Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Annual Variation Trend of Lightning Flash Activities over Sri Lanka

The variation of the lightning activities over Sri Lanka and surrounded costal belt (5.75oN10.00oN and 79.50oE-89.00oE) is studied using lightning flash data of Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) which was launched in November 1997 for NASA’s Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM). The LIS data in the period of 1998 to 2014 are based on this study and there were 23838 lightning flashes over the landmass covered by Sri Lanka during considered period. The data show that average flash density has an increasing trend of 0.093 flashes km year. The linear trend is shown in annual flash count with the fitted straight line. Although there is a slight variation between years, there is a clearly increasing trend with 24 flashes per year. There is an incremental trend in distributing of lightning activities all over the country with time. Warming trends of surface temperature and atmosphere may have a correlation with increasing trend of the lightning activities over Sri Lanka and surrounded costal belt.
A cross-country replication study of quality management 671563-1 A CROSS-COUNTRY REPLICATION STUDY OF THE IMPACT OF QUAITY MANAGEMENT ON PERFORMANCE

Enormous research has been done on QM in western countries. Yet, there is limited QM research in eastern countries. This study replicates the TQM/Six Sigma model in Zu, Fredendall and Douglas (2008) with data collected from China. The findings reveal similarities and differences of QM implementation between China and US.
DIRECT PERFORMANCE-BASED SEISMIC DESIGN OF A STEEL MOMENT- RESISTING FRAME USING YIELD FREQUENCY SPECTRA

Yield Frequency Spectra (YFS) are employed to enable the direct seismic design of a 4story steel moment-resisting frame subject to a set of performance objectives. YFS offer a unique view of the entire solution space for structural performance. This is measured in terms of the mean annual frequency (MAF) of exceeding arbitrary ductility (or displacement) thresholds, versus the base shear strength of a structural system with given yield displacement and backbone capacity curve. Using publicly available software tools or closed-form solutions, YFS can be rapidly computed for any system that is satisfactorily approximated by a single-degree-of-freedom oscillator, e.g., as in any nonlinear static procedure application. Thus, stated performance objectives can be directly related to the strength and stiffness of the structure. The combination of ductility (or displacement) demand and mean annual frequency of exceedance that governs the design is readily determined, allowing either a code-compatible or code-exceeding design to be realized.
A conservative compact finite difference scheme for the KdV equation

We obtained the best constants of Sobolev-type inequalities corresponding to higher-order partial differential operators L = (∂t−∆+a0) · · · (∂t−∆+aM−1) and L0 = (−∆+a0) · · · (−∆+ aM−1) with positive distinct characteristic roots a0, . , aM−1, under the suitable assumption on M and n. The best constants are given by L-norm of Green’s functions of the boundary value problem Lu = f(x, t) and L0u = f(x). The Green’s functions are expressed by the elliptic theta function.
Emerging consensus on the mechanism of polyspecific substrate recognition by the multidrug transporter P-glycoprotein

P-glycoprotein (P-gp or ABCB1) is a member of the broad family of ABC transporters. P-gp participates in the establishment of physiological barriers limiting cellular access of a large number of toxic compounds. It thus plays important roles in the pharmacokinetics of these compounds. Cancer cells and cells infected by viruses exploit the presence of P-gp to fend off drug treatment, rendering them multidrug-resistant. Overcoming multidrug resistance caused by expression of ABC transporters has gained increasing attention in the field of drug development. Recently, studies of P-gp, especially from structural investigations by both cryo-electron microscopy and X-ray crystallography, have provided high-resolution mechanistic details for the function of this transporter. Structures with increasing resolution and accuracy in various substrate- and inhibitor-bound forms are available for analysis and a consensus on the mechanism of substrate polyspecificity is emerging. The use of new structural information may aid development of P-gp inhibitors as well as compounds that may bypass P-gp action.
Effect of oral health education programme on oral health awareness and plaque maturity status among hearing-impaired children

Many studies have indicated that hearing-impaired (HI) children have poor oral hygiene mainly contributed by difficulties in communication. The objectives of the study were to assess the difficulties experienced by HI children during dental visit and the effectiveness of “Oral Health Care for the HearingImpaired” (OCHI) programme in improving the oral health knowledge and practice, and reducing the dental plaque maturity scores among HI children. A community intervention study was conducted and training of trainers (TOT) was done to train the teachers in delivering oral health education (OHE) and practices by using developed booklet and video. The difficulties faced by the HI children during dental visit, and the oral health knowledge and practice (OHKP) were assessed by face-to-face interview with HI children whilst the dental plaque maturity was assessed using GC Tri Plaque ID GelTM (TPID) during pre-intervention, post-intervention-1 and postintervention-2. Data were analysed using SPSS version 22. Among the teachers, there was an increase in the mean (SD) total knowledge and attitude score during post-TOT compared to pre-TOT, 46.1 (2.44) and 43.7 (4.01); (p<0.001) and 16.7 (2.11) and 14.3 (2.38); (p<0.001) respectively. For the oral health practice, there were positive changes in practice among teachers during post-TOT compared to pre-TOT. There were also significant changes in mean knowledge scores of HI children with time (p=0.003) and the plaque maturity scores were significantly reduced during post-intervention-1 and post-intervention-2. Thus, the OCHI programme was effective in improving oral hygiene among HI children. However, the inconsistent pattern was observed for their oral health practices that need further research.
Adaptive Behavior And Learning

