Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rapid Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles from Fusarium oxysporum by Optimizing Physicocultural Conditions

Synthesis of silver nanoparticles (SNPs) by fungi is emerging as an important branch of nanotechnology due to its ecofriendly, safe, and cost-effective nature. In order to increase the yield of biosynthesized SNPs of desired shape and size, it is necessary to control the cultural and physical parameters during the synthesis. We report optimum synthesis of SNPs on malt extract glucose yeast extract peptone (MGYP) medium at pH 9–11, 40–60°C, and 190.7 Lux and in sun light. The salt concentrations, volume of filtrate and biomass quantity were found to be directly proportional to the yield. The optimized conditions for the stable and rapid synthesis will help in large scale synthesis of monodispersed SNPs. The main aim of the present study was to optimize different media, temperature, pH, light intensity, salt concentration, volume of filtrate, and biomass quantity for the synthesis of SNPs by Fusarium oxysporum.
Propensity Score Matching : An Application in Empirical Finance

Because of the difficulty in multi-dimensional matching and missing variables, investigation of long-run stock performance after major corporate events has been plagued by the “bad model problem”. This study contributes to the literature by implementing the propensity score estimator which is able to match firms in multiple dimensions simultaneously, and illustrate this methodology in the context of seasoned equity offerings (SEOs). We find that firms’ SEO decisions are affected by the following characteristics: size, book-to-market ratio, past returns, and capital surplus. When matching SEO and non-SEO firms in all these dimensions via propensity scores, we are able to achieve much better matches than traditional matching methods. Furthermore, the commonly documented SEO underperformance disappears. Although it is premature to conclude the non-existence of long-run underperformance of SEO firms because of limited data here, this paper undoubtedly establishes a new methodology that can be generally useful for long-term performance study in empirical finance research.
Correlation of Self-Regulated Learning and Academic Achievement among Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) Undergraduate Students

This study examined the correlation between self-regulated learning and academic achievement among UniSZA undergraduate students. The objective of the study is to determine the impact of self-efficacy belief, and use of learning strategies on UniSZA undergraduates’ academic achievement. A pilot study was conducted via the use of exploratory factor analysis using 144 volunteering respondents. This is to determine the reliability and validity of the instrument. A closed-ended questionnaire on student self-regulated learning was administered to 364 randomly selected students 202 of which are female, 162 male across the nine faculties of the University. Obtained data was analyzed using correlation and regression analysis. Results obtained indicated that a strong relationship exist between self-regulated learning and academic achievement. The findings revealed a high positive correlation between students’ self-efficacy belief, and use of learning strategies and students’ academic achievement. Similarly, results of the regression analysis indicated that self-efficacy, and learning strategies serves as good predictors of higher academic performance (GPA). However, among the three study variables, self-efficacy was the strongest predictor of academic achievement. The study recommends nurturing and development of autonomous learners and a shift to students centered instruction.
Italian Scientists Abroad in Europe's Scientific Research Scenario: High skill migration as a resource for development in Italy

In recent years, the brain drain issue has gained such momentum that it has become necessary to adopt tools and methods to take a picture of a phenomenon that is, by its very nature, dynamic and changeable (Portes, 1976; Meyer, 2001; Ackers, 2005; Scott, 2015). This particular study focuses on clarifying the reasons why Italian scientists choose to look elsewhere for the best place to conduct their scientific research, and in what way their scientific experience abroad shapes the image of the Italian scientific system. A first exploratory analysis involving 83 in-depth interviews with Italian scientists (mathematicians, engineers and physicists) working in Europe was conducted based on qualitative and quantitative analytical methods, and the content emerging from these interviews was used for a systematic mapping of the situation that provided the foundations for our preparation of a second tool – a questionnaire – that was subsequently used to conduct a much more broad-based survey that involved 602 respondents. While our findings add complexity to existing theories on the brain drain and brain circulation, they also confirm the potential of highly skilled migration to improve the national development of Italian academic system.
Expression of transcription factors and crystallin proteins during rat lens regeneration

