Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Imported African schistosomiasis and the potential risk of transmission in China

Schistosomiasis is an important global public health problem, and over 200 million individuals are estimated to be infected with Schistosoma spp. in 76 tropical and subtropical countries around the world [1]. In China, only Schistosoma japonicum was endemic. This species was once highly endemic in 12 provinces, and more than 10 million people were infected in the early 1950s [2]. Since that time, great progress has been made in the prevention and control of schistosomiasis. By the end of 2015, the transmission of schistosomiasis had been interrupted in five of the 12 former endemic provinces, and seven provinces had achieved transmission control in China (<1% prevalence of S. japonicum infection in humans and livestock, no autochthonous patients with acute schistosomiasis, and no infected snail hosts for consecutive 2 years) [3]. In 2015, it is estimated that there are 77,194 human cases, and no cases of acute schistosomiasis were reported in China [4]. African schistosomiasis is caused primarily by the blood flukes S. haematobium or S. mansoni. S. hematobium infection is endemic primarily in Africa and the Middle East, and causes urinary schistosomiasis. S. mansoni infection is distributed around the world, predominantly in Africa, the Near East, South America and the Caribbean, and produces intestinal schistosomiasis [1]. Both Schistosoma species are transmitted by intermediate host snails. Human infection is caused by skin contact with cercaria-contaminated freshwater during swimming, fishing or bathing. The principal clinical manifestations of S. haematobium infection are bladder irritation, hematuria, and urinal tract blockages, whereas the manifestations of S. mansoni infection are usually relatively mild, such as fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and weakness. Some patients may be mild or asymptomatic [5]. More than 90% of cases with African schistosomiasis occur in Africa, and China is a non-endemic area. However, an increasing number of Chinese citizens travel to Africa for work or leisure following the development of economic programs and tourism, the globalization of international trade, cultural exchange and China-aided projects in Africa. More than one million Chinese workers are working in Africa and approximately 900,000 Chinese people vacation in Africa each year [6]. There is an increasing trend for cases of African schistosomiasis in China. In this study, we report two cases of African schistosomiasis imported from Tanzania and Madagascar to China and discuss its potential transmission risk in China.
Anatomical Study of the Skull of the Adult Dogs and its Clinical Value During Regional Anesthesia

It had been reported that the domestication of dogs began in the late Paleolithic and Mesolithic period. Since, there is a lack of information on anatomical measurements of the skulls of dogs and its clinical value during regional anesthesia; the present work was taken. The investigation was carried out on nineteen mandibles and upper jaws from adult dogs aged between 4-8-year-old without any apparent skeletal disorders. Then, a total of seventeen skull measurements and indices were recorded. The skull length, cranial length, nasal length and cranial width were 17.6 cm, 11.2 cm, 6.38 cm and 7.5 cm respectively. Also, the cranial index was 66.37. In addition, the distances from the root of premolar tooth to infra-orbital canal and from the latter to the root of the canine tooth were 1.07 cm and 3.4 cm, respectively. The length and height of the mandibles were 12.7 cm and 6.5 cm, respectively. Furthermore, the distances from the lateral alveolar root to mental foramen and from the mental foramen to caudal mandibular border were 2.3 cm and 10.3 cm, respectively. In the current work, the distances from mandibular foramen to the base of mandible as well as from caudal border of mandible to below of the mandibular foramen were 1.1 cm and 1.3 cm, respectively. Also, the distances from the base of mandible to condyloid fossa and from the latter to the maximum height of mandible were 4.5 cm and 2.1 cm, respectively. Finally, the distance from caudal border of mandible to mandibular foramen and from the latter to mandibular angle were 0.97 cm and 0.93 cm, respectively. These data as important landmarks are discussed with regard to their application to clinical maneuvers around the head of the adult dogs such as regional anesthesia during treating head injury and dental extraction.
Effect of weather variability on the incidence of mumps in children: a time-series analysis

SUMMARY The increasing international interest in the potential health effects of climate change has emphasized the importance of investigations into the relationship between weather variability and infectious diseases. However, few studies have examined the impact of weather variability on mumps in children, despite the fact that children are considered particularly vulnerable to climate change. We acquired data about cases of mumps in children aged <15 years and weather variability in Fukuoka, Japan from 2000 to 2008, and then used time-series analyses to assess how weather variability affected mumps cases, adjusting for seasonal variations, inter-annual variations, and temporal variations of two large epidemics in 2001 and 2004–2005. The weekly number of mumps cases increased by 7·5% (95% CI 4·0–11·1) for every 1°C increase in average temperature and by 1·4% (95% CI 0·5–2·4) for every 1% increase in relative humidity. The percentage increase was greatest in the 0–4 years age group and tended to decrease with increasing age. The number of mumps cases in children increased significantly with increased average temperature and relative humidity.
Azoospermia and Testicular Hypoplasia in a Boar Carrier of a Novel Y-Autosome Translocation

