Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Public Policy, Administration and Non-Governmental Organizations’ Effectiveness in Nigeria

The study examined the effect of public policy and administration on Non-Governmental Organizations’ effectiveness in Nigeria. The specific objectives were to investigate the extent to which tax policies, registration policies and inflation rate can affect the effectiveness of non-governmental organizations in Nigeria. Survey research design was adopted for this study. A sample size of two hundred and twelve (212) respondents from the selected population of four hundred and fifty (450) staff were used. Descriptive statistical tool was used to analyze the demographic report of the respondents while inferential statistical tools of Pearson product moment correlation coefficients (PPMC) and Regression analysis was used to analyze the formulated hypotheses. Findings revealed that there is a significant effect of tax policies on NGOs’ effectiveness (R2=0.109, P=0.000), it also show a positive relationship between inflation rate and non-governmental organizations’ effectiveness (r=0.472, P<0.05), and a significant effect of registration policies (R2=0.344, P=0.000) on NGOs’ effectiveness in Nigeria. The study concludes that proper management of public policy (tax policies, inflation rate and registration policies) by the government play a significant role towards the effectiveness and sustainability of NGOs in Nigeria. Therefore, the study recommends that the Nigerian government should encourage the administration and implementation of good and enabling legal frameworks and also revisit all existing applicable regulations and policies in order to minimize areas of overlap so as to foster a more enabling operating environment for the NGOs.
Vitamin K Status in Diabetic Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease Stage 3-5 and Its Effects on Chronic Kidney Disease - Mineral Bone Disorder

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is common in Malaysia. Vitamin K deficiency among DKD patients may be associated with higher incidence of chronic kidney disease-mineral bone disorder (CKD-MBD). This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of vitamin K deficiency in diabetic patients with CKD stage 3-5. We also correlated vitamin K deficiency with baseline demographic, biochemical results and analysed the effects of vitamin K levels on CKD-MBD. This was a single centre cross-sectional study on diabetic patients with CKD stage 3-5. Demographic profiles were recorded, blood samples were measured for vitamin K level (phylloquinone, proteins induced by vitamin K absence II (PIVKA-II), prothrombin time) and bone markers (parathyroid hormone (PTH), alkaline phosphatase, corrected calcium and phosphate). This study was approved by UKM ethic and research committee (FF-2018-375). Forty-five patients with a median age of 70 (IQR:13) years were recruited. Majority were females (53.3%) and Malays (64.4%). Prevalence of patients with insufficient vitamin K was 28.9 % based on the low level of phylloquinone (<0.4 nmol/L), 93.3% based on high PIVKA-II level (>0.66 ng/mL) and 2.2% based on prolonged prothrombin time (>14.5 s). PIVKAII was found to be positively correlated with serum creatinine and PTH levels. There were positive correlations between phylloquinone with serum triglyceride and total cholesterol. Prothrombin time was found to be negatively correlated with corrected calcium and total cholesterol. Malay race (p = 0.039) and high serum PTH (p = 0.016) were significantly associated with higher PIVKA-II concentrations. Multivariable analysis showed serum triglyceride (OR 0.112; CI 95 % (0.02-0.66); p = 0.017) and serum PTH (OR 1.997; CI 95 % (1.01-3.95); p = 0.047) were independent predictors for abnormal phylloquinone and PIVKA-II levels, respectively. In conclusion, the prevalence of Vitamin K deficiency was high in diabetic patients with CKD stage 3-5. Serum triglyceride and serum PTH were independent predictor of Vitamin K deficiency.
Models for the analysis of growth curves for rearing tinamous (Rhynchotus rufescens) in captivity

