Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The influence of perinatal and current dioxin and PCB exposure on reproductive parameters (sex-ratio, menstrual cycle characteristics, endometriosis, semen quality, and prematurity): a review

Abstract Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxins (PCDDs/Fs) are well-known endocrine disrupters. This paper strives to elucidate the data on reproductive consequences of perinatal dioxin and PCB exposure in men and women. We focused on the following end-points: sex-ratio, endometriosis, menstrual cycle characteristics, sperm quality, and prematurity. We summarize 46 papers and compare their results including effects seen after exposure to background concentrations. Seven of twelve studies showed a decrease in sex-ratio after parental dioxin or PCB exposure. In three of the seven studies, effects were seen after paternal exposure and in three after maternal exposure. In eight of the nine studies on menstrual cycle characteristics, abnormalities were associated with PCB or dioxin exposure, however the results differed. In three studies PCB and TCDD were associated with longer menstrual cycles, while three studies indicated that an increase in PCB/PCDF exposure was associated with shorter cycles. Five studies showed effects on menstrual bleeding with higher PCB or dioxin exposure. A higher rate of irregular menstrual cycles in exposed women was seen in four studies. The conflicting outcomes probably result from variability in study design, timing of exposure and endocrine disrupting properties of the measured congeners. Nine of sixteen studies detected higher PCB or dioxin exposure in women with endometriosis. However, the manner of diagnosing endometriosis and the character of the studies varied from prospective to retrospective. Five of eight studies focusing on sperm quality showed that men, with higher serum concentrations of PCBs and/or PCB congeners and/or PCDFs, had reduced sperm quality, including increased abnormal morphology and reduced motility. The exposure timeframe seemed important here. There are two studies addressing preterm birth in relation to PCBs, one mentioned a shortening of three days of gestational age, two other studies did not find a relation. Recently one study related a shorter gestational age of half a week with overall dioxin activity measured with the CALUX method in cord blood, particularly in boys. In conclusion, exposure to PCBs and dioxins has a negative effect on the reproductive systems of human populations. Although some speculations have been made, the exact mechanism of these effects and the interactions of these compounds with other endocrine disruptors are not yet known. Age at exposure and congener specific properties are probably crucial in interpreting the observed results.
Innovations in Parent Involvement: Issues of Implementation and Fidelity to a Model.

A study evaluated the effects of an innovative parent involvement model. Nine school systems in Indiana were selected by the funding agency to use the Transparent School Model, which uses computer-based voice messaging technology to allow teachers and parents to exchange information with the efficiency and convenience of time displacement. At the end of each school day, a teacher writes a short script and records a 1-minute message over the telephone. The message is stored in computer memory and is available to any parent for the next 24 hours. After introducing the model to school personnel and providing staff training, the researchers evaluated the process and outcome variables over a period of 2 years. The results of analysis revealed high variability in the implementation level and teacher use of the model. Teachers who adopted and used the model with professional enthusiasm had better results than those who simply accepted the innovation but engaged in "passive resistance. " Results suggest that attempts to innovate in parent involvement should Include a carefully crafted implementation procedure that assures rich information and involvement of all the interested parties--administrators, teachers, and parents--before major changes are undertaken. (AA) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** en 00 en Peabody College VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE 37203 TELEPHONE (615) 322-7311 April 4, 1994 Betty Phillips Center for Parenthood Education Box 81, Peabody College of Vanderbilt University Direct phone 322-8080 FAX 322-8999 INNOVATIONS IN PARENT INVOLVEMENT: ISSUES OF IMPLEMENTATION AND
How Much are Health Websites Influenced by Culture? Content Analysis of Online Diet Programs in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Korea

This study investigates the content of diet websites in the United States (US), United Kingdom (UK), and Korea from a cross-cultural perspective using two cultural typologies: Hofstede's individualism-collectivism and Hall's low-high context. The results show a balance of the universal features and culture specific characteristics in the websites. Interestingly, the UK was in the middle between the US and Korea in several features even though the UK and the US typically had been generally included in the same cultural group in advertising studies. It was also determined that neither Hofstede's typology nor Hall's high-low context is enough to explain the cultural representations found on the websites. The need for new typologies for explaining or categorizing the cultural characteristics in advertising is suggested.
An Assessment of the Impact of Zidovudine on Rat Teeth Ontogenesis with Quantitative Laser Induced Fluorescence and an Histomorphological Analysis

