Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On the probabilistic skill of dual‐resolution ensemble forecasts

Increasing spatial resolution and increasing ensemble size both tend to improve the skill of ensemble forecasts. Due to computational constraints, a balance needs to be found in operational NWP. Here, we examine a scenario where ensembles are formed by pooling k lower‐resolution and m higher‐resolution members such that the overall computational cost is equal to the constraint. The approach is applied to medium‐range weather forecasts with ECMWF's Integrated Forecasting System using horizontal resolutions of 18, 29 and 45 km and ensemble sizes ranging from 8 to 254 members. The methodology is similar to the multi‐level Monte‐Carlo approach but does not use stochastic perturbations that are shared between members at different levels. Probabilistic skill is quantified for 850 hPa temperature verified against analyses and 2 m temperature verified against station observations. Generally, dual‐resolution ensembles with similar numbers of lower and higher‐resolution members provide the optimal configuration for 2 m temperature prediction. In contrast, single‐resolution ensembles appear to be the most skilful for 850 hPa temperature. The dual‐resolution ensembles are a special kind of multi‐model ensemble. An analytic model describing the skill of such a multi‐model ensemble is developed and its parameters are estimated from the actual verification statistics. The model is capable of describing the general differences in behaviour between 2 m temperature and 850 hPa temperature.
Does Loyalty Matter? Impact of Brand Loyalty and Sales Promotion on Brand Equity

Abstract Brand Equity erosion due to non-consumer franchise building (non-CFB) sales promotions have been a recurring theme in extant literature. However, the disproportionate increase in non- CFB promotion activities by companies contradicts this academic view. This research provides a rationale for this inconsistency by examining the moderating impact of brand loyalty on the promotion – brand equity relationship. Results indicate that loyalty moderates the promotion-brand equity relationship, and even short term promotions enhance brand equity in certain market segments (like those dominated by spurious loyals). Practitioners can target specific loyalty groups through short term promotions without impacting Brand Equity.
The Representation of Motherless and Fatherless Homes in Novels of George Eliot

George Eliot wrote about the social, cultural, and historical issues of her time. She represented the middle-class homes in her novels and showed how the Industrial Revolution changed the very setting of domestic environment. The home became the domain of women, where they were to fulfil the nurturing duties while men moved to work place to provide for their dependents. In middle class families, the nurturing duty was not the domain of the father only in the society of this period. Fathers and mothers substituted their duties either under extraordinary circumstances or as a matter of choice. This study analyses the substitution of duties by fathers and mothers in Eliot’s novels with the help of comprehensive and interdisciplinary supporting literary, social, and historical resources like magezines and books, from the Victorian age. The study concludes that George Eliot’s homes are not perfect without a benevolent mother and responsible father.
Sex-related Differences in Spatial Ability and Signal Detection Task Performance

Sex-related differences in spatial ability have regularly shown a slight performance advantage among males on standard tests; however, the impact of these differences in real-world tasks that may depend on spatial ability has rarely been investigated. We conducted an experiment to evaluate the relationship between sex-related differences in spatial ability as quantified by two measures (Thurstone’s Mental Rotation test and the Spatial Reasoning Instrument), and performance in a conventional signal detection task. Mixed results showed some support for slightly improved male spatial ability. We then conducted a follow-up experiment to investigate sex-related differences in spatial ability and with respect to performance in a continuous signal detection task. Slight male advantages in performance of the spatial ability measures emerged, and also in the continuous signal detection task, but not for the conventional signal detection task.
Women’s participation in rural cooperatives in Iran

ABSTRACT This research aimed to investigate women’s level of participation and the factors influencing their involvement in different stages of cooperative activities in Shiraz, Iran. The statistical population consisted of the members of a women’s cooperative named “Tafihan,” which has a total population of 418 members, from which 200 were sampled. The findings show that, based on Kanji and Greenwood’s ladder of participation [2001. Participatory approaches to research and development in IIED: Learning from experience. London: IIED], women’s participation was mostly at the level of “surrender” or “acceptance,” while the least participation was seen at the level of “consultation” and “contemplation”. To explain factors influencing the amount and level of women’s participation, four main stages of cooperative activities were used in the project cycle, with a linear regression test used to find each influential factor that predicted the effect in different stages.
Analyzing Co-transcriptional Processing by Nanopore Sequencing

