Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
�he In�uence of �hos�hate �u�er on the Formation of N-Nitrosodimethylamine fromDimethylamine Nitrosation

Buffer solutions were widely used for almost all the investigations concerning N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), a member of powerful mutagenic and carcinogenic compounds which are ubiquitous in the environment. However, whether or how the buffer matrixes in�uence NDMA formation is still unknown. e effect of buffer solutions on NDMA formation from the nitrosation of dimethylamine (DMA) by nitrite (NaNO2) was investigated at pH 6.4 in four kinds of buffer solutions, that is, Na2HPO4/C6H8O7, Na3(C6H5O7)/C6H8O7, NaH2PO4/NaOH, and NaH2PO4/Na2HPO4. Our observations demonstrate an unexpected inhibitory effect of the buffer solutions on NDMA formation and the phosphate buffer plays a more signi�cant role in inhibiting NDMA formation compared to the citrate buffer. Moreover, the amount of the phosphate in the buffer was also found to greatly impact the formation of NDMA. A further investigation indicates that it is the interaction between NaH2PO4 and reactant NaNO2 rather than DMA that leads to the inhibitory effect of phosphate buffer during the DMA nitrosation reaction. is study expands the understanding of the in�uence of buffer solution on nitrosamines formation through the nitrosation pathway and further gives a hint for water plants to reduce the formation of nitrosamines.
SPATIAL MAPPING OF AGRICULTURAL WATER PRODUCTIVITY USING THE SWAT MODEL IN UPPER BHIMA CATCHMENT, INDIA

The Upper Bhima River Basin is facing both episodic and chronic water shortages due to intensive irrigation development. The main objective of this study was to characterize the hydrologic processes of the Upper Bhima River Basin and assess crop water productivity using the distributed hydrologic model, SWAT. Rainfall within the basin varies from 450 to 5000 mm in a period of 3–4 months. The basin has an average rainfall of 711 mm (32 400 Mm3 (million cubic metres)) in a normal year, of which 12.8% (4150 Mm3) and 21% (6800 Mm3) are captured by the reservoirs and groundwater reserves, respectively, 7% (2260 Mm3) exported as runoff out of the basin and the rest (63%) used in evapotranspiration. Agricultural water productivity for sugarcane, sorghum and millet were estimated as 2.90, 0.51 and 0.30 kg m−3, respectively, which were significantly lower than the potential and global maximum in the basin and warrant further improvement. Various scenarios involving different cropping patterns were tested with the goal of increasing economic water productivity values in the Ujjani Irrigation Scheme. Analysis suggests that maximization of the area by provision of supplemental irrigation to rainfed areas as well as better on‐farm water management practices can provide opportunities for improving water productivity. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
HPLC ANALYSIS OF CAROTENOIDS FROM INULA HELENIUM L. FLOWERS AND LEAVES

Inula helenium L. (elecampane), Asteraceae, is a perrenial herb mostly known for the high content of volatile oil rich in sesquiterpene lactones. The aim of our study was to determine the profile and the carotenoids composition of the aerial part (inflorescences and leaves). The separation and quantification of carotenoids was performed by highperformance liquid chromatography (HPLC), on a reversed-phase C18 column and photodiode array detector. The carotenoid content of Inula helenium L. was determined in leaves, inflorescences, tubular flowers and ligulate flowers extracts, after solvent extraction and saponification. The carotenoid content varies from 4.87 mg % in leaves to 47.7 mg % in ligulate flowers. In ligulate flowers the major compound was lutein-5,6-epoxide, representing 73.8% of the total carotenoids. Tubular flowers contain higher amounts of antheraxanthin (36.9%) and lutein (28.4%), while in leaves β-carotene and lutein together represent more than 72% of the total carotenoids. All the aerial parts of the plant contain low amounts of neoxanthin and violaxanthin. Rezumat Inula helenium L. (iarba-mare), Asteraceae, este o plantă perenă cunoscută indeosebi pentru conţinutul ridicat in ulei volatil bogat in lactone sesquiterpenice. Studiul de faţă a avut ca obiectiv determinarea profilului si conţinutului in carotenoide a părţilor aeriene ale plantei (frunze si inflorescenţe), in scopul valorificării terapeutice. Separarea si cuantificarea carotenoidelor s-a efectuat prin cromatografie de lichide de inaltă performanţă (HPLC), pe o coloană cu fază inversă C18 si detector cu sir de fotodiode. Conţinutul in carotenoide al speciei Inula helenium a fost determinat in extracte de frunze, inflorescenţe, flori tubuloase si flori ligulate după extracţie cu solvenţi si saponificare. Concentraţia de carotenoide variază intre 4,87 mg/100g in frunze si 47,7 mg/100 g in flori ligulate. In florile ligulate compusul major este lutein-5,6-epoxidul, care reprezintă 73,8% din totalul de pigmenţi carotenoidici. Florile tubuloase conţin cantităţi mai ridicate de anteraxantină (36,9%) si luteină (28,4%), in timp ce in frunze, β-carotina si luteina impreună reprezintă peste 72% din totalul de carotenoide. In toate probele analizate au mai fost prezenţi, in cantităţi mai reduse, neoxantina si violaxantina.
A Framework and Evaluation of Rate Adaptive Video Telephony in 4G LTE

