Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Perturbative QCD fragmentation functions as a model for heavy-quark fragmentation.

The perturbative QCD fragmentation functions for a heavy quark to fragment into heavy-light mesons are studied in the heavy-quark limit. The fragmentation functions for {ital S}-wave pseudoscalar and vector mesons are calculated to next-to-leading order in the heavy-quark mass expansion using the methods of heavy-quark effective theory. The results agree with the {ital m}{sub {ital b}}{r_arrow}{infinity} limit of the perturbative QCD fragmentation functions for {ital {bar b}} into {ital B}{sub {ital c}} and {ital B}{sub {ital c}}{sup *}. We discuss the application of the perturbative QCD fragmentation functions as a model for the fragmentation of heavy quarks into heavy-light mesons. Using this model we predict the fraction {ital P}{sub {ital V}} of heavy-light mesons that are produced in the vector meson state as functions of the longitudinal momentum fraction {ital z} and the transverse momentum relative to the jet axis. The fraction {ital P}{sub {ital V}} is predicted to vary from about 1/2 at small {ital z} to almost 3/4 near {ital z}=1.
The relation between concepts of quality-of-life, health and happiness.

In the last two decades, the term "quality-of-life" has become popular in medicine and health care. There are, however, important differences in the meaning and the use of the term. The message of all quality-of-life talk is that medicine and health care are not valuable in themselves. They are valuable to the extent that they contribute to the quality of life of patients. The ultimate aims of medicine and health care are not health or prolongation of life as such, but preservation or improvement of the quality of life. The primary aims of medicine and health care, such as the prolongation of life, can--but need not always--come into conflict with the ultimate ones: medical treatments do not always benefit a patient. In this article I will, first, summarize the results of my explorations of the use and the meaning of the term "quality-of-life. " The use and the meaning of the term turn out to depend on the contexts of medical decision-making in which it is used. I will show that there are at least three different concepts of quality-of-life. Second, I will argue that the different concepts of quality-of-life are not unrelated. They point to different components of and/or conditions for happiness. Third, I will analyze the relation between the three concepts of quality-of-life, health and happiness.
Prevalence and clinical manifestation of lymphomas in North Eastern Nigeria.

BACKGROUND Lymphomas are one of the commonest childhood malignancies. Due to varied clinical features many patients are misdiagnosed and treated for other diseases. It is imperative to keep health workers informed about the current trend of lymphomas in northeastern Nigeria to facilitate prompt diagnosis and treatment. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the extent of lymphomas at presentation and to define the pattern of presentation in relation to gender and site. MATERIALS AND METHODS Retrospective analysis of cases of lymphomas over a 15 year period was conducted. Structured questionnaires were used to document demographic characteristics and clinical features. The non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) and Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) cases were categorized using standard classification schemes. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 16, Illinois, Chicago, USA. Spearman's correlation and Student's t-test were applied where appropriate. A P value < 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS Fifty cases of lymphoma, 10 (20%) belong to HL and 40 (80%) belong to NHL. Lymphoma is common in male, though the male to female preponderance was not significant in both the cases (P = 0.107 and 0.320, respectively). Maxilla was the commonest site of primary malignancy (36%) and late presentation of patients were observed. New trend was noticed, the NHL patients present commonly with severe symptoms than HL (P = 0.038). HL was dominated by lymphocytic predominant type, while NHL was dominated by the small non cleaved cells (Burkitt's) lymphoma (70%). CONCLUSION Childhood lymphoma in northeastern Nigeria has a slight shift in varied clinical presentation in favor of NHL. Patients in this study had late presentation.
Negative affect and vasomotor symptoms in the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation Daily Hormone Study

