Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
HEALTH FACILITY CHOICE IN HIV- AND AIDS-AFFECTED HOUSEHOLDS IN TWO SOUTH AFRICAN COMMUNITIES

This paper analysed differences in the choice of health-care facility by ill individuals in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)- and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)-affected households in the Free State province of South Africa. Secondary education, access to medical aid and household income were significant determinants of choice as were severity and type of illness, and type of health care required. Ill persons with HIV- and AIDS-related illnesses are significantly more likely to opt for public health care, although the strength of this preference declines as household income increases. Those with severe and particularly severe HIV- and AIDS-related illness, in turn, are significantly more likely to opt for private health care, especially at higher levels of income. The public health care sector therefore is likely to remain the backbone of health-care provision to those infected with and affected by HIV and AIDS, highlighting the need for equitable access to efficient, quality public health services. Copyright (c) 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation (c) 2010 Economic Society of South Africa.
The potential of using treated betelnut fibres as reinforcement for tribo-bio polymeric composites subjected to dry/wet contact conditions

The current work initiates to use treated betelnut (areca catechu) fibres as reinforcement in polyester composites. Wear and frictional characteristics of T-BFRP composite were investigated against polished stainless steel counterface under dry/wet contact conditions using a BOD machine. The tests were conducted at 2.8 m/s sliding velocity, different applied loads (5N - 200N) and sliding distances (0 - 6.72 km). Fibre mats were orientated antiparallel (AP) with respect to the sliding.
Profitability of dairy farming in Peshawar valley.

The study was conducted to determine profitability of livestock enterprise in Peshawar valley. Data on costs and returns was collected from thirty-one dairy farms. Profit function for dairy farms in Peshawar valley is estimated postulating profit as the function of milk price, green fodder price, wage of labor (per month), location of farm (rural vs. urban). The estimated profit function was statistically significant. Price of milk is the most profit elastic variable. Dairy farms located in rural areas are getting statistically significantly low profits than unban dairy producers. It suggests that a dairy farmer located in rural areas is getting significantly less profit as compared to those located in the urban areas. One percent increase in milk price will increase milk profit by 8.278 percents. Labor is an important determinant of profits and increasing one labor decreasing profits by 1.8 percents. However, labor is also a sensitive social variable determining the sustainability or total collapse of the dairy enterprise. Any dairy development policy focusing on the improvement of profits of dairy producers to either price support or inputs subsidies should more focus on dairy producers located in rural areas.
Recent trends in concentrated photovoltaics concentrators’ architecture

Abstract. The field of concentrated photovoltaics (CPV) has met some remarkable advances in recent years. The continuous increase in conversion efficiency of multijunction solar cells and new advancements in optics have led to new demands and opportunities for optical design in CPV. This paper is a mini-review on current requirements for CPV optical design, and it presents some of the main trends in recent years on CPV systems architecture.
Materiały biomedyczne. Część II: Ocena przyczepności pałeczki okrężnicy do materiałów biomedycznych w oryginalnym dynamicznym układzie przepływowym

