Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Separation of high resolution spectra of the multiple star system UX Ari

This paper presents a technique for separation of individual components in composite stellar spectra. The technique is based on a comparison of residual depths of the component spectral lines to residual depths of the corresponding spectral lines of a single star of the same spectral class. We apply the technique to high resolution spectra of the RS CVn system UX Ari, where the spectral lines from all three components are well resolved. The deduced variations in the relative flux of the primary component agree well with simultaneously obtained photometric observations of UX Ari. The starspots causing the light curve variations and the facular areas causing the chromospheric emission seem to be separated by about 180 in longitude on the surface of the primary component. We also find that the secondary component of UX Ari is subject to some chromospheric activity. Finally, some fundamental parameters of the third star in the spectrum are derived and discussed.
The effect of hydroxybenzoate calcium compounds in inducing cell death in epithelial breast cancer cells

Hydroxybenzoate (HB) compounds have shown their significance in inducing apoptosis in primary chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and cancer cell lines, including HT-1080. The current study focuses on assessing the effects of 2-, 3- and 4-hydroxybenzoate calcium (HBCa) compounds on MCF-10A, MDA-MB231 and MCF-7 epithelial breast cell lines. The HBCa-treated cells were examined using annexin V, to measure apoptosis in the three epithelial breast cell lines, after 48 h of treatment. The results indicated that 0.5 and 2.5 mmol/L of HBCa induced cell death in a dose-dependent manner. The induction of cell death in normal MCF-10A cells was found to be significantly less ( p = 0.0003 – 0.0068), in comparison to the malignant cell lines (MDA-MB231 and MCF-7). HBCa compounds were also found to cause cell cycle arrest in the epithelial breast cells at G1/G0. Furthermore, HBCa compounds induced the upregulation of apoptotic proteins (p53, p21, Bax and caspase-3), as well as the downregulation of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2, which may suggest that apoptosis is induced via the intrinsic pathway.
Biochemical composition of the Atlantic bonito Sarda sarda from the Aegean Sea (eastern Mediterranean Sea) in different stages of sexual maturity

The content (% wet mass) in water, ash, lipid, crude protein, DNA and RNA of different tissues was determined during sexual maturation of bonitos Sarda sarda from the Aegean Sea. A total of 220 specimens were collected in the following stages of sexual maturity: immature, resting, developing, mature, spawning and spent. Highest lipid levels in the white muscle, red muscle and liver were measured in immature specimens, while lowest levels were found in spawning bonitos. The gradual percentage of lipid reduction from immature to spawning bonitos was relatively higher in the liver (females 71·2% and males 64·4%) than in the white (females 59·2% and males 53·5%) and red (females 62·1% and males 51·7%) muscle. Lipid levels in the gonads increased gradually from the immature to spawning stage. The decrease of lipid in the somatic tissues was more intense in females than in males, and gonadal lipid content was higher in females than in males. There was a strong reverse correlation between water and lipid percentage in all tissues. Protein content decreased significantly only in spawning bonitos. The percentage of protein reduction from immature to spawning stage was relatively higher in males than in females in both white (females 3·4% and males 4·6%) and red (females 4·6% and males 5·1%) muscles. Protein content in the liver was significantly lower than in the other tissues, being highest in mature females. Gonadal protein content in females increased with maturation and decreased after spawning. The content in ash exhibited considerable stability. The RNA:DNA ratio exhibited a similar pattern of variation in both muscles. The RNA:DNA ratio increased during gonadal development gradually from the developing to spent stage. It was concluded that in S. sarda during gonadal development, there was an increase in gonadal lipid accompanied by a decrease in somatic tissue lipid reserves. Thus, reproductive inactive bonitos have more lipid in their edible part and a higher nutritional value than active ones.
Heavy Metal Contamination of Roadside Soils of Northern England

Environmental pollution of heavy metals from automobiles has attained much attention in the recent past. The present research was conducted to study heavy metal contamination in roadside soils of northern England. Roadside soil samples were collected from 35 sites in some counties of northern England and analysed for four heavy metals (cadmium, copper, lead, zinc). Their concentrations and distributions in different road verge zones (border, verge, slope, ditch) were determined. Lead concentration was the highest in the soil and ranged from 25.0 to 1198.0 µg/g (mean, 232.7 µg/g). Zinc concentration ranged from 56.7 to 480.0 µg/g (mean, 174.6 µg/g) and copper concentration ranged from 15.5 to 240.0 µg/g (mean, 87.3 µg/g). Cadmium concentration was the lowest in the soil and varied from 0.3 to 3.8 µg/g (mean, 1.4 µg/g). Though the levels of heavy metals in roadside soils were higher as compared to their natural background levels in British soils, their concentrations in general, however, were below the 'critical trigger concentrations' for the contaminated soils. All the four heavy metals exhibited a significant decrease in the roadside soils with the increasing distance from the road. The border zone had the highest mean concentration of the four metals whereas the ditch zone exhibited the lowest mean concentration.
The performance of serum cryptococcal capsular polysaccharide antigen test, histopathology and culture of the lung tissue for diagnosis of pulmonary cryptococcosis in patients without HIV infection

