Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antimicrobial and antioxidative activities in the bark extracts of Sonneratia caseolaris, a mangrove plant

The present study deals with the phytochemical contents, antimicrobial and antioxidative activities of bark tissue of Sonneratia caseolaris, a mangrove plant from Sundarban estuary, India. Phytochemical analyses revealed the presence of high amounts of phenolics, flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids and saponins. Antimicrobial efficacies of various extracts of S. caseolaris were assessed by disc diffusion method against two Gram-positive (Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus coagulans), two Gram-negative (Escherichia coli and Proteus vulgaris) bacteria and one fungus (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). The methanolic extract among others showed significant minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values. The antioxidant activity as indicated by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity of the bark tissue extract from the species was found to be quite appreciable. The extracts were found to retain their antimicrobial activities despite pH and thermal treatments, thus indicating the stability of their activity even at extreme conditions. The antioxidant activity was also found to be considerably stable after thermal treatments. The components of the tissue extracts were subjected to separation using thin layer chromatography (TLC). The constituents with antimicrobial and antioxidative properties were identified using TLC-bioautography by agar-overlay and DPPH spraying methods respectively. A number of bioactive constituents with antimicrobial and radical scavenging properties were observed on the developed bioautography plate. The fractions with antimicrobial properties were isolated from the reference TLC plates and subjected to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis for partial characterization and identification of the metabolites that might be responsible for the activities. The study suggests Sonneratia caseolaris bark as a potential source of bioactive compounds with stable antimicrobial and antioxidative properties and can be used as natural antimicrobial/antioxidative agents in clinical, pharmaceutical and food processing industries.
Prevalence of celiac disease in dyspeptic patients.

BACKGROUND Celiac disease is one of the most common dietary-mediated inflammatory enteropathies that occur in genetically predisposed individuals in response to gluten intolerance. This disorder has become more common than in the past, even if it frequently remains undetected for long periods of time. The screening of patients with dyspepsia, a symptom that can be a manifestation of celiac disease, may allow an early identification of affected individuals. Endoscopy and serological tests may have an important role in the management of these patients. AIMS Determining the prevalence of celiac disease in dyspeptic patients submitted to routine diagnostic upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. PATIENTS/METHODS Endoscopic findings, duodenal biopsy histological specimens and serological test results were assessed and compared in 142 patients consecutively admitted with dyspeptic symptoms between October 2001 and October 2003. RESULTS An endoscopic pattern suggestive of celiac disease was observed in four patients. The IgG-AGA assay was positive in 24 patients. Two of the IgG-AGA positive patients also yielded positive results on the IgA-EMA test and concomitantly disclosed endoscopic pattern and histological features in duodenal biopsy compatible with celiac disease. Abnormal endoscopic findings were notably marked in biopsy proven celiac patients. Therefore, a 1.4% prevalence of celiac disease was observed in this study group. CONCLUSIONS The high prevalence of celiac among dyspeptic symptomatic individuals indicates that they are a higher risk group for developing celiac disease. Undiagnosed celiac disease may be inferred by endoscopic markers of duodenal villous atrophy. Endoscopic findings, however, may be inadequate to suitably diagnose this disease and consequently the incorporation of diagnostic serologic assays of celiac disease in routine testing for dyspepsia is strongly recommended.
A Thermal–Hydraulic Comparison of Liquid Microchannel and Impinging Liquid Jet Array Heat Sinks for High-Power Electronics Cooling

In this paper, two single-phase liquid cooling strategies for electronics thermal management are compared and contrasted; impinging jet arrays and laminar flow in microchannels. The comparison is posed for a situation in which an electronic device must dissipate 250 W/cm2 while being maintained at a temperature of 85degC. The calculations indicate that both the impinging jet and microchannel heat sinks can provide the necessary cooling with less than 0.1 W of pumping power. Microchannels achieve this heat transfer target with such low pumping power by the relatively high pressure drop being offset by a low volumetric flow rate. In contrast, impinging jet heat sinks require a lower pressure drop and higher volumetric flow rate. From a practical point of view, lower operating pressure and larger mass flow rates are desirable characteristics, since they will be less prone to leakage and will provide better temperature uniformity across the heated component.
Attention deficits in tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC): rethinking the pathways to the endstate.

