Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparative Study on Iron Content Detection by Energy Spectral CT and MRI in MDS Patients

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify the difference between dual energy spectral computed tomography (DECT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) used to detect liver/cardiac iron content in Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients with differently adjusted serum ferritin (ASF) levels. Method: Liver and cardiac iron content were detected by DECT and MRI. Patients were divided into different subgroups according to the level of ASF. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was applied in each subgroup. The correlation between iron content detected by DECT/MRI and ASF was analyzed in each subgroup. Result: ROC curves showed that liver virtual iron content (LVIC) Az was significantly less than liver iron concentration (LIC) Az in the subgroup with ASF < 1,000 ng/ml. There was no significant difference between LVIC Az and LIC Az in the subgroup with 1,000 ≤ ASF < 2,500 ng/ml and 2,500 ≤ ASF < 5,000 ng/ml. LVIC Az was significantly higher than LIC Az in the subgroup with ASF <5,000 and 5,000 ≤ ASF ng/ml. In patients undergoing DECT and MRI examination on the same day, ASF was significantly correlated with LVIC, whereas no significant correlation was observed between ASF and LIC. After removing the data of ASF > 5,000 mg/L in LIC, LIC became correlated with ASF. There was no significant difference between the subgroup with 2,500 ≤ ASF < 5,000 ng/ml and 5,000 ng/ml ≤ ASF in LIC expression. Furthermore, both LIC and liver VIC had significant correlations with ASF in patients with ASF < 2,500 ng/ml, while LVIC was still correlated with ASF, LIC was not correlated with ASF in patients with 2,500 ng/ml ≤ ASF. Moreover, neither cardiac VIC nor myocardial iron content (MIC) were correlated with ASF in these subgroups. Conclusion: MRI and DECT were complementary to each other in liver iron detection. In MDS patients with high iron content, such as ASF ≥ 5,000 ng/ml, DECT was more reliable than the MRI in the assessment of iron content. But in patients with low iron content, such as ASF < 1,000 ng/ml, MRI is more reliable than DECT. Therefore, for the sake of more accurately evaluating the iron content, the appropriate detection method can be selected according to ASF.
Beliefs and Attitudes Toward Inclusion of Student Teachers and Their Contact With People With Disabilities

Inclusive schooling has been a key issue in special needs education for the last 20 years. In this context, teacher's attitudes toward inclusion is an essential factor in professional competence. It is therefore in the interest of an inclusive school system that inclusion-related beliefs and attitudes are cultivated in basic teacher education. Although some studies report positive effects of basic teacher education on successful inclusion processes and outcomes at school, the findings on attitude changes in teacher education are inconsistent. Multiple factors influence inclusion-related attitudes and beliefs. Among them, personal contact with people with disabilities is important. The present study at the University of Teacher Education in Zurich, Switzerland, examines the influence of previous contact with people with disabilities on attitudes toward inclusion after initial teacher training modules. An online survey (N = 443) was conducted before (T0) and after (T1) a training module on inclusive education/inclusive teaching. Validated scales on attitudes toward inclusion were used. The findings show that the student teachers report significantly more positive contact with people with disability than negative ones. At the same time, student teachers who are in contact with people with disabilities report a significantly more positive attitude toward inclusion at the beginning of the term, and a higher self-efficacy in dealing with disruptive behavior and interdisciplinary cooperation, as well as an individualizing teaching structure. They also report fewer concerns and negative attitudes than student teachers without such contact. Contact with people with disabilities was significantly related to an anticipated willingness to take on an inclusive class. However, no moderating effect of contact over the term was found. Additionally, we identify a considerable heterogeneity on positive attitudes toward inclusion within the respective groups (i.e., more positive or negative contact) via multigroup latent profile analysis. In particular, higher levels on self-efficacy in dealing with disruptive behavior and individualizing teaching structure were central indicators for positive attitudes toward inclusion; this held for both contact groups.
Theory of Resonance Topology of Fully Aromatic Hydrocarbons. I

