Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparative effectiveness of medical treatment vs. metabolic surgery for histologically proven non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and fibrosis: a matched network meta-analysis

Background Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) comprises a major healthcare problem affecting up to 30% of patients with obesity and the associated risk for cardiovascular and liver-related mortality. Several new drugs for NASH-treatment are currently investigated. No study thus far directly compared surgical and non-surgical therapies for NASH. This network meta-analysis compares for the first time the effectiveness of different therapies for NASH using a novel statistical approach. Methods The study was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines for network meta-analysis. PubMed, CENTRAL and Web of Science were searched without restriction of time or language using a validated search strategy. Studies investigating therapies for NASH in adults with liver biopsies at baseline and after at least 12 months were selected. Patients with liver cirrhosis were excluded. Risk of bias was assessed with ROB-2 and ROBINS-I-tools. A novel method for population-adjusted indirect comparison to include and compare single-arm trials was applied. Main outcomes were NASH-resolution and improvement of fibrosis. Results Out of 7,913 studies, twelve randomized non-surgical studies and twelve non-randomized surgical trials were included. NASH-resolution after non-surgical intervention was 29% [95% confidence interval (CI): 23–40%] and 79% (95% CI: 72–88%) after surgery. The network meta-analysis showed that surgery had a higher chance of NASH-resolution than medication [odds ratio (OR) =2.68; 95% CI: 1.44–4.97] while drug treatment was superior to placebo (OR =2.24; 95% CI: 1.55–3.24). Surgery (OR =2.18; 95% CI: 1.34–3.56) and medication (OR =1.79; 95% CI: 1.39–2.31) were equally effective to treat fibrosis compared to placebo without difference between them. The results did not change when only new drugs specifically developed for the treatment of NASH were included. Conclusions Metabolic surgery has a higher effectiveness for NASH-therapy than medical therapy while both were equally effective regarding improvement of fibrosis. Trials directly comparing surgery with medication must be urgently conducted. Patients with NASH should be informed about surgical treatment options.
Observed and Simulated Variability of Droplet Spectral Dispersion in Convective Clouds Over the Amazon

In this study, the variability of the spectral dispersion of droplet size distributions (DSDs) in convective clouds is investigated. Analyses are based on aircraft measurements of growing cumuli near the Amazon basin, and on numerical simulations of an idealized ice‐free cumulus. In cleaner clouds, the relative dispersion ϵ , defined as the ratio of the standard deviation to the mean value of the droplet diameter, is negatively correlated with the ratio of the cloud water content ( qc ) to the adiabatic liquid water content ( qa ), while no strong correlation between ϵ and qc/qa is seen in polluted clouds. Bin microphysics numerical simulations suggest that these contrasting behaviors are associated with the effect of collision‐coalescence in cleaner clouds, and secondary droplet activation in polluted clouds, in addition to the turbulent mixing of parcels that experienced different paths within the cloud. Collision‐coalescence simultaneously broadens the DSDs and decreases qc , explaining the inverse relationship between ϵ and qc/qa in cleaner clouds. Secondary droplet activation broadens the DSDs but has little direct impact on qc . The combination of a rather modest DSD broadening due to weak collision‐coalescence with enhanced droplet activation in both diluted and highly undiluted cloud regions may contribute to maintain a relatively uniform ϵ within polluted clouds. These findings can be useful for parameterizing the shape parameter ( μ ) of gamma DSDs in bulk microphysics cloud‐resolving models. It is shown that emulating the observed μ−qc/qa relationship improves the estimation of the collision‐coalescence rate in bulk microphysics simulations compared to the bin simulations.
Halotolerant-Koccuria rhizophila (14asp)-Induced Amendment of Salt Stress in Pea Plants by Limiting Na+ Uptake and Elevating Production of Antioxidants

Endophytic bacteria are useful for their safe services in plant growth improvement and for ameliorating abiotic and biotic stresses. Salt-tolerant plant-growth-promoting Kocuria rhizophila 14asp (accession number KF 875448) was investigated for its role in pea plants under a saline environment. Salt stress (75 mM and 150 mM NaCl) was subjected to two pea varieties, peas2009 and 9800-10, in a greenhouse under a complete randomized design. Different parameters such as plant growth promotion, relative water content, chlorophyll, antioxidants, and mineral contents were analyzed to elucidate the extent of tolerance persuaded by PGPB (plant-growth-promoting bacteria). Exhibition of adverse effects was noticed in uninoculated varieties. However, inoculation of K. rhizophila improved the morphological parameters, antioxidant enzymes, and minimized the uptake of Na+ in plants under various saline regimes. Pea variety 9800-10 exhibited more tolerance than peas2009 in all traits, such as root and shoot length, fresh and dry biomass, chlorophyll contents, and antioxidant enzymes. Our results showed that halotolerant K. rhizophila inoculation plays a vital role in enhancing plant growth by interacting ingeniously with plants through antioxidant systems, enduring saline conditions.
Inclination of Politics Among Dental Students