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MiR-7684-5p leads to surgery-induced cognitive decline in mice probably through the downregulation of SorLA.

BACKGROUND Postoperative cognitive dysfunction is a postoperative severe complication caused by many factors. However, its specific pathogenesis remains unclear. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), which are involved in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, may also affect POCD. METHODS In this research, microarray technology was used to screen 26 miRNAs that had a differential expression in the hippocampus of mouse between the surgery group and control group. The qRT-PCR verification on the hippocampuses of 10 pairs of mouse testifies the high expression of miR-7684-5p in the surgery group (identical with the result of chip). RESULTS Surgical trauma was found to induce the expression of miR-7684-5p with the accumulation of Aβ in the hippocampus. Furthermore, miR-7684-5p knockdown effectively reduced the levels of Aβ triggered by surgery, and attenuated hippocampal-dependent memory impairment. Moreover, we testify that sorLA is a target gene of miR-7684-5p through bioinformatics prediction and dual-luciferase report gene experiment. CONCLUSIONS Our data indicate that decreased postoperative cognitive function may be caused by the increased generation of Aβ by reducing sorLA expression. Our work implicates miR-7684-5p as a potential biomarker and a novel therapeutic target.
Contribution of diverse monsoon precipitation over Central and Northern India during mid to Late Holocene

The Indian summer monsoon (ISM) precipitation pattern over Indian subcontinent is looked through various high resolution speleothem oxygen (δO) isotope records from Mid to Late Holocene. The six cave locations distributed from central to northern India describing regional climatic conditions due to stalagmite deposition are considered. The stalagmite deposition reflects precipitation patterns by temporal variations of δO values. Oxygen isotope values reflect cumulative precipitation that is basically interpreted by averaged latitudinal site of inter tropical convergence zone (ITCZ). Under the Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project Phase III (PMIP3) simulation, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Mk3L version 1.0 – Part 2 (CSIRO-Mk3L-1-2) model output shows ITCZ movement from Bay of Bengal (BoB) to Arabian Sea (AS) during Mid to Late Holocene which resulted due to solar insolation changes. It reflects precipitation shift from BoB to AS as well as to core monsoon zone (CMZ) to the western Himalayas. The past millennium epoch, which consists little ice age (LIA) and middle warm period (MWP), shows large variations in 850 hPa geopotential height leading to high anomalous precipitation variability all over India during ISM. The high fluctuation in δO values during Mid Holocene over northern India led to drought conditions due to which Indus valley civilization vanished. The present study shows that the Himalayas received higher precipitation during late Holocene. That is basically governed by western disturbances (WD) as well as ISM. Present study summarizes that the mean annual precipitation cycle for entire epoch was roughly similar, but spatial distribution of precipitation during various epoch was quite divergent from Mid to Late Holocene. The onset of ISM was also similar but, withdrawal was comparatively unalike. Wherever, peaks of seasonal precipitation were alike over Indian subcontinent region, spatial distribution of precipitation were unlike.
LIMNOLOGICAL STUDY OF DIYALA RIVER , IRAQ

Prof. Prof. Researcher 1 Dept. Biol., Coll. Sci. for Women, Univ. of Baghdad 2 Dep. Biol., Coll. Educ. Pure Science for Women, Univ. Diyala fikrat@csw.uobaghdad. edu.iq ABSTRACT This study was conducted to evaluate the physicochemical and biological (epiphytic algae) properties of Diyala river. Eighteen environmental parameters were selected in addition to the qualitative study of epiphytic algae (total number of algae and chlorophyll a). Two macrophytes (Phragmites australis and Certatophyllum demersum) were selected for the benthic study. The results showed that the river was alkaline, very hard, brackish water and good aerated. The trophic level is ranged from oligotrophic to mesotrophic according to the results of total phosphorus, total nitrogen, and chlorophyll a. The study revealed that the upper part of the river differed in its properties from the middle and the lower part in the environmental characteristics and the Algal benthic quantities.
2 Scanning the Genome for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

