Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Livelihood Diversification and Income: A Case Study of Communities Resident Along The Kiri Dam, Adamawa State, Nigeria

This research analysed livelihood diversifi cation and income in resident communities along the Kiri Dam, Adamawa state, Nigeria. The specifi c objectives of the study were: to describe the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents, assess the level of livelihood diversifi cation of the respondents, analyse income of the respondents, identify factors associated with varying levels of income, and identify constraints to livelihood diversifi cation in the area. A multistage sampling technique was used to collect primary data from 120 respondents from the study area. The data collected were subjected to descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. The results showed that the majority of the respondents were male (78%), married (76%), educated (70%), below 60 years of age (93%) and employed in agricultural activities (83%). The Simpson index of diversifi cation shows that 43% of the respondents diversify at an average level. The majority (60%) of the respondents’ annual income is over ₦ 200,000. The ordinary least square estimation shows that age, marital status, education, irrigation activities, fi shing, farm size and level of diversifi cation aff ect income level in the area. The main constraints to diversifi ed livelihood in the area were a lack of basic social infrastructure, a hippopotamus menace and fl ooding. The study recommended the provision of social infrastructure and the control of hippopotamuses.
Household composition and the risk of child abuse and neglect

Summary The incidence of child abuse and neglect resulting in validated case reports to the American Humane Association in 1976 was determined in relation to household composition, family income and age of the victim. Abuse and neglect were both maximal in father-only homes and minimal in two-natural-parent homes. Mother-only households exceed those with one natural and one step-parent in neglect incidence, but the reverse is true for abuse incidence. Poverty is more strongly associated with neglect risk than with abuse risk, and probably cannot account for the high risks of abuse and neglect in father-only and step-parent families. Evidence that the presence of an unrelated adult filling a parental role exacerbates the risk of physical abuse is presented and discussed.
The prevalence of atopy in patients with familial Mediterranean fever and Behçet's disease.

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study is to investigate the prevalence of atopy in patients with Behçet's disease (BD) and familial Mediterranean fever (FMF). METHODS In this study, 42 BD patients, 40 FMF patients and 49 healthy subjects were included. The skin test was applied to the whole group. If one or more allergen response was equal or greater than histamine response, it was accepted as atopy. At the same time, total serum IgE and peripheral blood eosinophil levels were also determined. RESULTS The frequency of atopy was found to be 2.4% (1/42 patients) in BD patients and 5% (2/40 patients) in FMF patients and 16.3% (8/49 individuals) in healthy controls. In the BD patients, positivity to skin prick test was significantly lower than the control group (p=0.035). The mean serum total IgE level and eosinophil counts did not differ between the three groups. In 33.3% of BD patients, 39.8% of FMF patients and 20.8% of controls levels of IgE lower than 20 kU/L were found (both groups p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS The related conditions with Th-2 cell response such as atopy seem to be low frequency in BD and FMF patients.
Economic efficiency of suckler cow herds in the Czech Republic

Th e objective of the study was to assess the profi tability of suckler cow herds located in diff erent regions of the Czech Republic. Data on 2164 suckler cows were collected for 2013 from 20 beef farms using a questionnaire and the covered production, reproduction, and economic traits. Model calculations were used to determine the level of profi tability with support payments either included (2.15%) or excluded (−45.5%). Break-even points defi ned as the points when the operation reaches zero profi tability were estimated for the number of calves weaned and sold (81 calves/100 cows) and for the selling price of calves (54.6 CZK/kg). Fixed cost as a proportion of the total costs was reduced with the increasing herd size. Based on the results of a sensitivity analysis, the selling price for calves, the number of calves weaned the calving interval, and the amount of support payments were identifi ed as the factors with the highest impact on the overall herd profi tability.
Identification of the delayed rectifier potassium channel, Kv1.6, in cultured astrocytes

