Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Monitoring physiological responses and fluid balance of elite female beach handball players during an international tournament

Purpose: Despite its increasing popularity, beach handball has not been studied in terms of physiological responses. Thus the aim of this study was to demonstrate lactate and heart rate responses as well as urine specific gravity (USG) levels and fluid intakes of female university students who competed at an international beach handball tournament. Material: Five university students who are also handball players (age: 21±1,2, body weight: 56,6±6,4, height:1,61±0,06 and BMI: 21,7±1,43) voluntarily participated in this study. Heart rate (HR), lactate level (LA) and USG were measured before each and immediately after each competition and fluid intake during competition was monitored. Results: The mean values of lactate accumulation and heart rate before and after the match were 1,4 mmol and 87,3, 5,0 and 123,9, respectively. Athletes were euhydrated before the matches (USGmean=1,018) and only presented dehydration after the second match. Conclusions: Beach handball does not result in strenuous physiological effects according to heart rate and lactate responses. Their fluid intake was not enough to eliminate dehydration. Despite fluid availability during the match they presented dehydration at the second match.
Using skipgrams and PoS-based feature selection for patent classification

Until recently, phrases were deemed suboptimal features for text classification because of their sparseness (Lewis 1992). In recent work (Koster et al. 2011, D’hondt et al. Forthcoming), however, it was found that for classifying English patent documents, combining phrasal and unigram representations leads to significantly better classification results, because phrases are better suited to catch the Multi-Word Terms (MWT) abundant in the terminology-rich technical patent texts. In this article, we consider the task of patent classification of English abstracts at the class level (about 120 classes) of the International Patent Classification (IPC). We compare (a) the impact of two types of phrases to capture meaningful information (bigrams and skipgrams); and (b) the impact of performing additional filtering of the classification features, based on their Part of Speech (PoS). For this purpose we performed a series of classification experiments using different phrasal text representations and feature selection to determine which representation is most beneficial to English patent classification. We further investigated which type of information (as captured by the PoS-filtered skipgrams) has most impact during classification. The results show that combining unigrams and PoS-filtered skipgrams leads to a significant improvement in classification scores over the unigram baseline. Additional experiments show that the most important phrasal features are bigrams and additional useful phrases can be captured by allowing at most 2 skips in the skipgram approach. Deeper analysis revealed that the noun-noun combinations and – to a lesser extent – the adjectival-noun combinations are the most informative phrasal features for patent classification.
A new workflow for the automated measurement of shape descriptors of rocks

Abstract. Shape properties of rocks carry important geological information about their origin, and they may also provide a window to study the abrasion processes forming their geometry. The number of mechanical equilibria is a significant property with a profound mathematical background that could reveal the secrets hidden in the artifacts of Nature. Although it is easy to count by hand, the automation of its measurement is not a straightforward task. A new workflow is introduced for the fast and efficient measurement of geometrical properties, including the number and location of stable and unstable equilibrium points of rocks based on a portable 3D scanner combined with computer software that can analyze the resulting point cloud. The technique allows for the fast examination of statistically sufficient sample sizes without the need for transportation or storage of the specimens. A previously hand-measured set of pebbles and fragments was used as a reference for the validation of the method, and its effectiveness is demonstrated through the examination of beach pebbles carried out in Kawakawa Bay, New Zealand.
OP-NDTJ190303 1..11