In the past decade, there have been exciting developments in the understanding of the genetic basis of susceptibility to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This chapter reviews the genetic epidemiology (family, twin, and adoption studies) of ADHD and summarizes the neurobiological evidence (pharmacology, animal models, and neuroimaging studies) that points to particular candidate genes. Relevant findings from genetic studies of dopaminergic, serotonergic, and noradrenergic candidate genes are provided. New directions in the field are discussed briefly, such as the move to characterize endophenotypes, meta-analyses of association studies, and emerging genetic linkage studies.
TransAID D9.3 (reporting template)

Project Acronym TransAID Project Title Transition Areas for Infrastructure-Assisted Driving Project Number Horizon 2020 ART-05-2016 – GA Nr 723390 Work Package WP9 Dissemination, Knowledge Transfer and Exploitation Lead Beneficiary Transport & Mobility Leuven (TML) Editor / Main Author Sven Maerivoet TML Reviewers Anton Wijbenga Julian Schindler MAP DLR Dissemination Level PU Contractual Delivery Date M24 (Aug19)
How Consistent is Race Reporting Between the Census and the Census 2000 Supplementary Survey ?

Census Bureau staff. It has undergone a more limited review than official Census Bureau Publications. This report is released to inform interested parties of research and to encourage discussion. How Consistent is Race Reporting Between the Census and the Census 2000 Supplementary Survey? David A. Raglin and Theresa F. Leslie, United States Bureau of the Census David Raglin, Bureau of the Census, 4700 Silver Hill Road, Washington, DC 20233-9200
Radiotherapy and chemoradiation of cervical cancer patients

References/Piśmiennictwo 50 Summary Based on literature data, we present herein an efficacy analysis of primary radiotherapy, radiotherapy combined with neoor adjuvant chemotherapy and a simultaneous chemoradiation of cervical cancer patients. A lack of benefit was demonstrated with regard to the use of chemotherapy as both a pre-treatment and a complementary treatment to radical irradiation. However, the administration of concurrent cisplatin-based chemoradiation has significantly improved local cure rate as well as the survival of patients with cervical cancer, as compared to primary radiotherapy.
Relationship marketing , distribution channels , and export performance : The case of a Slovenian retailer in the Croatian market

This paper examines the theoretical and empirical contribution of the influence of relationship components on export performance throughout the entire distribution (or supply) chain, presenting a study of buyer and seller (or distributor) relationships. We study the relationships in the emerging Slovenian economy, in which firms highly depend on imports and exports from international B2B markets, where business relationships and their components are important performance drivers. The findings are based on a case study of a Slovenian retailer that purchases home improvement and construction products from a German supplier and sells them in the Croatian market to its B2B buyers. The study was carried out in 2007. The qualitative part included 25 in-depth interviews with the retailer’s employees in the Croatian market. A quantitative study of Croatian buyers of home improvement and construction products represents the second part of the empirical research. Using purpose-based sampling, 42 regular buyers answered the questionnaire. The study yielded some interesting results. The main indication was that export performance as a dependent variable was affected by two major factors: readiness to export and formation of the internationalization process, and the systematic creation and incorporation of relationships with potential buyers from the early (or preparatory) stages of the firm’s entrance into the market, irrespective of the level of the distribution channel. It also showed that relationship marketing can be differently approached and understood in different cultures, and that marketers should be very cautious when designing “universal solutions” for relationships, as Palmer (1997) explained a decade ago.
THE INFLUENCE OF SENIOR MANAGEMENT CHARACTERISTICS ON FIRMS ’ DIVERSIFICATION ACTIVITIES : EVIDENCE FROM A DEVELOPING COUNTRY

This study investigates the relationship between top management team characteristics and activities of firm’s Outward Foreign Direct Investment using 83 of the 100 largest Malaysian MNCs listed on Bursa Malaysia. Malaysian OFDI has increased which raises concerns about the effect of managerial characteristics on firms’ international diversification using upper echelons theory and the Uppsala internationalization process model. We use the entropy method by Qian (1996) as the proxy for level of international diversification. Age, international experience, educational level and functional background are used to reflect the TMT cognitive abilities and competencies. The empirical results show that age and functional background are positively associated with a higher level of international diversification. In addition, result showed there is a reasonable link between upper echelons theory and Uppsala internationalization process model.
EP 2800-Individual Project in Networked Systems EP 2810-Short Project in Networked Systems Predicting Service Metrics of Cloud Applications with Neural Networks Report