Background Clinicians may fail to make an early diagnosis of pulmonary cryptococcosis (PC) without HIV infection. Serum cryptococcal capsular polysaccharide antigen (CrAg) test, histopathology and culture of lung tissue play different roles in diagnosis of PC. Objective To investigate the performance of serum CrAg test, histopathology and culture of the lung tissue in diagnosis of PC without HIV infection. Patients/methods From January 2011 to September 2017, patients with proven PC were recruited from a teaching hospital in southern China. Those patients with HIV infection, PC confirmed by surgery or PC with probable or possible diagnosis were excluded from the study. Latex agglutination test and CrAg lateral flow assay were used for detection of serum CrAg. Lung biopsy and needle aspiration were performed under computed tomography guidance. Results Eighty-nine patients with proven PC including 41 male (46.1%) and 48 female (53.9%) were enrolled. Fifty-one (57.3%) patients had underlying disease. Positive CrAg test was found in 83 (93.3%) cases. Among six cases with negative CrAg test, PC was confirmed by histology in two cases and positive culture in four cases. The histopathological results of 77 (86.5%) cases revealed cryptococcal granuloma and 12 cases showed chronic inflammation, which was confirmed by positive culture. Among 65 cases, the diseased tissue of 46 (70.8%) cases presented Cryptococcus neoformans in the culture and one case was diagnosed with lung cancer coexisting with PC. Conclusion Our findings showed that serum CrAg test is rapid and sensitive in diagnosing PC, histology is important for confirming PC and culture plays a complementary role. Biopsied lung tissue should be submitted for cultures whenever feasible.
Hierarchical related regression for combining aggregate and individual data in studies of socio‐economic disease risk factors

Summary. To obtain information about the contribution of individual and area level factors to population health, it is desirable to use both data collected on areas, such as censuses, and on individuals, e.g. survey and cohort data. Recently developed models allow us to carry out simultaneous regressions on related data at the individual and aggregate levels. These can reduce ‘ecological bias’ that is caused by confounding, model misspecification or lack of information and increase power compared with analysing the data sets singly. We use these methods in an application investigating individual and area level sociodemographic predictors of the risk of hospital admissions for heart and circulatory disease in London. We discuss the practical issues that are encountered in this kind of data synthesis and demonstrate that this modelling framework is sufficiently flexible to incorporate a wide range of sources of data and to answer substantive questions. Our analysis shows that the variations that are observed are mainly attributable to individual level factors rather than the contextual effect of deprivation.
Diagnostic analysis of silicon photovoltaic modules after 20-year field exposure

The objective of this study was to investigate the technology used by Spectrolab Inc. to manufacture photovoltaic modules that have provided twenty years of reliable service at Natural Bridges National Monument in southeastern Utah. A field survey, system performance tests, and a series of module and materials tests have confirmed the durability of the modules in the array. The combination of manufacturing processes, materials, and quality controls used by Spectrolab resulted in modules that have maintained a performance level close to the original specifications for twenty years. Specific contributors to the durability of the modules included polyvinyl-butyral (PVB) encapsulant, expanded metal interconnects, silicon oxide anti-reflective coating, and excellent solder/substrate solderability.
The Effectiveness of e-Quran in Improving Tajweed Learning Among Standard Three Pupils in Primary School

The aim of this study is to identify the effects of e-Quran, as compared to printed Quran, towards the learning of tajweed among pupils in a primary school. A total of 60 samples were selected based on their performance in tests of recitation and memorizing the Quran (the medium and high). The samples were then divided randomly into two groups, i.e. the control group and the experimental group. Independent sample t test were used and the results showed no significant difference between the control group and the experimental group in terms of recitation marks in the Diagnostic (pre-test) and Topical Test (post-test). The survey also found that 48% of respondents who used e-Quran recitation technique increased their performance in learning of tajweed. Those respondents also claimed that they had more fun using the e-Quran materials, as compared to the experimental group who used printed Quran.
What Happens in the Field Stays in the Field: Exploring Whether Professionals Play Minimax in Laboratory Experiments

