Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A comparative study on the biochemical effect of ocular and oral cadmium administration in rabbits

The objective of the present study was to compare the effect of oral and ocular exposure to cadmium for one and three months on some biochemical parameters using rabbits as animal model. The results obtained show that the kidney, femoral muscle, femur and brain of rabbits ocularly exposed to Cd had a significantly higher concentration of Cd relative to that of those administered the metal orally after both periods, except for the liver which was significantly lower. There was a significantly higher membrane lipid peroxidation (LPO) in the kidney of the one and three months exposed rabbits after both oral and ocular exposure to Cd relative to control with a corresponding decrease in the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT). Irrespective of the route and time of exposure to the metal, the activity of SOD and CAT were significantly higher in the brain relative to the control, but the level of LPO was not significantly altered. Liver damage induced by oral cadmium after one and three months exposure was clearly shown by the increased activities of plasma hepatic marker enzymes namely, L-aspartate aminotransferase activity (L-AST), L-alanine aminotransferase activity (L-ALT), alkaline phosphatase activity (ALP) along with increased level of LPO indices and a corresponding decrease in the activities of SOD and CAT in the liver. Similarly, liver damage induced by ocular exposure to Cd for one month was manifested as increased plasma L-AST, L-ALT and ALP activities with an increased LPO and a corresponding decrease in the activities of SOD and CAT in the liver. However, the plasma parameters did not significantly change after three months of exposure to ocular Cd, except plasma ALP activity which remained significantly higher. The liver LPO was also not significantly different from the control after three months exposure to ocular Cd, although the SOD and CAT activities significantly decreased. Thus the major finding of the present study was that in relation to ocular exposure, oral exposure to Cd was more toxic to the liver at the end of three months of exposure.
When innovativeness determines market orientation: the forest sector and the Great Recession

The forest sector and the Great Recession provide a unique setting for investigating the relationships among market orientation, innovativeness and firm performance. While most of the extant literature suggests that market orientation helps a firm build its innovativeness, we suggest that in the production oriented forest sector, especially when reacting to the Great Recession, being innovative is the ingredient that allows a production oriented firm to develop a market orientation. Using data from 142 forest sector manufacturing firms we find that different types of innovativeness positively impact the dimensions of market orientation. In this industry sector and time, market orientation does not positively impact firm performance. Finally, firms with better post-recession performance were able to increase their innovativeness, likely as a result of the slack resources from improved performance.
EFFECT OF ACETYL-L-CARNITINE ON THE INCIDENCE AND THE SEVERITY OF PACLITAXEL- INDUCED PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY IN CANCER PATIENTS

Aim. To evaluate the impact of acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) administration on the incidence and severity of sensory and motor paclitxel-induced peripheral neuropathy (PIPN) in patients with breast cancer. Methods. Prospective, randomized, controlled study. Patients presenting to the Clinical Oncology Department, Ain Shams University, Cairo, were assessed for eligibility. Forty eligible patients with breast cancer were randomized to one of 2 groups. Control group (n=20) received three cycles of paclitaxel on a weekly dose schedule. Test group received the same regimen plus 1000 mg of oral ALC 3 times/ day for 12 weeks. Baseline evaluation included clinical examination, nerve conduction velocity (NCV) and serum nerve growth factor (NGF) estimation. Incidence and severity of sensory and motor PIPN and treatment related toxicity were assessed after each cycle using the common terminology criteria for adverse events (CTCAE) version 4, (2010). Results. In the 1st cycle, no significant difference was evident between both groups in frequency of sensory and motor PIPN. In the 2nd cycle and in the 3rd cycle, test group showed a significantly lower frequency of; sensory neuropathy and motor neuropathy versus control. At baseline, the median NGF levels were significantly lower in test group versus control. At the end of the study the median NGF levels were significantly lower in the control group versus their initial baseline levels. While, the test group median levels were higher than their baseline levels. The delta change in NGF was significantly different between the 2 groups. Conclusion Acetyl-l-carnitine administration led to a reduction in the frequency of motor and sensory PIPN, an improvement in NGF levels and was accompanied with less side effects and.
Prevalence of HBV/HCV Infections in HIV-Positive Patients in Northern Iran

Introduction: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection increases the risk of infection with other pathogens, including hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV). A crucial aspect of HIV prevention and treatment programs is knowledge of the prevalence of co-infection of HIV and HBV and/or HCV. This study sought to determine HBV and HCV co-infection in HIV-positive patients in northern Iran. Materials and Methods: Blood samples were collected from 83 HIV-positive patients whose infection was previously confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction in the HIV center in the North of Iran. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain socio-demographic data from participants. Samples were screened for hepatitis B surface antigen and anti-HCV antibody. All non-reactive samples were recorded as negative. Results: The 83 patients comprised 50 (60%) males and 33 (40%) females. Twenty eight (33%) and 15 (18%) subjects were positive for HCV antibody and hepatitis B surface antigen, respectively. Seven (8%) of subjects were co-infected with all three viruses. Conclusion: Seroprevalence of HCV and HIV co-infection was high and was strongly related to mutual acquisition.
New Digital Media and Flow: A Study of Experience

