Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reducing alcohol drinking of alcohol-preferring ( P ) and high-alcohol drinking ( HAD 1 ) rats by targeting phosphodiesterase-4 ( PDE 4 )

Rationale—Phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE4) and neuroimmune signaling have been posited to regulate alcohol drinking. Objectives—This study evaluated the involvement of PDE4 and Il22ra2 on ethanol (EtOH) intake by alcohol-preferring (P) and high-alcohol drinking (HAD1) rats. Methods—Exp 1 determined the dose-response effects of PDE4 inhibitors, rolipram and Ro 20-1724, on 2h/day free-choice EtOH intake by adult P and HAD1 rats. Exps 2–3 examined the effects of repeated administration with the PDE4 inhibitors on EtOH or sucrose intake, and locomotor behavior. Exp 4 determined Pde4-associated gene expression differences in subregions of the extended amygdala, between highand low-alcohol-consuming rat lines. Exp 5 evaluated the effects of infusing short hairpin RNA to knock down Il22ra2 in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell on 24h free-choice EtOH drinking by P rats. Results—Administration of rolipram or Ro 20-1724 reduced EtOH intake by P rats; Ro 20-1724 reduced EtOH intake by HAD1 rats. Repeated rolipram or Ro 20-1724 exposure reduced EtOH intake by P and HAD1 rats. PDE4 inhibition induced motor impairment during the first hour of EtOH intake by P rats. Higher gene expression levels for PDE4A were found in the NAc shell of P vs. NP rats. ShRNAs targeting Il22ra2 in the NAc shell significantly reduced chronic EtOH intake. Conclusions—PDE4 and neuroinflammatory/immune signaling pathways could represent molecular targets for the treatment of alcohol use disorders, in genetically predisposed subjects. Corresponding Author: Sheketha R. Hauser, Ph.D., Indiana University School of Medicine, Neuroscience Research Building, 320 W. 15th Street, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, Tel: 1-317-274-0105; Fax: 1-317-231-0202; shhauser@iupui.edu. HHS Public Access Author manuscript Psychopharmacology (Berl). Author manuscript; available in PMC 2016 July 01. Published in final edited form as: Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2015 July ; 232(13): 2251–2262. doi:10.1007/s00213-014-3852-3. A uhor M anscript
TOWARDS THE SELF-ADAPTATION OF THE BAT ALGORITHM

Bat algorithm is one of the younger members of swarm intelligence algorithms that was introduced by Yang in 2010. So far, several variants based on this algorithm have been proposed for coping with the continuous and discrete problems. This paper introduces a novel self-adaptive bat algorithm (SABA) that borrows the self-adapting mechanism from self-adapted differential evolution known under the name jDE. This algorithm was tested on ten benchmark functions taken from publications. The obtained results were very promising and showed that this algorithm might be very suitable for use, especially, in the continuous optimization.
The effects of applied nitrogen fertilizer and leaf positions on levels of micronutrients, anti-nutrients and toxic substances in Amaranthus cruentus

The presence of antinutrients and toxic substances in vegetables limits the nutritional benefits of vegetables. The effects of age of plant and application of nitrogen fertilizer on the bioaccumulation of antinutrients (oxalate), toxic substances (cyanide and nitrate), micronutrients (vitamin C, β-carotene - provitamin A) and mineral elements (Fe, Mg, Cu, Zn, Ca Na and K) in Amaranthus cruentus were investigated using pot experiment. Leaves were harvested at market maturity (vegetative phase) at three different leaf positions, basal (oldest), middle (younger) and upper (youngest) and were subjected to chemical analysis. Results obtained showed that cyanide, nitrate and oxalate were concentrated significantly in the basal and middle positions. The concentration of β-carotene, vitamin C and Zn were significantly higher in the leaves in the middle part than in the basal and upper leaves. Similarly, Fe, Mg, Cu and Na contents were significantly higher in the basal leaves than in the middle and upper leaves, while the concentration of K was higher in the younger leaves. We concluded that consumption of the vegetable leaves from the upper leaf position will provide the dietary requirements of the analysed micronutrients with significant reduction in the levels of oxalate, cyanide and nitrate and associated health problems. Key words: Amaranthus cruentus, market maturity, micronutrients, anti-nutrients, toxic substances, vegetable, oxalate, nitrate, cyanide.
Composition and origin of petrographically-stratified thick till in the northern Netherlands and a Saalian glaciation model for the North Sea Basin