Few sex-autosome chromosome abnormalities have been documented in domestic animal species. In humans, Y-autosome chromosome abnormalities may occur at a rate of 1/2,000 live births, whereas in the domestic pig only 2 Y-autosome reciprocal translocations have been previously described. During a routine cytogenetic screening of young boars, we identified a new Y-autosome translocation carrier, which after puberty showed semen devoid of sperm and testicular hypoplasia with spermatogenesis arrest. Whole chromosome painting by FISH analysis corroborated the reciprocal nature of the chromosomal exchanges between the Y chromosome and SSC13. The possible causes for the observed meiotic arrest of the carrier are reviewed.
Internal Control and Maturity of Debt

The managerial agency issue between manager and investors can be controlled by debtholders via short term debt as it provides an external control on managers via frequent renegotiation of the debt contract. Alternatively, increased board independence can mitigate the managerial agency problem by establishing a stronger and effective internal monitoring mechanism of managers. So, strong corporate governance can substitute the maturity structure of debt, or vice versa, in terms of managerial control. In this paper, we investigate the effect of internal board monitoring on firms’ debt maturity structure. We exogenously identify internal monitoring via board independence and estimate its real impact on maturity using Sarbanes – Oxley Act of 2002 and the Securities and Exchange Commission regulations as exogenous shocks to board structure in a natural experiment setting. Supporting the managerial agency theory, our findings indicate that firms have debt with longer maturity as board independence increases and internal monitoring becomes stronger. Our original results stay unchanged after implementing placebo tests and controlling for the CEO ownership, bond ratings and CEO duality. We also provide more insight into this relation by considering different aspects of debt issuance, organizational structure and as well as the times with financial crises. Our findings stay robust focusing only on the new debt issuance while the results are even stronger for conglomerate firms. We find the relation between internal monitoring and debt maturity becomes less clear during times of financial instability.
Introduction and Evaluation of Peer-assisted Learning in First-Year Undergraduate Bioscience

Abstract Bioscience undergraduates, enrolled on a first-year microbiology module, participated in the introduction of peer-assisted learning (PAL) into the curriculum. The class of 122 students was divided into groups of six to ten, with one volunteer from each group assuming the role of group leader (peer tutor). Group leaders attended a compulsory training session at which they were guided through the tutorial they would lead with their peer group. The primary aim of PAL was to raise students’ self-confidence in their problem-solving and numerical skills. Students were provided with the opportunity to practise problem-solving questions from past examination papers and to discuss with their peers their answers and any difficulties they encountered, particularly with regard to any mathematics involved. Students’ perceptions of their PAL experience, their group leader’s contribution and the training provided for group leaders were evaluated using a questionnaire. The latter revealed that bioscience undergraduates found PAL a highly valuable learning experience. In particular, they found the less formal, comfortable and relaxed atmosphere of the PAL session provided them with greater freedom to ask questions and exerted less pressure on them to answer questions correctly than a more formal staff-led session, as well as assisting them to understand the topics covered.
Biologic Disease‐Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs and Risk of High‐Grade Cervical Dysplasia and Cervical Cancer in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Cohort Study

Recent research showed an increased risk of high‐grade cervical dysplasia and cervical cancer associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The purpose of this study was to examine whether this risk was associated with the use of biologic versus nonbiologic disease‐modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs).
The Value Premium and Time-Varying Unsystematic Risk

Recent research has discussed the possible role of unsystematic risk in explaining equity returns. Simultaneously, but somehow independently, numerous other studies have documented the failure of the static and conditional capital asset pricing models to explain the differences in returns between value and growth stocks. This paper examines the post-1963 value premium by employing a model that captures the time-varying total risk of the value-minus-growth portfolios. In accordance with existing studies, we find that the static CAPM has no explanatory power for the value premium, and that firm size has only a limited role to play. Our results show that the conditional variance specification incorporating time-varying idiosyncratic risk can fully capture the post-1963 value premium and that the value premium is a compensation for exposure to time-varying risk. This conclusion is robust to different characteristics of value and growth stocks and to the country under review (US and UK).
Pervasive Genotypic Mosaicism in Founder Mice Derived from Genome Editing through Pronuclear Injection

