Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of relationship between microbial load and drug efficacy of Andrographis paniculata during storage

Three different extracts of Andrographis paniculata obtained by using three different solvents i.e. acetone, ethanol and water, were used to find out correlation of antimicrobial potency of the drug among them and with storage period of six months. Antibacterial activities were assessed by well diffusion method against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, and Salmonella typhi and antifungal activity by food poisoning technique against Candida albicans. No definite pattern of antimicrobial nature in acetone, ethanol and aqueous extract could be observed. Acetone extract showed maximum inhibitory (18.3mm) effect among all extract in general. Ethanol extract could attain second position and aqueous extract failed to inhibit growth of any organism even at 100% concentration. A declined trend of inhibitory effect of extract with increased number of storage days has been found showing a negative relation between inhibitory effect of the drug and storage duration. But positive correlation between inhibitory effect and concentration has been recorded. No inhibition was recorded against E. coli by any of the extract Bacterial load in term of CFU/g was found tremendously enhanced with increase of storage period. Negative correlation between microbial load and drug efficacy had been established while positive correlation between microbial load and storage period had been recorded.
Expanding the Boundaries of Sport Media Research: Using Critical Theory to Explore Consumer Responses to Representations of Women’s Sports

In 2005, the Journal of Sport Management printed Wendy Frisby’s Earle F. Zeigler Lecture. The main thrust of Frisby’s presentation was that critical social science is an underutilized framework for conducting research in sport management and that, as a result, we remain limited in our abilities to truly understand how institutions and organizations “are best viewed as operating in a wider cultural, economic, and political context characterized by asymmetrical power relations that are historically entrenched” (2005, p.1). Other scholars such as Cunningham and Fink (2006) reinforced the importance of doing this kind of critical work. In their review of key research findings in sport management literature related to issues of diversity they concluded that the vast majority of studies “operated from the paradigm of positivism” and thus our field “could benefit from an incorporation of different investigative paradigms” (p. 458). Finally, Shaw and Frisby (2006) called for an embrace of critical theoretical fra.
Economic analysis for ecosystem assessments: Application for the UK National Ecosystem Assessment (NEA)

The paper considers methodological issues pertinent to the economic assessment of ecosystem services. It is primarily written for a natural science audience however it also proposes a methodology which is intended to be of interest to economists charged with undertaking valuation work for ecosystem service assessments. The first part of the report introduces the concepts underpinning the economic approach towards the assessment and valuation of ecosystem services. The second part considers the particular issues arising for the economic analysis of findings from the UK National Ecosystem Assessment (NEA) Annexes to the paper use a case study approach to illustrate particular issues. The first concerns potential conversions from agriculture into multi-purpose woodland and illustrates the quantification and valuation of land use change. The application of geographical information system (GIS) routines allows spatial complexity to be incorporated within the analysis. Key concepts are illustrated such as making allowance for subsidies, the marginal value concept, and the valuation of non-market externalities (such as carbon storage of open-access recreation). The case study also shows that, if issues such as spatial variation and externalities are ignored then sole reliance upon market prices can lead to perverse outcomes which are actually to the detriment of society. This spatial focus is extended in a second annex to consider issues arising in the aggregation of values. A third annex reproduces a short questionnaire send to natural scientists working on the NEA intended to help identify the goods which will be the focus of the economic analysis. 1 The author is Professor of Environmental Economics at the Centre for Social and Economic Research on the Global Environment (CSERGE), School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK. Email: i.bateman@uea.ac. uk. He is also Adjunct Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Western Australia, Perth, and Adjunct Professor of Economics at the University of Waikato Management School, Hamilton, New Zealand. The author is very grateful to Brendan Fisher, Kerry Turner and attendees at the First Economics Team Meeting of the National Ecosystem Assessment, 1 – 2 October 2009 for comments on an earlier draft. Remaining errors are the responsibility of the author.
First Steps in Pointfree Functional Dependency Theory ( D RAFT OF M AY 14 , 2005 )

