Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Empirical Analysis of the Performance of Indian Commercial Banks

The primary aim of this study is to examine the effect of bank-specific and macroeconomic determinants of Indian bank’s profitability over a period of ten years. The study classifies banks’ ownership into public banks, private banks and foreign banks. A balanced panel data of 87 banks over a period of 2009-2019 is analysed by two financial metrics i.e. Return on assets (ROA) and net interest margin (NIM). The results suggest that bank-specific variables such as asset management and operational efficiency have a significant impact on banks’ performance. Furthermore, macro-economic variables such as interest rate and exchange rates have a significant impact on the performance of banks. Moreover, the study also examines the impact of demonetisation on bank performance and conclude that demonetisation did not have a significant impact on the performance of the banks.
Effect of Electron Irradiation on the Transport and Field Emission Properties of Few-Layer MoS2 Field-Effect Transistors

Electrical characterization of few-layer MoS2-based field-effect transistors with Ti/Au electrodes is performed in the vacuum chamber of a scanning electron microscope in order to study the effects of electron-beam irradiation on the transport properties of the device. A negative threshold voltage shift and a carrier mobility enhancement are observed and explained in terms of positive charges trapped in the SiO2 gate oxide, during the irradiation. The transistor channel current is increased up to 3 orders of magnitudes after the exposure to an irradiation dose of 100 e–/nm2. Finally, a complete field emission characterization of the MoS2 flake, achieving emission stability for several hours and a minimum turn-on field of ≈20 V/μm with a field enhancement factor of about 500 at an anode–cathode distance of ∼1.5 μm, demonstrates the suitability of few-layer MoS2 as a two-dimensional emitting surface for cold-cathode applications.
Assessment of tracing element characteristics of F-type fly and bottom ash mixture

ABSTRACT Presently, fly ash–water slurry is transported to ash disposal site at very low solid concentration of approximately 15–20% (by weight), resulting in huge water and energy wastage which leads to several environmental and health problem. The production of a large amount of the toxic metal elements in the ash disposal system of the thermal power plants can pose negative environmental effects on human health and on plants. In the present study, an attempt has been made to investigate the leaching characteristics of fly ash at higher concentrations. The bottom ash was taken as an additive in the proportion of 10, 20, and 30% (by weight) to enhance the leaching characteristics of fly ash. The solid concentration of fly ash suspension was taken in the range of 40 to 60% (by weight). The addition of additive helps to reduce the tracing metal concentration of fly ash. Leaching experiment data show that leachate concentration of all tracing elements present in fly ash reduced maximum with 20% addition of bottom ash (by weight). The present study helps to improve the ash disposal system of the thermal power plant and to minimize the environmental impact.
A comparative study of the inhibition of herpes virus types 1 and 2 by nucleoside analogues