Astrocytes are an abundant glial cell type of the central nervous system that appear to play a role in regulating extracellular potassium concentrations in brain, thereby contributing to the maintenance of normal neuronal activity. Voltage‐gated potassium conductances, shown to be present in astrocytes, may be involved in this and other astrocytic functions. Toward defining the role of voltage‐gated potassium channels in astrocytes, total RNA prepared from cultured mouse cortical astrocytes was screened, using a reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) approach, for the expression of several members of the Shaker‐like potassium channel subfamily (Kv1.1–Kv1.6). A relatively high level of Kv1.6 transcript was identified by RT‐PCR and then confirmed and quantitated by ribonuclease protection assays using a Kv1.6‐specific riboprobe. Immunocytochemical staining showed double‐labeling of glial fibrillary acidic protein‐positive cells with antibody specific for the Kv1.6 channel. The Kv1.6 protein expression was variable among the individual astrocytes. Outward voltage‐gated currents were studied in astrocytes in primary culture using the Nystatin‐perforated patch voltage clamp technique. Outward potassium currents were observed in all cells studied, and this current was partially blocked by perfusion with 100 nM dendrotoxin (DTX) in 14 of 16 cells tested. This DTX‐sensitive current appeared to be a sustained outward potassium current, consistent with the suggestion that the Shaker‐like potassium channel Kv1.6 underlies a portion of the delayed rectifier potassium current in cultured mouse cortical astrocytes. GLIA 20:127–134, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss Inc.
Immunologic diagnosis of tuberculosis: a review.

The diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) principally rests on the sputum examination and culture. However, the sensitivity of sputum smear for acid-fast bacteria is only approximately 50% and sputum culture has a relatively long turnaround time. As a result, a number of studies have been conducted in an attempt to find a rapid and accurate diagnostic test for TB. They include serological assays against various mycobacterial antigens. Here we review the merits and deficiencies of the serological tests for TB. In general, serological assays have a high negative predictive value, making them potentially useful as a screening test to rule out active TB although in HIV-positive individuals, low sensitivity and low negative predictive value compromises the accuracy of the seroassays in this group of individuals. In populations where the prevalence of latent TB infection is high, the relatively low positive predictive value of the tests reduces their specificity for active TB. Furthermore, the higher costs and greater training required in performing these tests makes it important that future studies also assess whether their use affects patient outcomes in management of TB.
Climacteric in untreated isolated growth hormone deficiency

Objective:To study the time, intensity of symptoms, hormonal profile, and related morbidity of climacteric in women with untreated isolated growth hormone (GH) deficiency (IGHD). Design:Women belonging to a large Brazilian kindred with IGHD due to a homozygous mutation in the GH-releasing hormone receptor gene were studied. None of them had ever received GH replacement therapy. A two-step protocol was performed. In the first case-control experiment, aimed to determine the age at climacteric, we compared eight women with IGHD and 32 normal women between 37 and 55 years of age. In the second cross-sectional experiment, aimed to determine the severity of climacteric symptoms, seven women with IGHD (aged 47-65 y) were compared with 13 controls (aged 44-65 y). The Kupperman Index scores, serum follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, prolactin, and estradiol levels were determined, and pelvic and mammary ultrasonography, mammography, and colpocytology were performed. Results:The number of women with follicle-stimulating hormone above 20 mIU/mL was higher in women with IGHD than controls. Kupperman's Index was not different between the two groups. Menarche had been delayed and parity was lower in women with IGHD. Hormonal profile was similar, but prolactin was lower in women with IGHD. Uterine volume was smaller in women with IGHD, and endometrial thickness and ovarian volume were similar in the two groups. No difference in breast images or in colpocytology was observed between the two groups. Conclusions:Menarche was delayed and the beginning of climacteric is anticipated in untreated lifetime IGHD, but menopausal symptoms and hormonal profile resemble the normal climacteric.
The Relationship between Foreign Competition and Innovation Activities Based on Quantile Regression

