Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phytosociological and ecological study of the high alpine vegetation of Tuchal Mountains (Central Alborz, Iran).

The present paper deals with the phytosociology and ecology of the high alpine zone of Tuchal Mts. (Central Alborz). On the basis of 185 phytosociological relevés, the vegetation of high alpine snow-beds, fellfi elds and xerophytic habitats of Tuchal Mts. is analysed. By means of phytosociological classifi cation and ordination (Detrended Correspondence Analysis), the plant communities and environmental factors governing the variance in vegetation are described and discussed. The studied plant communities are arranged in two provisional orders, four alliances (Taraxaco brevirostr is-Polygonion serpyllacei , Astragal ion iodotropidis , Cousinion mult i lobae and Acantholimion demawendici) and 13 associations (Polygonetum serpyllacei , Ranunculetum crymophil i , Trifol ietum radicosi , Astragaletum iodotropidis , Galio decumbentis-Thymetum pubescentis , Vicietum ciceroideae, Rumicetum elbursensis , Bufonio kotschyanae-Cousinietum mult i lobae prov., Hordeo violacei-Cousinietum mult i lobae prov., Astragalo chrysanthi-Cousinietum mult i lobae prov., Oxytropido persicae-Cousinietum mult i lobae, Acantholimetum demawendici and Jurinel letum frigidae). The communities of these habitats strongly depend upon the duration of snowcover. Edaphic and hydrological quality of micro-sites is more important for the species composition and vegetation mosaic than the regional climatic gradient. About 90% of the species of the study area are Irano-Turanian elements. All syntaxa are further characterized by life form spectra. Flowering phenology of seven associations was studied according to the snowmelt gradient.
Physiological monitoring of welfare for conservation of Arabian oryx, Oryx leucoryx

The endangered Arabian oryx, Oryx leucoryx faces a wide range of issues that potentially have adverse effects on their welfare while they are free-ranging in their natural habitat, housed in captivity for conservation breeding or when they are translocated from the wild to captivity or vice versa. Furthermore, the global increase in the number of captive Arabian oryx (currently more than 95 % of the world population of about 8000 individuals), gives rise to particular concern for their welfare and health within captive conditions. Thorough assessment of the welfare of animals involves physiological and behavioural measures. Methods for assessment of welfare in Arabian oryx have not been established and the present studies aim at establishing physiological tools for assessment of welfare. Therefore, the present studies developed and applied new methods for non-invasive assessment of welfare in the Arabian oryx (using faecal samples), and established reference values for a range of haematological, biochemical and clinical parameters. The potential disturbances in these parameters were investigated after immobilisation and tranquillisation and posttransportation. Two enzyme immuno-assays (EIA I and II) for faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGM) were validated by stimulation and suppression of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis through injection of synthetic adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and dexamethasone, respectively. These studies established a lag-time of 14 ± 1 h between secretion of glucocorticoids into the blood stream and excretion of the measured FGM. Faecal incubation at 30°C for 3 days showed that EIA I measured more stable faecal glucocorticoid metabolites than EIA II, and has greater potential for application in field conditions. This method was found to be invaluable for measuring stress and hence assessment of welfare status, and its use is recommended in planning welfare improvements. Measurement of FGM successfully detected the stress of road transportation (630 km for 8-10 h), showing an increase 2 days after transport, followed by recovery to basal FGM levels after re-housing for up to 11 days. Releasing oryx to the wild, in Oman, and tracking for 11 days, after transportation 50-70 km from the captive site (Arabian Oryx
Multi-method attribution analysis of extreme precipitation in Boulder, Colorado

