Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Correlation of Dietary Advanced Glycation End Products with the Hematological and Biochemical Markers of Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease Undergoing Hemodialysis

Aim The advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are among the mechanisms responsible for the pathogenesis and development of chronic kidney disease. The aim of this study was to estimate the dietary AGE intake and to assess its correlation with hematological and biochemical markers of patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing hemodialysis. Materials and methods For this study, a structured questionnaire of the exogenous AGEs was developed, whose reliability and validity were evaluated in the pilot phase of the study including 50 participants. The questionnaire was issued to 605 participants (305 ESRD patients undergoing hemodialysis and 300 controls), and a blood sample was obtained through which hematological and biochemical markers were analyzed. Results It was noted that patients with ESRD consume large quantities of dietary AGEs not only in absolute values but also in comparison with control subjects (p = 0.001), attributed mainly to the methods of product processing as well as cooking. It was also ascertained that dietary AGEs were correlated (p < 0.005) with fasting glucose and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and with lipidemic profile markers, such as triglyceride, as well as inflammation markers, such as erythrocyte sedimentation rate, ferritin, and C-reactive protein. All the aforementioned markers show abnormally increased levels in patients with ERSD and diabetes compared with healthy subjects. Conclusion Patients with ESRD consuming foods favoring AGE formations combined with increased endogenous AGE burden the body with their harmful action. If the specific group of patients adopt dietary habits contributing to the containment or the inhibition of AGE formation, then this would lead to the improvement of their hematological and biochemical markers and in terms of the effects of AGEs on their health is deemed imperative through the creation of consulting and prevention programs.
COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN DEXAMETHASONE AND FENTANYL AS AN ADJUVANT TO BUPIVACAINE IN ULTRASOUND GUIDED SUPRACLAVICULAR BRACHIAL PLEXUS BLOCK IN UPPER LIMB SURGERIES

Background: Brachial plexus block is a popular and widely employed regional nerve block technique for perioperative anesthesia and analgesia for surgery of the upper extremity and supraclavicular approach is the easiest and most consistent method for surgery below the shoulder joint. Objectives: The aim of this the study was to compare the effect of Bupivacaine plus Dexamethasone versus Bupivacaine plus Fentanyl in ultrasound guided supra-clavicular approach of the brachial plexus block for upper limb surgeries as regards: Onset of the block, duration of the block, postoperative analgesia, and hemodynamic parameters. Patients and Methods: This prospective double – blinded, randomized controlled trial study included 60 patients of both sexes, scheduled for upper limb surgeries (Orthopedic and Plastic surgeries ). They were divided into two equal groups: Group 1: (Fentanyl group): Bupivacaine+ Fentanyl. Group 2: (Dexamethasone group): Bupivacaine + Dexamethasone. The following parameters were assessed between the two groups: Sensory Block, motor block, time of block, analgesia duration and hemodynamics. Results: The current study showed that the addition of dexamethasone to bupivacaine for supraclavicular brachial plexus block leads to prolongation of motor and sensory block duration, prolongation of duration of analgesia. Onset of motor and sensory block was shorter in fentanyl group than dexamethasone group. Conclusion: The addition of dexamethasone to bupivacaine prolonged the time of block and analgesia duration longer than fentanyl. Also, the onset of block was shorter when fentanyl was added to bupivacaine.
Cytokine and Chemokine Responses Influencing the Outcome of Japanese Encephalitis in Paediatric Age Group

The role of early innate and cellular immune response in determining the outcome of Japanese Encephalitis Virus infection is yet to be fully understood. An attempt was made to understand the immunological response to Japanese Encephalitis Virus infection in influencing the outcome variables. Methods: Cytometric Bead Array (CBA) Human Flex set (BD Biosciences, San Jose, CA) were used for estimation of levels of four cytokines (IL-4, IL-6, IFN-γ and TNF-α) and two chemokines ( IL-8 and RANTES) as per manufacturer’s instructions. Results: Of the biomolecules examined we found RANTES in 92%, INF-γ in 88%, IL-8 in 84% and IL-6 in 80% of CSF samples. Similarly 91 % of acute serum samples were confirmed for presence of IL-8 and IL-6. In acute serum samples the level of proinflammatory chemokine IL-8 was significantly higher in study subjects who developed disability in comparison to those who recovered completely. We also witnessed significantly higher level of TNF-α in CSF who recovered completely than the children who recovered with disability. A significantly higher level of IL-6 was found in 1-5 years age group compared to age group of 5-12 years. Conclusions: The overall objective of this research work was to address the fundamental issues that underlie the immunological responses of JE in children. The immunological findings of our study corroborate that cytokines and chemokines play a decisive role in outcome of Japanese encephalitis infection. Present research findings have opened the possibility to work further on immunological response of this most cripple disease in children.
Inhibitory Activity of a Scorpion Defensin BmKDfsin3 against Hepatitis C Virus