BACKGROUND Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a genetic disorder associated with a range of neurocognitive manifestations, including neuropsychological attention deficits most notably in dual tasking/divided attention. These dual-task deficits have so far been interpreted as evidence of a vulnerable 'cognitive module' in TSC. Here, we suggest that this interpretation represents an 'adult neuropsychological' perspective, and argue that a developmental approach would be more appropriate to examine attention deficits in TSC. METHOD We examined the pathway to 'endstate' dual-task deficits in twenty 6-16 year olds with TSC utilising the Test of Everyday Attention for Children (TEA-Ch). We predicted that the pattern of attentional deficits in TSC would support a 'conditional' model where the establishment of a later-maturing skill was dependent on the functional maturation of an earlier expected skill. RESULTS Attentional profiles showed statistical support for a conditional model. Only one child showed a deterministic pattern while one showed a hybrid pattern, attributed to the admixture of a surgically acquired lesion and a neurodevelopmental disorder. CONCLUSION This preliminary study suggests that the developmental cascade in TSC may be arrested at various stages of neuropsychological development, thus leading to different developmental trajectories towards similar 'endstate' profiles.
Relationship of Academic SE to Self-Regulated Learning, SI, Test Anxiety and Academic Achievement

The study was conducted to analyse the relationship of academic self-efficacy to self-regulated learning, school identification, test anxiety and academic achievement at secondary school level. Another purpose was to examine whether self-efficacy and school identification predict academic achievement or not. Four instruments were administered to a sample of 426 students of Grade 10 (205 boys, and 221 girls). Results revealed significant correlation between the variables. Strongest relationship was found between students’ academic self-efficacy and self-efficacy for self-regulation. Self-efficacy beliefs at academic domain level were found contributing significantly to the prediction of academic achievement. Significant gender differences were not found on measures of self-efficacy beliefs at academic domain level, school identification, and anxiety. Girls’ academic achievement was found better than the boys’ achievement. Boys were reported better than girls on measure of self-efficacy for self-regulated learning.
An Appraisal of Techniques with a New Hemispheric Estimate

Social scientists often consider population size as an independent variable major importance. The author analyzes, therefore, methodological reasons why most prior estimates of aboriginal America population imply small scale preconquest societies and concludes that the population was far large than has been thought. The range of previous estimation is so great as to indicate that some methods or data must have been faulty. Skeptical anthropologists and historians have regarded historic population figures reported by contemporary observers as larger than reality. Ethnohistorical estimations based on careful cross-checking of direct and indirect sources of population data demonstrate that contemporary observers underreported the true magnitude of native American populations. Estimates obtained by projecting backward through time population data from modern Indian census counts are seriously defective, as are past applications of the the dead reckoning mode of estimation. Ethnohistorical methods are less deficient. Crosschecking sources serves to increase the accuracy of estimation, and informant knowledge is evaluated in terms of opportunities for accurate observation and especially for accurate memory, since it is more difficult to retain quanlitative than qualitative data. Additive reconstruction of Indian population from historical records is handicapped because the geographic spread of literate Europeans lagged behind the diffusion of new disease agents which decimated aboriginal populations. Direct observation of Indian population trends by anthropologists suffers the same limitation, even though several have recorded extremely rapid depopulation of Amazon basin peoples within the century. Calculation of aboriginal population from preconquest social structure is possible only in 1 area governed by an imperial ideal of administrative units consistent in population. Aproximately accurate estimates of aboriginal American population may be achieved by comparing the population of a given area at two or more times in order to establish population trends expressed as ratios of the size of the population at 1 time to its size at another. Early historic depopulation was great in the Americas: a well-documented instance of recovery following depopulation from 50 to 1 over one century indicates limits to such a trend. Greater population loss probably results in extinction. A hemisphere-wide historic depopulation ratio of 20 to 1 is postulated. Applying it to more or less well-established historic Indian nadir populations suggests that the New World was inhabited by approximately 90,000,000 persons immediately prior to discovery.
DA 2 merging operators ✩

