Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Airway inflammation in school-aged children with asthma

1 PART I: LITERATURE REVIEW. 3 1.1Asthma. 3 Definition . 3 Prevalence of children with asthma . 6 Risk factors for asthma in children . 8 Factors inducing asthma exacerbations . 20 Physiopathology of asthma . 26 1.2-Asthma and Tobacco smoke exposure. 4
Aleurites moluccanus (l.) Willd. Extracts Inhibit the Growth of Bacterial Triggers of Selected Autoimmune Inflammatory Diseases

Introduction: Aleurites moluccanus (L.) Willd. is a large tree with a wide global distribution. All parts of the tree have been used medicinally and the nut is consumed in a variety of cuisines. Despite this, A. moluccanus nut extracts have not been rigorously examined growth inhibitory properties against many bacteria, including the bacterial triggers of autoimmune inflammatory diseases. Methods: The antimicrobial activity of A. molucca-nus nut solvent extractions was investigated by disc diffusion and growth time course assays against a panel of bacterial triggers of autoimmune diseases. The growth inhibitory activity was further quantified by MIC determination. Toxicity was determined using the Artemia franciscana nauplii bioassay. Results: Methanolic and aqueous A. moluccanus nut solvent extracts were potent inhibitors of all of the bacterial triggers of autoimmune diseases screened in this study. The methanolic extract displayed the most potent bacterial growth inhibitory activity. It was particularly potent against the bacterial triggers of rheumatoid arthritis (MICs of 438 and 215 µg/mL against reference and clinical Proteus mirabilis strains; MIC of 187 µg/mL against Proteus vulgaris ). The methanolic extract was also a good inhibitor of K. pneumoniae and S. pyogenes growth with MICs < 1000 µg/mL. The aqueous and ethyl acetate extracts were also potent bacterial growth inhibitors, albeit with slightly higher MIC values. The antibacterial activity of the methanolic and aqueous A. moluccanus nut extracts were further investigated by growth time course assays which showed significant growth inhibition in cultures of P. mirabilis, K. pneumpniae and S. pyogenes within 1 h of exposure. All extracts were determined to be nontoxic in the Artemia franciscana nauplii bioassay, indicating their safety for prophylactic use in preventing these autoimmune inflammatory diseases. Conclusions: The lack of toxicity of the A. moluccanus nut extracts and their growth inhibitory bioactivity against the bacterial triggers of rheumatoid arthritis, anky-losing spondylitis and rheumatic heart disease indicate their potential in the development of new therapies targeting the onset of these diseases.
The practices of the thoughts attract , retain and motivate employees for helping organizations that operate in stable and fewer competition environments

An administrator plays a vital role in the growth and development of his/her subordinates. Despite this notion, the role of an administrator in the context of training programs and transfer of training is not well studied. Therefore, this study is set to examine the relationship between administrator’s role in training programs and training transfer. A survey method was utilized to gather 706 survey questionnaires from employees of local authorities of three cities in the state of Sarawak, Malaysia. The results of SmartPLS path model analysis confirmed that the ability of administrators to properly implement support, communication and assignment in planning and implementing training programs has been an important predictor of training transfer in the studied organization. Further, this study provides discussion, implications and conclusion. Info Artikel Sejarah Artikel: Diterima Januari 2014 Disetujui Februari 2014 Dipublikasikan Maret 2015
REVIEW OF DAMAGE TOLERANT ANALYSIS OF LAMINATED COMPOSITES

With advanced composites increasing replacing traditional metallic materials, the material inhomogeneity and inherent anisotropy of such materials lead to not only new attributes for aerospace structures, but also introduce new technology to damage tolerant design and analysis. The deleterious effects of changes in material properties and initiation and growth of structural damage must be addressed. The anisotropic and brittle properties make this requirement a challenging to composite structural designers. Accurate, reliable and user-friendly computational methods, design and analysis methods are vital for more damage tolerant composite structures. Both durability and damage tolerant methodologies must address the possible changes in mechanical properties and the evolving damage accumulations that may occur during the vehicle’s service lifetime. Delamination is a major failure mode in laminated composites and has received much research attention. It may arise out of manufacturing defects, free edge effects, structural discontinuities, low and high velocity impact damage, and even bird strikes. Early pioneering work established that the reduction in strength following delamination damages placed severe limits on the design allowable for highly loaded components such as aircraft wing and fuselage structure. In the present article, we provide a state-of-art survey on damage tolerant design correlated failure behavior and analysis methodologies of laminated composites. Particular emphasis is placed on some advanced formulations and numerical approaches for efficient computational modeling and damage tolerant analysis of laminated composites. © 2010 IAU, Arak Branch. All rights reserved.
Entrepreneurship Dynamics: Entry Routes, Business-Owner's Persistence and Exit Modes

