Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Studies on effects of celery leaves on lipids profile and nephrotoxicity in rats induced by gentamicin

The protective effects of celery leaves extract (CLE) to nephrotoxicity induced by gentamicin (GM) and lipids profile in rats were evaluated. Forty adult male rats were randomly distributed into 5 groups, 8 animals each Group. Group A control negative without treatment ,Group B was daily injected with GM (80 mg/kg, i.p.) during the last 8 days of the experiment to induce nephrotoxicity positive control(C+ve). Groups C, D and E were orally pretreated with celery leaves extracts in the doses at 200 400 and 600 mg/kg respectively for 6 weeks and intoxicated with gentamicin in the last 8 days. Blood samples at last 24 hr of the experiment were collected for biochemical analyses. Rats were sacrificed and both kidneys were taken for estimating lipid peroxidation, antioxidant enzymes activity and histopathology. The results showed that oral pretreatments with celery leaves extracts in gentamicin intoxicated rats for 6 weeks induced significant (P< 0.05) decreases in serum urea nitrogen, uric acid and creatinine when compared with GMintoxicated rats. Pretreatments with Oral intake of 200,400 and 600 mg/kg b. wt. , of celery leaves extract were significantly (P<0.05) reduced serum Total cholesterol levels by 12.86. , 22.99 and 27.29 % respectively. On the other hand, triglycerides were significantly decreased by 18.35. , 22.43 and 28.60 % respectively when compared to Group (B) positive control(C+ve). The extracts decreased tissue malondialdehyde (MDA) and increased activity of antioxidant enzymes. The nephroprotective mechanisms of both extracts could be attributed to inhibition of lipid peroxidation and enhancement of antioxidant enzymes activity. These results affirm the traditional use of these herbs in folk medicine for the prevention of kidney diseases.
Age and distance of Puppis A revised-the supernova remnant of the ́ Star of Bethlehem ́

Combining the proper motions of the northeast moving oxygen-rich filaments (Winkler et al., 1988 [1]) and the southwest moving neutron star (Becker et al., 2012 [2]) the position of the supernova explosion site and the age of the supernova remnant Puppis A are determined. The filaments are assumed decelerating non-radially but axi-symmetrically. The age is 1990 ± 150 yrs. Historical records are checked for a supernova including the ́Star of Bethlehem ́. Reviewing the soft X-ray absorption column densities the distance to Puppis A is likely to be ~1.3 kpc. The apparent visible magnitude of the Puppis A supernova is estimated to -7.
REPRESENTATIVITY OF 2 D NUMERICAL MODELS NEAR BIMATERIAL CORNERS IN ADHESIVE CFRP-AL LAP JOINT

The representativity of the asymptotic linear elastic solution at corners in CFRP-Al adhesive double-lap joints using 2D numerical models has been compared with results using 3D models. In most cases, a two-dimensional stress state (generalized plane strain) can be assumed, for the sake of simplicity, in adhesively bonded double-lap joints configurations. Anyway, it is well known that edge effects appear at the free lateral faces of the joint where the stress state is purely 3D. The magnitude of this effect has been quantified by performing a 3D numerical model of a carbon fiber reinforced plastic and Aluminium (CFRP-Al) double-lap joint and comparing the results with the ones given by the 2D representation. The size of the adhesive thickness (0.1 mm in this kind of joints) makes the 3D model computationally expensive (a large area with a very low thickness and stresses varying in the thickness direction need a very fine mesh). The edge effect was shown to affect at a distance of the order of the adherent thickness and with stresses less severe than those found in the 2D model, in this particular case. Stress comparisons between numerical 2D and 3D solutions were carried out at a distance of few fiber diameters from the corner tip were failure is expected to initiate.The results showed that edgde effects are significant only near the free-edge of the sample.
REACTION TIME AND SELF-ESTEEM AMONG PROFESSIONAL FENCING PLAYERS

Purpose: The present study was designed to determine the simple, choices reaction time and self esteem among professional fencing players. Methods: Twenty one participants from Jordan national fencing team completed simple, choices reaction time using Multi-Operational Apparatus for Reaction Time (MOART) system and the Rosenberg self-esteem Arabic scale. Results: The results indicated that the simple and choice reaction time weren't fast and the player's self-esteem was high. Moreover there were no significant differences observed in self-esteem simple, choice reaction time regarding gender. Furthermore, participants’ self-esteem levels were positively correlated with their simple reaction time
Why Do Married Women of the Sasak Ethnic Group in West Nusa Tenggara , Indonesia , Participate in the Labor Market ?