4G LTE mobile networks are deployed by many operators and first operators offer telephony services over LTE (VoLTE) today. Video telephony is expected to be the next step. The required media bitrate for video is many times higher than for audio, which increases the risk of network congestion. Video bitrate adaptation techniques can avoid congestion. In this paper we evaluate the Google Congestion Control (GCC) algorithm and the Sprout algorithm, two recently proposed adaptation techniques. Based on the analysis of GCC and Sprout we propose an improved algorithm called ESprout. We present and discuss results from LTE system level simulations for video telephony using best effort bearers for the three algorithms.
Effects of composite processing methods on wood particle development and length distribution: consequences on mechanical properties of wood-thermoplastic composites.

The relationship between structure and properties of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) filled with wood particles and processing techniques—injection molding, compression molding, and extrusion—was investigated. Wood particles were hammer-milled, sieved, and compounded into pellets at 35% by weight with HDPE using a twin-screw extruder. Coupling agent (ethylene-maleic anhydride copolymer) was added at 2% by wood filler weight. The pellets were used to produce test samples using the three processing techniques. The sensitivity of jack pine and several other wood particles (eastern white cedar, black spruce, and jack pine bark) to composite processing was analyzed. Bark particles showed higher propensity to generate fines than wood particles, possibly because of a higher thermal sensitivity. The major reduction in mean particle length was found to occur in the compounding process. Extrusion and injection molding contributed to particle length reduction to a lesser extent. Conversely, compression molding did not cause significant damage to wood particles. Stiffness and strength increased linearly with weight-averaged length.
Genetic variation of H-FABP gene and association with intramuscular fat content in Laiwu Black and four western pig breeds

This study was performed to detect genetic variation of the heart fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP) gene by PCR- RFLPs approach and its association with intramuscular fat (IMF) content. Data from 223 individuals, including one Chinese native pig breed and four western pig breeds, were analyzed. The results showed that for the H-FABP gene, there was one polymorphic Hinf site Ⅰ in the 5'-upstream region, whereas there were one HaeIII and one HinfI (marked as HinfI*) polymorphic site in the second intron, respectively. The three PCR-RFLPs were present in all breeds tested. The allele frequencies, however, revealed significant differences between them (p<0.05). Furthermore, the allele frequency distribution of HinfI in the Laiwu Black and that of HinfI* in the Hampshire breed were at disequilibrium, which might be the result of selective breeding. Results also indicated that for HinfI, HaeIII and HinfI* H- FABP RFLP, significant (p<0.05) contrasts of 0.78%, -0.69% and 0.72% were detected in the least square means of IMF content between the homozygous genotype HH and hh, DD and dd, BB and bb classes, respectively. It implied that the HHddBB genotype had the highest IMF content in this experimental population and these H-FABP RFLPs could serve, to some extent, as genetic markers for use in improvement of IMF content. (Asian-Aust. J. Anim. Sci. 2005. Vol 18, No. 1 : 13-16)
Attention and Structure in Sequence Learning

In this study we investigated the role of attention, sequence structure, and effector specificity in learning a structured sequence of actions. Experiment 1 demonstrated that simple structured sequences can be learned in the presence of attentional distraction. The learning is unaffected by variation in distractor task difficulty, and subjects appear unaware of the structure. The structured sequence knowledge transfers from finger production to arm production {Experiment 2), suggesting that sequence specification resides in an effector-independent system. Experiments 3 and 4 demonstrated that only structures with at least some unique associations (e.g., any association in Structure 15243. or 4 to 3 in Structure 143132.) can be learned under attentional distraction. Structures with all items repeated in different orders in different parts of the structure (e.g., Sequence 132312.) require attention for learning. Such structures may require hierarchic representation, the construction of which takes attention.
Assessment of inclusive educational space in higher education institution

This article is devoted to development, adaptation and approbation of the methodology for analysis and assessment of an inclusive educational space in a higher education institution which implements education for students with limited health abilities. Relevance of the topic is determined by the importance of implementation of effective inclusive education to ensure sustainable development of society. The validity of data presented in the research is provided by the representativeness of sample and the use of such methods of data processing and analysis as factor analysis, cluster analysis, and classification tree analysis. The five factor structure of the researched phenomenon presented in the research allows analysing the inclusive educational space at a higher education institution from different points of view. The formation of homogeneous clusters in the space of identified clusters will make it possible developing targeted programs for working with teachers and other participants of the educational process in the higher education institution, which will help to create a high-quality inclusive educational environment in the higher education institution and increase the effectiveness of inclusive education.
Beyond bivariate correlations: three-block partial least squares illustrated with vegetation, soil, and topography

