Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Microfinance and Women’s Empowerment: A Study of ‘VDRC-Nepal’ in Jamuniya, Nepal.

The present study has examined the impact of micro loans on women‟s economic activities. It has specifically highlighted how women‟s income generating activities through small loans help to improve their status in household and local communities. This study is based on eleven semi-structure interviews, two focus group discussions and field observation. The term „empowerment‟ including its three dimensions: identity, agency and critical consciousness, has been applied as a theoretical lens to further clarify the informants‟ views on the role of micro loans to improve their household and community role and responsibilities. Findings of the empirical study have shown that the access to small loans for income generating activities have positive impact on women‟s empowerment. Women‟s participation in micro credit has increased their mobility contributing to the change in the social values. Further, women‟s active participation in local issues mobilization has changed community perception on women‟s roles and responsibilities. However, in some cases, under the pressure of other family members, small loans have been used in purposes other than income generating activities making already weak women more vulnerable. Analytically, this study underlines that microfinance programs are significant sources of financial services for women, particularly in remote areas where there is absence of banks and other financial institutions. Although the microfinance has provided financial services to poor and needy women, it has not been able to meet their expections and necessities. (
Preclinical pharmacokinetics of MI-219, a novel human double minute 2 (HDM2) inhibitor and prediction of human pharmacokinetics.

PURPOSE The two purposes of this study were evaluating preclinical pharmacokinetics of MI-219 and predicting clearance (CL) and volume of distribution at steady-state (Vdss) of MI-219 in humans. METHODS Pharmacokinetic studies were conducted on mice, rats, dogs, and monkeys. Human CL of MI-219 was predicted using allometric scaling (SA), multi-exponential allometric scaling (ME), rule of exponents (RoE), single species scaling, two-term power equation (TTPE), physiologically based in vitro-in vivo extrapolation (IVIVE), and fu corrected intercept method (FCIM). In vitro assays were conducted to determine in vitro intrinsic CL, protein binding, and blood-plasma partition coefficients. To estimate half-life of MI-219, plasma concentration-time profile in humans was predicted using kallynochron and apolysichron time transformation (Dedrick plots) and normalization with MRT and Vdss (Wajima's method). In addition, simultaneous interspecies scaling of CL, Vdss and concentration-time profile were performed by using Nonlinear Mixed Effects Modeling (NONMEM). RESULTS Preclinical studies showed that the elimination of MI-219 was mainly through metabolism. The validation using observed monkey CL and Vdss showed that MA, IVIVE and Oie-Tozer methods were accurately than the other methods. Human CL of MI-219 predicted by ME and IVIVE was between 0.237-0.342 L*h⁻¹*kg⁻¹. Human Vdss predicted by Oie-Tozer method and allometric scaling of unbound volume of distribution of tissues (VT/fuT) method was between 0.93-1.40 L*kg⁻¹. Superimposition of rat, monkey and dog data was observed in Dedrick plots and Wajima's transformations. CONCLUSIONS The predicted human pharmacokinetics is useful for the design of first-in-human study.
A role for a TIMP-3-sensitive, Zn(2+)-dependent metalloprotease in mammalian gamete membrane fusion.

During fertilization, sperm and egg plasma membranes adhere and then fuse by a mechanism that is not well understood. Zinc metalloproteases are necessary for some intercellular fusion events, for instance, cell-cell fusion in yeast. In this study we tested the effects of class-specific and family-specific protease inhibitors on mouse gamete fusion. Capacitated, acrosome-reacted sperm and zona-free eggs were used in assays designed to define the effects of inhibitors on sperm-egg plasma membrane binding or fusion. Inhibitors of the aspartic, cysteine, and serine protease classes had no effect on sperm-egg binding or fusion. Both a synthetic metalloprotease substrate (succinyl-Ala-Ala-Phe-amidomethylcoumarin) and the zinc chelator 1,10-phenanthroline inhibited sperm-egg fusion but did not decrease sperm-egg binding. The fusion-inhibition effect of phenanthroline was reversible and activity of the inhibitable zinc metalloprotease was shown to be required during a short time window, the first 15 min after insemination. Tissue inhibitor of metalloprotease-3 and Ro 31-9790, specific inhibitors of zinc metalloproteases in the matrixin and adamalysin families, also inhibited sperm-egg fusion but not sperm-egg binding. These data indicate a role in gamete fusion for one or more zinc metalloproteases of the matrixin and/or adamalysin families that act after plasma membrane binding and before sperm-egg membrane fusion.
Parent-report and performance-based measures of executive function assess different constructs

