besides the control, 3 levels of salinity were used in the studies: 100, 200 and 300 mM NaCl. The obtained results demonstrated that the growing level of salinity in the environment significantly decreased the germinating speed, the number of the produced roots, the length of the longest root, and the length of the coleoptile in the seedlings of all studied grass species. Lolium perenne seeds tolerated salinity the best, and next - in a diminishing sequence - those were the seeds of Festuca rubra, Agrostis capillaris and Poa pratensis. However, the obtained data showed that tolerance to salinity of the analyzed cultivars of Lolium prenne decreased in the following sequence ‘Ronija’ > ‘Stadion’ > ‘Nira’ > ‘Darius’. In a vegetation hall tolerance to NaCl salinity of these 4 cultivars of Lolium perenne in the first year growth was compared. The plants grew in pots of 2 dm3 filled with a mixture of universal earth and river sand (3:1 / v:v) with the soil moisture of 70% and 3 levels of salinity: 0, 50, and 100 mM NaCl. The obtained results demonstrated that in all studied cultivars the increase of the salinity level caused a significant decrease of the yield of the leaf dry weight from the successive grass crops, and an increase of the content of sodium, chloride and free proline in them. The greatest tolerance to NaCl salinity in the group of the studied cultivars was shown by ‘Ronija’, medium tolerance - by ‘Darius’ and ‘Stadion’, and the lowest one - by ‘Nira’. This resulted from the degree of accumulation of Na+ and Cl- ions and proline in those conditions. The cultivars with higher tolerance accumulated fewer osmotically active compounds in the leaves.
A Small Quarterly Projection Model of the US Economy

This is the first of a series of papers that are being written as part of a project to estimate a small quarterly Global Projection Model (GPM). The GPM project is designed to improve the toolkit for studying both own-country and cross-country linkages. In this paper, we estimate a small quarterly projection model of the U.S. economy. The model is estimated with Bayesian techniques, which provide a very efficient way of imposing restrictions to produce both plausible dynamics and sensible forecasting properties. After developing a benchmark model without financial-real linkages, we introduce such linkages into the model and compare the results with and without linkages.
BALLISTIC LIMIT OF HIGH-STRENGTH STEEL AND AL7075-T6 MULTI-LAYERED PLATES UNDER 7.62-MM ARMOUR PIERCING PROJECTILE IMPACT

THIS PAPER PRESENTS THE COMPUTATIONAL-BASED BALLISTIC LIMIT OF LAMINATED METAL PANELS COMPRISED OF HIGH STRENGTH STEEL AND ALUMINIUM ALLOY AL7075-T6 PLATE AT DIFFERENT THICKNESS COMBINATIONS TO NECESSITATE THE WEIGHT REDUCTION OF EXISTING ARMOUR STEEL PLATE. THE NUMERICAL MODELS OF MONOLITHIC CONFIGURATION, DOUBLE-LAYERED CONFIGURATION AND TRIPLE-LAYERED CONFIGURATION WERE DEVELOPED USING A COMMERCIAL EXPLICIT FINITE ELEMENT CODE AND WERE IMPACTED BY 7.62 MM ARMOUR PIERCING PROJECTILE AT VELOCITY RANGE OF 900 TO 950 M/S. THE BALLISTIC PERFORMANCE OF EACH CONFIGURATION PLATE IN TERMS OF BALLISTIC LIMIT VELOCITY, PENETRATION PROCESS AND PERMANENT DEFORMATION WAS QUANTIFIED AND CONSIDERED. IT WAS FOUND THAT THE MONOLITHIC PANEL OF HIGH-STRENGTH STEEL HAS THE BEST BALLISTIC PERFORMANCE AMONG ALL PANELS, YET IT HAS NOT CAUSED ANY WEIGHT REDUCTION IN EXISTING ARMOUR PLATE. AS THE WEIGHT REDUCTION WAS INCREASED FROM 20-30%, THE DOUBLE-LAYERED CONFIGURATION PANELS BECAME LESS RESISTANCE TO BALLISTIC IMPACT WHERE ONLY AT 20% AND 23.2% OF WEIGHT REDUCTION PANEL COULD STOP THE 950M/S PROJECTILE. THE TRIPLE-LAYERED CONFIGURATION PANELS WITH SIMILAR AREAL DENSITY PERFORMED MUCH BETTER WHERE ALL PANELS SUBJECTED TO 20-30% WEIGHT REDUCTIONS SUCCESSFULLY STOPPED THE 950 M/S PROJECTILE. THUS, TRIPLE-LAYERED CONFIGURATIONS ARE INTERESTING OPTION IN DESIGNING A PROTECTIVE STRUCTURE WITHOUT SACRIFICING THE PERFORMANCE IN ACHIEVING WEIGHT REDUCTION.
Does Diet of Prey Affect Life Table Parameters of the Predator Podisus nigrispinus (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)?