Wstep : Celem pracy byla ocena przyczepności bakterii Escherichia coli do najcześciej uzywanych na rynku amerykanskim stentow urologicznych w dynamicznym ukladzie przeplywowym. Material i metody : Uzyto nastepujących stentow urologicznych: 1. Silicone Stent® (Cook Urological) - stent z czystego silikonu, 2. Tecoflex® (Circon ACMI) - stent ze zmodyfikowanego poliuretanu, 3. Percuflex® (Boston Scientific) - stent wykonany z materialu chronionego patentem skladającego sie z polietylenu i polipropylenu z zewnetrzną warstwą heparynizowaną. Doświadczenia przeprowadzono w oryginalnej komorze przeplywowej wedlug pomyslu autorow. Stenty umieszczano w moczu zakazonym E. coli po wyznaczeniu optymalnej koncentracji bakterii w inokulacie, a nastepnie rolowano na agarze. Enumeracje bakteryjną przeprowadzano na podstawie na sonifikacji, metodach enzymatycznych (aktywnośc β-galaktozydazy) i fluorescencyjnych (odczynniki BacLight LIVE/DEATH). Wyniki : Oceniano liczebnośc i przezywalnośc bakterii, wyznaczono czas osiągniecia rownowagi dynamicznej tworzenia biofilmu, optymalne stezenie bakterii w inokulacie i optymalny czas sonifikacji oraz przyczepnośc paleczki okreznicy do badanych stentow. Porownano standardowe metody enumeracji bakteryjnej z metodyką opartą na aktywności enzymatycznej β-galaktozydazy. Wnioski : Stent Tecoflex® cechowal sie prawie 3-krotnie (2,6) mniejszą przyczepnością bakteryjną, natomiast stent Percuflex® mial najwyzszą liczbe bakterii w biofilmie na jednostke dlugości stentu. Nie stwierdzono statystycznie istotnej roznicy w przyczepności paleczki okreznicy do stentu silikonowego i stentu Percuflex®.
Effect of Lupinus albus on Glycaemic Control, Plasma Insulin Levels, Lipid Profile and Liver Enzymes in Type 2 Diabetics

Lupinus species and their derivatives are good candidates to be used as hypoglycaemic agents. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of supplementation with Lupinus albus dry extract in type 2 diabetic patients. The study included 47 adult patients (21 men and 26 women) with type 2 diabetes. While consuming their usual medication, patients received a daily dose of 400 mg of Lupinus albus dry extract during 12 weeks. Fasting and post meal test glucose and insulin were measured at baseline and after 2 and 12 weeks. Plasma lipids, Alanine and Aspartate aminotransferases activities and glycated haemoglobin were assessed at baseline and at the end of the supplementation period. Compared to baseline values, fasting and postprandial plasma glucose levels were decreased at 2 and 12 weeks. Blood glucose area under the curve significantly decreased after 2 weeks (p<0.01) and 12 weeks (p<0.05) of lupine administration. Fasting insulin concentrations (10.3±5.34 vs. 11.9±6.58; p<0.05) and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (3.50±2.01 vs. 4.40±2.80; p<0.01) were significantly lower at 12 weeks, but not at 2 weeks. The area under the curve for insulin response did not differ from the baseline. After 12 weeks of Lupinus albus administration, glycated haemoglobin (-5.71%), plasma total cholesterol (-8.12%), LDL cholesterol (-5%), triglycerides (-23.2%), and Alanine aminotransferase activity (-21.1%) were significantly decreased compared to baseline. The study showed that administration of Lupinus albus results in a hypoglycaemic effect and an improvement of diabetes control, but does not affect insulin secretion. These findings suggest that Lupinus albus has insulin mimetic action.
Volterra equation for pricing and hedging in a regime switching market

Abstract It is known that the risk minimizing price of European options in Markov-modulated market satisfies a system of coupled PDE, known as generalized B–S–M PDE. In this paper, another system of equations, which can be categorized as a Volterra integral equations of second kind, are considered. It is shown that this system of integral equations has smooth solution and the solution solves the generalized B–S–M PDE. Apart from showing existence and uniqueness of the PDE, this IE representation helps to develop a new computational method. It enables to compute the European option price and corresponding optimal hedging strategy by using quadrature method.
Multi-model robust control for nonlinear chemical processes: a passivity based approach

The robust control problem for nonlinear multi-unit chemical processes is addressed. The processes discussed admit a set of plant decompositions in an operating region which corresponds to the variation of the operating point caused by disturbances. A passivity based approach is proposed to design decentralized controllers for these processes, namely, the proposed method determines the best local plant decompositions based on evaluation of a passivity index, and assesses the closed-loop stability and performance using the best local plant decompositions. Local decentralized controllers can be designed based on the best local plant decomposition to achieve the desired closed-loop stability and performance.
Stimulation of sexual reproduction in Phytophthora cactorum by phospholipids is not due to sterol contamination.