A total of 405 children of 5–18 years of age were administered performance-based and parent-report measures of executive function (EF), and measures of motor, attention, reading, and mathematics performance. Attention, reading, and mathematics abilities were associated with a parent-report measure of EF. Reading and mathematics abilities were also associated with performance-based measures of EF, including the Animal Sorting, Inhibition, and Response Set subtests of the Developmental NEuroPSYchological Assessment-II. In contrast, motor functioning was only associated with performance-based measures of EF. Findings suggest that different constructs of EF are measured by parent-report versus performance-based measures, and that these different constructs of EF are associated with different neurodevelopmental processes.
An Immuno-informatics driven Epitope study from the molecular interaction of JEV non-structural (NS) proteins with Ribophorin (RPN)

Japanese encephalitis (JE) is an acute viral infection of the central nervous system where the JE virus infects the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and rapidly accumulates substantial amount of seven different nonstructural proteins (NS). These NS proteins tend to bind on a glycoprotein receptor, ribophorin (RPN) resulting in the malfunctioning of ER in host cells, subsequently triggering an unfolded protein response. Therefore, it is of interest to predict the best possible antigenic determinants in the NS protein capable of eliciting immune response as a strategy to combat JE. Hence, it is our interest to explore the most potent NS protein among all showing the best possible molecular interaction with the RPN receptor present on ER. However, the structures of these NS protein and RPN are currently unknown. Thus, we modeled their structures using the established homology modeling techniques in the MODELLER 9v10 software. The molecular docking of NS proteins with RPN was subsequently completed using the Discovery Studio 2.5 software suite. The docked conformations of RPN with NS were further analyzed and its graphical interpretations were presented for identifying the most potential NS protein for efficient epitope activity. Further, the B cell epitopes were mapped using BCPred and the predicted epitope regions are documented. The data presented in this report provides useful insights towards the design and development of potential epitopes to generate a vaccine candidate against JEV.
An Equivalent Circuit Model and Energy Extraction Technique of a Magnetostrictive Energy Harvester

This paper proposes a distributed parameter equivalent circuit model of a magnetostrictive energy harvester, where the mechanical parameters and the mechanical-electro coupled terms are represented by electronic components. Based on the model, the harvester system with any energy extraction circuit (EEC) can be modeled in a circuit simulator for system-level evaluation and design. Comparisons between the measured and calculated results show that the proposed model can provide reasonable data of the harvester at low acceleration levels, and support the physical understanding of the dynamic behaviors for the harvester. In addition, the harvester system with a self-powered EEC is constructed, and its whole performances are effectively predicted. These prove that the proposed model can analyze and design the harvester system with both complicated mechanical structure and practical EEC, thus has very strong practicability.
Enhancing nursing students’ clinical placement experiences: A quality improvement project

Abstract Clinical experience is recognised as the core of nursing education. Quality clinical placements across a variety of venues are vital to the development of capable and competent professionals. However there is evidence, both anecdotal and empirical, suggesting that students’ clinical placement experiences are fraught with problems. The quality improvement project described in this paper aimed to improve the clinical learning experience of nursing students by strengthening communication and partnerships between the university and the two local health services. To achieve this goal, clinicians’ perceptions of the problems related to clinical placements and their recommendations for improvement were explored. Focus groups, brainstorming sessions, personal interviews and surveys were used to collect qualitative and quantitative data. Problems and priority issues were identified as more than five hundred clinicians expressed their concerns, claims and issues. Key findings from the project are described under five themes: communication breakdown between the university and clinicians; mentorship; preparation for clinical placements; clinical competence; and graduates’ readiness for practice. Utilising a quality improvement framework this project promoted vigorous debate and dialogue between university and health service partners. The nature and extent of the problems surrounding clinical placements were examined, high priority issues targeted for improvement, and the subsequent results measured through feedback from clinicians and students. The success of this project, although impressive in the early stages, will depend upon ongoing communication and evaluation to ensure sustainability of the improvements made.
A switch in disulfide linkage during minicollagen assembly in hydra nematocysts or how to assemble a 150-bar-resistant structure.

Hydra minicollagen, the shortest collagen known, is an important component of the nematocyst wall, which has a very high tensile strength. It has an unusual structure, with small and closely related Cys-rich domains at both ends of its chains. Three chains are trimerized by a central collagenous domain. Polyhydroxyproline helices connect the Cys-rich domains with the collagenous domain. The minicollagen precursor contains three internal disulfide bridges in each Cys-rich domain and no disulfide bridges between chains of the same trimeric molecule or between different molecules. Biochemical and structural evidence as well as confocal immunofluorescence microscopy points to disulfide-mediated assembly during maturation of nematocysts.
The Taming of the Scold: the Enforcement of Patriarchal Authority in Early Modern England

