Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
REASONS FOR DEFERRAL IN DEFERRED VOLUNTARY BLOOD DONORS IN EASTERN CROATIA

SUMMARY When choosing a voluntary blood donor (VBD), it is important to ensure the donor health, and at the same time to produce a quality and safe blood product. The donor selection process leads to donor rejection related to their current health condition. The aim of this study was to determine gender differences in VBDs, to examine the reasons for their rejection, and to determine the share of permanently and temporarily deferred VBD, especially due to low hemoglobin levels. The research was conducted in eastern Croatia in the 2014 to 2018 period. The study included 144,041 blood donations from a total of 80,418 VBDs, of which 83.3% of donations were from male VBDs and 16.7% from female VBDs. There were 11.46% of temporarily deferred and permanently rejected donors. Out of all temporarily deferred donors and possible reasons for deferral, the largest share of deferrals referred to a reduced hemoglobin level, which accounted for 54% in female VBD and 46% in male VBD. Female VBDs made up to one-third of total VBDs and account for one-sixth of total blood donations. Low hemoglobin was the most common reason for VBD deferral. Gender and age are related to blood hemoglobin levels in rejected and accepted donors. Female VBDs represent a potential reservoir for increasing the total number of VBDs.
A new specimen of Acrocanthosaurus atokensis (Theropoda, Dinosauria) from the Lower Cretaceous Antlers Formation (Lower Cretaceous, Aptian) of Oklahoma, USA

A new skeleton of Acrocanthosaurus atokensis is the most complete specimen collected and has the only known complete skull. Aspects of the new skeleton are described in detail, with special attention directed to the morphology of the skull and forelimb. Although unquestionably one of the largest theropods ever found, it is smaller than Carcharodontosaurus, Giganotosaurus and Tyrannosaurus. Comparison with other theropods suggests that Acrocanthosaurus bears a strong resemblance to these taxa because of characters that are size determinate, and the evidence suggests Acrocanthosaurus is more closely related to Allosauridae than to Carcharodontosauridae. Three families (Allosauridae, Carcharodontosauridae, Sinraptoridae) are recognized in the Allosauroidea.
The Relationship-between the Extent of Iraqi EFL Learners’ Pragmatic-Knowledge of Apology and Request-Speech Acts and Their Ability to Comprehend and Produce Them: Is Language Proficiency-Level-Important?

This study examined the pragmatic understanding of request and apology speech acts among Iraqi EFL students, and how pragmatic instruction can improve their performance. The article also explored the relationship between language proficiency and the ability to comprehend and produce these speech acts, and gathered perceptions of the instruction from learners and the teacher. The study used the Oxford Quick Placement Test and the Multiple-choice Discourse Completion Test, as well as conducting semi-structured interviews. The results showed that the experimental group had a significant improvement in pragmatic knowledge compared to the control group, and that language proficiency did not affect performance in the experimental group. Both learners and the teacher had positive attitudes towards the instruction. The study provides pedagogical implications and suggestions for future research
Soil moisture precipitation feedbacks in the Eastern European Alpine region in convection‐permitting climate simulations