Phytophthora cactorum did not form oospores on basal medium unless phosphatidylcholine (lecithin) or phosphatidylethanolamine (cephalin) was added. After removal of putative sterols by aminopropyl column chromatography, the activities of lecithin and cephalin were increased 47- and 2.8-fold, respectively, thus confirming the previous reports that sterols are not essential for sexual reproduction in this organism. Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) of the commercial lecithin revealed the presence of an unknown inhibitory substance which, when added to the purified lecithin, caused a 50% reduction of oospore formation. Commercial cephalin also showed a twofold increase in activity after removal of putative sterols and the existence of an unknown inhibitor when it was subjected to TLC. Addition of the inhibitor to the purified cephalin completely inhibited the growth of the test organism. One sample of lecithin tested was not stimulatory to oospore formation. However, after washing with deionized water or NaCl solution, it induced the production of 17300 and 24450 oospores (100 μg)-1, respectively. The ability of cephalin to induce oospore formation was increased 2⋅3-fold by washing with deionized water and 8⋅3-fold by washing with NaCl solution. Like sterols, the digitonin precipitable component (digitonide) of the non-phospholipid fraction of commercial lecithin or cephalin was stimulatory to oospore formation of P. cactorum but not Phytophthora parasitica. However, the non-digitonide component was not only more active than the digitonide component, but also stimulatory to P. parasitica. Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of the digitonide component from lecithin failed to detect any putative sterol contaminant. The amount of the putative sterol contaminant in the digitonide component from cephalin was also below the detection limit of GC-MS. When 0.01-10 ng cholesterol was added to basal medium discs each containing 100 fig cephalin, the numbers of oospores produced by P. cactorum and P. parasitica were not significantly changed. It is concluded that, in the fungi tested, sterols did not play any significant role in the stimulation of sexual reproduction by highly purified phospholipids.
ROOTSTOCK EFFECTS ON COCOA IN SABAH, MALAYSIA

Twelve seedling cocoa families were evaluated as rootstocks in Sabah, Malaysia using three commercial cocoa clones as scions. The average yield was about 3 t dry cocoa beans ha−1. Yields on pure Scavina rootstock were about 10% above average and those on pure West African Amelonado about 10% below average. However, the effects of rootstock on yield were correlated with those on vigour and there was no effect on the ratio of yield to continuing vegetative growth. Rootstock did not influence bean weight or number of beans per pod or the uniformity of the trees. There was no indication of an interaction between rootstock and scion for any of the traits that were studied. The rootstock effect is considered large enough to warrant its control in critical work, especially field experiments with budded cocoa, but development of high performance scions is a higher priority in cocoa than intensive work with rootstocks.
Spatio-temporal rainfall trends in southwest Western Australia

Abstract: Over the past several decades, there have been significant reductions in rainfall across southwest Western Australia. In the present work, the spatial and temporal structure of these reductions are investigated using generalized additive models. This involves smoothing over both space and time, to allow spatio-temporal interactions, as well as allowing for spatial correlation to ensure that standard errors are constructed appropriately for inference. The proposed method is computationally convenient as models are fitted as though different spatial locations are independent, and inference is subsequently adjusted for inter-site dependence. The results quantify precisely the spatially-varying nature of the decreasing rainfall trends.
Extension worker competencies needed for effective management of self-help groups (SHG) in Gombe state