This project evaluates the performance of supervised learning with neural networks to predict service metrics of cloud applications. Therefore data is collected from a server cluster and is used to train neural networks and mixture density networks to predict different metrics. The evaluation of the predictions compares the normalized mean absolute error (NMAE) and the training time. Further discussion will be done on the scalability of the implementations. The first section will briefly describe the used server cluster and the run experiments to collect data. Section 2 gives an introduction to neural networks, introduces the used notation and summarizes common backpropagation algorithms and modifications. The following section 3 presents and analyzes the results of different Neural Networks in comparison with a random forrest algorithm, which showed good results in [7]. While the best performance in [7] with respect to the NMAE and the training time was obtained in combination with feature selection, this project will only consider training on complete feature sets. Finally section 4 motivates Mixture Density Networks (MDN) as defined by Bishop in [1] and presents the results of an first implementation to predict service metrics of cloud applications.
Mathematical Model Of The Pharmacokinetic Behavior Of Phenytoin

The objective of the current study was to provide a further example which shows that a non-traditional mathematical modeling method based on the theory of dynamic systems can be successfully used for mathematical modeling pharmacokinetics. The current study is a companion piece of the study by Melikian et al.; published in April 1977 Issue of the Journal Pharmacokinetics and Biopharmaceutics. Therefore, the data published in the study cited here were used. An advanced mathematical modeling method based on the theory of dynamic systems was employed for modeling purposes. The program named CTDB described in the study by Dedík et al., published in September 2007 Issue of the Journal Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice was employed for modeling purposes. The mathematical models developed, successfully described plasma concentration-time profiles of phenytoin available in the study by Mlikian et al. The current study contains a brief description of the modeling method used along with the results obtained that clearly showed the usefulness of the modeling method employed. Taken together, the current study revealed again that modeling and computational tools from the theory of dynamic systems can be successfully used in a pharmacokinetic study. Keywords— Pharmacokinetics; Mathematical model; Dynamic system Abbreviations used: ADME: absorption/ distribution/ metabolism/excretion; CTDB: Clinical Trials Data Base
Title : Predicting invasiveness of exotic woody species using a traits-based framework Running title : Predicting invasiveness of exotic plants

Identifying potentially invasive species and preventing their introduction and establishment are of critical importance in invasion ecology and land management. Although an extensive body of research has been dedicated to identifying traits that confer invasiveness, our current knowledge is still often inconclusive due to limitations in geographic extent and/or scope of traits analyzed. Here, using a comprehensive set of 45 traits, we performed a case study of invasive traits displayed by exotic woody plants in the United States (U.S.) by comparing 63 invasive and 794 non-invasive exotic woody plant species naturalized across the country. We found that invasive woody species often bear the following two key traits: vegetative reproduction and long-distance seed dispersal (via water, birds or mammals). Boosted classification tree models based on these traits accurately predicted species invasiveness (86% accuracy on average). Presented findings provide a generalized understanding of the relative importance of functional traits in identifying potentially invasive woody species in the U.S. The knowledge generated in this study can be used to improve current classification systems of non-native woody plants used by various U.S. governmental agencies and land managers.
Study on Training Strategies for Effective Peer Review

As a form of collaborative learning, peer review has gained increasing popularity in writing instruction and been wildly adopted in EFL writing classrooms. Preparing students for peer review are an essential part of training. Since 1990s, there has been a number of studies conducted in the application of this technique. However, there is surprisingly little training in college on how to develop this essential skill or discussion of best practices to ensure that reviewers at all levels efficiently provide the most useful review. This paper presents some strategies of training students before, during and after peer review and aims to help students become effective peer reviewers.
The value of topical vancomycin powder prophylaxis in spinal surgical site infection with a focus on bacterial spectrum : a systematic review

Introduction: Surgical site infections (SSIs), associated with high morbidity and mortality, are potentially devastating complications in spine surgery. Topical vancomycin powder (TVP) prophylaxis is a promising option to reduce the number of SSIs. The aim of this study is to determine whether the existing data support the routine use of TVP in spine surgery, with a focus on the spectrum of bacteria. Materials and Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted through Ovid Medline and PubMed as of May 2017. Eligible data were extracted to evaluate the outcomes of SSIs and bacterial spectrum. Statistical analysis was performed to determine differences. Results: Twenty-three studies were included in the review. A significant difference was found between the patients treated with additional TVP and those treated with sole intravenous administration of antibiotics (P < 0.001). MRSA infections were found in 6 patients with TVP (50.0%) and in 45 without TVP (56.3%, P = 0.685). The incidence of Gramnegative infections was 43.1% in patients with TVP prophylaxis, significantly higher than with standard prophylaxis (22.2%, P = 0.003). Conclusions: TVP is a viable recommended option because it decreases the overall incidence of SSIs in spine surgery, although no conclusions can be drawn as to whether TVP affects the incidence of Gramnegative infections and reduces the MRSA infection rate, owing to the limited amount of high-quality literature. Therefore, further research with unified standards and long-term follow-up are required to evaluate this issue.