Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of the clinical efficacy and safety of Diabecon in NIDDM

Despite understanding the etiopathogenesis of NIDDM, there is an alarming rise in the insulin-resistant cases and failure of OHAs. Early diagnosis and control of NIDDM is important in order to reduce the risk of later complications. Various herbs have been found beneficial in the management of NIDDM and are gaining considerable recognition in the management of NIDDM worldwide. The present study was planned to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of Diabecon as a monotherapy and also as an adjunct with other OHAs, in the management of NIDDM. This was a prospective, open, non-randomized, phase III clinical trial. A total of 50 patients of either sex, between 30-60 years of age, in whom the diagnosis of NIDDM was confirmed, and who were willing to give informed consent were included in the study. Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus patients and NIDDM patients with acute complications of diabetes, pregnant and lactating women, patients with concomitant severe illness necessitating other medications, patients with severe hypertension, history of severe unstable angina, myocardial infarction, CVAs, renal failure, and those patients, who were not willing to give informed consent were excluded from the study. All enrolled patients were categorized into 2 groups. The 1 st group included 25 freshly diagnosed cases of NIDDM who were not consuming any OHA, while the 2 nd group included 25 patients of NIDDM, who were already consuming some OHAs. Patients from the both the groups were advised to consume 2 tablets of Diabecon, twice daily, for 3 months. In all the patients, BSL was assessed at the time of enrollment and thereafter every month, for 3 months. All the patients had to undergo biochemical laboratory investigations. The improvement in the NIDDM symptoms were rated using a predefined symptom score scale ranging from 0-3. The predefined primary efficacy end points were PPBSL control and reduction in the dose of other OHAs. The predefined secondary safety endpoints were reduced incidence of adverse reactions and overall compliance to the drug therapy. All the patients were followed up for 3 months (during the treatment period). All adverse events reported or observed by patients were recorded with information about severity, date of onset, duration and action taken
Did the Vietnam Draft Increase Human Capital Dispersion? Draft-Avoidance Behavior by Race and Class

Past research has documented draft-induced college enrollment during the Vietnam era, but the draft also incentivized men with no hope of attending college to disinvent in traditional forms of human capital (e.g., engage in criminal activity) so as to appear unt for service. Using individual-level panel data, I nd that receiving a \bad" draft lottery number increases college attendance the following year among whites, but it decreases college attendance while increasing self-reported delinquent activity among black and low-income men. Moreover, men with bad numbers are over-represented in state administrative criminal justice records from the early 1970s. These results suggest that the Vietnam draft may have been an important factor behind the rapid rise in crime rates among young men beginning in the mid-1960s.
PHENOTYPIC DETERMINATION OF ESBL- and AmpC- PRODUCING ENTEROBACTERIACEAE IN CHEESE SAMPLES

The off-label over use of antibiotics results in development of antibiotic resistance in the bacteria. Beta-lactamase producing Enterobacteriaceae adversely affects the human health by leading to therapeutic failures against infections. Although microbiological criteria have been considered appropriate to the Food Codex, an inspection for antibiotic-resistant enterobacteria has not come into force yet. Therefore, the detection of foodborne beta-lactamases has gained significant importance for the human health. The objective of this study was to determine ESBLand AmpC- producing Enterobacteriaceae in cheese phenotypically. In this study, a total of 83 cheese samples was examined by performing pre-enrichment, enrichment on selective media, and oxidase test according to the Criteria by ISO/DIS21528-2 microbiologically. Based on the microbiological results, a total of 18 isolates, including Klebsiella pneumoniae (27.8%), Hafnia alvei (27.8%), Escherichia coli (22.2%), Klebsiella oxytoca (11.2%), Enterobacter cloacae (5.5%), and Citrobacter spp. (5.5%) was identified by mass spectrometer. The phenotypic characterization of beta-lactamase type was conducted by disc diffusion, disc diffusion confirmation, and MIC determination according to the Guidelines of Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. The phenotypic results revealed that the most common beta-lactamase type was determined as ESBL in 9 isolates, followed by ESBL & AmpC in 4 isolates, and AmpC in 5 isolates, respectively. In conclusion, our study showed that ESBL- and Amp- type betalactamases were the most common phenotypes in Enterobacteriaceae from cheese. The cheese samples containing ESBL- and Amp- positive bacteria significantly presented a health risk for the consumers
Influence of Cold Plasma Treatment on Textural and Color Characteristics of Two Tomato Varieties