Fears of an impending breakdown of the social order have been common in many periods of history. At no time were they more widespread, or more intense, than in early modern England: the ‘crisis of order’ detected by modern historians in the sixty years before the civil war accords with the perceptions of many people in that period. Among the causes and symptoms of the apparently growing instability were those now familiar problems of excessive population growth, inflation, land shortage, poverty and vagrancy, all of which have attracted the attention of recent scholars. There are those who, like Peter Laslett, stress the stability of English society throughout the entire pre-modern period, and dismiss the signs of tension as the minor conflicts that exist in even the most smoothly functioning social system. Few contemporaries would have agreed with them. It could no longer be safely assumed that all Englishmen and women were bound together in that interlocking network of households and communities on which, according to the prevailing orthodoxy, stability depended. ‘Was there ever seen less obedience in youth of all sorts, both menkind and womenkind, towards their superiors, parents, masters and governors? ’ the puritan Philip Stubbes demanded in the 1580s, echoing a common preoccupation. Even the patriarchal family, the linch-pin of the whole structure of order, appeared to be threatened. These anxieties were not confined to puritan moralists.
Temporal lobe epilepsy: presurgical localization with proton chemical shift imaging.

PURPOSE To assess two-dimensional phase-encoded proton chemical shift imaging for potential clinical application in presurgical localization of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). MATERIALS AND METHODS Interictal chemical shift imaging studies were performed in 25 patients (17 unilateral, eight bilateral epileptogenic abnormalities) and 12 healthy volunteers. Results were compared with those of electroencephalography. For each temporal lobe, the volume of interest (VOI) included mesial, lateral, anterior, and posterior areas. RESULTS The epileptogenic zone was characterized by an abnormal pattern of decreased signal intensity in the N-acetylaspartate (NAA) peak, either increased or unchanged choline (Cho) level relative to creatine (Cr) signal intensity, and, occasionally, elevated lactate level. NAA/Cho was the most sensitive and reliable quantitative marker for abnormality. The sensitivity and specificity of this technique compared with EEG were 90% and 85%, respectively. The difference in NAA/Cho between epileptogenic and normal temporal lobes was highly significant (P < .001). No statistically significant difference was found between normal temporal lobes and patients' uninvolved temporal lobes. CONCLUSION NAA/Cho is an excellent marker for localizing the epileptogenic zone in TLE.
Does the metabolic syndrome impact left-ventricular mechanics? A two-dimensional speckle tracking study

Objective: To evaluate left-ventricular mechanics estimated by two-dimensional echocardiography (2DE) speckle tracking analyses in patients with the metabolic syndrome. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 95 untreated patients with metabolic syndrome and 65 controls similar by sex and age. Metabolic syndrome was defined by the presence of at least three ATP-AHA-NHLB criteria. All the patients underwent adequate laboratory analyses and complete 2DE examination. Results: 2DE global longitudinal and circumferential strain was significantly decreased in the metabolic syndrome group, whereas 2DE global radial strain was similar between the observed groups. The left-ventricular torsion was similar between the metabolic syndrome participants and the controls; whereas the left-ventricular untwisting rate was significantly increased in the metabolic syndrome group. The increasing number of the metabolic syndrome criteria induces progressive reduction of the left-ventricular longitudinal strain from the individuals with no metabolic syndrome risk factors to the individuals with five metabolic syndrome criteria. The same pattern was not noticed for left-ventricular circumferential and radial strain. The combination of increased blood pressure, abdominal obesity and increased fasting glucose level was associated with the higher level of left-ventricular mechanical impairment comparing with other clusters of the metabolic syndrome components. The multivariate analysis of the metabolic syndrome criteria showed that 24-h mean blood pressure, waist circumference and fasting glucose level were independently associated with 2DE global longitudinal and circumferential myocardial strain, and left-ventricular untwisting rate. The interaction between sex and metabolic syndrome significantly impacts the left-ventricular longitudinal strain and untwisting rate. Conclusion: Left-ventricular mechanics assessed by 2DE strain is significantly impaired in the metabolic syndrome patients. Among all metabolic syndrome components, blood pressure, waist circumference and fasting glucose level are the most responsible for damage of left-ventricular deformation.
Pancreatoduodenectomy With Portal Vein Resection Is Feasible and Potentially Beneficial for Elderly Patients With Pancreatic Cancer

Objectives We aimed to evaluate the feasibility and clinical benefit of pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) with portal vein resection (PVR) in elderly patients. Methods This retrospective study enrolled 272 consecutive patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma who underwent PD between 2000 and 2012. The patients were categorized into 4 groups: elderly (≥70 years) and younger (<70 years) PD-PVR groups as well as elderly and younger PD groups. Preoperative patient background, postoperative course, and overall survival were compared. Results Among the patients who underwent PD-PVR, the elderly group had significantly higher prevalence of comorbidity compared with the younger group (77% and 52%, respectively; P = 0.003), whereas there were no differences in the intraoperative and pathological characteristics. Postoperatively, morbidity and length of hospital stay were similar between the elderly and younger groups. Despite the fact that the proportion of patients who underwent adjuvant chemotherapy was lower in the elderly group (62% vs 83%; P = 0.005), the overall survival of the elderly group was comparable with that of the younger group, and both groups had a significantly more favorable prognosis than that of 36 patients with unresected tumors (P = 0.006 and P < 0.001, respectively). Conclusions Pancreatoduodenectomy with portal vein resection is safe and potentially beneficial for elderly patients with pancreatic cancer.
The trajectory of urbanization process in the Yangtze River delta during 1990 to 2005