Growth curves models provide a visual assessment of growth as a function of time, and prediction body weight at a specific age. This study aimed at estimating tinamous growth curve using different models, and at verifying their goodness of fit. A total number 11,639 weight records from 411 birds, being 6,671 from females and 3,095 from males, was analyzed. The highest estimates of a parameter were obtained using Brody (BD), von Bertalanffy (VB), Gompertz (GP,) and Logistic function (LG). Adult females were 5.7% heavier than males. The highest estimates of b parameter were obtained in the LG, GP, BD, and VB models. The estimated k parameter values in decreasing order were obtained in LG, GP, VB, and BD models. The correlation between the parameters a and k showed heavier birds are less precocious than the lighter. The estimates of intercept, linear regression coefficient, quadratic regression coefficient, and differences between quadratic coefficient of functions and estimated ties of quadratic-quadratic-quadratic segmented polynomials (QQQSP) were: 31.1732±2.41339; 3.07898± 0.13287; 0.02689±0.00152; -0.05566±0.00193; 0.02349±0.00107, and 57 and 145 days, respectively. The estimated predicted mean error values (PME) of VB, GP, BD, LG, and QQQSP models were, respectively, 0.8353; 0.01715; –0.6939; –2.2453; and –0.7544%. The coefficient of determination (R 2 ) and least square error values (MS) showed similar results. In conclusion, the VB and the QQQSP models adequately described tinamous growth. The best model to describe tinamous growth was the Gompertz model, because it presented the highest R 2 values, easiness of convergence, lower PME, and the easiness of parameter biological interpretation.
Death and Transformation of Larval Cells during Metamorphosis of Anura

In the life cycle of anura, both the structures and functions of the body undergo drastic changes during the period of development from the embryo to the adult called called metamorphosis (7). At the cell level, metamorphosis is defined as transformation of larval-type cells in the tissues into adult-type ones in the counterpart tissues of the frog (25). Despite morphological and biochemical studies since the beginning of this century, the molecular mechanisms governing anuran metamorphosis are less well understood than other aspects of developmental biology (1 ). There have, however, been rapid recent advences by the molecular biological approach (2). The present review presents a brief description of recent progress in studies on anuran metamorphosis, and especially the mechanism determining the metamorphic fate of larval cells, that is, their death or transformation into adult cells.
Developing the Mathematical Thinking Scale: Validity and Reliability

Bu calisma matematik ogretmenlerinin matematiksel dusunme becerisini belirlemek amaciyla gecerli ve guvenilir bir olcek gelistirmek ve gelistirilen olcek araciligi ile matematik ogretmenlerinin dusunme becerilerini cesitli degiskenler acisindan incelemek amaciyla yapilan nicel bir arastirmadir. Bu kapsamda arastirma iki farkli calisma grubu uzerinde yurutulmustur. Ilk calisma olcegin gelistirilmesi surecinde 469 matematik ogretmeni uzerinde, ikinci calisma ise gelistirilen olcegin sinanmasi icin 190 ogretmen uzerinde yurutulmustur. Olcegin gelistirilme surecinde acimlayici faktor analizi, dogrulayici faktor analizi ve Cronbach Alpha ic tutarlik katsayisi ile Guttman Split Half degerleri guvenirlik hesaplamalari yapilmistir. Analizler sonucunda, 17 madde dort faktorden olusan olcegin aciklanan toplam varyans yuzdesi %56.90 olarak elde edilmistir. Uygulanan dogrulayici faktor analizden elde edilen model kabul edilebilir duzeyde oldugu sonucuna ulasilmistir. Olcegin tumu icin Cronbach Alpha ic tutarlik katsayi degeri 79 olarak belirlenmistir. Bu calismanin sonucunda matematik ogretmenlerinin matematiksel dusunme becerilerini belirlemeye yonelik gecerli ve guvenilir bir olcek gelistirilmistir. Ayrica gelistirilen olcek araciligi ile matematik ogretmenlerinin dusunme becerilerinin mezun olunan okul turu ve mesleki kideme gore farkliliklar gosterdigi sonucuna ulasilmistir.
DNA capture elements for rapid detection and identification of biological agents

DNA capture elements (DCEs; aptamers) are artificial DNA sequences, from a random pool of sequences, selected for their specific binding to potential biological warfare agents. These sequences were selected by an affinity method using filters to which the target agent was attached and the DNA isolated and amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in an iterative, increasingly stringent, process. Reporter molecules were attached to the finished sequences. To date, we have made DCEs to Bacillus anthracis spores, Shiga toxin, Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis (VEE) virus, and Francisella tularensis. These DCEs have demonstrated specificity and sensitivity equal to or better than antibody.
A Novel Approach for Stock Price Prediction Using Gradient Boosting Machine with Feature Engineering (GBM-wFE)

