Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Correlation of serum TNF alpha level with severity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Background: Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF α) is the most widely studied cytokine of TNF super family. TNF α plays a significant role in many inflammatory diseases affecting the lung, such as chronic bronchitis (CB), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Elevated levels of TNF-alpha are seen in COPD patients. An increased level of TNF-α has been found in induced sputum or lung biopsy of COPD patients. 14-16 This study includes correlation of level of TNF α with severity and characterization of individuals with COPD. There are only limited numbers of studies being conducted regarding this topic in the world, including India. Objectives of present study were to measure the TNF-α level in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and to correlate TNF α level with severity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Methods: The study was conducted on one hundred and eight (108) patient’s COPD patients attending the Pulmonary medicine department of Sri Manakula Vinayagar Medical College and Hospital Puducherry, who are aged above forty years, with a duration of 18 months, starting from the date of getting approval from the Ethics Committee. The subjects were analysed on their TLC, DLC was done to rule out any co-existing infections. Spirometry was done to confirm the diagnosis of COPD. Blood was taken from the confirmed COPD patients after getting their approval, for the estimation of serum TNF α level. Results: The Serum TNF alpha levels increases according to the COPD severity. The mean serum TNF alpha level in patients with mild obstruction, moderate obstruction, severe and very severe obstruction were 9.91+2.9, 21.25+4.8, 32.4+8.2 and 39.2+3.1pg/dl respectively. Mean TNF alpha value was 26.7pg/dl. The values of TNF α increases with the stages of COPD which is statistically significant with p value of 0.0001. Conclusions: The present study showed that serum TNF alpha level correlates with severity of airway obstruction in spirometry among the COPD patients. It also correlates with the disease severity as per the different stages of COPD patients (GOLD COPD staging 2016). Thus, serum TNF alpha is a useful marker to monitor the disease severity in addition to spirometric parameters like FVC, FEV 1 and FEV 1 /FVC. However, further studies are needed with larger sample size.
Passive flow control valve for protein delivery

Abstract Passive flow control valves are usually intended to deliver or drain a fluid at a constant rate independently of pressure variations. Microfluidic devices made of a stack of two plates are considered here: the first plate comprises a flexible silicon membrane having through holes while the second plate is a rigid substrate with a cavity, an outlet hole and pillars aligned with the through holes of the membrane. The liquid flows through the holes etched in the membrane and through the gap between the membrane and the pillars. Each gap can be considered as a valve which progressively closes as the pressure increases. Numerical modelling of the fluid dynamics inside the device associated with FEM simulations of the membrane distortion have been performed to design a device that exhibits a constant flow rate in a specified range of pressure. To make the design more reliable, the device characteristics have been optimized using a genetic algorithm, the fitness function taking notably into account machining and alignment tolerances. This algorithm has been finally used to design flow control valves for wearable injectors dedicated to the infusion of viscous drug formulations (hyaluronic acid, adalimumab, golimumab …) at high pressure. Prototypes have been characterized using solutions of 12 and 24 cP. It has been demonstrated experimentally that this technology is suitable to passively infuse biological products at flow rates up to 1 mL/min. The numerical model has then been refined further so as to obtain a good correlation with experimental data.
Intelligent Shop Window Producing Dynamic Situated Augmented Reality using a Large See-through Screen

The purpose of shop windows is to attract people's attention and increase the consumers' desire to buy the merchandise. This paper proposes an "intelligent shop window" that can display merchandise information and advertisements on a large see-through display overlaid on real items or people in the shop. The system decides the target item to be advertised based on the position of the customers/shop clerks and the color of the clothes that a clerk is wearing. Then, it displays the information about the item on a window-like see-through screen through which passers-by can see the information overlaid on the situation inside the shop. As compared to the mannequins in a shop window, our system can present information dynamically. Therefore, it is expected to attract greater interest from passers-by and increase the number of customers visiting the shop.
A Review on Recent Developments in Technology Forecasting

Technology forecasting (TF) is essential for responding to the emerging needs of private and public sector organizations in the highly competitive global environment.TF is an important research and development (R&D) policy issue for both companies and government. Vacant TF is one of the key technological planning methods for improving the competitive power of firms and governments. A number of models and techniques have been developed to deal with technology forecasting. In general, a forecasting process is facilitated subjectively based on the researcher’s knowledge, resulting in unstable TF performance. This paper reflects the importance of technology forecasting, techniques employed for TF and recent developments in TF especially using patent analysis by investigating the various work carried out by different authors that progressed in this area.
Parents' and teachers' preferred medium of instruction in primary schools in Enugu, Nigeria

