Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stock Returns Under Political and Macroeconomic Instabilities: An Empirical Analysis from United Kingdom

The main purpose of our paper is to empirically explore the effect of political and macroeconomic risk on stock returns. We constructed a multivariate model to explore behavior of stock returns under political risk and macroeconomic uncertainty. The annual panel data of our study consists of 23 manufacturing firms listed at London Stock Exchange for period covering 2005 to 2016. We utilized robust two-step system GMM to estimate the empirical model of the study. The findings showed significance of uncertainties for predicting the stock returns in the UK. Specifically, it showed statistical but differential significant impact of political risk and macroeconomic uncertainty on stock returns of the firms that are listed at FTSE-100 index. However, macroeconomic uncertainty showed higher statistical impact on the stock returns as compared to political risk. Our study provides guidance to policymakers and investors. It provides guidance for investors to know about the timings of entry and exit into stock markets and helps managers and policy makers in risk management. Keywords: Stock returns, Political risk, Macroeconomic uncertainty, and Two-step System GMM. JEL Codes : D22, G11.
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Detected in Males in the Population of Slovakia

The objectives of this paper are to analyse the incidence of the main genderspecific clinical manifestations and initial therapy at diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in the Slovak population. An observational study of SLE men patients (n=66) seen at National Institute of Rheumatic Disease between 1992 and 2014 was performed. Demographic and clinical data were retrospectively collected from hospital records and random selection of women patients (n=50) was selected for comparison.
Advantages and disadvantages of using the problem-based learning method - PBL for upper level students in business areas

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a teaching method that encourages the student ́s proactivity to reason, in order to seek solutions to the problem in question. This article aims to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using the PBL method for top level students in business areas. In order to meet the objective, a questionnaire was prepared from the literature studied and sent to 375 students, with a return rate of 19%. The main results show that 74% of the respondents consider that the practical classes contribute to the memorization of the content, 93% of the respondents consider it an opportunity for personal and social formation, besides promoting the sharing of knowledge and improvement in decisionmaking. It also found that 83% feel more protagonists in the PBL method and more than 81% feel more engaged in their own learning. As a result, it was possible to identify a favorable perception of the learning method that leads and engages the student. This research also allows us to conclude that the PBL is, in fact, perceived as a more current and innovative method by students.
A Six-Step Framework on Biomedical Signal Analysis for Tackling Noncommunicable Diseases: Current and Future Perspectives

Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) continue to face major challenges in providing high-quality and universally accessible health care. Researchers, policy makers, donors, and program implementers consistently strive to develop and provide innovative approaches to eliminate geographical and financial barriers to health care access. Recently, interest has increased in using mobile health (mHealth) as a potential solution to overcome barriers to improving health care in LMICs. Moreover, with use increasing and cost decreasing for mobile phones and Internet, mHealth solutions are becoming considerably more promising and efficient. As part of mHealth solutions, biomedical signals collection and processing may play a major role in improving global health care. Information extracted from biomedical signals might increase diagnostic precision while augmenting the robustness of health care workers’ clinical decision making. This paper presents a high-level framework using biomedical signal processing (BSP) for tackling diagnosis of noncommunicable diseases, especially in LMICs. Researchers can consider each of these elements during the research and design of BSP-based devices, enabling them to elevate their work to a level that extends beyond the scope of a particular application and use. This paper includes technical examples to emphasize the applicability of the proposed framework, which is relevant to a wide variety of stakeholders, including researchers, policy makers, clinicians, computer scientists, and engineers. [JMIR Biomed Eng 2016;1(1):e1]
Cold scissors ploughing technique in hysteroscopic adhesiolysis: a comparative study.

