Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antifungal Activity of Ethanolic Leaf Extract of Limonia acidissima against Dermatophytes

Antifungal activity of ethanolic leaf extract of Limonia acidissima was studied against three common dermatophytic fungai like Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Microsporum canis and Epidermophyton floccosum by disc diffusion method and zone of inhibition was determined. Ketoconazle was used as reference control. The ethanolic leaf extract of Limonia acidissima exhibited antifungal activity against all the three dermatophytic fungai and the effects were comparable with the reference control Ketoconazole.
Second Thoughts on Free Riding

We use the strategy method to classify subjects into cooperator types in a large-scale online Public Goods Game and find that free riders spend more time on making their decisions than conditional cooperators and other cooperator types. This result is robust to reversing the framing of the game and is not driven by free riders lacking cognitive ability, confusion, or natural swiftness in responding. Our results suggest that conditional cooperation serves as a norm and that free riders need time to resolve a moral dilemma.
Time varying effects of public investment and a Stone-Geary production technology

This paper starts with presenting a new empirical evidence based on time-varying parameter VAR that, in Japan, the effect of public investment on output has fallen over time while its crowding out effect on private investment has become more pronounced. Does this mean that we could not expect too much of a stimulative impact from today's public investment, even in the aftermath of massive capital destruction (such as a strong earthquake)? I try to answer this question by building a growth model in which the effect of public investment varies endogenously, with the level of capital accumulation. The model is based on a specification of production technology of a Stone-Geary type, which generates a time varying degree of complementarity between private and public capital.
Domestic Labour and Income Inequality

In most industrial countries women earn less in employment than men. This paper investigates the reasons for this fact. Specifically it considers in detail the relationship between domestic labour and gender inequalities in income. Using evidence from Australia the paper explores the impact on earnings of both responsibility for domestic labour and time spent on domestic labour. Earlier research suggested that responsibility for domestic labour is a greater constraint on women's position in paid labour than the actual time spent on it. The paper also seeks to discover whether the relationship between the housework and paid labour is qualitatively and quantitatively different for men and women. Using regression analysis the paper provides empirical evidence about these relations and argues that gender inequities in wages are based, at least in part, on the structure of the household system. Policies aimed at reducing the male-female wage gap will need to take account of this.
Estimating the burden of disease attributable to illicit drug use and mental disorders: what is 'Global Burden of Disease 2005' and why does it matter?

BACKGROUND The estimated impact of illicit drug use and mental disorders upon population health needs to be understood because there is evidence that they produce substantial loss of life and disability, and information is needed on the comparative population health impact of different diseases and risk factors to help focus policy, service and research planning and execution. AIMS To provide an overview of a global project, running since the end of 2007-Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2005. METHODS The new GBD aims to update comprehensively the findings of the first GBD exercise. It aims to provide regional and global estimates of the burden of disease attributable to hundreds of diseases, injuries and their risk factors. Groups have been assembled to provide expert advice on the parameters needed to inform these estimates; here, we provide a brief summary of the broad range of work being undertaken by the group examining illicit drug use and mental disorders. DISCUSSION The estimates of the contribution of mental disorders and illicit drugs to GBD will inform and potentially shape the focus of researchers, clinicians and governments in the years to come. We hope that interested readers might be encouraged to submit new data or feedback on the work completed thus far, as well as the work that is still under way and yet to be completed.
Parallel computational steering and analysis for HPC applications using a paraview interface and the HDF5 DSM virtual file driver

We present a framework for interfacing an arbitrary HPC simulation code with an interactive ParaView session using the HDF5 parallel IO library as the API. The implementation allows a flexible combination of parallel simulation, concurrent parallel analysis and GUI client, all of which may be on the same or separate machines. Data transfer between the simulation and the ParaView server takes place using a virtual file driver for HDF5 that bypasses the disk entirely and instead communicates directly between the coupled applications in parallel. The simulation and ParaView tasks run as separate MPI jobs and may therefore use different core counts and/or hardware configurations/platforms, making it possible to carefully tailor the amount of resources dedicated to each part of the workload. The coupled applications write and read datasets to the shared virtual HDF5 file layer, which allows the user to read data representing any aspect of the simulation and modify it using ParaView pipelines, then write it back, to be reread by the simulation (or vice versa). This allows not only simple parameter changes, but complete remeshing of grids, or operations involving regeneration of field values over the entire domain, to be carried out. To avoid the problem of manually customizing the GUI for each application that is to be steered, we make use of XML templates that describe outputs from the simulation, inputs back to it, and what user interactions are permitted on the controlled elements. This XML is used to generate GUI and 3D controls for manipulation of the simulation without requiring explicit knowledge of the underlying model.
Surgical Management of Petroclival Meningiomas: Defining Resection Goals Based on Risk of Neurological Morbidity and Tumor Recurrence Rates in 137 Patients

