Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Use of Potentiators and Correctors to Rescue the Various Effects of Mutations in Cystic Fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis, a severe autosomal recessive disorder due to presence of mutations in Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator (CFTR) gene. To date about 2000 mutations established in CFTR gene worldwide. All the mutations have been categorized into six subgroups accordingly to their effects on CFTR protein expression, structure and functions. ∆F508 commonest mutation due to the deletion of phenylalanine from 508 position in the nucleotide binding domain of CFTR protein which leads to misfolding as well as expression at plasma membrane and, chloride gating channel and stability. The molecules that target the underlying defect in CFTR protein which are categorized into three main types of modulators viz correctors, potentiators and amplifiers. These molecules are able to restore chloride flow, thereby they can improve CF manifestations enough to relieve symptoms associated with CF. The molecular and cellular mechanism underlying cystic fibrosis is utmost important for targeting the molecular defect for CF treatment. Corrector molecules target the misfolding/misprocessing process in response to ΔF508 mutation whereas potentiators are able to restore cAMP dependent chloride channel activity of mutant CFTR at the plasma membranes. Particular attention is corroborated to reestablish the molecular defect using new therapeutic molecules. Recently, new advances are reported which are indicative of more potent therapy in CF using third generation modulators
Levels of Empathy among Dental Students at CMH Lahore Medical College and Institute of Dentistry, Pakistan

Objectives: To measure levels of empathy among undergraduate dental students in Pakistani Dentistry Institute and to find the difference with respect to gender and academic year in the dental college. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at CMHLMC and IOD in Pakistan, from December 2018 to April 2019, and comprised dental students of all four years. A valid and reliable “The Toronto empathy questionnaire” was used for the collection of data. Responses were indicated on a four-point Likert scale and total scores ranged from 0-64, with higher values indicating higher levels of empathy. Eight out of sixteen items were positively worded and the remaining eight items were negatively worded. Comparison of empathy scores across the year of study was analyzed using one-way ANOVA whereas a t-test was utilized for gender differences. SPSS version 20 was used for data analysis. Results: Questionnaire was returned by 281 students, with a 94% response rate. First-year dentistry students scored the highest mean score of 3.0, followed by second and third-year students by scoring 2.8 whereas the final year students obtained the lowest mean empathy score of 2.7. When mean empathy scores were compared among students of all 4 years by ANOVA test, it was found to be statistically significant, F=3.22, p=0.02. No significant differences in empathy scores were found with respect to gender (p ≥ 0.05). Conclusion: The present study reported a decline of empathy mean scores among dentistry students as the years of study progressed. This study reflects the need for early exposure to clinical training, educational programs and innovative teaching strategies in the undergraduate dentistry curriculum by emphasizing on dentists-patient communication skills, which in turn could encourage dentistry students to become empathetic health professionals.
Class A Pathogen Reduction in the SSDML Process

The agricultural use of sewage sludge is limited by the presence of toxic metals and pathogens. The simultaneous sludge digestion and metal leaching (SSDML) process has been developed to resolve this problem. In the present study, the performance of the SSDML process for the elimination of total coliforms, fecal coliforms, fecal streptococci, and coliphages from sewage sludge was verified by shake flask, laboratory bioreactor, and pilot plant bioreactors. The effect of pH, sludge solids concentration, temperature, and sludge types on the bacterial indicator's removal was evaluated. The results showed that the SSDML process was more efficient than the conventional mesophilic aerobic sludge digestion process for the elimination of bacterial (2.5 to >7.0 log units reduction) and viral (>8.0 log units reduction) indicator microorganisms.
Running head: UNPACKING STUDENTS’ EPISTEMIC COGNITION 1 Unpacking Students’ Epistemic Cognition in a Physics Problem-Solving Environment

