Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characterization and mechanisms of lipid metabolism in high-fat diet induced hyperlipidemia in Mongolian gerbil ( Meriones unguiculatus )

Rodent are common animal models for hyperlipidemia. In the present study, the differences in lipid metabolism between gerbils and rats were investigated. Feeding a high-fat diet led to a significant increase in serum total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC) in gerbils, and were found in a time-dependent manner during 0 to 16 weeks’ feeding. Hepatic lipid vacuolization and even fibrosis in gerbils were greatly formed in response to the high fat diet with the characteristic of serum LDLC increase, while those remained lower changed or unchanged in rats. Furthermore, serum lecithin cholesterol acyl transferase (LCAT) activities in the hyperlipidemia gerbils were significantly higher than those in the normal ones, which were also in line with increased LDLC-TG secretion rate and impaired hepatic function in gerbils in response to the high-fat diet. Therefore, gerbils were considered to be more sensitive to high fat diet, less time-consuming in forming hyperlipidemia. Similar response in increased LDLC levels to cholesterol as human and may warrant further application as a possible model for drug evaluation and lipid metabolism. Key words : Mongolian gerbil , hypercholesterolemia, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, lecithin cholesterol acyl transferase.
Predicting sapstain and degrade in fallen trees following storm damage in a Pinus radiata forest

Storm damage in production forests constitutes a major source of economic loss world wide, yet the retrieval of salvageable timber remains problematic. In particular, an inability to anticipate when sapstain and degrade will appear hampers the planning of log recovery operations. A study was conducted to monitor the deterioration of fallen trees following two winter storms causing wind and snow damage in a Pinus radiata plantation forest in the upper South Island of New Zealand. Percentage sapstain, incidence of basidiomycete decay fungi, and frequency of bark beetle infestation increased, while percentage sapwood moisture content decreased, over a period of 1 year. These changes proceeded more rapidly in fallen trees that were severed at stump height, to simulate breakage, than in those that were left partially rooted. There was little beetle activity at the time of the storms, but Arhopalus ferus (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), and Hylastes ater, Hylurgus ligniperda and Pachycotes peregrinus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), were collected in flight traps during the following spring and summer. The predominant fungal species associated with sapstain was Diplodia pinea, while Ophiostoma piceae and Grosmannia huntii were isolated near the end of the period. The main decay fungi obtained were Phlebiopsis gigantea, Stereum sanguinolentum, and Schizophyllum commune. A generalized linear mixed model was constructed to predict the development of sapstain in fallen trees for conditions prevailing during the study after a storm at the same time of year. According to the model, a 10 m long butt log of 22 cm mid length diameter will have minimal stain (<10% of the cross sectional area affected) when cut from severed stems up to 4 months after the storm; if taken from still-rooted trees this period will extend to 1 year. However, because of large between-tree variation, economically productive log recovery will also depend on the proportion of trees that lie below an acceptable sapstain threshold. Further research is needed to determine regional n the and seasonal influences o
The Effect of Lexical Bundles on Iranian EFL Learners Linguistic Production Fluency

The present study attempted to investigate the effects of lexical bundles on Iranian EFL learners’ paragraph writing production fluency. To achieve this purpose, an English language proficiency test was administered to 120 language learners studying TEFL at Islamic Azad University of Dehloran. Ultimately, 90 language learners were selected and randomly divided into two groups of control and experimental groups, based on their proficiency testscores.Both experimental and control groups worked on the same text- book content. The experimental group subjects were instructed on the lexical bundles use extracted from True to Life text- book, while the control group received placebo treatment during the course. The treatment took a whole academic semester. The results of the post-test showed that lexical bundles teaching methodology proved effective and influential in developing Iranian EFL language learners’ paragraph writing fluency. So, Developing English language skills, here writing skill in general and paragraph writing in particular, also, needs appropriate methods of which lexical bundles teaching methodology can be named.Since, lexical bundles use during instructional courses, help language learners have an automatic and easy recall of them in the process of paragraph writing, lexical bundles teaching methodology should be applied to having a better understanding of the text- books materials and to develop language skills. Therefore, the study suggests that content developers should include lexical bundles teaching methodology and their uses in the teaching and learning processes. The findings of this study gave empirical support to this view. Hence, this is pedagogically central in the domain of language teaching and learning and should be taken into account in the design and production of suitable instructional materials and in the methodology of classroom teaching and students learning behavior. To sum up, these findings can have a number of implications for material designers, language teachers, and students who are engaged in the teaching of English language as a foreign language.
Erratum: Ground motion amplification factors for the proposed 2005 edition of the National Building Code of Canada

