Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Circuit training bosu ball: Effect on balance and accuracy of archery athletes

Background and Study Aim. Balance is very decisive in producing good and correct basic archery techniques, resulting in good archery accuracy. This study aims to determine the effect of circuit training bosu ball on improving balance and accuracy in archery athletes. Material and Methods. This study was an experimental research design that involved 12 archery athletes at Bibis Archery Club Bantul Regency, aged between 14-17 years. The training program consisted of 18 circuit training sessions using a bosu ball. The archery accuracy test was used to assess the athletes' accuracy in sticking arrows to a target located 30 meters away. The balance test was conducted using the Stork Stand Test, which involved standing on one leg, on the dominant leg, for as long as possible. The statistical analysis used was a t-test, specifically paired sample test. Results. The pretest balance and archery accuracy scores of the 12 archery athletes at Bibis Archery Club Bantul Regency were recorded. The pretest balance score averaged 44.12 seconds, and the pretest archery accuracy score was 216.50. After 18 circuit training sessions with bosu ball, the posttest balance score increased to an average of 51.44 seconds, and the posttest archery accuracy score increased to an average of 282.83. Statistical analysis revealed that the improvement in balance and archery accuracy was significant, with a p-value of 0.000 <0.05, indicating that the training using bosu ball can effectively improve the balance and archery accuracy of young athletes. Conclusions. Overall, our findings suggest that circuit training with bosu ball significantly improves balance and archery accuracy in young athletes. Specifically, the participants demonstrated an average increase in their balance scores improvement in their archery accuracy following the training. These results highlight the potential benefits of incorporating bosu ball exercises in the training regimen of archery athletes.
Favorable Effect of Pemafibrate on Insulin Resistance and β-Cell Function in Subjects with Type 2 Diabetes and Hypertriglyceridemia: A Subanalysis of the PARM-T2D Study

Pemafibrate, a novel selective peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor modulator, has beneficial effects on lipid metabolism. However, its effects on glucose metabolism in individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) remain to be fully clarified. This was a subanalysis of the PARM-T2D study, a multicenter prospective observational study on the use of pemafibrate versus conventional therapy for 52 weeks in subjects with T2DM complicated with hypertriglyceridemia. The subanalysis included participants who did not change their treatment for diabetes and did not receive insulin or insulin secretagogues during the study period. Changes in glucose metabolism markers, including homeostatic model assessment (HOMA2) scores and disposition index, were assessed. A total of 279 participants (141 in the pemafibrate group; 138 in the control group) met the criteria for the subanalysis. There were no significant changes in HbA1c during the 52-week study period in both groups. However, the pemafibrate group showed significant improvements versus the control group for insulin resistance assessed by HOMA2-R (−0.15 versus 0.08; estimated treatment difference −0.23 (95% confidence interval −0.44, −0.02); p = 0.03) and maintenance of β-cell function assessed by disposition index (0.015 versus −0.023; estimated treatment difference 0.037 (95% confidence interval 0.005, 0.069); p = 0.02). Correlation analyses showed that improvements in HOMA2-R and disposition index were significantly associated with improvements in lipid abnormalities and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase. In conclusion, pemafibrate reduced insulin resistance and maintained β-cell function in subjects with T2DM and hypertriglyceridemia, presumably by improving lipid profiles and lipid-related hepatocyte stress.
A Systematic Meta-Analysis of Global Sarcocystis Infection in Sheep and Goats