It is a widely held view that students’ epistemic beliefs influence the way they think and learn in a given context, however, in the science learning context, the relationship between sophisticated epistemic beliefs and success in scientific practice is sometimes ambiguous. Taking this inconsistency as a point of departure, we examined the relationship between students’ scientific epistemic beliefs (SEB), their epistemic practices, and their epistemic cognition in a computer simulation in classical mechanics. Tenth grade students’ manipulations of the simulation, spoken comments, and behavior were screen and videorecorded and subsequently transcribed and coded. In addition, a stimulated recall interview was undertaken to access students’ thinking and reflections on their practice, in order to understand their practice and make inferences about their process of epistemic cognition. The paper reports on the detailed analysis of the data sets for three students of widely different SEB and performance levels. Comparing the SEB, problem solutions and epistemic practices of the three students has enabled us to examine the interplay between SEB, problem-solving strategies (PS), conceptual understanding (CU), and metacognitive reflection (MCR), to see how these operate together to facilitate problem solutions. From the analysis, we can better understand how different students’ epistemic cognition is adaptive to the context. The findings have implications for teaching science and further research into epistemic cognition.
Buil-Gil, D and Moretti, A and Shlomo, N and Medina, J (2019)Worry about crime in Europe: A model-based small area estimation from the European Social Survey. European Journal of Criminology. ISSN 1477-3708

Worry about crime is known to be higher in some European regions than others. However, cross-national surveys, which are the main source of information to map worry about crime across Europe, are designed to be representative of large areas (countries), and regions often suffer from small and unrepresentative sample sizes. This research produces reliable model-based small area estimates of worry about crime at regional level from European Social Survey data, in order to map the phenomenon and examine its macrolevel predictors. Model-based small area estimation techniques borrow strength across areas to produce reliable estimates of parameters of interest. Estimates of worry about crime are higher in most Southern and Eastern European regions, in contrast to Northern and Central Europe.
DISTRIBUTIONS DIOPHANTIENNES ET THÉORÈME LIMITE LOCAL SUR Rd

We study the speed of convergence of n R fdμ in the local limit theorem on R under very general conditions upon the function f and the distribution μ. We show that this speed is at least of order 1 n and we give a simple characterization (in diophantine terms) of those measures for which this speed (and the full local Edgeworth expansion) holds for smooth enough f . We then derive a uniform local limit theorem for moderate deviations under a mild moment assumption. This in turn yields other limit theorems when f is no longer assumed integrable but only bounded and Lipschitz or Hölder. We finally give an application to equidistribution of random walks.
Service Trade Restrictiveness and Foreign Direct Investment ‐ Evidence from Greenfield
 FDI
 in Business Services

We study the impact of service trade restrictions on bilateral greenfield FDI projects in four different business services sectors within a gravity model framework. Project level FDI data for 42 destination countries and up to 41 source countries spanning the years 2014 to 2018 is taken from the fDi Markets database, and restrictions from the OECDâs Service Trade Restrictiveness Index (STRI). Using a negative binomial estimator to explain the number of bilateral FDI projects, we find that service trade restrictions represent a significant barrier for greenfield FDI. In 3 out of 4 business services, we obtain statistically significant evidence of a negative impact. Furthermore, the explanatory power of the models generally improves when using the sub-components of the STRI (restrictions to foreign entry, restrictions to the movement of people and other service trade restrictions), instead of the single aggregated index value. Based on the estimated impacts of the different restrictions, we carry out a series of simple simulations of how the number of expected FDI projects would increase in response to a hypothetical policy reform, and propose some sector-specific policy recommendations.
Kaiku Health Service for symptom management of cancer patients

The Kaiku® Health service is a digital system that can be used to monitor the well-being of a patient with cancer. This service can be accessed via either a web browser or a mobile application. Through the service, the patient fills in symptom monitoring and a quality of life meter, and if necessary, the system sends information about the deterioration of well-being to the treating organization. The end user and the hosting organization can send non urgent messages through the system.
Emotional and Neurological Responses to Timbre