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major worldwide health problem which can cause chronic hepatitis, liver fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). There is still no vaccine to prevent HCV infection. Currently, the clinical treatment of HCV infection mainly relies on the use of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) which are expensive and have side effects. Here, BmKDfsin3, a scorpion defensin from the venom of Mesobuthus martensii Karsch, is found to dose-dependently inhibit HCV infection at noncytotoxic concentrations and affect viral attachment and post-entry in HCV life cycle. Further experimental results show that BmKDfsin3 not only suppresses p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation of HCV-infected Huh7.5. 1 cells, but also inhibits p38 activation of Huh7.5. 1 cells stimulated by tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS). BmKDfsin3 is also revealed to enter into cells. Using an upstream MyD88 dimerization inhibitor ST2345 or kinase IRAK-1/4 inhibitor I, the inhibition of p38 activation represses HCV replication in vitro. Taken together, a scorpion defensin BmKDfsin3 inhibits HCV replication, related to regulated p38 MAPK activation.
Identification of the parameters of a vehicle crashing into a round pillar

This article presents a study on reconstruction of a crash of a passenger car – Opel Mokka, into a pillar. Computer simulations were performed with software V-SIM4, both for default data and data identified from the crash test. The crash test was performed by AUTOBILD and DEKRA. The frontal collision with a pillar is not a standard crash test recommended by the Directives of Communauté Économique Européenne (CEE), even though this type of collision poses a serious threat to the safety of vehicle users. The threat comes from the large penetration of the vehicle body through the pillar. These accidents are difficult to reconstruct with the programs applied by expert witnesses, because they require a lot of experience and changes in many parameters. Identification of these parameters is critical in this case. Values of the parameters were identified from recorded images. The obtained results of simulation show strong sensitivity of the accident course to the position of the force application point, which acts between the pillar and the vehicle. Also, the key factors are: contact parameters, identification of the initial conditions, sensitivity of the course of the accident to the adopted values of the parameters, and knowledge of the limitations of any software. Many expert witnesses do not even realise that their results of simulations, based on default values, are faulty. The process of obtaining an agreement between the simulation and experimental results is a time-consuming iteration process. This process is described in this article, which is address to expert witnesses and researchers; moreover, a direction for development of software was suggested.
Supplementary Material Weakly-Supervised Discovery of Geometry-Aware Representation for 3 D Human Pose Estimation Anonymous CVPR submission

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The Zero Lower Bound and Financial Stability: A New Role for Central Banks?

Are critics’ concerns for bank profitability a justification for the European Central Bank to raise interest rates from the (zero) lower bound (ZLB)? Using a general equilibrium model with banks and collateral default, we analyze optimal monetary and regulatory policy upon departure from the ZLB. Rather than supporting bank profits, higher interest rates depress inflation when higher debt servicing costs increase losses from default. Precisely these losses offset any gains from banks’ interest margin. Monetary policy operates beyond traditional channels, stressing the relevance of Fisherian debt-deflation forces. They warrant incorporating financial stability objectives into central banks’ objective function.
Influence of Strategic Technology on Service Delivery in Public Service: A Case Study of Directorate of Immigration and Registration of Persons

Service delivery is the main mandate of the public sector and efficiency is critical to service delivery. However, the public sector has experienced several challenges in service delivery provision that impact the quality, timeliness and costs of these services. In the Directorate of Immigration and Registration of Persons (DIRP),consequences for poor service delivery includes lack of adequate access to documents such as national identity cards, birth and death certificates. Consequently, the public sector in Kenya has been making substantial investment in strategic technology to improve its service delivery capability. However, how this strategic technology improves service delivery function remains a key question given the challenges the DIRP. This study, therefore, sought to examine the influence of application of strategic technology on service delivery at DIRP. Amongst the aspects of strategic technology that were examined include the influences of records management aspects and proficiency of technology usage on service delivery. This study used correlation research design and targeted the DIRP in Nairobi National Headquarters. The accessible population comprised all the 1059 employees of the directorate working at the head office distributed amongst diverse service departments. From these, Nassiuma’s formula was applied to obtain a sample size of 91 respondents. This study used proportionate stratified sampling method. They used copies of a pre-tested structured questionnaire to collect data. Data was analyzed using t-test, f-test, chi squares, correlations and multiple linear regressions. From the observations of findings, it was evident that that use of strategic technology had enhanced records management at the DIRP. In relation to Proficiency of Strategic Technology Usage, the study established that there was a significant correlation between proficiency of strategic technology usage and service delivery in the Directorate of Immigration. The study, therefore, recommends that the protocols for retrieval of information through the use of digital record management systems should be made easy for the staffs in the Directorate. The management of the Directorate should also put more emphasis on skills upgrading through trainings and workshops to ensure that skills transfer happen rapidly and that emerging issues and challenges are broadly addressed at this point.
Use of Herbal Food Additives in Fisheries