The computation of resonance forms of any specified number of unpaired electrons (``radicality'') of aromatic hydrocarbons is reduced to combinatorial problems, many of which can be solved on the basis of five simple lemmas. In this first of two papers, only unexcited (Kekule) forms are computed. Algorithms are deduced for deriving the number N of such forms for classes covering practically all nonreticulate aromatic hydrocarbons and a number of singly, doubly, or triply infinite series of reticulate ones. One lemma leads to a simplification of the combinatorial problems from the hexagonal to the square lattice (``dot diagrams''). Points of purely mathematical interest arise and may merit further study.
Effect of filler concentration on electrical conductivity and ultralow-frequency dielectric properties

The effect of filler concentration on the dielectric properties in the ultralow-frequency region and on the electrical conductivity was studied for ethylene propylene rubber. First, we investigated the relation between the electrical conductivity and filler concentration: as the volume fraction of fillers q/sub a/ increased, the conductivity decreased in the low filler concentration region but increased abruptly in the high filler concentration region. The decrease and increase in conductivity can be explained with the action of carrier traps at the interface between EPR and fillers and with the formation of highly conductive paths of filler across the sample, respectively. Secondly, we studied the dielectric properties in the ultralow-frequency region which was obtained from the discharge current. As q/sub a/ increased, the relaxation time decreased in the low filler concentration region and then rose in the high filler concentration region. The polarization in the high filler concentration region can be explained by two-layer interfacial polarization between filler and rubber. >
Mean (cid:28)eld limits for interacting Hawkes processes in a di(cid:27)usive regime

: We consider a sequence of systems of Hawkes processes having mean (cid:28)eld interactions in a di(cid:27)usive regime. The stochastic intensity of each process is a solution of a stochastic di(cid:27)erential equation driven by N independent Poisson random measures. We show that, as the number of interacting components N tends to in(cid:28)nity, this intensity converges in distribution in the Skorokhod space to a CIR-type di(cid:27)usion. Moreover, we prove the convergence in distribution of the Hawkes processes to the limit point process having the limit di(cid:27)usion as intensity. To prove the convergence results, we use analytical technics based on the convergence of the associated in(cid:28)nitesimal generators and Markovian semigroups.
BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLING OF MANGANESE IN DRINKING WATER SYSTEMS

This work represents an interdisciplinary effort to investigate microbiological and chemical manganese (Mn) cycling in drinking water systems using concepts and tools from civil and environmental engineering, microbiology, chemistry, surface science, geology, and applied physics. Microorganisms were isolated from four geographically diverse drinking water systems using selective Mn-oxidizing and -reducing culture media. 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed that most are bacteria of the Bacillus spp. (i.e., Bacillus pumilus and Bacillus cereus). These bacteria are capable of performing Mn-oxidation and -reduction under controlled laboratory conditions. Pseudo-first order rate constants obtained for microbiological Mn-oxidation and -reduction (aerobic and anaerobic) of these isolates ranged from 0.02 0.66 days -1 . It is likely that spores formed by Bacillus spp. protect them from chlorine and other disinfectants applied in drinking water systems, explaining their ubiquitous presence. A new method was developed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to identify Mn(II), Mn(III), and Mn(IV) on the surfaces of pure oxide standards and filtration media samples from drinking water treatment plants. A necessary step for the comprehensive analysis of Mn-cycling in drinking water systems is to characterize the chemical properties of filtration media surfaces. Analyses of filtration media samples show that, while Mn(IV) was predominant in most samples, a mixture of Mn(III) and Mn(IV) was also identified in some of the filtration media samples studied. The use of both the XPS Mn 3s multiplet splitting and the position and iii shape of the Mn 3p photo-line provide added confidence for the determination of the oxidation state of Mn in complex heterogeneous environmental samples. XPS was applied to investigate Mn(II) removal by MnOx(s)-coated media under experimental conditions that closely resemble situations encountered in drinking water treatment plants in the absence and presence of chlorine. Macroscopic and spectroscopic results suggest that Mn(II) removal in the absence of chlorine was mainly due to adsorption, while in the presence of chlorine was due to oxidation. Mn(IV) was predominant in all the XPS analyses while Mn(II) was detected only in samples operated without chlorine. Future research should apply XPS under different experimental conditions to understand the specific mechanisms affecting Mn(II) removal by MnOx(s)-coated media.
Hematological findings in Iguana iguana (Reptilia, Squamata, Iguanidae) with hemoparasitosis in Santarém, Pará, Brazil