Humans detect and react to characteristics of timbre in speech and instrumental sounds, but the relationship between emotions conveyed by timbre in non-verbal vocalizations and those conveyed by electric guitar sounds is unknown. For this study, I created a series of sounds with varying timbre characteristics: non-verbal voice sounds and electric guitar sounds. Sounds were validated through categorization of emotion and ratings of intensity and believability. I found that sounds with low (slow onset) attack slope were most likely to be categorized as angry, while sounds with high (fast onset) attack slope were most likely to be categorized as happy. I collected EEG data from participants while they made judgements on the emotional similarity of guitar sounds (primes) when compared with vocal sounds (targets). I conducted Multifractal Detrended Fluctuation Analysis and MANOVAs, and I found systematic differences of the multifractal spectrum of EEG responses between conditions (emotion and sound type) that would be obscured by other forms of analysis. This information could be applied to development of more effective and psychologically healthy entertainment (music, film, etc.). It is also applicable in therapy situations in which there is a need to induce a certain neurological or emotional state.
Haleem, Muhammad and Lee, Won Do and Ellison, Mark and Bannister,

The daily rhythms of the city, the ebb and flow of people undertaking routines activities, inform the spatial and temporal patterning of crime. Being able to capture citizen mobility and delineate a crime specific population denominator is a vital prerequisite of the endeavour to both explain and address crime. This paper introduces the concept of an exposed population-at-risk, defined as the mix of residents and non-residents who may play an active role as an offender, victim or guardian in a specific crime type, present in a spatial unit at a given time. This definition is deployed to determine the exposed population-at-risk for violent crime, associated with the night-time-economy, in public spaces. Through integrating census data with mobile phone data and utilising fine-grained temporal and spatial violent crime data, the paper demonstrates the value of deploying an exposed (over an ambient) population-at-risk denominator to determine violent crime in public space hotspots on Saturday nights in Greater Manchester (UK). In doing so, the paper illuminates that as violent crime in public space rises, over the course of a Saturday evening, the exposed population-at-risk falls, implying a shifting propensity of the exposed population-at-risk to perform active roles as offenders, victims and / or guardians. The paper concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and policy-relevance of these findings.
AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF THE DETERMINANTS OF INCOME INEQUALITY IN TRANSITIONAL ECONOMIES USING PANEL DATA ANALYSIS METHODS

The paper’s main objective was to explore the determinants of income inequality in transitional economies using panel data analysis [(fixed effects, random effects, pooled ordinary least squares (OLS), dynamic generalized methods of moments (GMM)] with data ranging from 2003 to 2016. The study observed that human capital development is not a significant determinant of income inequality under all the econometric estimation methods used. The dynamic GMM noted that the lag of income inequality had a significant positive impact on income inequality. All the econometric estimation methods produced results which show that economic growth had a significant deleterious effect on income inequality, in line with most theoretical predictions. Transitional economies are therefore urged to implement economic growth spurring policies to reduce income inequality. On the other hand, the dynamic GMM method shows that unemployment reduced income inequality, a finding which contradicts theory. Fixed effects, random effects and pooled OLS approaches noted that the interaction between economic growth and unemployment had a significant positive effect on unemployment, a finding which shows that if economic growth does not enhance employment, income inequality grows. Transitional economies are therefore urged to development and implement concurrent economic growth and employment enhancement policies to reduce income inequality. Other variables which were found to have a significant positive impact on income inequality include information and communication technology (fixed effects, random effects), financial development (fixed effects, random effects, pooled OLS), foreign direct investment (random effects, pooled OLS, dynamic OLS), infrastructural development (fixed effects) and trade openness (fixed effects, random effects, pooled OLS, dynamic GMM).
Formation and Detachment of Biofilms and Granules in a Nitrifying Biofilm Airlift Suspension Reactor