This study which investigated parents’ and teachers’ preferred medium of instruction in primary schools was conducted in Enugu, South East, Nigeria. It employed the descriptive survey research method. 500 respondents were used for the study. 250 teachers were selected through simple random sampling technique. Two researcher-designed questionnaires were used to elicit the required data. The generated data were analysed using percentage and x 2 statistic. The findings showed that parents and teachers preferred the biliterate bilingual (code mixing) Education Policy in primary education. It also showed that there was a significant difference in parents’ and teachers’ preferences for medium of instruction in primary schools in Nigeria. It was concluded that the proper implementation of the language education policy spelt out in the National Policy on Education may still remain a mirage if proper consultation vis-a-vis education and sensitization of stakeholders –parents and teachers- is not carried out in due course. A thorough review of the existing policy is therefore recommended as part of educational reform agenda in Nigeria.
Does habitat use explain large scale species richness patterns of aquatic beetles in Europe

Regularities in species richness are widely observed but controversy continues over its mechanistic explanation. Because richness patterns are usually a compound measure derived from taxonomically diverse species with different ecological requirements, these analyses may confound diverse causes of species numbers. Here we investigate species richness in the aquatic beetle fauna of Europe, separating major taxonomic groups and two major ecological types, species occurring in standing and running water bodies. We collated species distributions for 800 + species of water beetles in 15 regions across western Europe. Species number in any of these regions was related to three variables: total area size, geographic connectedness of the area, and latitude. Pooled species numbers were accurately predicted, but correlations were different for species associated with either running or standing water. The former were mostly correlated with latitude, while the latter were only correlated with the measure of connectedness or with area size. These differences were generally also observed in each of the four phylogenetically independent lineages of aquatic Coleoptera when analysed separately. We propose that effects of habitat, in this case possibly mediated by different long term persistence of running and standing water bodies, impose constraints at the population or local level which, if effective over larger temporal and spatial scales, determine global patterns of species richness.
Batch Private Keys Generation for RSA in Security Communication Systems

RSA public key cryptosystem is extensively used in information security systems. However, key generation for RSA cryptosystem requires multiplicative inversion over finite field, which has higher computational complexity, compared with either multiplication in common sense or modular multiplication over finite field. In order to improve the performance of key generation, we propose a batch private keys generation method in this paper. The method derives efficiency from cutting down multiplicative inversions over finite field. Theoretical analysis shows that the speed of batch private keys generation for s users is faster than that of s times solo private key generation. It is suitable for applications in those systems with large amount of users.
Factors Influencing Market Participation among Sesame Producers in Benue State, Nigeria

Farmers’ participation to agricultural business is a prerequisite for their sustainability. Encouraging sesame producers to market participation has the potential to facilitate poverty alleviation by transforming subsistence agriculture to commercial agriculture as well as unlock the well known benefits of trade. This Study was therefore undertaken to analyze factors influencing market participation among sesame producers using binary regression. A combination of purposive and random sampling techniques was used for sample selection. Data were obtained through the use of a structured questionnaire, copies of which were administered to the selected 372 sesame farmers in Benue State. The result indicated that Cox&Snell (R square) is 0.57 implying that sex; age; marital status; household size; education; farming experience; size of farm; output and market information accounted for 57 percent factors influencing market participation by sesame farmers in Benue State, Nigeria. The result further indicated that education; size of farm and output were factors that influence market participation by sesame farmers as well as lack of information (19.95%); Seasonality (18.10%); poor storage facilities (17.52%); cost of transportation (13.70%); High taxes (12.14%); Distance to market (9.60%) and bad road (8.96%) were constraints faced by sesame producers. It was recommended that sesame producers should be properly informed on the market price through media and this will be achieved by setting a price control and also investment on physical infrastructure (road network, warehouse, etc.) should be done in remote areas.
The Big Five as States: How Useful Is the Five-Factor Model to Describe Intraindividual Variations over Time?

Abstract This study investigated the similarity between the factor structure of longitudinal variations in states and the factor structure of individual differences in traits. On 90 consecutive days, 22 students self-administered 30 self-report items that were markers of the Big Five. Most participants showed good discrimination among the 90 measurement occasions. Correlations were computed between items across measurement occasions. These P-correlations were factored, and the factor matrices were target rotated toward a reference factor structure of individual differences, using orthogonal Procrustes rotations. A substantial match was obtained between the factor structure of longitudinal correlations that had been averaged across participants and the factor structure of individual differences. For individual participants, this factor match was worse. It is concluded that the Big Five are useful to describe longitudinal variations in states. A sharp distinction between the five-factor model and the trait approach is recommended.
Evaluating the impacts of mowing: a case study comparing managed and abandoned meadow patches