Human genes contain many long introns with degenerate sequence information at splice sites, requiring sophisticated mechanisms to locate and coordinate the excision of multiple introns within the same pre-mRNA transcript. Fundamental aspects of this process remain unexplored due to a lack of quantitative approaches that monitor premRNA splicing as transcripts are produced in living cells. In this dissertation, I describe an approach to directly sequence long nascent RNA molecules and the insights I learned from observing the evolution of RNA isoforms as they are transcribed and processed. To get this approach to work, I first revealed how combining two strategies for purifying nascent RNA, 4sU metabolic labeling and cellular fractionation, significantly improves the enrichment of unspliced nascent transcripts. Second, I adapted direct RNA nanopore sequencing for long nascent RNAs. Applying this technique to human cells revealed that most co-transcriptional splicing occurs after RNA polymerase II transcribes at least four kilobases of pre-mRNA, suggesting that mammalian splicing occurs distally from the transcription machinery. By contrast, I found that splicing in Drosophila cells typically occurs within two kilobases of transcribing short introns, indicating differential splicing kinetics across species and intron classes. Inhibition of the branch-site recognition complex SF3B globally abolished co-transcriptional splicing in both species demonstrating the potency of splicing inhibitors and validating the ability of this method to observe rapid changes in co-transcriptional splicing dynamics. Sequencing long isoforms of nascent RNA also reveals the order and coordination of intron splicing. I found that splicing order does not strictly follow the order of
An Important Consideration when Using Botulinum Toxin Injections for Treating Claw Foot Deformity

Objectives : In this study, we assessed the muscle contraction pattern of each toe by stimulating the flexor hallucis longus （ FHL ） and flexor digitorum longus （ FDL ） muscles in patients with claw foot deformity caused by spasticity in the lower extremity in order to increase the benefit of their botulinum toxin treatments. Subjects and Methods : Fifteen post-stroke patients （ 11 male and 4 female ; mean age, 62.3 years ） were recruited for the study. In this observational study, the muscle contraction patterns of the hallux and digits on electrical stimulation of the FHL or FDL were examined by two doctors, and the data was then analyzed. In addition, the FHL and FDL were identified in 6 feet from 3 cadaver specimens below the ankle to near the end of each muscle on each toe. Results : In muscles that could be observed, muscle contraction was observed in the hallux in every subject and in the second digit in 92.3 ％ subjects when the FHL was stimulated electrically. Muscle contraction was not observed in the second digit in 64.3 ％ of the subjects when the FDL was stimulated electrically. In the cadaver dissections, the tendons of the FHL sent fibers to the FDL tendons in all 6 feet examined. Conclusion : In conclusion, when botulinum toxin is to be injected into the FHL or FDL muscle for treating claw foot deformity in patients with lower extremity spasticity, especially when the treatment target is the second digit, the injection should be performed not only in the FDL muscle, but also in the FHL muscle to increase the effectiveness of the treatment. （
The Role of Diffusion-Weighted MRI in the Characterization of Musculoskeletal Soft Tissue Tumors