The minimax argument represents game theory in its most elegant form: simple but with stark predictions. Although some of these predictions have been met with reasonable success in the field, experimental data have generally not provided results close to the theoretical predictions. In a striking study, Palacios-Huerta and Volij (2007) present evidence that potentially resolves this puzzle: both amateur and professional soccer players play nearly exact minimax strategies in laboratory experiments. In this paper, we establish important bounds on these results by examining the behavior of four distinct subject pools: college students, bridge professionals, world-class poker players, who have vast experience with high-stakes randomization in card games, and American professional soccer players. In contrast to Palacios-Huerta and Volij's results, we find little evidence that real-world experience transfers to the lab in these games--indeed, similar to previous experimental results, all four subject pools provide choices that are generally not close to minimax predictions. We use two additional pieces of evidence to explore why professionals do not perform well in the lab: (1) complementary experimental treatments that pit professionals against preprogrammed computers, and (2) post-experiment questionnaires. The most likely explanation is that these professionals are unable to transfer their skills at randomization from the familiar context of the field to the unfamiliar context of the lab.
A Comparison of Hydralazine and Labetalol in the Management of Severe Preeclampsia

The burden of pre-eclampsia and eclampsia is the rationale behind the research. There is paucity of prospective study on this subject in Nigeria. Therefore there was a need for a prospective study that may provide concrete data and firm conclusion on this subject. Furthermore, there was also a need for a study among pregnant women in the Federal capital territory, with a rapidly increasing heterogeneous population. Recently Labetalol was introduced in the obstetrics unit, of the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital but hydralazine has been in use for the management of severe pre-eclampsia in the hospital. Therefore, there was a need to compare the safety and efficacy of these drugs for acutely lowering blood pressure in severe pre-eclampsia in this unit.
Imprint of primordial non-Gaussianity on dark matter halo profiles

We study the impact of primordial non-Gaussianity on the density profile of dark matter halos by using the semi-analytical model introduced recently by Dalal {\it et al.} which relates the peaks of the initial linear density field to the final density profile of dark matter halos. Models with primordial non-Gaussianity typically produce an initial density field that differs from that produced in Gaussian models. We use the path-integral formulation of excursion set theory to calculate the non-Gaussian corrections to the peak profile and derive the statistics of the peaks of non-Gaussian density field. In the context of the semi-analytic model for halo profiles, currently allowed values for primordial non-Gaussianity would increase the shapes of the inner dark matter profiles, but only at the sub-percent level except in the very innermost regions.
The Effect of Exercise Trainings in the Stimulation of Brown Adipose Tissue and Transformation of White Adipose Tissue to Brite Adipose Tissue: A Review

There are three types of adipose tissue in the human body: white adipose tissue (WAT), brown adipose tissue (BAT) and beige or Brite adipose tissue. In WAT, energy reserves in the form of triglyceride, while in BAT triglyceride molecules lipolyze for thermogenesis through fatty acid oxidation. A protein called uncoupling protein-1 (UCP1) is responsible for non-shivering thermogenesis in BAT. The most important activators of BAT include peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1alpha (PGC-1α), sympathetic nervous system (SNS), hypothalamic– pituitary–thyroid axis (HPT axis), endothelium, atrial natriuretic peptides, irisin, β-aminoisobutyric acid (BAIBA), Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) and interleukin-6 (IL6) that generally exert their effects through stimulation of UCP1 expression and activity. Beige adipose are among white adipose and elevation of UCP1 gene expression is the main cause of their production that atrial natriuretic peptides, PGC1α, irisin, FGF21 and BAIBA are the most stimulators of this transformation. The role of exercise in the stimulation of BAT and transformation of WAT to Brite is discussed in this study.
Should I Stay Or Should I Go? How Mobility Explains Individual Scientific Performance

Management scholars have developed several theories on the use of hiring from other firms as a mean for acquiring knowledge or learning and on the boundary conditions under which spillovers exist and generate effects for the firm’s performance. While the relationship between inter- organizational mobility and organizational performance has been extensively studied, significantly less work has been done on the implications of such relationship at the level of the single moving individual. In addition to this theoretical gap, this research area presents also an interesting empirical gap related the simultaneous nature of the individual mobility- performance relationship. In this paper we analyze the relationship between mobility and individual performance using an instrumental variable approach and dynamic panel data modelling. The key finding of this paper is that individuals who move across institutions increase their individual performance. By using the context of academic researchers and scientific prod.
Non-equilibrium spin models with Ising universal behaviour

The propeaies of a family of non-equilibrium spin models with updown symmetry on a square latfice are determined by a mean-field pair approximation and by Monte Carlo simulation. The phase diagram in the parameter space displays a critical line that tm”tes at a first-order critical p i n t It is found that the critical aponenls are the same as lhose of the equilibrium king model.
Be-7 and Th-234 as tracers of sediment mixing on seasonal time scale at the water-sediment interface of the Thau Lagoon