Abstract The burgeoning use of new digital media (NDM) platforms for social networking such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram has consistently been associated with out-group prejudice, less prosocial behaviour, less fulfilling friendships, and lower levels of moral reflection, integrity, and subjective well-being. But the context of NDM use is often neglected when examining its psychological effects. Moreover, such studies are limited to retrospective accounts and can benefit from examining episodic experiences of flow, boredom, apathy, and anxiety. Drawing on data collected using the Experience Sampling Method (ESM), this study assessed the psychological impact of social networking on low and high media users. Participants (N = 65) were signaled six times per day for seven days and asked to respond to brief surveys about subjective momentary experiences. Findings indicated that high media users, on average, reported less positive moods, and also reported being significantly less creative and less energetic each day. Further, high media users reported deriving less meaning from daily activities, and were marginally less satisfied with the overall quality of their week than their low media user counterparts. When comparing all media users across flow quadrants, creativity, meaning, engagement, and energy levels were highest in flow, and substantially decreased across the remaining quadrants. Notably, self reported mood was slightly higher during instances of boredom than flow. However, a more nuanced comparison of these outcomes revealed that high media users reported being marginally more creative and engaged during boredom, thereby identifying differences in how the two groups approached social media.
Stability and consistency of kinetic upwinding for advection–diffusion equations

Numerical methods based on kinetic models of fluid flows, like the so-called BGK scheme, are becoming increasingly popular for the solution of convection-dominated viscous fluid equations in a finite-volume approach due to their accuracy and robustness. Based on kinetic-gas theory, the BGK scheme approximately solves the BGK kinetic model of the Boltzmann equation at each cell interface and obtains a numerical flux from integration of the distribution function. This paper provides the first analytical investigations of the BGK-scheme and its stability and consistency applied to a linear advection–diffusion equation. The structure of the method and its limiting cases are discussed. The stability results concern explicit time marching and demonstrate the upwinding ability of the kinetic method. Furthermore, its stability domain is larger than that of common finite-volume methods in the under-resolved case, i.e. where the grid Reynolds number is large. In this regime, the BGK scheme is shown to allow the time step to be controlled from the advection alone. We show the existence of a third-order ‘super-convergence’ on coarse grids independent of the initial condition. We also prove a limiting order for the local consistency error and show the error of the BGK scheme to be asymptotically first order on very fine grids. However, in advection-dominated regimes super-convergence is responsible for the high accuracy of the method.
Influence of Language on Colour Perception: A Simulationist Explanation

“How can perception be altered by language? ” is the fundamental question of this article. Indeed, various studies have pointed out the influence of colour-related knowledge on object and colour perception, evoked by linguistic stimuli. Here the relevance of the simulationist approach is assumed in order to explain this influence, where the understanding of colour-related words or sentences involves a process of colour simulation that is supported by a neuronal network partially similar to the network involved in colour perception. Consequently, colour-related knowledge and colour perception can interact through a process of pattern interference. In support of this idea, studies are discussed showing priming effects between colour simulation and colour perception, but two limitations are also raised. Firstly, these works all used between-category colour discrimination tasks that allow the intervention of lexical processes that can also explain priming. Secondly, these works control the congruency link between prime and target at the level of ‘colour category’, and no demonstration is made of an influence at the level of specific hues. Consequently, the simulationist view of language/perception interactions seems an interesting way to thinking but more experimens are needed in order to overcome some limitations.
Firm Characteristics and Its Adaptive Capacity in Response to Environmental Requirements: An Empirical Study of Vietnam’s Textile and Garment SMEs

This paper investigates the relationship between the characteristics of textile and garment small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam and their adaptive capacity. A scoring method was applied to measure each firm’s adaptive capacity based on 6 criteria that measured internal capacity, strategies for adapting and the actual level of adaptation. Multiple linear regression analysis was employed to test four hypotheses which were developed based on the findings of current literature. Three out of four hypotheses are supported by the analysis, which shows a positive correlation between firm size, operation type, firm age and its adaptive capacity. The ownership type does not have a statistically significant relationship with a firm’s adaptive capacity. The results are strongly supported by qualitative results and field observations. Despite a number of limitations, the study is a first contribution to the literature providing insights on the adaptive capacity of SMEs in Vietnam’s textile and garment industry.
Comparative evaluation of clays from Abakaliki Formation with commercial bentonite clays for use as drilling mud