Understanding and attributing the characteristics of extreme events that lead to societal impacts is a key challenge in climate science. Detailed analysis of individual case studies is particularly important in assessing how anthropogenic climate change is changing the likelihood of extreme events and their associated risk at relevant spatial scales. Here, we conduct a comprehensive multi-method attribution analysis of the heavy precipitation that led to widespread flooding in Boulder, Colorado in September 2013. We provide clarification on the source regions of moisture associated with this event in order to highlight the difficulty of separating dynamic and thermodynamic contributions. Using extreme value analysis of, first of all, historical observations, we then assess the influence of anthropogenic climate change on the overall likelihood of one- and five-day precipitation events across the Boulder area. The same analysis is extended to the output of two general circulation model ensembles. By combining the results of different methods we deduce an increase in the likelihood of extreme one-day precipitation but of a smaller magnitude than what would be expected in a warming world according to the Clausius–Clapeyron relation. For five-day extremes, we are unable to detect a change in likelihood. Our results demonstrate the benefits of a multi-method approach to making robust statements about the anthropogenic influence on changes in the overall likelihood of such an event irrespective of its cause. We note that, in this example, drawing conclusions solely on the basis of thermodynamics would have overestimated the increase in risk.
Personalized Conditioning with Human-in-the-Loop Control Approach

The need for individual comfort led to the development of personalized conditioning systems which improve the thermal comfort and allow to reduce energy consumption due to more effective localized energy use. However, the process control of such systems is still rather traditional and not optimal. The skin temperature of the hands plays a prominent role in thermal comfort in cool environments. Since the hands are directly exposed to the environment their temperature can be remotely sensed and used for control in human-in-the-loop approach. A recent study showed the potential of such a process control. The change in thermal comfort was feed-forwarded by the fingertip temperature drop which was used as a control signal for infrared hand heating lamps. In this paper the limitations of the previous study are discussed and the future research directions are given.
Motivating Science Undergraduates: Ideas and Interventions

This paper overviews three important motivational theories (the theory of self-efficacy, achievement goal theory, and the self-determination theory of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation) and explains their relevance for motivating tertiary students. The paper then briefly describes a project in which tertiary educators in science and other faculties have attempted to make their units of study more motivating and interesting for students. The paper concludes by outlining some aspects of the emerging sociocultural approach to motivation and the relevance of this approach for motivating students in educational contexts
Vacuum Quantum Stress Tensor Fluctuations : A Diagonalization Approach

Large vacuum fluctuations of a quantum stress tensor can be described by the asymptotic behavior of its probability distribution. Here we focus on stress tensor operators which have been averaged with a sampling function in time. The Minkowski vacuum state is not an eigenstate of the time-averaged operator, but can be expanded in terms of its eigenstates. We calculate the probability distribution and the cumulative probability distribution for obtaining a given value in a measurement of the time-averaged operator taken in the vacuum state. In these calculations, we use the normal ordered square of the time derivative of a massless scalar field in Minkowski spacetime as an example of a stress tensor operator. We analyze the rate of decrease of the tail of the probability distribution for different temporal sampling functions, such as compactly supported functions and the Lorentzian function. We find that the tails decrease relatively slowly, as exponentials of fractional powers, in agreement with previous work using the moments of the distribution. Our results lead additional support to the conclusion that large vacuum stress tensor fluctuations are more probable than large thermal fluctuations, and may have observable effects.
Inducing osmotic stress leads to better genetic transformation efficiency in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

The present study investigated the effect of different salts on cotton shoot regeneration and transformation efficiency. Two-day-old germinating embryos of a local cotton cultivar (SG-125) were pretreated with 50 mM each of NaCl, CaCl2, and KCl for 60 min. The embryo explants were transformed by cocultivation with Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain LBA 4404 harboring a binary plasmid pTF101.1 that carried the insecticidal gene (cry1Ac) under control of wound-inducible promoter (AoPR1) and bilanafos acetyl reductase (bar) gene for plant selection. The salt-pretreated embryos showed maximum response on regeneration MS medium containing 0.50 mg/L 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) and 0.10 mg/L indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), also supplemented with 5 mg/L bialaphos for in vitro screening of the transformed plantlets. The primary transformants were further screened by molecular techniques for integration and expression of the introduced gene. Maximum transformation efficiency (1.10%) was noted on KCl-treated explants compared to nontreated (control) explants. In conclusion, pretreatment of explants with 50 mM KCl for 60 min induced positive effects and triggered shoot regeneration in primary cotton transformants.
OCULAR TUMORS IN IRAN: A 10-YEAR HISTOPATHOLOGICAL STUDY ON 384 CASES OF ENUCLEATION