Subsequently, the ice-pushed ridges were overridden by ice moving towards the southwest, forming a discontinuous veneer of predominantly flint-rich till over the deformed sediments. Petrographic parameters of the ice-pushed till suggest it was deposited during an ice-flow configuration of the Fennoscandinavian ice sheet featuring a"Baltic Ice Stream", resulting in the large amount ofPrecambrian and Palaeozoic componentsin this till. The upper flintpoor unit appears to be composed exclusively ofsuch components and
Free Entry and Social Efficiency Under Unknown Demand Parameters

In the paper, I examine free entry in homogeneous product markets and its social efficiency. Previous research on free entry in homogeneous product markets has shown that under Cournot oligopoly with fixed setup costs the free entry equilibrium always delivers excessive entry. In contrast, I demonstrate in this paper that free entry along with excessive entry might also lead to a socially insufficient number of firms when a demand parameter uncertainty is considered. My findings support the validity of the traditional wisdom in industrial organization that free entry is desirable for social efficiency and call for revision of restrictive entry regulation practices which been based on previous research findings.
A Green and Facile Approach for Synthesis of Starch-Pectin Magnetite Nanoparticles and Application by Removal of Methylene Blue from Textile Effluent

Pectin-starch magnetite hybrid nanoparticles were fabricated, characterized, and evaluated as potential absorbents for methylene blue dye based on recycling water from the textile industry. The nanocomposite adsorbent was synthesized with the iron salt coprecipitation method, and the precipitates obtained were sponge-like. The effects of a pectin : starch ratio in the absorbent and the amount of methylene blue adsorbed were investigated. The nanocomposites obtained were characterized using a Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), before and after methylene blue adsorption. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra provided the evidence that the starch-pectin iron oxide hybrid nanoparticles were successfully synthesized. It also indicated that the hybrid nanoparticles actually absorbed the methylene blue dye from the effluent. PXRD results showed that the synthesized hybrid composite adopted the spinel microstructure of Fe3O4 though the crystallinity of the composite decreased with an increase in the pectin : starch ratio. Furthermore, calculations based on PXRD showed that the synthesized powders were nanoparticles. The amount of adsorbed dye by hybrid adsorbent increased with an increase in the starch : pectin ratio, and the increase was better observed at a low polymer concentration of 18%. The amount of adsorbed dye by hybrid adsorbent was high at high pH and low at low pH value which attested to the ion exchange and electrostatic force mechanism during the adsorption process. Finally, the capacity of the absorbent decreased with an increase in temperature.
The Role of Oxidative Stress and Systemic Inflammation in Kidney Disease and Its Associated Cardiovascular Risk

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major global health burden, with a prevalence of 10–15% and high mortality rates. In particular, CKD portends a disproportionately high risk of cardiovascular disease beyond the traditional cardiovascular risk factors, with pathophysiological factors such as oxidative stress, inflammation and hyperuri caemia considered to exert an additional role in accelerated atherosclerosis. The pres- ence of heightened oxidative stress and systemic inflammation in CKD is associated with increased mortality. The possible underlying mechanisms include gut dysbiosis, dialysis factors, infections, metabolic acidosis and hyperuricaemia. The state of oxidative stress and systemic inflammation are closely linked and perpetuate each other resulting in progression of CKD and cardiovascular disease. Potential interventions to alleviate the oxidative stress and inflammation in CKD include lifestyle modifications including dietary changes and exercise, optimization of dialysis procedure and pharmacotherapeu-tic agents including antioxidants. They present a potentially highly effective approach to add to the currently available traditional risk-modification strategies. To date, the majority of the published trials have had a small number of participants with a short duration of follow up. Therefore, no robust evidence has been established. Larger trials with meaningful clinical outcomes and longer follow up are required to evaluate such potential therapies. a of in
Decline in Interest in Biology among Elementary School Pupils during a Generation.