Assessment of the relative potencies of compounds which inhibit the multiplication of herpes virus is rendered difficult by the fact that they have been investigated by different workers who were not using comparable test systems. The aim of this work was therefore to evaluate such test systems as could be used for studying the chemotherapy of herpes virus infections with particular reference to their suitability for determining relative potencies. Both in vitro and in vivo systems were investigated. Tissue culture methods included parallel observations of the time of appearance of cytopathic effect in the presence and absence of the test compound, carried out in tubes and microtitre plates. The compounds were also examined in plaque inhibition and plaque reduction tests, by the gradient plate technique, and by determining the reduction in virus yield produced by the test compound in single-cycle experiments. The gradient plate technique gave a visual indication of the minimal inhibitory concentration. With the other methods dose-response lines were obtained, the most satisfactory being given by the plaque reduction method. Cytarabine was the most active compound, the ID50 with a standard strain of type 1 herpes being 0. 23 muM. The values for the other compounds were 0. 76 muM for trifluorothymidine, 0. 89 muM for idoxuridine, 14. 96 muM for vidarabine and 20. 89 muM for diaminopurine arabinoside. The compounds fell in the same order in tests with type 2 strains, except that 2 strains were found to be insensitive to trifluorothymidine and diaminopurine arabinoside. The in vivo models used were herpetic encephalitis in mice and herpetic keratitis in rabbits. Dose-response lines could be obtained in mice by taking the mean reciprocal survival time as the response, but they were not as satisfactory as those obtained by plaque reduction. The keratitis model could not be used for determinations of relative potency, but it was satisfactory for assessing the therapeutic effect of different concentrations of the test compound, and thus for ranking comparable solutions of the different compounds in order of activity. Satisfactory clinical cure was obtained with all compounds regardless of their relative potencies as determined in tissue culture. From the results of both in vitro and in vivo test systems it was possible to demonstrate variations in sensitivity between types and between strains of the same type. There are several reports in the literature that type 2 strains of herpes virus are less sensitive than type 1. In the present work this was found to be not the case, since there was a wide overlap in the sensitivities of the strains of the two types, with some type 2 strains being considerably more sensitive than those of type 1. The present studies have thus established satisfactory test methods for the quantitation of the relative potency of the standard anti-herpes compounds, which will be valuable in the assessment of the antiviral potential of compounds to be discovered in the future.
First Report of Sarcocystis Masoni in a Captive Alpaca (Vicugna Pacos) From China

Background: Sarcocystosis is a parasitic disease caused by intracellular protozoan parasite of the genus Sarcocystis. Tissue samples of alpacas (n = 4) from Henan province (China) were screened for Sarcocystis spp. infection by histological examination, pepsin digestion, and molecular assays. Results: Sarcocystis spp. was detected in heart, liver, spleen, lung, and kidney of an alpaca by molecular assays. Many sarcocysts with inflammation responses were observed in this alpaca myocardium, and they showed a high similarity to Sarcocystis masoni by sequence analysis. Conclusion: This study is the first to demonstrate Sarcocystis spp. infection in alpaca from China. The higher parasite load in the alpaca myocardium indicated that it had contact with an environment contaminated with sporocysts, and that the alpaca was susceptible to Sarcocystis spp.
Personalized digital extension services and agricultural performance: Evidence from smallholder farmers in India

Productivity growth in smallholder agriculture is an important driver of rural economic development and poverty reduction. However, smallholder farmers often have limited access to information, which can be a serious constraint for increasing productivity. One potential mechanism to reduce information constraints is the public agricultural extension service, but its effectiveness has often been low in the past. Digital technologies could enhance the effectiveness of extension by reducing outreach costs and helping to better tailor the information to farmers’ individual needs and conditions. Using primary data from India, this study analyses the association between digital extension services and smallholder agricultural performance. The digital extension services that some of the farmers use provide personalized information on the types of crops to grow, the types and quantities of inputs to use, and other methods of cultivation. Problems of selection bias in the impact evaluation are reduced through propensity score matching (PSM) combined with estimates of farmers’ willingness to pay for digital extension. Results show that use of personalized digital extension services is positively and significantly associated with input intensity, production diversity, crop productivity, and crop income.
Sensitizes Breast Cancer Stem Cells to Radiation Therapy Thermal Enhancement with Optically Activated Gold Nanoshells