Foundation factors are used in seismic codes to capture the amplification effects of local soil conditions on ground motions and, hence, on seismic design forces. Recent developments in categorizing site conditions for seismic codes and assigning intensity- and frequency-dependent amplification factors to the various site classes are presented to provide a basis for understanding the new foundation factors proposed for the 2005 edition of the National Building Code of Canada.Key words: design spectra, site characterization, amplification factors.
EFFECTS OF TRINEXAPAC-ETHYL ON TURFGRASS GROWTH AND FREQUENCY OF MOWING

The maintenance of grass lawns is not easy, especially in the summer when their use is greatest. The biggest problem during the whole period of vegetation is intense growth of grass. One way to limit it is the use of various types of natural and synthetic growth regulators. In the present study experimental factors included: 1. growth regulator: a) trinexapac-ethyl (TE), b) control object with no TE (C); 2. mineral fertilizers: a) Pokon (N1); b) Travovit Komplet (N2); c) Azofoska (N3); d) speciallyformulated fertiliser (N4). A four-species mixture of grass was used in the experiment. After each mowing to a height of 6 cm (from July to October), grass growth was measured (in centimetres) using the grass height meter. The results showed that trinexapac-ethyl significantly suppressed, in relation to the control, the growth of grass on the lawns. Slower growth contributed to a reduction in mowing frequency by 43%, compared to the control.
Nutritive value of forages on sandy soils as affected by tebuthiuron.

Tebuthhuon, [N-(~l,l~hy~yi-ll~,~~oi-~yi~N~dimethylureaj, a root-absorbed peiieted herbicide, was broadcast onto sand shinnery oak (Quercus havardii) rangeiand in west Texas, May 1978. Green berbrge of the dominant grasses was assayed for nitrogen (N), phosphorus(P), 24hr in vitro dry matter digestibility (24 hr-IVDMD), and ceil waii content (CWC) on 3 dates in both 1978 and 1979. ln 1978, tebuthiuron at 0.4 kg/ha or above improved quality of the major forages. Crude protein was up to 28% higher in treated plants the year of application. The P content ranged from 0.08 to 0.12% over all sampling dates. Digestibiiity increased slightly while no difference was found in CWC. Tebuthiuron had no effect on forage quaiity the year after application. The most consistent change in parameters measured was water content of little bluestem (Schikachyrium scaparium). Untreated plants averaged 38% water throughout the growing season, while treated piants contained 50% water. Major benefits of killing oak are increased forage availability and not yet resolved palatability factors. Over 2 million ha of sandy soils in the Southern Great Plains support sand shinnery oak (Quercus havardii). This dwarf oak provides some food and cover for livestockand wildlife, but its new growth is toxic to domestic stock. Nearly 80% of the standing crop is oak. Conversion of this shrub type to a mid-grass prairie is a goal of many ranchers. In December, 1979, tebuthiuron was registered for use on this species. Pettit (1979) found that some oak may be controlled with tebuthiuron at rates as low as 0.24 kg/ha. Concomitant to increased production, forage quality may be improved with herbicides (Bovey et al. 1972, Scifres et al. 1977). Cattle seem to prefer grazing forages treated with tebuthiuron. This preference may be related to forage quality. Arnold (1964) found grazing animals to prefer forages high in nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and sugar, but low in fiber. Leigh (1961) stated that forage water content was highly correlated to preference. Herbicidal effects on the nutritive content of rangeland forages are not fully understood. The study by Houston and Van Sluijs (1975) is not directly applicable to our area because of soil fertility and environmental differences. Sosebee (1979) used high rates of tebuthiuron (9 kg/ ha) and found that forage protein, P, and carotene were not affected, but forage water content was increased. The impacts of herbicides on digestibility and cell wall content (CWC) of forages after herbicide treatment have not been reported for
Estimating Economic Relationships under Measurement Error: An Application to the Productivity of US Manufacturing