Background: magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has an important role in characterization of soft tissue tumors, yet, it lacks specificity for differentiation between the benign and malignant lesions. Aim of the Work: this study aimed to evaluate the ability of DW MRI in detection and characterization of the musculoskeletal soft tissue tumors. Patients and methods: this prospective study included 30 patients (20 females and 10 males) referred to MRI unit Ain shams University Hospital for MRI evaluation of musculoskeletal soft tissue tumors. Results: from 30 cases, 12 cases were benign (40%), 18 cases malignant (60%). From 12 cases of the benign, 8 cases were ≤ 40 years and 4 cases were > 40. From 18 cases of the malignant, 7 cases were ≤ 40 and 11 cases > 40. Ranging of ADC value of benign tumors (1.72-2.58); mean ADC (2.21 ´ 10-3 mm2/sec). Ranging of ADC value of malignant tumors was 0.52-1.82. Mean ADC value was 0.90 ´ 10-3 mm2/sec. Cut-off ADC value ≤ 1.14 less than 1.14 was benign and more than 1.14 was malignant; sensitivity 94.4% and specificity 91.7%. Conclusion: DWI with ADC mapping and measurement of ADC value proved to be a valuable non –invasive tool in differentiating between benign and malignant musculoskeletal soft tissue tumors. Recommendations: a larger population for future studies is needed. Thus, histopathologic work up is required for reliable characterization of soft tissue tumors (4).
HMGB1 as A Therapeutic Target in Autoimmune Diseases: The Journey So Far.

Although the adaptive immune system has been a focus of research on joint disease over the past decades, the critical role of innate immunity in the pathogenesis of many autoimmune diseases has been emphasized only in recent years. Treatment of these autoimmune diseases has confronted many challenges. There’s therefore the need to target host pathogenic proteins which influence to a great extent a number of these autoimmune diseases. High-mobility group box-1 (HMGB1), a unique and important pathogenic protein, has been implicated as a pro-inflammatory cytokine in the pathogenesis of various inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. As an important inflammatory factor, HMGB1 is involved in many cardiovascular diseases, autoimmune disease pathogenesis, and CD4 T-cell differentiation and modulation. In this review, we will highlight recent evidence uncovering biological mechanisms of HMGB1 contributing to the pathogenesis of autoimmune immune diseases and as well discuss emerging data on HMGB1 that may inform a novel therapeutic targets in autoimmune diseases. Key Words : autoimmunity, HMGB1, experimental autoimmune encephalitis, rheumatoid arthritis, experimental autoimmune myocarditis.
HIV Risk Assessment Practices of Primary Care Physicians: A National Study

Abstract : Background: Twenty five years after it was first discovered HIV/AIDS has become a pandemic that continues to take millions of lives each year. During this time, numerous U.S. Federal agencies and professional societies have recommended that physicians assess their patients risk for HIV infection. Despite increased options for HIV treatment, it has been more than a decade since any research on provider compliance with risk assessment practices has been published. Purpose: The primary purpose of this study was to assess the proportion of U.S. physicians who are Always/Often conducting HIV risk assessments. The second purpose of our study was to understand the factors that are associated with physician compliance. Finally, we assessed the proportion of physicians that Always/Often asked eight risk assessment questions for four at-risk patient groups (i.e., men who have sex with men [MSM], injection drug users [IDU], HIV+ and patients with symptom or diagnosis of a sexually transmitted disease [STD]) and continuing adult patients.
A prospective interventional study of 50 patients to assess the effectiveness and safety of intralesional reconstituted bacille calmette guerin immunotherapy in treatment of warts

Introduction: Warts are benign tumours caused by human papilloma viruses (HPV) with over 100 genotypes known till now. They are recalcitrant to treatment and prone for recurrences. Majority of the conventional treatment modalities are destructive, painful and have a greater down-time. Aims: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of intra-lesional BCG (bacille calmette guerin) immunotherapy in treatment of recalcitrant warts in immunocompetent patients. Materials and methods: After an informed written consent and routine investigations, 0.1 ml of reconstituted BCG vaccine was injected into the oldest and the largest wart. Patients were evaluated every 2 weeks and were followed up for a period of 6 months. A grading scale was used to assess the response. Statistical analysis used: The results obtained were statistically analysed and Z test was applied to calculate the significance of the visible difference between palmoplanter warts and common warts. Results: 46 out of 50 patients completed the study. 80.43% patients (37/46) had multiple warts. 86.66% patients of palmoplanter warts (26/30) showed complete resolution of warts at the end of 6 weeks, 13.33% patients (4/30) showed partial response and none of the patients in this group were nonresponders. 60% patients (6/10) of common warts showed complete response and 40% patients (4/10) were non-responders in this group. All the patients (n=4) of periungual warts showed 100% clearance at 3 months. Pain at the injection site (100% [46]), erythema (78.26% [36]), fever (76.08% [35]) and secondary infection (2.17% [1]) were the main adverse events noted. Conclusion: BCG immunotherapy is a cheap, safe, effective and easily available therapeutic option which can be easily used in day to day practice.
Selected Physical Properties and Microscopic Description of Ziziphus mauritiana Lam. Wood in Sudano-Sahelian Region of Nigeria