Reptile biology may be directly related to hematological values, since some parameters may vary according to sex, seasonality, temperature, diet and reproductive status. For the western region of Pará State, there is no information about the presence of hemoparasites in Iguana iguana and the possible hematological alterations they cause. Thus, this study aimed to identify the presence of hemoparasites, and the hematological alterations caused by them, in I. iguana in the municipality of Santarém, Pará, Brazil. Este periódico está licenciado conforme Creative Commons Atribuição 4.0 Internacional. Revista Biotemas, 33 (1), março de 2020 2 D. J. S. Lima et al. The search for hemoparasites was performed on blood smears with hematological dye analyzed under a light microscope at 1,000x magnification. Hematological values were obtained by counting in a Neubauer chamber using 0.01% toluidine blue reagent. Hemoparasite infection was observed in 18 animals (10 males and 8 females). There were no statistically significant differences between genders and leukocyte, thrombocyte and red blood cell values. There is hemoparasite infection in I. iguana in the region. The relationship between this hemoparasite and the host appears to have little pathogenicity in causing significant changes in leukocyte, red blood cell and thrombocyte values.
Social Structure and Redistribution: Evidence from Age Set Organization∗

We document that ethnic groups’ social structure shapes patterns of economic interaction and hence the impact of public policy. Our analysis focuses on age set societies, ethnic groups comprising over 130 million people in sub-Saharan Africa in which individuals are organized into social groups based on age, known as “age sets,” that take priority over kin. Ethnographic accounts suggest that in age set societies, within-cohort economic ties are strong while inter-generational family ties are comparatively weak. First, we analyze a randomized unconditional cash transfer program in Northern Kenya and document that in age set societies, but not in kin-based societies, there are large consumption spillovers within the age cohort. Moreover, focusing on an arm of the experiment that simulates a pension program, we find that randomly increasing the income of older people improves child health and increases household education spending in kin based societies, but has no such impact in age set societies. Next, exploiting the staggered roll-out of Uganda’s social pension program, we document a similar pattern at a national scale: household exposure to the pension program has a large, positive effect on child health in kin-based societies, but no impact in age set societies. These findings highlight how local variation in social structure can lead to markedly different, yet predictable, patterns of redistribution, thereby shaping the consequences of national policies. ∗We thank Daron Acemoglu, Alberto Alesina, Emily Breza, Rema Hanna, Michael Kremer, Nathan Nunn, Ben Olken, Gautam Rao, James A. Robinson, and Robert M. Townsend for their guidance and support. We also thank seminar participants at Harvard and MIT for their comments. †Department of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02142, U.S.A. (email: moscona@mit.edu; website: http://economics.mit.edu/grad/moscona) ‡Department of Economics, Harvard University, 1805 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, U.S.A. (email: aseck@g.harvard.edu; website: https://scholar.harvard.edu/awaambraseck)
Seasonal Variation in Heavy Metal Distribution in the Sediment of Major Dams in Ekiti-State

Seasonal variation in heavy metal distribution of major dams in Ekiti State was carried out. Of all the metal examined, iron was found to be the most abundant metal for both seasons for the two years with an average value of 6.48 and 4.80m/100g (2001) and 6.51 and 3.62 mg/100g (2002) for dry and wet season respectively, the average metal concentration increased yearly. The concentration of most of the metals appears higher in the dry season than those recorded for the wet season. The values of the metals are below the standard limits of world health organization.
THE INFLUENCE OF TIME AND TEMPERATURE OF BEECH WOOD (FAGUS SYLVATICA L.) HEAT TREATMENT IN SUPERHEATED STEAM ON THE CARBOHYDRATES CONTENT