The prediction of stock prices has become an exciting area for researchers as well as academicians due to its economic impact and potential business profits. This study proposes a novel multiclass classification ensemble learning approach for predicting stock prices based on historical data using feature engineering. The proposed approach comprises four main steps, which are pre-processing, feature selection, feature engineering, and ensemble methods. We use 11 datasets from Nasdaq and S&P 500 to ensure the accuracy of the proposed approach. Furthermore, eight feature selection algorithms are studied and implemented. More importantly, a feature engineering concept is applied to construct two new features, which are appears to be very auspicious in terms of improving classification accuracy, and this is considered the first study to use feature engineering for multiclass classification using ensemble methods. Finally, seven ensemble machine learning (ML) algorithms are used and compared to discover the ultimate collaboration prediction model. Besides, the best feature selection algorithm is proposed. This study proposes a novel multiclass classification approach called Gradient Boosting Machine with Feature Engineering (GBM-wFE) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) as the feature selection. We find that GBM-wFE outperforms the previous studies and the overall prediction results are auspicious, as MAPE of 0.0406% is achieved, which is considered the best result compared to the available studies in the literature.
AN EMPIRICAL PROTOCOL FOR WHOLE‐CELL IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE OF MARINE PHYTOPLANKTON 1

An immunofluorescence protocol for intracellular antigens of phytoplankton was developed empirically. Paraformaldehyde (4%) was used to fix samples for 6 h at 4° C; fixed samples can be stored in cold (–20°C) methanol for at least 1 month. We used Triton X‐100, Nonidet P‐40, and dimethyl sulfoxide to permeabilize the cells for antibody penetration across the cell wall and plasma membrane. After immunolabeling at room temperature, the samples were mounted on slides and could be stored at 4° C for up to 6 months without significant decay of the fluorescence. The staining was examined with an epifluorescence microscope; semiquantitative (percentage of cells with positive staining) and quantitative (staining intensity measured with an imaging system) analyses were performed. Reproducible staining was achieved for nuclear, chloroplastic, cytoplasmic, and cell surface antigens in species of Chlorophyceae, Prymnesiophyceae, Bacillariophyceae, and Dinophyceae including some field‐collected samples. This protocol is advantageous to previously published protocols in that it allows relatively simple and long‐term storage of fixed samples and allows staining of multiple antigens for the same sample. Although improvement on cell permeabilization is required for some species, the present protocol could prove useful for physiological or ecological studies when frequent sampling is required and immediate processing of the samples is not possible.
Effect of Fortification with Sage Loaded Liposomes on the Chemical, physical, Microbiological Properties and cytotoxicity of Yoghurt

The using of plant extract in dairy field is a recent trend to achieve health benefits. Sage (Salvia officinalis L) is a medicinal plant contained a large number of bioactive and biological compounds. The phenolic compounds, chemical composition and physical properties of Sage phenolic extract (SPE) loaded in liposomal system were firstly investigated, and then it was used to fortify yoghurt (5, 10, 15 and 20 %) to produce functional dairy product. Obtained data revealed that the encapsulation efficiency of SPE in liposomes was 83.7%, the particle size ranged between 168.30 to 273 nm and Zeta potential was +35.4 mV. SPE exhibited an inhibition activity against all tested pathogenic bacteria and the antibacterial activity of SPE was increased significantly after encapsulation in liposomes. The highest antibacterial activity was noted against S. aurous and B. cereus. On another vision; protein, total solids and ash contents of fresh yoghurt increased with increasing the concentration of SPE liposomes but decreased after 15 days of storage. The pH values and diacetyl contents of liposome supplemented yoghurt decreased compared to control throughout storage. The acetaldehyde content of control significantly decreased during cold storage while it increased with increasing concentration of SPE liposome in yoghurt. The viscosity of fresh yoghurt increased with the increase of added liposome but decreased after 15 days of storage. Supplementation of yoghurt samples with SPE liposomes significantly enhanced the viability of L. rhaminosus along the storage period. The high selectivity index values of SPE suggest their safety and cytotoxic selectivity effect on cancer cell.
Physician Prices and Competition: Evidence from Acquisitions in the Private Health Care Sector