Background Intrauterine adhesions (IUAs) can be dissected using hysteroscopic scissors (cold scissors) or other methods, but there is no consensus on which hysteroscopic method is preferable. There is also no consensus on the method of how to deal with the scar tissue on the surface of the intrauterine cavity. Methods From January 2016 to October 2017, 179 patients who had HA met the enrollment criteria (see the text below), and their data were analyzed retrospectively. In addition, all patients were divided into three groups according to the surgical techniques used. The groups were the ploughing group (PG) (using cold scissors to dissect the adhesion and cut the scar tissue using a ploughing technique) (n=81), the traditional group (TG) (using cold scissors to dissect the adhesion, but not deal with the scar tissue) (n=42), and the electrosurgical group (EG) (using a resectoscope to dissect the adhesion with an energy L-hook electrode, and not deal with the scar tissue) (n=56). Safety (surgical complications), feasibility (surgical technique replacement rate), and postoperative efficacy (reduction of AFS score, pregnancy, and live birth rate), were each evaluated between groups. Results No statistically significant differences between the groups were observed in basic preoperative information (P>0.05), while there were significant differences between PG and TG, as well as PG and EG in postoperative AFS scores (PG vs. TG: P=0.007; PG vs. EG: P<0.001) and pregnancy outcome (PG vs. TG: P=0.039; PG vs. EG: P<0.001). No patients had surgical complications such as uterine perforations, moderate or severe fluid overload, heavy uterine bleeding, nor any surgical technique replacements (for example, transfer to use a resectoscope). Conclusions Cold scissors ploughing technique in HA is effective, feasible, and safe, and thus worthy of further study.
Factors Associated with Ectopic Pregnancy at Mbarara University Teaching Hospital in South Western Uganda

Ectopic pregnancy refers to implantation of a fertilized egg in a location outside of the uterine cavity [1]. The most common extra-uterine location is the fallopian tube, which account for 98% of all ectopic gestations. Other sites are ovary, cervix, corn of the uterus and abdominal cavity [2]. Ectopic pregnancy (EP) is a lifethreatening condition and a gynecological emergency which affects one in every 80-100 pregnancies [3]. There is a fourfold increase in the incidence of ectopic pregnancy in the industrialized countries (from 0.3 to 1.2%) [4]. Such rise is mainly attributed to advanced techniques for diagnosing early ectopic pregnancy and increased prevalence of pelvic inflammatory disease [5]. The incidence of EP in Africa ranges between 0.5-3% [6,7]. Risk factors for ectopic pregnancy identified in previous studies include a strong association between prior Pelvic Inflammatory Diseases (PID) and EP with OR ranging from 2.0 to 10.1 [8]. The importance of infectious factors in ectopic pregnancy is well documented [9] There is probably a causal link. In Sweden, declining rates of Chlamydia infections, attributed to preventive policies, have been accompanied by a fall in the risk of ectopic pregnancy [10]. The other variables suggestive of a higher probability of exposure to sexually transmitted diseases (age at first intercourse and number of sexual partners) were associated with a risk of ectopic pregnancy in univariate analysis. Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common sexually bacterial infection in the world [11]. It is capable of infecting the genital organs of women and men. Generally, the infection does not produce symptoms or can produce mild symptoms [12].
Response of pre harvest chemicals spray on fruit retention and yield of mango cv. Kesar

The present investigation was carried out on 22 year old mango orchard at the Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari during 2015-2016 and 2016-2017. The experiment was laid out in Randomised Block Design with eleven treatments i.e., Control (T0), CPPU 5ppm (T1), CPPU 10ppm (T2), GA3 25ppm (T3), GA3 50ppm (T4), NAA 30ppm (T5), NAA 60ppm (T6), CaCl2 1.0% (T7), CaCl2 2.0% (T8), ZnSO4 0.5% (T9) and ZnSO4 1.0% (T10). All the treatments were replicated thrice and a single tree served as a unit. Two sprays of chemicals were done on the appearance of inflorescence and pea stage of fruit, respectively. Among all the treatments, foliar application of NAA 60ppm increased the fruit retention (6.75%) and yield (74.80 kg/tree) in mango cv. Kesar as compared to rest of the treatments. Treatment T5 was equally effective in this regard. The result on average weight of fruit was noted highest (284.00g) in treatment T4.
Numerical Verification on a Countermeasure for High Level Sound Generated from Boiler Tube Bank Duct Using Walls Made of Perforated Plate and Cavity