Ecologists, particularly those engaged in biogeomorphic studies, often seek to connect data from three or more domains. Using three-block partial least squares regression, we present a procedure to quantify and define bi-variance and tri-variance of data blocks related to plant communities, their soil parameters, and topography. Bi-variance indicates the total amount of covariation between these three domains taken in pairs, whereas tri-variance refers to the common variance shared by all domains. We characterized relationships among three domains (plant communities, soil properties, topography) for a salt marsh, four coastal dunes, and two temperate forests spanning several regions in the world. We defined the specific bi- and tri-variances for the ecological systems we included in this study and addressed larger questions about how these variances scale with each other looking at generalities across systems. We show that a system tends to exhibit high bi-variance and tri-variance (tight coupling among d.
Economic Globalization, Mercantilism and Economic Growth

Obstfeld (1994) shows theoretically that international economic integration accelerates economic growth of all countries in the world, which does not match the data very well. By introducing Zou (1994)'s viewpoints of mercantilism into the Obstfeld model, the paper shows that the excessive pursuits for wealth heighthen the demand for financial assets with high return and high risk in the global financial market which distorts the mechanism of financial market promoting economic growth, and hence leads to different growth performances within different countries. Specifically, for different economies, not only do the same technology or preference shocks have different growth effects, but also economic integration has different growth effects.
Solar forcing and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) influences on productivity cycles interpreted from a late-Holocene high-resolution marine sediment record, Adélie Drift, East Antarctic Margin

Core JPC17B was collected from the Adelie-Drift, a nearly 300-m thick drift deposit at 140oE along the Indian Ocean sector of the Antarctic continental shelf. Sediments consist of nearly continuously laminated diatom mud and diatom ooze, with accumulation rates on the order of 20-21 m kyr -1 based on 10 AMS radiocarbon dates. Spectral analysis was performed on time series of opal content, d 13 Corg, Ti content, and Ba content. Strong decadal to century- scale variability is present in all proxies. Opal and Ti-time series show strong variance at periods of 11, 22 and 110- years, which are suggestive of solar forcing. Ba-time series exhibits strong variance at a period of 3-3.6-yr, consistent with possible El Nino-Southern-Oscillation (ENSO) forcing.
Detection and characterisation of novel vector-borne viruses in Mozambique

Arthropod vectors carry a wide variety of viruses that can cause vector-borne infectious diseases that affect the health of both humans and animals. The vector-borne viruses present in nature show high diversity and can infect a broad range of hosts. Moreover, some of these viruses may be transmitted to new hosts in the future and possibly become pathogenic and/or zoonotic. This thesis describes the detection and characterisation of novel vector-borne viruses circulating in arthropod vectors from an understudied area, the Zambezi Valley of Mozambique, using a viral metagenomic approach. A combination of sequence-independent amplification, high-throughput sequencing and different bioinformatic tools were used to investigate the viromes of mosquitos and ticks in this area. The results of this study resulted in the identification of a broad range of viruses belonging to several viral families, including Flaviviridae, Rhabdoviridae, Iflaviridae, Picornaviridae, and Dicistroviridae, as well as a number of unclassified RNA viruses that were present in Culex and Mansonia spp. mosquitoes. The full-length genome of a novel flavivirus from Mansonia was characterised, and an analysis of conserved domains showed that it belongs to the insect-specific flaviviruses and is closely related to Nakiwogo virus. Further, a near full-length genome of a highly divergent picorna-like virus from Culex mosquitoes was characterised, and the phylogenetic analysis showed that the novel picorna-like virus clustered with members of iflaviruses, confirming that it belongs to the Iflaviridae viral family in the order Picornavirales. Analysis of the Rhipicephalus tick virome identified a number of reads classified as being in the Orthomyxoviridae family. The assembled contigs showed an amino acid identity (32-52%) towards known viruses in the genus Quaranjavirus. Overall, viral metagenomics was successfully used to detect and characterise the viromes of important vectors (mosquitoes and ticks) from Mozambique. All the viral sequences identified from this study were divergent from previously known viruses and potentially represent novel viruses that are circulating in the Zambezi Valley of Mozambique. These results constitute the basis for further studies on viruses that are circulating in vectors and on the evolution, viral maintenance and transmission of pathogenic arboviruses.
3D domain swapping - implications for conformational disorders and ways of control

