Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exudative Inflammatory Lesions in the Nasal Cavities of the 26-Week Tg.rasH2 Mice Oral Gavage Carcinogenicity Studies

Three levels of nasal cavity sections (anterior, middle, and most posterior) are routinely examined as protocol required tissues in our 26-week carcinogenicity studies involving Tg.rasH2 mice. Exudative inflammation of the nasal cavity was noted in the most posterior section of both males and females that were administered vehicle and/or test article via oral gavage, particularly when the vehicle and/or test article had irritant properties, was in the form of a salt, had a low pH, and/or was viscous. The exudative inflammatory lesion was characterized by the presence of eosinophilic proteinaceous fluid, fibrin, mucin, sloughed cells, and degenerate neutrophils within the nasal cavities. In lesions of increased severity, there was often degeneration, necrosis, and erosion of the underlying mucosa. Often, there was hyperplasia as well as squamous metaplasia of the mucosa. Retrospective analysis of our data, involving thirty-two 26-week Tg.rasH2 carcinogenicity studies, revealed that despite the presence of these exudative inflammatory changes with degeneration, necrosis, and mucosal hyperplasia, progression to tumor formation in the nasal cavities was rare and the incidence of nasal tumors was comparable in animals with or without exudative inflammatory lesions.
A Cinderella Story: How Past Identity Salience Boosts Demand for Repurposed Products

Like Cinderella, many repurposed products involve a biographical transformation, from a tattered past identity (e.g., an old airbag) to a product with a valuable but different new identity (e.g., a backpack made from an airbag). In this article, the authors argue that marketers should help customers infer such product stories by highlighting the products’ tattered past identities. Three field experiments and four controlled experiments show that making a product’s past identity salient boosts demand across a variety of repurposed products. This is because past identity salience induces narrative thoughts about these products’ biographies, which in turn allows customers to feel special. Results also suggest that this strategy of past identity salience needs to be particularly well-crafted for products with easily discernible past identities. These findings highlight a promising new facet of storytelling (i.e., stories that customers self-infer in response to minimal marketer input); create new opportunities for promoting products with a prior life; and deliver detailed guidance for the largely unexplored, growing market for upcycled and recycled products.
Effectiveness of physical rehabilitation on clinical outcomes of patients following stroke

Background and purpose Stroke is a leading cause of gait impairment, resulting in long-term disability among adults, and frequently results in impaired mobility or motor function. More than half of the people with stroke are not able to walk, and walking impairments are still present among them due to abnormal muscle control, muscle weakness, abnormal muscle tone, abnormal muscle activation patterns, and altered energy expenditure, mostly affecting the paretic side. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to examine the effectiveness of using combined gait training and treadmill walking technique on selected clinical outcomes of patients with stroke. Patients and methods A quasi-experimental design was used to test the research hypotheses. A convenience sample of 50 adult patients with stroke were recruited. Setting This study was conducted in the outpatient clinics of neurology and physiotherapy unites at Shebin El Kom City, Menoufia University Hospital, Menoufia Governorate. Tools Interviewing Questionnaire, the Barthel Index, the Simplified Stroke Rehabilitation Assessment of Movement Scale, the Berg Balance Scale, the Oxford Scale, and the Modified Ashworth Scale were used to collect data. Results There was a statistically significant improvement in voluntary movement of subscale scores of the upper and lower limb and basic mobility after intervention. There was a statistically significant improvement in the mean scores of activities of daily living and body balance after intervention. There was a statistically significant improvement in the mean score of muscle tone and muscle strength after intervention. Conclusion Combined gait training and treadmill walking technique is effective in improving clinical outcomes in patients with stroke. Recommendation Rehabilitation nurses should be encouraged to implement the combined gait training and treadmill walking technique as a routine practice in rehabilitation facilities for patients with stroke.
lattice: Easy construction of professional graphs for agricultural research in R environment

This paper shows how to apply the lattice package of R to create effective scientific graphs. The readers will learn basic notions of the package and ways to work with it in an easy way. The R code the paper provides will help them create various graphs, including a scatter plot, a box plot, a density plot, and a bar plot; with a little work, the code can be changed to make other graphs. The paper emphasizes the trellis display, a useful but still undervalued technique in scientific visualization.
Litterbox—A gnotobiotic Zeolite-Clay System to Investigate Arabidopsis–Microbe Interactions