New technologies had been developed to prolong postharves sustainability of horticultural crops. Technologies as hot air treatment or iridation with UV-C spectral emissions are among them. Al of them have positive and negative effects on quality of horticultural crops. Increasingly under research for decontamination of foods is cold plasma technology, especially fresh fruits and vegetables. Possibility of creating cold plasma under atmosferic presures (ACP) offers new preservation tool to reduce microbial infections of vegetable crops. Effects of atmosferic cold plasma on food quality, however, remains under researched. In this study, tomato is treated with air ACP generated with an dielectric barrier discharge reactor (DBD). Changes in textural and color characteristics of two tomato fruit varieties after cold plasma treatment were analysed by performing TPA test and color measurements. The effect of air ACP on tomato texture and color was insignificant.
In vitro free radical scavenging activity of Jatropha gossgypifolia Linn. containing phenolic compounds

To evaluate the in vitro free radical (FR) scavenging activity of leaves Jatropha gossypifoliaLinn. petroleum ether, ethanol, aqueous extracts of J. gossypifolia were prepared, with successive extraction in Soxhlet apparatus. Each extract was selected to study the FR scavenging activity by superoxide scavenging assay and 2, 2-diphenyl-1 picrylhydrazyl hydrate (DPPH) radical scavenging assay method. It was found that aqueous extract contained carbohydrates, glycosides amino acids flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids and steroids; ethanolic extract contained glycosides amino acids flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids and steroids. Radical scavenging activity of plant extracts against stable DPPH was determined spectrophotometrically. Extract solutions were prepared by dissolving 0.025 g of dry extract in 10 ml of methanol. The solution of DPPH in methanol was prepared daily. The samples were kept in the dark for 15 min at room temperature and then the decrease in absorption was measured. Ethanolic extract of J. gossypifolia showed 58.7 ± 0.62% inhibition in superoxide scavenging model. Aqueous extract also showed almost similar activity (54.9 ± 0.53% compared to ethanolic extract), while petroleum ether extract showed poor inhibition of superoxide scavenging activity. All extracts showed dose and time dependent inhibition of superoxide scavenging activity. J. gossypifolia had the highest total phenolic content (42.60 mg tannic acid equivalent (TAE) /100 g fresh weight). Total phenolic content had positive correlation with antioxidant capacity. This shows that the plants, especially J. gossypifolia, may be potent source of natural antioxidants. Key words: Jatropha gossypifolia, 2, 2-diphenyl-1 picrylhydrazyl hydrate (DPPH), phenolic content, superoxide scavenging, antioxidant activity.
Potential Influence of a Midlatitude Oceanic Frontal Zone on the Annular Variability in the Extratropical Atmosphere as Revealed by Aqua-Planet Experiments (Special Issue on The Aqua-Planet Experiment Project (APE) and Related Researches)

Potential influence of a midlatitude SST frontal zone on the zonally symmetric variability in the extratropical atmosphere is assessed through idealized aqua-planet experiments with a general circulation model. In one experiment with a midlatitude frontal SST gradient as sharp as that observed in the Southwestern Indian Ocean, the annular mode is well reproduced in the model summer hemisphere. As actually observed in the Southern Hemisphere, the model annular mode represents a north-south seesaw in westerly wind speed around the climatological joint axes of a midlatitude westerly jet and storm track, with intensified (weakened) midlatitude westerlies under the enhanced (reduced) eddy momentum transport. This essential feature of the annular mode is retained also over the winter hemisphere, although its structure is somewhat distorted owing to the seasonal intensification of a subtropical jet (STJ). In the other experiment, elimination of the frontal SST gradient results in an equatorward shift of westerly wind anomalies associated with the annular mode in the summer hemisphere, in step with a shift of the mean joint axes of the jet and storm track. More importantly, both the amplitude and persistence of the mode are substantially reduced. In the winter hemisphere, the elimination also results in a marked weakening of the annular variability of midlatitude westerlies. Due to the weakening of the near-surface baroclinicity from lack of the frontal SST gradient, anomalous eddy momentum transport is also reduced markedly. Unlike the observed annular mode, the dominant mode of variability primarily represents STJ variability. Though idealized, these model experiments suggest the potential importance of a midlatitude oceanic frontal zone for the year-round dominance and robustness of the annular mode signal against the wintertime intensification of a STJ, by enhancing storm-track activity.
Does Hedge Fund Performance Persist? Overview and New Empirical Evidence

The contribution of this paper is to provide an overview and new empirical evidence on hedge fund performance persistence, which has been a controversial issue in the academic literature during the last several years. In the first step, we review recent studies and put them into a joint evaluation of hedge fund performance persistence. In the second step, the methodological framework developed in the overview is used to present new empirical evidence. We find different levels of performance persistence depending on the statistical methodology and the hedge fund strategy employed. In our study, performance persistence cannot be explained by the use of option-like strategies, but it can be partially explained by survivorship and backfilling bias. Differences among hedge fund strategies might be explained by return smoothing. Finally, we develop a rationale for choosing between different methodologies to measure performance persistence and conclude that the multi-period Kolmogorov-Smirnov test is the most useful for evaluating performance persistence of hedge funds.
Portfolio Performance Evaluation with Generalized Sharpe Ratios: Beyond the Mean and Variance