A new framework for propositional merging is presented. DA2 merging operators , parameterized by a distance between interpretations and two aggregation functions, are introduced. Many distances and aggregation functions can be used and many merging operators already defined in the literature (including both model-based ones and syntax-based ones) can be encoded as specific DA2 operators. Both logical and complexity properties of those operators are studied. An important result is that (under very weak assumptions) query entailment from merged bases is “only” at the first level of the polynomial hierarchy when any of the DA2 operators is used. As a by-product, complexity results for several existing merging operators are derived as well.  2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Shared Orthography: Do Shared Written Symbols Influence the Perception of L2 Sounds?.

This research investigates whether English speakers who learn Mandarin Chinese via a familiar orthography differ from those who learn via a non-familiar orthography in their perception of English-Mandarin sound pairs. Canadian English speakers ( n= 32) participated in a series of experimental tasks. The tasks included pre- and posttest perception tests and language classes where the participants learned Mandarin through 1 of 3 means: Pinyin, the familiar orthography; Zhuyin, the non-familiar orthography; or no orthography. The results indicate that the 3 learning groups exhibited similar perceptual performances. These results are discussed in terms of the strength of the established first language (L1) orthographic system, the cognitive load, and the length of time required for the development of new symbol-sound associations. The data suggest that Mandarin instruction via Zhuyin does not appear to have an advantage over instruction via Pinyin, as conflict between 2 orthographic systems appears to neutralize any potential benefits. This is the first systematic study to investigate the potential influence of the L1 orthographic code on second language speech perception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Error performance and throughput evaluation of a multi-Gbps millimeter-wave WPAN system in the presence of adjacent and co-channel interference

This paper investigates the impact of adjacent channel interference (ACI) and co-channel interference (CCI) on error performance and throughput of a multi-Gbps millimeterwave wireless personal area network (WPAN) system in a realistic residential line-of-sight (LOS) and non-line-of-sight (NLOS) multipath environment. The main contribution of this paper is providing a multi-Gbps WPAN system design in the challenging multipath environment in the presence of ACI/CCI. Based on the investigation results, we have provided ACI/CCI rejection as a reference for victim receiver protection design. In the NLOS environment, the ACI rejection (i.e. ACI that causes 0.5 dB degradation in the required signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) to achieve bit error rate (BER) of 10-6) for pi/2-BPSK, QPSK, 8 PSK and 16 QAM are 13, 7, 0 and -6dB respectively. And the CCI rejection for similar modulation schemes are -18, -20, -26 and -29 respectively. Secondly, we have clarified the LOS-NLOS relationship of the ACI/CCI impact to system performance. ACI in multipath NLOS environment causes an additional 5 dB degradation to error performance as compared to ACI in the LOS environment. CCI on the other hand, has similar impact on error performance in both LOS and NLOS environment. Thirdly, we have clarified the relationship between modulation spectral efficiency and robustness against ACI/CCI. In an environment with no or low ACI/CCI, the maximum achievable throughput for pi/2-BPSK, QPSK, 8 PSK and 16 QAM in LOS environment are 1.2, 2.5, 3.8 and 5 Gbps respectively. In NLOS environment, the achievable throughput decreases to 1, 1.9, 2.8 and 3.8 Gbps respectively. As ACI/CCI increases, the throughput of higherorder modulation schemes such as 16 QAM decreases the most rapidly, followed by 8 PSK and QPSK. The throughput for pi/2-BPSK has the highest tolerance against increasing ACI/CCI, at the expense of lower maximum achievable throughput.
Ecologic Relationships of Ethnic Groups in Swat, North Pakistan