Background and Objective: The frequency and pattern of eye neoplasms differ in various geographic areas. Our aim was to determine the distribution of patient age, gender, ocular tumor origin, location and histological type in our region. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, all of the 384 eye globe enucleation cases carried out during a 10-year period in Farabi Medical Center in Tehran were selected and reviewed. The inflammatory and non-tumoral conditions were excluded. Results: Out of 350 primary tumors, 344 (98.6%) were malignant including 248 cases of retinoblastomas (70.9%), 76 cases of (21.7%) melanomas and 14 cases of (4%) squamous cell carcinomas. Mean ages for these tumors were 3.2, 51 and 64.8 years respectively. Overall the tumors were 1.15 times more frequent in left eye and 1.53 times more common in males. Out of 248 cases of retinoblastomas, only 12 (4.8%) cases were bilateral (mean age 3.46 years; male to female ratio 1.4:1). Some rare cases in our series included a primary non-Hodgkin lymphoma of choroid, two choroidal leiomyomas and an adenocarcinoma of the retinal pigment epithelium. Conclusion: The overall frequency of the three most common primary malignancies in our series was similar to the reported Asian countries but slightly differed with western countries in terms of lower incidence of melanoma here. Also bilateral retinoblastoma was less frequent here and occurred in a slightly older age. The actual frequency of metastatic eye tumors could not be evaluated precisely due to lack of systematic autopsy data.
Thyroid-stimulating hormone within low-normal range is related to imbalance of bone remodeling in euthyroid postmenopausal women with osteoporotic fractures

Introduction. Data relating to thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and risk of fractures are limited, and the effect of TSH within the normal range on bone mineral density (BMD) and bone remodelling is controversial. We aimed to evaluate whether variations across TSH concentration within the normal range are associated with bone metabolism expressed by bone remodeling markers in euthyroid postmenopausal women with osteoporotic fractures. Material and methods. The study group consisted of 60 elderly women admitted to the hospital due to nonvertebral osteoporotic fractures of which 57 were diagnosed as euthyroid. In all serum fT4, and TSH, P1NP (a bone formation marker) and CTX (a bone resorption marker) were measured. Results. The majority of fractures occurred at the lower TSH tertile (0.14–2.19 mIU/L). Most of the patients (70%) in this tertile had TSH value below 1 mIU/L. There was a clear tendency towards lower P1NP in the first TSH tertile (p = 0.056 and p = 0.057) whereas most CTX values tended to be higher than the median concentration in the whole group. A significant positive correlation between TSH and P1NP was observed (r = 0.32; p = 0.01). TSH within the normal range and CTX explained 25% of the variability of P1NP in euthyroid women with osteoporotic fractures. Conclusions. In elderly euthyroid women low-normal TSH level seems to be associated with the imbalance between bone resorption and formation. Diminished bone formation may predispose to increased risk of nonvertebral fractures. Bone marker testing in subjects with low-normal TSH may add new value in the assessment of fracture risk.
EFFECTS OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION STYLES ON EMPLOYEES JOB PERFORMANCE IN OGUN-OSUN RIVER BASIN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (OORBDA), OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

