Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Preserving Climacteric Fruits by Ripening Hormone Oxidation using nano-KMnO4 Confined within Nanoporous Carbon

Climacteric fruits naturally can be over-ripened because of ripening hormone composed of ethylene gas. Removal of ethylene gas by potassium permanganate (KMnO4) has successfully preserved the fruit, but there is still a room for improvement through nano-confinement process. This study was conducted to compare the ethylene oxidation rate and fruit preservation ability of KMnO4 and nano-KMnO4. Ethylene oxidation experiment was conducted in a gas-tight vial filled with ethylene gas (~20%v) and either KMnO4 or nano-KMnO4. Ethylene gas concentration inside the vial was periodically measured using gas chromatography (GC). The result revealed that ethylene oxidation rate by nano-KMnO4 is higher than KMnO4. The ethylene oxidation rate kinetic was modeled with a gas-solid reaction model, which is fundamentally more accurate than first-order reaction model. Fruit preservation experiment was conducted in sealed containers filled with banana (Musa acuminata) samples and either KMnO4 or nano- KMnO4, and stored at room temperature. The result revealed that banana preservation duration by nano-KMnO4 is remarkably longer than KMnO4, where unpreserved fruit was ripened after 7 days and fruit preserved by KMnO4 and nano-KMnO4 were ripened after 13 and 16 days respectively.
Interleukine-6, Vitamins A, E, and C Levels in Serum of Iraqi Patients with Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS)

The main objective of this study is to determine the concentrations of Interleukine-6, Vitamins A, E, and C in patients with FMS. This study included 60 patients with FMS were diagnosed according to the American college of Rheumatology (ACR) 1990 criteria. They were obtained from the people attending the Rheumatology & Rehabilitation Consultation Unit / Out Patient Clinic/ Baghdad Teaching Hospital in Medical City. Their ages range were 20-60 years and their ages range were then matched by age and sex to 30 healthy control persons with mean age 43.25 ± 3.16 years. Results revealed that there was no significant difference in the mean value of IL-6 in serum of patients with FMS, while vitamins A, and E concentrations in serum of patients with FMS were significantly decreased as compared to the level in serum of healthy controls (p>0.05), and the mean values of Vitamin C concentration in serum of patients with FMS were significantly increased than the level in serum of healthy control (p< 0.05). Key ward: IL-6, Vitamins A, E, C, and FMS
Effect of Convenient Dermatologic Intervention on Quality of Life in Patients with Chronic Eczematous Dermatitis

Objective: There is some evidence that chronic skin diseases like dermatitis could affect the quality of life of sufferers. In addition, patients with dermatological disorders are at greater risk to develop psychiatric morbidity. The aim of this study was to explore the quality of life in patients with chronic eczematous dermatitis. We also examined the effect of a convenient dermatologic intervention on quality of life of the participants. Methods: Fifty patients with chronic dermatitis (29 females and 21 males with mean age of 29.3 years) were recruited. Data were collected before and after six weeks of dermatological treatment using Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) and a sociodemographic questionnaire. The relevant data were analyzed using paired t test. Results: Mean base score for dermatology life quality index in our sample was 10.94, which was within low limits of averaged for their norm. Moreover, after 6 weeks of treatment, quality of life significantly improved particularly in domains of symptoms and feeling. Conclusion: Dermatologic diseases like chronic dermatitis influence quality of life of patients. Even a feasible dermatologic intervention could significantly improve the quality of life in people who are suffering from such disabling illnesses. Declaration of interest: None.
Effects of Varying Volumes of Dynamic Stretching on Active Range of Motion, Reaction Time, and Movement Time in Female Soccer Players

Chatzopoulos D, Kapodistria L, Doganis G, Messaritakis V, Lykesas G. Effects of Varying Volumes of Dynamic Stretching on Active Range of Motion, Reaction Time, and Movement Time in Female Soccer Players. JEPonline 2019;22(5):147-156. The aim of this study was to examine the acute effects of varying volumes of dynamic stretching (DS) on active range of motion (ROM), reaction time (RT), and movement time (MT). Twenty-four female soccer players (age, 15.08 ± .88 yrs) participated in 4 randomly ordered experimental conditions: (a) control containing 5-min jog; (b) 5-min jog and 6 repetitions of DS (DS-6); (c) 5-min jog and 12 repetitions of DS (DS-12); and (d) 5-min jog and 18 repetitions of DS (DS-18). ROM, RT, and MT were measured following all conditions. Flexibility increased following all DS conditions compared to the control. Moreover, MT was significantly improved after DS-6 and DS-12 compared to the control values, but there were no significant differences between DS-18 and control. In relation to RT, there were no significant differences between the experimental conditions. These results suggest that a DS protocol of 6 repetitions results in similar increases in ROM compared to 12 and 18 repetitions. In addition, dynamic stretch volumes with more than 18 repetitions may impair MT. According to the results of the study, the optimal volume of DS to improve active ROM and MT seems to be between 6 to 12 repetitions.
Removal of inorganic ferric i