A decline in biology interest has often been claimed but seldom with an empirically substantiation. This study was based on a sample of 3 rd and 4 th grade pupils within the same geographical area as Lowe’s (1987, 1992) previous results from southwest Germany from the year 1983. We used a four-point Likert-type questionnaire to assess interest with 30 items (zoology, botany, human biology). Here we show for the first time, that elementary school pupils have lower interest in biology than one generation before. This decline between 1983 and 2011 was about 10%, with only 3% in zoology and 12% in botany. As interest is an important variable, programs should be developed to foster pupils’ interest already on the primary school level.
UCLA Recent Work Title An Empirical Analysis of Stock and Bond Market Liquidity : Forthcoming in the Review of Financial Studies Permalink

An Empirical Analysis of Stock and Bond Market Liquidity We study the joint time-series of daily liquidity in government bond and stock markets over the period 1991 to 1998. Innovations in liquidity are positively and significantly correlated across stock and bond markets. Further, order imbalances in the stock market impact bond and stock liquidity, even after controlling for order imbalances in the bond market. Both results suggest the existence of a common liquidity factor in stock and bond markets. We consider monetary conditions and mutual fund flows as sources of order flow and as primitive determinants of liquidity. Monetary expansion enhances stock market liquidity during crises. U.S. government bond funds see higher inflows and equity funds see higher outflows during financial crises, and these flows are associated with decreased liquidity in stock and bond markets. Our results establish a link between “macro” liquidity, or money flows, and “micro” or transactions liquidity. JEL CODES: G10, G14, G23, E52
EFFECTS OF PLANTING DATE AND CULTIVAR ON THE YIELD AND YIELD COMPONENTS OF SOYBEAN IN NORTH OF IRAN

In order to study the effect of planting date and cultivar on yield and yield components of soybean, an experiment was conducted for two seasons (2009-2010) at Kateshal Research Station, Lahijan, northern Iran. Three cultivars, Hill, Sahar and Zan were sown on four sowing dates of April 20, April 30, May 10 and May 20 during the two consecutive crop seasons. The design was a split-plot replicated three times with sowing date as main plots and cultivar as sub-plots. Data were collected on number of pods per plant, seeds number of main stem pods, pod length, maturity period duration, oil percent, protein percent, 1000- seed weight and seed yield. Mean comparison had been done by Duncan’s test that showed there were significant differences among means of traits at different planting date treatments. Also, there were significant differences among interaction of date of planting and cultivars for all traits at 1% level. The data were analyzed statistically, which showed that the cultivars with early sowing produced gave higher yield and quality as compared to the late sowing date. The results revealed that higher numbers of pods per plant and seeds number of main stem pods were produced by April 30 and Sahar cultivar. Similarly maximum seed yield (4176.09kg ha -1 and 3219.96 kg ha -1 ) were produced by April 20, Sahar and April 30, Sahar, respectively.
Liming impact on soil chemical properties

In order to examine the residual effect of liming on soil pH and plant available phosphorus and potassium, soil samples from two field trials were analyzed. First trial was conducted in 2000 on Pleternica site where increasing rates of carbocalk (refuse from sugar factory with total Ca content 344 g kg-1) was applied (0, 15, 30, 45, 60 and 90 t ha-1), while soil samples were taken four years after liming. The second trial with 0, 6, 12, 18 and 24 t ha-1 of dolomite containing 56% CaO and 40% MgO was set up at Badljevina locality in 2006 and soil sampling was done in 2009. Liming considerably affected the soil pH in the both trials. Carbocalk gradually raised soil pH from initial very acid to the slightly alkaline reaction, while dolomite application affected pH only at higher rates. Liming increased soil available phosphorus content for 12, 1 mg 100 g-1 four year after carbocalk application and for 8.3 mg 100 g-1 three years after liming with dolomite. Liming with carbocalk significantly decreased potassium availability at 45 t ha-1 and following higher rates, whilst dolomite didn‘t affected potassium content.
Alcohol Consumption in Australia: An Application of the Ordered Generalised Extreme Value Model