Objectives: It is known that many conditions may impact on dental organ development at foetus or new-born stages. The most important influence in this case is caused by genetic predispositions but also by drugs delivered prenatally and postnatally to the organism. The goal of this research was to find if the applications of Zidovudine to mothers’ organisms of rats can caused some abnormalities in dental organs of new-borns. Methods: The study was performed on 20 Wistar female rats and their 36 new-borns bred. The group of adult pregnant rats was divided on two sub-groups: with and without Zidovudine receiving. The influence of Zidovudine administered was assessed by using the quantitative laser-induced fluorescence and compared with the group without Zidovudine receiving as a reference subjects. Results: In result the dependences in Zidovudine receiving were obtained and the changes in tissues were detected by use the laser fluorescence method. Moreover the differences between groups with and without Zidovudine are obtained in morphological results. The stronger impact of drug was obtained for mothers rats than new-borns. Conclusions: All obtained results show usefulness laser fluorescence in dental organ assessment.
Comparing Community Socio-Demographic Profiles towards Dengue in Two Selected Areas in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia

Dengue outbreak occurs in Indonesia, including Medan. We selected socio-demographic profile of the community, its behavior and environment in order to see dengue dynamic within the same location. Medan Baru represents the highest reported case, and Medan Area, for the lowest reported case. A total of 840 respondents, calculated by WHO’s rapid survey (2 x 210 from each sub-district). Respondents were the head of household (male or female) and have been living in the area for a minimum of two consecutive years. Questionnaires were distributed to assess the demographic profiles, knowledge, attitude and practice. Environment assessment made to measure environmental risk. We found that Medan Area carryinga higher risk of dengue.The majority of respondents was adults, women, those living in permanent homes and whose educational background was up tosecondary high school or less.Most respondents lived in their own house and spent most of their time in the morning outside the home to work. Respondents’ knowledge of and attitude towards dengue were relatively good.Generally, the respondents participated in some efforts to prevent dengue. Many mosquito’slarvae were still present in more than 1 container. After deployed binary logistic regression atα=0,05, the risk factors of dengue in Medan Area were higher to those who performed activities at home in the morning with poor quality of hygiene both inside and outside home.This research concluded that people were highly exposed to the risk of dengue when they failed to maintain and manage a healthy living environment maximally. Keywords— Dengue, socio demographic, dengue history, behavior, environment, Medan
Molecular and radiocarbon constraints on sources and degradation of terrestrial organic carbon along the Kolyma paleoriver transect, East Siberian Sea

Climate warming in northeastern Siberia may in- duce thaw-mobilization of the organic carbon (OC) now held in permafrost. This study investigated the composition of ter- restrial OC exported to Arctic coastal waters to both obtain a natural integration of terrestrial permafrost OC release and to further understand the fate of released carbon in the ex- tensive Siberian Shelf Seas. Application of a variety of ele- mental, molecular and isotopic ( 13 C and 1 14 C) analyses of both surface water suspended particulate matter and underly- ing surface sediments along a 500 km transect from Kolyma River mouth to the mid-shelf of the East Siberian Sea yielded information on the sources, degradation status and transport processes of thaw-mobilized soil OC. A three end-member dual-carbon-isotopic mixing model was applied to deduce the relative contributions from riverine, coastal erosion and marine sources. The mixing model was solved numerically using Monte Carlo simulations to obtain a fair representation of the uncertainties of both end-member composition and the end results. Riverine OC contributions to sediment OC de- crease with increasing distance offshore (35±15 to 13±9%), whereas coastal erosion OC exhibits a constantly high con- tribution (51 ± 11 to 60± 12%) and marine OC increases offshore (9± 7 to 36± 10%). We attribute the remarkably strong imprint of OC from coastal erosion, extending up to 500 km from the coast, to efficient offshoreward transport in these shallow waters presumably through both the benthic
Kajian penggunaan hidrogen oleh sistem kawalan dalam sel bahan api membran penukaran proton

Efficient operation results from a proper control strategy. In the operation and performance of a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC), the hydrogen gas flow rate is one of the most essential control parameter in addition to operating pressure, water management, temperature and humidity. This is because of the high cost and amount of energy are required to produce the purity hydrogen gas. In this paper, a Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) feedback control system is used to control the hydrogen flow rate. A strategy is adapted to balance the hydrogen use based on the loading requirements, especially during startups and sudden power demands. This system is implemented using National Instrument (NI) devices powered by the LabVIEW program. This is due to its simplicity and customization flexibility for measuring, processing and recording data. Designed structure allows the real-time implementation of a robust control law that is able to address the related nonlinearities and uncertainties without incurring a heavy computational load for the controller algorithm. While it facilitating a fast sampling rate according to the needs of the power system. Test results from the controller show that the new fuel control system provides good performance by reducing the amount of wasted hydrogen gas compared with that of the previous open loop system by 30 % to over 80 % saved by the varied load. This improvement is beneficial for any PEMFC that experiences fluctuating power demand, especially for vehicle applications.
Are indigenous approaches to achieving influence in business organizations distinctive? A comparative study of guanxi, wasta, jeitinho, svyazi and pulling strings