We propose an approach to the problem of measurement errors that evokes long established but rarely used results about the identifiability of the error-in variables (EIV) models. Our approach uses the dynamic structure of the true series and measurement errors to identify the parameters of interest. The dynamics of the underlying time series are introduced into the model using a structural time series approach and the identification of the parameters of interest is achieved by a simple property of the multivariate normal distribution. This modeling framework has several advantages. The first is the possibility of incorporating more flexible components of the time series being studied, such as trends, cycles, and seasonality. The second is that the model allows for a non-zero correlation between the measurement errors of the variables involved in the structural relationship. The third is that using a multivariate normal distribution to derive the structural relationship between variables allows for the time-variation in the relationship, i.e., in both slope and intercept parameters. We prove two results to show our estimator can identify the structural parameters, provide a simulation exercise and an empirical illustration using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to compare our findings to those recently presented in Diewert and Fox (2008), where they raise the issue of severe measurement error and the endogeneity of inputs and outputs.
SUSTAINABILITY STUDY OF BIODIESEL FROM Acrocomia totai

The aim of this work is to quantify the life-cycle emissions in terms of CO2 equivalent grams per megajoule of biodiesel produced from Acrocomia totai, a native oily seed from Paraguay, according to Directive 2009/28/EC. The other key point is to calculate the amount of energy invested to get a megajoule of biodiesel, by means of two different ratios: the EROI (Energy Return On Investment) and the FER (Fossil Energy Ratio).
Mode of Pollination and Factors Affecting Fruit Set in Piper nigrum L. in Puerto Rico 1

T HE source of black and white pepper is Piper nigrum L. , a tropical woody perennial vine of the family Piperaceae. It is the most important spice imported in the U. S. , accounting for about half the ~tollar value of all imported spices. The availability of pepper to the western world has varied considerably, reaching a low during the years of World War II when supplies were unavailable at any price. Its culture has been largely restricted to India, Indonesia, and neighboring countries, where it has been grown for hundreds of years in close association with related wild species. However, the selection and multiplication by cuttings of superior strains has resulted in the establishment of well-recognized clonal varieties.
Optical photometric monitoring of $\gamma$-ray loud blazars - II. Observations from November 1995 to June 1996

New data from the optical monitoring of γ -ray loud blazars at the Torino Astronomical Observatory are presented. Observations have been taken in the Johnson's B , V , and Cousins' R bands with the REOSC telescope equipped with a pixel CCD camera. Many of the 22 monitored sources presented here show noticeable magnitude variations. Periods corresponding to pointings of the Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) satellite are indicated on the light curves. The comparison of our data with those taken by CGRO in the γ -ray band will contribute to better understand the mechanism of the γ -ray emission. We finally show intranight light curves of 3C 66A and OJ 287, where microvariability was detected.
The ecology of colonial phytoplankton = Ecología del fitoplancton colonial