Politics is so much required as it offers students a platform to develop their leadership skills. The absence of politics in college campuses threatens to make them authoritarian and undemocratic, which is not good. It was an agreed statement that political parties have already destroyed our country and now are bent upon misguiding our youths with financial and judiciary powers. Student politics is generally viewed by those in authority as a negative factor, something to be eliminated from Academic life. Student politics sometimes affects higher education and on occasions sweeps beyond the campus to have disruptive implications for the political system. The Cross sectional study was done on dental students in tamilnadu. A well structured. Questionnaires on basis of inclination of politics among dental students were taken into consideration. This is an online based survey study and taken in english language.The sampling method used was a simple random sampling method. 10 Questionnaires were prepared and were administered through Google forms. In this study, 100 dental students were given the questionnaire and then the data was analysed. Mostly(85%) first year students responded to our survey. 64% of students responded that they like politics and the remaining 39% responded that they don’t like politics. According to the above survey we conclude that the attitude of the students shows a positive response of interest towards politics among the Dental students.
Provision and Access to Library Support Services for Distance Learners in Ladoke Akintola University, Nigeria

The study examined the provision and access to library support services for distance learners in Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Nigeria. The population of the study consisted of distance learners from LAUTECH. A random sampling technique was used to select 341 respondents as sample size of the study. Data was collected using an adapted questionnaire. Four research questions were answered by the study. A total of 341 copies of the questionnaire were distributed to the respondents with a response rate of 86.2%. The findings of the study revealed that the majority (90.2%) of the respondents agreed that the library offered support services except for documentary, borrowing and internet services to distance learners. Also, the findings revealed that the level of accessibility of library support services was slightly above average. Furthermore, the findings revealed that the level of satisfaction by distance learners is low. The study revealed that geographical isolation, poor Internet connectivity, difficulty in borrowing library and others affecting the use of library services. The study concluded that the LAUTECH library provided library services but inadequate to DLs. Based on the findings; the study recommended among others that library management should extend borrowing of books.
Perceived Influence of Entrepreneurial Intention on Business Success of Start-ups in Food and Beverage Sector of Rivers State

This study investigated the perceived influence of entrepreneurial intention on the business success of start-ups in the food and beverage sectors in Rivers State. Two specific objectives, two research questions and two hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. A descriptive survey using a quantitative approach was adopted for the study. The population of the study consists of 1,167 small scale businesses across 23 local government areas of Rivers State who are registered with the State Internal Revenue. A sample of 117 small scale business owners in the food and beverage sector of Rivers State was selected using the purposive quota sampling technique. The sample consists of 60 supermarkets and 57 neighbourhood market stores in the business of distributing food and beverages. A self-designed structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The instrument was face validated by the researcher’s peers within Federal College of Education (Tech.), Omoku, Rivers State. The instrument was further subjected to reliability using Cronbach alpha to obtain a reliability index of 0.74 and 0.82 for sections A and B, with an average index of 0.78 which shows that the instrument is reliable based on data collected from 15 food and beverage start-ups supermarkets and neighbourhood stores from Bayelsa State. Data collected for the study were analyzed using descriptive statistics of mean, cluster means and standard deviation to answer research questions. An independent t-test was used to test the hypotheses raised at a 0.05 level of significance. The major findings of the study revealed that supermarket and neighbourhood market stores startups in the food and beverage sector of Rivers State are of the opinion that entrepreneurial attitude and entrepreneurial experiences help to increase sales volume and enhance customers’ retention which was the proxies of business success in this study. The results also show that there is no significant difference in the opinion of the respondents on the perceived influence of entrepreneurial intention on the business success of startups in the food and beverage sector of Rivers State. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that entrepreneurs who want to succeed in the food and beverage sector of Rivers State should endeavour to render voluntary services in order to accumulate entrepreneurial experiences and develop the right entrepreneurial mindset for success.
Short Communication: Analysis of purity and concentration of DNA extracted from intron patho gene-spin extraction on crab processed food product samples