Plants are colonised by millions of microorganisms representing thousands of species with varying effects on plant growth and health. The microbial communities found on plants are compositionally consistent and their overall positive effect on the plant is well known. However, the effects of individual microbiota members on plant hosts and vice versa, as well as the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here, we describe ‘Litterbox’, a highly controlled system to investigate plant-microbe interactions. Plants were grown gnotobiotically on zeolite-clay, an excellent soil replacement that retains enough moisture to avoid subsequent watering. Plants grown on zeolite phenotypically resemble plants grown under environmental conditions. Further, bacterial densities on leaves in the Litterbox system resembled those in temperate environments. A PDMS sheet was used to cover the zeolite, thereby significantly lowering the bacterial load in the zeolite and rhizosphere. This reduced the likelihood of potential systemic responses in leaves induced by microbial rhizosphere colonisation. We present results of example experiments studying the transcriptional responses of leaves to defined microbiota members and the spatial distribution of bacteria on leaves. We anticipate that this versatile and affordable plant growth system will promote microbiota research and help in elucidating plant-microbe interactions and their underlying mechanisms.
Towards understanding the structure of the capsid of Banana Bunchy Top Virus

Banana is the major staple food crop for approximately 400 million people. Bunchy Top disease of Banana is one of the most devastating diseases caused by Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV) that results in a significant loss of yield, stunting and bunchy appearance of leaves. While many isolates of BBTV from various regions of India have been characterized by different groups, no structural study exists for this important virus. To pursue structural studies, the pET28a clone of coat protein (CP) gene from BBTV isolate of Hill Banana grown in lower Pulney Hills (Virupakshi) of Tamilnadu was expressed in BL21 (DE3) pLysS. Purification of the CP was done using Ni-NTA affinity chromatography. In vitro capsid assembly studied using sucrose density gradient centrifugation suggested that the CP did not assemble as virus like particle (VLPs) but remained as smaller oligomers. Studies using dynamic light scattering (DLS) indicates that the purified protein is poly-dispersed represented majorly as pentamers. Studies using both homology modelling and ab initio structure determination gave useful insights into the probable fold of the CP suggesting it is a β-sandwich fold similar to that seen in majority of plant viruses. In silico capsid reconstruction aided understanding of the quaternary organization of subunits in the capsid and molecular interactions present between the subunits. The location of aphid binding EAG motif was identified on the surface loops close to the pentameric axis indicating their role in vector mediated transmission.
3D Reconstruction of Point Clouds and Solid Models from LiDAR and Digital Stereo Images

One of the fastest 3D data acquisition methods is LiDAR scanning technology. By using LiDAR scanners, 3D point clouds of the scanned scene are obtained easily. Although the scanning phase is fast, the meaningful and effective 3D visualization of the scene requires the raw point cloud data to be processed in advanced levels. This paper aims at explaining those processing steps and comparison of the LiDAR technology to the state of the art methods. For this purpose, a building point clouds data obtained by a terrestrial LiDAR scanner was used. This paper explains the registration of point clouds data, its underlying concepts, mathematical models as well as the free open source libraries to be used to perform these operations. Despite the remarkable achievements in LiDAR technology and data processing, it is still a relatively young subject and would likely change its course rather quickly in the near future.
Phase II part of EORTC study 26101: The sequence of bevacizumab and lomustine in patients with first recurrence of a glioblastoma.

2019Background: Both lomustine (LOM) and bevacizumab (BEV) are approved agents for recurrent or progressive glioblastoma. We aimed at evaluating the optimal treatment sequence (single agent vs sequential vscombination) of these agents in a randomized phase II design. Methods: Progressive patients after initial radiotherapy and temozolomide were randomized 2:2:2:1 between Arm 1: LOM 90 mg/m2 (max. 160 mg) every 6 weeks plus BEV (10 mg/kg) every 2 weeks until progression, subsequent salvage treatment at the investigators best choice (MD choice); Arm 2: LOM 110 mg/m2 (max. 200 mg) every 6 weeks, at progression switch to BEV every two weeks; Arm 3: BEV every 2 weeks, at progression add LOM 90 mg/m2 (max. 160 mg) every 6 weeks and continue BEV; and Arm 4: LOM single agent 110 mg/m2 (max. 200 mg) every 6 weeks, at progression MD choice (arm 4). Eligibility criteria included performance status 0-2, adequate hematological, liver and renal function, and an interval since the end of radiotherapy of ≥ 3 months to ru.
Essays on Public Economics and Criminal Justice