A novel convection permitting modelling framework that combines a pseudo‐global warming approach with continuously forced deep soil moisture from prescribed perturbation storylines is applied in the Eastern European Alpine region and parts of the Pannonian Basin to investigate soil moisture precipitation (SMP) feedbacks on summertime precipitation and the feedbacks’ role under changed climate conditions. A set of 1‐year convection‐permitting (3 km horizontal grid spacing) soil moisture sensitivity simulations with the regional climate model of the Consortium for Small‐Scale Modelling in Climate Mode are conducted. In order to account for global warming, end‐of‐the‐century climate change effects from four global climate models, projecting the greenhouse gas concentration scenario RCP 8.5, are imprinted. The simulations reveal that (1) the locations of precipitation events are highly sensitive to soil moisture modifications while intensities and the internal structure of precipitation events are nearly unaffected and (2) high precipitation intensities are more likely in combinations with positive temporal but distinctive (either strong positive or strong negative) spatial SMP coupling. Low precipitation intensities are in favour of combinations of negative temporal and positive spatial coupling. The analyses suggest that soil moisture at a given time acts as a guiding field for the location of the next precipitation event. Interestingly, this behaviour is independent of climate change, although the coupling strength's increase is 1.5–1.7 times larger than expected from linear climate change scaling when climate becomes 50% dryer. Finally, it is found that (1) local deviations in the climate change signal of summertime precipitation in the range of up to ±40% are caused by uncertainty in deep soil moisture in the range of ±10% and (2) these local deviations in the climate change signal are dominated by soil moisture uncertainty in future climate conditions.
A Consistent Research Design for Value Relevance Studies

We argue that Ohlson's linear solution to the residual earnings (RE) equation, a crucial component of widely used value relevance research designs, is not necessarily a linear regression. Moreover, its coefficients are firm-dependent. As such, its empirical specifications, the price-levels and the returns-earnings regressions are structurally ill-suited for consistent inference in cross-sections. We prove the existence of a non-linear regression solution to the RE equation and propose a valuation-based research design that builds on such a solution and warrants a consistent estimation of the empirical specification. Its estimation turns out to be an optimal implementation of the price-to-book (P/B) multiple valuation, an easy-to-apply technique familiar to the accounting community. The proposed regression view on multiple valuation identifies the P/B value with a price that incorporates earnings expectations formed only on the basis of the current levels of the RE drivers. Using a large sample of US non-financial firms over almost 40 years, we document the usefulness of the alternative research design through a comparative testing of two economically-motivated and intuitively-appealing predictions: earnings volatility and the quality of accruals are value-relevant. While the standard research design does not validate them, the approach based on the regression solution to the RE shows a significant association between prices and the two attributes for most of the years in the sample.
Stable coalition structures with uni-dimensional set of alternatives

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Use of Secondary Metabolites Profiling and Antioxidant Activity to Unravel the Differences between Two Species of Nettle

In recent years, the interest in natural remedies has increased, so it is important to analyze the plants widely distributed in nature but whose composition is little known. The main objective of the present work is to obtain information based on the profiles of secondary metabolites and antioxidant activity in Lamium album, a very widespread but little studied plant, with the aim of revealing the differences compared to Urtica dioica. First, the optimization of enzymatic extraction assisted by ultrasound was carried out by the Box–Behnken method. The optimized parameters were: concentration of the enzyme—3.3% cellulase, temperature—55 °C, and the extraction time—40.00 min. The efficiency was estimated based on the content of iridoids, the main class of secondary metabolites from Lamium album. Second, the secondary metabolites profiles of the nettle extracts were obtained by thin-layer chromatography using both normal and reverse phases and by RP-UHPLC. The antioxidant activity was evaluated using DPPH and ABTS+ radicals. The obtained results revealed significant differences between the two nettle species, both in terms of the phytochemical compounds, as well as the antioxidant activity, confirming the fact that Lamium album has a high potential to be used in phytomedicine.
Revisiting the cosmic-ray induced Venusian ionization with the Atmospheric Radiation Interaction Simulator (AtRIS)