This study aims to dig up factors leading married women of the Sasak ethnic group in West Nusa Tenggara participate in the labor market. This was study of ethnomethodology which tries to explain the reality of ethno-economic factors that drive married women’ labor force participation of the Sasak ethnic group. The data are collected from married women working at the labor market as a key informant and family members and the leader of the Sasak ethnic group as an informant. This study succeed to reveal a contributing factors leading married women of the Sasak ethnic group to participate in the labor market, namely educational factor of women and their husband, family system, wage, family income, and non-labor income. Those factors are representation of ethno-economics resulting in married women of the Sasak ethnic group participate in the labor market, both in formal and informal sector. The main factor why married women participate in the labor market is economics issue, for that reason they have to deal with a job in the informal sector.
Effect of Some Calcium Sources on Growth , Yield , Quality and Storability of Jerusalem Artichoke

Two field experiments were carried out at The Horticulture Research Station, El-Kanater, ElKaluobia Governorate, during the two seasons of 2013/2014 and 2014/2015, to study the effect of some calcium sources, i.e., calcium sulphate (CaSO4) at 0.5 and 1ton/fed. , calcium nitrate (CaNO3) at 20 and 40 units/fed. , chelated calcium at 1000, 1500 and 2000 ppm and Cal-Bor-Nova compound (12% Ca & 1% B) at 3 cm/litter on productivity, quality and storability of The local variety of Jerusalem artichoke. Moreover, to investigate these Ca fertilizing, all treatments were stored at 910°C and 85-90% relative humidity in cold store room at the Dept. of Potato and Vegetatively Propagated Crops, Dokki, Giza, Egypt. Results showed that the application of 0.5 ton/fed. of CaSO4 and CaNO3 at 40 units/fed. followed by CaNO3 at 20 units/fed. positively affected fresh and dry weight of Jerusalem artichoke plants while the highest tuber yield was produced from applying either of 0.5 ton/fed. CaSO4 or 40 units/fed. of CaNO3 followed by Cal-Bor-Nova compound compared with the other tested treatments. In addition, fertilizing with CaNO3 at 40 units had the best positive impact on average tuber weight, average tuber volume and dry matter of tubers. Moreover, the used source of Ca and its rate affected the chemical constituents of tubers and their storability since fertilizing with chelated calcium at 1500 or 2000 ppm gave the highest inulin content. While, the periderm thickness of Jerusalem artichoke tubers significantly increased with application with CaNO3 (20 units/fed.) followed by chelated Ca at 2000 ppm compared with untreated plants. So, the chelated calcium at 2000 ppm and CaNO3 at 20 units/fed. were the most effective treatments in accumulation of calcium in tubers resulting in reducing the weight loss, decay and sprouting during storage for five months. This study suggests that the application of 0.5 ton/fed. of CaSO4 and 40 units of CaNO3 significantly enhanced vegetative growth and tuber yield of Jerusalem artichoke. While, either plants received chelated calcium at 2000 ppm or calcium nitrate at 20 units/fed. gave the best storability for five months of storage at 9-10°C and 85-90% RH and that was return to the increment on the periderm thickness.
Change detection in dynamic attributed networks