Managers in five nations rated scenarios exemplifying indigenous forms of informal influence whose cultural origins were concealed. Locally generated scenarios illustrated episodes of guanxi, wasta, jeitinho, svyazi and pulling strings. Local scenarios were judged representative of local influence processes but so too were some scenarios derived from other contexts. Furthermore, many scenarios were rated as more typical in non-local contexts. While these influence processes are found to be widely disseminated, they occur more frequently in contexts characterized by high self-enhancement values, low self-transcendence values and high endorsement of business corruptibility. Implications for a fuller understanding of local business practices are discussed.
Real-Time Extraction of the Madden-Julian Oscillation Using Empirical Mode Decomposition and Statistical Forecasting with a VARMA Model

Abstract A simple guide to the new technique of empirical mode decomposition (EMD) in a meteorological–climate forecasting context is presented. A single application of EMD to a time series essentially acts as a local high-pass filter. Hence, successive applications can be used to produce a bandpass filter that is highly efficient at extracting a broadband signal such as the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO). The basic EMD method is adapted to minimize end effects, such that it is suitable for use in real time. The EMD process is then used to efficiently extract the MJO signal from gridded time series of outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) data. A range of statistical models from the general class of vector autoregressive moving average (VARMA) models was then tested for their suitability in forecasting the MJO signal, as isolated by the EMD. A VARMA (5, 1) model was selected and its parameters determined by a maximum likelihood method using 17 yr of OLR data from 1980 to 1996. Forecasts were then made on the.
The Effects of Storage Time on Physiochemical, Rheological, Micro- Structural and Sensory Properties of Feta Cheese Fortified with Fish and Olive Oils

Skim milk, milk fat, cumin powder, olive and fish oils used to produce fortified feta cheese with 8.4% mixed fat and its chemical, textural and sensory analyses compared with control or low only milk fat (again at 8.4%)feta cheese during 2 months cold storage. The measured hardness and sensorial scores of fortified cheese became very close (with no significant differences) to control samples after 30 days of storage due to the use of respectively whey protein concentrate and cumin seed powder. Additionally, the rheological properties (storage modulus, loss modulus and loss tangent) of fortified cheese reached to 85% of the parallel parameters in control sample throughout the 2 months cold storage. Although the peroxide and thiobarbituric acid values of fortified cheese increased to some extent, it did not exceed the standard levels and sensory panel did not detect any fishy flavour and unpleasant aroma even after 60 days storage. The unsaturated and saturated fatty acids of fortified cheese after 0, 30, and 60 days of storage, respectively were 120, 124 and 156% more and 27, 28 and 30% less than the similar values in control. Since the fortified samples of feta cheese had 30 mg or 10% of daily dose of EPA and DHA, it can be used as a rich source of omega 3 instead of normal feta cheese.
Thesis title missing

A framework for incorporating renewable energy sources into the traditional economic dispatch problem is presented, which shows the possible advantages of adopting a predictive economic dispatch approach. In particular, simulation of the economic dispatch solution for a microgrid system with both solar and wind technologies as well as battery storage systems, illustrates the conditions under which the operation of power systems, with conventional economic dispatch algorithms do not provide a suitable solution. In addition, the purposed predictive strategy shows that renewable resources can lead to high economical benefits even under high uncertainty, as long as penetration levels of intermittent resources increase significantly.
THE RELATION BETWEEN SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS (SES) AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT: EMPIRICAL FINDINGS AND THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES

Issues pertaining to child development have been an important topic in research. Not only is the development trajectory important but also the ident ification of factors that influence development trends in children. Socioeconomic status has receiv ed considerable attention in research as a factor determining development tendencies in early childho o . According to theories and frameworks, socioeconomic status influences family dynamics, pa rent l techniques, parental investment and access to resources necessary for development. The fram works consider that low socioeconomic status hinders development in children. Among the d evelopment domains that are influenced by socioeconomic status research documents impact lang uage development, executive function, brain development, behavioral functioning, cognitive deve lopment and intelligence. The four theories dominating the research on the link between socioec onomic status and child development agree that lower SES standing hinders the development of child ren while parents with high socioeconomic status are able to provide the necessary preconditi ons for development.
IKO: a five actuated DoF upper limb exoskeleton oriented to workplace assistance