D Domain swapping is a mechanism of protein aggregation, in which a structural element of a protein fold is re- placed by an identical element from another subunit. Some proteins, for instance RNase A, can assume many do- main-swapped forms, thus undermining the dogma, "one sequence - one structure" in a particularly spectacular way. Completed in a mutual fashion, it is a mechanism of protein oligomerization. In an open-ended fashion, 3D domain swapping could be a mechanism of amyloid fibril formation. In another mechanism, possibly operating together with domain swapping, a specific sequence, such as a glutamine expansion, could form a β-spine of the fibril in a motif called steric zipper. The first connection between 3D domain swapping and amyloidogenicity was established in human cystatin C (HCC), the second - in the prion protein (PrP). In both cases, a disulfide bridge (natural in PrP, engineered in HCC) can be used for redox control of 3D domain swapping and to demonstrate that it is indeed involved in amyloid fibril formation. HCC has a naturally occurring L68Q mutant with drastically increased propensity for aggregation. The L68Q mutation occurs at the closed interface, or protein core. Muta- tions in other areas, such as the flexible hinge (especially deletions and insertions) can also be used to control 3D domain swapping and aggregation. Paradoxically, 3D domain swapping can also be used by Nature for preven- tion of nucleation processes that lead to high-order aggregates or crystals. Such a situation exists in the eye lens, where despite astronomical concentration of crystallins, the solution remains clear. One of the Nature's tricks to achieve polydispersity is to use a palindromic sequence for the swapped domain, thereby frustrating the growth of aggregates by constantly changing the interaction topology.
A Study on the Factors Affecting Job Satisfaction of Academic Staff in Higher Education Institution

Job satisfaction of academic staff in Higher Education Institute (HEI) is important because it influences their motivation and performance that are so very influential in delivering quality education services. This research aims to explore the factors that affect job satisfaction of academic staff on the basis of a study in a HEI in the Sultanate of Oman. In the process of exploring the factors, first a wide range of the literature were reviewed to identify the most common factors that affect job satisfaction of academic staff. It was followed by interviews of selected six academic staff members in a College in the HEI in Oman. The literature review and the interview data analysis revealed six factors that would affect job satisfaction of academics: Remuneration and development, Management support, Students, Colleagues, Workload, and Status of job. A quantitative questionnaire survey was then conducted in the same university to study the influence of the six factors on job satisfaction of academic staff. From the analysis of the survey data it was found that all the six factors were positively associated with job satisfaction. Among them the work load was most strongly associated with job satisfaction followed by the perception about colleagues, status of job, management support, and remuneration and development. The perception about students was found to be relatively weakly associated with job satisfaction.
Don't Lapse into Temptation: A Behavioral Explanation for Policy Surrender

Abstract Many policyholders surrender their life insurance policies early, leading to substantial monetary losses for private households. Surrender can be explained rationally if it constitutes the last resort providing liquidity in the event of an urgent need of cash. Yet we find clear evidence in German panel data that for more than half of all surrendered contracts investors had cheaper options available to provide the required liquidity. This finding demonstrates that there must be other factors influencing this important life decision. We provide a behavioral explanation, focusing on the role of individual decision heuristics, financial literacy, and financial advice. In particular, we show that financial literacy and financial advice can mitigate the behavioral temptation to lapse, while the tendency to rely on heuristics increases lapse probability.
Music therapy on the quality of life in cancer patients.

World Health Organization has estimated that there are an increase number of cases deaths from cancer in the near future. Cancer has become one of the most discussed. In this study, we focus on the quality of life of the cancer patients, by using music therapy and to observe the difference between pre-test and post-test results with music treatment. This study was to examine the alternative therapies using of music to enhance, and quality of life, using the Thai Hospice Quality of Life Index (T-HQOLI), in cancer patients. The 11 cancer patients were divided into two different groups; the control (non-music) group followed their routine schedules; the music group received additional music therapy with a music leader. The results from both questionnaires, collected during 4 th , 8 th and 12 th week, showed that music group is most significantly improved compared to the control (non-music) group. This suggested that the combination of music has the most potential to increase the quality of life for the cancer patients. It can conclude that the music treatment is a good model to improve both psychological and physiological conditions. The treatment can also be used in general clinics or hospitals as an alternative treatment for cancer patients. Keywords: Music Therapy, Quality of life, Cancer patient
Stock market volatility and weak-form efficiency: evidence from an emerging market

Weak-form efficiency tests and volatility effects are modelled for Pakistani stock market using daily closing prices. It is found that returns series exhibit persistence and volatility clustering. Weak-form efficiency and mean variance hypothesis is rejected. Impact of SECP reforms have had a dampening effect on return volatility with a small increase witnessed in returns. Given the very small decline in return volatility, it seems that the policy impact can be characterised as neutral. Furthermore, it is found that 9/11 incident has led to increase in returns and a decrease in returns volatility.