This paper conducts a comprehensive study on entrepreneurship dynamics using a large longitudinal matched employer-employee dataset. We identify the transition of over 200,000 nascent business-owners and follow their survival patterns in the respective businesses using discrete time competing risks models. Different profiles of new business-owners are identified, taking into account their entry routes and how such entry choices impact on their persistence in the firm. Exits by dissolution are distinguished from exits by ownership transfer. We also analyze how previous labor market experiences and macroeconomic environment shape the individuals' decision to become and persist as business-owners. Controlling for a set of individual and previous job characteristics, we found that those experiencing a recent displacement are more likely to become entrepreneurs and to persist longer in the business. Concerning macroeconomic conditions, nascent entrepreneurs entering via start-up enter counter-cyclically, while all other nascent business-owners behave in line with the "prosperity-pull" hypothesis. Business-owners' entry choices significantly affect their post-entry persistence and exit modes. Particular experiences in the labor market while paid employees are also found to significantly influence the way individuals enter into and exit from entrepreneurship.
Theory and Identification of Marginal Land and Factors Determining Land Use Change

Biomass is being researched as a possible alternative to fossil sources of energy, in order to avoid externalities from fossil fuel use that affect the environment and the economy. Some biomass-based energy production systems may produce unwanted externalities in their own right, such as increasing the production pressure on the agricultural land base, resulting in a rise in prices of food commodities. Using marginal land for biomass production has been suggested as a solution. However, the definition of what constitutes marginal land is poorly understood. This paper provides a theoretical foundation for identification of marginal lands, and analyzes recent literature to assess how current usage of the term marginal correspond to the theoretical framework. Then, the paper devises empirical models that test possible methods of identification of the extensive margin of agricultural land in 19 counties in the state of Michigan. The models find that dynamic variables such as price changes have a statistically significant effect on land use change into and out of cropland. Land quality and regional effects are also statistically significant.
Do Relationships Matter?

Contracting relationships vary in the extent to which they are complete and involve formal contract specification as well as the extent to which they are based on strong relationships and rely on cooperation and trust. Where a contracting arrangement falls on these two continuums constitutes what this paper refers to as "relationship design" and is likely to impact contractor performance. We use data from a survey of child-care centers and Head Start agencies in Ohio to examine the association between the design of contracting relationships and contractor performance. Contractor performance is assessed in two ways: an objective measure of violations identified by government inspectors and a perceptual self-rated measure of performance reported by the contracted service providers. Measures of relationship design are constructed using multiple survey items and are included in multivariate regression analyses while controlling for a variety of organizational characteristics. Findings suggest that contracts involving stronger relationships are positively associated with child-care center performance, and more complete contracts are negatively associated with performance when performance is measured using contractor self-reports.
4D imaging of fracturing in organic-rich shales during heating

To better understand the mechanisms of fracture pattern development and fluid escape in low permeability rocks, we performed time-resolved in situ X-ray tomography imaging to investigate the processes that occur during the slow heating (from 60 to 400 C) of organic-rich Green River shale. At about 350 C cracks nucleated in the sample, and as the temperature continued to increase, these cracks propagated parallel to shale bedding and coalesced, thus cutting across the sample. Thermogravimetry and gas chromatography revealed that the fracturing occurring at {approx}350 C was associated with significant mass loss and release of light hydrocarbons generated by the decomposition of immature organic matter. Kerogen decomposition is thought to cause an internal pressure build up sufficient to form cracks in the shale, thus providing pathways for the outgoing hydrocarbons. We show that a 2D numerical model based on this idea qualitatively reproduces the experimentally observed dynamics of crack nucleation, growth and coalescence, as well as the irregular outlines of the cracks. Our results provide a new description of fracture pattern formation in low permeability shales.
ASEAN's leadership in East Asian region-building: strength in weakness

Abstract Despite none of its members being a major economic or military power, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has played a leading role in building East Asia's regional institutions. In exploring this apparent puzzle, the analysis reviews the literature on state leadership at the regional and international level, asks why the region's major powers ceded leadership on the question of regional institution building to ASEAN, and assesses the consequences for East Asia's regional architecture of ASEAN's leadership role in institution-building. The conclusion is that leadership at the state level entails a state, or a group of states, proposing, executing and getting others to agree on a course of action to deal with a specific problem or challenge. The analysis also underscores the point that, while ASEAN has been the leader in East Asian institution-building, the Association and its members should not automatically be expected to play a leadership role on all issues preoccupying the region.
Influence of synchronization techniques and dates of sowing on nicking in parental lines of pearl millet hybrid BPMH-3 seed production