IKerlan's Orthosis IKO is an upper limb exoskeleton oriented to increasing human force during routine activity at the workplace. Therefore, it can be considered as a force-amplification device conceived to work in collaboration with the human arm and implementing biomimetic principles. The aim of the proposed design is to find the best compromise between maximum reachable workspace and minimum moving mass, which are the key factors for obtaining an ergonomic, wearable exoskeleton. It consists of five actuated degree of freedom DoF to move the human arm and three non-actuated DoF between the back and shoulder to allow relative displacement of the sterno-clavicular joint. Conventional electrical motors are used for most of the DoF and pneumatic muscles for one of them forearm rotation. Power transmission is based on Bowden cables. This paper presents the IKO design, the mechanical structure of a first prototype and the redesign process from an aesthetic point of view. Controller set-up and control strategies are also shown, together with dynamic performance from experimental results.
Human Trafficking Is More Than Sex Trafficking and Prostitution

The human trafficking discussion has focused primarily on women and children who are trafficked for sexual exploitation. However, as social workers confront the issue, they require an understanding of the problem that also acknowledges individuals who are forced to work in other areas. This article critically examines the current discourse on human trafficking because the sole focus on women and children diverts attention from the study of trafficking within the context of globalization and the exploitation of labor. It analyzes the term human trafficking, particularly how it became linked to antiprostitution campaigns, and suggests guidelines for a framework that is grounded in social work values.
The non-equilibrium nature of culinary evolution

Food is an essential part of civilization, with a scope that ranges from the biological to the economic and cultural levels. Here, we study the statistics of ingredients and recipes taken from Brazilian, British, French and Medieval cookery books. We find universal distributions with scale invariant behaviour. We propose a copy-mutate process to model culinary evolution that fits our empirical data very well. We find a cultural ‘founder effect’ produced by the non-equilibrium dynamics of the model. Both the invariant and idiosyncratic aspects of culture are accounted for by our model, which may have applications in other kinds of evolutionary processes.
Heterogeneous Demand, Government Intervention and Housing Price: Chaos Analysis Perspective

Started from the microbodies of real estate market, this paper supposed real estate price is mainly determined by the bodies’ market behaviors and related interactions, while the demanders in real estate market are heterogeneous. and local government and central government are with different purposes in regulating the market. For these considerations above, this paper constructed a real estate price deterministic model, and conducted a numeric simulation. The main findings include: the price fluctuation of real estate market has chaotic characteristics, and the systematic parameters have a comparatively big effect on market equilibrium. The sensitivity that both consumption demanders and real estate developers have on real estate price is positively correlated to real estate market equilibrium. In the long term, the price of real estate market will be approaching to its actual value.
Augmented Example-based Synthesis Semantic Bias in Example-based Synthesis via Relational Perturbation Properties

Example-based specifications for program synthesis are inherently ambiguous and may cause synthesizers to generate programs that do not exhibit intended behavior on unseen inputs. Existing synthesis techniques attempt to address this problem by either placing a domain-specific, syntactic bias on the hypothesis space or heavily relying on user feedback to help resolve ambiguity. We present a new framework to address the ambiguity/generalizability problem in examplebased synthesis. The key feature of our framework is that it places a semantic bias on the hypothesis space based on relational perturbation properties. The framework is portable acrossmultiple domains and synthesizers and is based on two core steps: (1) automatically augment the set of user-provided examples by applying relational perturbation properties and (2) use a generic example-based synthesizer to generate a program consistent with the augmented set of examples. Our framework can be instantiated with three different user interfaces, with varying degrees of user engagement to help infer relevant relational perturbation properties. This includes an interface in which the user only provides examples and our framework automatically infers relevant properties. We implement our framework in a tool SketchAX specialized to the Sketch synthesizer and demonstrate that SketchAX is effective in significantly boosting the performance of Sketch for all three user interfaces.
INFLUENCE OF ALTITUDE IN THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE AQUATIC HYDROPHILOIDEA (COLEOPTERA) IN THE PROVINCE OF LEON (NW SPAIN)

An analysis of the influence of altitude is camed out by means of an analysis of the distribution of 101 species and subspecies reported from 278 sampling zones disposed throughout the province of Leon. After defining the species nchness in the different altitudinal levels we point out the indicator species by establishing their ecological features in terms of the reciprocal information species-factor. Affinity relationships between altitudinal levels are also analyzed.
EffEct of nutritivE mEdia on Solanaceae sp. rEproduction in vitro

DIMANOV, D. , V. MASHEVA and D. DIMITROVA, 2013. Effect of nutritive media on Solanaceae sp. reproduction in vitro. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 19: 139-142 It has been researched the possibility for in vitro N. tabacum sp. , S. tuberosum sp. , S. lycopersicum sp. Cultivars at a different nutritive mediums. A positive effect of liquid nutrient media on micropropagation in vitro in three Solanaceae species, compared to solid agar medium was established. The best for micropropagation in vitro in the varieties of three species N. tabacum, S. tuberosum and S. lycopersicum is nutritive medium B. The importance of genotypein the reproduction in vitro has been demonstrated. The unified systeme for micropropagation in vitro based on nutritive medium B of varieties of three family Solanaceae species was created.