The characteristics of clays from Abakaliki Formation, Southeastern Nigeria was evaluated to establish its suitability as drilling mud when compared with commercial bentonite such as Wyoming bentonite. The chemical, mineralogical and geotechnical properties were employed in assessing the suitability of Abakaliki clay as drilling mud. Mineralogically, the clays were all characterized as dominantly Illite as well as montmorillonite with low percentages of kaolinite. The chemical composition of the clays indicates low percentages of Na 2 O when compared with that of Wyoming bentonite with fairly higher percentages of CaO and K 2 O than are required for drilling mud clays. The clays are plastic; with liquid limit (LL) of 58.8 to 72.8, plastic limit (PL) of 25 to 30 and plasticity index (API) of 26 to 45.8. They are classified as inorganic clays of high plasticity (CH) according to Unified Soil Classification System (USCS) and as A-7-6 according to American Association of State High and Transportation Official’s (AASHTO) classification systems. The natural pH values are greater than 8.10, while the viscosity values varied from 5.9 to 8.0 centipoises for 10 g clay per 350 ml water. Some of these natural properties (Na 2 O and C a O contents, LL, PI and viscosity) of these Nigerian clays failed to satisfy the required specifications outlined for clays used as drilling mud when compared with the properties of Wyoming bentonite. This clay will possibly yield low plastic viscosities but with additives such as sodium carbonate and carboxymethyl cellulose, the rheological properties for Abakaliki clay will remarkably improve. Key words : Abakaliki Formation, drilling mud, geotechnical analysis, Wyoming bentonite, Southeastern Nigeria.
Uncertainty analysis for building performance simulation - a comparison of four tools

Over the last three decades the use of building performance simulation (BPS) tools has increased but its ability to support building design is still limited. State of the art BPS tools have the potential to be used more extensively during the entire design process if their current capabilities are expanded. It is hypothesized that by providing additional features supporting output accuracy assessments (uncertainty analysis) and parameter sensitivity studies BPS tools will provide more valuable design information. Integrating techniques as uncertainty analysis (UA) and sensitivity analysis (SA) however requires not one but a large number of simulations of the same model to be conducted. Prototypes have been built automating the process for four software tools representing the modeling abstraction level from conceptual to detail design. The tools considered are LEA, IES VE, VA114 and HAMbase. Potential sources for uncertainty variation of the results are discussed. The paper concludes with an indication of future work.
Ruppia maritima seed and Thalassia testudinum seedling responses to fluctuations in salinity and ammonium

Six species of seagrasses are present in Florida Bay ranging from stenohaline to euryhaline species. The dominant species, Thalassia testudinum Banks ex. Konig, has optimum growth around marine salinity. The second species examined in this study was Ruppia maritima L, which tends to grow near fresh water outflows. Although many studies have examined the responses of mature plants to environmental stresses, this study examined the impacts on seeds and seedlings. As the focus behind the study was altered water flow into Florida Bay, it examined hypo- and hyper-salinity, as well as depleted and elevated ammonium concentrations. This study was conducted in mesocosms on material collected in Florida Bay. R. maritima seed germination and T. testudinum seedling survival, growth, photosynthesis and osmolality were investigated over a two-year study. Year one focused on direct introductions into hyper- and hypo-saline conditions and year two examined the impact of gradual increase/decrease in salinity as well as the addition of ammonium. R. maritima seeds did not germinate above 28 PSU and the highest percent germination occurred between 0 and 10 PSU. Elevated levels of ammonium decreased germination. Hypo-saline conditions were, however, detrimental to the fitness of T. testudinum seedlings, as were hyper-saline conditions. Plants at 0 and 70 PSU showed 100% mortality and decreased survival in the 60, 50 and 10 PSU treatments. Increased levels of ammonium decreased growth in the lower salinity treatments. Plants grown around 30-40 PSU showed the greatest growth (i.e. most productivity). Measurements of quantum yields as well as relative electron transport rate using PAM fluorometry showed a decrease in photosynthetic performance on either side of this 30-40 PSU optimum. Tissue osmolality increased significantly with increased salinity and tissue remained distinctly and consistently hyperosmotic to the media. Results suggest that a change in fresh water flow as well as possible increase in ammonium may negatively impact the ability of T. testudinum seedlings to establish and possibly cause a shift in the floral composition of Florida Bay, favoring euryhaline species such as Ruppia maritima.
Essential Mineral Elements Profile of 22 Accessions of Okra (Abelmoschus spp (L.)) From Eight Regions of Ghana

