Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Universality classes for models of inflation

We show that the cosmological evolution of a scalar field in a potential can be obtained from a renormalisation group equation. The slow roll regime of inflation models is understood in this context as the slow evolution close to a fixed point, described by the methods of renormalisation group. This explains in part the universality observed in the predictions of a certain number of inflation models. We illustrate this behavior on a certain number of examples and discuss it in the context of the AdS/CFT correspondence.
STRESS TOLERANCE AND COMPETITIVE-RESPONSE ABILITY DETERMINE THE OUTCOME OF BIOTIC INTERACTIONS

Theoretical models predict that the net outcome of biotic interactions among plants is the sum of co-occurring negative and positive interactions, with facilitation gen- erally increasing in importance with increasing abiotic stress. However, species differ in fundamental niche optima; thus the intensity of stress is relative among species and im- portant only in the context of these relative differences. We tested the hypothesis that the facilitative response of a species is relative to how much abiotic conditions deviate from the optimum conditions for that particular species (stress), and the competitive ''response'' ability of the species (i.e., its ability to tolerate the inhibitory effects of neighbors). In a field experiment, we examined the responses of three co-occurring species with different ecological optima, Bromus erectus, Brachypodium rupestre, and Arrhenatherum elatius ,t o the alleviation of a primary limiting resource (water), and to biotic interactions in a me- soxeric grassland in eastern France. We found that A. elatius had a strong positive response to watering, the response of B. rupestre was moderately positive, and B. erectus did not respond significantly, suggesting that water stress was only important for the first two species. Most importantly, the net outcome of the interaction between each species and its neighbors depended on the degree of water stress it experienced in its natural habitat. For survival, in the control plots we found no significant interactions for B. erectus (not stressed) whereas B. rupestre and A. elatius (stressed species) were facilitated. Enhancing water availability suppressed facilitation of B. rupestre and A. elatius and led to competitive exclusion of B. erectus. In contrast to survival, there was no facilitation for growth in the control plots, and competition intensity increased for all three species with watering. In our experiment the competitive response of a species was inverse to its ability to tolerate stress, indicating a trade-off between these components of the species response. A facili- tative outcome appears to be a function of a species having both a low tolerance to a particular abiotic stress and a strong competitive-response ability.
A Peptide Nucleic Acid to Reduce Type I Collagen Production by Fibroblast Cells

In this study, we prepared a peptide nucleic acid (PNA) against the gene coding for the human alpha 1 chain of type I collagen. This PNA was incorporated into normal human fibroblast cells by electroporation, leading to a decrease in the mRNA level of the gene. Furthermore, mRNA for the alpha 2 chain of type I collagen was also reduced. The production of collagen protein exhibited a similar profile to the changes in mRNA. These results indicate that PNA targeting COL1A1 is effective as an antigene reagent, and opens the possibility of future clinical applications in fibroproliferative disorders.
Genetic basis for cholecystolithiasis. Existing state of knowledge

Introduction and objective: The pathogenesis of cholecystolithiasis is not well recognized. It is postulated that coexistence of environmental factors with genetic factors in individuals predispose to this illness. In this study the authors present the current state of knowledge about the pathogenesis of cholecystolithiasis and predisposing genetic factors such as: genes polymorphisms, genes expression and genetic mutations. Abbreviated description of the state of knowledge: The obesity, the female sex, numerous pregnancies, diabetes, cirrhosis, type C hepatitis, coronary heart disease, long-term parenteral nutrition are well known risk factors. Also the polymorphisms in some genes are connected with cholecystolithiasis, for example: polymorphisms within MUC1 and MUC2 mucin genes, ABCG8 D19H gene encoding halftransporter. Mutated forms of some proteins such as: SLC10A2 (Solute Carrier Family 10 Member 2), increased expression of NPC1L1 protein (Niemann Pick C1 Like Protein 1) and ACAT2 (Acyl Coenzyme A-cholesterol Transferase), over expression of SCP2 gene (Carrier Sterol Protein 2), the mutation of the UGT1A1 gene (Uridine 5’-diphosphate-glucuronosyltransferase 1 A1) can predispose to the development of gallstones. Summary: The incidence of cholecystolithiasis is constantly increasing. At present this disease constitutes the most frequent cause of surgical interventions in Europe, in the USA and in Australia. The lengthened life span, the rising percentage of obese individuals, suffering from diseases associated with the progress of civilization as well as the ageing of societies may influence on the development of cholecystolithiasis.
Plantar Pressure Distribution During Level Walking, and Stair Ascent and Descent in Asymptomatic Flexible Flatfoot