When software designers refer to the relational calculus, what they usually mean is the set-theoretic kernel of relational database design “à la Codd” and not the calculus of binary relations which was initiated by De Morgan in the 1860s. Contrary to the intuition that a binary relation is just a particular case of -ary relation, this paper shows the effectiveness of the former in “explaining” and reasoning about the latter. The theory of functional dependencies, which is central to such database design techniques, is addressed in a pointfree style instead of reasoning in the standard set-theoretic model “à la Codd”. It turns out that the theory becomes more general and considerably simpler. Elegant expressions replace lengthy formulæ and easy-to-follow calculations replace pointwise proofs with lots of “ ” notation, case analyses and natural language explanations for “obvious” steps.
Thin Layer Drying Kinetics and Modelling of Okra (Abelmoschus Esculentus (L.) Moench) Slices under Natural and Forced Convective Air Drying

The effect of sample thickness (10 and 20 mm), method of drying (open sun, solar and hot air drying) and drying air temperature (50, 60 and 70 o C) on the drying characteristics and kinetics of okra slices were investigated. The results showed that sample thickness, method of drying and drying air temperature significantly (P = 0.05) affected the drying rate and thus the drying time. It was observed that okra slices would dry perfectly within 216 – 240 h, 192 -216 h, and 12 – 19 h under open sun, solar and hot air drying, respectively. Irrespective of the drying method, all the samples dried in the falling rate period with no constant rate period. Four thin-layer semi-empirical mathematical drying models (Newton, Page, Henderson and Pabis, and Logarithmic models) were fitted to the experimental drying curves. The models were compared using the coefficient of determination ( ) and the root mean square error (RMSE). The logarithmic model has shown a better fit to the experimental data obtained from the open sun, solar and hot air drying respectively as relatively compared to other tested models. Correlation between the model parameters and the drying air temperature (under hot air drying) to calculate moisture ratio in relation to the drying time were also determined. The transport of water during drying was described by application of Fick’s diffusion model and the effective moisture diffusivity was estimated. The value ranges from 0.253 to 0.901 × 10 -10 m 2 /s for open sun, 0.31 to 1.01 × 10 -10 m 2 /s for solar drying and 3.29 to 14.7 × 10 -10 m 2 /s for hot air drying, respectively. The Arrhenius-type relationship describes the temperature dependence of effective moisture diffusivity and was determined to be 16.74 kJ/mol and 10.39 kJ/mol for 10 and 20 mm sample sizes, respectively. Keywords : Okra; Open sun drying; Solar drying; Hot air drying; Mathematical modelling; Effective moisture diffusivity.
Non-linear optimization of the material constants in Ogden's stress-deformation function for incompressinle isotropic elastic materials

Abstract In previous papers, three terms have been included in Ogden's stress-deformation function for incompressible isotropic elastic materials. The material constants have been calculated by elementary methods and the resulting fits to sets of experimental data have been moderately good. The purpose of the present paper is to improve upon established correlation between theory and experiment by means of a systematic optimization procedure for calculating material constants. For purposes of illustration the Levenberg-Marquardt non-linear least squares optimization algorithm is adapted to determine the material constants in Ogden's stress-deformation function. The use of this algorithm for three-term stress-deformation functions improves somewhat on previous results. Calculations are also carried out in respect of a four-term stress-deformation function and further improvement in the fit is achieved over a large range of deformation.
Effects of couple stress on the growth rate of rayleigh-taylor instability at the interface in a finite thickness couple stress fluid

In this paper the effects of couple stress fluid on the control of Rayleigh-Taylor instability at the interface between a dense fluid accelerated by a lighter fluid is studied. A simple theory, based on fully developed approximations, is used to derive the growth rate of Rayleigh-Taylor instability. The cutoff and maximum wave numbers and the corresponding maximum frequency are obtained. It is shown that the effect of couple stress parameter reduces the growth rate considerably compare to the classical growth rate in the absence of couple-stress and hence favorable to control the growth rate of surface instabilities in many practical problems.
Investment Style of Jordanian Mutual Funds