Los origenes de los organismos que componen la comunidad fitoplanctonica se remontan a distintos eventos endosimbioticos; por ello, una de las principales caracteristicas del fitoplancton es una enorme diversidad que atane tanto en sus atributos morfologicos y fisiologicos como en sus formas de vida. A pesar de que la multicelularidad en algunas especies de fitoplancton podria suponer una estrategia para asegurar la conservacion de la linea germinal, o para generar un medio interno estable que proteja a las celulas que forman la colonia del cambiante ambiente que la rodea, actualmente se desconoce el motivo que pudo haber favorecido la transicion desde la unicelularidad a la colonialidad. Sin embargo, la existencia de organismos coloniales evolutivamente mas avanzados en los que se observa una diferenciacion celular y division de tareas, podrian empezar a definir una estrategia de vida compleja y jerarquizada mas alla de la simple agregacion celular. La gran variedad de formas, tamanos y configuraciones presentadas por las celulas y colonias, es una muestra de que no hay una estructura optima, sino un gran abanico de posibilidades exitosas para afrontar los obstaculos a los que estos organismos se enfrentan durante su ciclo de vida. Por otro lado, el paso de una forma de vida unicelular a una colonial en los organismos fitoplanctonicos, implica un numero de condicionantes ecologicos que determinan cuando y como las formas coloniales pueden ser mas viables. En cualquier caso, el hecho de que las formas unicelulares y coloniales sean ubicuas en el fitoplancton y hayan perdurado durante millones de anos, nos da a entender que deben existir ciertas ventajas ecologicas conferidas por la colonialidad. Este trabajo se centra en investigar en que modo los organismos coloniales han llegado a compensado las desventajas derivadas de la agregacion para haberse convertido en una alternativa evolutivamente exitosa a la unicelularidad.
Serum Presepsin Levels in Patients with Decompensated Heart Failure

Objective: Recently, the soluble CD14 subtype; presepsin (PSP) has been suggested as a reliable marker for systemic inflammation, which has not been studied in decompensated heart failure (DHF) up to date. Our aim was to investigate plasma PSP levels and its diagnostic ability in patients with DHF. Methods: Fifty patients with DHF and 51 controls without HF were included in our study. Besides routine clinical and laboratory data, N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide (NT-pro BNP) and PSP levels were measured in blood samples of all the participants. Results: PSP levels were significantly higher in patients with DHF than controls (1107.98 ± 1001.15 vs. 540.47 ± 526.9 pg / mL, p = 0.001). Cut-off value for PSP was 442 pg / mL to detect HF with 76% sensitivity, 62.7% specificity, 66.7% positive predictive value and 72.7% negative predictive value (CI: 0.975 Â– 1.000). The diagnostic accuracy of PSP for DHF was not superior to that of NT-pro BNP (AUC: 0.99 vs. 0.74) Conclusions: This preliminary study reveals that PSP levels are significantly elevated in patients with DHF but the diagnostic power of PSP for DHF is lower than NT-pro BNP. PSP may be a new marker for DHF.
Self-tuning one-class support vector machines for data classification

Support Vector Machine (SVM) based classifiers are most popular models for data classification in machine learning. To obtain high classification accuracy, parameter tuning methods such as cross-validation are often applied, which is however timeconsuming. To address this problem, a simple, efficient and parameter-free algorithm is presented in this thesis. The algorithm is especially useful when dealing with datasets in the presence of label noise. Grown out of one-class SVM, the presented algorithm enjoys several distinct features: First, its decision boundary is learned based on both positive and negative examples, whereas the original one-class SVM training is only based on positive examples; Second, the internal parameters are self-tuned, which makes the algorithm handy to use even for first-time users. Compared with the benchmark method LIBSVM, the presented algorithm achieves comparable accuracy, while consuming only a fraction of the processing time. Applications in computer vision are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm.
Estimation of log-GARCH models in the presence of zero returns

ABSTRACT A critique that has been directed towards the log-GARCH model is that its log-volatility specification does not exist in the presence of zero returns. A common ‘remedy’ is to replace the zeros with a small (in the absolute sense) non-zero value. However, this renders estimation asymptotically biased if the true return is equal to zero with probability zero. Here, we propose a solution. If the zero probability is zero, then zero returns may be observed because of non-trading, measurement error (e.g. due to rounding), missing values and other data issues. The algorithm we propose treats the zeros as missing values and handles these by estimation via the ARMA representation. An extensive number of simulations verify the conjectured properties of the bias-correcting algorithm, and several empirical applications illustrate that it can make a substantial difference in practice.
Are small scale eggplant producers efficient in resource use