ObjectiveVasomotor symptoms (VMS) are common during the menopausal transition. Negative affect is consistently associated with self-reported VMS, but the interpretation of this relationship is limited by the infrequent measurement and retrospective recall of VMS. Using prospective data from daily diaries, we examined the daily association between negative affect and reported VMS, as well as the temporal associations between negative affect and next-day VMS and between VMS and next-day negative affect. MethodsData were derived from the third wave of the Daily Hormone Study (N = 625). The Daily Hormone Study is a substudy of the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation, a multisite community-based prospective cohort study of the menopausal transition. Participants reported VMS and affect in daily diaries for 12 to 50 days. Multilevel mixed models were used to determine the associations between reported VMS and negative affect, adjusted by antidepressant use, age, education, menopause status, self-reported health, and race/ethnicity, drawn from annual Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation visits. ResultsVMS were reported by 327 women (52.3%). Negative affect was positively associated with VMS (odds ratio [OR], 1.76; 95% CI, 1.43-2.17; P < 0.001) in cross-sectional analyses. Negative affect, adjusted by same-day VMS, was not predictive of next-day VMS (OR, 1.11; 95% CI, 0.85-1.35; P = 0.55), whereas VMS, adjusted by same-day negative affect, was predictive of negative affect for the next day (OR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.03-1.58; P = 0.01). ConclusionsNegative affect is more likely to be reported on the same day and the day after VMS. Potential mechanisms underlying this relationship include negative cognitive appraisal, sleep disruption, and unmeasured third factors.
The Attitude Comparison of Gifted Students and Normal Peers on the Recycling and Environmental Effects

The increase in the production, incapacity in recycling and storage, unaware use and disposal of plastics have triggered these issues. Therefore, gifted individuals should take part in more in solution of these problems. In this study, the attitudes of the gifted students in art and science center of West Black Sea region of Turkey towards the recycling of plastic wastes and environmental effects were surveyed (175 students). In the case of normal peers, the students from eleven schools in the city center of Kastamonu were chosen (1492 students). As a data collection tool, the previously developed Environmental Attitude Scale were used. The collected data was quantitatively analyze by SPSS 15 program. The gifted student and normal peers were compared and significant differences were determined by t-test. It can be revealed that while the gifted students have higher meta-cognition skills about the recycling, normal peers have higher tendencies to sacrifice their right for the environment and used labor for that purposes. In this state, unfortunately the increase in awareness results in loosing the naturel intentions leading thinking in economical. The concept is called economy-centric perspective in literature. While sacrificing the rights for the environment has been started to be called as ecological citizenship in post-cosmopolitan societies. As a result the goals and targets should be determined in harmony of individual society and environment. In order to increase the awareness of the students towards environment, the subjects in the program should be updated and also students should participate more in these studies.
Carbon Disclosure, Contextual Factors, and Information Asymmetry: The Case of Physical Risk Reporting

Abstract The paper focusses on the reporting of climate change-related physical risks. Drawing on data from the CDP questionnaire for 717 European companies over three years (2011–2013) we find that information asymmetry is generally smaller when firms report about their physical risks. Furthermore, we find that reporting of a higher exposure to physical risks is associated with lower information asymmetry for firms falling under the regulation of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, whereas for other firms the direction of the relationship reverses. We can rule out that our results are driven by other climate change-related risk disclosures and by disclosures about opportunities arising from climate change. This study is not only relevant because it attests the materiality of climate change-related physical risks. Moreover, we show how a contextual factor – in this study: whether a company falls under climate change-related regulation – moderates the direction of the relationship between reported information and information asymmetry.
Alcohol use among female sex workers and male clients: an integrative review of global literature.