The inorganic ferric ion has been successfully removed from water by adsorption onto experiments are carried out by a batch technique. The influences of adsorption conditions, such as initial concentration of f 50, 100, 150 and 200 mg L), the dosage of CDPS (2, 6, 10., 20, 30, 40 and 100 g L (0 – 180 min.) have been taken in consideration. temperature increases; meanwhile, it decreases with increasing the initial concentration of ferric io removal achieved is 92 %. Depending on the adsorption thermodynamic model, the adsorption mechanism of aqueous ferric ion ont CDPS follows Freundlich isotherm model (R = 0.986). The capacity ( respectively. The results reveal that the adsorption mechanism of ferric ion on CDPS solid particles is chemisorptions, heter multilayer, unfavorable (RL = 1.609) and spontaneous in nature (Δ particles has achieved Lagergren pseudo-second order model ( capacities have been calculated. The new information in this study sugge removing ferric ions from water.
DOES THE CREDIBLE FISCAL POLICY REDUCE ITS VOLATILITY? The Case of Indonesia

The objective of this paper is to investigate whether fiscal policy credibility, in form of explicit deficit rule or debt rule numerical constraints, can reduce the degree of its volatility. The main motivation behind this research is in one hand, a negative and robust correlation of fiscal policy volatility and long-run growth documented in several papers and on the other – relatively small number of works that discuss possible relation to the credibility. To test the hypotheses, we use the quarterly data in the case of Indonesia over the period 2001(1)-2013(4). By applying ordinary least squares method, we demonstrate that the impact of fiscal policy credibility on the fiscal policy volatility typically depends on characteristics of fiscal rule commitment. In one hand, the debt rule credibility significantly reduces the fiscal policy volatility. In contrast, the deficit rule incredibility increases the fiscal policy volatility. Those findings suggest the specific enforcement mechanism to promote automatic correction dealing with the dynamics of overall balance deficit.
The elephant population of Samburu and Bu¡alo Springs National Reserves, Kenya

A 21-month individual identi¢cation project on the Samburu and Bu¡alo Springs National Reserves’ elephant population was conducted between November1997 and July1999.The free ranging population, of at least 767 elephants, which relied heavily on areas outside the reserves, was individually identi¢ed.The numbers of elephants observed per day £uctuated but were greater during dry periods then wet. However, the sizes of aggregations were greater during wet periods. Preliminary investigation suggested that the population could be divided into two groups, which were designated resident and non-resident family units. The groups comprised approximately equal numbers of cows and calves, but temporallyhad di¡erent reserve use patterns and calving peaks.The daily numbers ofmales andmusthmaleswere correlated with numbers of females. The reserves appeared to be a focal area for calving, indicating that the study area was of reproductive importance to the population. Demographic data indicated a female biased population sex ratio, with over twice the number of mature females to males. The observed sex skew was greatest for older age classes, and the density of musth bulls in the study area was low. The population was a¡ected by poaching. Continued monitoring will assist conservation e¡orts by alerting authorities of major demographic or range use changes.
The impact of human capital and human capital investments on company performance. Evidence from literature and European survey results

This study consists of a literature review and an analysis of an existing database on human resource management (HRM) (the Cranet survey). It focuses on research that connects human capital with the firm and asks whether education, skills/competence and training have any impact on company performance. The main results may be summarised as follows. It appears that training provided by firms for employees is not characterised by being general or specific but by what is needed to stay ahead of competitors. There is a growing body of literature suggesting that firms are financing both types of training. More recent research also suggests that investments in training generate substantial gains for firms even if employees can use this training in other firms. The evidence that employers profit from training investments comes from different countries including Britain, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the US. Most of these studies indicate that training affects performance and not the other way around. The effects of education and skills/competence on aspects such as productivity and innovations are generally found to be positive and significant, though the connection with profitability might be less expected. Firms can also extract profit from prior education as they do from general training investments. Supporting employee development through training policies and methods for analysing training needs is important to explain the provision of training and training outcomes. Similarly, innovative (and comprehensive) HRM practices tend to be associated with positive company performance. Innovation and information technology (IT) both result in greater investment in training and also depend on education and skills in generating profits. Other findings suggest that training and comprehensive HRM practices are closely related to firms’ innovative capacity. The lack of studies connecting small and medium enterprises (SMEs), labour market conditions (systems), and social partners with company training policies and performance measures such as productivity or profitability, makes it difficult to draw conclusions on these aspects. This suggests an incentive to research such matters more thoroughly in the future.
Seasonal and Annual Rainfall Variability and Their Impact on Rural Water Supply Services in the Wami River Basin, Tanzania

