Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The measurement of “interdisciplinarity” and “synergy” in scientific and extra‐scientific collaborations

Problem solving often requires crossing boundaries, such as those between disciplines. When policy‐makers call for “interdisciplinarity,” however, they often mean “synergy. ” Synergy is generated when the whole offers more possibilities than the sum of its parts. An increase in the number of options above the sum of the options in subsets can be measured as redundancy; that is, the number of not‐yet‐realized options. The number of options available to an innovation system for realization can be as decisive for the system's survival as the historically already‐realized innovations. Unlike “interdisciplinarity,” “synergy” can also be generated in sectorial or geographical collaborations. The measurement of “synergy,” however, requires a methodology different from the measurement of “interdisciplinarity. ” In this study, we discuss recent advances in the operationalization and measurement of “interdisciplinarity,” and propose a methodology for measuring “synergy” based on information theory. The sharing of meanings attributed to information from different perspectives can increase redundancy. Increasing redundancy reduces the relative uncertainty, for example, in niches. The operationalization of the two concepts—“interdisciplinarity” and “synergy”—as different and partly overlapping indicators allows for distinguishing between the effects and the effectiveness of science‐policy interventions in research priorities.
Adult attachment, sacrifice, and emotional wellbeing of couples: A cross-cultural comparison between the U.S. and China

This study examined the effects of romantic partners’ adult attachment on sacrifice in relationships and each partner’s corresponding emotional reactions using the strain-test situation protocol. Because the general values and expectations related to romantic relationship embedded in cultural norms might be different, this study also investigated potential cultural differences in this phenomenon, using a cross-cultural sample (115 dating couples in U.S. and 99 dating couples in China). Results showed a similar pattern across the groups that individuals tend to make less sacrifice when they or their partner were avoidantly attached; however, the actor effect of attachment anxiety on sacrifice only occurred in the US sample. In addition, the positive impact of sacrifice on both the individual’s and recipient’s emotional wellbeing was observed across cultures, although this impact seemed to be stronger in the Chinese sample. When asked to sacrifice, American participants with high attachment avoidance reported less negative affect whereas it was the anxiously attached Chinese participants who experienced less negative emotion. Findings of this study confirm the significant impact of adult attachment on sacrifice and corresponding emotional reactions, and also highlight the possible cross-cultural differences in the magnitude of these effects.
Joint Effects of Ownership and Competition on the Relationship between Innovation and Productivity: Application of the CDM Model to the Chinese Manufacturing Sector

ABSTRACT On the basis of a rich panel data set of large- and medium-sized Chinese manufacturing enterprises, we observe that different types of firms (i.e., state-owned enterprises [SOEs], foreign-funded ownership [FFO] of firms, Hong Kong-Macau-Taiwanese [HMT] companies and privately-owned firms) exploit different stages of the innovation – productivity chain depending on the extent of market concentration. By applying a modified CDM model, this study reveals that SOEs tend to be more active in making innovative decisions and pursuing innovative investments but are less efficient in terms of innovation output and labour productivity, whereas FFO firms have relatively high labour productivity but are less active in the first three stages of the innovation – productivity chain. Market competition favours SOEs in the production of additional innovation products. Foreign firms are efficient in labour productivity if they are operating in a concentrated market. By using the metaphor of DNA, this study explains the heterogeneity among these different forms of ownership and generates several managerial implications.
Evaluation of Effectiveness of Laser Assisted Hatching Pregnancy Rates on Fresh IVF / ICSI Cycles

Objectives: To investigate the effects of laser assisted hatching (LAHA) implantation rates, clinical pregnancies, and live births of the patients enrolled in a fresh in vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection-embryo transfer (IVF/ICSE-ET) program. Material and Methods: A total of 315 patients who underwent at least two unsuccessful ETs or had a baseline follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) level of ≥10 mIU/mL and who underwent IVF/ICSE-ET at IVF Center. The patients were divided into two groups: patient group (n=100) who underwent LAHA and control group (n=215) who did not. The beta human chorionic gonadotropin (βhCG) positivity, clinical pregnancies, and live births of both groups were compared. Results: There was no significant difference in the clinical pregnancy and implantation rates between the groups including those with an advanced maternal age or recurrent implantation failure. In the patients with elevated FSH levels (FSH ≥10 mIU/mL), these rates were significantly lower in the study group, compared to the control group. Conclusion: Our study results show that laser assisted hatching does not improve the biochemical, clinical, and take home baby rates in IVF / ICSI – ET patients. among the patients with a FSH level of ≥10mIU/mL, the βhCG positivity (p=0.036) and clinical pregnancy rates (p=0.037) were statistically significantly lower in the patient group. On the other hand, we found no statistically significant differences in the live birth (p=0.082) and implantation rates (p=0.07) between the LAHA-treated patients with a FSH level of ≥10mIU/mL and non- LAHA-treated patients. In conclusion, The hatching process of blastocysts still remains unclear. The majority of morphologically normal blastocysts undergoes hatching problems. Our study results showed that LAHA, an assisted reproductive technology, did not significantly increase the βhCG positivity, clinical pregnancy, and take home babies rates. Routine performance of assisted hatching on all embryos in fresh IVF/ICSI patients is neither scientific nor reasonable. Assisted hatching may be clinically useful and that individual ART programs should evaluate their own patient populations to identify which subgroups may benefit from the procedure. We think that large scale, prospective, randomized, controlled studies are necessary to determine whether clinical practice of our LAHA is appropriate. Conflict of interest No conflict of interest was declared by the authors.
Robust control of active magnetic bearing systems with an add-on controller to cancel gyroscopic effects: Is it worth it?