AIMS To review the patterns, contexts and impacts of alcohol use associated with commercial sex reported in the global literature. METHODS We identified peer-reviewed English-language articles from 1980 to 2008 reporting alcohol consumption among female sex workers (FSWs) or male clients. We retrieved 70 articles describing 76 studies, in which 64 were quantitative (52 for FSWs, 12 for male clients) and 12 qualitative. RESULTS Studies increased over the past three decades, with geographic concentration of the research in Asia and North America. Alcohol use was prevalent among FSWs and clients. Integrating quantitative and qualitative studies, multilevel contexts of alcohol use in the sex work environment were identified, including workplace and occupation-related use, the use of alcohol to facilitate the transition into and practice of commercial sex among both FSWs and male clients, and self-medication among FSWs. Alcohol use was associated with adverse physical health, illicit drug use, mental health problems, and victimization of sexual violence, although its associations with HIV/sexually transmitted infections and unprotected sex among FSWs were inconclusive. CONCLUSIONS Alcohol use in the context of commercial sex is prevalent, harmful among FSWs and male clients, but under-researched. Research in this area in more diverse settings and with standardized measures is required. The review underscores the importance of integrated intervention for alcohol use and related problems in multilevel contexts and with multiple components in order to effectively reduce alcohol use and its harmful effects among FSWs and their clients.
Where Are All of the Women? Untangling the Effects of Representation, Participation, and Preferences on Gender Differences in Political Press Coverage

The author examines why female politicians continue to be underrepresented in the press by measuring how structural inequalities, engagement in traditional and disruptive dialogue, and gender preferences influence the amount of press coverage U.S. House representatives receive. Drawing on a data set of Tweets, press releases, and news articles and transcripts related to the 114th House of Representatives’ investigations of the Iran deal and Planned Parenthood, the author uses negative binomial regression to test the effects of gender, engagement, and interactions of the two on the press coverage received by male and female House members. The results indicate that female House members’ underrepresentation in the media mirrors their underrepresentation in public office. These findings suggest that although political discourse and gender preferences may not be keeping women out of the media when covering gendered topics, getting more women in public office is likely to be a cumbersome challenge in itself.
Changes in the cross-sectional area of multifidus and psoas in unilateral sciatica caused by lumbar disc herniation.

OBJECTIVE To quantitatively evaluate the asymmetry of the multifidus and psoas muscles in unilateral sciatica caused by lumbar disc herniation using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). METHODS Seventy-six patients who underwent open microdiscectomy for unilateral L5 radiculopathy caused by disc herniation at the L4-5 level were enrolled, of which 39 patients (51.3%) had a symptom duration of 1 month or less (group A), and 37 (48.7%) had a symptom duration of 3 months or more (group B). The cross-sectional areas (CSAs) of the multifidus and psoas muscles were measured at the mid-portion of the L4-5 disc level on axial MRI, and compared between the diseased and normal sides in each group. RESULTS The mean symptom duration was 0.6±0.4 months and 5.4±2.7 months for groups A and B, respectively (p<0.001). There were no differences in the demographics between the 2 groups. There was a significant difference in the CSA of the multifidus muscle between the diseased and normal sides (p<0.01) in group B. In contrast, no significant multifidus muscle asymmetry was found in group A. The CSA of the psoas muscle was not affected by disc herniation in either group. CONCLUSION The CSA of the multifidus muscle was reduced by lumbar disc herniation when symptom duration was 3 months or more.
Efficacy of TAK-457, a Novel Intravenous Triazole, against Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis in Neutropenic Mice

ABSTRACT TAK-457 is an injectable prodrug of TAK-456, which is a novel oral triazole compound with potent antifungal activity. The in vivo efficacy of TAK-457 was evaluated in two models of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis with CDF1 mice and CBA/J mice with transient neutropenia induced by cyclophosphamide. Against the infection in CDF1 mice, treatment with 10 mg of TAK-457 and 1 mg of amphotericin B/kg reduced the fungal burden in lungs and rescued all mice. In the infection model with CBA/J mice, TAK-457 at a dose of 10 mg/kg significantly prolonged the survival time of mice, showing significant reduction of lung chitin levels and the plasma β-d-glucan levels. On the other hand, amphotericin B at 1 mg/kg which was a maximum tolerable dose showed slight but not significant prolongation of survival time of mice, although it also reduced the lung chitin levels and the plasma β-d-glucan levels to a lower extent but still significantly. These results suggest that TAK-457 is a promising candidate for development for the treatment of invasive aspergillosis in humans.
Accumulated Chromosomal Instability in Murine Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells Leads to Malignant Transformation