Genome editing technologies, especially the Cas9/CRISPR system, have revolutionized biomedical research over the past several years. Generation of novel alleles has been simplified to unprecedented levels, allowing for rapid expansion of available genetic tool kits for researchers. However, the issue of genotypic mosaicism has become evident, making stringent analyses of the penetrance of genome-edited alleles essential. Here, we report that founder mice, derived from pronuclear injection of ZFNs or a mix of guidance RNAs and Cas9 mRNAs, display consistent genotypic mosaicism for both deletion and insertion alleles. To identify founders with greater possibility of transmitting the mutant allele through the germline, we developed an effective germline genotyping method. The awareness of the inherent genotypic mosaicism issue with genome editing will allow for a more efficient implementation of the technologies, and the germline genotyping method will save valuable time and resources.
The Governance of Regional Knowledge Networks

This article aims to illustrate the factors determining the process of knowledge creation and innovation, focusing on interactive learning, the sharing of tacit knowledge and the development of creativity. It then compares three different forms of regulation of economic relationships - the free market, governance, and government models - focusing on promoting a greater speed of change more than the static factors of competitiveness. Finally, it illustrates the characteristics of competence centres as a new tool of innovation policy which may be appropriate in the evolution of European industry towards the knowledge economy.
2C-4 Chirp Reversal Ultrasound Contrast Imaging

We present a new contrast imaging approach based on chirps named chirp reversal contrast imaging. The technique consists of transmitting a first excitation signal being a chirp of increasing frequency with time (the so-called upsweep) and a second excitation signal, the downsweep, being a replica of the first signal, but time reversed with a sweep of decreasing frequency with time. Simulations and optical observations were carried out to explore the potential of the chirp reversal approach in detecting microbubbles. Simulations using a Rayleigh-Plesset equation were performed considering various microbubbles excited with chirps at 1.7 MHz center frequency and 50% bandwidth. Optical observations with the Brandaris camera were carried out using BR14 bubbles of radii from 1 mum to 5 mum. Chirps with center frequencies of 1.7 MHz and 50% bandwidth were transmitted with peak negative pressures ranging from 70 kPa to 200 kPa. Simulations showed that for larger bubbles (>2 mum), significant differences occur between upsweep chirp response and down sweep response at 1.7 MHz transmit frequency. Optical observations confirmed these results. From the optical radius-time curves, the larger bubbles showed different dynamics when upsweep or downsweep frequencies were used in transmission. Upsweep excitation chirps produce highly damped responses with large amplitude excursions whereas the response to downsweep chirps showed a pronounced resonance behavior with smaller amplitudes. Smaller bubbles (<2 mum) appear to be less sensitive to frequency sweep at 1.7 MHz transmit frequency. However, driven at a higher center frequency, smaller bubbles tend to be more sensitive. Experimental and theoretical data confirm that chirp reversal is feasible and can be used to detect contrast microbubbles and to improve the contrast to tissue ratio
An alternative technique for the fabrication of removable complete dentures.

UNLABELLED The traditional approach for the fabrication of removable complete dentures has several principal limitations. It requires numerous clinical and laboratory steps, and is labor intensive and time consuming. It is obvious that the clinical practice would benefit from further technique optimization in denture fabrication. The authors present a technique in which a duplicate of the patient's existing maxillary denture is simultaneously used as an impression carrying tray, as a guide for placement of the denture teeth, and for maxillomandibular articulation. LEARNING OBJECTIVES This article discusses an alternative approach for the fabrication of removable complete dentures. Upon reading this article, the reader should: Be able to identify disadvantages in the traditional approach. Become familiar with the steps required to Fabricate a duplicate denture. Understand the clinical applications for the proposed technique.
A novel MRI‐biomarker candidate for Alzheimer’s disease composed of regional brain volume and perfusion variables

Background: Earlier evidence indicates that regional cerebral volume (rVOL) and blood flow (rCBF) variables carry independent information on incipient and early Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and combining these modalities may increase discriminant performance. We compared single variables and combinations regarding their power for optimizing diagnostic accuracy.
Motivated to serve: An empirical examination of motivation and consequences in the public and nonprofit organizations

This article draws upon a sample of nonprofit and state government managers to examine the role that service motivation plays in both sectors. The research addressed three main questions: 1) what are the main motivational types and constructs of managers in the public and nonprofit sectors? 2) what differences exist between these sectors in terms of level of motivation? And 3) what are the long-term and short-term consequences of different types of motivation? Our findings suggest that in many ways public and nonprofit managers are similar in terms of the importance of intrinsic versus extrinsic rewards. Public and nonprofit managers show both of the similarities and differences in terms of the consequences of motivation leading to increased job engagement and increased civic and volunteer activity. The results provide further evidence about relations among the antecedents, moderators, and consequences as well as the role of motivation, mentoring, and interpersonal communication. Additionally, our research also points to important moderating factors such as mentoring and interpersonal communication that may act to increase both motivation and enhance outcomes. Implications of this research are also discussed [END – This paper will definitely be revised. Your comments are appreciated. Please email sungmin.park@unlv.edu or jessica.word@unlv.edu ]
Shigella flexneri O-antigens revisited: final elucidation of the O-acetylation profiles and a survey of the O-antigen structure diversity.