Abstract Podisus nigrispinus Dallas (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) is reared in the laboratory and released for biological control programs. The objective of this study was to evaluate, using life tables, P. nigrispinus development when fed on Anticarsia gemmatalis Hübner (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) reared on different diets, or with the alternative prey Tenebrio molitor L. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). Podisus nigrispinus was reared with soybean plants supplemented with A. gemmatalis caterpillars fed an artificial diet (T1), with soybean plants supplemented with caterpillars fed soybean leaves (T2), with soybean plants supplemented with T. molitor pupae (T3), or with soybean plants supplemented with A. gemmatalis pupae from caterpillars fed soybean leaves (T4). The duration of instar V and of the total nymph period of this predator were longer when preying caterpillars fed soybean plants (T2). The survival of the nymph stage was greater when fed on soybean plants with T. molitor pupae (T3), with A. gemmatalis caterpillars fed on soybean plants (T2), and with A. gemmatalis caterpillars fed an artificial diet (T1), relative to A. gemmatalis pupae from caterpillars fed soybean leaves (T4). The weights of instar V nymphs and of adult male and female P. nigrispinus were greater when fed with T. molitor pupae (T3). Life table parameters showed population growth for this predator in all treatments except when fed with A. gemmatalis pupae (T4). The net reproductive rate (Ro), the duration of a generation (DG), and time to double the population (TD) of P. nigrispinus displayed higher values when fed with caterpillars cultured on soybean (T2) and with T. molitor pupae (T3). The rates of increase (λ and rm) value were positive in all treatments. Anticarsia gemmatalis pupae from caterpillars fed soybean leaves (T4) are inadequate prey for P. nigrispinus. Anticarsia gemmatalis caterpillars fed soybean leaves (T2) or T. molitor pupae (T3) are a more suitable food for rearing this predator than A. gemmatalis caterpillars fed an artificial diet (T1).
A Survey of Campus Recreation Directors at NIRSA Institutions: Activities Emphasized, Student Participation Patterns, Trends and Future Offerings Contemplated

A survey, using an instrument constructed expressly for this investigation, was conducted of directors of campus recreation at all 682 NIRSA colleges and universities in the United States and Canada to determine the current status of: (a) the degree of emphasis institutions currently place on nine categories of sports and recreational activities, (b) the percentage of students, undergraduate and graduate, actually participating in each of these nine categories of activities, (c) future recreational activities and programs, not currently offered to students, but being considered for inclusion within the next 12 months, and (d) future trends in terms of problems (challenges and opportunities) facing college campus recreation departments. Two hundred and sixty-nine schools returned usable surveys for a 39% rate of return. This investigation provides a snapshot of specific current practices and programming offerings of campus Recreation Directors, as well as their opinions in terms of future programming plans and anticipated trends affecting their campus recreation departments. The data were analyzed in light of the locations of the responding institutions within the six regions of NIRSA, the size of the institutions and whether the schools were classified as public or private. The nine categories of recreational activities included: (a) intramurals, (b) club sports, (c) open recreation, (d) outdoor recreation, (e) group exercise/aerobics, (f) aquatics, (g) instructional programming, (h) special events, and (i) youth and family activities.
Chemical Recycling of PET Wastes with Different Catalysts