should be amenable to translation to a clinical setting. et al Atkinson ionizing radiation is a staple of cancer therapy. This suggests that the dual hyperthermia-radiation cancer therapy of Although the gold nanoshells still require further testing, hyperthermia treatments are already in clinical trials, and sensitivity. repairing DNA double-strand breaks induced by ionizing radiation, resulting in an increase in their radiation treatment work? The investigators demonstrated that nanoshell-induced heating prevented breast tumor cells from the human breast tumors and their CSCs much more sensitive to ionizing radiation. But how does the combined tumor biopsy samples propagated in mice. Once again, they saw that the nanoshell-induced heating effect rendered laser radiation treatment. The researchers then went a step further, repeating these experiments with human breast recipient mice and found that the tumors had become less aggressive and more differentiated in response to the dual also decreased the number of CSCs. Atkinson and colleagues then transplanted the treated tumors into syngeneic to both near-infrared laser light and 6 gray of ionizing radiation. This dual treatment not only shrank the tumors but tumors. They injected their gold nanoshells intravenously into the tumor-bearing mice and then exposed the animals breast cytometry, the authors found that these breast tumors contained a cell population similar to the CSCs of human in mice bearing breast tumors that were particularly aggressive and radioresistant. Using surface markers and flow cause local heating of the tumors in which they have accumulated. The investigators first tested their gold nanoshells can be activated by near-infrared light (which is able to penetrate tissues). When activated by a laser, the nanoshells (nanoparticles comprising a silica core with an ultrathin gold layer) that accumulate preferentially in solid tumors and To sensitize breast tumor CSCs to radiation treatment, Atkinson and colleagues engineered gold nanoshells nanoshells to turn up the heat on CSCs, making them more sensitive to radiation therapy. nanotech approach to solving this problem. Working in two different mouse models of breast cancer, they use gold responsible for relapse after successful treatment with radiation and drugs. Atkinson and colleagues now take a within the tumor are stubbornly resistant to radiation therapy and chemotherapy. It is this CSC subpopulation that is like cells (CSCs) − One of the biggest hurdles to beating breast cancer is that a small population of stem cell A Midas Touch for Breast Cancer Treatment
Carcinomas with Active HPV 16 Involvement Viral RNA Patterns and High Viral Load Reliably Define Oropharynx

Oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (OPSCC) that are associated with human papilloma virus (HPV) infection carry a more favorable prognosis than those that are HPV-negative. However, it remains unclear which biomarker(s) can reliably determine which OPSCC specimens are truly driven by HPV infection. In this study, we analyzed 199 fresh-frozen OPSCC specimens for HPVDNA, viral load, RNA expression patterns typical for cervical carcinomas (CxCaRNAþ), and theHPV-targeted tumor suppressor protein p16 asmarkers for HPV infection. In this set of specimens, there was a 49% prevalence of DNA for the cancer-associated HPV type 16 (HPVþ). However, there was only a 16% prevalence of high viral load and only a 20% prevalence of CxCaRNAþ, a marker of HPV16 carcinogenic activity. Among the CxCaRNAþ tumors, 78% of the specimens exhibited overexpression of p16, which also occurred in 14% of the HPV-negative tumors. Using amultivariate survival analysis with HPV negativity as the reference group, CxCaRNAþ as a singlemarker conferred the lowest risk of death [HR1⁄4 0.28, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.13–0.61] fromoropharyngeal cancer, closely followed by high viral load (HR1⁄4 0.32, 95% CI, 0.14–0.73). In contrast, a weaker inverse association was found for OPSCC that were HPVþ and p16 high (HR 1⁄4 0.55, 95% CI, 0.29–1.08). In summary, our findings argued that viral load or RNA pattern analysis is better suited than p16 expression to identify HPV16-driven tumors in OPSCC patient populations. Cancer Res; 72(19); 4993–5003. 2012 AACR.
Deep learning vs conventional learning algorithms for clinical prediction in Crohn's disease: A proof-of-concept study