Sarcocystosis is an intracellular parasitic disease caused by Sarcocystis spp. that has a worldwide prevalence. Symptoms of the disease include diarrhea and muscle pain. The disease poses a threat to the health of animals. The aim of this review is to investigate the global prevalence of Sarcocystis infection in sheep and goats during 2013–2022. We searched five databases: Web of Science, Science Direct, PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar. A total of 36 articles containing 44 datasets met the criteria and were included in the study. The total infection rates of Sarcocystis in sheep and goats were 66.3% (95% CI, 51.79–79.38%) and 52.1% (95% CI, 29.45–74.23%), respectively. It was found that Sarcocystis species tend to have a host species preference. Coinfection of S. tenella and S. arieticanis often occurred in sheep, and goats were frequently infected with S. capracanis. Age and sex were identified as risk factors for Sarcocystis infection in sheep and goats. The infection rates of female and male animals were significantly different, with females having a higher infection rate. Age-adjusted analysis showed that infection rates in animals older than one year were higher than in animals younger than one year. This study unveiled the global distribution of Sarcocystis and sheds light on its transmission in sheep and goats.
Hydrogel Delivery Device for the In Vitro and In Vivo Sustained Release of Active rhGALNS Enzyme

Morquio A disease is a genetic disorder resulting in N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfate sulfatase (GALNS) deficiency, and patients are currently treated with enzyme replacement therapy via weekly intravenous enzyme infusions. A means of sustained enzyme delivery could improve patient quality of life by reducing the administration time, frequency of hospital visits, and treatment cost. In this study, we investigated poly(ethylene-glycol) (PEG) hydrogels as a tunable, hydrolytically degradable drug delivery system for the encapsulation and sustained release of recombinant human GALNS (rhGALNS). We evaluated hydrogel formulations that optimized hydrogel gelation and degradation time while retaining rhGALNS activity and sustaining rhGALNS release. We observed the release of active rhGALNS for up to 28 days in vitro from the optimized formulation. rhGALNS activity was preserved in the hydrogel relative to buffer over the release window, and encapsulation was found to have no impact on the rhGALNS structure when measured by intrinsic fluorescence, circular dichroism, and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). In vivo, we monitored the retention of fluorescently labeled rhGALNS in C57BL/6 albino mice when administered via subcutaneous injection and observed rhGALNS present for up to 20 days when delivered in a hydrogel versus 7 days in the buffer control. These results indicate that PEG hydrogels are suitable for the encapsulation, preservation, and sustained release of recombinant enzymes and may present an alternative method of delivering enzyme replacement therapies that improve patient quality of life.
A New Ice Nucleation Active Site Parameterization for Desert Dust and Soot

AbstractBased on results of 11 yr of heterogeneous ice nucleation experiments at the Aerosol Interaction and Dynamics in the Atmosphere (AIDA) chamber in Karlsruhe, Germany, a new empirical parameterization framework for heterogeneous ice nucleation was developed. The framework currently includes desert dust and soot aerosol and quantifies the ice nucleation efficiency in terms of the ice nucleation active surface site (INAS) approach.The immersion freezing INAS densities nS of all desert dust experiments follow an exponential fit as a function of temperature, well in agreement with an earlier analysis of AIDA experiments. The deposition nucleation nS isolines for desert dust follow u-shaped curves in the ice saturation ratio–temperature (Si–T) diagram at temperatures below about 240 K. The negative slope of these isolines toward lower temperatures may be explained by classical nucleation theory (CNT), whereas the behavior toward higher temperatures may be caused by a pore condensation and freezing mechan.
Clostridioides difficile in Pigs and Dairy Cattle in Northern Italy: Prevalence, Characterization and Comparison between Animal and Human Strains