Context. Cosmic ray bombardment represents a major source of ionization in planetary atmospheres. The higher the energy of the primary cosmic ray particles, the deeper they can penetrate into the atmosphere. In addition, incident high energy cosmic ray particles induce extensive secondary particle cascades (“air showers”) that can contain up to several billion secondary particles per incoming primary particle. To quantify cosmic ray-induced effects on planetary atmospheres it is therefore important to accurately model the entire secondary particle cascade. This is particularly important in thick planetary atmospheres where the secondary particle cascades can develop extensively before being absorbed by the surface. Aims. Inside the Venusian atmosphere, cosmic rays are the dominant driver for the ionization below an altitude of ~100 km. In this work we revisit the numerical modeling of the galactic and solar cosmic-ray induced atmospheric ionization for cosmic ray ions from Hydrogen (Z = 1) to Nickel (Z = 28) and investigate the influence of strong solar energetic particle events inside the Venusian atmosphere. Methods. The Atmospheric Radiation Interaction Simulator (AtRIS), a newly developed simulation code to model the interaction of the near-(exo)planet particle and radiation field with the (exo)planetary atmosphere, was used to revisit the modeling of the altitude-dependent Venusian atmospheric ionization. Thereby, spherical geometry, the newest version of Geant4 (10.5) as well as the newest Geant4-based hadronic and electromagnetic interaction models were utilized. Results. Based on our new model approach we show that previous studies may have underestimated the galactic cosmic ray-induced atmospheric ion pair production by, amongst others, underestimating the influence of galactic cosmic ray protons above 1 TeV/nuc. Furthermore, we study the influence of 71 exceptionally strong solar particle events that were measured as Ground Level Enhancements at the Earth’s surface, and show a detailed analysis of the impact of such strong events on the Venusian ionization.
A multimodal dialog approach to mental state characterization in clinically depressed, anxious, and suicidal populations

Background The rise of depression, anxiety, and suicide rates has led to increased demand for telemedicine-based mental health screening and remote patient monitoring (RPM) solutions to alleviate the burden on, and enhance the efficiency of, mental health practitioners. Multimodal dialog systems (MDS) that conduct on-demand, structured interviews offer a scalable and cost-effective solution to address this need. Objective This study evaluates the feasibility of a cloud based MDS agent, Tina, for mental state characterization in participants with depression, anxiety, and suicide risk. Method Sixty-eight participants were recruited through an online health registry and completed 73 sessions, with 15 (20.6%), 21 (28.8%), and 26 (35.6%) sessions screening positive for depression, anxiety, and suicide risk, respectively using conventional screening instruments. Participants then interacted with Tina as they completed a structured interview designed to elicit calibrated, open-ended responses regarding the participants' feelings and emotional state. Simultaneously, the platform streamed their speech and video recordings in real-time to a HIPAA-compliant cloud server, to compute speech, language, and facial movement-based biomarkers. After their sessions, participants completed user experience surveys. Machine learning models were developed using extracted features and evaluated with the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Results For both depression and suicide risk, affected individuals tended to have a higher percent pause time, while those positive for anxiety showed reduced lip movement relative to healthy controls. In terms of single-modality classification models, speech features performed best for depression (AUC = 0.64; 95% CI = 0.51–0.78), facial features for anxiety (AUC = 0.57; 95% CI = 0.43–0.71), and text features for suicide risk (AUC = 0.65; 95% CI = 0.52–0.78). Best overall performance was achieved by decision fusion of all models in identifying suicide risk (AUC = 0.76; 95% CI = 0.65–0.87). Participants reported the experience comfortable and shared their feelings. Conclusion MDS is a feasible, useful, effective, and interpretable solution for RPM in real-world clinical depression, anxiety, and suicidal populations. Facial information is more informative for anxiety classification, while speech and language are more discriminative of depression and suicidality markers. In general, combining speech, language, and facial information improved model performance on all classification tasks.
Comparison of habitual physical activity in French Bulldogs, Pugs and normocephalic dogs by accelerometry

Brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS) is a major welfare concern in flat-faced dog breeds. As BOAS causes respiratory difficulties and exercise intolerance, it can reduce dogs’ daily quality of life (QOL). However, evaluation of QOL in dogs is difficult, and many owners perceive BOAS signs as ‘normal’ for the breed. Accelerometers that measure frequency, duration and intensity of activities can offer an objective way of evaluating dogs’ daily activity and thereby deliver potential insights into QOL. The aim of this study was to assess habitual physical activity of 48 brachycephalic and 23 non-brachycephalic dogs using accelerometers. The accelerometers were used for one week and owners filled in a questionnaire regarding their dog’s well-being and activities. Veterinary-assessed BOAS grading for brachycephalic dogs was determined. Compared with controls, more severely affected French Bulldogs and Pugs had significantly lower total activity counts and spent less time in high activity. In Pugs, mildly affected dogs were also less active, but age can be a contributing factor here, as older age decreased activity in Pugs and controls showed a wider age range. In French Bulldogs, those dogs with no or mild signs of BOAS did not differ from controls regarding their daily activity. In conclusion, accelerometers were easy to use for objective measurement of daily activity in bracycephalic dogs, although a degree of discomfort due to the collar was reported. Results showed that BOAS signs were associated with decreased habitual physical activity. These findings emphasise the importance of actions taken to reduce incidence of BOAS in brachycephalic breeds.
Forage Production Potential of Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), Maize (Zea mays) and Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) Under Sole and Intercropping Systems

Field experiment was conducted during summer 2007 at Navsari campus on clay in textured soils with different cereal-legume fodders under sole and intercropping systems for getting higher fodder yield and economics. Green and dry fodder yields of sorghum/maize, cropping systems either sole sorghum or sorghum + cowpea in the ratio of 2:1 were equally good and superior to rest of the systems. The intercropping of sorghum with cowpea in a row ratio of 2:1 recorded maximum land-equivalent ratio (1.51), gross (Rs 60744/- ha-1) and net (Rs 50031/- ha-1) return along with higher benefit: cost ratio (5.67).
Efficacy of Peer-Group Support on Resilience and Self-Esteem of Adolescents with Parents with Mood Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Over 21% of children live in households where at least one parent has a mental illness. Peer-group support is one of the programs designed for children to protect them from the consequences of parents’ mental diseases and aims to increase children’s knowledge of mental illnesses and strengthen their adaptability. Objectives: This study aims to examine the effectiveness of peer-group support on the resilience and self-esteem of adolescents whose parents have mood disorders. Methods: This randomized clinical trial was conducted in clinics affiliated with the Kashan University of Medical Sciences on adolescents aged 12 - 18 years whose parents suffered from mood disorders. The participants were divided into the intervention and control groups. In the intervention group, a psychiatric assistant held 90-minute sessions every week for eight consecutive weeks. Participants in both groups answered two questionnaires (Connor and Davidson Resilience and Rosenberg Self-Esteem) before and after the intervention. Results: Based on our results, except for the subscale of resilience: trust in individual instincts, there was no significant difference in the scores obtained by the adolescents in the two study groups after the intervention; however, the scores obtained showed elevation compared to the baseline. Participants felt more relieved and reported an increase in their awareness of mental illnesses after participating in peer-group sessions. Conclusions: Peer-group support for eight weeks increased the self-esteem and resilience scores of adolescents with parents with mood disorders. However, these increases were not statistically significant, requiring studies with larger sample sizes to obtain more accurate measurements.
Association Between Pre-Transplant Oral Health and Post-Liver Transplant Complications

Oral disease is linked with systemic inflammation and various systemic conditions, including chronic liver disease. Liver transplantation (LT) candidates often need dental infection focus eradication, and after LT, there is high risk of many inflammation-related complications. We studied whether pre-LT dental status is associated with the occurrence of post-LT complications. This study included 225 adult LT recipients whose teeth were examined and treated before LT, and 40 adult LT recipients who did not have pre-LT dental data available. Data on post-LT complications were collected from the national liver transplant registry and followed up until the end of July 2020. Worse pre-LT dental status was associated with a higher risk of acute rejection post-LT compared to patients with good dental status. Worse dental status was also associated with higher 1-year-post-LT ALT levels and lower albumin levels. In conclusion, poor pre-LT oral health seems to associate with an increased risk of post-LT acute rejection and with elevated ALT levels and decreased albumin levels, suggesting an effect on post-LT liver health. Therefore, prevention and treatment of oral and dental diseases should be promoted early in the course of liver disease.
The Development of a Pilot App Targeting Short-Term and Prospective Memory in People Diagnosed with Dementia