OBJECTIVE:Meningiomas arising from the petroclival region remain a challenging surgical problem. Because of the substantial risk of neurological morbidity, uniformly pursuing a gross total resection (GTR) to minimize tumor recurrence rates may not be justified. We sought to define optimal resection goals based on risk factors for postoperative neurological morbidity and tumor recurrence rates. METHODS:This series represents our experience with 137 meningiomas arising from the petroclival region resected between June 1993 and October 2002. There were 38 male and 99 female patients with a mean age of 53 years. RESULTS:GTR was achieved in 40% of patients, and near total resection (NTR) was achieved in 40% of patients. One operative death occurred. Twenty-six percent of patients experienced new postoperative cranial nerve deficits, paresis, or ataxia when assessed at a mean follow-up of 8.3 months. The risk of cranial nerve deficits increased with prior resection (P < 0.001), preoperative cranial nerve deficit (P = 0.005), tumor adherence to neurovascular structures (P = 0.046), and fibrous tumor consistency (P = 0.005). The risk of paresis or ataxia increased with prior resection (P = 0.001) and tumor adherence (P = 0.045). Selective NTR rather than GTR in patients with adherent or fibrous tumors significantly reduced the rate of neurological deficits. Radiographic recurrence or progression occurred in 17.6% of patients at a mean follow-up of 29.8 months. Tumor recurrence rates after GTR and NTR did not differ significantly (P = 0.111). CONCLUSION:Intraoperatively defined tumor characteristics played a critical role in identifying the subset of patients with an increased risk of postoperative deficits. By selectively pursuing an NTR rather than a GTR, neurological morbidity was reduced significantly without significantly increasing the rate of tumor recurrence.
Missing in action: Species competition is a neglected predictor variable in species distribution modelling

The central role of species competition in shaping community structure in ecosystems is well appreciated amongst ecologists. However species competition is a consistently missing variable in Species Distribution Modelling (SDM). This study presents results of our attempt to incorporate species competition in SDMs. We used a suit of predictor variables including Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI), as well as distance from roads, settlements and water, fire frequency and distance from the nearest herbivore sighting (of selected herbivores) to model individual habitat preferences of five grazer species (buffalo, warthog, waterbuck, wildebeest and zebra) with the Ensemble SDM algorithm for Gonarezhou National Park, Zimbabwe. Our results showed that distance from the nearest animal sighting (a proxy for competition among grazers) was the best predictor of the potential distribution of buffalo, wildebeest and zebra but the second best predictor for warthog and waterbuck. Our findings provide evidence to that competition is an important predictor of grazer species’ potential distribution. These findings suggest that species distribution modelling that neglects species competition may be inadequate in explaining the potential distribution of species. Therefore our findings encourage the inclusion of competition in SDM as well as potentially igniting discussions that may lead to improving the predictive power of future SDM efforts.
Attenuation of length dependence of calcium activation in myofilaments of transgenic mouse hearts expressing slow skeletal troponin I

1 We compared sarcomere length (SL) dependence of the Ca2+‐force relation of detergent‐extracted bundles of fibres dissected from the left ventricle of wild‐type (WT) and transgenic mouse hearts expressing slow skeletal troponin I (ssTnI‐TG). Fibre bundles from the hearts of the ssTnI‐TG demonstrated a complete replacement of the cardiac troponin I (cTnI) by ssTnI. 2 Compared to WT controls, ssTnI‐TG fibre bundles were more sensitive to Ca2+ at both short SL (1.9 ± 0.1 μm) and long SL (2.3 ± 0.1 μm). However, compared to WT controls, the increase in Ca2+ sensitivity (change in half‐maximally activating free Ca2+; ΔEC50) associated with the increase in SL was significantly blunted in the ssTnI‐TG myofilaments. 3 Agents that sensitize the myofilaments to Ca2+ by promoting the actin‐myosin reaction (EMD 57033 and CGP‐48506) significantly reduced the length‐dependent ΔEC50 for Ca2+ activation, when SL in WT myofilaments was increased from 1.9 to 2.3 μm. 4 Exposure of myofilaments to calmidazolium (CDZ), which binds to cTnC and increases its affinity for Ca2+, sensitized force developed by WT myofilaments to Ca2+ at SL 1.9 μm and desensitized the WT myofilaments at SL 2.3 μm. There were no significant effects of CDZ on ssTnI‐TG myofilaments at either SL. 5 Our results indicate that length‐dependent Ca2+ activation is modified by specific changes in thin filament proteins and by agents that promote the actin‐myosin interaction. Thus, these in vitro results provide a basis for using these models to test the relative significance of the length dependence of activation in situ.
Improved learning in microencephalic rats