This paper presents a theoretically sound portfolio performance measure that takes into account higher moments of distribution. This measure is motivated by a study of the investor's preferences to higher moments of distribution within Expected Utility Theory and an approximation analysis of the optimal capital allocation problem. We show that this performance measure justifies the notion of the Generalized Sharpe Ratio (GSR) introduced by Hodges (1998). We present two methods of practical estimation of the GSR: nonparametric and parametric. For the implementation of the parametric method we derive a closed-form solution for the GSR where the higher moments are calibrated to the normal inverse Gaussian distribution. We illustrate how the GSR can mitigate the shortcomings of the Sharpe ratio in resolution of Sharpe ratio paradoxes and reveal the real performance of portfolios with manipulated Sharpe ratios. We also demonstrate the use of this measure in the performance evaluation of hedge funds.
Do Immigrants Make Us Safer? A Model on Crime, Immigration and the Labor Market

We present a two-country equilibrium model with search costs in which the structural characteristics of the labor market in each economy affects the relationship between immigration and crime. The main result of the model is that countries with ? flexible labor markets are likely to see a negative relationship between immigration and crime. By combining data from the European Social Survey with the OECD Employment Protection Index, we find supporting evidence in favor of this theoretical prediction. A policy implication of our study is that migration from a country with a rigid labor market to a country with a more fl? exile labor market is mutually beneficial in terms of reducing crime rates.
A reaction-diffusion equation on a net-shaped thin domain

Let Ωε ⊂ R, 0 < ε ≤ 1, be a net-shaped Lipschitz domain which collapses to a one-dimensional net as ε ↓ 0. On Ωε we consider the equation ut = ∆u with von Neumann boundary conditions. We show under quite general conditions that the semiflows generated by this equation have a limit in a strong sense, the limit semiflow being generated by an abstract linear operator. Also, under an additional assumption, the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the corresponding operators converge. This allows us to apply the techniques in [14] to prove the convergence of the nonlinear semiflows generated by a reaction-diffusion equation on Ωε and the upper-semicontinuity of their attractors at ε = 0. Our technique also allows us to treat the case that Ωε is smooth and has holes which vanish of order at least ε in all directions.
Inserting professionals and professional organizations in studies of wrongdoing: The nature, antecedents and consequences of professional misconduct

Professional misconduct has become seemingly ubiquitous in recent decades. However, to date there has been little sustained effort to theorize the phenomenon of professional misconduct, how this relates to professional organizations, and how this may contribute to broader patterns of corruption and wrongdoing. In response to this gap, in this contribution we discuss the theoretical and empirical implications of analyses that focus on the nature, antecedents and consequences of professional misconduct. In particular, we discuss how the nature of professional misconduct can be quite variegated and nuanced, how boundaries between and within professions can be either too weak or too strong and lead to professional misconduct, and how the consequences of professional misconduct can be less straightforward than normally assumed. We also illuminate how some important questions about professional misconduct are still pending, including: how we define its different organizational forms; how it is instigated by the changing nature of professional boundaries; and how its consequences are responded to in professional organizations and society more widely.
Pied Piper: Rethinking Internet Data Delivery

We contend that, analogously to the transition from resource-limited on-prem computing to resource-abundant cloud computing, Internet data delivery should also be adapted to a reality in which the cloud offers a virtually unlimited resource, i.e., network capacity, and virtualization enables delegating local tasks, such as routing and congestion control, to the cloud. This necessitates rethinking the traditional roles of inter- and intra-domain routing and conventional end-to-end congestion control. We introduce Optimized Cloudified Delivery (OCD), a holistic approach for optimizing joint Internet/cloud data delivery, and evaluate OCD through hundreds of thousands of file downloads from multiple locations. We start by examining an OCD baseline approach: traffic from a source A to a destination B successively passes through two cloud virtual machines operating as relays - nearest to A and B; and the two cloud relays employ TCP split. We show that even this naive strategy can outperform recently proposed improved end-to-end congestion control paradigms (BBR and PCC) by an order of magnitude. Next, we present a protocol-free, ideal pipe model of data transmission, and identify where today's Internet data delivery mechanisms diverge from this model. We then design and implement OCD Pied Piper. Pied Piper leverages various techniques, including novel kernel-based transport-layer accelerations, to improve the Internet-Cloud interface so as to approximately match the ideal network pipe model.
Sea-Level Trend Uncertainty With Pacific Climatic Variability and Temporally-Correlated Noise