Inadequate number of competent extension workers in Nigeria has made the work very tedious and resulted to poor performance in the field. The regulatory agencies were found to be training and retraining the personnel on various areas of the extension service, but still, extension workers were found lacking the skills required for self-help groups’ (SHGs) formation, management and evaluation, which resulted to non-availability of the groups in some communities or low performance where they are found. This paper discusses competencies of the extension worker in terms of knowledge, skills, attitude and personal characteristics that can be acquired or developed, with specific focus on identifying the competencies required by both baseline extension workers and their supervisors on initiating, forming, managing and evaluating SHGs. Delphi method was used in the study and the result revealed that 28 competencies are required to effectively build solid and formidable SHGs. These competencies were categorized into four main groups namely; organizational tradition and guidance, leadership building, system or style, social and external personal skills, and resource management skills, for easy training and assimilation of the extension workers. The paper recommends carrying out training of extension workers systematically; especially in group activities since the SHGs is their main tool of work. Also, to enhance the competency of the extension workers, professional values and training opportunities directly related to the needs of the extension worker should be stressed.
Identification of a putative cellulase gene in the giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii (De Man, 1879)

Nutrition plays an important role in the development of all organisms and in particular that of farmed aquatic species where costs associated with feed can often exceed 60% of total production costs. Crustacean species in addition, have the added metabolic requirement for regular moulting to allow normal growth and this requires large amounts of energy in the form of sugars (glucose). The current study explored the capacity of the giant freshwater prawn to produce endogenous cellulose-degrading enzymes capable of extracting nutrients (simple sugars) from plant sources in formulated feeds used in the prawn aquaculture industry. We identified a putative cellulase cDNA fragment in the target organism of 1576 base pairs in length of non-microbial origin that after protein modelling exhibited a TM-score of 0.916 with a described cellulase reported from another crustacean species. The functional role of cellulase enzymes is to hydrolyse cellulose to glucose and the fragment identified in GFP was highly expressed in the hepatopancreas, the site of primary food digestion and absorption in crustaceans. Hepatopancreatic tissue from Macrobrachium rosenbergii also showed active digestion of cellulose to glucose following an endoglucanase assay. Cellulase gene(s) are present in the genomes of many invertebrate taxa and play an active role in the conversion of cellulose to available energy. Identification and characterization of endogenous cellulase gene(s) in giant freshwater prawn can assist development of the culture industry because the findings confirm that potentially greater levels of low-cost plant-material could be included in artificial formulated diets in the future without necessarily compromising individual growth performance. Ultimately, this development may contribute to more efficient, cost-effective production systems for freshwater prawn culture stocks that meet the animal's basic nutritional requirements and that also support good individual growth rates.
On RANS Modeling of Unconfined Swirl Flow

This article presents numerical simulations of unconfined swirl flow. The Sydney swirl flow database was used as references for the boundary conditions and experimental validation. A number of RANS turbulence models were investigated in order to explore their potential in predicting axial and swirl velocity profiles of the swirl flow field. The numerical investigations showed that among the tested RANS models, the k-w showed an acceptable performance in predicting the swirling flow features in both cases (low and high swirl level). The results also demonstrated that the k-w model was able to provide a reasonably accurate prediction data that is in consistent with experimental measurements at most locations.
SECURITY SERVICES PROVISION AND ENHANCEMENT IN CLIENT/SERVER NETWORKS USING AES

The paper attempts to provide most of the well-known security services through a design and implementation of a client/server-based network security system. The system is based on recommendation of the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) together with some secure techniques. These techniques include message digest (MD5), data compression, data scrambling, traffic padding, novel PN sequence generator that is based on AES and the RSA for secure key distribution. The generator is based on the standard ANSI X9.17 with triple AES instead of triple DES. Recommended statistical tests are carried out to check the randomness of the new generator. The results of these tests show that the new generator passes all the required tests successfully. The latter results being even better than those achieved by the standard generator ANSI X9.17 using AES or triple DES. Finally, the security system was implemented and tested between two PCs in a local area network. The results clearly demonstrate the successful operation of the security system through the secure transmission of data. The security of the proposed system is shown to be efficient since all the combined techniques are well-established and recommended. Furthermore, with the multi-keys required to perform the operation, the tasks of cryptanalyst with available computing power will be difficult.
In vitro Antioxidant Potentials of Four Thai Colored Rice Cultivars