Chemical recycling of polyethylene terephthalate, known as PET, has been the subject of increased interest as a valuable feedstock for different chemical processes. In this work, glycolysis of PET waste granules was carried out using excess ethylene glycol in the presence of different simple chemicals acting as catalysts, which are, namely, categorized in ionic liquids, metal salts, hydrotalcites, and enzymes. From every category, some materials as a sample were used, and the one which is going to bring the best result is noted. The effect of some parameters such as temperature, pressure, amount of sample, material ratio, and stirring rate was investigated. As a result we compared the best of each category with the others and final result is shown.
Computational Study of Geometry, Solvation Free Energy, Dipole Moment, Polarizability, Hyperpolarizability and Molecular Properties of 2-Methylimidazole

Ab initio calculations were carried out to study the geometry, solvation free energy, dipole moment, molecular electrostatic potential (MESP), Mulliken and Natural charge distribution, polarizability, hyperpolarizability, Natural Bond Orbital (NBO) energetic and different molecular properties like global reactivity descriptors (chemical hardness, softness, chemical potential, electronegativity, electrophilicity index) of 2-methylimidazole. B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level of theory was used to optimize the structure both in the gas phase and in solution. The solvation free energy, dipole moment and molecular properties were calculated by applying the Solvation Model on Density (SMD) in four solvent systems, namely water, dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), n -octanol and chloroform. The computed bond distances, bond angles and dihedral angles of 2-methylimidazole agreed reasonably well with the experimental data except for C(2)-N(1), C(4)-C(5) and N(1)-H(7) bond lengths and N(1)-C(5)-C(4) bond angle. The solvation free energy, dipole moment, polarizability, first order hyperpolarizability, chemical potential, electronegativity and electrophilicity index of 2-methylimidazole increased on going from non-polar to polar solvents. Chemical hardness also increased with increasing polarity of the solvent and the opposite relation was found in the case of softness. These results provide better understanding of the stability and reactivity of 2-methylimidazole in different solvent systems.
LOWER FREQUENCY LIMIT OF CARBON NANOTUBE ANTENNA

Carbon nanotubes are characterized by slow wave propagation and high characteristic impedance due to the additional kinetic inductive efiect. This slow wave property can be used to introduce resonant dipole antennas with dimensions much smaller than traditional half-wavelength dipole in Terahertz band. However, this property has less efiect at lower frequency bands. This paper introduces the physical interpretation of this property based on the relation between the resonance frequency and the surface wave propagation constant on a carbon nanotube. This surface wave propagation is found to be characterized by high attenuation coe-cient at low frequency bands which limits using carbon nanotube as an antenna structure at these frequencies.
Development and quality assessment of new drinks combining sweet and sour pomegranate juices.

This study was carried out to evaluate the physicochemical properties and the suitability of some parameters for the design of a new beverage combining sour and sweet pomegranate juices as an alternative use for neglected varieties. Sweet pomegranate juices from varieties Zaghouani and Tounsi and sour juices from varieties Mezzi and Garsi were used in this study. Higher titratable acidity (1.6% calculated as citric acid) with a pH of 2.73–2.82 was registered in Garsi and Mezzi juices. The contents of ascorbic acid, anthocyanins and total phenols were in general high, 20-25 mg ascorbic acid, 37.7-56 mg cyanidin and 164.4-181.8 g gallic acid per 100 ml juice, respectively. Zaghouani and Mezzi varieties gave the cleanest juices, while Tounsi gave the less colored juice. The highest antioxidant activity was registered in sour varieties. New polyphenol-rich beverages were prepared using sour and sweet pomegranate juices in different proportions (reaching pH 4.0). The results of sensory tests suggest that mixed beverages are preferred to pure sweet juices. Garsi (18.2%)-Zaghouani (81.8%) mixture provided the most appreciated beverage with good organoleptic properties (color, clarity and flavor) followed by Garsi (16.7%)-Tounsi (83.3%) mixture which was well appreciated for its taste and improved color. Further research is needed to establish new pomegranate juice combinations and to examine the stability of characteristics and bioactive proprieties of mixtures after cold storage in order to develop new healthy beverages.
Experimental Research in Financial Accounting