The field experiment was carried out during Kharif 2016 at the Main Agricultural Research Station, to investigate the effect of staggered sowings and application of additional dose of nitrogen to late parent on synchronization of male and female parents of pearl millet hybrid BPMH-3. The field experiment comprised of twelve treatments with three replications in split plot design. The results revealed that staggered sowing of male parent nine days earlier than female (S4) took less number of days for panicle initiation, flower initiation and 50 per cent flowering in male. On the other hand simultaneous sowing of female and male parent (S1) recorded the lowest values for growth parameters and it took more number of days to panicle initiation, flower initiation and 50 per cent flowering. This revealed that sowing of male parent nine days earlier than the female parent and application of additional 10 kg N ha-1 to male parent at 35 days after sowing (S4) was appropriate to achieve nicking between female and male parental lines of pearl millet hybrid, BPMH-3. Another experiment was conducted at Saidapur farm, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, to study the flowering behaviour of TPRT 111 (male) and ICMA 9277 (female) parents of pearl millet BPMH-3 in periodical date of sowing with fifteen days interval from first June, 2016 to Second fortnight of December, 2016. The results revealed that the female (ICMA 9277) and male (TPRT 111) parental lines took significantly more number of days 52.00 days and 64.00 days respectively when sown during first fortnight of June 2016. While, less number of days was recorded by female and male parental lines (46.00 days and 51.00 days respectively) when sown during second fortnight of December 2016. Progressive decline in days to fifty percent flowering was observed with the advancement in the sowing which narrow down the flowering gap between male and female parental line.
Dividend Announcements of Banking Sector in Gulf Area; Pre, During and Post the Recent Global Financial Crisis

This research aims to analyze the movement of dividend policy announcements impact on share prices, and the performance of all listed banks in Gulf area pre-during-post the financial crisis. This research has positioned and utilized event study method, and dividend pay-out ratio to evaluate the movements in share prices of two event windows for 65 banks (All listed banks) from 2005 to 2013. The main results for this research showed that there is a strong signaling effect since most of the windows show positive impact of dividend announcements on the CAARS. Likewise, there can be equally significant lifecycle impact since the large banks show different pay out pattern as compared with the small banks. Moreover, there has been steady dividend pay by banks at an average even in the crisis periods. In addition, a proportion of payers have increased as compared to the non-payers over years, which is related to both life cycle and competition theories. The last finding presents that banking sector in the GCC countries have not been affected like other emerging countries during the global financial crisis, because they supported by oil prices.
Ground water quality status in different blocks of sonbhadra district , Uttar Pradesh in India

The water and environment has become an emotive issue for the people and policy makers. The chief causes for the pollution of water and environment are anthropogenic activities of human beings. Studies of Physico-chemical parameters of groundwater quality based on Physico-chemical paratmeres have been taken from eight blocks of Sonbhadra district, Uttar Pradesh was conducted in pre monsoon season of the year 2016 to evaluate its suitability for domestics’ purpose. The quality analysis has been made through the pH, EC, TDS, Cations like Sodium, Pottassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Anions like Carbonate, Bicarbonate, RSC, SAR and iron. A systematic calculation of the correlation coffecient has also been used between different analyzed parameters. Comparative studies of samples in different blocks were conducted and it was found that the value of Electrical Conductivity and Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) for standard deviation mean is + 0.31 and + 208.32 respectively. The majority of groundwater samples on the basis of salinity (EC) were found to be medium to high salinity class, but on the basis of sodicity (SAR) and alkalinity (RSC) more than 90 % samples were found to be normal. On the basis of cationic and anionic composition of groundwater it can be concluded that the groundwater of Sonbhadra district is Na-Mg-Ca type.
Ice-nucleating particles in Canadian Arctic sea-surface microlayer and bulk seawater