Purpose To establish a model of lens regeneration in rats and to detect the expression of transcription factor and crystallin genes. Methods An extracapsular lens extraction (ECLE) was performed in Sprague-Dawley rats. Examinations with slit-lamp and histological analysis were performed at various time points after ECLE. Real-time PCR and/or immunofluorescence were performed to detect the expression of the lens transcription factors paired box 6 (Pax6), prospero homeobox 1 (Prox1), and forkhead box E3 (Foxe3) and α-, β-, and γ-crystallin (Cryaa, Cryab, Crybb1, Crybb2, Cryba2, and Crygd, respectively). Results Lens epithelial cells (LECs) were left behind under the anterior capsule immediately after ECLE. Lens fiber differentiation had occurred in the peripheral capsular bag in all rats 3 days after ECLE. One month after surgery, all capsular bags were filled with new semitransparent lenticular structures displaying an established equator with well differentiated bow regions. The mRNA-expression quantity of lens transcription factors and α-, β-, and γ- crystallin increased after ECLE. Pax6 was expressed in both LECs and the newly regenerated lens fiber cells, Prox1 was expressed both in LECs and differentiating lens fiber cells, and Foxe3 was confined to LECs. Conclusions Lens fiber differentiation during regeneration follows a process similar to embryological development, with proliferation of epithelial cells along the anterior and posterior capsule, elongation of the posterior epithelial cells, and differentiation of epithelial cells into lens fibers. The regenerated lens contains proteins and transcription factors similar to those found in normal lenses. Inductive interactions seen during lens development are not necessary for lens regeneration.
Stability analysis of relativistic jets from collapsars and its implications on the short-term variability of gamma-ray bursts

We consider the transverse structure and stability properties of relativistic jets formed in the course of the collapse of a massive progenitor. Our numerical simulations show the presence of a strong shear in the bulk velocity of such jets. This shear can be responsible for a very rapid shear-driven instability that arises for any velocity profile. This conclusion has been confirmed both by numerical simulations and theoretical analysis. The instability leads to rapid fluctuations of the main hydrodynamical parameters (density, pressure, Lorentz factor, etc.). However, the perturbations of the density are eectively decoupled from those of the pressure because the beam of the jet is radiation-dominated. The characteristic growth time of instability is much shorter than the life time of the jet and, therefore, may lead to a complete turbulent beam. In the course of the non-linear evolution, these fluctuations may yield to internal shocks which can be randomly distributed in the jet. In the case that internal shocks in a ultrarelativistic outflow are responsible for the observed phenomenology of gamma-ray bursts, the proposed instability can well account for the short-term variability of gamma-ray light curves down to milliseconds.
The Oral Language Proficiency of Teachers in the United States in the 1980's--An Empirical Study. Self-Assessment of Oral Language Proficiency. Final Report.

AUTHOR Hilton, Thomas L. ; And Others TITLE The Oral Language Proficiency of Teachers in the United States in the 1980's--An Empirical Study. Self-Assessment of Oral Language Proficiency. Final Report. INSTITUTION Educational Testing Service, Princeton, N.J. SPONS AGENCY Department of Education Washington, DC. PUB DATE Jul 85 GRANT G008201398; G0087.32366 NOTE 204p. PUB TYPE Reports Research/Technical (143) -Tests /Evaluation Instruments (160)
X-Ray Emission from Seyfert 2 Galaxies with Optical Polarized Broad Lines