Background. Accurate comparisons of haemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) survival based on observational studies are difficult due to substantial residual confounding that arises from imbalances between treatments. Propensity score matching (PSM) comparisons confer additional advantages over conventional methods of adjustment by further reducing selection bias between treatments. We conducted a systematic review of studies that compared mortality between in-centre HD with PD using a PSM-based approach. Methods. A sensitive search strategy identified all citations in the PubMed, Cochrane and EMBASE databases from inception through November 2018. Pooled PD versus HD mortality hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated through random-effects meta-analysis. A subsequent metaregression explored factors to account for between-study variation. G R A P H I C A L A B S T R A C T VC The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of ERA-EDTA. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oup.com 1 O R IG IN A L A R T IC LE Nephrol Dial Transplant (2020) 1–11 doi: 10.1093/ndt/gfz278 D ow naded rom http/academ ic.p.com /ndt/advance-articleoi/10.1093/ndt/gfz278/5715958 by U niersity of im erick user on 31 Jauary 2020 Results. The systematic review yielded 214 citations with 17 cohort studies and 113 578 PSM incident dialysis patients. Cohort periods spanned the period 1993–2014. The pooled HR for PD versus HD was 1.06 (95% CI 0.99–1.14). There was considerable variation by country, however, mortality risks for PD versus HD remained virtually unchanged when stratified by geographical region with HRs of 1.04 (95% CI 0.94– 1.15), 1.14 (95% CI 0.99–1.32) and 0.98 (0.87–1.10) for European, Asian and American cohorts, respectively. Subgroup meta-analyses revealed similar risks for patients with diabetes [HR 1.09 (95% CI 0.98–1.21)] and without diabetes [HR 0.99 (95% CI 0.90–1.09)]. Heterogeneity was substantial (I1⁄4 87%) and was largely accounted for by differences in cohort period, study type and country of origin. Together these factors explained a substantial degree of between-studies variance (R1⁄4 90.6%). Conclusions. This meta-analysis suggests that PD and incentre HD carry equivalent survival benefits. Reported differences in survival between treatments largely reflect a combination of factors that are unrelated to clinical efficacy.
Does Teacher Education Program Affect on Development of Teacher Candidates’ Bioethical Values, Scientific Literacy Levels and Empathy Skills?

The aim of this study is to evaluate science teacher candidates based on bioethical values, scientific literacy level and empathy skills and to determine their associations. Therefore, descriptive model was used for the study. The sample of the study consists total of 286 teacher candidates from first, second, third and fourth grade of Faculty of Education Science Teaching department. Results of the study revealed that bioethical values for “Benefits of Biotechnology Applications”, “Science and Ethics”, “Reproductive Technologies and Cloning”, “Controlling the Genetic Interventions” subscales were increased with school year in science teacher candidates. In addition, science literacy of science teacher candidates for “Nature of Science” and “Science-Technology-Society Relation” subscales were also increased with school year. The study also found a positive relation between bioethical values for two subscales of bioethical values, “Benefits of Biotechnology Applications” and “Controlling the Genetic Interventions”, and science literacy for “Nature of Science” subscales in science teacher candidates. Similarly, a positive relation was found between bioethical values for two subscales, “Benefits of Biotechnology Applications” and “Controlling the Genetic Interventions”, and science literacy for “Science-Technology-Society Relation” subscale in science teacher candidates. Analysis results showed a positive relation between bioethical values and empathy skills of science teacher candidates. In other words, the higher the teacher’s empathy skills, the higher their bioethical values.
Is Unplanned Pregnancy more expected in Food Insecure Households? A Cross-sectional Study among Iranian Mothers

Background: In developing countries, food insecurity is a serious problem associated with unplanned pregnancy. Very few studies have assessed the relationship between unplanned pregnancy and food insecurity. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine this relationship in order to specify food insecurity determinants among Iranian women. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 700 postpartum women in Tehran city, Iran. The samples were selected from ten community health centers. Demographic, socio-economic, and food security status data were collected by questionnaire (including 18-item USDA questionnaire), and analyzed in SPSS software version 22 via Chi-square test, independent sample T-test, and Logistic regression. Results: A significant positive association existed between food security and family income (P<0.001, OR=0.994), education level of women (P=0.005, OR=0.211), home ownership (P<0.001, OR=3.099), ethnicity of Fars (P=0.009, OR=1.756), and planned pregnancy (P=0.035, OR=1.694). The association between food security and other variables (employment status of women and their husbands, family size, and age) was not significant. Conclusions: Unplanned pregnancy among food insecure women was significantly higher than food secure ones. This indicates that women from food insecure household may need more family planning education and that families with unplanned pregnancy might require more support from the society or government in order to prevent food insecurity.
Bioprospecting of an Indigeneous Bacillus thuringiensis Strain G5-8-3T02 for Shrimp Culture System

