Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nutrient intake, digestibility and nitrogen retention in indigenous goats fed on Acacia nilotica fruits treated for condensed tannins

Polyethylene glycol (PEG 4000), Browse Plus TM (BP), wood ash (WA) and boiling water were evaluated as tannin deactivation methods on tannins in Acacia nilotica fruits. Twenty four Matebele goats of mean body mass, 38.7 ± 3.12 kg, were used in a digestibility and nitrogen balance trial. A completely randomized design was used, and the initial weight was used as a covariate in data analysis. The goats were randomly allocated to the treatments and were fed for 28 days on a basal diet of hay and A. nilotica fruits treated with PEG (MW 4000), BP, WA or boiling water. Acacia nilotica fruits had 4.39% catechin equivalents of condensed tannins, thus the amount of PEG, BP and WA used to treat the fruits was 1.5 parts per part of condensed tannin in the fruits. It was hypothesized that treating the fruits would deactivate the tannins in them and increase intake, digestibility and nitrogen retention. Treating the fruits for condensed tannins had no effect on hay and fruit intake. None of the treatments had an effect on the apparent digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, neutral and acid detergent fibre and nitrogen retention in the goats. The goats that were fed on the boiled fruits had a negative N retention of –1.03 g/day. It was concluded that none of the detannification methods improved feed intake, apparent nutrient digestibility and nitrogen retention. It is recommended that each detannification method should be tested on different types of tannins and at different concentrations before totally dismissing the treatments as not useful. Keywords: Boiling, Browse Plus, pods, proanthocyanidins, PEG, wood ash
Immunoglobulin specificity of TG19318: a novel synthetic ligand for antibody affinity purification

A synthetic ligand [TG19318], able to mimic protein A in the recognition of the immunoglobulin Fc portion, has been previously identified in our laboratory through the synthesis and screening of multimeric combinatorial peptide libraries. In this study we have fully characterized its applicability in affinity chromatography for the downstream processing of antibodies, examining the specificity and selectivity for polyclonal and monoclonal immunoglobulins derived from different sources. Ligand specificity was broader than protein A, since IgG deriving from human, cow, horse, pig, mouse, rat, rabbit, goat and sheep sera, IgY obtained from egg yolk, and IgM, IgA and IgE were efficiently purified on TG19318 affinity columns. Adsorbed antibodies were conveniently eluted by a buffer change to 0.1 M acetic acid or 0.1 M sodium bicarbonate pH 9, with full retention of immunological properties. Monoclonal antibodies deriving from cell culture supernatants or ascitic fluids were also conveniently purified on TG19318 affinity columns, even from very diluted samples. The affinity constant for the TG19318–IgG interaction was 0.3 µM, as determined by optical biosensor measurements. Under optimized conditions, antibody purity after affinity purification was close to 95%, as determined by densitometric scanning of SDS–PAGE gels of purified fractions, and maximal column capacity reached 25 mg Ig/ml support. In vivo toxicity studies in mice indicated a ligand oral toxicity greater than 2000 mg kg−1 while intravenous toxicity was close to 150 mg kg−1. Validation of antibody affinity purification processes for therapeutic use, a very complex, laborious and costly procedure, is going to be simplified by the use of TG19318, which could reduce considerably the presence of biological contaminants in the purified preparation, a very recurrent problem when using recombinant or extractive biomolecules as affinity ligands. Copyright © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
An update on the advancements in the treatment of agitation in Alzheimer’s disease