THE importance of ecologic factors for the form and distribution of cultures has usually been analyzed by means of a culture area concept. This concept has been developed with reference to the aboriginal cultures of North America (Kroeber 1939). Attempts at delimiting culture areas in Asia by similar procedures have proved extremely difficult (Bacon 1946, Kroeber 1947, Miller 1953), since the distribution of cultural types, ethnic groups, and natural areas rarely coincide. Coon (1951) speaks of Middle Eastern society as being built on a mosaic principle--many ethnic groups with radically different cultures co-reside in an area in symbiotic relations of variable intimacy. Referring to a similar structure, Furnivall (1944) describes the Netherlands Indies as a plural society. The common characteristic in these two cases is the combination of ethnic segmentation and economic interdependence. Thus the "environment" of any one ethnic group is not only defined by natural conditions, but also by the presence and activities of the other ethnic groups on which it depends. Each group exploits only a section of the total environment, and leaves large parts of it open for other groups to exploit. This interdependence is analogous to that of the different animal species in a habitat. As Kroeber (1947:330) emphasizes, culture area classifications are essentially ecologic; thus detailed ecologic considerations, rather than geographical areas of subcontinental size, should offer the point of departure. The present paper attempts to apply a more specific ecologic approach to a case study of distribution by utilizing some of the concepts of animal ecology, particularly the concept of a niche-the place of a group in the total environment, its relations to resources and competitors (cf. Allee 1949:516).
Multiband excitation vocoder

A speech model, referred to as the multiband excitation model, is presented. In this model the band around each harmonic of the fundamental frequency is declared voiced or unvoiced. Estimation methods for the parameters of the model are developed and methods to synthesize speech from the model parameters are described. To illustrate a potential application of the speech model, an 8 kb/s vocoder is developed and its performance is evaluated. Both informal listening and intelligibility tests show that the vocoder has very good performance both in speech quality and intelligibility, particularly for noisy speech. <<ETX>>
Determination of biofilm production by Candida tropicalis isolated from hospitalized patients and its relation to cellular surface hydrophobicity, plastic adherence and filamentation ability

Candida tropicalis is an emerging virulent species. The aim of this study is to determine the biofilm‐forming ability of 29 strains of C. tropicalis isolated from inpatients, and to examine its relation with other virulence factors such as cellular surface hydrophobicity (CSH), immediate (15 min, IA) and late (24 h, LA) plastic adherence and filamentation ability. The study was performed in parallel using two incubation temperatures – 37 and 22 °C – to determine the effect of growth temperature variations on these pathogenic attributes of C. tropicalis. Biofilm formation (BF) was measured by optical density (OD) and by XTT reduction (XTT); Slime index (SI), which includes growth as a correction factor in BF, was calculated in both methods. All strains were hydrophobic and adherent – at 15 min and 24 h – at both temperatures, with higher values for 22 °C; the adhered basal yeast layer appears to be necessary to achieve subsequent development of biofilm. Filamentation ability varied from 76.2% of strains at 37 °C to 26.6% at 22 °C. All C. tropicalis strains were biofilm producers, with similar results obtained using OD determination and XTT measurement to evaluation methods; SI is useful when good growth is not presented. BF at 37 °C was similar at 24 h and 96 h incubation; conversely, at 22 °C, the highest number of biofilm‐producing strains was detected at 96 h. CSH is an important pathogenic factor which is involved in adherence, is influenced by the filamentation of yeast, and plays a critical role in BF. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Kindergarten Self-Regulation as a Predictor of Body Mass Index and Sports Participation in Fourth Grade Students.