Aim: An indigenous Bacillus thuringiensis strain G5-8-3T02 earlier isolated from healthy shrimp intestine and established to safeguard Penaeus monodon from Vibrio mimicus infection was assessed as a potential candidate bacterium for drug enhancement for shrimp culture systems. Methodology: Optimal temperature, pH and salinity for growth and antibacterial activity of Bacillus thuringiensis against Vibrio mimicus were determined. The effects of enzymes (pepsin, catalase, lipase and αamylase), pH (2-9), heat (37°C – 121°C) and surfactants (Sodium dodecyl sulphate and Tween 80) on antibacterial activity were also evaluated. Cell growth and antibacterial activity were monitored daily for 5 days via spectrophotometric method at 600 nm and agar well diffusion assay respectively. The metabolite extracted with methanol was analyzed for bioactive compounds using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). Results: The optimum temperature, pH and salinity for growth and metabolite production were 35°C, pH 6-7 and 10-15 ppt. respectively. The crude extract did not totally lose its activity when Original Research Article Ariole and Agulanna; SAJRM, 6(1): 33-43, 2020; Article no.SAJRM. 55347 34 treated with enzymes, various pH values, heat and surfactants. The quantitative composition of the metabolite revealed 15 bioactive compounds. The main compound produced was 2, 6, 10Trimethyltridecane with peak area of 14.58%. Conclusion: The non-pathogenic, antagonistic, indigenous Bacillus thuringiensis strain G5-8-3T02 could be engaged in the management of vibriosis in shrimp culture since the use of antibiotics in aquaculture for disease control yields objectionable effects. The identified bioactive compounds might be valuable for drug development for shrimp culture system.
Solid lipid nanoparticles for cancer therapy

Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) have been proposed in the 1990’s as appropriate drug delivery systems, and ever since they have been applied in a wide variety of cosmetic and pharmaceutical applications. In addition, SLNs are considered suitable alternatives as carriers in gene delivery. Although important advances have been made in this particular field, fundamental knowledge of the underling mechanisms of SLN-mediated gene delivery are conspicuously lack-ing, an imperative requirement in efforts aimed at further improving their efficiency. Here, we address recent advances in the use of SLNs as platform for delivery of nucleic acids as therapeutic agents. In addition, we will discuss available technology for conveniently producing SLNs. In particular, we will focus on underlying molecular mechanisms by which SLNs and nucleic acids assemble into complexes, and how the nucleic acid cargo may be released intracellularly. In dis-cussing underlying mechanisms, we will, when appropriate, refer to analogous studies carried out with systems based on cationic lipids and polymers. Work carried out so far emphasizes the need to obtain further insight into fundamental issues of SLN / DNA complex assembly and underlying mechanisms of delivery in order to appreciate the potency of SLNs as nanocarriers. as obtained by circular dichroism, revealed rearrangements of the DNA helices, giving rise to the presence of a mixture of B- and A-DNA structures after complex assembly [ 107 ] . These findings suggest that for formation of SLNplexes may rely on the same driving forces (i.e., culmi-nating from the release of counterions and macro-ion interactions) as in lipoplex formation.
Effect of Combined Teaching Strategies on Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) of Biology Students

In this age of globalization, learning priorities of the learners have been under dramatic changes and teachers have to develop combination of such strategies which can engage the learners of the 21st century. The objectives of this study were to examine the effect of combined teaching strategies on low and high achievers higher order thinking skills in biology at secondary level, conducted in a public school of Punjab province. The researcher used the combined teaching strategies which comprised of KWLH charts, hands on activities, multimedia integration and cooperative learning to cover the contents from 10th grade text book of Biology, for a period of 8 weeks. In this experimental research posttest only, design was adopted. The HOTS of biology students were assessed through 50 multiple choice items. After the intervention, experimental group exhibited promotion in HOTS of the biology students as compared to their counterparts. The results of t-test showed that these combined teaching strategies not only promote the HOTS of high achievers but were effective for the low achievers as well.
Functional Analysis of CDC13 Regulation in Budding Yeast