In some parts of Africa, rainfall variability has resulted in widespread droughts and floods, thus posing a substantial challenge to water availability in rural areas, especially drinking water. Therefore, due to increasing water demands, increases in the population, and economic development, water supply systems are under constant stress. One of the critical uncertainties surrounding the effects of rainfall variability in Africa is the significant impact that it imposes on rural water supply services. The present study analyzes the trends in annual and seasonal rainfall time series in the Wami River Basin to see if there have been any significant changes in the patterns during the period 1983–2017 and how they affect the access to water supply services in rural areas. The study analyzes the trends of rainfall series of three stations using simple regression, Mann–Kendal Test and Sen’s Slope Estimator. The water point mapping datasets were analyzed considering seasonal variation. The analysis showed a statistically significant positive trend in annual rainfall at Kongwa and March–April–May (MAM) seasonal rainfall at Dakawa. The maximum increase in annual rainfall occurred at Kongwa (5.3 mm year−1) and for MAM seasonal data at Dakawa (4.1 mm year−1). Water points were found to be significantly affected by seasonal changes, both in terms of availability and quality of water. There also exists a strong relationship between rural water services and seasons.
Run Theory and Copula-Based Drought Risk Analysis for Songnen Grassland in Northeastern China

Droughts are among the more costly natural hazards, and drought risk analysis has become urgent for the proper planning and management of water resources in grassland ecosystems. We chose Songnen grassland as a case study, used a standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) to model drought characteristics, employed run theory to define the drought event, and chose copula functions to construct the joint distribution for drought variables. We applied two kinds of return periods to conduct a drought risk assessment. After evaluating and comparing several distribution functions, drought severity (DS) was best described by the generalized extreme value (GEV) distribution, whereas drought duration (DD) was best fitted by gamma distribution. The root mean square error (RMSE) and Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) goodness-of-fit measures to evaluate their performance, the best-performing copula is Frank copula to model the joint dependence structure for each drought variables. The results of the secondary return periods indicate that a higher risk of droughts occurs in Keshan county, Longjiang county, Qiqiha’er city, Taonan city, and Baicheng city. Furthermore, a relatively lower risk of drought was found in Bei’an city, Mingquan county, Qinggang county, and qian’an county, and also in the Changling county and Shuangliao city. According to the calculation of the secondary return periods, which considered all possible scenarios in our study, we found that the secondary return period may be the best indicator for evaluating grassland ecosystem drought risk management.
Credit Default Swaps, Strategic Default, and the Cost of Corporate Debt

In this paper, I provide the evidence of credit default swaps (CDS, hereafter) playing new economic roles as a commitment device for the borrower (i.e. the firm) to repay its debt to the lender (i.e. the creditors). When the firm writes incomplete debt contracts, its limited ability to commit not to default strategically in the future incurs the cost of contracting that will be ultimately paid by the firm. CDS can reduce this cost ex ante by strengthening creditors’ bargaining power in distressed debt renegotiation. I identify, both theoretically and empirically, the benefit of CDS reducing the contracting cost arising from the possibility of strategic default. More specifically, I show that firms a priori most likely to face the limited commitment problem (i.e. firms with high strategic default incentives) experience a relatively larger reduction in their corporate bond spreads following the introduction
DEXAMETHASONE FOR THIRD MOLAR SURGERY- A REVIEW

Every oral surgeon has encountered problems associated with edema, trismus, and pain after third Molar surgeries. In third-molar surgery, fear of pain and trismus are often directly proportional to edema. Use of the corticosteroid, dexamethasone, given as intramuscular, intravenous or sub mucosal either as preoperative, perioperative or postoperative injection , appears to be effective in the prevention of postoperative edema. This article reviews about the best technique and the dose required to minimize patient discomfort in third molar surgery.
USING A LP MODEL FOR THE DESIGN ANALYSIS OF AN INTEGRATED RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEM

In this paper, the optimal design of an integrated energy system (biomass, solar, wind and water) is approached by the perspective of linear programming (LP) modeling. A model that minimizes the equipment’s costs and its installation/operation expenses is implemented, taking into account the efficiency of each type of energy for certain tasks (cooking/heating, mechanical rotation and AC and DC power). To this end, it is assumed in the context that hypotheses are met by the previously formulated objective function, constraints and parameters, in order to obtain results that best show the generation sources’ distribution in the integrated energy system. This work aims to contribute for the insertion of hybrid and micro distributed generation into the countryside scenery.
Mellanby, R. J. (2014). Hyperammonemia and Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome Predicts Presence of Hepatic Encephalopathy in Dogs

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with liver disease. The pathogenesis of he is incompletely understood although ammonia and inflammatory cytokines have been implicated as key mediators. To facilitate further mechanistic understanding of the pathogenesis of HE, a large number of animal models have been developed which often involve the surgical creation of an anastomosis between the hepatic portal vein and the caudal vena cava. One of the most common congenital abnormalities in dogs is a congenital portosystemic shunt (cpss), which closely mimics these surgical experimental models of HE. Dogs with a cPSS often have clinical signs which mimic clinical signs observed in humans with HE. Our hypothesis is that the pathogenesis of HE in dogs with a cPSS is similar to humans with HE. The aim of the study was to measure a range of clinical, haematological and biochemical parameters, which have been linked to the development of HE in humans, in dogs with a cPSS and a known HE grade. One hundred and twenty dogs with a cPSS were included in the study and multiple regression analysis of clinical, haematological and biochemical variables revealed that plasma ammonia concentrations and systemic inflammatory response syndrome scores predicted the presence of HE. Our findings further support the notion that the pathogenesis of canine and human HE share many similarities and indicate that dogs with cPSS may be an informative spontaneous model of human HE. Further investigations on dogs with cPSS may allow studies on HE to be undertaken without creating surgical models of HE thereby allowing the number of large animals used in animal experimentation to be reduced. Citation: Tivers MS, Handel I, Gow AG, Lipscomb VJ, Jalan R, et al. (2014) Hyperammonemia and Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome Predicts Presence of Hepatic Encephalopathy in Dogs with Congenital Portosystemic Shunts. PLoS ONE 9(1): e82303. doi:10.1371/journal.pone. 0082303 Editor: Wing-Kin Syn, Institute of Hepatology, Foundation for Liver Research, United Kingdom Received June 3, 2013; Accepted October 22, 2013; Published January 2, 2014 Copyright: © 2014 Tivers et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Funding: This work was supported by BSAVA Petsavers. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. * E-mail: Richard.Mellanby@ed.ac. uk
What You Simulate Is What You Synthesize: Designing a Processor Core from C++ Specifications

Designing the hardware of a processor core as well as its verification flow from a single high-level specification would provide great advantages in terms of productivity and maintainability. In this work, we highlight the gain of starting from a unique high-level synthesis and simulation C++ model to design a processor core implementing the RISC-V Instruction Set Architecture (ISA). The specification code is used to generate both the hardware target design through High-Level Synthesis as well as a fast and cycle-accurate bit-accurate simulator of the latter through software compilation. The object oriented nature of C++ greatly improves the readability and flexibility of the design description compared to classical HDL-based implementations. Therefore, the processor model can easily be modified, expanded and verified using standard software development methodologies. The main challenge is to deal with C++ based synthesizable specifications of core and uncore components, cache memory hierarchy, and synchronization. In particular, the research question is how to specify such parallel computing pipelines with high-level synthesis technology and to demonstrate that there is a potential high gain in design time without jeopardizing performance and cost. Our experiments demonstrate that the core frequency and area of the generated hardware are comparable to existing RTL implementations.
More Is Less: Learning Efficient Video Representations by Big-Little Network and Depthwise Temporal Aggregation

Current state-of-the-art models for video action recognition are mostly based on expensive 3D ConvNets. This results in a need for large GPU clusters to train and evaluate such architectures. To address this problem, we present an lightweight and memory-friendly architecture for action recognition that performs on par with or better than current architectures by using only a fraction of resources. The proposed architecture is based on a combination of a deep subnet operating on low-resolution frames with a compact subnet operating on high-resolution frames, allowing for high efficiency and accuracy at the same time. We demonstrate that our approach achieves a reduction by 3~4 times in FLOPs and ~2 times in memory usage compared to the baseline. This enables training deeper models with more input frames under the same computational budget. To further obviate the need for large-scale 3D convolutions, a temporal aggregation module is proposed to model temporal dependencies in a video at very small additional computational costs. Our models achieve strong performance on several action recognition benchmarks including Kinetics, Something-Something and Moments-in-time. The code and models are available at \url{https://github.com/IBM/bLVNet-TAM}.