The adverse effects of excessive alcohol consumption are well-known. Of great concern to policy makers is to understand the potentially different drivers for consumers of different levels of alcohol consumption. Using unit record data from the Australian Drug Strategy Household Surveys, this paper estimates an Ordered Generalised Extreme Value model to identify the factors that influence differing levels of alcohol consumption. Unlike previous studies using inflexible approaches such as Ordered Probits/Logits or Multinomial Logits, the OGEV model is both flexible and consistent with random utility maximization. The results suggest that important drivers are: age; income; education; gender; and own and cross-pric
Biomaterials for bone tissue engineering scaffolds: a review

Bone tissue engineering has been continuously developing since the concept of “tissue engineering” has been proposed. Biomaterials that are used as the basic material for the fabrication of scaffolds play a vital role in bone tissue engineering. This paper first introduces a strategy for literature search. Then, it describes the structure, mechanical properties and materials of natural bone and the strategies of bone tissue engineering. Particularly, it focuses on the current knowledge about biomaterials used in the fabrication of bone tissue engineering scaffolds, which includes the history, types, properties and applications of biomaterials. The effects of additives such as signaling molecules, stem cells, and functional materials on the performance of the scaffolds are also discussed.
Finite-Time Observer Based Cooperative Tracking Control of Networked Lagrange Systems

This paper investigates the cooperative tracking control problem for networked uncertain Lagrange systems with a leader-follower structure on digraphs. Since the leader’s information is only available to a portion of the followers, finite-time observers are designed to estimate the leader’s velocity. Based on the estimated velocity information and the universal approximation ability of fuzzy logic systems, a distributed adaptive fuzzy tracking control protocol is first proposed for the fault-free Lagrange systems. Then, the actuator faults are considered and a distributed fault-tolerant controller is presented. Based on graph theory and Lyapunov theory, the convergence analyses for the proposed algorithms are provided. The development in this paper is suitable for the general directed communication topology. Numerical simulation results are presented to show the closed-loop performance of the proposed control law and illustrate its robustness to actuator faults and external disturbances.
Water relations in parsley plants cultivated in brackish nutrient solutions of different cationic natures

ABSTRACT The analysis of plant response to the cationic variability of the waters, in addition to the osmotic component, is indispensable in the context of salt stress. Thus, between October 2017 and February 2018, in Recife, PE, Brazil (8° 1’ 7” S and 34° 56’ 53” W, and altitude of 6.5 m), the present study was carried out to evaluate the water relations of parsley plants (Petroselinum crispum), cv. Graúda Portuguesa, cultivated in brackish nutrient solutions (electrical conductivities of 1.7, 2.7, 3.7, 4.7, 5.7 and 6.7 dS m-1) prepared in waters with different cationic natures (NaCl, CaCl2, KCl and MgCl2). The experimental design was completely randomized, in a 6 x 4 factorial scheme, with five repetitions, and five plants per plot. Two experiments were conducted sequentially under this statistical design; in the first, the evapotranspired depth was replaced with supply water (0.12 dS m-1) and in the second, with the respective brackish water. The increment in nutrient solution salinity influences the fresh and dry biomass and the percentages of total, shoot and root dry masses, and this increment led to different behavior in parsley physiology under the different cationic natures of the water, being less harmful with the use of supply water to replace the evapotranspired depth and with CaCl2 water with electrical conductivity above 5.7 dS m-1, in the replacement with brackish water.
Is there any evidence of a Greenspan put