The use of vegetable products to prolong the shelf life of fish in addition to as a functional feed additive in aquaculture is expected to increase significantly in the near future. In parallel with the increasing world population, the inability to increase fisheries has made it inevitable to meet the aquaculture needs from aquaculture and this has led to the continuous increase of aquaculture and to reach a great market potential. Synthetic feed additives and antibiotics used unconsciously have become a major problem with the increase in aquaculture and in many countries restrictions on antibiotic use have been imposed. As a result of these restrictions, interest in functional feed additives has increased. It has been shown in many studies that it may be appropriate to use herbal products as an alternative to antibiotics and synthetic substances used as growth enhancers in aquaculture. Natural products, such as medicinal plants, can be widely used as feed additives to improve the efficiency of feed use and increase animal production performance. This study aims to promote the use of medicinal plants as an alternative to chemical products in the aquaculture sector.
Genetic Analysis of Behavior in Drosophila-Oxford Handbooks

The main function of brains is to generate adaptive behavior. Far from being the stereotypical, robot-like insect, the fruit fly Drosophila exhibits astounding flexibility and chooses different courses of actions even under identical external circumstances. Due to the power of genetics, we now are beginning to understand the neuronal mechanisms underlying this behavioral flexibility. Interestingly, the evidence from studies of disparate behaviors converges on common organizational principles common to many if not all behaviors, such as modified sensory processing, involvement of biogenic amines in network remodeling, ongoing activity, and modulation by feedback. Seemingly foreseeing these recent insights, the first research fields in Drosophila behavioral neurogenetics reflected this constant negotiation between internal and external demands on the animal as the common mechanism underlying adaptive behavioral choice in Drosophila.
2 Integrin a 1 b 1

Integrin a1b1 is widely expressed in mesenchyme and the immune system, as well as a minority of epithelial tissues. Signaling through a1 contributes to the regulation of extracellular matrix composition, in addition to supplying in some tissues a proliferative and survival signal that appears to be unique among the collagen binding integrins. a1 provides a tissue retention function for cells of the immune system including monocytes and T cells, where it also contributes to their longterm survival, providing for peripheral T cell memory, and contributing to diseases of autoimmunity. The viability of a1 null mice, as well as the generation of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies against this molecule, have enabled studies of the role of a1 in a wide range of pathophysiological circumstances. The immune functions of a1 make it a rational therapeutic target.
Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing for Corynebacterium Species Isolated from Clinical Samples in Romania

Antimicrobial resistance is one of the most important public health issues. Besides classical multidrug resistance species associated with medical care involved in superficial or invasive infections, there are strains less commonly associated with hospital or outpatient setting’s infections. Non-diphtheria Corynebacterium spp. could produce infections in patients with or without immune-compromised status. The aim of our study was to determine the susceptibility to antimicrobial agents to Corynebacterium spp. from clinical samples collected from Romanian hospitalized individuals and outpatients. Twenty Corynebacterium strains were isolated and identified as Corynebacterium striatum (n = 7), Corynebacterium amycolatum (n = 7), C. urealyticum (n = 3), Corynebacterium afermentans (n = 2), and Corynebacterium pseudodiphtheriticum (n = 1). All isolates have been tested for antibiotic susceptibility by standardized disc diffusion method and minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) tests. Seventeen isolates demonstrated multidrug resistance phenotypes. The molecular support responsible for high resistance to quinolones for ten of these strains was determined by the detection of point mutation in the gene sequence gyrA.
ANALYSIS OF ADHESIVE GEOMETRIC EFFECT ON FRACTURE BEHAVIOR IN APPLYING RUBBER FILLED EPOXY MATERIALS