The influence of the bare basalt carrier concentration on nitrifying biofilm formation in biofilm airlift suspension (BAS) reactors was studied. The time needed to develop fully covered biofilm particles strongly increased with an increasing initial carrier concentration. This was caused by the increased shear and subsequent higher detachment. During startup the diameter of the biofilm particles increased, leading to a higher biomass concentration, larger biofilm surface area, and lower surface‐specific substrate load. Eventually a “steady state” thickness is obtained, where surface‐specific growth and detachment are equal. The biofilm density decreased with a decreasing bare basalt concentration. The steady state biomass concentration was not very much influenced by the initial carrier concentration. Up to 75% of the produced biomass was retained in the reactors. Maximum biomass retention was found when the initial bare basalt concentration was in between 10 and 30 g·L−1. The continuous detachment of biofilm fragments leads, upon growth of these small fragments, to the formation of granules (biofilms without a carrier). The granules have average density and size equal to those of the biofilm particles. The granules are formed, if the detached biofilm fragments are large enough to be retained by the three‐phase separator on top of the BAS reactor. Since the superficial liquid velocity in the three‐phase separator is scale dependent, granule formation will be influenced by reactor scale, hydraulic load, and dimensions of the three‐phase separator.
Cognitive functions of female open skill sport athletes, closed skill sport athletes and nonathletes

Introduction. The cognitive functions usable in the sports performance are for example an ability to anticipate, perception and speed of movement reactions, decision-making ability or attention. These abilities or functions apply differently to different sports. It means that open skill sports such as team sports, require the coordination of complex bodily movements and adaptation to continually changing task demands.The aim of this study is to identify differences in the level of female's cognitive functions regarding the chosenopen skill sportsand closed skill sport disciplines. Material and Methods. The research group consisted of 84 women aged 22.70±1.71 years. Women were divided into three groups in terms of sport discipline into: female engaged in closed skill sport disciplines (n=26), in open skill sport disciplines (n=19) and not engaged in any sport activity (n=39). We used standardized S-test to determine the level of cognitive functions. It is a test of spatial orientation and concentration of attention with accentuated demands on the pace of activity. Results. The results have shown that female engaged in open skill sport disciplines have shown higher level of cognitive functions than female engaged in closed skill sport disciplines (p=0.04) and also as nonathletes (p=0.02). There was no difference in cognitive function between female engaged in closed skill sport disciplines and nonathletes. Conclusions. Our results confirm the theory of different involvement of cognitive functions from the point of view of different types of sport disciplines.
Clinical significance of CD 38 and CD 101 expression in PD ‐ 1 + CD 8 + T cells in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer

Previous studies using mouse liver tumor models have indicated that coexpression of CD38 and CD101 in programmed cell death-1 (PD-1)+CD8+ T cells may reflect fixed dysregulation of CD8+ T cells and thus indicate a poor response to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy. However, whether CD38 and CD101 expression in PD-1+CD8+ T cells can predict the clinical status and efficacy of chemotherapy for various cancer types, including ovarian cancer (OC), remains unclear. In the present study, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were obtained by Ficoll-Hypaque gradient centrifugation from 96 fresh samples from healthy adult volunteers and patients with epithelial OC, aged 55.21±9.91 years. Additionally, tumor‐infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) were separated using a combination of mechanical, chemical and enzymatic digestion from fresh surgically removed tumor tissues from 15 patients with epithelial OC. The expression of CD38 and CD101 in PD-1+CD8+ T cells or TILs was detected by flow cytometry or immunofluorescence (IF) staining, respectively. The association between the level of CD38/CD101 expression and clinicopathological parameters or postoperative chemotherapy in patients with OC was statistically analyzed. The levels of CD38/CD101-coexpressing PD-1+CD8+ T cells were significantly increased in PBMCs and TILs of patients with OC compared with those of healthy volunteers. The frequency of PD-1+CD38+CD101+CD8+ T cells among the total PD-1+CD8+ T cell subpopulation was negatively associated with clinical stage, lymph node metastasis and postoperative chemotherapy prognosis in patients with OC. Furthermore, IF staining confirmed colocalization of CD38 and CD101 on the majority of TILs in OC tissues. Thus, the present study suggests that coexpression of CD38 and CD101 in peripheral PD-1+CD8+ T cells and TILs may serve as a new indicator for diagnosis and treatment efficacy in patients with epithelial OC.
Foliar nutrient contents and yield performance of blackberry with potassium fertilization