One of the performance-limiting factors in the design of robust controllers for active magnetic bearing systems is the fact that the controller needs to be robust to the gyroscopic effects, that is rotational speed-dependent dynamics of the system. Studies in the literature show that better performance and stability can be achieved when gyroscopic effects are explicitly handled by a cross-feedback control for rigid rotor-active magnetic bearing systems. For flexible rotor-active magnetic bearing systems, gyroscopic effects are mainly dealt by defining the rotational speed as an uncertain parameter of the model or with linear parameter-varying controllers. This study explores the novel idea of compensating gyroscopic effects of a flexible rotor-active magnetic bearing system with an add-on controller and investigates its effects on the achieved performance of μ-controllers. The study is carried out on an experimental active magnetic bearing test rig with relatively high gyroscopic effects. An add-on controller is designed to compensate the gyroscopic effects of the first and second flexible modes of the rotor. Two μ-controllers are designed for the system: (1) benchmark controller that is designed using a standard control approach for active magnetic bearing systems and (2) controller designed with a modified model of the system in which the gyroscopic effects for the first and second flexible modes are reduced because of the presence of the add-on controller. Both controllers are implemented, and their performances are compared for initial levitation, run-up test from 0 to 10,000 r/min, orbit sizes at various speeds, and the computational cost of implementing each controller. The results suggest that better performance is potentially possible at the cost of significant increase in the computational complexity of the controller.
Higher spring temperatures increase food scarcity and limit the current and future distributions of crossbills

Understanding how climate affects species distributions remains a major challenge, with the relative importance of direct physiological effects versus biotic interactions still poorly understood. We focus on three species of resource specialists (crossbill Loxia finches) to assess the role of climate in determining the seasonal availability of their food, the importance of climate and the occurrence of their food plants for explaining their current distributions, and to predict changes in their distributions under future climate change scenarios.
Predicting Intestinal and Hepatic First-Pass Metabolism of Orally Administered Testosterone Undecanoate

The bioavailability of orally administered drugs could be impacted by intestinal and hepatic first-pass metabolism. Testosterone undecanoate (TU), an orally administered ester prodrug of testosterone, is significantly subjected to first-pass metabolism. However, the individual contribution of intestinal and hepatic first-pass metabolism is not well determined. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to predict the metabolic contribution of each site. The hydrolysis–time profiles of TU incubation in human liver microsomes and Caco-2 cell homogenate were used to predict hepatic and intestinal first-pass metabolism, respectively. The in vitro half-life (t1/2 inv) for the hydrolysis of TU in microsomal mixtures was 28.31 ± 3.51 min. By applying the “well-stirred” model, the fraction of TU that could escape hepatic first-pass metabolism (FH) was predicted as 0.915 ± 0.009. The incubation of TU in Caco-2 cell homogenate yielded t1/2 inv of 109.28 ± 21.42 min, which was applied in a “Q gut” model to estimate the fraction of TU that would escape intestinal first-pass metabolism (FG) as 0.114 ± 0.02. Accordingly, only 11% of the absorbed fraction of TU could escape intestinal metabolism, while 91% can pass through hepatic metabolism. Hence, compared to the liver, the intestinal wall is the main site where TU is significantly metabolised during first-pass effect.
Fighting the Deadly Helminthiasis without Drug Resistance

Helminthiasis is a very costly management problem in the sheep and goat industry, because the gastrointestinal parasites develop resistance against all chemical products that are discovered and produced by the pharmaceutical industry. The use of natural herbal contents of tannin as especially in Sericea Lespedeza (SL; Lespedeza cuneate) is very promising. Utilizing genetic differences in resistance among the different goat and sheep breeds is a promising alternative, with limited success to date. Totally eliminating the offending parasites from re-infesting by plowing under affected pastures for some seasons, or scheduling rotational pastures, or feeding fresh (grazed) or dried forms of the perennial warm-season legume sericea lespedeza to the infected sheep and goats, or using elevated housing with slatted floors are the most promising alternatives to the ancient tradition of herding and managing ruminants by transhumance. An elevated slatted floor housing is desirable, and deserves wider attention because of its potential in controlling helminthiasis. Slatted floors are already used in the sheep and goat industries in Sweden, Norway, Malaysia and Guatemala.
A review on Indigenous cattle genetic resources in Ethiopia: adaptation, status and survival.