It has been observed that novel strains of Clostridioides difficile can rapidly emerge and move between animal and human hosts. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of C. difficile in pigs and dairy cattle in northern Italy and to characterize and compare C. difficile animal strains with those from patients from the same geographical area. The C. difficile strains were isolated from animals from farms and slaughterhouses (cross-sectional studies) and from neonatal animals with enteric disorders in routine diagnostic investigations (passive surveillance). Samples positive for C. difficile were found in 87% of the pig farms and in 40% of the cattle farms involved in the cross-sectional studies, with a 20% prevalence among suckling piglets and 6.7% prevalence in neonatal calves, with no significant difference between animals with and without diarrheal symptoms. The prevalence of C. difficile in older animal categories was significantly lower. This result suggests that young age is an important risk factor for C. difficile colonization. In cross-sectional studies at slaughterhouses, in both the heavy pigs and dairy cows examined, only 2% of the intestinal content samples were positive for C. difficile and no contamination was found on the surface of the carcasses. Considering passive surveillance, the prevalence rates of positive samples were 29% in piglets and 1.4% in calves. Overall, 267 strains of animal origin and 97 from humans were collected. In total, 39 ribotypes (RTs) were identified, with RT 078 and RT 018 being predominant among animals and humans, respectively. Several RTs overlapped between animals and patients. In particular, RT 569 was identified as an emergent type in our country. Resistance to erythromycin and moxifloxacin was widely diffused among C. difficile strains, regardless of origin. This study supports C. difficile as a pathogen of one-health importance and highlights the need for a collaborative approach between physicians and veterinarians to control and prevent infections that are able to cross species and geographical barriers.
Derivatives pricing using signature payoffs

We introduce signature payoffs, a family of path-dependent derivatives that are given in terms of the signature of the price path of the underlying asset. We show that these derivatives are dense in the space of continuous payoffs, a result that is exploited to quickly price arbitrary continuous payoffs. This approach to pricing derivatives is then tested with European options, American options, Asian options, lookback options and variance swaps. As we show, signature payoffs can be used to price these derivatives with very high accuracy.
Auctioning institutions in China: economic and legal aspects

Motivation: China is now the third largest art market in the world, and thanks to its long history, the country is able to offer a great artistic heritage. Chinese auctioning institutions have become one of the most significant in the world, having a massive global impact on art pricing. By establishing their sales infrastructure in new locales ahead of the traditional mechanisms of primary market commercial galleries, the Chinese auction houses have played a foundational role in the notional construction of new genres of art.Aim: The main purpose of this article is to present a detailed analysis of Chinese auction houses and other auction institutions, with regards to the economic and legal aspects of their operation. The article is cross-sectional, showing how China has become the fastest growing art market in the world. The analysis provides evidence for the existence of various factors that determine the dynamic development of the Chinese art auctions market and determines the differences in the functioning of Chinese and Western auction houses.Results: These results illustrate that exceptional economic and political factors made it possible to significantly develop the Chinese auction market in a very short time.
Weed interference periods in lettuce crop

ABSTRACT The knowledge of the adequate period for the beginning of weed management in lettuce crop can increase the efficiency of production, reducing the costs with management. The aim of this study was to determine the pre-interference period (PIP), the critical time for weed removal (CTWR) and the critical period of weed control (CPWC) in three lettuce cultivars, Elisa, Lucy Brown and Solaris. Coexistence and the absence of weeds were evaluated for each cultivar. The design was in randomized blocks with seven treatments (0, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 and 42 days after transplanting - DAT) of coexistence and the same seven periods of weed absence with four replicates in each experiment. The highest infestation densities were with the species Oxalis latifolia, Coronopus didymus and Amaranthus hybridus. The leaf area and number of leaves per plant were reduced by up to 50% and 66%, respectively, in relation to the longest period of coexistence with weeds and yield reduced by 48% (Elisa), 40% (Lucy Brown) and 33% (Solaris). The cultivar Solaris showed greater tolerance to weed interference. Based on yield, PIP was 1, 3 and 3 DAT and CTWR was 37, 37 and 35 DAT, and CPWC was 2 to 37, 3 to 37 and 3 to 35 for the cultivars Elisa, Lucy Brown and Solaris, respectively.
Proposal of Modified Lung-RADS in Assessing Pulmonary Nodules of Patients with Previous Malignancies: A Primary Study