Despite recent emerging evidence suggesting that cancer stem cells subsist in a variety of tumors, it is not yet fully elucidated whether postnatal stem cells are directly involved in tumorigenesis. We used murine bone marrow–derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) as a model to test a hypothesis that tumorigenesis may originate from spontaneous mutation of stem cells. In this study, we demonstrated that murine BMMSCs, after numerous passages, obtained unlimited population doublings and proceeded to a malignant transformation state, resulting in fibrosarcoma formation in vivo. Transformed BMMSCs colonized to multiple organs when delivered systemically through the tail vein. Fibrosarcoma cells formed by transformed BMMSCs contained cancer progenitors, which were capable of generating colony clusters in vitro and fibrosarcoma in vivo by the second administration. The mechanism by which BMMSCs transformed to malignant cells was associated with accumulated chromosomal abnormalities, gradual elevation in telomerase activity, and increased c‐myc expression. Moreover, BMMSCs and their transformed counterpart, fibrosarcoma‐forming cells, demonstrated different sensitivity to anti‐cancer drugs. BMMSCs/fibrosarcoma transformation system may provide an ideal system to elucidate the mechanism of how stem cells become cancer cells and to screen anti‐sarcoma drugs.
Dehydroepiandrosterone as an adjunct to gonadotropins in infertile Indian women with premature ovarian aging: A pilot study

BACKGROUND: Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) supplementation is a relatively recent development that augments ovarian responsiveness in patients with poor ovarian reserve and premature ovarian aging (POA). AIMS: To evaluate the efficacy of DHEA supplementation prior to gonadotropins for ovulation induction in women with POA. DESIGN: Prospective randomized controlled study. METHODS: Fifty infertile women with POA were randomized into two groups of 25 each. Group 1 received tablet DHEA 25 mg while group 2 received placebo thrice daily for 6 months. After 3 months, gonadotropin induction with intrauterine insemination was done. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Groups were compared using t-test and Mann–Whitney U-test as appropriate. Pre- and post-parameters were compared using t-test -paired and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests as appropriate. RESULTS: Of 50 patients, 62% (31/50) presented with primary and 38% (19/50) with secondary infertility. The mean age was 32.1 ± 4.7 years. Serum antimullerian hormone levels (1.5 ± 0.6–1.9 ± 0.4 ng/ml vs. 1.4 ± 0.5–1.5 ± 0.6 ng/ml) and antral follicle count (3.2 ± 1.0–9.3 ± 3.1 vs. 3.3 ± 1.1–3.4 ± 1.4) improved significantly in DHEA group after 3 months. Serum follicular stimulating hormone and estradiol levels though showed significant intra-group improvement (16.9 ± 5.5 mIU/ml to 14.7 ± 6.2 mIU/ml and 86.6 ± 57.5 pg/ml to 105.6 ± 54.3 pg/ml, respectively) with DHEA, the inter group difference was not significant. Ovulation increased from 48% to 86.3% in DHEA group versus 44–66% in placebo group. Six women (24%) conceived after DHEA in comparison to none in the placebo group. CONCLUSIONS: DHEA supplementation may have a beneficial role as an adjunct to gonadotropins in the treatment of infertility with POA, but further evidence is required.
Book Review: The Curse of Prosperity: How the Rich are Destroying the Earth

disseminated by poorly managed economic growth, a problem which has been recognized for decades without the emergence of an effective solution� The driving force of this dilemma is the human hunger for wealth, especially among those who already have that wealth in disproportionate amounts� This is seen by Hervé Kempf as a failure of the democratic model, which needs to be rethought and revitalized�
Conservation of structure and functional divergence of duplicated Wnt8s in pufferfish