A network provides powerful means of representing complex relationships between entities by abstracting entities as vertices, and relationships as edges connecting vertices in a graph. Beyond the presence or absence of relationships, a network may contain additional information that can be attributed to the entities and their relationships. Attaching these additional attribute data to the corresponding vertices and edges yields an attributed graph. Moreover, in the majority of real‐world applications, such as online social networks, financial networks and transactional networks, relationships between entities evolve over time. Change detection in dynamic attributed networks is an important problem in many areas, such as fraud detection, cyber intrusion detection, and health care monitoring. It is a challenging problem because it involves a time sequence of attributed graphs, each of which is usually very large and can contain many attributes attached to the vertices and edges, resulting in a complex, high‐dimensional mathematical object. In this survey we provide an overview of some of the existing change detection methods that utilize attribute information. We categorize these methods based on the levels of structure in the graph that are exploited to detect changes. These levels are vertices, edges, subgraphs, communities, and the overall graph. We focus attention on the strengths and weaknesses of these methods, including their performance and scalability. Furthermore, we discuss some publicly available dynamic network datasets and give a brief overview of models to generate dynamic attributed networks. Finally, we discuss the limitations of existing approaches identifying key areas for future research.
TAX POLICY , INVESTMENT DECISIONS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH 1

This paper evaluates the impact of the taxation system on production factor costs, investment and economic activity. This is performed on the basis of detailed analysis of the Italian tax system and the production of own estimates of the user cost of capital to labour, which capture the contribution of tax rates, tax incentives and other underlying factors. The study identifies the link between user cost and investment in the context of a full econometric model of investment demand determinants that includes aggregate demand, expectations and uncertainty. Finally, the study evaluates the past contribution of taxation to investment and economic activity, and assesses the impact of future tax reform proposals.
The End of Civilian Power EU : A Welcome Demise or Cause for Concern ?

The end of the Cold War might have been expected to usher in an era in which civilian power could be of greater influence: the overwhelming exigencies of defence disappeared, the nuclear standoff was over. Joseph Nye argued that attention could turn to the “real issue – how power is changing in world politics”. 2 The exercise of power in international relations was less and less dependent on military force. Yet the impact of the end of the Cold War on the European Community was not to reinforce its civilian power image – quite the opposite. Instead, the new European Union (EU) established by the Maastricht Treaty has set about acquiring a “defence dimension”. At the Intergovernmental Conferences of 1991 and 1996-97, improvement of the mechanisms for foreign policy cooperation among the EU member states was high on the agenda. Much of the discussion centred on proposals relating to the EU’s defence dimension. The Maastricht Treaty made provisions for using the Western European Union (WEU) as the military arm of the EU’s new Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), and declared that the CFSP would include the “eventual framing of a common defence policy, which might in time lead to a common defence” (Article J.4.1). The Amsterdam Treaty modified that wording slightly (the “progressive” framing of a common defence policy), and provided for closer EU-WEU institutional links. The EU could undertake humanitarian and rescue tasks, peacekeeping, and crisis management, including peacemaking
Stimulating the Performance Monitoring Network: Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Error-Processing

STIMULATING THE PERFORMANCE MONITORING NETWORK: EFFECTS OF TRANSCRANIAL DIRECT CURRENT STIMULATION ON ERROR PROCESSING Natalie A. Paquette, M.A. George Mason University, 2017 Thesis Chair: Dr. Craig G. McDonald The human performance monitoring network (PMN) is a collection of neural components that modify behavior to generate successful task performance. However, activation of the involved cortical areas can hinder successful task performance when limited time is available to modify behavior. Presently, little is known about how the PMN functions under different time constraints. To investigate the link between the neural correlates of the PMN and commonly observed post-error behaviors, this study manipulated PMN activation via transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) at the Medial Frontal Cortex (MFC). This study implemented a difficult visual discrimination task in which responsestimulus intervals (RSIs) were varied, coupled with tDCS, to investigate the effects on performance monitoring of different RSI lengths. A within subjects design was used, in which participants took part in both the experimental (anodal) and the control (sham) stimulation conditions. Critically, anodal stimulation significantly improved overall accuracy. Analyses of post-error behaviors also showed that anodal stimulation produced a significant increase in post-error accuracy (PEA) and post-error slowing (PES). These findings are consistent with the notion that posterror behavioral adjustments facilitate better overall task performance when sufficient processing time is available. The findings also provide causal evidence for the role of the MFC in PMN activity and resulting post-error behavioral adjustments.
Single-Parenthood and Juvenile Delinquency Among Secondary School Students in Rivers State