The study investigates the mutual funds investment style in the Jordanian context. It uses monthly returns of five mutual funds from July 2000 to December 2009. To do so, it employs the 4-factors model with explanatory variables the market portfolio return, a small minus large capitalization indicator variable, a high minus low book-to-market indicator variable, and a variable that account for momentum effect. These factors are used as benchmarks to investigate the investment style. The results indicate that mutual funds returns tend to follow those of the market portfolio. In terms of investment style, mutual funds managers tend to favor small capitalization stocks, past winners stocks, and low book-to-market ratio stocks, respectively.
Quantum Motion of Chemisorbed Hydrogen on Ni Surfaces

Calcul des niveaux d'energie mecanique quantique et des fonctions d'onde relatives au mouvement des atomes d'hydrogene chimisorbes sur les surfaces de Ni. Mise en evidence des effets quantiques importants pour les adatomes a l'etat fondamental et a l'etat excite
Toxicity of leaf powder of Lepidagathis alopecuroides to Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus Juveniles

Oreochromis niloticus juveniles (mean body weight, 13.99±0.38 g and length, 8.32±0.93 cm) were exposed in a daily renewal bioassay to different concentrations of Lepidagathis alopecuroides (0.00, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 mg/l), for 96 h to assess its toxicity. The opercular (obf), tail beat (obf) frequencies and mortalities were monitored during the exposure period. The pattern of response of OBF/min and TBF/min decrease with time of exposure, but increased with increase in concentration of the toxicant. Opecurlar beat frequency (OBF) per minute was more variable from the 24th h, whereas TBF were less variable throughout the duration of the exposure. The cumulative mortality of the fish increased with time and concentrations of the toxicants. Less than 50% mortality was recorded for 1.0 and 1.50 mg/l by the 96th h, while the threshold concentrations that killed 100% of exposed fish were 3.0, 2.5 and 2.0 mg/l at the 48th and 72nd h, respectively. Wide variations were recorded in OBF and mortality at the various times of exposure and concentrations. The relationship between OBF, TBF and time of exposure was negative and significant at (p< 0.01) but positive with mortality and insignificant. The 24 and 96 hrLC50 were 2.27 and 0.88 mg/l and their safe concentration were 0.23 and 0.09 mg/l, respectively. The mean lethal time decreased with increase in the concentration of L. alopecuroides. The results suggest that aqueous extracts of the leaves of L.alopecuroides has piscicidal property and are highly toxic to O. niloticus.Hence, care should be exercised in the use of the toxicant under culture conditions except for pond cleansing of unwanted fauna before stocking. Key words: Opercular beat frequency, tail beat frequency, mortality, Lepidagathis alopecuroides and Oreochromis niloticus.
Comparisons of productivity among European sectors and Cyprus: The case of Tourism Sector

The importance of the tourism industry for economic, social and cultural development in Europe and the role of tourism as a driver of development are well known. The major objective of this study is to compare the output and productivity differences of the tourism industry among Cyprus and 20 European countries, for the period 2000-2012. We observe that in most of the countries the major contributor to output differences is traditional inputs (labor force and investment). After controlling for the size of the labor force and investment we observe that quality of services and the government expenditures on safety, culture and infrastructure have a positive contribution to the output difference. As expected, quality of the environment captured by waste generated has a negative contribution to output. Finally, with respect to productivity differences we see that its contribution varies and it’s a significant one. Cyprus is below the average with respect to output. As in the other countries, major role comes from traditional inputs. It seems though that government expenditures and quality of services are not sufficient to place Cyprus in a better position. The quality of the environment though is better, contributing to the decrease in the output gap difference. Cyprus needs to find ways to increase the productivity of the tourism sector in order to become more competitive.
Pea cultivar and wheat residues affect carbon / nitrogen dynamics in pea-triticale 811 intercropping : a microcosms approach 812