The zebrafish wnt8 locus differs from its tetrapod counterparts in that it produces two functionally overlapping but distinct Wnt8 proteins. Studies of zebrafish wnt8 have suggested that the two major Wnt8 proteins produced are functionally similar yet may behave differently depending on the assay context. To determine whether the bicistronic wnt8 and its accompanying unique protein activities found in zebrafish are more widespread (and perhaps universal) among teleosts, we have extended our studies to the pufferfish Takifugu rubripes. We have found that Takifugu wnt8 is also bicistronic, indicating that the wnt8 duplication occurred before the divergence of these teleosts approximately 150 million years ago. Furthermore, overexpression assays in zebrafish embryos show that functional differences between the zebrafish Wnt8.1 and Wnt8.2 proteins are conserved in their Takifugu orthologs. Thus, despite the fact that Wnt8.1 and Wnt8.2 proteins are as similar to each other as each is to Xenopus Xwnt‐8, Wnt8 family members can behave quite differently in the context of zebrafish embryos. This finding suggests that zebrafish (and possibly teleost in general) Wnt8 receptors are able to discriminate between highly related ligands. Developmental Dynamics 231:441–448, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
TW3 and Fels skeletal ages in elite youth soccer players

Background: Skeletal age (SA) tends to be advanced for chronological age (CA) in adolescent male soccer players. Aim: The study compared SA assessments with the TW3 and Fels methods in a sample of male, elite youth soccer players. Methods: SAs were assessed with the Tanner–Whitehouse 3 (TW3) radius–ulna–short bone (RUS) and Fels methods in a sample of 40 elite youth soccer players 12.5–16.1 years of age. Players were classified as late, on time or early on the basis of relative SA, the difference between SA and CA. Players who reached skeletal maturity were labeled mature. Results: SA was in advance of CA. Among 14 players >15.0 years, two are skeletally mature with the Fels method (CA 15.7 and 15.9 years), while 11 are skeletally mature with the TW3 method (CA 15.0–16.1 years). Conclusion: The TW3 and Fels methods yield different SAs in elite youth soccer players. Significantly more 15-year-old boys are classified as skeletally mature with the TW3 method than with the Fels method. These observations have implications for international age group competitions as well as for medico-legal circumstances that require CA verification. SA is not a valid measure of CA and should not be used as such.
Family firms and corporate social performance: evidence from Korean firms

ABSTRACT This study examines the effects of family firms on the corporate social performance of Korean firms and analyses how their effect varies depending on the presence of family CEOs or chaebols. Based on the agency theory, we find that family firms exhibit lower corporate social performance. In particular, there is no difference in the performance of related stakeholders, such as society, consumers, environment, and employees, compared to non-family firms, but corporate governance registers as low performance. We further find that family firms managed by family CEOs show lower corporate social performance, whereas chaebol firms show higher corporate social performance.
Errors Through The Eyes Of Students Majoring In Teaching Of Foreign Languages

Errors appear in any learning process. Quite a specific position is taken by students majoring in foreign language teaching. Since they themselves learn a foreign language, they are justified to make mistakes. Simultaneously, as future teachers, they should not make errors because their language performances will become models for their learners. Students majoring in teaching foreign languages know and understand the fact that frequent corrections of wrong performances make the real communication difficult. However, they also know that errors will become fixed and they will negatively influence the further development of the learners ́ language competences if they are not corrected. The paper presents students ́ opinions on error corrections in the process of foreign language teaching. Theses opinions reflect the students ́ theoretical knowledge acquired during their courses in methodology, and their views on corrections of their own mistakes and mistakes made by their classmates and also by their teachers. The data were obtained within the framework of the specific research project realized in 2017, and they were compared with the results of the research carried out by Gnutzmann & Kiffe in 1993. The main purpose of these comparisons was to evaluate how errors were tolerated in the past and how they are tolerated at present. © 2017 Published by Future Academy www.FutureAcademy. org.UK