BACKGROUND Traditional methods of developing predictive models in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) rely on using statistical regression approaches to deriving clinical scores such as the Crohn's disease (CD) activity index. However, traditional approaches are unable to take advantage of more complex data structures such as repeated measurements. Deep learning methods have the potential ability to automatically find and learn complex, hidden relationships between predictive markers and outcomes, but their application to clinical prediction in CD and IBD has not been explored previously. AIM To determine and compare the utility of deep learning with conventional algorithms in predicting response to anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) therapy in CD. METHODS This was a retrospective single-center cohort study of all CD patients who commenced anti-TNF therapy (either adalimumab or infliximab) from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2015. Remission was defined as a C-reactive protein (CRP) < 5 mg/L at 12 mo after anti-TNF commencement. Three supervised learning algorithms were compared: (1) A conventional statistical learning algorithm using multivariable logistic regression on baseline data only; (2) A deep learning algorithm using a feed-forward artificial neural network on baseline data only; and (3) A deep learning algorithm using a recurrent neural network on repeated data. Predictive performance was assessed using area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC) after 10× repeated 5-fold cross-validation. RESULTS A total of 146 patients were included (median age 36 years, 48% male). Concomitant therapy at anti-TNF commencement included thiopurines (68%), methotrexate (18%), corticosteroids (44%) and aminosalicylates (33%). After 12 mo, 64% had CRP < 5 mg/L. The conventional learning algorithm selected the following baseline variables for the predictive model: Complex disease behavior, albumin, monocytes, lymphocytes, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration and gamma-glutamyl transferase, and had a cross-validated AUC of 0.659, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.562-0.756. A feed-forward artificial neural network using only baseline data demonstrated an AUC of 0.710 (95%CI: 0.622-0.799; P = 0.25 vs conventional). A recurrent neural network using repeated biomarker measurements demonstrated significantly higher AUC compared to the conventional algorithm (0.754, 95%CI: 0.674-0.834; P = 0.036). CONCLUSION Deep learning methods are feasible and have the potential for stronger predictive performance compared to conventional model building methods when applied to predicting remission after anti-TNF therapy in CD.
Soil health indicators for Central Washington orchards

Soil health assessment can be a critical soil testing tool that includes biological and physical indicators of soil function related to crop and environmental health. Soil health indicator minimum data sets should be regional and management goal specific. The objective of this study was to initiate the steps to develop a soil assessment tool for irrigated orchard soils in Central Washington, United States including defining objectives, gathering baseline data and selecting target indicators. This study measured twenty-one biological, physical and chemical properties of soils in irrigated Central Washington apple orchards including indicators of water availability, root health, fertility, and biological activity. Soil factors were related to fruit yield and quality. Principal components and nonlinear Bayesian modeling were used to explore the relationship between soil health indicators and yield. Soil indicators measurements in Washington state orchards varied widely but generally had lower organic matter, available water capacity, wet aggregate stability and higher percent sand than in other regions. Linear mixed effects models for available water capacity and percent sand showed significant effects on yield, and models for root health ratings and Pratylenchus nematodes had moderate effects. The minimum dataset of soil health indicators for Central Washington orchards should include measurements of water availability (available water capacity, percent sand) and of root health (bean root health rating, Pratylenchus nematodes) in addition to standard fertility indicators to meet stakeholder management goals.
A Humanized Mouse Strain That Develops Spontaneously Immune-Mediated Diabetes

To circumvent the limitations of available preclinical models for the study of type 1 diabetes (T1D), we developed a new humanized model, the YES-RIP-hB7.1 mouse. This mouse is deficient of murine major histocompatibility complex class I and class II, the murine insulin genes, and expresses as transgenes the HLA-A*02:01 allele, the diabetes high-susceptibility HLA-DQ8A and B alleles, the human insulin gene, and the human co-stimulatory molecule B7.1 in insulin-secreting cells. It develops spontaneous T1D along with CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell responses to human preproinsulin epitopes. Most of the responses identified in these mice were validated in T1D patients. This model is amenable to characterization of hPPI-specific epitopes involved in T1D and to the identification of factors that may trigger autoimmune response to insulin-secreting cells in human T1D. It will allow evaluating peptide-based immunotherapy that may directly apply to T1D in human and complete preclinical model availability to address the issue of clinical heterogeneity of human disease.
Exploring whole-body kinematics when eating real foods with the dominant hand in healthy adults