Abstract. The sea-surface microlayer and bulk seawater can contain ice-nucleating particles (INPs) and these INPs can be emitted into the atmosphere. Our current understanding of the properties, concentrations, and spatial and temporal distributions of INPs in the microlayer and bulk seawater is limited. In this study we investigate the concentrations and properties of INPs in microlayer and bulk seawater samples collected in the Canadian Arctic during the summer of 2014. INPs were ubiquitous in the microlayer and bulk seawater with freezing temperatures in the immersion mode as high as −14 °C. A strong negative correlation (R = −0. 7, p = 0. 02) was observed between salinity and freezing temperatures (after correction for freezing depression by the salts). One possible explanation is that INPs were associated with melting sea ice. Heat and filtration treatments of the samples show that the INPs were likely heat-labile biological materials with sizes between 0.02 and 0.2 µm in diameter, consistent with previous measurements off the coast of North America and near Greenland in the Arctic. The concentrations of INPs in the microlayer and bulk seawater were consistent with previous measurements at several other locations off the coast of North America. However, our average microlayer concentration was lower than previous observations made near Greenland in the Arctic. This difference could not be explained by chlorophyll a concentrations derived from satellite measurements. In addition, previous studies found significant INP enrichment in the microlayer, relative to bulk seawater, which we did not observe in this study. While further studies are needed to understand these differences, we confirm that there is a source of INP in the microlayer and bulk seawater in the Canadian Arctic that may be important for atmospheric INP concentrations.
Spatial variability in floodplain sedimentation: the use of generalized linear mixed-effects models

Abstract. Sediment, Total Organic Carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) accumulation during one overbank flood (1.15 y return interval) were examined at one reach of the Middle Ebro River (NE Spain) for elucidating spatial patterns. To achieve this goal, four areas with different geomorphological features and located within the study reach were examined by using artificial grass mats. Within each area, 1 m2 study plots consisting of three pseudo-replicates were placed in a semi-regular grid oriented perpendicular to the main channel. TOC, TN and Particle-Size composition of deposited sediments were examined and accumulation rates estimated. Generalized linear mixed-effects models were used to analyze sedimentation patterns in order to handle clustered sampling units, specific-site effects and spatial self-correlation between observations. Our results confirm the importance of channel-floodplain morphology and site micro-topography in explaining sediment, TOC and TN deposition patterns, although the importance of other factors as vegetation pattern should be included in further studies to explain small-scale variability. Generalized linear mixed-effect models provide a good framework to deal with the high spatial heterogeneity of this phenomenon at different spatial scales, and should be further investigated in order to explore its validity when examining the importance of factors such as flood magnitude or suspended sediment concentration.
IP, Dudarev OV, Boult S, vanDongen BE. Distributions of bacterial and archaeal membrane lipids in surface sediments reflect differences in input and loss of terrestrial organic carbon along a cross-shelf Arctic transect. Organic Geochemistry 2015, 83-84, 16–26

Enhanced climate warming affecting the Arctic region could have a dramatic impact on the terrigenous organic carbon (terrOC) stored in the Eurasian permafrost and could increase the amount of OC remobilized to the Arctic shelves. An improved understanding of the fate of this remobilized soil OC is essential for better understanding of the consequences for the Arctic and global carbon cycle. In this study, glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) and bacteriohopanepolyols (BHPs) in surface sediments along a 500 km cross shelf transect from the mouth of the Kolyma River to the middle of the vast East Siberian Sea were analysed to assess their potential and that of the associated branched and isoprenoid tetraether (BIT) and Rsoil indices for tracing terrOC in Arctic systems. Both BHP and GDGT contributions indicated the greatest contribution of terrOC close to the river mouth, while the associated indices showed declining trends in an offshore direction, supporting an increasing marine OC input and/or a decrease in terrOC. However, while the BHPs indicated a dominance of terrOC at the start of the transect, the GDGTs suggested a much larger, almost 50%, marine OC input at this point. In addition, the BIT index displayed an exponential decline, controlled mainly by a substantial contribution of marine GDGTs, while Rsoil revealed a linear trend governed primarily by the removal of soil marker BHPs. These field results suggest that both biomarker approaches could be used to trace terrigenous derived OC in the Arctic environment. However, using a single proxy approach is not recommended and may lead to an under or over estimation of the relative importance of terrOC. Using a multi-proxy approach is valuable for fully understanding the fate of terrigenous derived OC along Arctic land-ocean transects. 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
A comparison of the utility of data mining algorithms in an open distance learning context

The use of data mining within the higher education context has, increasingly, been gaining traction. A parallel examination of the accuracy, robustness and utility of the algorithms applied within data mining is argued as a necessary step toward entrenching the use of EDM. This paper provides a comparative analysis of various classification algorithms within an Open Distance Learning institution in South Africa. The study compares the performance of the ZeroR, OneR, Naive Bayes, IBk, Simple Logistic Regression and the J48 in classifying students within a cohort over an 8 year timespan. The initial results appear to show that, given the data quality and structure of the institution under study, the J48 most consistently performed with the highest levels of accuracy.