Shigella flexneri is an important human pathogen causing shigellosis. Strains of S. flexneri are serologically heterogeneous and, based on O-antigens, are currently classified into 14 types. Structures of the O-antigens (O-polysaccharides) of S. flexneri have been under study since 1960s but some gaps still remained. In this work, using one- and two-dimensional (1) H- and (13) C-NMR spectroscopy, the O-polysaccharides of several S. flexneri types were reinvestigated, and their structures were either confirmed (types 2b, 3b, 3c, 5b, X) or amended in respect to the O-acetylation pattern (types 3a, Y, 6, 6a). As a result, the O-acetylation sites were defined in all O-polysaccharides that had not been studied in detail earlier, and the long story of S. flexneri type strain O-antigen structure elucidation is thus completed. New and published data on the S. flexneri O-antigen structures are summarized and discussed in view of serological and genetic relationships of the O-antigens within the Shigella group and between S. flexneri and Escherichia coli.
Competition in the Hungarian Banking Market

This paper investigates the degree of bank competition in Hungary on various submarkets. An overview of stylised facts on the market structure, pricing behaviour and entry barriers suggests that the degree of competition may be rather different in the individual submarkets. Looking at the pricing practice of Hungarian banks, a possible use of market power may be conjectured in consumer lending. By contrast, it may be presumed that competitive pricing prevails in the corporate lending market. We prove our assumption by using the Bresnahan model, which belongs to the non-structural approaches of measuring competition. We conducted our empirical investigation using different measures of output, i.e. interest-bearing assets, loans, interest-bearing liabilities and deposits, for the period between December 1996 and September 2003. In respect of consumer loans, we analysed a panel sample for a shorter time horizon, i.e. the period between March 2001 and September 2003. Based on our results, it is safe to assume that the degree of competition in the loan and deposit markets falls between perfect competition and the Cournot equilibrium. In contrast, the consumer credit market is characterised by a much lower degree of competition, i.e. between Cournot equilibrium and perfect collusion. In addition to measuring competition, we attempted to determine losses in consumer surplus caused by banks, as well as the degree of the market power (measured by the Lerner index).
Government policy and banking instability: "overbanking" in the 1920s

Excess capacity, or “overbanking,” was cited by contemporaries as leading cause of bank failure during the 1920s. Many states that had high numbers of banks per capita in 1920 had high bank failure rates subsequently. This article finds that the number of banks per capita was highest in states that provided deposit insurance, set low minimum capital requirements, and restricted branching. Banks per capita declined the most over the 1920s in states where branching expanded, and in those suffering high failure rates because of falling incomes or instability caused by deposit insurance. Deposit insurance and the relative dominance of agriculture also explain the composition of state banking systems between state and federally chartered institutions.
A comparison of the acceleration mechanisms in young stellar objects and active galactic nuclei jets

We examine the hypothesis that there exists a simple scaling between the observed velocities of jets found in young stellar objects (YSOs) and jets found in active galactic nuclei (AGN). We employ a very simplified physical model of the jet acceleration process. We use timedependent, spherically symmetric wind models in Newtonian and relativistic gravitational fields to ask whether the energy input rates required to produce the jet velocities observed in YSOs (of approximately 2 × the escape velocity from the central object) can also produce AGN jet velocities (Lorentz factors of γ ∼ 10). Such a scaling would be expected if there is a common production mechanism for such jets. We demonstrate that such a scaling does exist, provided that the energy input process takes place sufficiently deep in the gravitational potential well, enabling physical use to be made of the speed of light as a limiting velocity, and provided that the energy released in the accretion process is imparted to a small fraction of the available accreting material.
Safety-Based Incentives in Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs): The Spanish Case

Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) are mostly implemented for three reasons: to circumvent budgetary constraints, encourage efficiency and improvement of quality in the provision of public infrastructure. One of the ways of reaching the latter objective is by the introduction of performance-based standards tied to bonuses and penalties to reward or punish the performance of the contractor. These performance based standards often refer to different aspects such as technical, environmental and safety issues. This paper focuses on the implementation of safety based incentives in PPPs. The main aim of this paper is to analyze whether the incentives to improve road safety in PPPs are effective in improving safety ratios in Spain. To this end, negative binomial regression models have been applied using information from the Spanish high capacity network in 2006. The findings indicate that even though road safety is highly influenced by variables that are not much controllable by the contractor such as the Average Annual Daily Traffic and the percentage of heavy vehicles in the highway, the implementation of safety incentives in PPPs has a positive influence in the reduction of fatalities, injuries and accidents.