We report detailed depth profiles of the particle-reactive radionuclides 234 Th (24.1 days) and 7 Be (53.3 days) in sediment cores collected at different seasons in the Thau Lagoon, located in the south of France. Two sites with contrasting characteristics were selected: C4 in the middle of the lagoon and C5 nearby oyster farming. Both sites were visited six times between December 2001 and May 2003. 234 Th in excess ( 234 Thxs; i.e. supplied to sediment by settling particles) and 7 Be both show seasonal variations in activities and in penetration within sediment. With their very short half-lives and moderate sedimentation rates at both sites (around 0.1 - 0.3 cm per year), 234 Thxs and 7 Be should be present only at the water-sediment interface. However all the profiles show penetration of both short-lived radionuclides to variable depths, from 1 up to 8 cm, that indicates efficient biological mixing of upper sediments. Such a mixing is usually described as a biodiffusive transport defined by bioturbation coefficient (Db). The simplest way to calculate Db from radionuclide profiles is to assume steady-state within the mixed layer. For site C4, steady-state bioturbation rates (Db-SS) range between 1 and 12 cm 2 yr -1 , with a weak seasonal signal. The mixing of surface sediments at site C5 presents a greater range (1 - 31 cm 2 yr -1 ) with the highest values observed in summer. Radionuclide fluxes at the water-sediment interface show too seasonal variations, particularly marked at site C5 in relation with its position. Such a time-series of short radionuclides at the water-sediment is most unusual. It provides the opportunity to develop a non-steady state modelling in order to test the significance of bioturbation rates based on steady state assumption. These tests allow to figure out how variations (seasonal, episodic) of radionuclide fluxes could induce errors on Db-SS determinations.
Production and Partial Characterization of Chitosanases from a Newly Isolated Bacillus cereus

The production of chitosanases by a newly isolated Bacillus cereus TP12.24 was studied both in shake flask and fermenter cultures. The M9-chitosan medium was found most suitable with 0.5% chitosan as a sole carbon source optimized under aerobic growth conditions at pH 6.0 and 30 °C. The specific rates of growth, substrate consumption, and enzyme production were improved using controlled completely aerobic conditions in 2-l fermenter. While the yield of biomass was considerably increased, the enzyme yield was on the contrary decreased. As a result, the volumetric chitosanases productivity was 43.55 U/l h, which was 1.2 times that obtained from shake flask culture due to higher specific rates of chitosan consumption and chitosanases production. In this work, the crude chitosanases from Bacillus cereus TP12.24 showed their optimal pH and temperature at 6.5 and 55°C, while the stabilities to pH and temperature were found at 3.0-8.0 and 30-50°C, respectively. The Bacillus cereus chitosanases could be used for preparing the chitosano-oligosaccharides under mild temperature.
A 156 kyr smoothed history of the atmospheric greenhouse gases CO 2 , CH 4 , and N 2 O and their radiative forcing

Abstract. Continuous records of the atmospheric greenhouse gases (GHGs) CO2, CH4, and N2O are necessary input data for transient climate simulations, and their associated radiative forcing represents important components in analyses of climate sensitivity and feedbacks. Since the available data from ice cores are discontinuous and partly ambiguous, a well-documented decision process during data compilation followed by some interpolating post-processing is necessary to obtain those desired time series. Here, we document our best possible data compilation of published ice core records and recent measurements on firn air and atmospheric samples spanning the interval from the penultimate glacial maximum ( ∼ 156 kyr BP) to the beginning of the year 2016 CE. We use the most recent age scales for the ice core data and apply a smoothing spline method to translate the discrete and irregularly spaced data points into continuous time series. These splines are then used to compute the radiative forcing for each GHG using well-established, simple formulations. We compile only a Southern Hemisphere record of CH4 and discuss how much larger a Northern Hemisphere or global CH4 record might have been due to its interpolar difference. The uncertainties of the individual data points are considered in the spline procedure. Based on the given data resolution, time-dependent cutoff periods of the spline, defining the degree of smoothing, are prescribed, ranging from 5000 years for the less resolved older parts of the records to 4 years for the densely sampled recent years. The computed splines seamlessly describe the GHG evolution on orbital and millennial timescales for glacial and glacial–interglacial variations and on centennial and decadal timescales for anthropogenic times. Data connected with this paper, including raw data and final splines, are available at doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.871273 .
Factors predicting recycling behaviour among Malaysian

Malaysia is facing a crisis in solid waste management due to rapid urbanization and high concentrations of population (Reme, 2003). The total waste generation against a total Malaysian population of 26 million as projected in the Eighth Malaysian Plan (2001-2005) in the year 2005 is estimated to reach 9.5 million tonnes a year with a per capita generation rate of 1.2kg/day. This figure is expected to increase year by year along with the increase in the per capita generation rate (Theng, 2003). Currently, waste is either land-filled or incinerated but with severe implications for the environment and human health. As for recycling, sadly a mere two percent of solid waste generated in Malaysia was recycled with the remainder ending up at landfills. This rate is far below that in developed countries such as Switzerland (22%), Denmark (19%), Germany (16%), Netherlands (16%), and Finland (15%) as reported by Warmer (1995). Even in comparison with our