We analyze the 0.5-10 keV spectra of six Seyfert 2 galaxies observed with the X-ray satellite ASCA: Mrk 3, Mrk 348, Mrk 1210, Mrk 477, NGC 7212, and Was 49b. These galaxies were selected based on their possession of optical polarized broad lines. In the 2-10 keV band, their spectra are heavily absorbed, with 2-10 keV absorption-corrected X-ray luminosities ranging from 1042 to 1043 ergs s-1. The observed X-ray emission is generally only about 1/10 that predicted based on their known infrared and Hβ luminosities. This apparent X-ray weakness can be understood if a considerable fraction of the nuclear activity is completely blocked from view by thick matter along our line of sight to the nucleus. All of these galaxies possess significant soft X-ray emission whose origin appears to be scattered light from their nuclear emission. Based on this hypothesis, we estimate a typical scattering efficiency for X-rays to be about 10%. This efficiency is larger than the few percent found for ordinary Seyfert 2 galaxies with no report of optical polarized broad lines. A large scattering efficiency is best explained by an apparent weakness of the hard X-ray luminosity rather than unusually strong scattered light in the soft band. When we estimate the scattering efficiency using the intrinsic luminosity derived assuming that Compton scattering dominates the hard X-ray spectrum, as opposed to a purely absorbed nuclear continuum, the efficiency can be less and is similar to that of ordinary Seyfert 2 galaxies. Since the difference between our sample and ordinary Seyfert 2 galaxies can be explained by the difference of viewing angle, the similar scattering efficiency suggests the existence of a scattering region that is larger than the putative dusty torus.
BitTorrent Needs Psychiatric Guarantees: Quantifying How Vulnerable BitTorrent Swarms are to Sybil Attacks

BitTorrent, one of the most popular content distribution protocols nowadays, has an identification generation scheme that is completely autonomous. Furthermore, BitTorrent uses a random mechanism to discover new peers. This leaves the system vulnerable to a sybil attack, by which an entity associates multiple identifications to itself in an attempt to fool the other peers that execute the agreed protocol and increase its utility. In this work we evaluate the impact of such an attack in a set of representative torrents derived from a large-scale measurement. Our analysis observed the dynamic of the interactions among the peers aiming at studying the behaviour of attacks in typical swarms of a community that shares files for free distribution. Our results show that, in general, the attack is effective and can be performed with few identities, what implies in low resource requirements for attackers.
First description of underwater acoustic diversity in three temperate ponds

The past decade has produced an increased ecological interest in sonic environments, or soundscapes. However, despite this rise in interest and technological improvements that allow for long-term acoustic surveys in various environments, some habitats’ soundscapes remain to be explored. Ponds, and more generally freshwater habitats, are one of these acoustically unexplored environments. Here we undertook the first long term acoustic monitoring of three temperate ponds in France. By aural and visual inspection of a selection of recordings, we identified 48 different sound types, and according to the rarefaction curves we calculated, more sound types are likely present in one of the three ponds. The richness of sound types varied significantly across ponds. Surprisingly, there was no pond-to-pond daily consistency of sound type richness variation; each pond had its own daily patterns of activity. We also explored the possibility of using six acoustic diversity indices to conduct rapid biodiversity assessments in temperate ponds. We found that all indices were sensitive to the background noise as estimated through correlations with the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). However, we determined that the AR index could be a good candidate to measure acoustic diversities using partial correlations with the SNR as a control variable. Yet, research is still required to automatically compute the SNR in order to apply this index on a large data set of recordings. The results showed that these three temperate ponds host a high level of acoustic diversity in which the soundscapes were variable not only between but also within the ponds. The sources producing this diversity of sounds and the drivers of difference in daily song type richness variation both require further investigation. Such research would yield insights into the biodiversity and ecology of temperate ponds.
The effects of concurrent cognitive load on phonological processing in adults who stutter.