823 The underlying mechanisms by which legume cultivars contribute to nitrous oxide (N2O) generation 824 are poorly understood. The aim of the present study was to explore the effects of two pea cultivars 825 (Zero4 and Nitouche) intercropped with triticale, with or without wheat (Triticum aestivum) residues 826 incorporation, on soil C and N dynamics, on bacterial community structure and their links with N2O 827 emissions. Monocrops and bare soil (no plant) treatments were used as an additional control in order 828 to account for the level of mineralisation between treatments. Changes in total C and N contents and 829 in some functionally-related soil pools (microbial biomass C and N, basal respiration, KCl830 exchangeable ammonium and nitrate, potentially mineralizable N, DOC, ecophysiological indexes) 831 were followed throughout a 97-day microcosm experiment carried out on a loamy arable soil. 832 ARISA community fingerprinting of soil extracted DNA and GHG emissions were carried out at 833 two key stages (pea flowering and harvest). The addition of residues to the soil resulted in only small 834 changes to the total C and N pools the Nitouche monocrop, which was found to have the highest 835 potentially mineralisable N (13.4 μg g -1 28d -1 ) of the treatments with added residue. The different 836 pea cultivar selectively affected N2O emissions, with highest emissions associated with the cultivar 837 Nitouche in the absence of residues. The two intercropping treatments of triticale/pea were 838 significantly different either with residues or without, especially the triticale/Zero 4 which had the 839 lowest values (356 g N2O-N ha -1 ). Similar patterns were also observed in below ground data. ARISA 840 analysis showed that monocropped legumes and the Triticale-based treatment clearly grouped on 841 separate clusters to the added residue treatment. We hypothesize that in pea-based intercrops 842 variations in carbon supply from different cultivars may contribute to differences in N2O emissions 843 and thus influence the choice of suitable cultivars, to optimize nutrient cycling and sustainable crop 844 management. 845
Effects of the Actindia chinensis on Loperamide-induced Constipation in Rat

Loperamide-induced constipation reduced gastric emptying, small-intestinal and colonic motility, and these effects were prevented by Actindia chinensis(Gold Kiwi Fruit, GKF). In this study, the effects of Actindia chinensis on constipated male Sprague-Dawley rats induced by loperamide(2 mg/kg, s.c.,5 days) were investigated. Rats were randomly assigned to the normal control rats(regular diet), constipated rats(regular diet plus loperamide), constipated rats treated with 2.5% GKF(regular diet supplemented with 2.5% GKF plus loperamide), constipated rats treated with 5% GKF (regular diet supplemented with 5% GKF plus loperamide). There was less fecal excretion and lower fecal water content in loperamide-treated rats than in control rats. Oral administration of GKF blocked the decrease of fecal excretion and fecal water content in the loperamide-treated rats. Mucus production of crypt cell and mucus contents at fecal and mucosa surface were reduced by loperamide-treated rat. But colonic crypt cell contained increased mucin in the GKF treated group and mucus layer stained with alcian blue was significantly thicker in GKF treated rats compared with in loperamide-treated rats. In isolated rat ileum, loperamide produced inhibition of ileal motility. Pretreatment with methanolic extracts of GKF in isolated rat ileum prevented inhibition by loperamide. These findings indicated that the GKF was effective for alleviation of inhibition of colonic peristalsis by loperamide and that GKF might be of value in the prevention of constipation.
Effect of Elasticity on Flow Characteristics Inside Intracranial Aneurysms

Many medical and bioengineering researchers have investigated flow behavior inside intracranial aneurysms using computational fluid dynamics. The majority of these studies assume to be rigid wall, but blood flows through a deformable elastic vessel. A few researchers have tried to simulate using fluid-structure interaction because an elastic wall implicates the decrease of wall shear stress inside the aneurysms. The current experimental model with the elastic wall has been carried out using particle image velocimetry. Comparing of wall shear stress in elastic wall aneurysm with that in rigid one, it is clarified that the wall shear stress in elastic wall is approximately 7% smaller than that in rigid one. Although this reduction is small, it affects the flow instability which is very sensitive. This behavior might also influence the spatial gradient of wall shear stress. Recently, the high magnitude and the positive gradient of wall shear stress are regarded to initiate at the apex the aneurysms. In this review, the importance of wall shear stress is described. We also look at how the wall deformation affects the flow characteristics in computational fluid dynamics inside the intracranial aneurysms prospectively.
Organizational Learning about Public Participation: “Tiggers” and “Eeyores”