The first purpose was to identify the plantar pressure distributions (peak pressure, pressure integral time, and contact area) during level walking, and stair ascent and descent in asymptomatic flexible flatfoot (AFF). The second purpose was to investigate whether peak pressure data during level walking could be used to predict peak pressure during stair walking by identifying correlations between the peak pressures of level walking and stair walking. Twenty young adult subjects (8 males and 12 females, age years) with AFF were recruited. A distance greater than 10 mm in a navicular drop test was defined as flexible flatfoot. Each subject performed at least 10 steps during level walking, and stair ascent and descent. The plantar pressure distribution was measured in nine foot regions using a pressure measurement system. A two-way repeated analysis of variance was conducted to examine the differences in the three dependent variables with two within-subject factors (activity type and foot region). Linear regression analysis was conducted to predict peak pressure during stair walking using the peak pressure in the metatarsal regions during level walking. Significant interaction effects were observed between activity type and foot region for peak pressure (F=9.508, p
The transfer factor of metals in soil-plant system.

In sewage sludge the metals are finding in different forms, in function of chemical properties of sewage sludge and the chemistry of the metal.It was calculate the transfer factor of some metals, from soil in maize grains after sewage sludge distribution on land. The analyzed metals are: copper, iron and lead. It is known that only a part of the metals content from soil is transferred in plant, in our case being the maize grains. The analyses were made on soil samples and on maize grains.We establish the metals transfer factor using a standard formula . It was choose these three metals because their concentration in sewage sludge was higher comparative to the other metals. The experiment w asdone on maize hybrid: Lovrin 400 and the soil type is cambic chernozem, poorly glazed, which is characteristic for the USAMVBs Research Station from Timisoara . The sewage sludge was distributed on land only one t ime, in different doses: 0, 20, 40 and60 tha -1 and we observe the remaining effect on soil and plants . The content in metals from soil was determinate in aqua regia extract and values were established to an atomic absorption spectrophotometer at different wave lengths: Fe at 510 nm, Pb at 217 nm, Cu at 470 nm). The plant samples (maize grains) were burned and after that were treated with HCl 0.1 N, and the content in metals was established as in soil case, using the same method . It wasobserved in soil a high content of iron, but in case of the other studiedelements, their concentration is finding in normal limits. The highest values of transfer factor were determinate in case of iron, than copper and the lowest values were established for lead. After the analyses that were made, the maize grain s can be used as food for animals and the fodder is not polluted withtoxicmetals.In the last years, in each city, after the waste waters treatment result high quantities of sludge which might be used in agriculture but it must be respected some conditions, such as the maximum dose admitted to be distribute on land in order to not produce the pollution of soil, plants, waters and food.
Quantification of volatile organic compounds in smoke from prescribed burning and comparison with occupational exposure limits

Abstract. Prescribed burning represents a serious threat to personnel fighting fires due to smoke inhalation. The aim of this study was to investigate exposure by foresters to smoke from prescribed burning, focusing on exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The methodology for smoke sampling was first evaluated. Potentially dangerous compounds were identified among the VOCs emitted by smoke fires at four prescribed burning plots located around Corsica. The measured mass concentrations for several toxic VOCs were generally higher than those measured in previous studies due to the experimental framework (short sampling distance between the foresters and the flame, low combustion, wet vegetation). In particular, benzene, phenol and furfural exceeded the legal short-term exposure limits published in Europe and/or the United States. Other VOCs such as toluene, ethybenzene or styrene remained below the exposure limits. In conclusion, clear and necessary recommendations were made for protection of personnel involved in fighting fires.
Comparing Student Satisfaction in Full-Term vs. Half-Term Online Course: Results of a Pilot Study

Eugene Rutz is Academic Director in the College of Engineering & Applied Science at the University of Cincinnati. Responsibilities include oversight of eLearning initiatives, working with high schools on engineering coursework, and academic oversight of the Master of Engineering program. Eugene serves as co-PI on an NSF sponsored Math and Science partnership grant and PI on other grants that examine the intersection of instructional technology and learning.
Nouns and Verbs in the Tagalog Mental Lexicon

