Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Alternative strategies of for-profit, not-for-profit and state-owned Nepalese microfinance institutions for poverty alleviation and women empowerment

Abstract Microfinance is the provision of financial services to disadvantaged people and the financially excluded, often with a social mission of poverty alleviation and women empowerment. There are many different forms of microfinance institutions (MFIs): for-profit, not-for-profit and state-owned, all of which use different strategies to improve socio-economic status of their clients. The objective of this paper is to examine the alternative strategies of MFIs in Nepal. Primary data was collected through structured questionnaires from 240 women clients of three MFIs. Parametric and non-parametric tests, and exploratory factor analysis have been applied for analysis. The results show that MFIs have different segmentation strategies for their clients, focusing on income levels, total consumption and the number of children. Surprisingly, it was found that the private MFI was reaching poorer people than other MFIs. Our results show that MFIs look at total consumption expenditure rather than total income. Private MFIs target different activities for giving loans compared to government-owned MFIs. The communication strategy of the MFIs is different since the clients of government-owned MFI are better educated and are more likely to read the newspaper. The exploratory factor analysis shows that respondents perceived poverty alleviation and empowerment. The most influencing factors are related to an increase in consumption expenditure, followed by an increase in capital expenditure.
Fatty Acid and Phenolic Profiles of Virgin Olive Oils from Local and European Varieties Planted in Lebanon

In Lebanon, olive oil is an integral part of its history and culinary traditions. However, the quality of this product, originating from different growing regions of the country, is rarely addressed. The objectives of this study were to compare the fatty acids and phenolic profiles of virgin olive oils produced from two local and eight European varieties, and to use these profiles as a tool for their characterization. Seventy-six samples were collected from two olive-growing regions of Lebanon and at two harvesting times. Fatty acid composition was determined by gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector, total phenols was determined by spectrophotometry and individual phenols by high performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector. All samples were also analyzed using near infrared spectroscopy. The experimental data were collected in numerical matrices and treated by chemometric methods. The results showed the significant effect of the geographical origin, the olive variety and the harvesting time on the ripening and industrial yield of the olives and on the major fatty acids and phenols of olive oil. Moreover, the used chemometric methods allowed the discrimination of European olive varieties based on their high contents of oleic acid, oleacein and oleocanthal.
Sexual Well-Being in Individuals with Schizophrenia: A Pilot Study on the Role of Self-Esteem and Acceptance of Illness

Schizophrenia is one of the most severe chronic mental illnesses. It drastically changes an individual’s life and well-being. Sexual well-being in schizophrenia is often sidelined, even though it is one of the main areas for maintaining quality of life. Based on the conservation of resources theory (COR) and empirical data, we assume that self-esteem and acceptance of illness help in coping with schizophrenia and maintaining sexual well-being. This pilot study aimed to determine the relationship between self-esteem, acceptance of illness, and sexual well-being in Polish individuals with schizophrenia. The results of 60 individuals were included in this study. In the present study, the Self-Esteem Scale (SES), Acceptance of Illness Scale (AIS), and Short Sexual Well-Being Scale (SSWBS) were used. The study showed a significant association between self-esteem, acceptance of illness, and sexual well-being. Self-esteem (β = 0.62) and acceptance of illness (β = 0.55) acted as positive and significant predictors of sexual well-being in individuals with schizophrenia. Acceptance of illness was also found to play a mediating role between self-esteem and sexual well-being in people with schizophrenia (indirect effect: β = 0.34; LLCI = 0.063; ULCI = 0.839). The current pilot study demonstrates the relationship between self-esteem, acceptance of illness, and sexual well-being. Our findings highlight the significant role of acceptance of illness in maintaining sexual well-being among individuals with schizophrenia.
The efficacy and safety in radioactive iodine refractory thyroid cancer patients treated with sorafenib