PURPOSE To determine whether phonological processing in adults who stutter (AWS) is disrupted by increased amounts of cognitive load in a concurrent attention-demanding task. METHOD Nine AWS and 9 adults who do not stutter (AWNS) participated. Using a dual-task paradigm, the authors presented word pairs for rhyme judgments and, concurrently, letter strings for memory recall. The rhyme judgment task manipulated rhyming type (rhyming/nonrhyming) and orthographic representation (similar/dissimilar). The memory recall task varied stimulus complexity (no letters, 3 letters, 5 letters). Rhyme judgment accuracy and reaction time (RT) were used to assess phonological processing, and letter recall accuracy was used to measure memory recall. RESULTS For rhyme judgments, AWS were as accurate as AWNS, and the increase in the cognitive load did not affect rhyme judgment accuracy of either group. Significant group differences were found in RTs (delays by AWS were 241 ms greater). RTs of AWS were also slower in the most demanding rhyme condition and varied with the complexity of the memory task. Accuracy of letter recall of AWS was comparatively worse in the most demanding 5-letter condition. CONCLUSION Phonological and cognitive processing of AWS is more vulnerable to disruptions caused by increased amounts of cognitive load in concurrent attention-demanding tasks.
Information about the Weight of Grasped Objects from Vision and Internal Models Interacts within the Primary Motor Cortex

When grasping and lifting different objects, visual cues and previously acquired knowledge enable us to prepare the upcoming grasp by scaling the fingertip forces according to the actual weight of the object. However, when no visual information is available, the weight of the object has to be predicted based on information learned from previous grasps. Here, we investigated how changes in corticospinal excitability (CSE) and grip force scaling depend on the presence of visual cues and the weight of previously lifted objects. CSE was assessed by delivering transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) at different times before grasp of the object. In conditions in which visual information was not provided, the size of motor evoked potentials (MEP) was larger when the object lifted was preceded by a heavy relative to a light object. Interestingly, the previous lift also affected MEP amplitude when visual cues about object weight were available but only in the period immediately after object presentation (50 ms); this effect had already declined for TMS delivered 150 ms after presentation. In a second experiment, we demonstrated that these CSE changes are used by the motor system to scale grip force. This suggests that the corticospinal system stores a “sensorimotor memory” of the grasp of different objects and relies on this memory when no visual cues are present. Moreover, visual information about weight interacts with this stored representation and allows the corticospinal system to switch rapidly to a different model of predictive grasp control.
The Sampling Rate-Distortion Tradeoff for Sparsity Pattern Recovery in Compressed Sensing

Recovery of the sparsity pattern (or support) of an unknown sparse vector from a limited number of noisy linear measurements is an important problem in compressed sensing. In the high-dimensional setting, it is known that recovery with a vanishing fraction of errors is impossible if the measurement rate and the per-sample signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) are finite constants, independent of the vector length. In this paper, it is shown that recovery with an arbitrarily small but constant fraction of errors is, however, possible, and that in some cases computationally simple estimators are near-optimal. Bounds on the measurement rate needed to attain a desired fraction of errors are given in terms of the SNR and various key parameters of the unknown vector for several different recovery algorithms. The tightness of the bounds, in a scaling sense, as a function of the SNR and the fraction of errors, is established by comparison with existing information-theoretic necessary bounds. Near optimality is shown for a wide variety of practically motivated signal models.
Transformerless series active power filter to compensate voltage disturbances

This paper presents a transformerless topology of series active power filter with capability to protect sensitive loads against harmonics, sags, swells and unbalances of the power system voltages. The proposed topology is constituted by three isolated H-bridge with a voltage source at the DC side. The series active power filter has been studied with the help of PSIM (Power Simulation software) and simulation results are presented. A laboratory prototype is under development and experimental results are shown.
Analyzing the Costs of Nontraditional Choices: Role Congruity Theory and College Student's Perception of Attractiveness

Analyzing the Costs of Nontraditional Choices: Role Congruity Theory and College Student’s Perception of Attractiveness Brittany M Kowalski Researchers have shown that both women and men with traits incongruent to their gender roles are viewed as less competent and are less acceptable than those whose traits conform to their gender roles. The present study looks at the effect of role congruity between gender, occupational status and personality traits and the effect that this has on the evaluation of potential romantic partner attractiveness. Little research has looked at the effect of both status characteristics such as occupation or college major and personal traits such as personality, likesdislikes or hobbies. A vignette experiment was conducted in which college students were asked to read a paragraph about a hypothetical peer and then answer survey questions that assessed whether or not they find the person to be an attractive romantic partner. Analysis of this data helps to show the effect that role congruence or incongruence in both occupational status and personality traits has on evaluations of attraction.
Guiding Adult Mammalian Sensory Axons During Regeneration