The purpose of this research was to study grammatical categories in the Tagalog mental lexicon using lexical decision tasks. Some linguists question whether words in Tagalog can be classified as nouns and verbs (Foley, 1998; Kaufman, 2011) because most root words can be inflected for any grammatical function and because verbs cannot be used in their uninflected form. Previous studies with English and German (Kauschke and Stenneken 2008) have shown that participants respond differently to nouns and verbs in lexical decision tasks. These studies have also shown that participants respond differently to transitive and intransitive verbs in lexical decision tasks. It was assumed that if nouns and verbs exist in Tagalog, response times to Tagalog lexical decision tasks will show similar patterns to those performed in English and German. Two experiments were performed to examine whether words are classified as nouns and verbs in the Tagalog mental lexicon and whether other factors affected that classification. For the experiments, native speakers of Tagalog participated in lexical decision tasks and response times were measured. The first experiment tested the classification of root nouns and verbs. Contrary to findings in other languages, there was no significant difference between response times to nouns and verbs. However, there were differences in response times to nouns from different semantic categories and to verbs with different morphosyntactic structures. The second experiment examined the classification of inflected nouns and verbs. Again, the results showed no difference between response times to nouns and verbs. There was also no difference between transitive and intransitive verbs. However, there was a slight difference between verbs of different voice inflections. The results of the experiments suggest the while the grammatical classes of nouns and verbs may not be the most important features of words in the Tagalog mental lexicon, they may still play a role since different features, semantics or morphosyntactics, did affect the responses to words from the different categories.
A morphotype catalog and paleoenvironmental interpretations of early Miocene fossil leaves from the Hiwegi Formation, Rusinga Island, Lake Victoria, Kenya

Early Miocene deposits on Rusinga Island (Lake Victoria, Kenya) contain an abundance of faunal and floral remains. Despite the attention that has historically been given to the early Miocene fauna from Rusinga Island, little attention has been given to the early Miocene fossil floras and to date no studies have described fossil leaf morphotypes from Rusinga Island. Here, we present a morphotype catalog of fossil leaves collected from the Grit Member of the Hiwegi Formation on Rusinga Island. We describe 14 morphotypes, comprised of 12 dicotyledonous angiosperms and two monocotyledonous angiosperms, as well as two distinct dicotyledonous angiosperm leaf fragments. Characteristics of the flora and sedimentological evidence, coupled with previous research, suggest that the local paleoenvironment was a riparian habitat within a patchwork of woodland and forested biomes in what was likely a warm climate. This work represents an important first step in understanding the early Miocene vegetation of Rusinga Island, and highlights both the need and potential for future research on these early Miocene floras.
Mathematical Inverse Problem of Magnetic Field from Exponentially Varying Conductive Ground

We derive an analytical solution of the steady state magnetic eld due to a direct current source on a multilayered earth with a layer having exponentially varying conductivity. Our variation in conductivity is realistic and can be generalized to all cases of exponential proles. The Hankel transform is introduced to our problem and analytical result is obtained. Our solution is achieved by solving a boundary value problem in the wave number domain and then transforming the solution back to the spatial domain. The eects
POLARIZATION PROPERTIES OF EXTRAGALACTIC RADIO SOURCES

Differentes techniques permettant la mesure de la polarisation des rayonnements emis par les radiosources extragalactiques sont exposees. L'etude de la polarisation observee est un moyen d'investigation des structures du champ magnetique et de l'environnement physique des sources considerees
The Caltech Photooxidation Flow Tube reactor: design, fluid dynamics and characterization

Flow tube reactors are widely employed to study gas-phase atmospheric chemistry and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation. The development of a new laminar-flow tube reactor, the Caltech Photooxidation Flow Tube (CPOT), intended for the study of gas-phase atmospheric chemistry and SOA formation, is reported here. The present work addresses the reactor design based on fluid dynamical characterization and the fundamental behavior of vapor molecules and particles in the reactor. The design of the inlet to the reactor, based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, comprises a static mixer and a conical diffuser to facilitate development of a characteristic laminar flow profile. To assess the extent to which the actual performance adheres to the theoretical CFD model, residence time distribution (RTD) experiments are reported with vapor molecules (O_3) and submicrometer ammonium sulfate particles. As confirmed by the CFD prediction, the presence of a slight deviation from strictly isothermal conditions leads to secondary flows in the reactor that produce deviations from the ideal parabolic laminar flow. The characterization experiments, in conjunction with theory, provide a basis for interpretation of atmospheric chemistry and SOA studies to follow. A 1-D photochemical model within an axially dispersed plug flow reactor (AD-PFR) framework is formulated to evaluate the oxidation level in the reactor. The simulation indicates that the OH concentration is uniform along the reactor, and an OH exposure (OH_(exp)) ranging from ∼ 10^9 to ∼ 10^(12) molecules cm^(−3) s can be achieved from photolysis of H_2O_2. A method to calculate OH_(exp) with a consideration for the axial dispersion in the present photochemical system is developed.
Influence of Bone Marrow Stem Cell Transplantation on Cardiac Function in Remodeled Left Ventricle of Rats after AMI