Author(s): Small, Vanessa Yolanda | Advisor(s): Nugent, Constance | Abstract: Telomeres are DNA-protein complexes that maintain the integrity of linear chromosomes. Telomeres protect the chromosome ends from being recognized as a DNA double strand break by the DNA damage checkpoint, and prevent chromosome rearrangements. Hence, telomeres are crucial to defending against genomic instability, a hallmark of cancer cells. The work presented in this dissertation will focus on the regulation of activities involving the essential telomeric DNA binding protein Cdc13. In S. cerevisiae, the single-strand telomere binding protein Cdc13 is important for protecting chromosome ends. Previous studies indicate a role for Cdc13 in both telomere end protection and recruitment of telomerase to the telomere. The role of CDC13 in telomere end protection has been elucidated using the temperature sensitive allele, cdc13-1. In cdc13-1 mutants the C-rich telomere strand is lost when cells are grown at high temperatures. The accumulation of single-stranded DNA at the telomere leads to a DNA damage checkpoint response and loss of cell viability. We describe a screen conducted to identify activities involved in telomere C-strand loss, in which we identified two novel alleles of RAD24. Rad24 is an alternate Rfc1 subunit, and functions to load the 9-1-1 checkpoint clamp onto sites of DNA damage. In each rad24 allele, the transposon used in the screen is inserted within the RAD24 coding region and results in production of two amino terminal truncations of Rad24. Here, we show that an intact Rad24 amino-terminus is necessary for its checkpoint function. The rad24-2 allele increases the frequency of obtaining cdc13-1 cells capable of growth at high temperatures. This rad24-2 allele combined with acquired telomere amplification facilitates growth of cdc13-1 cells at high temperatures. The next work presented is an analysis of a Cdk1-mediated phosphorylation of Cdc13 on residue T308. Strains with a T308A mutation at that phosphorylation site had short telomeres, suggesting a role for the Cdk1- mediated phosphorylation of Cdc13 at T308 in telomerase recruitment. In the final work, we describe an analysis of the interactions between Cdc13 and the DNA polymerase α complex. The association of Cdc13 with Pol1, the catalytic subunit of the DNA polymerase α complex is proposed to recruit the conventional DNA replication to participate in C-strand synthesis of the new G-rich strand extended by telomerase. We demonstrate that the Pol1 and Cdc13 as well as Pol12 and Stn1 interact directly, and loss of these interactions using the pol1-236 and pol12-40 alleles results in elongated telomeres. Thus, the data shown here will provide insight on how Cdc13 functions both to protect chromosome ends and to facilitate telomere replication.
A Rare Case of Isolated Pulmonary Cryptococcoma in an Immunocompromised Host

Cryptococcosis is an opportunistic fungal infection found in both immunocompromised and non-immunocompromised patients; however, it is particularly prevalent in those with Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS). Patients with isolated pulmonary cryptococcosis can present with heterogeneous symptoms. The rarity of this entity makes it difficult to recognize and diagnose. We present a case of a 54-year-old female with poorly controlled HIV and seizure disorder, who presented with suspected seizures. Her CD4 count was 7. Due to fever and headache, cryptococcal meningitis was suspected, and she was empirically started on liposomal amphotericin and flucytosine. Computed tomography (CT) of the head was negative for any acute intracranial process. Serum cryptococcal antigen was positive; however cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) studies from lumbar puncture (LP) were entirely negative, including CSF cryptococcal antigen. CT thorax demonstrated interval development of two solid pulmonary nodules in the right upper lobe (RUL). There was no other evidence of disseminated cryptococcal disease. CT-guided biopsy of the larger RUL was compatible with Cryptococcus species. Fungal cultures of sputum and blood were negative. The patient improved, and therapy was de-escalated from liposomal amphotericin and flucytosine to oral fluconazole, with a plan to complete a six- to twelve-month course of therapy. This case illustrates that in rare cases, Cryptococcal disease may still be localized despite having a positive serum Cryptococcal antigen. It also emphasizes the importance of a thorough investigation with multimodal diagnostic tools to evaluate for disseminated Cryptococcal disease, especially in those with a history of immunocompromise.
Exploring the Influence of Unemployment on Criminal Behavior in Punjab, Pakistan.

The main objective of this research was to investigate the effect of unemployment on criminal behavior. A multistage sampling technique was used for the selection of a sample of 400 respondents who have ever committed a crime. A well-designed and the pre-tested interviewing schedule was used to collect information from the respondents in randomly selected district jails of Punjab, Pakistan. Descriptive analysis shows that majority of the respondents was young and married. Around onefourth of the respondents were illiterate and about the same proportion had primary level education. Two-fifth of the respondents had less than Rs. 20,000 monthly family income. Multivariate analysis revealed that unemployed respondents had 30 percent more chances to commit the crime as compared to the employed respondents. Thus the set hypothesis that unemployment is significantly related to criminal behavior of the respondents is upheld