Introduction: Extensive researches showed several pharmacological activities of dietary plants, especially rice grains. Hence, development of health supplements form rice might be the strength of Thailand. Methods: In this study, the four extracts from Thai rice cultivars, two from red (Hom-Dang, Hom-Kularb-Dang) and two from black rice (Kum-Doi-Saket, Hom-Dum-Sukhothai2) were determined of total phenolic and fl avonoids contents followed by antioxidant properties in vitro using 2,2-azinobis-( 3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) radical scavenging, and lipid peroxidation assays. Results: The Hom-Dang cultivar extract with the highest contents of phenolics and fl avonoids showed the highest antioxidant activities. Conclusion: These fi ndings indicated that Thai colored rice cultivars, especially the Hom-Dang variety, possess ultimate benefi ts to develop as health supplements due to their antioxidative potentials.
Is there an aerosol signature of cloud processing

Abstract. The formation of sulfate and secondary organic aerosol mass in the aqueous phase (aqSOA) of cloud and fog droplets can significantly contribute to ambient aerosol mass. While tracer compounds give evidence that aqueous phase processing occurred, they do not reveal the extent to which particle properties have been modified in terms of mass, chemical composition, hygroscopicity and oxidation state. We analyse data from several field experiments and model studies for six air mass types (urban, biogenic, marine, wild fire biomass burning, agricultural biomass burning and background air). We focus on the trends of changes in mass, hygroscopicity parameter κ, and oxygen-to-carbon (O / C) ratio due to cloud processing. We find that the modification of these parameters upon cloud-processing is most evident in urban, marine and biogenic air masses, i.e. air masses that are more polluted than very clean air (background air) but cleaner than heavily polluted plumes as encountered during biomass burning. Based on these trends, we suggest that the mass ratio (R tot ) of the potential aerosol sulfate and aqSOA mass to the initial aerosol mass can be used to predict whether cloud processing will be detectable. Scenarios where this ratio exceeds R tot ~ 2 are the most likely ones where clouds can significantly change aerosol parameters. Comparison to R tot values as calculated for ambient data at different locations confirm the applicability of the concept to predict a cloud-processing signature in selected air masses.
Modeling the High-energy Emission in GRB 110721A and Implications on the Early Multiwavelength and Polarimetric Observations

GRB 110721A was detected by the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor and the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on board the Fermi satellite and the Gamma-ray Burst Polarimeter on board the IKAROS solar mission. Previous analysis of this burst showed: (i) a linear polarization signal with position angle stable ( ϕ p = 160 ° ± 11 ) and high degree of Π = 84 − 28 + 16 % , (ii) an extreme peak energy of a record-breaking 15 ± 2 MeV, and (iii) a subdominant prompt thermal component observed right after the onset of this burst. In this paper, the LAT data around the reported position of GRB 110721A are analyzed with the most recent software and then, the LAT light curve above 100 MeV is obtained. The LAT light curve is modeled in terms of adiabatic early-afterglow external shocks when the outflow propagates into a stellar wind. Additionally, we discuss the possible origins and also study the implications of the early-afterglow external shocks on the extreme peak energy observed at 15 ± 2 MeV, the polarization observations, and the subdominant prompt thermal component.
Cash-Flow And Investment: A Panel Quantile Approach

The investment behaviors of firms are affected mainly by financial climate and conditions of economic environment in which they operate. Besides macro variables such as real interest rates, firms carefully evaluate their balance sheet items in their investment decisions. Classic regression analysis provides the possible impact of explanatory variables on the mean value of investment. Although, in some cases, it is very important to know how the mean level of investment is affected by the variables, it could be much more important to know, especially for policy makers, how each quantile of investment is affected by the variables. Based on effects of the variables on quantiles, different policy options can be produced and advised. In this study, a panel quantile regression approach has been used to analyze the effect of real interest rates, currency rates, cash flows and sales on investments by using a data set from Turkey.