Background: In addition to the diameters of pulmonary nodules, the number and morphology of blood vessels in pure ground-glass nodules (pGGNs) were closely related to the occurrence of lung cancer. Moreover, the benign and malignant signs of nodules were also valuable for the identification of nodules. Based on these two points, we tried to revise Lung-RADS 2022 and proposed our Modified Lung-RADS. The aim of the study was to verify the diagnostic performance of Modified Lung-RADS for pulmonary solid nodules (SNs) and pure ground-glass nodules (pGGNs) in patients with previous malignancies. Methods: The chest CT and clinical data of patients with prior cancer who underwent pulmonary nodulectomies from 1 January 2018 to 30 November 2021 were enrolled according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. A total of 240 patients with 293 pulmonary nodules were included in this study. In contrast with the original version, the risk classification of pGGNs based on the GGN–vascular relationships (GVRs), and the SNs without burrs and with benign signs, could be downgraded to category 2. The sensitivity, specificity, and agreement rate of the original Lung-RADS 2022 and Modified Lung-RADS for pGGNs and SNs were calculated and compared. Results: Compared with the original version, the sensitivity and agreement rate of the Modified version for pGGNs increased from 0 and 23.33% to 97.10% and 92.22%, respectively, while the specificity decreased from 100% to 76.19%. As regards SNs, the specificity and agreement rate of the Modified version increased from 44.44% to 75.00% (p < 0.05) and 88.67% to 94.09% (p = 0.052), respectively, while the sensitivity was unchanged (98.20%). Conclusions: In general, the diagnostic efficiency of Modified Lung-RADS was superior to that of the original version, and Modified Lung-RADS could be a preliminary attempt to improve Lung-RADS 2022.
Practising in physical education: A study of a teacher's experiences and role enactment

Teachers are designers and an essential act of the profession is the crafting of learning experiences to meet specific purposes. In this study, we follow a Norwegian physical education (PE) teacher in the design and teaching of a unit informed by a pedagogical model called the practising model (PM). Two research questions guided the study: (1) How does a teacher experience conducting a teaching unit informed by the PM? (2) How does the teacher's role enactment develop throughout the teaching unit? Qualitative data were gathered from workshops, observations from PE sessions in a 10th-grade class, and interviews with the teacher and his students. By applying the joint action in didactics framework, we discuss three key findings: (1) a rough start – feelings of chaos and inadequacy, (2) a shift in the teacher's role enactment, and (3) closing in on the students’ practising. The study concludes that applying the PM framework challenged the usual PE practice of this class. Too many different learning trajectories and didactic sub-milieus, a reconceptualisation of roles and teaching strategies, and epistemological breaches and task overload challenged the teacher considerably. The turning point for the teacher emerged as a conceptual shift, leaving behind the role of an organiser, and instead pursuing the role of a close, curious, and questioning teacher, drawing on different teaching styles to meet students’ needs. Modelling new pedagogical reforms and establishing adequate pedagogical tact certainly requires practising the practice, allowing new roles, expectations, requirements, and strategies to settle as the new normal.
A Quantitative Investigation of Factors Influencing Binge Drinking Behavior amongst Undergraduate University Students in Johannesburg, South Africa

The paper investigates factors influencing binge drinking behavior among university undergraduate students. Data is drawn from a quantitative survey conducted on undergraduate students’ perceptions of peer pressure, students living arrangement, socio-economic status and binge drinking at a South African university. 330 students participated in the study by completing a paper-based survey. The study found a statistically significant correlation between factors of peer pressure, students staying off-campus, high socio-economic status and binge drinking. Female students engage in binge drinking more than male students. Students with friends who drink were more likely to engage in binge drinking than those with friends drinking less. Students living off campus were more likely to engage in binge drinking of alcohol than those staying on campus. Students with high socioeconomic status were more likely to engage in binge drinking than those with low socioeconomic status. The paper makes an empirical contribution to future studies to explore binge drinking behavior amongst university students.
Optimization analysis of the inverse coefficient problem for the nonlinear convection-diffusion-reaction equation