This paper uses recent experimental studies of financial accounting to illustrate our view of how such experiments can be conducted successfully. Rather than provide an exhaustive review of the literature, we focus on how particular examples illustrate successful use of experiments to determine how, when and (ultimately) why important features of financial accounting settings influence behavior. We first describe how changes in views of market efficiency, reliance on the experimentalist? s comparative advantage, new theories, and a focus on key institutional features have allowed researchers to overcome the criticisms of earlier financial accounting experiments. We then describe how specific streams of experimental financial accounting research have addressed questions about financial communication between managers, auditors, information intermediaries, and investors, and indicate how future research can extend those streams. We focus particularly on (1) how managers and auditors report information, (2) how users of financial information interpret those reports, (3) how individual decisions affect market behavior, and (4) how strategic interactions between information reporters and users can affect market outcomes. Our examples include and integrate experiments that fall into both the "behavioral" and "experimental economics" literatures in accounting. Finally, we discuss how experiments can be designed to be both effective and efficient.
The role of middlemen in fresh tomato supply chain in Kilolo district, Tanzania

The paper aimed to analyze the role of middlemen in linking smallholder tomato farmers with Dar-es-salaam markets, Tanzania. Semi-structured questionnaires were administered to 133 small vegetable farmers and 109 traders. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentage, chi-square and one way analysis of variance. The study revealed that majority (58%) of smallholder tomato farmers sold their produce to middlemen due to being geographical separated from the markets, poor local road network and poor access to market information. This study concluded that the use of middlemen to sell tomato produce cannot be avoided unless smallholder farmers are linked with urban markets. In order to enhance farmer’s access to markets, it is recommended that the government should strive to improve feeder roads. Improvement in feeder roads is likely to bring about large welfare gains in terms of large volumes of tomatoes traded and can make assembling of tomatoes easier and less costly for traders.
Multifunctional hyperuniform cellular networks: optimality, anisotropy and disorder

Disordered hyperuniform heterogeneous materials are new, exotic amorphous states of matter that behave like crystals in the manner in which they suppress volume-fraction fluctuations at large length scales, and yet are statistically isotropic with no Bragg peaks. It has recently been shown that disordered hyperuniform dielectric two-dimensional (2D) cellular network solids possess complete photonic band gaps comparable in size to photonic crystals, while at the same time maintaining statistical isotropy, enabling waveguide geometries not possible with photonic crystals. Motivated by these developments, we explore other functionalities of various 2D ordered and disordered hyperuniform cellular networks, including their effective thermal or electrical conductivities and elastic moduli. We establish the multifunctionality of a class of such low-density networks by demonstrating that they maximize or virtually maximize the effective conductivities and elastic moduli. This is accomplished using the machinery of homogenization theory, including optimal bounds and cross-property bounds, and statistical mechanics. We rigorously prove that anisotropic networks consisting of sets of intersecting parallel channels in the low-density limit, ordered or disordered, possess optimal effective conductivity tensors. For a variety of different disordered networks, we show that when short-range and long-range order increases, there is an increase in both the effective conductivity and elastic moduli of the network. Moreover, we demonstrate that the effective conductivity and elastic moduli of various disordered networks derived from disordered ‘stealthy’ hyperuniform point patterns possess virtually optimal values. We note that the optimal networks for conductivity are also optimal for the fluid permeability associated with slow viscous flow through the channels as well as the mean survival time associated with diffusion-controlled reactions in the channels. In summary, we have identified ordered and disordered hyperuniform low-weight cellular networks that are multifunctional with respect to transport (e.g., heat dissipation and fluid transport), mechanical and electromagnetic properties, which can be readily fabricated using 3D printing and lithographic technologies.