Two abandoned and two mown adjacently situated semi-natural meadow patches were compared for species richness, evenness and soil nutrient values. The differences in flora and vegetation cover between the sites were examined using canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). The physical conditions between the habitats were compared by categorizing the species with two competitive theories for plant strategies: the MacArthur-Fretwell scheme and Grime’s CSR model. Both calculated richness indices and direct species counts indicate that diversity is higher in the abandoned meadow patches than in the corresponding managed meadows. The evenness values imply that the species dominance pattern is similar under both types of management. According to the CCA ordination, the differences in nutrient concentration between the sites significantly influenced the occurrence of species. The method of evaluating the succession stage of a habitat by combining diversity measures and counting plant strategy shares, especially with regard to competitive species, may help the manager to decide on the urgency of restoration. As the MacArthur-Fretwell scheme showed the prevailing physical conditions using species life history strategies more illustratively, it can be recommended for studies in which it is important to define the succession stage that might be fatal to high species diversity. This will facilitate the decision-making on management practices.
THE IMPACTS OF FREE CASH SURPLUS FLOWS, AUDIT QUALITY AND OWNERSHIP ON EARNINGS MANAGEMENT: THE JORDAN CASE

* Department of Accounting, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, the Hashemite University, Jordan ** School of Management and Logistic Sciences, German Jordanian University, Jordan *** Corresponding author Department of Accounting, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, the Hashemite University, Jordan Contact details: Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, the Hashemite University, P. O. Box 35247 Amman, Postal Code, 11180, Jordan
Stereotypical Inferences as Mediators of Age Discrimination: The Role of Competence and Warmth

Drawing on theories of stereotype content and role congruity, this research investigated the role of stereotypes for employment discrimination against older candidates. Study 1 investigated the content of stereotypes about older workers, focusing on warmth and competence as the two core dimensions in social judgement. As predicted, older workers were perceived as less competent but warmer than younger workers. Studies 2 and 3 investigated how these stereotypes interact with job requirements to predict age bias in an experimental setting. Further, they tested if warmth- and competence-related stereotypical inferences mediate the relation between candidate age and selection bias. Results showed that age bias was robust. Older candidates were discriminated against, even if the job primarily required warmth-related qualities, and independently of evaluators' own age or professional experience in human resources. Moreover, age bias was mediated by competence-related stereotypical inferences. Age bias was also mediated by inferences related to warmth but those inferences were opposite to the high-warmth older worker stereotype identified in Study 1. Implications of the findings for theoretical approaches to age discrimination and for organizational practice designed to combat age discrimination are discussed.
Envisioning support of social learning in MOOCs

The explosive growth of MOOCs has generated immense interest in online learning in massive courses. However, much of this frenetic activity has emphasized technology and scalability (Reich, 2015), resulting in rudimentary learning experiences (i.e., brief streaming videos followed by quizzes or online discussion forums). This symposium will showcase and discuss four diverse efforts to advance open learning at scale that are directly informed by contemporary theories of learning and educational research methods. This includes research on inquiry-based community learning, computer-mediated discourse analysis, participatory approaches to learning and assessment, and evidence-rich digital-credentials. In each of the four cases, the desire to extend that program of research to learning at scale resulted in significant advances in the more general program of research. In this way the symposium explores efforts to foster learning at scale might advance our theories of learning and our principles and methods for learning design more generally.
Timing X-ray Pulsars with Application to Spacecraft Navigation

Usually, positions of spacecraft on interplanetary or deep space missions are determined by radar tracking from ground stations, a method by which uncertainty increases with distance from Earth. As an alternative, a spacecraft equipped with e.g. an X-ray telescope could determine its position autonomoulsy via onboard analysis of X-ray pulsar signals. In order to find out which pulsars are best suited for this approach and what accuracy can be achieved, we built up a database containing the temporal emission characteristics of the ∼ 60 X-ray pulsars for which a pulsed radiation has been detected by mid 2010.
Antiferromagnetic Order with Spatially Inhomogeneous Ordered Moment Size of Zn- and Si-Doped CuGeO 3

We report muon spin relaxation measurements of the doped spin-Peierls system $({\mathrm{Cu}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Zn}}_{x})\ensuremath{-}({\mathrm{Ge}}_{1\ensuremath{-}y}{\mathrm{Si}}_{y}){\mathrm{O}}_{3}$. Spontaneous muon spin precession in zero applied field was observed, confirming the presence of antiferromagnetic order in this series of compounds. In contrast to usual antiferromagnets, muon spin precession is accompanied by a relaxation signal indicating a large spatial inhomogeneity of the ordered moment size. Assuming an exponential decay of the moment size away from the doping centers, we estimated a decay length of $\ensuremath{\xi}\ensuremath{\sim}10$ lattice units along the chain. We suggest that both Zn and Si doping induces the same maximum moment size around the doping center.
Measuring bank efficiency: DEA application