Despite the importance of eating movements to the rehabilitation of neurological patients, information regarding the normal kinematics of eating in a realistic setting is limited. We aimed to quantify whole-body three-dimensional kinematics among healthy individuals by assessing movement patterns in defined phases while eating real food with the dominant hand in a seated position. Our cross-sectional study included 45 healthy, right-hand dominant individuals with a mean age of 27.3 ± 5.1 years. Whole-body kinematics (joint angles of the upper limb, hip, neck, and trunk) were captured using an inertial sensor motion system. The eating motion was divided into four phases for analysis: reaching, spooning, transport, and mouth. The mean joint angles were compared among the phases with Friedman’s analysis of variance. The maximum angles through all eating phases were 129.0° of elbow flexion, 32.4° of wrist extension, 50.4° of hip flexion, 6.8° of hip abduction, and 0.2° of hip rotation. The mean shoulder, elbow, and hip joint flexion angles were largest in the mouth phase, with the smallest being the neck flexion angle. By contrast, in the spooning phase, the shoulder, elbow, and hip flexion were the smallest, with the largest being the neck flexion angle. These angles were significantly different between the mouth and spooning phases (p < 0.008, Bonferroni post hoc correction). Our results revealed that characteristic whole-body movements correspond to each phase of realistic eating in healthy individuals. This study provides useful kinematic data regarding normal eating movements, which may inform whole-body positioning and movement, improve the assessment of eating abilities in clinical settings, and provide a basis for future studies.
Wild epiphytic Bangladeshi orchids Cymbidium aloifolium (L.) Sw. and Papilionanthe teres (Roxb.) Lindl. potentially modulates the immune functions in Swiss albino mice

Objective: This research investigated the immunomodulatory potentials of two medicinally important wild epiphytic Bangladeshi orchids Cymbidium aloifolium and Papilionanthe teres using Swiss albino mice. Materials and Methods: Orchid extracts were prepared using a cold methanol extraction procedure. To assess the immunomodulatory action, Swiss albino mice of either sex weighing 25–35 gm were divided into five groups each with six animals. Sheep red blood cells (SRBC) of 0.5 × 109 cells/ml were used to immunize all mice on the 7th day, and a booster dose of the same quantity of SRBC was given on the 11th day of the experiment. After 14 days of oral treatment with 100 and 200 mg/kg bw of orchid extract, the mice were sacrificed to collect serum and organs. Hematological assays, delayed type of hypersensitivity assays, phagocytic index (PI), and histopathological investigations were used to assess in vivo immunomodulatory efficacy. Results: The body weight changes of the experimental animals were considerably greater at 100 mg/kg bw than at a higher dose (200 mg/kg bw). There was a substantial improvement of relative organ weights of the thymus and spleen at the low dose, but no effect on kidney weights was evident. The liver weight increased significantly (p < 0.05) at both doses. Total neutrophil, leukocyte, and lymphocyte counts, hemoglobin percentage, delayed hypersensitivity reaction, and PI were all significantly (p < 0.05) increased in mice receiving the lower dose. In contrast to the control group, the higher dose reduced immunological response, suggesting the negative influence of a higher dose of extracts on the immune reaction. Conclusions: The results demonstrate that orchid extracts can potentially modulate the innate immune system in the experimental animal.
MNI: An enhanced multi-task neighborhood interaction model for recommendation on knowledge graph

To alleviate the data sparsity and cold start problems for collaborative filtering in recommendation systems, side information is usually leveraged by researchers to improve the recommendation performance. The utility of knowledge graph regards the side information as part of the graph structure and gives an explanation for recommendation results. In this paper, we propose an enhanced multi-task neighborhood interaction (MNI) model for recommendation on knowledge graphs. MNI explores not only the user-item interaction but also the neighbor-neighbor interactions, capturing a more sophisticated local structure. Besides, the entities and relations are also semantically embedded. And with the cross&compress unit, items in the recommendation system and entities in the knowledge graph can share latent features, and thus high-order interactions can be investigated. Through extensive experiments on real-world datasets, we demonstrate that MNI outperforms some of the state-of-the-art baselines both for CTR prediction and top-N recommendation.