The influence of time (2, 6, 10 h) and temperature of beech wood (Fagus sylvatica L.) heat treatment in superheated steam (160 oC, 220 oC) on the carbohydrates content was examined. Carbohydrates were divided into two groups basing on the molecular mass. Holocellulose, cellulose and -cellulose were qualified to the group of high molecular mass. Hemicelluloses, 1 % NaOH soluble substances and cellulose were qualified to the group of low molecular mass. Significant changes in the chemical composition of beech wood take place in the temperature of 220 oC and treating time of 6 and 10 hours. Hemicelluloses content decreases from 37 % to about 4 % in these conditions. Holocellulose content decreases from 84 % to 52 % and -celulose content from 38 % to 18 %.
Isolation and Characterization of a Bacterium Exhibiting Excellent Antifungal Potential

The current study reports isolation and characterization of a bacterium, named SCPS1, from the garden soil of a college campus from University of Delhi in New Delhi, India. Garden soil was used for bacterial isolation using standard isolation procedures of serial dilution and plating. Out of several 100 isolates, 6 morphologically distinct colonies were picked up and screened for antifungal potential. SCPS1 showed excellent activity against Aspergillus, Mucor and Rhizopus. It was selected for further study and characterization was done using biochemical tests and 16S rRNA based molecular approach. Gram positive rods with capsules were observed microscopically and SCPS1 was found to be a member of Bacillus group, Bacillus amylo liquifaciens, upon phylogenetic analysis.
The state of early childhood education and care in Canada 2010: Trends and analysis

The state of early childhood education and care in Canada 2010: Trends and analysis uses data from successive editions of Early childhood education and care in Canada [3] (1992, 1995, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2008), developed and published by the Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU) and data available in Public investments in early childhood education and care in Canada 2010 [4], published by the Government of Canada (HRSDC), which is consistent with CRRU's publications in format, content and research methodology. Together these data form a body of longitudinal information that makes it possible to identify trends and developments over time -information useful for research, advocacy and policy-making.
PARAMETRIC STUDY OF THE STREAK BREAKDOWN MECHANISM IN HARTMANN FLOW E.Zienicke, D.Krasnov

Introduction. The goal of this study is the identification of the regions of stability and instability for the laminar Hartmann flow against transition to turbulence. In previous work [1] it has been shown numerically that the transition takes place by a two step mechanism: (1) large transient growth of optimal 2D-perturbations causing a (2) secondary instability against 3D-random perturbation triggering the transition to turbulence. The mechanism leads to a streak breakdown scenario (see, e.g., [3]). With this two-step mechanism the gap of the critical Reynolds number between linear stability analysis (RL = 48250, see [4]) and experimental results (150 < RC < 250, see references in [4]) could be closed satisfactory using direct numerical simulation. We found a critical Reynolds number of RC = 350 for Ha = 10, 20. This is in good agreement with a recent experiment [5] giving a critical Reynolds number of RC = 380. In this contribution we address two additional topics, which extend our former results to a parametric study: (1) Closure of the gap between the Hartmann number in the experiment (130 < Ha < 1690) and our numerical calculations (Ha = 10, 20). (2) Determination of the size of 2D-optimal disturbances and 3Drandom perturbations, which are necessary to trigger transition to turbulence. This gives an exact representation of the system behaviour in the region of conditional stability.
Antihypertensive Effects of the Vitex cienkowskii (Verbenaceae) Stem-Bark Extract on L-NAME-Induced Hypertensive Rats