This study investigated the influence of single parenthood on the involvement of secondary school students in delinquent behaviours in Rivers State. In all, this study specifically, sought answers to the purpose of the research in relation to the research questions and hypotheses put forward in the study. This study is grounded in the conflict theory and the functionalist perspective of education and its effect on societal development in general. The data for this study was collected through questionnaire, and was analyzed using quantitative methods to strengthen the validity of the findings. The sample size of this study comprised 300 respondents (271 Females; 29 males). The reliability of the research instrument was statistically tested using SPSS version 23. The data collected were analyzed to answer the specific research questions and hypotheses. The findings of this study revealed that the basic roles of family stability, broken home, parenting type, and style are similar across the world. Analysis of both literature and empirical results and findings showed that there is a significant relationship between the influence of home stability (stable and unstable homes), broken home, parenting type and style and involvement in delinquent behaviour among secondary school students in Rivers State. Recommendations were preferred.
Cytotoxic T lymphocyte associated antigen 4 immunoglobulin prevents the alteration of hemodynamics and the stiffness of kidneys in rats with type 2 diabetes

This study aimed to investigate the influence of Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte Associated Antigen 4 Immunoglobulin (CTLA-4-Ig) on the hemodynamics and stiffness of the kidneys in rats with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Rats with T2DM were randomly divided into non-intervention group and CTLA-4-Ig group. There was also a normal control (NC) group. Rats in CTLA-4-Ig group were treated with 0.5 mg·kg-1·w-1 CTLA-4-Ig for 8 weeks. The hemodynamics, such as peak systolic velocity (PSV), end diastolic velocity (EDV), mean velocity (MV), systolic acceleration (SAC), pulsatility index (PI) and resistance index (RI) of renal arteries were measured. The stiffness of the kidneys was measured. Results showed that there were significant differences in PSV, EDV and MV among three groups, the lowest in non-intervention group and the highest in NC group (P<0.05); there were significant differences in SAC, PI and RI among three groups, highest in non-intervention group and the lowest in normal control group (P<0.05). There was significant difference in the elasticity scores of renal parenchyma among three groups, highest in non-intervention group, followed by CTLA-4-Ig group and normal control group (P<0.05). The fasting blood glucose (FBG), creatinine clearance rate (Ccr), urine albumin excretion rate (UAER) and KW/BW in non-intervention and CTLA-4-Ig groups were significantly higher than in NC group (P<0.05); Ccr, UAER and KW/BW in the CTLA-4-Ig group were significantly lower than in non-intervention group (P<0.05). In conclusions, CTLA-4-Ig can prevent the alteration of hemodynamics and the stiffness of kidneys in rats with T2DM to a certain extent.
Cancer 10-27-2013 LPA , HGF , and EGF utilize distinct combinations of signaling pathways to promote migration and invasion of MDA-MB-231 breast carcinoma cells

Background: Various pathways impinge on the actin-myosin pathway to facilitate cell migration and invasion including members of the Rho family of small GTPases and MAPK. However, the signaling components that are considered important for these processes vary substantially within the literature with certain pathways being favored. These distinctions in signaling pathways utilized are often attributed to differences in cell type or physiological conditions; however, these attributes have not been systematically assessed. Methods: To address this question, we analyzed the migration and invasion of MDA-MB-231 breast carcinoma cell line in response to various stimuli including lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) and determined the involvement of select signaling pathways that impact myosin light chain phosphorylation. Results: LPA, a potent stimulator of the Rho-ROCK pathway, surprisingly did not require the Rho-ROCK pathway to stimulate migration but instead utilized Rac and MAPK. In contrast, LPA-stimulated invasion required Rho, Rac, and MAPK. Of these three major pathways, EGF-stimulated MDA-MB-231 migration and invasion required Rho; however, Rac was essential only for invasion and MAPK was dispensable for migration. HGF signaling, interestingly, utilized the same pathways for migration and invasion, requiring Rho but not Rac signaling. Notably, the dependency of HGF-stimulated migration and invasion as well as EGF-stimulated invasion on MAPK was subject to the inhibitors used. As expected, myosin light chain kinase (MLCK), a convergence point for MAPK and Rho family GTPase signaling, was required for all six conditions. Conclusions: These observations suggest that, while multiple signaling pathways contribute to cancer cell motility, not all pathways operate under all conditions. Thus, our study highlights the plasticity of cancer cells to adapt to multiple migratory cues.
FOR THE SEROPREVALENCES OF MYCOPLASMA HYOPNEUMONIAE , PORCINE INFLUENZA VIRUSES AND AUJESZKY ' S DISEASE VIRU S IN SLAUGHTER PIGS FROM FARROW-TO-FINISH PIG HERDS