ABSTRACT Introduction: Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are associated with significant negative outcomes for patients and their caregivers. Agitation, one of the most distressing NPS, lacks safe and effective long term interventions. Nonpharmacological interventions are suggested as first-line treatment, but aren’t effective for every patient, resulting in pharmacological interventions for some patients, consisting of off-label use of antipsychotics, sedative/hypnotics, anxiolytics, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, memantine, and antidepressants; where efficacy doesn’t necessarily outweigh associated risks. Areas covered: Gains in understanding neurobiological mechanisms underlying agitation have fueled several recent clinical trials. This article updates our review published in 2014. Comprehensive literature search for published articles from January 2014 to December 2016 evaluating pharmacologic interventions for agitation in AD was done. A review of several clinical trials was completed: dextromethorphan/quinidine, scyllo-inositol, brexpiprazole, prazosin, cannabinoids, citalopram, escitalopram, pimavanserin, ITI-007, ORM-12741 show promise in treating agitation. Expert opinion: Neurobiological findings, innovative trials designs, statistical approaches, and preliminary paths for regulatory agency acceptance have re-ignited the area of pharmacological treatment of NPS. Though further research is needed to fully determine the safety, tolerability and efficacy of these treatments, the mission to find effective treatments for neuropsychiatric symptoms such as agitation in patients with dementia is well underway.
The Quantitative Effects of Tax Foresight: Not All States Are Equal

This paper explores the effect of federal tax news on state economic activity. We estimate a factor-augmented vector autoregression (FAVAR) model, which allows us to consider the possibility that unobserved factors – such as credit and fiscal conditions – might be relevant for modeling the dynamic response of aggregate and state-level economic activity. We identify tax foresight as a shock to the implicit tax rate, measured by the yield spread between the one-year tax-exempt municipal bond and the one-year taxable Treasury bond. Our results suggest that an increase in the implicit tax rate raises national output over much of the anticipation period. In addition, anticipated tax increases give rise to expansions in state personal income and employment. We find that the variation in the responsiveness of economic activity across states is mostly explained by differences in industrial composition and income distribution, as well as by some demographic characteristics such as median income and education. Finally, using a proxy for exogenous changes in federal tax revenues, we investigate the dynamics of state-level personal income and employment. Our results point to considerable heterogeneity in the response across U.S. states. Moreover, they reveal that the long-run multiplier for an anticipated increase in tax revenues is about a tenth of the short-run multiplier for an unanticipated increase in taxes.
Prediagnostic Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug Use and Lung Cancer Survival in the VITAL Study

Introduction: Inflammation is important for lung oncogenesis. Use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) has been shown to improve colorectal cancer survival. However, few studies have examined the association in lung cancer patients. Methods: The VITamins And Lifestyle (VITAL) cohort includes Washington State residents, aged 50 to 76 years, who completed a baseline questionnaire between 2000 and 2002. Participants responded on the frequency and duration of use of individual NSAIDs in the previous 10 years. Subjects of this study were 785 members of the cohort, who were identified with incident lung cancer from baseline through 2007 through linkage to a population-based cancer registry. Participants were followed for lung cancer death through linkage to state records of death through 2009. Adjusted proportional hazards models estimated hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between NSAIDs and lung cancer death. Results: Five hundred and twenty-two participants (66%) died from lung cancer. Relative to nonuse, high (≥ 4 days/week and ≥ 4 years) prediagnostic use of regular-strength or low-dose aspirin (HR 0.99, 95% CI: 0.74–1.33 and HR 0.89, 95% CI: 0.67–1.17, respectively) or total nonaspirin NSAIDs (HR 1.20, 95% CI: 0.79–1.83) did not reduce lung cancer death. However, high use of ibuprofen was associated with a 62% increased risk of lung cancer death (HR 1.62, 95% CI: 1.01–2.58). Conclusions: Long-term, prediagnostic NSAID use does not improve lung cancer survival overall. Use of ibuprofen may reduce survival from lung cancer. Our results underscore the need for further study of the mechanisms of action for individual NSAIDs with regard to cancer survival.
Thermal runaway avoidance during burn-in

In deep sub-micron technologies, increased standby leakage current in high performance processors results in increased junction temperature. Elevated junction temperature causes further increase on the standby leakage current. The standby leakage current is expected to increase even more under the burn-in environment leading to still higher junction temperature and possibly the thermal runaway. In this paper we investigate the thermal management of high performance processors during burn-in.
The Development and Validation of the Sense of Support Scale