Organizations cannot exist without effective communication because the changing in social and economic atmosphere bring changes in the work settings of any organization. The study determined impact of organizational communication on job performance in Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority (OORBDA) Ogun State, Nigeria. Proportionate stratified random sampling technique was use to select 114 respondents which represented 35% of the total population. The study showed that majority (53.3%) of employees were male , 60.9% of the employees fall within the age categories of 20-40 years, majority (77.2%) were married, more than half (58.7%) had higher degrees. Also, the mean age of the respondents was 38.5 years. The findings also revealed that the most preferred communication channel was Face to face (x=3.46), Memo ((x=3.42) and Letter (x=3.30, while the least preferred communication channels were, Facebook (x=2.42), WhatsApp (x=2.27 and Intranet (x=2.0). Furthermore, the study revealed that majority of the respondents (75.2%) indicated that leaders at OORBDA deployed the use of Assertive/dominant communication styles while very few (8.3%) indicated that aggressive communication style in the organization. The inferential statistics show that significant relationship was existed between marital status (χ 2 =12.795, p<0.00), education (χ 2 =11.762, p<0.00) and employee’s job performance. Study’s analysis showed that organization communication styles do not have significant effect on job performance. The study concluded that the employees who are better educated perform well on their job also, majority of leader at OORBDA deployed the use of assertive/dominant communication style in the organization. Management of the organization should ensure motivation incentives such as access to training and promotion as at when due to deserving employees are ensured to boost employees’ job performance.
Productivity and Convergence in India: State Level Analysis

Total factor productivity plays an important role in the growth of the Indian economy. Using state-level data from 1993 to 2005 that were recently made available, we find widespread regional variation in productivity changes. In the years immediately following economic liberalization, productivity growth improved technical efficiency; however, in subsequent years, productivity growth was propelled by technological progress. We find a tendency toward convergence with regard to productivity growth among states; however, the states that were technically efficient when the economic reforms were instituted remained innovative in later years.
Development Strategy of Post-Coal Mine Area in Kutai Kartanegara Regency, East Kalimantan Province, Indonesia

East Kalimantan province is one of the largest coal deposit reserve source, especially in the mining and quarrying sector. Mining sector is a strategic sector in East Kalimantan but post coal mining land has the problem for land using. The research method used survey method and laboratory test on 21 entities/companies with the status of cooperative and non-cooperative approach and land resource evaluation on 30 respondent keys (key informant). Analysis of data is using the evaluation of land potential: Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), IRR, NPV and BCR. The results showed that there are 2 scenarios decisions in the development of coal mining region that is the optimistic scenario on 2 aspects namely: (1) tourism (recreational parks and historical tours) and (2) aspects of the fishery (tilapia, goldfish, catfish). Then, in the moderate scenario, there are 3 aspects of development: (1) services (administration and housing); (2) fisheries (cork fish and damselfish) and (3) agriculture (guava, melinjo and dragon fruit). Optimizing the utilization of post-coal mining land in the regency of Kutai Kartanegara can be carried out with reference to these two types of scenarios as a manifestation of an engine of regional development.
Risk Assessment for Microbial Pollution in Drinking Water in Small Community and Relation to Diarrhea Disease

Object of this study is evaluating of health risk in usage of polluted drinking water in small community, located around of Qazvin, Iran and its relative with prevalence of diarrhea diseases. Word health organization has reported that annually 4 billion cases of diarrhea take place world wide, whereas 88 percent of those outbreaks are ascribed to contaminated drinking water (5). In this study 183 small communities with 10 to 4500 people and total populations of 71171 people were investigated. Results of microbial examinations of drinking water samples, as total coliform, have shown that 73.1 percent of populations have been used contaminated water from march 2005 to February 2006, in 12 months. Investigations in this limited domain were showed that rates of diarrhea outbreak in communities with usage of safe water was 5.3 percent and 8.54 percent in populations with contaminated water. Results were shown that outbreak rates of diarrhea were 69.2 cases in 1000 people in each year and 0.189 in each day. Whereas this rate was 8.94 times fewer than WHO estimated. Also, it was distinguished that rates of diarrhea incidence will be increased with evaluating of environmental temperature. Studying of risk factors was shown that no disinfection had highest role in causing of diarrhea incidence. So in 68 percent of communities chlorination was not performed. It is anticipated that 58605 cases of diarrhea will take place in this domain in next year, if source sanitation and water disinfection do not perform.
Information About Cost of Goods Produced and its Usefulness for Production Engineers – A Case of SME