Background Sorafenib included in Chinese medical insurance is the earliest targeted drug for radioactive iodine refractory differentiated thyroid cancer (RR-DTC). This study is to further demonstrate the clinical efficacy and safety of sorafenib used in Zhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University. Methods RR-DTC patients treated at our Department of Nuclear Medicine in Zhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University (October 2017–May 2020) were retrospectively analyzed. Treatment effects, progression-free survival (PFS), and adverse effects (AEs) during medication were evaluated. Results Of the 31 patients included, 26 patients were evaluated for efficacy with a median follow-up time of 17.5 months (4.0–51.0 months). The disease control rate (DCR) was 57.7% (n = 15) and the objective response rate (ORR) was 26.9% (n = 7). Most patients with disease control had thyroglobulin decreases of more than 60% (p = 0.004), ORRs were favorable in patients with lung metastasis and lung-only metastasis (p = 0.010 and 0.001, respectively). The PFS of the 26 patients analyzed was 16.5 months (95%CI: 14.41 –23.90 months). In the subgroup analysis, female, patients with lung-only metastasis, hand-foot skin syndrome (HFS), and thyroglobulin response ≥ 60% observed longer PFS (p = 0.038, 0.045, 0.035, and 0.000, respectively), while patients with bone metastasis had lower PFS (p = 0.035). The most common toxicity profile was HFS (93.5%), followed by diarrhea (83.9%), alopecia (74.2%). All the side effects were mainly grade 1–2. Grade 3–4 adverse reactions were more common in diarrhea and HFS. Conclusions Sorafenib has promising efficacy in RR-DTC, especially in patients with lung metastasis and lung-only metastasis. The AEs of sorafenib were generally mild, and the main AE was HFS.
Using Homogeneous Equivalent Parameters in Finite Element Models of Curved Metamaterial Structures

We report on the experimental verification of the employment of equivalent parameters in a 2D finite element model to describe absorptivity of curve-shaped, large-scale metamaterial structures. Equivalent homogeneous optical parameters were retrieved from experimental measurements of flat metamaterial sheets with square resonators of 8 and 9 mm and used in a 2D FE model to obtain the absorptivity of curved structures with similar metamaterial unit cells. The curved structures were experimentally characterized and showed good agreement with the model. The tremendous simplification made possible by simulating complex structures as homogeneous materials makes the method very attractive for designing large-scale electromagnetic shields and absorbers.
Reply to discussions on ''Applying fuzzy theory and genetic algorithm to interpolate precipitation''

Zekai Sen provides several comments on our paper (Chang, C.L., Lo, S.L., Yu, S.L., 2005. Applying fuzzy theory and genetic algorithm to interpolate precipitation. J. Hydrol. 314, 92–104). More discussions could create different opinions and ideas, and they are all very significant for the development of methodology or study application. However, Sen has some misunderstanding on our paper. The following discussions follow the order of Sen’s comments. a 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Brain structure alterations in girls with central precocious puberty

Purpose Central precocious puberty (CPP) is puberty that occurs at an unusually early age with several negative psychological outcomes. There is a paucity of data on the morphological characteristics of the brain in CPP. This study aimed to determine the structural differences in the brain of patients with CPP. Methods We performed voxel- and surface-based morphometric analyses of 1.5 T T1-weighted brain images scanned from 15 girls with CPP and 13 age-matched non-CPP controls (NC). All patients with CPP were diagnosed by gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) stimulation test. The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data were evaluated using Levene’s test for equality of variances and a two-tailed unpaired t-test for equality of means. False discovery rate correction for multiple comparisons was applied using the Benjamini–Hochberg procedure. Results Morphometric analyses of the brain scans identified 33 candidate measurements. Subsequently, increased thickness of the right precuneus was identified in the patients with CPP using general linear models and visualizations of cortical thickness with a t-statistical map and a random field theory map. Conclusion The brain scans of the patients with CPP showed specific morphological differences to those of the control. The features of brain morphology in CPP identified in this study could contribute to further understanding the association between CPP and detrimental psychological outcomes.
Transition of emotions from the negatively excited state to positive unexcited state: an ERP perspective