Epoxy is widely used in industry as adhesives and binding matrix for composite materials. By adding liquid rubber into Epoxy, it is generally accepted that the toughness of the composite can be improved due to better energy absorption in fracture. This toughening effect, however, can vary with the adhesive thickness due to the preferred energy dissipation manner. In view of this phenomenon, this study investigates the geometric effect in applying rubber toughened epoxy as adhesive. Using a combination of experimental and predictive modeling approach the effect of bonding layer thickness and application dependent (modulated thickness) for rubberfilled epoxy system has been investigated. It is observed that the adhesive bonding geometry could affect both fracture initiation and propagation. The finding from this study can be applied to different types of substrates, such as bonding of laminate materials and adhesion of composite materials.
The impact of loyalty on the student satisfaction in higher education

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the image of the university, environment, facilities, student expectations, internationalization, services, financial support and perceived value have direct effect on the satisfaction and loyalty of the students of social sciences at Meijo (Private) University, Japan. ,To analyze the data, a confirmatory factor analysis was applied where it explored the associations between items and constructs and, then, utilized structural equation model (SEM) to investigate the relationships existing between constructs with the application of the R program. A structured questionnaire comprising of 52 questions were used with 10 constructs. A total of 257 students from Meijo (private) university filled in the newly developed questionnaires using seven items Likert scales. ,The study reveals a valuable insight on student satisfaction and loyalty toward the university. According to the findings, satisfaction has a positive direct impact from services and financial support provided by the university. And also loyalty has a positive strong impact on student satisfaction. On the contrary, satisfaction reveals a positive strong direct impact on loyalty too. Furthermore, there is an indirect impact of image, services and perceived value on loyalty. All the goodness of fit indices are at acceptable levels. Thus, the satisfaction of students seems to reflect quite well from the above construct, image, services, financial support and perceived values. ,This study collected data from two faculties, Faculty of Business Management and Faculty of Economics. The results of this finding cannot be generalized to the entire Meijo university student as a whole. ,This study successfully applied an SEM to identify the relationship among constructs. Thus, this research has hopefully opened up avenues for other researchers to carry out such behavioral studies with larger sample sizes by applying R program with SEM analysis.
Molecular Typing of Hospital Acquired Klebsiella Isolates from Mansoura University Children Hospital (MUCH)

Nosocomial isolates of Klebsiella species collected from Mansoura University Children Hospital during the period of the study were analysed in order to determine their epidemiological relatedness and genetic characteristics. Klebsiella isolates were characterized by biotyping, antibiotyping, plasmid profile and multiplex PCR. Klebsiella pneumoniae was the most frequent isolated nosocomial pathogen (17.0% of the total isolates), while Klebsiella oxytoca represented only 1.57%. The majority of the clinical isolates were resistant to multiple antibiotics, in particular to β-lactams, and 51.3% were found to be extendedspectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) producers. ESBL-phenotype by double disk synergy (DDS) test was associated with multiplex PCR (mPCR) pattern B; (contain wzc and blaCTX-M genes), with the exception of two isolates which were ESBL-positive by DDS, and found belonging to mPCR pattern A; (contain wzc gene only). Plasmid analysis was efficient to differentiate K. pneumoniae strains; it delineated 8 distinct plasmid profiles. However, mPCR appeared less discriminatory, since it stated only 3 genotypic groups. We also investigated an outbreak caused by a multiresistant K. pneumoniae involved 7 patients admitted to the pediatric ICU of MUCH. We assumed that the outbreak was related to a healthcare worker with onychomycosis colonized in her hands with the same ESBL-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (ESBL-Kp) strain. Molecular typing of the isolates revealed clonal similarity between the recovered strain and the isolates of the 7 cases. Plasmid analysis and mPCR proved to be effective techniques in discriminating unrelated Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates. We concluded that K. pneumoniae infections in MUCH have been caused by a variety of strain genotypes. So, tracing of the sources and revising our infection control policies were strictly implemented.
THE FAMA-FRENCH MODEL, LEVERAGE AND THE MM PROPOSITIONS

All models for the cost of capital, and associated implementation processes, should conform to the Miller-Modigliani cost of capital propositions. Consequently any sensitivity coefficients in such models must be related to the firm’s leverage. This paper applies these principles to the Fama-French model for the cost of equity and develops the relationship between its sensitivity coefficients and firm leverage. The paper then examines an empirical process developed by Fama and French (1997) to model the evolution through time of their sensitivity coefficients. It is shown that this empirical process is inconsistent with the Miller-Modigliani propositions. Separable functions are proposed for these sensitivity coefficients that are consistent with the Miller-Modigliani propositions. JEL: G12