Environmental enrichment (EE) facilitates recovery from behavioral abnormalities and spatial memory disabilities in several neurological disease models. Exposure to EE improves spatial memory acquisition and enhances the survival of newly generated cells in the dentate gyri of adult rodents. However, the effects of EE on spatial learning and neurogenesis in the methylazoxymethanol acetate‐induced microencephalic rat have not been investigated. Depletion of serotonin in the rat hippocampus is known to influence spatial memory and adult neurogenesis, suggesting a role for serotonin in these processes. To confirm this hypothesis, male methylazoxymethanol acetate‐induced microencephalic rats were exposed to EE or conventional housing after weaning; half of these rats further received intracisternal 5,7‐dihydroxytryptamine on postnatal day 3, to induce long‐lasting depletion of serotonin. As adults, these microencephalic rats were observed using the Morris water maze test and examined for hippocampal neurogenesis. EE alleviated the impairment of spatial memory acquisition and enhanced neurogenesis in the dentate gyri of adult microencephalic rats. Injection of 5,7‐dihydroxytryptamine during the neonatal period caused pronounced reductions in hippocampal serotonin levels in these rats. Long‐lasting depletion of serotonin eliminated the EE‐induced alleviation of spatial memory acquisition and neurogenesis impairment in microencephalic rats. The present results suggest that EE alleviates spatial memory performance deficits in microencephalic rats and further indicate that serotonin might be involved in the underlying mechanisms through increased hippocampal neurogenesis. These data provide new insights into therapeutic interventions for individuals with human migration disorders associated with learning disabilities.
Screening and assessment tools for pediatric malnutrition

Purpose of reviewThe ideal measures for screening and assessing undernutrition in children remain a point of discussion in literature. This review aims to provide an overview of recent advances in the nutritional screening and assessment methods in children. Recent findingsThis review focuses on two major topics that emerged in literature since 2015: the practical endorsement of the new definition for pediatric undernutrition, with a focus on anthropometric measurements and the search for a consensus on pediatric nutritional screening tools in different settings. SummaryFew analytical tools exist for the assessment of the nutritional status in children. The subjective global nutritional assessment has been validated by anthropometric as well as clinical outcome parameters. Nutritional screening can help in selecting patients that benefit the most from a full nutritional assessment. Two new screening tools have been developed for use in a general (mixed) hospital population, and one for a population of children with cancer. The value of screening tools in different disease-specific and outpatient pediatric populations remains to be proven.
Who Receives the College Wage Premium?

Using data from the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we estimate wage models in which college-educated workers are classified according to their degree attainment, college type, and college transfer status. The detailed taxonomy produces modest improvements in explanatory power relative to standard specifications, and reveals considerable heterogeneity in the predicted wages of college-educated workers. We find that transfer students receive an “indirect” wage benefit insofar as changing colleges allows them to earn a degree. Some transfer students receive an additional “direct” wage benefit, presumably because switching schools increases their skill investment opportunities.
Community Service at the Crossroads in Ireland

Summary: Community service as a penal option for criminal offending is at a crossroads in Ireland. Though available as a sanction in court since 1983 as a direct alternative to a custodial sentence, under-utilisation and economic prioritisation have, in recent times, prompted government policy to promote community service as a cost-effective penalty and as a measure to alleviate a burgeoning prison population. New legislation and the development of a prisoner resettlement programme incorporating unpaid community work signal an anticipated significant increase and a broadening of the participant base. However, several problematic issues exist. Its penal philosophy is obscure, its aims are variable according to different stakeholder audiences, and the absence of clarity in effectiveness poses definition and measurement dilemmas. This paper seeks to locate community service as a penal sanction in its current context in Ireland, to identify influencing factors and to ask key questions to determine the way forward.
Supply-Side Explanations for Religious Change