The cognitive aspects like perception, problem-solving, thinking, task performance, etc., are immensely inﬂuenced by emotions making it necessary to study emotions. The best state of emotion is the positive unexcitedstate,alsoknownastheHighValenceLowArousal(HVLA)stateoftheemotion.Thepsychologists endeavourtobringthesubjectsfromanegativelyexcitedstateofemotion(LowValenceHighArousalstate) toapositiveunexcitedstateofemotion(HighValenceLowArousalstate). Intheﬁrstpartofthisstudy, afour-classsubjectindependentemotionclassiﬁerwasdevelopedwithanSVMpolynomialclassiﬁer usingaverageEventRelatedPotential(ERP)anddiﬀerentialaverageERPattributes. Thevisuallyevoked Electroencephalogram(EEG)signalswereacquiredfrom24subjects.Thefour-classclassiﬁcationaccuracy was83%usingaverageERPattributesand77%usingdiﬀerentialaverageERPattributes. Inthesecond partofthestudy,themeditativeinterventionwasappliedto20subjectswhodeclaredthemselvesnegatively excited(inLowValenceHighArousalstateofemotion). TheEEGsignalswereacquiredbeforeandafter themeditativeintervention.Thefour-classsubjectindependentemotionclassiﬁerdevelopedinStudy1 correctlyclassiﬁedthese20subjectstobeinanegativelyexcitedstateofemotion. Aftertheintervention,16 subjectsself-assessedthemselvestobeinapositiveunexcited(HVLA)stateofemotion(whichshowsthe interventionaccuracyof80%). Testingafour-classsubjectindependentemotionclassiﬁerontheEEGdata acquiredafterthemeditativeinterventionvalidated13of16subjectsinapositiveunexcitedstate,yielding anaccuracyof81.3%.
H/sub /spl infin//-controllers for linearised time-delay power systems

Three H∞-control schemes are developed for the stabilisation of power-system models with state delays. Two control schemes which consist of one gain term representing pure state feedback are proposed first. Then, a controller consisting of two gain terms comprising pure plus delayed state feedback is developed. The proposed controllers guarantee the asymptotic stability of the controlled system and the H∞-norm bound of the closed-loop transfer function of the system. The associated gains are determined in each case from the solution of a linear-matrix-inequality feasibility problem. Simulation results of the proposed schemes are presented and discussed.
Effect of Batch of Hatch on Growth Performance of Nigerian Indegenous Tiv Chicken Ecotype

Study on the effect of batch of hatch on growth performance of the Nigerian Tiv chicken ecotype was undertaken to investigate genetic diversity within the populations. A total of 55 birds comprising of 50 hens and 5 cock were purchased and used as the base population. A mating ratio of 1 cock to 10 hens was applied to generate the experimental birds. After successful four batches of hatching, 354 chicks were generated. The birds were raised according to their batch of hatch until mortality. Data were collected on body weight, body weight gain, growth rate and mortality rate. Data collected were subjected to one-way Analysis of Variance using the SPSS statistical package version 21. The results indicate that batch of hatch had significant (P<0.05) effect on weekly body weight, body weight gain and growth rate at day old and at subsequent weeks until maturity. Batches 3 and 4 had significantly (P<0.05) higher body weight, body weight gain and growth rate compared to batches 1 and 2. Batches 2 and 4 had significantly (P<0.05) lower mortality rate compared to batches 1 and 3 at initial age but as from 7 weeks of age, batches 1 and 2 had significantly (P<0.05) lower mortality rate compared to batches 3 and 4. From this study, it was recommended that the genetic diversity across batch of hatch within the Tiv chickens observed in this study should be exploited through selection subsequent crossing between birds from different batch of hatch to take advantage of heterosis.
Near exogeneity, weak identification and specification testing: Some asymptotic results

Abstract The paper studies the asymptotic size property of various specification tests in linear structural models where instrumental variables may locally violate the exclusion restrictions. Our results provide some new insights and extensions of earlier studies. In particular, we derive an explicit formula of the asymptotic size of the tests which shows clearly the factors that influence their size under instrument endogeneity. We show that all tests have correct asymptotic size when the usual orthogonality condition holds, but their asymptotic size can be arbitrary large even if only one instrument is slightly correlated with the error term. We present a Monte Carlo experiment that confirms our theoretical findings.
Transcriptome Analysis Unveiled the Intricate Interplay between Sugar Metabolism and Lipid Biosynthesis in Symplocos paniculate Fruit