Abstract. Sophian A, Purwaningsih R, Muindar, Igirisa EPJ, Amirullah ML. 2021. Short Communication: Analysis of purity and concentration of DNA extracted from intron patho gene-spin extraction on crab processed food product samples. Asian J Trop Biotechnol 18: 28-31. The purpose of this study was to optimize the Intron patho gene-spin DNA/RNA extraction kit on crab processed food products so that it can be used for testing samples other than viral and bacterial samples. The method used in purity and concentration analysis to analyze total DNA (yield) is the absorbance method using a nanophotometer and the method used to isolate the sample DNA is the centrifuge Column or spin column method. The research data showed that the extracted sample concentration was in the range of 15.15-15.75, with an average of 15.46. while the purity values measured at the A260/A280 wavelengths were obtained with a purity range between 2,124-2,346. The total DNA analysis (yield) results obtained an average of 755.04 with the lowest yield value of 575.50 and the highest yield value of 787.50. As a suggestion for further research, it is hoped that modification can be made to perfect the isolated DNA so that it has better purity and concentration values.
Spatial Mismatch, Race and Ethnicity, and Unemployment: Implications for Interventions With Women on Probation and Parole

For 312 women on probation and parole, we used mediation and conditional process analyses to examine the indirect effect of minority racial/ethnic status on unemployment through spatial mismatch between women’s place of residence and the location of available jobs. Consistent with the spatial mismatch hypothesis, employment opportunities per capita within 2 miles of women’s census tract of residence mediated the relationship between minority status and unemployment. The connection of spatial mismatch to unemployment was less pronounced for women with high levels of transportation access. Findings point to the importance of broader social policies to support well-developed transportation systems and community-based job development.
A Modeling Study of Rainbands Upstream from Western Japan during the Approach of Typhoon Tokage (2004)

During 19–20 October 2004, a series of spectacular arc-shaped rainbands developed south or southeast of southwestern Japan when Typhoon Tokage (TY0423) approached the region from the southwest. As the typhoon moved closer and the upstream Froude number (Fr) continued to increase, these rainbands first remained quasi-stationary but eventually retreated backward. Using the Nagoya University Cloud-Resolving Storm Simulator (CReSS) at 1-km grid size, these rainbands were successfully simulated, and their behavior during the transition period from a relatively low-Fr to a high-Fr regime was investigated and compared with idealized two-dimensional (2D) model results from theoretical studies. In the present case, the rainbands were found to develop along a low-level frontal convergence zone between the southerly flow associated with the typhoon and the northerly flow from the Sea of Japan. The northeasterly winds accelerated through gaps between topography and fed the offshore flow at the backside of the rainbands, producing a strong resistance that allowed the rainbands to remain stationary under significantly higher Fr values (at least 1.2) than predicted by 2D simulations (of about 0.3–0.5) for the retreat to occur in conditionally unstable flow with a convective available potential energy of about 1300 J kg−1. Typically ≤ 500 m in depth with a potential temperature (θ) deficit of 2–4 K across the rainband, the cooler offshore flow was also found to be enhanced by evaporative cooling as in some other events. The cooling effect helped the rainbands to hold their position until Fr of the upstream flow became too large, and the rainband with stronger cooling behind was able to withstand a higher Fr before retreat. Once the retreat started, the offshore layer became thinner and the θ deficit also reduced, and the rainbands were washed back by the strengthening upcoming flow.
Rotary endodontic files versus manual files for root canal treatment

Many studies have been published to compare the efficacy of root canal filling with either rotary and manual instrumentation. The most commonly reported factors included instrumentation, obturation time and to obturation quality. Besides, the different studies in the literature have used different assessment tools and parameters of their outcomes. In addition, to using different rotary instrumentation techniques. In thisliterature review, we have formulated strong evidence regarding the effectiveness of rotary and manual instrumentation files for root canal filling based on the findings from the current studies in the literature. Our results indicate the effectiveness of rotary instrumentation in reducing the root canal instrumentation time and enhancing the obturation and filling quality as compared to the manual instrumentation techniques. Our findings also indicate the potential variability in the effectiveness between the different rotary instrumentation techniques. However, it was not an area of concentration among the different studies in the literature. Thus, to formulate such evidence, further relevant investigations to this topic might be required. Finally, we recommend that rotary endodontic files should be indicated for the root canal filling settings to obtain better outcomes and alleviate the associated quality of work.
Nationalism, Secessionism, and Autonomy