Traditional scholarship approaches religious history from the demand side, attributing developments to the shifting desires, perceptions, and circumstances of religious consumers. This article advocates an alternative, supply-side approach that emphasizes the opportunities and restrictions confronting religious organizations and their leaders. Supply shifts lie at the root of major religious changes in America. Colonial revivalists, Asian cult leaders, and contemporary televangelists all prospered when regulatory changes gave them freer access to America's religious marketplace. The article concludes with a discussion of recent judicial decisions that threaten to restrict the future supply of religious innovation in America.
How to Study the Behavior of Bank Stocks

THE PURPOSE OF THIS DISCUSSION is to scientifically deal with the problem of mixed determinants; and to portray a clear-cut, trustworthy answer as to whether a given stock, at a given time, is priced too high or too low. The examination begins by taking 10 Wall Street banks. Then 27 more of the country's largest, with a table of random numbers, are added. Thus one starts off with a list of 37 banks, nationwide, most of them drawn by the play of chance as insurance against bias.
The Effect of Clean Water Regulation on Profitability: Testing the Porter Hypothesis

Previous theoretical research provides opposing arguments regarding the effect of environmental regulation on profitability. This study provides empirical evidence on this debated effect by testing the “strong” version of the Porter hypothesis. We employ panel data analysis to examine the effect of water regulation, as measured by permitted wastewater discharge limits, on the profitability of publicly held firms operating within the chemical manufacturing industries. We find that tighter water regulation meaningfully lowers profitability. By reinterpreting profitability in terms of sales and costs, the results demonstrate that tighter water regulation increases costs conditioned on a given level of sales. (JEL K23, Q52)
The labour market impact of the working families’ tax credit

In October 1999, the working families’ tax credit (WFTC) replaced family credit as the main package of in-work support for families with children. Among a range of stated aims, the WFTC is intended to ‘. improve work incentives, encouraging people without work to move into employment’. In this paper, we consider the impact of WFTC on hours and participation. To simulate labour supply responses, we use a discrete behavioural model of household labour supply with controls for fixed and childcare costs, and unobserved heterogeneity. In simulation, we experiment with a number of scenarios regarding the take-up of the credit, entry wage level and hourly childcare price. We find participation rates among single mothers to increase by around 2.2 percentage points for the base-case scenario, while for married women participation rates are modelled to fall. Our simulation results indicate a small increase in overall participation of around 30,000 individuals.
Design of a Platoon Management Strategy and Its Hardware-In-the Loop Validation

In this paper we propose an architecture to supervise and operate platoons of vehicles. The resulting system is mainly composed by a decentralized architecture where each vehicle, equipped with an On Board Unit, collects the fundamental data and forwards them to an operation center that stores and reorganizes them. We focus here on the automatons implemented in each system and we show a first prototype for its experimental validation.
The Role of Social Networks on Regulation in the Telecommunication Industry: The Discriminatory Case.

In a previous work we studied the equilibrium behavior in a telecommunication market where two interconnected …rms compete, using linear pricing schemes, in the presence of social networks among customers. We showed that social networks matter because equilibrium prices and welfare critically depend on how people are socially related. In this paper we extend the basic model to the nonlinear case, in particular, we consider the cases when …rms can discriminate depending on the destiny of a call or, alternatively,
Immunohistochemical distribution of heart‐type fatty acid‐binding protein immunoreactivity in normal human tissues and in acute myocardial infarct

The cellular distribution of heart‐type fatty acid‐binding protein (H‐FABP) immunoreactivity was examined in normal human tissues using a polyclonal antibody against human H‐FABP. Immunoreactivity was detected in cardio‐myocytes of both ventricles and atria as well as in all striated muscles investigated. In addition, staining was frequently observed in parietal cells of the stomach, renal epithelial cells, acinar and ductal cells of the breast, ductal cells of the salivary gland, corpus luteum, and Leydig cells of the testis. Adipocytes and vascular endothelial cells were positive but other tissues and cells examined were negative. Old infarcts of the heart replaced by fibrous connective tissues were not labelled. Necrotic cardiomyocytes and morphologically normal cardiomyocytes in acute ischaemic lesions 1 h after onset showed reduced or no H‐FABP immunoreactivity. Thus, decreased immunoreactivity for H‐FABP may be a good histological marker of damaged cardiomyocytes.