Abstract Two studies were conducted to develop and validate the Sense of Support Scale (SSS). Study I, which consisted of scale development and an evaluation with a sample of corporate and university employees, supported the scale's internal consistency and construct validity. Study 2, which was conducted with a sample of undergraduate students, was designed to evaluate the revised and shortened version of the SSS. The scale was found to be internally consistent and had a high test-retest reliability. Concurrent validity was supported by significant correlations to the Social Provisions Scale and the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List. Construct validity was supported by significant positive correlations to hardiness and approach-coping and significant negative correlations to avoidance-coping, stress, and symptoms of illness. The relationship between the SSS and symptoms of illness supported a main effect rather than a stress-buffering model. Implications for using the SSS to investigate the influences of social support on health are discussed.
Interval type-2 relational analysis and its application to multiple attribute decision making

In this paper, we present the interval type-2 fuzzy rational degree to measure the similarity of the interval type-2 fuzzy sets and apply it to multiple attribute decision making with interval type-2 fuzzy information. First, we introduce the concept of the interval type-2 fuzzy metric spaces, which include interval type-2 fuzzy distance space and interval type-2 fuzzy inner product space, respectively. Based on which, we derive the distance measure and inner product of interval type-2 fuzzy sets, respectively. Then, we introduce the axiomatic definition of the interval type-2 fuzzy rational degree and propose an interval type-2 fuzzy rational degree formula. Moreover, we construct the mathematical optimal model based on two types of interval type-2 fuzzy measures (center of gravity and fuzziness) to determine the optimal attribute weights. Based on the interval type-2 fuzzy rational degree and the optimal weights solution model we proposed, an approach to multiple attribute decision making under interval type-2 fuzzy environment is developed. Finally, an illustrative example is given to demonstrate the practicality and effectiveness of our method.
American Spread Option Pricing with Stochastic Interest Rate

American Spread Option Pricing with Stochastic Interest Rates An Jiang Department of Mathematics, BYU Doctor of Philosophy In financial markets, spread option is a derivative security with two underlying assets and the payoff of the spread option depends on the difference of these assets. We consider American style spread option which allows the owners to exercise it at any time before the maturity. The complexity of pricing American spread option is that the boundary of the corresponding partial differential equation which determines the option price is unknown and the model for the underlying assets is two-dimensional. In this dissertation, we incorporate the stochasticity to the interest rate and assume that it satisfies the Vasicek model or the CIR model. We derive the partial differential equations with terminal and boundary conditions which determine the American spread option with stochastic interest rate and formulate the associated free boundary problem. We convert the free boundary problem to the linear complimentarity conditions for the American spread option, so that we can go around the free boundary and compute the option price numerically. Alternatively, we approximate the option price using methods based on the Monte Carlo simulation, including the regression-based method, the Lonstaff and Schwartz method and the dual method. We make the comparisons among the option prices derived by the partial differential equation method and Monte Carlo methods to show the accuracy of the result.
Compact Linearly and Circularly Polarized Unidirectional Dielectric Resonator Antennas

The linearly polarized (LP) and circularly polarized (CP) unidirectional dielectric resonator (DR) antennas (DRAs) with compact ground planes are investigated. Both designs make use of the broadside DR HEM11δ mode to obtain the required equivalent magnetic dipoles. The required electric dipoles are provided by the currents on the small ground planes. To demonstrate the idea, both LP and CP unidirectional DRAs operating at 2.4 GHz were designed, fabricated, and tested. Reasonable agreement between the measured and simulated results is observed. It was found that the front-to-back ratio (FTBR) of the LP design is more than 15 dB over the frequency range 2.30-2.55 GHz (10.1% bandwidth). For the CP design, the FTBR is over 15 dB across the frequency range 2.40-2.55 GHz (6.1% bandwidth).
Direct phase retrieval