Abstract The article stresses the consequences of simplifications implemented in the measurement process of goods produced that are of crucial importance to production engineers in SME. The authors show the variety of possibilities that might be used by financial employees together with probable outputs in terms of valuation distortions. Using the case study the authors emphasis the importance of close cooperation of production engineers with finance professionals as out-puts of finance departments consist an important input for decision-making process of production managers. Further-more, demonstrated deficiencies in terms of methods applicable in financial reporting for measurement of the value of goods produced indicate the need for incorporation more financial and non-financial data in the process of judgments about the final cost of goods produced as simplifications applied in SME distort financial information provided to production engineers.
A Study of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy of Brain in Children with Developmental Delay

BACKGROUND : Developmental delay denotes significant delay in one or more developmental domains. It has an estimated prevalence of 1-3% worldwide. Brain magnetic resonance imaging appears to be the most promising neuroimaging technique in the evaluation of patients with developmental delay. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES : Our study aims to identify the spectrum of abnormalities in brain magnetic resonance imaging in children with developmental delay and categorize the morphologic abnormalities. Secondly, the role of Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) to ascertain the magnitude and severity of various neurometabolite ratios in children with normal brain imaging will also be studied. MATERIALS AND METHODS : Our study involves the evaluation of 100 children presenting with developmental delay to the Department of Radio diagnosis, Coimbatore Medical College Hospital between July 2015 and July 2016. The children were evaluated with a standard MRI protocol. Clinical and demographic parameters were noted. The various involved brain structures were studied systematically and the morphologic abnormalities were categorized. RESULTS : The prevalence of abnormal MRI findings was 78% among the evaluated children. Our study showed predominant involvement of the white matter (50%), ventricles (37%) and corpus callosum (24%). The relative proportion of various morphologic abnormalities was Neurovascular diseases (50%), Congenital and developmental (12%), Non-specific findings (11%), Neoplastic and cystic lesions (3%) and combined etiology (2%). 10 children with a normal MRI were subjected to MR Spectroscopy which revealed no significant differance in the neurometabolite ratios amomg the patients. CONCLUSION : MR imaging has good sensitivity in diagnosing various disorders of developmental delay. Careful evaluation of the MRI helps identifying the probable etiology in most if not all cases. Proton MR Spectroscopy is an emerging technique in evaluating children with developmental delay and should be incorporated in the standard MRI protocol in cases where it is feasible. Hence, appropriate diagnosis on MRI helps in guiding the physician to plan further patient management.
Hyper-reactive PMNs in FcγRIIa 131 H/H genotype periodontitis patients

Background: Receptors for the Fc part of IgG (Fc gamma RIIa) on polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) mediate phagocytosis and cell activation. Previous results show that one of the genetic variants of the Fc gamma RIIa, the 131 H/H, is associated with more periodontal breakdown than the R/R. This may be due to hyper-reactivity of the H/H-PMNs upon interaction with bacteria. Aim: To study whether the Fc gamma RIIa genotype modifies the PMN reactivity in periodontitis patients. Material and Methods: A cohort of 98 periodontitis patients was genotyped. From these, 10 H/H and 10 R/R consented to participate. PMNs were incubated with immune serum-opsonized Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans (A.a.). Phagocytosis, degranulation (CD63 and CD66b expression), respiratory burst and elastase release were assessed. Results: Patients of the H/H genotype showed more bone loss than those with the H/R or R/R genotype (p=0.038). H/H-PMNs phagocytosed more opsonized A.a. than did R/R-PMNs (p=0.019). The H/H-PMNs also expressed more CD63 and CD66b than did the R/R-PMNs (p=0.004 and 0.002, respectively) and released more elastase (p=0.001). Conclusions: The genotyping results confirm previous reports that more periodontal destruction occurs in the H/H genotype than in the H/R or R/R genotype. The functional studies indicate a hyper-reactivity of the H/H-PMN in response to bacteria, which may be one of several pathways leading to more periodontal breakdown.