Identifying early precursors of body mass index (BMI) and sports participation represents an important concern from a public health perspective and can inform the development of preventive interventions. This article examines whether kindergarten child self-regulation, as measured by classroom engagement and behavioral regulation, predicts healthy dispositions in fourth grade. To address this objective, secondary analyses were conducted using prospective-longitudinal data from 966 children followed by the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development. Self-regulatory skills, including classroom engagement and behavioral regulation, were measured by kindergarten teachers. Greater self-regulatory skills predicted lower BMI and greater parent-reported child sports participation, after controlling for a number of potentially confounding child and family characteristics. This article suggests that assessing kindergarten self-regulatory capacities may help identify children at risk of developing unhealthy dispositions and behaviors in middle childhood.
Economic Impacts of Immigration: A Survey

This paper surveys recent empirical studies on the economic impacts of immigration. The survey first examines the magnitude of immigration as an economic phenomenon in various host countries. The second part deals with the assimilation of immigrant workers into host-country labor markets and concomitant effects for natives. The paper then turns to immigration's impact for the public finances of host countries. The final section considers emerging topics in the study of immigration. The survey particularly emphasizes the recent experiences of Northern Europe and Scandinavia and relevant lessons from traditional destination countries like the US.
Three-dimensional endoanal ultrasonographic assessment of an anal fistula with and without H(2)O(2) enhancement.

AIM To evaluate the effectiveness of three-dimensional endoanal ultrasound (3D-EAUS) in the assessment of anal fistulae with and without H(2)O(2) enhancement. METHODS Sixty-one patients (37 males, aged 17-74 years) with anal fistulae, which were not simple low types, were evaluated by physical examination and 3D-EAUS with and without enhancement. Fistula classification was determined with each modality and compared to operative findings as the reference standard. RESULTS The accuracy of 3D-EAUS was significantly higher than that of physical examination in detecting the primary tract (84.4% vs 68.7%, P = 0.037) and secondary extension (81.8% vs 62.1%, P = 0.01) and localizing the internal opening (84.2% vs 59.7%, P = 0.004). A contrast study with H(2)O(2) detected several more fistula components including two primary suprasphincteric fistula tracks and one supralevator secondary extension, which were not detected on non-contrast study. However, there was no significant difference in accuracy between 3D-EAUS and H(2)O(2)-enhanced 3D-EAUS with respect to classification of the primary tract (84.4% vs 89.1%, P = 0.435) or secondary extension (81.8% vs 86.4%, P = 0.435) or localization of the internal opening (84.2% vs 89.5%, P = 0.406). CONCLUSION 3D-EAUS was highly reliable in the diagnosis of an anal fistula. H(2)O(2) enhancement was helpful at times and selective use in difficult cases may be economical and reliable.
Are Essay Grades Fair

The Bahamian national examination, the BJC, given at the end of junior high school is used by the majority of educators as a basis for selection of students into higher level courses. Most BJC examinations include essay-type questions, however it has been noted that English Language examinations allocate more than 50% of the total marks to questions requiring essay-type answers. This research was undertaken to determine whether the essay test provides a reliable measure of the free writing ability of junior high students. It sought to answer the following questions: i) do marks given for an essay test vary when the scripts are graded by different examiners? ii) would marks given for an essay test vary when different topics were given to the same students? and iii) would marks given for an essay vary when different marking schemes were used?
Redundant radio tomographic imaging for privacy-aware indoor user localization

Device-free localization of people in indoor environments is a key technology to gain a high user-acceptance in ambient assisted living scenarios. No hardware need to be worn for the privacy-aware detection and monitoring of one or more mobile users. Looking at performance metrics like detection / false alarm rates, a radio-based solution relying on the received signal strength (RSS) evaluation of a single radio channel is not sufficient. With a multi-channel approach and up to eight redundant RSS readings, the position estimation error can be reduced significantly. The paper focuses on the communication schedule to realize a real-time operation and the fusion of the redundant RSS readings, coming from IEEE 802.15. 4 compliant 868 MHz and 2.4 GHz radio transceivers. Empirical positioning results for an office environment will be used to evaluate the influence of the redundant sensing.