Abstract The inverse coefficient problem for the nonlinear convection-diffusion-reaction equation is considered. A velocity vector and a mass-transfer coefficient are considered as the unknown coefficients and are recovered with the help of the additional information about the boundary value problem’s solution. The inverse coefficient problem is reduced to a two-parameter problem of multiplicative control, the solvability of which is proved in a general form. For a cubic reaction coefficient the local stability estimates of the control problem’s solutions are obtained regarding to a rather small perturbation of either the cost functional or the specified functions of the boundary value problem.
The transmuted generalized inverse Weibull distribution in acceptance sampling plans based on life tests

In this paper, designing of acceptance sampling plans for the truncated life test is suggested by assuming that the product lifetime follows transmuted generalized inverse Weibull distribution (TGIWD). For various values of the TGIWD parameters, the minimum sample sizes required to ensure the specified mean life are obtained, as well as the operating characteristic function values and producer’s risk of the suggested sampling plan are calculated. The results are explained by numerical examples and an application of real data is considered for illustration.
Sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score as a predictor of acute kidney injury in COVID-19 patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: The sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score is a tool used to describe organ failure in critically ill patients. Studies have showed that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients who develop predictor of acute kidney injury (AKI) often have an increased SOFA. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the potential of SOFA score as a predictor AKI in COVID-19 patients. Methods: A systematic search was conducted on PubMed, Google Scholar, EBSCO-Host, and ProQuest. The risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale . Result: Out of the 9 studies reviewed, 7 showed a significant association between SOFA score and AKI. The meta-analysis of 3 studies gave mean differences of 1.66 in favor of the AKI group (95% CI 1.12 - 2.21). The heterogeneity was low (Tau2 result = 0.06, I2 result = 22% with p = 0.28) and the significant results for the overall effect showed a value of p < 0.00001. Conclusion: The SOFA score has the potential to be a good predictor of AKI development in COVID-19 patients, with a significant mean difference.
Transport of galactic cosmic rays in different heliospheric magnetic field configurations

The propagation of energetic charged particles in the heliospheric magnetic field is one of the fundamental problems in heliophysics. It is described by Parker's transport equation, a differential equation to compute the temporal evolution of an isotropic particle distribution function under the influence of four basic physical processes: diffusion and drift in the heliospheric magnetic field, as well as convection and adiabatic energy changes in the solar wind. Especially the structure of the heliospheric magnetic field and its influence on the particle transport remain unsolved questions and are discussed controversely. The first successful analytic approach to the structure of the heliospheric magnetic field was the Parker field. Employing this theory, most magnetic field and particle measurements in the heliosphere could be explained. However, the measurements of the first out-of ecliptic spacecraft Ulysses at high latitudes revealed that the existing magnetic field model as well as the diffusion theory, which was widely accepted up to that time, needed to be refined. Among other facts, this led to the development of a new and more complex heliospheric magnetic field model: the Fisk field. This new field model is highly debated and could not be confirmed with magnetic field measurements so far. A promising method to trace this magnetic field structure is the propagation of electrons in the energy range of a few MeV. The influence of a Fisk-type field on the particle transport in the heliosphere leads to characteristic variations of the electron intensities, which can be detected in Ulysses electron count rates. This work presents 3D and time-dependent simulations of the propagation of energetic electrons for two models of the heliospheric magnetic field: the Parker field and for a Fisk-type field. In a study of the long-term modulation of 7 MeV electrons it is shown that the so-called compound approach for the diffusion in a Parker field can reproduce the electron count rates of the IMP-8, SOHO and Ulysses spacecraft for almost two solar cycles. Important parameters describing the solar cycle dependence of the diffusion coefficients are derived. The investigation of the electron transport in a Fisk-type field is devoted to variations of the computed electron intensities on the time scale of a solar rotation. It is shown that the Ulysses count rates of 2.5 - 7 MeV electrons reveal time variations caused by a Fisk-type structure of the heliospheric magnetic field. From a comparison of simulation results and the Ulysses count rates, realistic parameters for the Fisk theory are derived. Finally, the structure of the heliospheric magnetic field and its influence on the long-term modulation of energetic electrons are discussed for the newly found parameters.