Heat exchangers and boilers are widely used in various plants such as power plants and chemical plants. In the heat exchanger and the boiler, the tube bank is set in a duct, water passes through the inside of the tube, and gas flows the outside of the tube. Due to the external flow around tube banks, the resonance phenomenon called the self-sustained tone occurs at a certain velocity. The self-sustained tone might cause noise problems in the surroundings, cause losses due to plant shutdown, etc. In general, baffle plates are used to suppress the self-sustained tone. However, it is difficult to use them effectively, because appropriate insertion positions have not been established. On the other hand, to suppress the selfsustained tones, a method using perforated plates has been proposed. In this method, perforated plates were installed on both sides of the duct to suppress the self-sustained tones. The perforated plate has an acoustic damping and a resonance mode of the duct transverse direction to the flow is suppressed by its damping effect, when the self-sustained tone occurs. The purpose of this study is to verify the effect of the perforated plates on the self-sustained tone numerically. CFD and acoustic simulations were carried out to examine the suppression effect of the perforated plates installed, and compared with the measurement data. The results show that the suppression effect appeared in all aperture ratio φ => 0.01(1%) of the perforated plate and that the measurement and simulation data are in reasonable agreement in terms of prediction of effects of perforated plates on the self-sustained tones. KeywordsSelf-Sustained Tone, Acoustic Resonance, Lock-in Phenomenon, Perforated Plate, CFD and BEM
IDENTIFICATION AND PURIFICATION OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS FROM THE CLITORAL GLAND OF THE SOFT FURRED FIELD RAT, MILLARDIA MELTADA TO DEVELOP PHEROMONE TRAPS FOR THE RODENT PEST MANAGEMENT

The present investigations were carried out to find out the chemical nature of the clitorial gland extracts of the soft furred field rat, Millardia meltada and their involvement in reproductive and social behavior. Homogenates of clitoral gland of mature estrous female rats were extracted with n-hexane and dichloromethane (1:1 ratio v/v) and analyzed by gas chromatography linked mass spectrometry. Three peaks were found to be in higher concentration, which were identified as 6,11-dihydro-dibenz-b,e-oxepin-11-one (I); 2,6,10-dodecatrien-1-ol-3,7,11-trimethyl (Z) (II); and 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid butyl (2-ethylpropyl) ester (III). Odour preference tests demonstrated that the first compound attracted conspecifics of the opposite sex. By contrast, the second and third compounds were found to attract both sexes. The results conclude that the clitoral gland extracts of rat contains three major chemical compounds which have a unique function in maintaining social and reproductive status.
ISOLATION OF UROPATHOGENS AND THEIR ANTIBIOTIC SUSCEPTIBILITY PATTERN AT A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL IN NORTHERN INDIA

Objective: The objective of the study was to know the isolation rate and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of pathogens causing urinary tract infection (UTI). Methods: A total of 500 urine samples of clinically suspected UTI were collected from January 2019 to June 2019. The samples were inoculated on Cystine Lactose Electrolyte-Deficient agar and incubated at 37°C for 24 h. Results: In our study, 303 (60.6%) samples showed growth of isolates. Among 303 isolates, 31 were Candida spp. which was not included in the study. Out of 272 isolates, Escherichia coli was 31.68%, followed by Klebsiella spp. (27.72%), Enterococcus faecalis (22.44%), Citrobacter spp. (3.96%), Staphylococcus aureus (2.64%), and Pseudomonas spp. (1.32%). For Gram-negative and Gram-positive isolates, the most effective antibiotic was nitrofurantoin. Conclusion: The study shows E. coli as the predominant pathogen that causes UTI. Nitrofurantoin and fosfomycin showed very high susceptibility to uropathogens and can be used to treat primary or uncomplicated UTI.
An Escalating Model of Children’s Robot Abuse