Abstract: The objective of this work was to evaluate the yield performance and foliar nutrient contents of blackberry (Rubus sp.) cultivars in response to the increase in potassium fertilization. The experiment was carried out in a soil with pH 5.2 and 22 mg dm-3 K content in the fourth and fifth years of production of the Brazos, Guarani, BRS Tupy, and BRS Xavante cultivars, grown in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The tested K2O rates were distributed in a 4x4 factorial arrangement, which consisted of four rates of K2O per plant (10, 20, 30, and 40 g) and of the four blackberry cultivars, distributed in four randomized complete block designs. The maximum economic efficiency (MEE) yield, the formation of primocanes, and the critical level of foliar nutrients were evaluated. The K fertilization recommended for blackberry cultivation in Brazilian conditions is not sufficient to maintain foliar nutrient contents at an adequate level. Fertilization with 20 g per plant per year of K2O, twice the recommended amount, favors the MEE yield, compatible with the yield performance of the cultivars. Foliar nutrient contents should be evaluated to recommend the proper fertilization for the orchard to reach its maximum yield potential.
A study on comparison between cereal (wheat) and non cereal (chickpea) flour characteristics

Chickpea and wheat are the most important crops in the world because of their nutritional quality. The objective of the study was to compare cereal and non cereal flour characteristics. Chickpea flour had higher dry matter (90.63±0.09%), protein (21.7±1.75%), fat (5.81±0.35%), ash (3.46±0.33%), amylose (20.78±0.28%), crude fiber (1.85±0.05%) and pH (6.43±0.02) when compared to whole wheat flour. On the other hand, wheat flour contained higher moisture (12.92±1.82%), and total carbohydrate (69.47±3.01%) than chickpea flour. Chickpea flour exhibited lower water binding capacity (101.81±1.85%), oil absorption capacity (0.81±0.06 g . g
Oxygen Impurity in Germanium Single Crystals Determination by Infrared Spectrometry

Oxygen impurity in Germanium single crystals has been characterized using Fourier transformed infrared spectrometry. The crystals were grown by Czochralski method in an argon atmosphere. The oxygen concentration in crystals was determined on optical density from the absorption band at 843 cm−1. It was established that oxygen dissolved concentration in Germanium is variable from 0,2·1016 to 1,3·1016 сm−3. The oxygen band maximum shifts toward 856 cm−1 when its concentration increases under the influence of annealing in the oxygen containing atmosphere with ≤ 10−3 Па.
Adaptive Learning in Two-Player Stackelberg Games with Application to Network Security

We study a two-player Stackelberg game with incomplete information such that the follower's strategy belongs to a known family of parameterized functions with an unknown parameter vector. We design an adaptive learning approach to simultaneously estimate the unknown parameter and minimize the leader's cost, based on adaptive control techniques and hysteresis switching. Our approach guarantees that the leader's cost predicted using the parameter estimate becomes indistinguishable from its actual cost in finite time, up to a preselected, arbitrarily small error threshold. Also, the first-order necessary condition for optimality holds asymptotically for the predicted cost. Additionally, if a persistent excitation condition holds, then the parameter estimation error becomes bounded by a preselected, arbitrarily small threshold in finite time as well. For the case where there is a mismatch between the follower's strategy and the parameterized function that is known to the leader, our approach is able to guarantee the same convergence results for error thresholds larger than the size of the mismatch. The algorithms and the convergence results are illustrated via a simulation example in the domain of network security.