A direct, noniterative approach to retrieving a multidimensional complex image (i.e., its phase can vary from pixel to pixel) from the magnitude of its Fourier transform is developed. The uniqueness of the reconstruction is shown to be a direct consequence of the existence of zero surfaces or sheets in the multidimensional z transforms of the image. The analytic properties of these zero sheets enable one to distinguish the zero sheet belonging to the image from that belonging to the complex conjugate of its reflection in the coordinate origin. It is thereby possible to recover the unique, most compact "image form" of the original image. Two-dimensional examples are presented.
R2* magnetic resonance imaging of the liver in patients with iron overload.

R2* magnetic resonance imaging (R2*-MRI) can quantify hepatic iron content (HIC) by noninvasive means but is not fully investigated. Patients with iron overload completed 1.5T R2*-MRI examination and liver biopsy within 30 days. Forty-three patients (sickle cell anemia, n = 32; beta-thalassemia major, n = 6; and bone marrow failure, n = 5) were analyzed: median age, 14 years, median transfusion duration, 15 months, average (+/-SD) serum ferritin 2718 plus or minus 1994 ng/mL, and average HIC 10.9 plus or minus 6.8 mg Fe/g dry weight liver. Regions of interest were drawn and analyzed by 3 independent reviewers with excellent agreement of their measurements (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.98). Ferritin and R2*-MRI were weakly but significantly associated (range of correlation coefficients among the 3 reviewers, 0.41-0.48; all P < .01). R2*-MRI was strongly associated with HIC for all 3 reviewers (correlation coefficients, 0.96-0.98; all P < .001). This high correlation confirms prior reports, calibrates R2*-MRI measurements, and suggests its clinical utility for predicting HIC using R2*-MRI. This study was registered at www.clinicaltrials. gov as #NCT00675038.
Using logistic regression analysis in preliminary differential diagnosis of adnexal masses

The aim of our study was to generate predictive model, which would allow to estimate the influence of analyzed parameters on predictive accuracy of differential diagnosis of adnexal masses and to evaluate prospectively diagnostic efficacy of the statistic model in the new set of patients. A total of 686 women diagnosed and surgically treated in the Gynecological and Obstetrical Teaching Hospital of University of Medical Sciences in Poznan, Poland, were recruited into the study. Preoperative diagnostics included gynecological examination, ultrasonographic evaluation, tumor Doppler blood flow analysis, and serum levels of CA125 and TPS. In order to find the best combination of features and to calculate the individual probability of the malignancy, stepwise logistic regression analysis with quasi-Newton estimation was applied. The essential part of the best prognostic model, described by foregoing variables, is as follows: The highest sensitivity and specificity for the obtained model were 87.84% and 93.74%, respectively. Prognostic model, constructed with the use of logistic regression analysis, is characterized by higher sensitivity and specificity than individually applied diagnostic tests. Prospective evaluation of this model application in a larger group of patients with adnexal masses will enable precise assessment of its objective clinical usefulness.
Hierarchical competition models with Allee effects

We consider a two-species hierarchical competition model with a strong Allee effect. The Allee effect is assumed to be caused by predator saturation. Moreover, we assume that there is a ‘silverback’ species x that gets first choice of the resources and where growth is limited by its own intraspecific competition, while the second ‘inferior’ species y gets whatever is left. Both species x and y are assumed to have the property of strong Allee effect. In this paper we determine the impact of the presence of the Allee effect on the global dynamics of both species.
Feasibility of an Internet-Based Intervention for Improving Diabetes Outcomes Among Low-Income Patients With a High Risk for Poor Diabetes Outcomes Followed in a Community Clinic

Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of an Internet-based intervention, targeting very low-income minority patients with a high risk for not engaging in diabetes self-management, to increase diabetes self-management and improve diabetes outcomes. Methods Patients with diabetes followed in a community clinic were enrolled in the 13-month trial. Participants were requested to test blood sugar and upload glucometer data every day and login to the program at least once every second day. Feasibility data included process measures; diabetes outcomes consisted of changes from baseline to follow-up for levels of glycosylated hemoglobin (A1C), LDL, HDL, triglyceride and total cholesterol, and health-related quality of life using the SF-36. Results Only 22% of participants had health insurance. Participants had an average of 4.39 comorbidities and 7.06 prescriptions. Participants uploaded glucometer data at least twice each week and logged into the application at least once each week. Participants demonstrated reductions statistically or clinically important changes in A1C, LDL cholesterol, total cholesterol, and triglyceride levels. Participants engaging in more frequent chat messages and interactive activities demonstrated greater reductions in LDL cholesterol levels; however, engaging in more frequent chat messages also was associated with increased triglyceride levels. Participants rated fewer role limitations from physical health problems at follow-up. Conclusions The intervention produced good outcomes; however, an alternative platform may be a less expensive approach.
The identification of right-to-left shunts using contrast transcranial Doppler ultrasound: performance and interpretation modalities, and absence of a significant side difference of cardiac micro-emboli

Abstract Cardiac and extracardiac right-to-left shunts can be identified by transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) as well as by transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TCD) using contrast agents that do not pass the lungs. Currently, the appropriate performance of a Valsalva manoeuvre (VM) to provoke the shunt, the use of different contrast agents and the classification of the TCD results are still under debate. In this study, we looked also at possible side effects of provoked cardiac micro-emboli in the left and right hemisphere. Seventy-one patients were investigated by both TEE and bilateral TCD of the middle cerebral arteries. The following protocol was applied in a randomized way: (1) Echovist®-300 without VM; (2) Echovist®-300, VM for 5 seconds starting 5 seconds after the beginning of contrast injection; (3) repetitive short VMs in between 2 and 13 seconds after the beginning of Echovist®-300 injection; and (4) repetitive short VMs in between 2 and 13 seconds after the beginning of agitated saline injection. Only if one of the tests (2-4) was negative, this particular negative test was repeated. Use of Echovist®-300, but not of saline yielded 100% sensitivity in the detection of TEE-proven shunts. The repetitive VM was slightly superior to the conventional VM. Introduction of a threshold of two or even three microbubbles produced less falsely positive TCD results in comparison to the TEE. There was no difference in microbubbles. TCD using Echovist®-300 is a sensitive method to identify TEE-proven cardiac right-to-left shunts. Repetitive VM is an alternative to conventional VM.
Disturbance-observer-based-L2 — L∞-control for Markovian jump nonlinear systems with general uncertain transition rate

In this paper, the problem of disturbance-observer-based-L2 - L∞-control (DOBC) is discussed for Markovian jump nonlinear systems with general uncertain transition rate and multiple disturbances. The general uncertain transition rate matrix means that some elements of the transition rate matrix are only known their bounds, and the others are unknown. The disturbances can be divided into two parts: one is described by an exogenous system in the input channel, and the other is supposed to be H2 norm bounded. A disturbance observer is designed to estimate the disturbances which are described by an exogenous system, and the estimation is applied to feedforward compensation. Sufficient conditions are derived in terms of linear matrix inequalities under the closed-loop system stochastic stability with L2 - L∞ performance can be guaranteed. Finally, an application example is given to illustrate the effectiveness of proposed approach.
Foreign Exchange Market Performance: Evidence from Bivariate Time Series Approach

There are many studies dealing with the analysis of similarity among currencies in foreign exchange market by using network analysis approach. In those studies, each currency is represented by a univariate time series of exchange rate return. This is the standard practice to analyze the underlying information in the foreign exchange market. In this paper, Escoufier's RV coefficient is applied to measure the similarity among currencies where each of them is represented by bivariate time series. Based on that coefficient, we analyze the topological structure of the currencies. An example of FOREX analysis will be presented and discussed to illustrate the advantages of RV coefficient.