We reveal the process of children engaging in such serious abuse as kicking and punching robots. In study 1, we established a process model of robot abuse and used a qualitative analysis method specialized for time-series data: the Trajectory Equifinality Model (TEM). With the TEM method, we analyzed interactions from nine children who committed serious robot abuse from which we developed a multi-stage model: the abuse escalation model. The model has four stages: approach, mild abuse, physical abuse, and escalation. For each stage, we identified social guides (SGs), which are influencing events that fuel the stage. In study 2, we conducted a quantitative analysis to examine the effect of these SGs. We analyzed 12 hours of data that included 522 children who visited the observed area nearby the robot, coded their behaviors, and statistically tested whether the presence of each SG promoted the stage. Our analysis confirmed the correlations of four SGs and children’s behaviors: the presence of other children related a new child to approach the robot (SG1); mild abuse by another child related a child to do mild abuse (SG2); physical abuse by another child related a child to conduct physical abuse (SG3); and encouragement from others related a child to escalate the abuse (SG5). CCS CONCEPTS •Human-centered computing → User studies •Applied computing → Psychology Acm Reference Format: Sachie Yamada, Takayuki Kanda, and Kanako Tomita. 2020. An Escalating Model of Children’s Robot Abuse. In Proceedings of the 2020 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI ‘20), March 23–26, 2020, Cambridge, United Kingdom. ACM, New York, NY, USA, 9 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/3319502.3374833
ENHANCEMENT OF DOMPERIDONE DISSOLUTION RATE VIA FORMULATION OF ADSORBATES AND CO-ADSORBATES

The aim of this study was to enhance the dissolution rate of waterinsoluble, weakly basic antiemetic drug; Domperidone (DMP), through the formulation of adsorbates and co-adsorbates. Adsorption of drug onto the surface of three different adsorbents; Avicel PH 101, Florite R and Aerosil 200 was studied and Langmuir adsorption isotherms were constructed. Adsorbates of drug with the used adsorbents were prepared in different weight ratios by physical mixing, grinding and solvent evaporation methods. Co-adsorbates of drug with Aerosil 200 and Tween 80 were prepared by solvent evaporation method in different weight ratios. The prepared systems were physico-chemically characterized by Fouriertransform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and powder X-ray diffractometry (PXRD). FT-IR data confirmed the absence of any chemical interaction between DMP and the used adsorbents. P-XRD results confirmed the transformation of some systems from the crystalline state to the amorphous state which aided in the dissolution rate enhancement. Furthermore, the in-vitro dissolution rate of drug from these systems was studied which showed marked enhancement of DMP dissolution rate at both pH 1.2 and pH 6.8 (7 fold and 5 fold, respectively) compared to drug alone . It can be concluded that the dissolution rate of DMP was markedly improved via formulation of adsorbates and co-adsorbates. INTRODUCTION: Domperidone (DMP) is 5chloro-1-[1-[3-(2, 3 dihydro – 2 – oxo 1H benzimidazol-1-yl)-propyl] 4-piperidinyl]-1, 3dihydro-2H-benzimidazol-2-one, with a molecular formula of C22H24ClN2O5. It is a dopamine (D2) receptor antagonist. DMP is used for the treatment and prevention of acute nausea and vomiting of any cause; especially cytotoxic therapy and radiotherapy. 1 DMP is practically insoluble in water (1 part in 50,000 part of water) and has a pka value of 7.9 so, it is a weakly basic drug with a very poor dissolution rate at relatively high pH values. 2 QUICK RESPONSE CODE DOI: 10.13040/IJPSR.0975-8232.7(3). 951-60 Article can be accessed online on: www.ijpsr. com DOI link: http://dx.doi. org/10.13040/IJPSR.0975-8232.7 (3). 951-60 This makes the absorption of drug dissolution ratelimited and lowers the oral bioavailability to 1317%. 3 The low oral bioavailability of DMP required administration of high doses which have been reported to be associated with cardiac side effects. 4 In 2014, The European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommended reduction of dose to 30 mg daily for adults and 0.25 mg/kg up to 3 times daily for children and decided to withdraw any dosage form delivering higher doses from market. 4 The challenge was to achieve maximum therapeutic benefits using the lowest possible dose. The aim of current study was to deal with this challenge and improve the dissolution rate of DMP via formulation of adsorbates and co-adsorbates to enhance its absorption and consequently, the oral bioavailability. Adsorption of drugs onto adsorbents helps to increase the effective surface area of drug and thus, improves the drug
IMPACT OF INSTRUCTIONAL SCAFFOLDING ON STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT IN CHEMISTRY IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN EBONYI STATE OF NIGERIA