Central banks have won in credibility as from the mid-eighties by keeping inflation under control. However, confidence in low inflation might have encouraged agents to excessive risk-taking, leading asset prices to rise. Moreover, the belief in a Federal Reserve guarantee against a sharp market decline spread across US markets as from the nineties. This belief, commonly referred to as the Greenspan put, raised again the question about the role of asset prices in monetary policy decisions. The problem is addressed by modeling the reaction of the Fed to stockmarket deviations from fundamentals over the period stretching from August 1987 to October 2008, which corresponds to the periods where Greenspan until January 2006 and Bernanke from thereon were chairmen. A Taylor rule describing the Fed's nominal feedback rule to inflation and economic activity on a monthly basis is extended to take account of asset prices. The indicators considered are deflation and volatility in stock prices. Furthermore, a Markov switching process allows to capture contemporaneous as well as forward-looking monetary policy responses to asset prices over the period. We find out that taking asset price deflation improves the Taylor rule fit by some 8%. In periods when the Fed was actively pursuing an expansive or restrictive monetary policy, its reaction to volatility or deflation of financial markets was significant. We also see that the reaction of the Fed to asset prices was greater during financial crises, especially when modeling a forward-looking decision process. Agents' confidence in a stronger response of the US central bank to significant market declines urging to an easing of monetary conditions in their favour was therefore not unfounded.
Firmly nonexpansive mappings in classes of geodesic spaces

Firmly nonexpansive mappings play an important role in metric fixed point theory and optimization due to their correspondence with maximal monotone operators. In this paper we do a thorough study of fixed point theory and the asymptotic behaviour of Picard iterates of these mappings in different classes of geodesic spaces, such as (uniformly convex) W -hyperbolic spaces, Busemann spaces and CAT(0) spaces. Furthermore, we apply methods of proof mining to obtain effective rates of asymptotic regularity for the Picard iterations. MSC: Primary: 47H09, 47H10, 53C22; Secondary: 03F10, 47H05, 90C25, 52A41.
Cognitive effects of curriculum model and school type on science learning: Implication for production of quality young scientists

The study focused on determining the influence of curriculum models and school type variables on students’ cognitive learning outcome in science. Opinions vary as to variables that affect science learning outcomes among boys and girls. Research reports have also contradicted one another on the disparity that exists between the sexes in achievements in science and in participation in science occupations. This study is an attempt in establishing empirically the effect of these variables on science learning outcome as well as proffer possible remedies to poor science achievement among learners. Four null hypotheses were tested in the study. Two hundred and ten (210) SS2 science students in nine intact classes from three secondary schools (one from each senatorial zone) in Delta state, Nigeria were taught six concepts in biology using three curriculum models (Traditional Expository Approach (TEA), Hypothetico-Predictive Learning Cycle (HPLC) and Descriptive Learning cycle (DLC)) for ten weeks. The three sampled schools consist of one All-boy, one All-girl and one co-educational school respectively. A 3x3x2 factorial design was employed while data was collected using three instruments (Test of scientific reasoning skill, test of attitude towards science and test of achievement in science). The resulting data was subjected to Analysis of Variance ( 2-way ANOVA) with repeated measures as well as graphical display. Result showed that while outcome varied along test types, with attitude most favoured, there was no interaction with either school type or gender. However, HPLC proved more effective in improving students’ learning outcome across school types and gender. It was concluded that while all school types had the same effect on learning outcome of science students, there is need to employ adequate curriculum models that afford learners opportunity to learn science the way scientist do as well as provide adequate and conducive physical, social and psychological science learning environments for all school types and for both sexes. Key words: Teaching science, learning cycle model, instructional methods, learning outcome, curriculum model, School type.
An Update on the Safety of Foods of Animal Origin and Feeds

Chemical hazards may occur in any phases of the different livestock production systems. Aim of this review is to address an update about the key issues related to the risk of contamination in foods of animal origin by environmental contaminants linked to industrialisation or urbanisation (e.g., heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants), and natural contaminants (e.g., mycotoxins). This review deals with current issues and future perspectives on the complex issue of the safety of feeds and foods of animal origin, by taking into account the estimation of the occurrence of chemical residues in food, the hazard identification and characterisation of mycotoxins in animal feeds, and the analysis of feedstuffs as a tool to control and evaluate food safety.
A Model of Mental Effort and Endogenous Estimation Risk

I present a simple model that formalizes Kahneman’s (1973) ideas and experimental work on attention limitations. In addition, I extend his framework to account for the interaction between attention and memory deficits. In particular, I propose that individuals optimally allocate their divisible, but limited, attention to estimate parameters of an economic model, by retrieving observations from a stock of memories, by means of a cognition technology. I speculate that the model might help explain several stylized facts that are at odds with an infinite capacity (fully rational) model.