We consider the effects of mergers and acquisitions for private physicians, who compete for patients on price. To estimate the effects, we use nationwide administrative data on private physicians and the organization of their practice over 10 years in Finland. We show that acquisitions can reduce competition among physicians, leading to higher prices. We estimate the strongest price increase to be in gynecology, in which switching costs and inertia in physician choice may decrease physician competition, at least locally (within a health care unit). The reduction in the number of physicians in a target unit is the key mechanism behind the estimated effect.
Effect of Low-Phytate Barley on Malt Quality, Including Mineral Loss, during Fermentation1

The recent development of low-phytate barley offers the possibility of improving fermentation efficiency and reducing the need for mineral supplementation in the brewhouse. Three barley lines have been developed with ≈50, 25, and 5% of normal phytate. The lines have a Harrington background, which increases the probability of producing barley with good malting quality from the lines. Samples of Harrington and the three lines were malted and tested for quality, including zinc and magnesium usage during fermentation. Effects of zinc supplementation at mashing-in and kettle-full also were investigated. The low-phytate lines all had adequate malt quality and were similar to Harrington. The 5% of normal phytate wort (not supplemented) had significantly higher levels of zinc and magnesium than the other three samples. Worts from the 50 and 25% of normal phytate lines also had significantly higher levels of magnesium than the Harrington wort. The 5% of normal phytate worts, both the control and mash-supplemented, used significantly more zinc during fermentation than all other worts. The mash-supplemented wort from the 50% of normal phytate malt also used significantly more zinc during fermentation than the 25% of normal phytate or Harrington worts. There were no significant differences in zinc usage among the worts supplemented at kettle-full. The low-phytate trait showed an insignificant tendency to improve fermentation, as measured by apparent attenuation limit, supporting further testing of low-phytate malts with pilot-scale brewing facilities and higher gravity worts in which minerals more likely would be limiting.
Isolation and characterization of triterpenes from Diospyros montana (Roxb.) leaves

Objective: The objective of this research was to isolate important secondary metabolites of Diospyros montana (Roxb.) leaves belonging to the family Ebenaceae.Methods: In this study, we investigated the chemical composition of a pentacyclic triterpenes fraction from the leaves of D. montana. Leaves were exhaustively extracted with ethanol and fractionated into petroleum ether, chloroform, and ethyl acetate extracts. The various fractions were further analyzed for phytochemical composition and HPTLC fingerprinting. The fractions were subjected to TLC and spectral analysis by IR, Mass, and 1HNMR and 13CNMR spectra to characterize isolated compounds.Results: The chemical examination of the leaves of D. montana (Roxb.) afforded the isolation of two compounds on column chromatography. These two compounds were confirmed by comparing their chemical and spectral data with that of published works of literature.Conclusion: The author could isolate a significant amount of Pentacyclic triterpenes: oleanolic acid and β-amyrin from the leaves of D. montana. Further preclinical studies may be extended to elucidate their mechanism.
Marine Algal Ecology in a New Hampshire Tidal Rapid

The species composition and abundancc of the benthic organisms at the Piscataqua River tidal rapid show pronounccd spatial variations, depending upon the current regimes and Substrate. Few benthic plants and animals are prcsent o n vertical promontories that are exposed to strong tidal currents (40-80 cm/sec) and pronounced shearing effcets, while adjacent "back-eddy" areas with sloping Substrate show a more diverse flora and fauna. A comparison of the zonation and differential tolerances to water motion of the major intertidal organisms is summarized. Ascophyllum nodosum was the most sensitive species to strong tidal current; it showed a conspicuous suppression o t its lowcr distributional limits and areduced stature in exposed habitats. In contrast, the fucoid alga Fucus vesiculosus var. spiralis, the gigartinalean red algae Chondrus crispus and Gigartina stellata and the barnacle Baianus halanoities were more tolerant to tidal currents. The algal flora at the study site is "open coastal" in chaiacter, particularly wi th in the subtidal zone. A mixture of organisms occurs at the Piscataqua River tidal rapid. That is, organisms in the upper shore, such äs Ascophyllum, are more typical of sheltered conditions, while those on the lower shore are robust "open coastal" species such äs Laminaria digitata.
Chloroplast Microsatellite Markers to Assess Genetic Diversity and Origin of an Endangered Italian Grapevine Collection