An empirical study to investigate the efficiency of resource use by small scale eggplant producers was conducted. A stochastic production frontier function which incorporates a model for the technical efficiency effect was applied. Through a multi-stage sampling method, 60 egg plant farmers were selected with the aid of questionnaire. Using the maximum likelihood estimation method, asymptotic parameters were evaluated to describe efficiency determinants. Results revealed that the mean resource use efficiency is 0.71 leaving inefficiency gap of 0.29 implying that 29 percent higher eggplant output could be achieved using the same resource combination. Land, hired labour and seeds were identified as the most critical and important efficiency determinants. Access to credit and market, and age were estimated as inefficiency determinants. Results underscore the need to formulate policies aimed at making land more accessible to farmers, provision of credit facilities and good road networks.
Evaluation of grazing beef cows receiving supplements with different protein contents

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of supplementation with different crude protein contents on the productive performance of grazing beef cows during post-calving. Thirty-six beef cows, with age and average body weight of 5 years and 490±17.9 kg, respectively, were used. The experimental design was completely randomized. The treatments were: control = cows received only mineral mixture ad libitum; supplemented = cows received 1 kg d-1 of supplement containing 80, 200, or 320 g crude protein (CP) kg-1. There was no effect (P ? 0.16) of supplementation on voluntary intake. A linear effect (P < 0.02) of the CP content in the supplements was observed among supplemented cows, only for the CP intake. Supplementation did not affect (P ? 0.20) the total digestibility of organic matter, neutral detergent fiber corrected for ash and protein, and CP. Among supplemented cows, a positive linear effect (P < 0.01) of the CP content in the supplement was observed for the CP digestibility. Intestinal flow of microbial nitrogen compounds and efficiency of synthesis microbial were not affected (P ? 0.18) by treatments. Performance, milk yield and composition were not also affected (P ? 0.11) by treatments. Supplementation did not affect (P ? 0.52) non-esterified fatty acids, urea nitrogen and progesterone serum concentrations. It is concluded that supplementation of grazing beef cows during post-calving does not affect nutritional and productive performance.
Particle backscatter and relative humidity measured across cirrus clouds and comparison with microphysical cirrus modelling

Abstract. Advanced measurement and modelling techniques are employed to estimate the partitioning of atmospheric water between the gas phase and the condensed phase in and around cirrus clouds, and thus to identify in-cloud and out-of-cloud supersaturations with respect to ice. In November 2008 the newly developed balloon-borne backscatter sonde COBALD (Compact Optical Backscatter and AerosoL Detector) was flown 14 times together with a CFH (Cryogenic Frost point Hygrometer) from Lindenberg, Germany (52° N, 14° E). The case discussed here in detail shows two cirrus layers with in-cloud relative humidities with respect to ice between 50% and 130%. Global operational analysis data of ECMWF (roughly 1° × 1° horizontal and 1 km vertical resolution, 6-hourly stored fields) fail to represent ice water contents and relative humidities. Conversely, regional COSMO-7 forecasts (6.6 km × 6.6 km, 5-min stored fields) capture the measured humidities and cloud positions remarkably well. The main difference between ECMWF and COSMO data is the resolution of small-scale vertical features responsible for cirrus formation. Nevertheless, ice water contents in COSMO-7 are still off by factors 2–10, likely reflecting limitations in COSMO's ice phase bulk scheme. Significant improvements can be achieved by comprehensive size-resolved microphysical and optical modelling along backward trajectories based on COSMO-7 wind and temperature fields, which allow accurate computation of humidities, homogeneous ice nucleation, resulting ice particle size distributions and backscatter ratios at the COBALD wavelengths. However, only by superimposing small-scale temperature fluctuations, which remain unresolved by the numerical weather prediction models, can we obtain a satisfying agreement with the observations and reconcile the measured in-cloud non-equilibrium humidities with conventional ice cloud microphysics. Conversely, the model-data comparison provides no evidence that additional changes to ice-cloud microphysics – such as heterogeneous nucleation or changing the water vapour accommodation coefficient on ice – are required.