This article uses quantile regression to shed light on the complex relationship between foreign competition and innovation activities. Quantile regression is more powerful than classical linear regression since quantile regression can produce estimates for all conditional quantiles of the distribution of the innovation activities variable, whereas classical linear regression only estimates the conditional mean effects. The empirical evidence shows that the effect of foreign competition on make innovation activities is different across the conditional quantiles of the distribution of innovation activities, something classical linear regression would leave unidentified. This finding suggests that estimating the quantile effect of innovation activities variable can well be more insightful than effect. Additionally, this article finds a U-shaped relationship between foreign competition and make innovation activities.
The effect of culture on brand loyalty through brand performance and brand personality

The purpose of this study is to identify the cultural characteristics of tourists who had the experience of accommodation in 5-star hotels in Istanbul and to determine the effects of these characteristics on personalizing of the hotel brand and the perception of its performance. According to the results of this research, culture directly affects brand personality and brand performance. However, the effect of culture on brand performance is relatively greater. In addition, brand personality and brand performance affect brand loyalty directly, whereas culture does not have a direct effect on brand loyalty.
Media Activities and Reflexivity: The Case of Czech Sports Actors

Contemporary scholarship dealing with the relationship between the media and sports has focused mainly on a critical analysis of media messages relating to sport, on the political economy of the media and on the transformation of sporting cultures as a consequence of the processes of globalisation, commercialisation and spectacularisation. Nonetheless attention has been paid to the ways in which sports actors actively approach or reflect upon the media. This paper addresses this gap as it analyzes different forms of the sports actors’ active use and reflexivity about the media. Therefore, sports (and the term does not refer only to elite and high-level sports, but also to recreational and competitive ones) are not understood as solely subordinated to the hegemony of the media system. On the contrary, drawing on ethnographic research on three Czech sports associations (football, handball and sailing), the analysis explores different modes of active and reflexive approaches to the media that appear in the sphere of sport. This analysis thus enriches the research agenda of sports media studies developed within the sociology of sport. Moreover, it provides empirical data that inform research on sports within the field of media studies.
Absorbed fractions in ellipsoidal volumes for β− radionuclides employed in internal radiotherapy

We developed a Monte Carlo simulation in Geant4 to calculate the absorbed fractions for electrons emitted by 199Au, 177Lu, 131I, 153Sm, 186Re and 90Y, characterized by average energies ranging from 86 keV to 949 keV, uniformly distributed in ellipsoidal volumes of soft tissue. Code validation results with respect to reference data for doses, ranges and absorbed fractions in spheres are presented. An analytical relationship between the absorbed fraction and a ‘generalized radius’ is introduced in analogy with the transfer function of a first-order high-pass filter, and the dependence of its parameters ρ0 and s from the average electron energy and range is discussed. A generalization for the estimation of absorbed fractions for other radionuclides is also proposed. Such results can be useful to improve accuracy and easiness of calculation in dosimetry during internal radiotherapy.
Poison, polygamy and postcolonial politics: The first Chinese Australian novel

Abstract This article examines the first novel written by a Chinese diaspora writer in Australia, The Poison of Polygamy (多妻毒), published in instalments in the Chinese-language newspaper Chinese Times (Melbourne) from 1909 to 1910. Set during the Gold Rush of the 1850s, the novel is nevertheless of its own time, reflecting the pressing concerns of a community in turmoil as the political upheavals of China in the final years of the Qing dynasty competed for attention with the disastrous effects of the White Australia policy. Taking the form of a picaresque and cautionary tale warning against traditional practices such as polygamy, opium smoking and foot-binding, the novel seeks to educate members of the lower classes of the Chinese community while embracing the republican cause against the Manchu rulers. The article argues that the progressive political agenda of the text (democratic, feminist) stands in sharp contrast to the view of the Chinese which prevailed in the white Australian community at the time.
Muscle fiber size increases following resistance training in multiple sclerosis