Rapid economic development, combined with tremendous population growth and migration from rural areas, has resulted in a dramatic urbanization in the Yangtze River Delta over the last three decades. In order to develop a more quantitative understanding of urbanization trajectory in the Yangtze Delta from the late 1980s to 2005, the time-series national land cover / land-use database (NLCD), interpreted from remote sensing imagery (including Landsat TM, ETM+ and CBERS), was examined from the aspects of spatial pattern and temporal process. The results showed that the urban land in the Yangtze River Delta has increased from 2.29×103 km2 in the late 1980s to 4.19×103 km2 in 2005. The percentages of total land area in the Yangtze Delta occupied by urban environments in the late 1980s, 1995, 2000 and 2005 were 2.09%, 3.03%, 3.28%, and 3.82% respectively. During the late 1980s – 2005, the total urban expansion in this region was 1.92×103 km2, resulting in an annual urban expansion area (UXa) of about 118.72 km2 per year, with an urban expansion intensity (UXr) of 83.03%. There were significant spatial trends and differences in urbanization level and urban expansion. Most urban land and urban expansion have occurred along the Huning Railway (Shanghai-Nanjing) and the Hanzhou Bay. This study also revealed substantial temporal differences in the rate at which urban areas have expanded. There was a great deal of urban growth in the late 1980s – 1995, and also in 2000 – 2005. The 1995 – 2000 period saw a slow expansion speed due to government initiatives designed to halt the loss of agricultural land. In this study, both patterns and dynamics of urban distribution and urban expansion were examined on temporal and spatial scales, and integrated to produce a comprehensive evaluation of recent urbanization trajectory in the Yangtze River Delta.
On the Evaluation of Effort Estimation Models

Background. Using accurate effort estimation models can help software companies plan, monitor, and control their development process and development costs. It is therefore important to define sound accuracy indicators that allow practitioners and researchers to assess and rank different effort estimation models so that practitioners can select the most accurate, and therefore useful one. Several accuracy indicators exist, with different advantages and disadvantages. Objective. We propose a general framework for building sound accuracy indicators for effort estimation models. Method. The accuracy indicators that comply with our proposal are built by means of a comparison between a reference effort estimation model and the specific model whose accuracy we would like to assess. Several existing indicators are built this way: we develop a framework so new indicators can be defined in a sound way. Results. From a theoretical point of view, we applied our approach to accuracy indicators based on the square of the residuals and the absolute value of the residuals. We show that using a random model as a reference model, as done in some recent literature, sets too low a bar in terms of what may be acceptable. Instead, we use reference models that are built based on constant functions. From a practical point of view, we applied our approach to datasets containing measures of industrial software development projects. With the proposed method we were able to derive indications both according to criteria already proposed in the literature and according to new criteria. Conclusions. Our method can be used to define sound accuracy indicators for effort estimation models.
Efficiency assessment of household water use

ABSTRACT This paper presents a novel methodology for assessing the overall efficiency of indoor water uses in the household. The methodology comprises three main components of assessment: the evaluation based on efficient patterns, the comparison with peers grouped by clustering techniques and the performance of water use devices based on penalty functions. A water use index is calculated for individual households for each component; this index can be used to compare and to rank the performance of different households. The most representative results from a real life case study composed of 43 households are presented herein. The proposed methodology can support urban demand managers to identify low efficiencies, to set viable water efficiency targets, to calculate potential water savings and, subsequently, to implement water demand management strategies customized to less-efficient water use devices and to groups of consumers with specific socio-demographic characteristics.
Sensorless observer system for induction motor control

Controlled ac drives without speed sensors of the motor shaft are in increasing demand. Eliminating the speed sensor increases the reliability of the overall system and reduces its cost. The proposed method employs electrical quantities, the stator current and stator voltage space vectors, as input signals in a closed-loop observer to estimate the rotor speed. The sensorless observer is built around the fundamental model of the ac machine; the redundancy of different structures is exploited to endorse the system robustness. Issues of concern are drift in the signals of the input channels of the observer, deviation of machine parameters from their nominal values, and operation at very low stator frequency. The performance of the overall control system is evaluated at steady-state and dynamic operating conditions. Both simulation and experimental results are provided to support the reliability of the proposed sensorless observer.