Background: According to the World Health Organization, people suffering from dementia exhibit a serious decline in various cognitive domains and especially in memory. Aims: This study aims to create a pilot computer app to enhance short-term memory and prospective memory in individuals with dementia using errorless learning based on their individualized needs. Methods: Fifteen dementia patients and matched controls, matched for age, sex, and education, were selected. Their daily routines were analyzed, and cognitive abilities were assessed using the MoCA test. Considering the participants’ illness severity and daily needs, the pilot app was designed to aid in remembering daily tasks (taking medication and meals), object locations, and familiar faces and names. Results: An improvement in patients’ short-term and prospective memory throughout the training sessions, but not in overall cognitive functioning was observed. A statistically significant difference between patients and healthy controls was indicated in their ability to retain information relevant to them in their short-term memory, or to remember to act in the future following schedules organized at present (p < 0.001). Conclusion: This app appears beneficial for training dementia patients and healthy individuals in addressing memory challenges. Recommendation: While the pilot app showed promise, further research with larger samples is recommended.
Effects of White Fish Meal Replaced by Low-Quality Brown Fish Meal with Compound Additives on Growth Performance and Intestinal Health of Juvenile American Eel (Anguilla rostrata)

Simple Summary There is a high demand for white fish meal in the diet of eels (Anguilla spp.). A reduced supply and higher price of white fish meal heavily limit the sustainability of the eel aquaculture industry. It is essential to explore a practical strategy to reduce the consumption of white fish meal. In the current study, we investigated the effects of low-quality brown fish meal with compound additives to replace the high-quality white fish meal on the parameters of growth and intestinal health status of juvenile American eels (Anguilla rostrata). The results implied that low-quality brown fish meal combined with compound additives could successfully replace 20% white fish meal without adversely affecting the intestinal health status of this fish species. Abstract With a reduced supply and increased price of white fish meal (WFM), the exploration of a practical strategy to replace WFM is urgent for sustainable eel culture. A 70-day feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of replacing WFM with low-quality brown fish meal (LQBFM) with compound additives (CAs) on the growth performance and intestinal health of juvenile American eels (Anguilla rostrata). The 300 fish (11.02 ± 0.02 g/fish) were randomly distributed in triplicate to four groups (control group, LQBFM20+CAs group, LQBFM30+CAs group and LQBFM40+CAs group). They were fed the diets with LQBFM replacing WFM at 0, 20%, 30% and 40%, respectively. The CAs were a mixture of Macleaya cordata extract, grape seed proanthocyanidins and compound acidifiers; its level in the diets of the trial groups was 0.50%. No significant differences were found in the growth performance between the control and LQBFM20+CAs groups (p > 0.05), whereas those values were significantly decreased in LQBFM30+CAs and LQBFM40+CAs groups (p < 0.05). Compared to the control group, the activity of glutamic-pyruvic transaminase was significantly increased in LQBFM30+CAs and LQBFM40+CAs groups, while lysozyme activity and complement 3 level were significantly decreased in those two groups (p < 0.05). There were decreased antioxidant potential and intestinal morphological indexes in the LQBFM30+CAs and LQBFM40+CAs groups, and no significant differences in those parameters were observed between the control group and LQBFM20+CAs group (p > 0.05). The intestinal microbiota at the phylum level or genus level was beneficially regulated in the LQBFM20+CAs group; similar results were not shown in the LQBFM40+CAs group. In conclusion, with 0.50% CA supplementation in the diet, LQBFM could replace 20% of WFM without detrimental effects on the growth and intestinal health of juvenile American eels and replacing 30% and 40%WFM with LQBFM might exert negative effects on this fish species.