Background and Objective: Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for fuel, construction and industrial raw materials. Ziziphus mauritiana is a tropical fruit tree species, belonging to the family Rhamnaceae, the specie is abundant in Sudano-sahelion region of Nigeria and it has been reported to have several medicinal uses from the leaves, stem and roots, but technical information on the use of the wood for construction purposes is limited. Therefore, determinations of selected physical and microscopic description of the wood of Z. mauritiana as a potential wood material for timber were investigated. Materials and Methods: Three matured trees of Z. mauritiana were felled from a research plantation of the Department of Forestry and Wildlife within the University of Maiduguri, in the North-eastern part of Nigeria and cross-cut into billets at the base, middle and top of the stems with estimated age of 7, 6 and 6 years old accordingly from the three sampled trees. Discs were obtained from each billet for determination of Physical properties (Bark, Bast, Sapwood, heartwood and pith proportion, Moisture content (MC), Density and some microscopic description (fibre and parenchyma cells) were all determined. Results: The average wood density of the sampled trees stood at 0.55±0.01g/cm 3 and decreased from base to top. Similarly, moisture content decreased from 75.66±3.83% at the base to 54.08±1.19% at the top of the sampling height. The volumetric shrinkage is the total shrinkage in wood volume and it amounted to 10.11±3.17%. Averagely, bast accounted for 3.56±0.70%, 6.50±0.89%, 69.38±0.50 %, 16.00±3.23% and 10.38±1.96 % for bark, sapwood, heartwood and pith proportions respectively across the stem. Conclusion: The wood of Z. mauritiana is heavy. Within tree, wood density decreased from the base to the top. The range of values obtained in this study fall within the range of 450-750 kg/m -3 for species suitable for furniture, sheeting and lining, parquet, veneer wood for peeling and slicing with large vessel size and parenchyma cells. The range of values of volumetric shrinkage along the height and radial position shows that the wood is dimensionally stable. This was evident in the low tangential–radial shrinkage ratios recorded. Thus, indicating a low risk of deformation in wood during seasoning.
Rheological behavior for laponite and bentonite suspensions in shear flow

The viscometric behavior of laponite and bentonite suspensions at different concentrations in shear flow is studied. It is discovered that in the equilibrium state, a master curve of viscosity can be constructed when the applied shear stress is normalized by the respective suspension’s yield stress. The interparticle interaction controlling the yield behavior at the gel state also dominates the behavior of particles at the equilibrium flowing state. A constitutive framework is developed to describe the master curve of viscosity as a function of the shear stress normalized by the yield stress. Based on the proposed model, the effect of concentration on the viscosity of clay suspensions can be estimated via their yield stress.
Social Creativity in the Education Sector: The Case of Collaborative Design of Digital Resources in Mathematics

ABSTRACT In this paper we discuss social creativity in a particular professional context, that of education. We studied how collaborative design of educational digital resources inspired social creativity and the influencing factors during this collaboration amongst a group of designers made up of mathematics teachers, teacher educators and researchers with diverse expertise. The research was carried out in the framework of the MC2 European project (http://www.mc2-project.eu/, 2013–2016) aiming to develop a socio-technical environment for the design of digital resources fostering creative mathematical thinking. Through the functional combination of theories, we conceptualize and study the social creativity that occurs during the collaborative design process of a digital resource embedding mathematics into a story. The methodology comprises two main stages, one for setting the context and the other for studying social creativity. We bring to the fore the importance of the moderation of the group of designers, the ignition of ideas, the use of designers’ complementary knowledge and expertise, and the limitation of our communication tool.
Students’ School Motivation and Aspiration Over High School Years