Objective: To test the hypothesis that lower body progressive resistance training (PRT) leads to an increase of the muscle fiber cross-sectional area (CSA) and a shift in the proportion of fiber types in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Methods: The present study was a two-arm, randomized controlled trial (RCT). Thirty-eight MS patients (Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) 3—5.5) were randomized to a PRT group (Exercise, n = 19) or a control group (Control, n = 19). The Exercise group performed a biweekly 12-week lower body PRT program [five exercises progressing from 15RM (Repetition Maximum) towards 8RM], whereas the Control group maintained their usual daily activity level during the trial period. Muscle biopsies from vastus lateralis were taken before (pre) and after the trial (post). Thigh volume (TV) was estimated from anthropometric measurements. Isokinetic muscle strength of the knee extensors (KE) and flexors (KF) were evaluated at slow (90°/s) and fast (180°/s) angular velocities. Results: In the Exercise group the mean CSA of all muscle fibers (7.9 ± 15.4% vs. -3.5 ± 9.0%, p = 0.03) and of type II muscle fibers (14.0 ± 19.4% vs. -2.6 ± 15.5%, p = 0.02) increased in comparison with the Control group. No changes occurred in the proportion of fiber types in the Exercise group. Neither was there any change in total TV. Isokinetic strength at KE180, KF90 and KF180 improved significantly after PRT when compared with the control group (10.2—21.3%, p ≤ 0.02). Conclusions: We conclude that progressive resistance training induces a compensatory increase of muscle fiber size in patients with the central nervous system disorder, multiple sclerosis.
A Decision-Making Algorithm for Initiation and Discontinuation of RRT in Severe AKI.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES AKI is an increasingly common and devastating complication in hospitalized patients. Severe AKI requiring RRT is associated with in-hospital mortality rates exceeding 40%. Clinical decision making related to RRT initiation for patients with AKI in the medical intensive care unit is not standardized. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS We conducted a 13-month (November of 2013 to December of 2014) prospective cohort study in an academic medical intensive care unit involving the implementation of an AKI Standardized Clinical Assessment and Management Plan, a decision-making algorithm to assist front-line clinicians caring for patients with AKI. The Standardized Clinical Assessment and Management Plan algorithms provided recommendations about optimal indications for initiating and discontinuing RRT on the basis of various clinical parameters; 176 patients managed by nine nephrologists were included in the study. We captured reasons for deviation from the recommended algorithm as well as mortality data. RESULTS Patients whose clinicians adhered to the Standardized Clinical Assessment and Management Plan recommendation to start RRT had lower in-hospital mortality (42% versus 63%; P<0.01) and 60-day mortality (46% and 68%; P<0.01), findings that were confirmed after multivariable adjustment for age, albumin, and disease severity. There was a differential effect of Standardized Clinical Assessment and Management Plan adherence in low (<50% mortality risk) versus high (≥50% mortality risk) disease severity on in-hospital mortality (interaction term P=0.02). In patients with low disease severity, Standardized Clinical Assessment and Management Plan adherence was associated with lower in-hospital mortality (odds ratio, 0.21; 95% confidence interval, 0.08 to 0.54; P=0.001), but no significant association was evident in patients with high disease severity. CONCLUSIONS Physician adherence to an algorithm providing recommendations on RRT initiation was associated with lower in-hospital mortality.
α‐amino‐3‐hydroxy‐5‐methyl‐4‐isoxazolepropionic acid receptors signaling complexes in Bergmann glia

Glutamate, the major excitatory neurotransmitter, induces a wide array of signals from the membrane to the nucleus regulating gene expression. In Bergmann glia, Ca2+‐permeable α‐amino‐3‐hydroxy‐5‐methyl‐4‐isoxazole‐ propionic acid (AMPA) receptors are involved in the short‐ and long‐term interactions between these cells and the neurons that they surround. After activation, AMPA receptors become tyrosine phosphorylated and by these means form multiprotein signaling complexes. To characterize these events, cultured chick Bergmann glia cells as well as chick cerebellar slices were exposed to glutamate, and, by using a combination of immunoprecipitation assays coupled to Western blot analysis, we identified several signaling proteins that become associated with these receptors. A dose‐ and time‐dependent association among AMPA receptors, the focal adhesion kinase pp125FAK, the phosphatidylinositol‐3 kinase and paxillin was found. These results extend the concept of the transducisome to AMPA receptors and provide a framework in which a plausible control of the cytoskeletal network by glutamate is taking place, most possibly through AMPA receptors. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Monitoring hotel performance using occupancy time-series analysis: the concept of occupancy performance space.