The objective of this study was to investigate seroepidemiological aspects of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (Mh), influenza H1N1 and H3N2 viruses and Aujeszky’s disease virus (ADV) in fatte ning pigs from 150 randomly selected farrow-to-finish pig herds. Herd factors w ere examined as potential risk indicators for the p ercentage of pigs with antibodies against the 4 pathogens. The pe rcentage of pigs seropositive for Mh increased with purchase of gilts and with slaughter date in March-April. The rd-level seroprevalences of both influenza virus es were higher in case of a higher density of pig herds in the municipality. A higher number of fattening pigs per pen additionally increased the risk of being seropositi ve for H3N2. The percentage of pigs with gE-antibodies against wild type ADV increased with higher airspace stocki ng density in the finishing unit, increasing herd s ize, increasing number of pig herds in the municipality and with slaughter date in March-April.
M ay 2 01 6 Structured Sparse Regression via Greedy Hard-Thresholding

Several learning applications require solving high-dimensional regression problems where the relevant features belong to a small number of (overlapping) groups. For very large datasets and under standard sparsity constraints, hard thresholding methods have proven to be extremely efficient, but such methods require NP hard projections when dealing with overlapping groups. In this paper, we show that such NPhard projections can not only be avoided by appealing to submodular optimization, but such methods come with strong theoretical guarantees even in the presence of poorly conditioned data (i.e. say when two features have correlation ≥ 0.99), which existing analyses cannot handle. These methods exhibit an interesting computation-accuracy trade-off and can be extended to significantly harder problems such as sparse overlapping groups. Experiments on both real and synthetic data validate our claims and demonstrate that the proposed methods are orders of magnitude faster than other greedy and convex relaxation techniques for learning with group-structured sparsity.
Low-Rank Tensor Completion With a New Tensor Nuclear Norm Induced by Invertible Linear Transforms

This work studies the low-rank tensor completion problem, which aims to exactly recover a low-rank tensor from partially observed entries. Our model is inspired by the recently proposed tensor-tensor product (t-product) based on any invertible linear transforms. When the linear transforms satisfy certain conditions, we deduce the new tensor tubal rank, tensor spectral norm, and tensor nuclear norm. Equipped with the tensor nuclear norm, we then solve the tensor completion problem by solving a convex program and provide the theoretical bound for the exact recovery under certain tensor incoherence conditions. The achieved sampling complexity is order-wise optimal. Our model and result greatly extend existing results in the low-rank matrix and tensor completion. Numerical experiments verify our results and the application on image recovery demonstrates the superiority of our method.
Data Security in the Digital Age : Reputation and Strategic Interactions in Security Investments

This paper develops a model of data security investment in which concerns about reputation consumers’ belief about a firm’s security level provide the underlying incentive for the firm to invest. I consider two set-ups. In baseline model, a website makes an unobserved one-time security investment that consumers learn about over time. Underinvestment in security arises as the website does not internalise consumers’ losses from data breaches; imperfect breach detection further limits the consumers’ ability to punish the firm. In the extended model, I introduce the consumers’ bank. Under this set-up, the overall level of security is jointly determined by the website’s and the bank’s investment levels. I examine the implications of regulatory policies specifically, mandatory breach notification and a minimum security standard targeted at raising the level of security. I show that these well-intentioned policies may not always result in a higher overall level of security, demonstrating the importance of accounting for the agents’ strategic behaviours in regulatory interventions.