Objective: To explore the effect of allogenic bone marrow transplant on cardiac function in rats after AMI. Material and methods: 50 Male, Wistar rats were randomly divided into transplant group and control 1, 2, 3 groups. Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) model was designed by ligation of the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery. Transplant group; prepared allogeneic marrow mononuclear cells (BM-MNCs) suspension were implanted in the epicardial area around the infarcted region. Control group 1; simple thoracotomy without ligation of coronary arteries. Control group 2; only AMI model was established. Control group 3; culture medium was table implanted into the subepicardioial and peri-infarction area. 4 weeks after transplantation, echocardiography and cardiac catheterization assessment of left ventricular morphology as well as function were performed. Morphological characteristics and organization of transplanted BM-MNCs within the infarcted area and its periphery was observed. Results: Compared with control group 1, left ventricular systolic diameter (LVEDs), left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDd) and left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) were significantly increased (P <0.05), while left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular fractional shortening (LVFS), left ventricular systolic pressure (LVSP), maximal rate of left ventricular pressure (+ dp/dt max) and maximal decrease rate left ventricular pressure (-dp / dtmax) were significantly lower (P <0.05) in control group 2, 3 and transplantation group; LVEDs, LVEDd and LVEDP in transplantation group were significantly lower (all P <0.05); while LVEF, LVFS, + dp/dt max and -dp/dt max were significantly higher than the control group 2 and 3 (P <0.05). Immunohistochemistry showed that BrdU labeling BM-MNCs were survived in the transplantation group. Conclusion: Allogenic BM-MNCs transplantation in rat can reduce the left ventricular dilatation, enhance inhibition of left ventricular remodeling, and improve cardiac function after AMI.
User need and experience of Hajj mobile and ubiquitous systems: Designing for the largest religious annual gathering

Abstract The Hajj pilgrimage is one of the largest annual events in the world. Each year, millions of Muslims visit the holy sites in Makkah. While Hajj mobile applications that help pilgrims perform Hajj activities efficiently are gaining popularity, little has been done to investigate pilgrims’ needs and their experiences of these applications. During the 2017 Hajj season, we conducted a study to investigate the needs and experiences of Hajj mobile service users. We used a questionnaire to investigate the need for 20 Hajj mobile features and found that maps (particularly offline maps) were the most needed feature. We also interviewed 16 pilgrims to investigate user experience (UX) of Hajj mobile applications. Three major themes emerged from our qualitative analysis of the perceptions reported by our participants: UX problems with the current mobile applications, the importance level of application features, and opportunities for improving the UX of applications. We relate these themes to specific implications for designing a better UX of mobile applications used for Hajj and its related domain (religion) and to applications for use in similar contexts (e.g., crowd and movement situations).
Effect of Mn 2 + Addition on Delignification of Water Hyacinth Using Phanerochaete

In order to prepare water hyacinth as a bioethanol feedstock, it is necessary to perform a pretreatment process. Biological process is considered to be one of the potential pretreatment that may be developed in the future. This study aims to increase lignin degradation rate and shorten the pretreatment time and increase fermentable sugar yield after enzymatic hydrolysis. Experiment was conducted in batch mode. Cut water hyacinth prepared was inoculated with the fungus and incubated at room temperature for 28 days during which its content of lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose was analyzed regularly. Effect of co-factor was studied by adding Mn with varied concentrations (between 0.05 – 1%) to water hyacinth The results showed increase the rate of degradation of lignin and increase fermentable sugar yield results with the addition of co-factor Mn. In Pretreatment of Water Hyacinth without addition of Mn occured lignin degradation reached 24.39% during 16 days incubated with the fungus and fermentable sugar yield reached 36.37%. An addition of co-factor Mn at a concentration of 0.5% showed that the lignin degradation reached 42.44% during 16 days of incubation, and the fermentable sugar yield in hydrolysis increased to reach 67.66%.
Nutrition of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus (Echinodermata: Echinoidea) fed different artificial food

Nutrition and growth of 3 size classes of Paracentrotus lividus fed different artificial diets were studied at monthly intervals over 9 mo. At the end of the experiment, the gonadal, test and gut growth rates were estimated so as to establish nutritional budgets. Three types of food were pro- vided: 'vegetable-feed' (low protein, high carbohydrate), 'mixed-feed' (intermediate protein and car- bohydrate) or 'animal-feed' (high protein, low carbohydrate). Nutritional parameters were affected by food quality, sea urchin size and experimental period. The highest ingestion rate was obtained with the vegetable food. The highest absorption value was recorded with the animal food while the lowest was observed for the vegetable food. Absorption was negatively correlated to both ingestion rate and carbohydrate levels of the food. The assimilation efficiency was lowest with the vegetable diet and highest with the animal-based feed. Allocation of energy amongst the different body organs was influenced by food quality and sea urchin size. A growth model based on the results shows that sea urchin growth can be explained by 4 factors: the quantity of food ingested; the amount of food absorbed; the size of the individuals; and the quantity of dry matter absorbed.