Genetic diversity was evaluated at nine chloroplast microsatellite (cpSSR) loci in 16 grapevine cultivars indigenous to northeastern Italy and seven international cultivars. The aim was to understand the origin and genetic relatedness of local varieties for the development of an adequate strategy of future germplasm conservation. The 21 alleles detected constituted eight different haplotypes, three of which have never been observed and should be considered typical of northeastern Italy. This collection has a higher haplotype diversity (0.71) than that detected in other regions, thus representing a unique genetic resource to be conserved. The distribution of haplotype frequency also suggests the existence of independent domestication events.
Analysis of Adverse Drug Reactions Identified in Nursing Notes Using Reinforcement Learning

Objectives Electronic Health Records (EHRs)-based surveillance systems are being actively developed for detecting adverse drug reactions (ADRs), but this is being hindered by the difficulty of extracting data from unstructured records. This study performed the analysis of ADRs from nursing notes for drug safety surveillance using the temporal difference method in reinforcement learning (TD learning). Methods Nursing notes of 8,316 patients (4,158 ADR and 4,158 non-ADR cases) admitted to Ajou University Hospital were used for the ADR classification task. A TD(λ) model was used to estimate state values for indicating the ADR risk. For the TD learning, each nursing phrase was encoded into one of seven states, and the state values estimated during training were employed for the subsequent testing phase. We applied logistic regression to the state values from the TD(λ) model for the classification task. Results The overall accuracy of TD-based logistic regression of 0.63 was comparable to that of two machine-learning methods (0.64 for a naïve Bayes classifier and 0.63 for a support vector machine), while it outperformed two deep learning-based methods (0.58 for a text convolutional neural network and 0.61 for a long short-term memory neural network). Most importantly, it was found that the TD-based method can estimate state values according to the context of nursing phrases. Conclusions TD learning is a promising approach because it can exploit contextual, time-dependent aspects of the available data and provide an analysis of the severity of ADRs in a fully incremental manner.
Early Executive Functions Questionnaire

Executive functions (EFs) enable us to control our attention and behaviour in order to set and work towards goals. Strong EF skills are linked to better academic performance, and greater health, wealth and happiness in later life. Research into EF development has been hampered by a lack of scalable measures suitable for infancy-through-to-toddlerhood. The 31-item Early Executive Functions Questionnaire (EEFQ) complements temperament measures by targeting cognitive and regulatory capabilities. Exploratory Factor Analysis (n=486 8- to 30-month-olds), and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (n=317 9- to 30-month-olds) indicates Inhibitory Control, Flexibility and Working Memory items load onto a common ‘Cognitive Executive Function (CEF)’ factor, whilst Regulation items do not. The CEF factor shows strong factorial measurement invariance for sex, and partial strong factorial measurement invariance for age. CEF and Regulation scores show limited floor and ceiling effects, good internal consistency, short-term stability, and convergent validity with carer-report measures of attentional control. The EEFQ is sensitive to developmental change. Results indicate that the widely-overlooked period between late infancy and early toddlerhood may be a sensitive period for EF development. The low-resource demands of the EEFQ affords the possibility to study emergent EFs at scale; opening up new opportunities in basic developmental and intervention research.
CHARACTERIZATION OF VOLATILE COMPOUNDS IN FIVE BLUEBERRY VARIETIES USING PURGE AND TRAP COUPLED TO GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY-MASS SPECTROMETRY

The volatile composition of five blueberry varieties from two different regions was analysed by dynamic headspace (purge and trap, P&T) coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Under the optimized conditions, the P&T method was successfully validated, showing good linearity, high accuracy, good reproducibility and a low limit of detection. A total of 80 volatiles were identified, including 19 esters, 30 alcohols, 18 aldehydes, 7 ketones and 6 other compounds. Furthermore, a spider web diagram was constructed to compare the flavour profiles of these blueberries, and the obtained results demonstrated that blueberries from different locations have different flavour profiles.