Five (5) essential macro, three (3) micro and two (2) trace mineral elements were determined in fresh fruits of twenty-two (22) accessions of okra using Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA). These were correlated to assess the level of associations existing between these elements. Concentrations of these elements were juxtaposed with their recommended daily dietary intake (RDI) in the individual accessions of okra and their variability with other traits examined for future improvement works towards breeding for high or low micro nutrient containing variety (ies).
Interaction Between Aerosol Particles and Maritime Convective Clouds: Measurements in ITCZ During the EPIC 2001 Project

© 2012 Jimenez-Escalona and Peralta, licensee InTech. This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Interaction Between Aerosol Particles and Maritime Convective Clouds: Measurements in ITCZ During the EPIC 2001 Project
Radiative and climate impacts of a large volcanic eruption during stratospheric sulfur geoengineering

Abstract. Both explosive volcanic eruptions, which emit sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere, and stratospheric geoengineering via sulfur injections can potentially cool the climate by increasing the amount of scattering particles in the atmosphere. Here we employ a global aerosol-climate model and an Earth system model to study the radiative and climate changes occurring after an erupting volcano during solar radiation management (SRM). According to our simulations the radiative impacts of the eruption and SRM are not additive and the radiative effects and climate changes occurring after the eruption depend strongly on whether SRM is continued or suspended after the eruption. In the former case, the peak burden of the additional stratospheric sulfate as well as changes in global mean precipitation are fairly similar regardless of whether the eruption takes place in a SRM or non-SRM world. However, the maximum increase in the global mean radiative forcing caused by the eruption is approximately 21 % lower compared to a case when the eruption occurs in an unperturbed atmosphere. In addition, the recovery of the stratospheric sulfur burden and radiative forcing is significantly faster after the eruption, because the eruption during the SRM leads to a smaller number and larger sulfate particles compared to the eruption in a non-SRM world. On the other hand, if SRM is suspended immediately after the eruption, the peak increase in global forcing caused by the eruption is about 32 % lower compared to a corresponding eruption into a clean background atmosphere. In this simulation, only about one-third of the global ensemble-mean cooling occurs after the eruption, compared to that occurring after an eruption under unperturbed atmospheric conditions. Furthermore, the global cooling signal is seen only for the 12 months after the eruption in the former scenario compared to over 40 months in the latter. In terms of global precipitation rate, we obtain a 36 % smaller decrease in the first year after the eruption and again a clearly faster recovery in the concurrent eruption and SRM scenario, which is suspended after the eruption. We also found that an explosive eruption could lead to significantly different regional climate responses depending on whether it takes place during geoengineering or into an unperturbed background atmosphere. Our results imply that observations from previous large eruptions, such as Mount Pinatubo in 1991, are not directly applicable when estimating the potential consequences of a volcanic eruption during stratospheric geoengineering.
Relationship building through Facebook brand pages: the multifaceted roles of identification, satisfaction, and perceived relationship investment

Social media offers significant scope for consumer engagement and brand building. This paper adds to the extant literature by developing an integrative framework of key drivers of consumer-brand relationships in Facebook brand pages (FBP) including different targets of identification and perceived relationship investment. The empirical study confirms that consumer identification with the FBP, identification with other FBP users, and satisfaction with the FBP significantly influence loyalty towards the FBP. The perceived level of a brand’s investment in the relationship with the consumer both directly influences FBP loyalty and moderates key relationships. Overall, the results provide managerial guidance to strengthen the FBP and consumer-brand relationships by devoting resources and implementing suitable tactics. Our findings highlight that a large portion of business success may be beyond managers’ direct control, and is dependent on non-paying customers who use the FBP, thus influencing holistic brand meaning.
Effects of Cultivation Systems and Environmental Conditions on Peppermint (Mentha × piperita L.) Biomass Yield and Oil Content

Peppermint ( Mentha × piperita L.) is perennial plant cultivated for essential oil production. In the present study, field experiments were conducted to determine the performance of peppermint under different cultivation systems for two consecutive growing periods in 2015 and 2016. The effects of environmental conditions on peppermint biomass yield and oil content was also evaluated. The experiments were carried out according to randomized complete block design with five replications per cultivation system. The results of the present study indicate that the total aboveground dry weight and dry leaves biomass were affected by cultivation system and year. For both growing seasons, the highest values were found under the conventional farming system. In contrast, oil content was approximately 14% higher in organic system than in conventional system. Moreover, oil content differed by year, with higher values being observed in 2015 comparing to 2016. Both oil content and biomass yield were positively affected by high temperatures. The results from this study demonstrated that both environmental conditions and the cultivation systems affect the biomass and oil content in peppermint crop.