Recent studies have identified climatic drivers of the east-west see-saw of Pacific Ocean satellite altimetry era sea level trends and a number of sea-level trend and acceleration assessments attempt to account for this. We investigate the effect of Pacific climate variability, together with temporally-correlated noise, on linear trend error estimates and determine new time-of-emergence (ToE) estimates across the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Sea-level trend studies often advocate the use of auto-regressive (AR) noise models to adequately assess formal uncertainties, yet sea level often exhibits colored but non-AR(1) noise. Standard error estimates are over- or under-estimated by an AR(1) model for much of the Indo-Pacific sea level. Allowing for PDO and ENSO variability in the trend estimate only reduces standard errors across the tropics and we find noise characteristics are largely unaffected. Of importance for trend and acceleration detection studies, formal error estimates remain on average up to 1.6 times those from an AR(1) model for longduration tide gauge data. There is an even chance that the observed trend from the satellite altimetry era exceeds the noise in patches of the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans and the south-west and north-east Pacific gyres. By including climate indices in the trend analysis, the time it takes for the observed linear sealevel trend to emerge from the noise reduces by up to 2 decades.
Investigating the effectiveness of humour in cross-cultural advertising

Existing research into the use of humour in advertising fails to adequately address a number of central concerns. These issues include (i) definition of humour and types, (ii) the effect humorous advertising appeals have on an individual, (iii) how the effects of humour in advertising are moderated by culture and, (iv) establishment of a link between intended and perceived humour in advertising. Propositions are developed for a series of research studies to construct a framework that will assist in determining what adaptation of humorous appeals is necessary to optimise their effectiveness in cross-cultural advertising. Introduction Humour is frequently used in advertising, but its effects and effectiveness are not well understood. With over US$167 billion globally being spent annually on ads with humorous appeals (ZenithOptimedia 2007), it is critical that advertisers gain the highest possible effectiveness. In particular, with organisations standardising their products and promotion globally, the use of humour in cross-cultural advertising demands examination. The debate over standardisation or localisation of marketing strategies and in particular advertising strategies has been ongoing for decades (Agrawal 1995). Proponents of standardisation believe that there is a growing convergence amongst cultures, typified by the global consumers in certain product segments (Dawar and Parker 1994). The competing pressures to gain the benefits of standardisation while retaining the customer focus of localisation lead to the need for evidence delineating a point on the continuum between purely standardised and complete adaptation at which an organisation can develop effective advertising strategies. This paper attempts to synthesise the literature on humour in cross-cultural advertising and conceptualise the link between culture and the effectiveness of humorous appeals in advertising. From this synthesis a framework will be developed, enabling researchers to determine what level of adaptation of humorous appeals is necessary to optimise effectiveness of cross-cultural advertising. A critical section of this framework will also address the gap between intended and perceived humour, and its impact on measures of effectiveness. Culture As a basis for cross-cultural research into humour in advertising, it is useful to examine the literature on the elements and dimensions of culture. The concept of culture is difficult to define accurately and comprehensively. Kroeber and Kluckhohn (1978; 1952) cite over 164 definitions of culture. Fletcher (1979:17) opined that “culture is the total way of life in a society”; and Hofstede (1988:6) expressed his view that culture is “the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one category of people from
Global change across the Oligocene-Miocene transition : High-resolution stable isotope records from IODP Site U1334 (equatorial Pacific Ocean)

The Oligocene-Miocene transition (OMT) (~23? Ma) is interpreted as a transient global cooling event, associated with a large-scale Antarctic ice sheet expansion. Here we present a 2.23? Myr long high-resolution (~3? kyr) benthic foraminiferal oxygen and carbon isotope (? 18O and ? 13C) record from Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Site U1334 (eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean), covering the interval from 21.91 to 24.14? Ma. To date, five other high-resolution benthic foraminiferal stable isotope stratigraphies across this time interval have been published, showing a ~1‰ increase in benthic foraminiferal ? 18O across the OMT. However, these records are still few and spatially limited and no clear understanding exists of the global versus local imprints. We show that trends and the amplitudes of change are similar at Site U1334 as in other high-resolution stable isotope records, suggesting that these represent global deep water signals. We create a benthic foraminiferal stable isotope stack across the OMT by combining Site U1334 with records from ODP Sites 926, 929, 1090, 1264, and 1218 to best approximate the global signal. We find that isotopic gradients between sites indicate interbasinal and intrabasinal variabilities in deep water masses and, in particular, note an offset between the equatorial Atlantic and the equatorial Pacific, suggesting that a distinct temperature gradient was present during the OMT between these deep water masses at low latitudes. A convergence in the ? 18O values between infaunal and epifaunal species occurs between 22.8 and 23.2? Ma, associated with the maximum ? 18O excursion at the OMT, suggesting climatic changes associated with the OMT had an effect on interspecies offsets of benthic foraminifera. Our data indicate a maximum glacioeustatic sea level change of ~50? m across the OMT.