This study investigated effects of instructional scaffolding on achievement of senior secondary students in chemistry in Ebonyi State of Nigeria. It also studied the interactive effects of scaffolding and gender on achievement of senior secondary school students in chemistry. Three research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. The method of data collection was experimental, were simple random sampling technique was applied to select a total sample of ninety (90) students from the ten secondary schools used for the study. The instruments for data collection were chemistry scaffolding Achievement Test (CSAT) for the treatment group and Conventional Instructional Package (CIP) for the control group. Mean and standard deviation were used for the analysis of the data. The hypotheses were tested using ANCOVA at the level of significance of 0.05. The reliability of the instrument was calculated using Kuder-Richardson (K-R20) procedure, from which a reliability coefficient of 0.85 was obtained. Table 1 presented result on the effect of instructional scaffolding on senior secondary school students’ achievement in chemistry. The result obtained from Table 2 on effect of gender on students’ achievement using scaffolding method proved that the male students performed better than the female students. Table 3, which presented result on interactive effects of scaffolding and gender revealed that there is no significant interaction, as both performed well. The researcher made the following recommendations. Teachers should regularly apply instructional scaffolding method to enhance the effectiveness of their instructions; students should abide by scaffolding method of instruction when adopted by the teacher to enhance retention and long term learning; and the school authorities should on regular basis supervise classroom instructions to promote the application of instructional scaffolding by the teachers.
Discussion on the clinical efficacy of blood purification in children with acute and chronic renal failure and its effect on serum levels of TNF-Ã?Â± and TGF-Ã?Â21

Purpose: To discuss the clinical efficacy and safety of blood purification therapies (BPT) in children with acute and chronic renal failure and its effect on serum levels of TNF-α and TGF-β1 Methods: 75 children with acute and chronic renal failure were selected ,who were admitted to hospital between January 2012 and August 2016.Among them were 58 cases of acute renal failure (ARF) and 17 cases of chronic renal failure (CRF), We treated these children with blood purification had a comparative analysis of changes of indicators before and after blood purification. Serum levels of TNFα, TGF-β 1 were analyzed by ELISA method. Results: After BPT, both ARF and CRF group had stable vital signs, except the levels of blood pressure, serum creatinine, urea nitrogen and uric acid decreased. These differences were statistically significant (P<0.05) compared with those before treatment; Electrolyte imbalances of ARF and CRF group were corrected, and the differences were also statistically significant (P<0.05); White cell counts of ARF group were significantly lowered into the normal range after BPT, and with reduced neutrophil counts and elevated lymphocyte counts, those differences were statistically significant (P<0.05); Red cell counts of CRF group increased after BPT, the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). Serum levels of TNF-α, TGF-β 1 of ARF and CRF group were significantly reduced compared with those before BPT, those differences were statistically significant (P<0.05) Conclusion: Blood purification for treatment of children with renal failure was safe and effective, The scavenging effects of BPT on serum creatinine, urea nitrogen, uric acid, TNF-α and TGF-β 1 were obvious. Accepted on January 19, 2017