Misdirection of axons after nerve injury impairs successful regeneration of adult neurons. Investigations of axon guidance in development have provided an understanding of pathfinding, but their relevance to regenerating adult axons is unclear. We investigated adult mammalian axon guidance during regeneration after peripheral nerve injury and focused on the effects of the prototypic guidance molecule nerve growth factor (NGF). Adult rat sensory neurons from dorsal root ganglia that expressed the NGF receptor tropomyosin-related kinase A (trkA) were presented with a point source of NGF in vitro. Naive trkA neurons had no net turning response to NGF, but if they had been preconditioned by a peripheral nerve transection in vivo before culturing, their growth cones were attracted toward the NGF gradient. A laminin substrate was required for this behavior and an anti-trkA antibody interrupted turning. These data demonstrate that injured adult mammalian axons can be guided as they regenerate. Moreover, despite the downregulation of trkA mRNA and protein levels within the dorsal root ganglion after injury, sensory neurons retain and increase trkA protein at the injury site where the regenerating axons are found. This may enhance the axonal response to NGF and allow guidance along an NGF gradient created in vivo in the distal nerve stump.
The Star Formation History of the Virgo Early-Type Galaxy NGC 4435: The Spitzer Mid-Infrared View

We present a population synthesis study of NGC 4435, an early-type Virgo galaxy interacting with NGC 4438. We combine new spectroscopic observations obtained with the Spitzer Space Telescope IRS instrument with IRAC archival data and broadband data from the literature. The IRS spectrum shows prominent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) features, low-ionization emission lines, and H2 rotational lines arising from the dusty circumnuclear disk characterizing this galaxy. The central spectral energy distribution (SED), from X-ray to radio, is well fitted by a model of an exponential burst superimposed on an old simple stellar population. From the lack of high-excitation nebular lines, the [Ne III] λ15. 5/[Ne II] λ12. 8 ratio, the temperature of molecular hydrogen, and the fit to the full X-ray-to-radio SED we argue that the present activity of the galaxy is driven by star formation alone. The active galactic nucleus contribution to the ionizing flux is constrained to be less than 2%. The age of the burst is found to be around 190 Myr, and this is fully consistent with the notion that the star formation process was triggered by the interaction with NGC 4438. The mass involved in the rejuvenation episode turns out to be less than 1.5% of the stellar galaxy mass sampled in a 5'' central aperture. This is enough to render NGC 4435 closely similar to a typical interacting early-type galaxy with inverted Ca II [H+K] lines that will later turn into a typical cluster E+A galaxy and reinforces the notion that these objects are the result of a recent rejuvenation episode rather than a genuine delayed formation.
In Vivo Reflectance Confocal Microscopy of Basal Cell Carcinoma: Feasibility of Preoperative Mapping of Cancer Margins

BACKGROUND Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) images skin at cellular resolution and has shown utility for the diagnosis of nonmelanoma skin cancer in vivo. It has the potential to define lesion margins before surgical therapy. OBJECTIVES To investigate the feasibility of RCM in defining the margins of basal cell carcinoma before surgery. METHODS The margins of 10 lesions were evaluated using RCM. Biopsies of the margins were used to confirm the results. A protocol was constructed to define margins. RCM was used to delineate preoperative surgical margins in 13 patients. Intraoperative frozen biopsy was used to confirm the margins. RESULTS In seven of 10 (70.0%) cases, the margins of the cancer were identified suing RCM. The tumor island was the critical feature in identifying the margins. In 12 of 13 (92.3%) cases, frozen biopsy corroborated that the surgical margins delineated by RCM were clear. CONCLUSION RCM imaging of the margins is feasible and demonstrates the possibility of preoperative mapping of cancer margins.