A theme throughout this dissertation is the application of questions in the field of public economics to the context of policing and the criminal justice system. Another common theme is the use of large datasets and quasi-experimental research designs for policy evaluation. A third theme is the consideration of the equity or distributional implications of criminal justice policies. The first chapter studies the ability of low-income individuals to cope with expense shocks. Using administrative data on traffic citations in Florida linked to high-frequency credit reports and leveraging variation in the timing of traffic stops with event study and difference-in-differences research designs, I study the impacts of fines for traffic violations on the financial situations of Florida drivers. I find that, following a traffic stop, the poorest quartile of drivers experience reductions in job stability and declines in financial health which are outsized relative to the typical fine amount. I conclude by estimating welfare losses associated with traffic fines and discussing implications for optimal policing. The second chapter, co-authored with Felipe Goncalves, estimates the degree to which individual police officers practice racial discrimination. Using a bunching estimation design, we document that nonwhite drivers are less likely than white drivers to benefit from lenience on the part of Florida Highway Patrol officers in the form of a reduced speeding charge. We further find that about forty percent of officers explain the entirety of the aggregate discrimination. We use our estimates of officer-level racial bias to explore the effectiveness of various personnel policies aimed at mitigating aggregate racial disparities. The third chapter exploits a natural experiment to estimate the causal effect of police hiring on local crime. I leverage quasi-random variation in the receipt of COPS hiring grants in 2009 by comparing the change over time in police and crimes for cities whose applications for funding were accepted and rejected. I find that police employment increased by 3.2 percent and cost-weighted crime fell by 3.5 percent in funded cities relative to unfunded
Design and study of rigid-flexible coupled piezoelectric energy harvester

Attaching a rigid frame to two cantilever plates, a compact piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH) with wide bandwidth is proposed in this paper. Three different arrangement form and section shape of the two cantilever plates, such as, symmetrical uniform section rectangle, symmetrical variable section trapezoid and anti-symmetrical variable section are designed. Considering the frame as a rigid body and the cantilever plate as a deformed body, natural frequencies, modes and output voltages of the structures are calculated using finite element software ABAQUS. It is found that the anti-symmetrical trapezoidal cantilever plate surrounded by rigid frame, has lower natural frequency, more working frequency bands in low frequency range and the highest output voltage. According to the simulation results, prototype of PEH with anti-symmetrical trapezoidal cantilever plate surrounded by rigid frame is processed and fixed to the vibration platform using custom fixture. Through sweep test, open-circuit output voltage of PEH at different frequencies is measured using oscilloscope and the first three order natural frequencies are obtained. The results meets the design requirements of multilevel natural frequency and high output voltage in low frequency range. This research provides theoretical and experimental basis for the engineering application of the PEH.
Anabolic Androgenic Steroid Use Prevalence, Knowledge, and Practice Among Male Athletes in Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia

Background: Anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) are synthetic testosterone like hormones. AAS usage by athletes has increased dramatically over the past decade. Material and Methods: This study was designed to examine the prevalence, attitude and awareness of AAS abuse among athletes n the Eastern province of Saud Arabia. This was a cross-sectional survey that was conducted among male athletes attending twenty fitness centres in the Eastern Province. It was done during the period from April to August, 2018. Results: A total of 573 questionnaires were distributed but only 503 participants were included n the final analysis. The frequency of AAS use was 17.69%. The man reason for AAS use was muscle building (68.54%). The man source of AAS was the coaches. 56.18% of the users recognize the harmful effects of AAS. The most commonly used oral AAS form was oxandrolone (61.80%). The most commonly used substance for post cycle therapy was Tamoxifen citrate n 67.42% of the users. Conclusions: 17.69% of the participants use AAS. Coaches were the man source for AAS. In our study, around half of the gym users have inadequate knowledge about AAS and ts harmful effects. More regulation laws and educational programs are needed.
Purchase Intention in the Online Open Market: Do Concerns for E-Commerce Really Matter?

This study aims to investigate motivational factors and motivation hindering factors of online shopping via online open market platforms. For a comprehensive exploration, the response data were collected from a total of 417 Korean consumers before conducting a hierarchical regression analysis. The results showed that the effects of motivation factors on purchasing intention were all supported. As for moderating effects of concerns for e-commerce, privacy concerns by time saving, perceived ease of use, and security concerns by cost saving were found to be statistically significant. Privacy concerns by cost saving and business integrity concerns by time saving were also found to be statistically significant, but had a positive effect as opposed to an initial prediction. The finding denotes that, in order to reduce concerns for e-commerce, consumers may prefer using the online shops they can trust based on their previous shopping experience. Various concerns identified and analyzed in this study are clues to better understanding what potentially motivates or obstructs consumers to shop online, thereby helping businesses thrive in the online open market.
Rheological and Microcirculation System Disorders in Experimental Hyperthyroidism

Parameters of activity of peripheral blood supply system of the liver and kidneys in interrelation with rheological functions of blood during an experimental hyperthyroidism have been studied. Disorders of rheological functions of blood and deeper violations of blood circulation in microhemocirculatory system of liver and kidneys have been established. Results of research testify more expressed violation of parameters of microcirculation of liver where hydrodynamic pressure is slightly lower than in the system of peripheral blood circulation of a cortical layer of kidneys.
The Potential Effect of Dietary Tannins on Enteric Methane Emission and Ruminant Production, as an Alternative to Antibiotic Feed Additives – A Review