Ethiopia is endowed with different Indigenous cattle genetic resources with millions of people directly depending on them. However, despite the potentials of these diversified genetic resources, the huge loss of cattle genetic diversity is becoming a prominent challenge these days. The aim of this review is to show the current status and performance of some selected indigenous cattle breeds of Ethiopia for better understanding of the situation of these breeds for the collective efforts towards conserving and improving the breeds. Based on the review, there are persuasive evidences on the critical situation of the selected indigenous cattle breeds. The facts and figures of the past and current situation of the selected indigenous cattle of Ethiopia showed that the situation of these breeds is very critical. This situation therefore demands the need to devise strategies to conserve and improve the cattle breeds based on the challenges that threatens them. Use of new biological and information technologies is also imperative to facilitate the genetic restoration process. Besides, use of new biological and information technologies which can enhance the conservation and improvement program are crucial. Various ongoing development interventions like Artificial Insemination and introduction of genotypes into new environments that are exacerbating threat of the breeds should totally be avoided by revising and designing sound approaches for cattle Conservation and improvement programs. Strict regulations and by laws should also be in place for illegal movement of breeding cattle to the neighboring countries.
Being in control: Choice and control of support received in supported living. A study based on the narratives of people with intellectual disability and support staff

ABSTRACT Background: This research aims to study the role of people with intellectual disability in taking decisions regarding the support provided under the supported living model. Method: Interviews were conducted with 13 people with intellectual disability, and six support professionals with experience working in organisations offering personalised support. These covered the person’s pathway, the support received, and their role in controlling this. Interviews were recorded and transcribed, and the data analysed through thematic content analysis in two consecutive phases, one descriptive and one interpretative. Results: While supported living aims to provide personalised solutions to individual needs, support is conditioned to a greater or lesser extent by the assessment professionals make regarding the autonomy of the person with intellectual disability. Conclusions: In order for individuals to make advances in their choice of, and control over, support received, people with intellectual disability must be empowered, and professional practices adapted through training.
The effect of ego depletion on challenge and threat evaluations during a potentially stressful public speaking task

ABSTRACT Background It has been well established that challenge and threat evaluations affect the performance of potentially stressful tasks. However, the factors that influence these evaluations have rarely been examined. Objective : This study examined the effects of ego depletion on challenge and threat evaluations during a public speaking task. Method : 262 participants (150 males, 112 females; Mage = 20.5, SD = 4.3) were randomly assigned to either an ego depletion or control group. Participants then completed self-report measures of trait self-control. The ego depletion group performed a written transcription task requiring self-control, while the control group transcribed the text normally. Before the public speaking task, participant’s challenge and threat evaluations and subjective ratings of performance were assessed via self-report items. Results : The results of independent t-tests supported the effectiveness of the self-control manipulation. There were no significant differences between the ego depletion and control groups in terms of challenge and threat evaluations or subjective performance. Additional correlation analyses revealed that trait measures of self-control were significantly and negatively related to challenge and threat evaluations and subjective performance. Conclusion : Findings suggest that ego depletion might not influence appraisals of potentially stressful tasks, and thus add to recent evidence questioning the ego-depletion phenomenon.
The inodilator levosimendan: 20 years of experience in various settings of cardiac care

Levosimendan emerged in the 1990s as a first-in-class inotrope and vasodilator that enhances cardiac contractility by sensitizing the contractile response to cardiac troponin C and causes vasodilatation by opening potassium-dependent ATP channels on vascular smooth muscle cells. Since its clinical debut in 2000, it has established itself as a valuable resource in the management of acute decompensated heart failure and is one of very few successful medical innovations of its kind in that field in recent decades. Its pharmacology is notable for delivering inotropy without an increase in myocardial oxygen consumption and for an array of secondary (‘pleiotropic’) effects that include an anti-ischemic effect, pre-conditioning and post-conditioning and cardioprotective effects and anti-oxidative effects. Proceeding from those properties it has been proposed that in addition to its use in various scenarios of low cardiac output levosimendan may be beneficial in other conditions associated with acutely decompensated heart failure, including right ventricular failure, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and cardiogenic shock with multi-organ dysfunction. The potential of levosimendan for kidney protection in situations of the cardio-renal syndrome has been identified. Additional lines of investigation include the use of levosimendan for perioperative hemodynamic support, its administration as repeated intermittent infusions to sustain patients with advanced heart failure and its application in a range of critical care settings. Levosimendan has also provided a template and a starting point for the development of a new generation of cardio-active drugs and is currently being evaluated in advanced clinical trials for the management of pulmonary hypertension in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.
Fish and invertebrate by-catch in the crab pot fishery in the Isle of Man, Irish Sea