Students from a school in Hong Kong (n = 199) responded to 22 items asking about their school motivation and aspirations in a survey. Structural equation models found four school motivation factors consistent with the task, effort, competition, and praise scales of the Inventory of School Motivation, one education aspiration factor, one career aspiration factor, and significant relations of the motivation factors with the aspiration factors. Task and effort orientations were found to be stronger than the other orientations and to have relatively stronger associations with education aspirations, whereas task and praise had stronger associations with career aspirations. In examining potential change in students’ goal orientations and aspirations through high school years, analysis of variance found that 7th‐graders had significantly higher scores in task and effort orientations and career aspirations than 9th‐graders, and higher scores in praise orientation than 11th‐graders. The apparent drop in motivation scores from Grade 7, especially in task and effort orientations, both pertaining to a mastery orientation dimension that has been assumed to be a major driving force for excellence, calls for urgent attention to student motivation in junior high school classes.
INVESTIGATION OF STREPTOCOCCUS PYOGENES CARRIAGE AMONG PHARMACY STUDENTS IN CYPRUS

Streptococcus pyogenes is one of the most frequently detected bacterial agent of pharyngitis and skin infections that may result in the late complications of rheumatic fever and glomerulonephritis. The aim of the study was to investigate S. pyogenes carriage among pharmacy students in a university in Cyprus. Throat samples were inoculated onto blood agar which was incubated at 37 °C for 48 hours. Gram positive, catalase negative beta hemolytic cocci which were sensitive to bacitracin and resistant to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole were identified as S. pyogenes . A total of 140 healthy students were included in the study. 77.1% of students were Iranian, 5% each were Syrian and Iraqi, 4.3% were Nigerian and 8.6% were from other nationalities. Five (3.6%) students, all Iranian, were found to be S. pyogenes carriers. 4.6% of Iranian students were determined to carry S. pyogenes . The study is the first study in North Cyprus reporting the low rate of group A beta hemolytic Streptococcus carriage in young adults in Turkish Republic of North Cyprus.
Diversity, evenness and dominance index reef fish in Krueng Raya Water, Aceh Besar

Coral reef ecosystem is considered as a very complex ecosystem and a habitat for marine biota, included reef fish community. The purpose of this study is to obtain the value of diversity, evenness and dominance index of reef fish in Krueng Raya Waters (KRW). This research was conducted annually during 2014, 2015, 2016 using the UVS (underwater Visual Census) method. The diversity index of reef l fish in the KRW is categorized as stable (1 <H '<3), yet it was decreased from 2.6 in 2014 to 2.1 in 2016. the value of uniformity index is ranged 0.8 to 0.62 (2014 to 2016) as it categorized as low. Furthermore, the dominance index is also indicated in the low category.
Daily stress spillover and crossover: Moderating effects of difficulties in emotion regulation in same-sex couples

Using daily diary data from 81 same-sex couples, we examined the link between stress experienced outside the relationship (external) and within the relationship (internal) for individuals (stress spillover) and their partners (stress crossover). Extending prior literature, we examined spillover and crossover of both common external (e.g., work stress) and sexual minority stress (e.g., discrimination based on sexual orientation) and the extent to which individuals’ own and their partner’s difficulties in emotion regulation moderated these associations. We found compelling evidence for spillover of common external stress and crossover of both types of stress. Further, we found both concurrent (same day) and lagged (next-day) stress spillover and crossover processes for both types of external stressors, moderated by both partners’ reported difficulties in emotion regulation. Findings related to stress spillover and crossover as well as implications for researchers and clinicians working with same-sex couples are discussed.