Abstract Antibiotic growth promoters in livestock nutrition cause microbial resistance which produces threats to human health. Therefore, tannins have been considered as natural alternative antibiotic feed additives which possess various biological properties including antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and immunomodulatory. Additionally, these plants also have antiparasitic and anti-bloat characteristics which contribute to inhibit the enteric methane emission in order to improve nutrient digestibility, milk and meat quality, fatty acids composition and ruminant production. Antibiotic growth promoters have been practiced in animals feeding to increase feed intake, growth rate, weight gain as well as reduce metabolic disorders and energy losses in the rumen. In 2006, the European Union banned the usage of antibiotic growth promoters in the feeding of livestock. This antibiotic resistance issue has increased demand to explore the natural feed additives that might be useful for animal production system. Consequently, natural forages have been categorized as potential feed additives in animal production since it improves nutritive value, protein digestibility, increase amino acid absorption and growth rate. But, some plant materials are usually rich in tannins known as anti-nutritional factors. Therefore, the application of tannin-rich plants in ruminant nutrition needs great precaution due to its possible injurious effects (dose dependent) on animal health such as metabolic disorders. Hence, there is need to give attention to the usage of tannins in ruminant nutrition as an alternative to antibiotics feed additives to investigate its effects on enteric methane emissions and ruminants production. In addition, safety and risk associated with tannins feeding have also been briefly discussed.
Definition of a framework for organisational management

ABSTRACT Organisations are faced with a scenario of uncertainties concerning the management model that may meet the challenges of the new industrial revolution and its influence on the performance of its human capital. Gamification would be a great ally to the organisational management process; however, this research highlights the risk of its competitive appeal in the operational result of a company, since in a departmentalised environment – where the success of an area depends on the result of another – to singularly achieve goals motivated by competition may be catastrophic for the final result of a company. Additionally, this paper has proposed and applied, an organisational management model based on gamification that systematised a cooperative competition. The model provided for this company an increase in commitment, development of collaborators’ critical sense and risk analysis, becoming a facilitator for the achievement of goals, knowledge management, and promotion of its strategic result.
Bringing People Closer: The Prosocial Effects of Immersive Media on Users’ Attitudes and Behavior

This experimental study examined how varying the degree of immersiveness of a short documentary about a remote health issue influenced users’ reported spatial presence, empathic parasocial interaction, and individual issue involvement. Higher-order responses, namely, the desire for information and willingness to donate to the cause, were also analyzed. The documentary was shown to 85 participants using three different technologies with varying degrees of immersiveness (high, moderate, and low). The results show that the level of the technology’s immersiveness gradually increases the spatial presence, empathic parasocial interaction, and issue involvement of the user. While participants of the highly immersive condition reported a higher desire for additional information, the results on donation behavior were less conclusive.
Wolbachia promote successful sex with siblings

Wolbachia are intracellular α-proteobacteria that have a wide distribution among various arthropods and nematodes. They affect the host reproduction favoring their maternal transmission, which sets up a potential conflict in inbreeding situations when the host avoids sexual reproduction preventing inbreeding depression, while Wolbachia pushes it. In this study, we used the wasp Habrobracon hebetor to test the hypothesis that Wolbachia modulate inbreeding avoidance behaviour and promote sib mating. To test this, we first cured wasps of Wolbachia using tetracycline treatment and produced infected and uninfected isolines. Then, we paired the uninfected and infected females with sibling (inbred) and non-sibling (outbred) males in choice and non-choice experiments. Our results showed no obvious precopulatory inbreeding avoidance in this wasp as brother-sister mating rates (in both choice and nonchoice experiments) were not significantly different form non-sibling pairs, regardless of Wolbachia infection. However, our results indicated that H. hebetor shows a strong postcopulatory inbreeding avoidance behaviour that results in a low fertilization rate of uninfected siblings and therefore high rate of production of male progeny was obtained. We observed higher rates of fertilization success in the Wolbachia-infected lines that resulted in significantly higher female progeny production compared to the uninfected sib mates. Since diploid females are the result of successful fertilization due to haplodiploidy sex determination system in this insect, our results indicate that Wolbachia promoted fertile sib mating in H. hebetor. Interestingly, the rate of adult emergence in the progeny of Wolbachia-infected sib mates were almost similar to the non-sib mate crosses and significantly more than those observed in the uninfected sib mate crosses. We support the idea that Wolbachia modulate inbreeding avoidance and promote sib mating and also mitigate inbreeding depression. The wasp Habrobracon hebetor siblings infected with Wolbachia show higher rates of fertilization success and higher adult emergence rates compared to the uninfected sib mates. By promoting successful sex with siblings and increasing the probability of female progeny, Wolbachia enhance their transmission to the next generation and also mitigate inbreeding depression. This is an undescribed effect of Wolbachia (symbiont) on the host reproduction.