Baited trap or pot fisheries are considered to have relatively few wider ecosystem effects on the marine environment, particularly when compared with towed mobile fishing gear. However, this assumption is rarely tested in the field. This study aimed to determine the composition of non-target species that occur in crustacean pots and to assess spatial and temporal differences in catches in the waters around the Isle of Man, Irish Sea. The data were collected using fishery independent surveys and a questionnaire study. Based on fishery independent surveys, a total of five taxonomic groups and 43 species occurred as by-catch. The dominant by-catch species was velvet crab Necora puber. The by-catch per unit effort (BPUE) for all of the non-target species was low particularly in comparison to towed bottom gear fisheries around the Isle of Man. BPUE of species composition varied considerably between different locations around the Isle of Man. The results of both the fishery independent and questionnaire data suggested that the by-catch rates varied with season with peak BPUE occurring in spring which then declined into autumn and winter. By-catch composition did not decrease significantly with an increasing target species catch. Overall, by-catch was low relative to target species catch which may be partially attributable to the use of escape panels in pot fisheries in the Isle of Man.
Bioanalytical applications of mass spectrometry to identify proteins and glycans from complex biological samples

The aim of this work was identify multiple authentic cuticular proteins from Anopheles gambiae cast cuticles using a proteomics approach. Cuticles were collected from cast larval head capsules (CLHC) and cast pupal cuticles (CPC) of Anopheles gambiae during molting. The proteins were extracted from the cast cuticles and separated based on molecular weight by 1D SDS gel electrophoresis. Sections of the gels were excised for reduction, carbamidomethylation and in gel trypsin digestion. Additionally, the pellet that remained after protein extraction was also digested for analysis. The peptides from the gel slices and the pellet were analyzed using reverse phase liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (RPLC MS/MS). The spectra were matched to peptides using the Matrix Science search engine, MASCOT, and Thermo Finnegan search engine, SEQUEST with a database constructed from known, novel, and ab initio predicted cuticular peptides of Anopheles. From this analysis 259 peptides from putative cuticular proteins which matched to a minimum of 69 and a maximum of 119 different proteins were identified from the CLCH and CPC. The identified proteins are reported as authentic Anopheles gambiae cuticle proteins for the first time. In contrast, authentic cuticular proteins previously reported were identified via extraction, isolation and sequencing of individual proteins isolated from manually cleaned cuticles, proving to be more time consuming than the proteomics approach applied here.
Factors influencing the clinical learning experience of student nurses in Hail Region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Clinical learning is an essential and integral component of nursing education. This study aims to explore the demographic profile of nursing students and the differences in their perception of factors influencing clinical learning experiences. This study employed a quantitative descriptive-cross-sectional approach. One hundred and ninety-two (192) nursing students from the College of Nursing, University of Hail, served as respondents. A modified questionnaire was adapted to collect the data; the return rate was 91%. Analysis of Variance (F-test) was used to determine the statistical significance of all the demographic factors that influence clinical learning experience, except for gender, which was analyzed with t-test. All statistical analyses were performed at 0.05 level of significance. This study was conducted in the first semester of the 2019-2020 academic session. The students largely “agreed” that all the factors influenced their clinical learning experiences. Mean responses were 4.03, 4.13, 4.15, and 3.99 for environmental, personal, interpersonal, and teaching-learning factors, respectively. For the environmental factors, a significant difference was observed in respondents’ perceptions based on gender (t=5.164; p=0.024) and year of study (F=5.303; p=0.002) while differences in perception of the influence of the student factor were significant only for civil status (F=3.152; p=0.045). Differences in perceptions of the influence of interpersonal factors on clinical learning experience based on gender (t=6.583; p=0.011) and year of study (F=4.504’ p=0.004) were significant while the teaching-learning factor was significantly based on age (F=3.085; p=0.029) and year of study (F=3.552; p=0.016). The nursing students believed that environmental, student, interpersonal, and teaching-learning factors had an influence on their clinical learning experience. Respondents’ perceptions of the influence of environmental factors were significantly different based on the gender and year of study, while differences in perceptions of the student factor were only significant based on civil status. Perceptions of the influence of interpersonal factors on clinical experience were significantly different based on the gender, while perceptions for the teaching-learning factor were significant by age and year of study.