Time series factor analysis is used to identify four temporal dimensions of occupancy performance in 279 English hotels over the period January 1992 to December 1994. These dimensions referred to as reference curves differentiate hotels on the basis of overall occupancy level (RC1), seasonality (RC2), long-term trend (RC3) and length of season (RC4). The reference curves are used to define the dimensions of occupancy performance space in which the 279 hotels are positioned, with the hotels differentiated by hotel situation type. It is shown that the positioning of a hotel in occupancy performance space can provide a precise and effective basis for hotel marketing.
Agromyces soli sp. nov., isolated from farm soil.

A Gram-positive, aerobic to microaerophilic, non-motile bacterial strain, designated MJ21(T), was isolated from farm soil and was characterized to determine its taxonomic position by using a polyphasic approach. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, strain MJ21(T) was placed within the genus Agromyces, and exhibited relatively high levels of similarity to Agromyces ulmi XIL01(T) (97.8 %), Agromyces aurantiacus YIM 21741(T) (97.1 %), Agromyces mediolanus JCM 3346(T) (96.7 %), A. mediolanus JCM 1376 (99.1 %), A. mediolanus JCM 9632 (99.1 %), A. mediolanus JCM 9633 (98.9 %) and A. mediolanus JCM 9631 (96.5 %). Chemotaxonomic data also supported the classification of strain MJ21(T) within the genus Agromyces. The new isolate contained MK-12 as the predominant menaquinone and rhamnose, galactose and xylose as cell-wall sugars. The major cellular fatty acids (>10 % of the total) were anteiso-C(15 : 0), anteiso-C(17 : 0) and iso-C(16 : 0). Cell-wall amino acids were 2,4-diaminobutyric acid, glutamic acid, glycine and alanine. Diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, two unknown glycolipids and one unidentified phospholipid were detected as polar lipids. The DNA G+C content of strain MJ21(T) was 73.4 mol%. However, levels of DNA-DNA relatedness between strain MJ21(T) and the seven phylogenetically closest Agromyces strains ranged from 14 to 56 %, showing clearly that the new isolate represents a novel genomic species. Strain MJ21(T) could be differentiated clearly from its phylogenetic neighbours on the basis of phenotypic, genotypic and chemotaxonomic features. Therefore, strain MJ21(T) is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Agromyces, for which the name Agromyces soli sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is MJ21(T) ( = KCTC 19549(T) = JCM 16247(T)).
The role of the emergency medicine resident using the Alvarado score in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis compared with the general surgery resident

Purpose: To compare the accuracy of diagnosing appendicitis between emergency medicine residents using the Alvarado score and general surgery residents using ultrasonography and their clinical provision. Methods: A total of 358 patients (192 men and 166 women) were admitted to the emergency service with suspected appendicitis. Each patient was evaluated by an emergency medicine resident and then by a general surgeon independently. Age, sex, operational data, diagnosis, and the Alvarado scores were measured. Results: The sensitivity and specificity of the Alvarado score were 95.4% (95% confidence interval 91–99%) and 45.7% (95% confidence interval 37.4–54%), respectively. There was a significant difference between the sexes in the predictive values of a positive test (P=0.045) and a negative test (P=0.02). There was no statistical difference between the emergency medicine residents and general surgery residents in terms of positive and negative predicitive values (P>0.05 each). Conclusion: There was no statistical difference between the emergency medicine residents using the Alvarado score and the general surgery residents in terms of suspecting the diagnosis of appendicitis.