This chapter examines three additional cases: the Basque Country, Puerto Rico, and Québec. The objective behind these supplemental case studies is twofold. First, for the Basque Country, the goal is to understand why there has not been a strengthening of secessionism like in Catalonia. The chapter explains that Basque nationalism is exceptional for its history of political violence, which renders extremely difficult the type of alliance between nationalist forces that has occurred in Catalonia. Next, the chapter looks at Puerto Rico and Québec to assess how a focus on the nature of autonomy to explain the strength of secessionism travels beyond Western Europe. The case of Puerto Rico, where secessionism has always been marginal, helps to tease out the potential importance of perceptions on autonomy. Although Puerto Rican autonomy has not been adjusted, political debates over the constitutional future of the island, namely through multiple referendums on status, have likely fed perceptions that Puerto Ricans can change their autonomy, either through an enhancement of the current status or by becoming a state of the American federation. In Québec, the weakening of secessionism in the last decades has corresponded with a switch from constitutional reform to intergovernmental agreements as instruments for managing the position of the province within the federation. Constitutional change is difficult in Canada; consequently, Québec’s autonomy has been static constitutionally. As a result, when the focus for managing autonomy is placed on constitutional negotiations, secessionism in the province strengthens. When autonomy is managed through intergovernmental agreements, secessionism weakens.
Hygienic knowledge and practices of milk vending machine handlers in the informal settlements of Nairobi, Kenya

Background: Poor milk handling practices due to lack of knowledge or deliberate adulteration compromises the safety of milk and that of the consumer. With the increase of milk vending machines in informal settlements, the knowledge and practices of vendors concerning milk hygiene are critical in determining milk safety. The operation of milk vending machines is guided by strict regulations that aim at ensuring proper practices among milk handlers, but the level of implementation among milk vendors is questionable. This study sought to establish hygienic knowledge and handling practices of vendors operating milk vending machines in Nairobi’s informal settlements of Kibra and Dagoretti North. Methods: Using a cross-sectional study design, 37 milk vendors were interviewed at the study setting with the aid of questionnaires. Data was then recorded in datasheets and analyzed using frequencies, correlation, and t-test with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences software. Results: The mean percentage score for knowledge and practices was 68.83% and 54.05%, respectively. The knowledge and practices of vendors significantly improved with the increase in their level of education (p=0.04 and p=0.02). There was a significantly positive correlation between knowledge and practices (r=0.626, p=0.000). Conclusions: There is a low level of hygienic knowledge and poor practices among vendors operating milk vending machines in the study area. The efforts by the regulator to ensure proper implementation of the regulations was also not sufficient. Training is required to improve the hygienic knowledge and practices of milk vending machine handlers in informal settlements. Frequent inspections should also be carried out in the informal settlements to ensure proper implementation of regulations on the operation of milk vending machines.
Reflections on the Customer Decision-Making Process in the Digital Insurance Platforms: An Empirical Study of the Baltic Market

Multifold effects of the COVID-19 global health crisis and economic lockdowns are reflected in the insurance industry, and are predicted to expand to the post-COVID-19 era. It is expected that, within a short period of time, the current worldwide situation, in regards to the coronavirus pandemic, will be reflected in new trends, regarding customer behavior, organizational management, and culture, as well as reveal improved business management models, legacy infrastructure, and service systems in insurance organizations. Here, a focus on end-user preferences, data, and their behavior modeling in digital platforms are major practical drivers within the modern insurance concept, but there is a paucity of researches within the theoretical synthesis of consumer decision-making (CDM) models, information system theories, and behavioral economics concerning modern insurance-specific value chains and digitalized decision-making processes. Therefore, the following research aims to expand upon the existing scientific knowledge of end-user behavioral patterns and process frameworks in the Baltic insurance market, by including and examining a factor group of technological enablers and a digital environment. Research results in digitalization, personalization, and customization levels within the Baltic non-life insurance market are homogenous with a leading position of Estonia and overall evaluations ranging between Satisfied and Rather Good. There are also three major factor groups and process stages identified, which influence insurance purchase decision-making in digital insurance platforms in the Baltic market.
Experimental Investigation of Concrete Transverse Deformations at Relatively High Loading Rates for Interpretation of High Strength Concrete Behavior

Loading rates affect the behavior of concrete specimens from the beginning of the loading process until failure. At rather high loading rates, longitudinal deformations in concrete specimens under a compressive load are practically elastic up until the ultimate limit state. It has been previously demonstrated that transverse deformations effectively indicate high-strength concrete behavior in the entire static loading process range. A theoretical model for cylindrical concrete specimen failure under compressive load, based on a structural phenomenon, has also been proposed. The aim of the present research is experimental verification of using transverse deformations in addition to longitudinal ones for investigating high-strength concrete behavior at the non-elastic stage. This research is based on testing normal-strength concrete cylindrical specimens under compression at relatively high loading rates. The theoretical model of the cracking and failure scheme of the cylindrical specimens are experimentally confirmed. The obtained results demonstrate that it is possible to use transverse deformations for the interpretation of initiation and development of inelastic deformations in high-strength concrete up to class C90 based on the data for normal-strength concrete specimens of class C30 subjected to relatively high loading rates.