AbstractThe paper aims to improve the methodology of measuring efficiency of Latvian banks. Efficiency scores were calculated with application of non-parametric frontier technique Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Input-oriented DEA model under Variable Returns to Scale (VRS) assumption was used. Potential model variables were selected based on the intermediation and profitability approach. Fourteen alternative models with different inputs-outputs combinations were developed for the research purposes. To substantiate the variables selection for DEA model the received data was processed, using such methods, as correlation analysis, linear regression analysis, analysis of mean values, and two-samples Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. The research results assisted the authors in providing general recommendations about the variables selection for DEA application in the Latvian banking sector. The present research contributes to the existing analytical data on bank performance in Latvia. The empirical findings provide a.
Do the Israeli Provident Funds have the Ability to Time the Bond and Stock Markets? An Analysis across Alternative Investments

This paper investigates whether Israeli fund managers possess market-timing ability across asset classes over time, using 15 years of monthly data from the Israeli provident funds. We apply three methodologies based on return based and portfolio holdings approaches. Most of the early return-based timing methods and the most recent portfolio holdings measures suggest that U.S. mutual fund managers do not possess equity timing ability. Our study is the first to test this evidence on multi- asset class provident funds in the Israeli market and compare the timing ability of fund managers in each asset class according to different approaches. We introduce an alternative holdings method that combine the asset allocation theory with that of market timing and use "excess policy" holdings data to predict future market returns. In addition, previous studies mostly ignore the contribution of other instruments to timing decisions, which may cause any conclusions about managers' timing decisions to be incomplete. Hence, we test equity market timing with respect to all markets using a multiple market index model in the holdings approach. In line with previous research, our empirical results indicate significantly negative market timing in domestic equities according to all the measures used. On the other hand, provident fund managers on average seem to display some timing ability for government bonds.
Teaching phonetics through sound symbolism

Teaching introductory phonetics classes can be challenging for several reasons. One reason is that students are introduced with many new concepts such as place of articulation, manner of articulation, and the obstruent/sonorant distinction. Remembering these classification terms can be overwhelming and/or boring. Another challenge is that while many students taking phonetics classes are humanity major students who often do not like mathematics, understanding phonetics does require basic background in mathematics and physics. In this paper, I summarize my pedagogical attempt to lower the psychological boundary of students against learning these concepts by making use of sound symbolism in introductory phonetics class [1]. Analyses of sound symbolic patterns can be presented using materials that students are familiar with (e.g. Disney characters and Pokémon monsters), so that the students feel that classification terms that phoneticians use are “real”. Furthermore, since some sound symbolic patterns are demonstrably grounded in the articulatory and acoustic natures of particular sounds, we are able to teach some important articulatory and acoustic principles. Finally, statistical analyses of the Pokémon dataset, which emerged from this teaching strategy, help us illustrate some important statistical skills.
Swath-Grazing Potential for Small-Grain Species with a Delayed Planting Date

Grazing swathed, small-grain crops can reduce costs of overwintering beef cows (Bos taurus) by 40%. However, the late planting required to target mid-September harvest may be associated with low yield and carrying capacity. Th e objective was to compare whole-plant yield, nutritive value, and potential carrying capacity in relation to beef cow requirements for spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), oat (Avena sativa L.), and triticale (X Triticosecale Wittmack) when planted on seven weekly intervals (10 May–23 June) over 3 yr at Lacombe, AB; whole-plant material was harvested at soft dough (barley and triticale) or milk stages (oat). Data were analyzed relative to planting date delay as an independent variable. Barley matured more rapidly than oat and triticale, with the latest planting date harvested on 27 August for barley, 8 September for oat and 25 September for triticale. Nutritive value for barley and triticale was unaff ected by planting date, but neutral (NDF) and acid detergent fi ber (ADF) concentrations increased quadratically with delay in planting for oat. In vitro true digestibility (IVTD) was lower for oat than barley and triticale. Yield declined linearly with planting delay for barley (35–39%), but increased (quadratically) as planting was delayed from late May to early June for oat (8%) and triticale (10%). Consequently, the potential carrying capacity for triticale was 1.6 and 1.8 times greater than barley and oat, respectively when planted for swathing in late August or early September.