Symplocos paniculate is an oil plant exhibiting tissue-specific variations in oil content and fatty acid composition across the whole fruit (mainly pulp and seed). And its oil synthesis is intricately linked to the accumulation and transformation of sugars. Nevertheless, there remains a dearth of understanding regarding how sugar metabolism impacts oil synthesis in S. paniculate fruit. To unravel the intricate mechanism underlying the impact of sugar metabolism on lipid biosynthesis in S. paniculata fruit, a comparative analysis was conducted on the transcriptome and metabolite content of pulp and seed throughout fruit development. The findings revealed that the impact of sugar metabolism on oil synthesis varied across different stages of fruit development. Notably, during the early fruit developmental stage (from 90 to 120 DAF), pivotal genes involved in sugar metabolism, such as PGK3, PKP1, PDH-E1, MDH, and malQ, along with key genes associated with oil synthesis like KAR, HAD, and PAP were predominantly expressed in the pulp. Consequently, this preferential expression led to earlier accumulation of oil in the pulp tissue compared to the seed. Whereas, during the fruit maturity stage (from 120 DAF to 140 DAF), these genes exhibited a high level of expression in seed, thereby facilitating the rapid and substantial accumulation of seed oil compared to pulp. The sugar metabolism activity in various parts of S. paniculata fruit plays a pivotal role in oil synthesis and is contingent upon the developmental stage. These findings can offer alternative genes for further gene enhancement through molecular biotechnology, thereby augmenting fruit oil yield and altering fatty acid composition.
Maximum respiration rates in hyporheic zone sediments are primarily constrained by organic carbon concentration and secondarily by organic matter chemistry

Abstract. River corridors are fundamental components of the Earth system, and their biogeochemistry can be heavily influenced by processes in subsurface zones immediately below the riverbed, referred to as the hyporheic zone. Within the hyporheic zone, organic matter (OM) fuels microbial respiration, and OM chemistry heavily influences aerobic and anaerobic biogeochemical processes. The link between OM chemistry and respiration has been hypothesized to be mediated by OM molecular diversity, whereby respiration is predicted to decrease with increasing diversity. Here we test the specific prediction that aerobic respiration rates will decrease with increases in the number of unique organic molecules (i.e., OM molecular richness, as a measure of diversity). We use publicly available data across the United States from crowdsourced samples taken by the Worldwide Hydrobiogeochemical Observation Network for Dynamic River Systems (WHONDRS) consortium. Our continental-scale analyses rejected the hypothesis of a direct limitation of respiration by OM molecular richness. In turn, we found that organic carbon (OC) concentration imposes a primary constraint over hyporheic zone respiration, with additional potential influences of OM richness. We specifically observed respiration rates to decrease nonlinearly with the ratio of OM richness to OC concentration. This relationship took the form of a constraint space with respiration rates in most systems falling below the constraint boundary. A similar, but slightly weaker, constraint boundary was observed when relating respiration rate to the inverse of OC concentration. These results indicate that maximum respiration rates may be governed primarily by OC concentration, with secondary influences from OM richness. Our results also show that other variables often suppress respiration rates below the maximum associated with the richness-to-concentration ratio. An important focus of future research will identify physical (e.g., sediment grain size), chemical (e.g., nutrient concentrations), and/or biological (e.g., microbial biomass) factors that suppress hyporheic zone respiration below the constraint boundaries observed here.
Non-selective beta-blockers and the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with cirrhosis: a meta-analysis