The perceptions of “public” members of participation processes have been studied far more than those of agency personnel. To improve the practice of public participation, this study, using Q analysis, explores how personnel from one agency view their experience, expertise, and learning with regard to communication with the public, including but not limited to public participation. Without organizational learning, which is more than the aggregation of individual learning, inferences from history will be lost. We found two perspectives: the Enthused (“Tiggers”), who focus on the support they receive for communication activities, including learning, and the Constrained (“Eeyores”), who see the limitations of their program and their own learning. The differences in the perspectives were not associated with agency unit, level of hierarchy, communication training, or tenure in the agency. We suggest ways to promote interchange among these participants through double-loop learning, which has similarities to the interactive, recursive processes that can integrate analysis and deliberation.
SUB-LITHOGRAPHIC PATTERNING OF ULTRA-DENSE GRAPHENE NANORIBBON ARRAYS A Thesis Present in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree Master of Science in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By

ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT . iii VITA . v LIST OF FIGURES . viii LIST OF TABLES . ix CHAPTER 1: A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO GRAPHENE . 1 1.1 The Discovery of Graphene . 1 1.2 Some Exceptional Properties of Graphene . 3 1.2. 1 Electric Transport . 3 1.2. 2 Spin Transport . 4 1.2. 3 Thermal Transport . 4 1.2. 4 Anomalous Quantum Hall Effect . 5 1.3 Towards Graphene-Based Electronics . 6 CHAPTER 2: FABRICATION OF GRAPHENE NANORIBBONS . 8 2.
Femoral Test Bed for Impedance Controlled Surgical Instrumentation

The risk for patients during the standard procedure of revision of cemented artificial hip joints is unsatisfactorily highdue to its high level of invasiveness and limited access to the operative field. To reduce this risk we are developing anImpedance Controlled Surgical Instrumentation (ICOS) system, which aims to establish real-time control during a BoneCement (BC) milling process. For this, the relationship between the thickness of the BC and its frequency-dependentelectrical impedance is used to estimate the residual BC thickness. The aim is to avoid unintended cutting of boneby detecting the passage of the BC/bone boundary layer by the milling head. In a second step, an estimation of theresidual BC thickness will be used to improve process control. As a first step towards demonstrating the feasibility ofour approach, presented here are experimental studies to characterize the BC permittivity and to describe the process indetail. The results show that the permittivity properties of BC are dominated by its polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)fraction. Thus, PMMA can be used as a substitute for future experiments. Furthermore, a Femoral Test Bed (FTB) wasdesigned. Using this setup we show it is feasible to accurately distinguish between slightly different thicknesses of BC.
Infinite metacyclic groups and their non-abelian tensor squares

Abstract In this paper we classify all infinite metacyclic groups up to isomorphism and determine their non-abelian tensor squares. As an application we compute various other functors, among them are the exterior square, the symmetric product, and the second homology group for these groups. We show that an infinite non-abelian metacyclic group is capable if and only if it is isomorphic to the infinite dihedral group
Synthesis of two new Nickel and CopperNickel vanadates used for propane oxidative dehydrogenation

Two new vanadates have been successfully synthesized by the hydrothermal and coprecipitation methods. Both vanadates were calcined at 600 °C and the resulting catalysts were tested on reaction of oxidative dehydrogenation of propane. The catalysts were characterized by x-ray diffraction, atomic absorption, thermogravimetric analysis, and differential temperature analysis. The reaction was carried out in the temperature range of 350-500 °C. A conversion of propane of 10.6 % and a selectivity towards propene of 29.9 % at 400 °C were obtained with nickel vanadate; a conversion of 1.9 % and a selectivity of 56.9 % were reached at the same temperature with the nickel copper vanadate.