Vitex cienkowskii stem-bark is used in Cameroonian traditional medicine to treat cardiovascular diseases including hypertension. In previous studies, the methanol/methylene chloride stem-bark extract of Vitex cienkowskii (MMVC) showed a preventive activity in L-NAME-induced hypertension and improved blood pressure of spontaneously hypertensive rats. The present study investigated the curative effects in L-NAME-induced hypertensive rats (LNHR). Hypertension was induced in rats by oral administration of L-NAME (40 mg/kg/day) for 28 days. The animals were divided into 2 groups: one group of 5 rats receiving distilled water (10 ml/kg) and another 20 rats receiving L-NAME. At the end of 4 weeks of administration of L-NAME, the animals were divided into 4 groups of 5 rats each: one group of hypertensive rats receiving distilled water, another one receiving captopril (25 mg/kg), and two groups of hypertensive rats receiving MMVC at doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg, respectively. Body weight, food, and water intake were measured weekly. At the end of the treatment, blood pressure and heart rate were recorded by invasive method. Whole heart, left ventricle, kidneys, and liver were weighed. The effects of plant extract on lipid profile and oxidative stress markers, as well as markers of hepatic and renal functions were assessed spectrophotometrically according to well described protocols. Results show that L-NAME significantly increases the mean arterial blood pressure (MABP), atherogenic index, lipid profile, and creatinine and transaminase activities of normotensive rats. MMVC significantly reduced the blood pressure in LNHR. Body weight, food and water intake, left ventricular hypertrophy, antioxidant level, renal and hepatic markers, and lipid profile were improved by the treatment with MMVC. The curative effect of MMVC on L-NAME-induced hypertension is probably related to its antihypertensive, hypolipidemic, and antioxidant properties. These results confirmed the use of Vitex cienkowskii for the treatment of hypertension in traditional medicine.
Antifungal Potential of Phytochemicals against Mauginiella scaettae, the Plant Pathogen Causing Inflorescence Rot of Date Palm

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) inflorescence rot caused by Mauginiella scaettae poses a serious threat to date palm in Morocco. The present study aims to determine the antifungal activity of five plant extracts against M. scaettae, including Acacia cyanophylla, Cupressus atlantica, Eucalyptus torquata, Nerium oleander, and Schinus molle and link this effect to their content in phenolics and flavonoids, as well as their antioxidant properties. Plant extracts exhibited significant discrepancies regarding their antifungal activity (p < 0.05). The extracts of E. torquata and C. atlantica had the strongest and dose-dependent manner inhibitory effect against mycelial growth and spore germination. E. torquata and S. molle caused the greatest sporulation reductions of about 88.05% and 36.11%, respectively. In addition, there were significant differences among the examined plant extracts with respect to their total polyphenols (14.52–76.68 mg GAE/g DW), flavonoids (8.75–57.78 g RE/100 g DW), and antioxidant properties as measured by TEAC (74.77–391.23 mmol TE/g DW) and FRAP assays (87.18–474.04 mmol TE/g DW). Strong correlations were found between phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity suggesting that polyphenols play a key role in the observed antioxidant and antifungal activities.
How Knowledge about Stem Cells Influences Attitudes towards Breastfeeding: Case Study of Polish Women

Maternal breastfeeding is associated with multiple health benefits, both for the child and the mother. Since breastfeeding rates are declining, finding new, future-oriented strategies to strengthen and support mothers’ positive attitudes towards breastfeeding need to be developed. In this paper, we describe how information about the presence of stem cells in breast milk can influence the willingness to breastfeed in the population of Polish pregnant women. A cross-sectional study involving a group of 150 pregnant women was conducted to assess the correlation between their knowledge about stem cells and their attitude towards breastfeeding. Among the respondents, only 6% claimed that they did not know anything about stem cells, but general knowledge about stem cells in the research group was poor. The survey results indicated that city residence, university degree, maternal experience and advanced pregnancy correlated with higher general knowledge regarding stem cells. Most respondents (77.3%) had no knowledge regarding the presence of stem cells in breast milk. Approximately two-thirds of mothers with earlier negative breastfeeding experience declared that information about the presence of stem cells in breast milk could have influenced the decision to continue and extend the time of breastfeeding. Hence highlighting the presence of stem cells in breast milk can be used to encourage breastfeeding as a unique activity.