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a serious complication of cirrhosis. Currently, non-selective beta-blockers (NSBBs) are commonly used to treat portal hypertension in patients with cirrhosis. The latest research shows that NSBBs can induce apoptosis and S-phase arrest in liver cancer cells and inhibit the development of hepatic vascular endothelial cells, which may be effective in preventing HCC in cirrhosis patients. Aim: To determine the relationship between different NSBBs and HCC incidence in patients with cirrhosis. Methods: We searched the Cochrane database, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, and Web of Science. Cohort studies, case‒control studies, and randomized controlled trials were included if they involved cirrhosis patients who were divided into an experimental group using NSBBs and a control group with any intervention. Based on heterogeneity, we calculated odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) using random-effect models. We also conducted subgroup analysis to explore the source of heterogeneity. Sensitivity analysis and publication bias detection were performed. Results: A total of 47 studies included 38 reporting HCC incidence, 26 reporting HCC-related mortality, and 39 reporting overall mortality. The HCC incidence between the experimental group and the control group was OR = 0.87 (0.69 and 1.10), p = 0.000, and I2 = 81.8%. There was no significant association between propranolol (OR = 0.94 and 95%CI 0.62–1.44) or timolol (OR = 1.32 and 95%CI 0.44–3.95) and HCC incidence, while the risk of HCC decreased by 26% and 38% with nadolol (OR = 0.74 and 95%CI 0.64–0.86) and carvedilol (OR = 0.62 and 95%CI 0.52–0.74), respectively. Conclusion: Different types of NSBB have different effects on the incidence of patients with cirrhosis of the liver, where nadolol and carvedilol can reduce the risk. Also, the effect of NSBBs may vary in ethnicity. Propranolol can reduce HCC incidence in Europe and America. Systematic Review Registration: identifier https://CRD42023434175, https://www.crd. york.ac. uk/PROSPERO/.
Operators satisfying a similarity condition

ABSTRACT Given Hilbert space operators such that ( the closure of the numerical range of S), the similarities for invertible A and have been considered by a number of authors over past few decades. A classical result of C. R. De Prima (resp., I. H. Sheth) says that if A and are normaloid or convexoid (resp., A is hyponormal), then implies A is unitary (resp., implies A is self-adjoint). This paper uses (Putnam–Fuglede theorem type) commutativity results to obtain generalizations of extant results on similarities of the above type. Amongst other results, it is proved that if with A invertible and , then: (i) A normaloid implies either A is unitary or ; (ii) operators A satisfying the positivity condition are unitary. If the operator A in (resp., ) is w-hyponormal or class with , then a sufficient condition for A to be unitary (resp., A to be self-adjoint) is that ; furthermore, one may drop the hypothesis in the case in which .
A Dual-Observer Design for Nonlinear Suspension System Based on Feedback Linearization

A novel approach to estimate suspension state information and payload condition was developed in this article. A nonlinear quarter car model with air spring and damper was built. After verification of system observability and solvability, a certain coordinate transform was built to transform the nonlinear system into a linear one. Then a Kalman filter observer was applied. A sprung mass observer, which works cooperatively with suspension state information observer, was also designed. Designed dual-observer was verified under typical road profile and sprung mass disturbance. Compared with extended Kalman filter, the dual-observer showed better accuracy and robustness.
The abscopal effect of immune-radiation therapy in recurrent and metastatic cervical cancer: a narrative review

Despite human papillomavirus vaccination and screening, in about 5% of cases, cervical cancer (CC) is discovered at an initial metastatic stage. Moreover, nearly one-third of patients with locally advanced CC (LACC) will have a recurrence of their disease during follow-up. At the stage of recurrent or metastatic CC, there are very few treatment options. They are considered incurable with a very poor prognosis. For many years, the standard of care was the combination of platinum-based drug and paclitaxel with the possible addition of bevacizumab. The most recent years have seen the development of the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) (pembrolizumab, cemiplimab and others) in patients with CC. They have shown long term responses with improved overall survival of patients in 1st line (in addition to chemotherapy) or 2nd line (as monotherapy) treatment. Another emerging drug is tisotumab vedotin, an antibody-drug conjugate targeting tissue factor. Radiation therapy (RT) often has a limited palliative indication in metastatic cancers. However, it has been observed that RT can induce tumor shrinkage both in distant metastatic tumors beyond the radiation field and in primary irradiated tumors. This is a rarely observed phenomenon, called abscopal effect, which is thought to be related to the immune system and allows a tumor response throughout the body. It would be the activation of the immune system induced by the irradiation of cancer cells that would lead to a specific type of apoptosis, the immunogenic cell death. Today, there is a growing consensus that combining RT with ICIs may boost abscopal response or cure rates for various cancers. Here we will review the potential abscopal effect of immune-radiation therapy in metastatic cervical cancer.