Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antibacterial activity of the marine ascidians Phallusia nigra and Herdmania pallida from the Tuticorin coast, India

This study was carried out in order to screen the antibacterial activity of the bioactive compounds extracted from the test body (body covering) and the mantle body of the two solitary ascidians, Phallusia nigra and Herdmania pallida, collected from the Tuticorin harbour area. Antibacterial activity of P. nigra was significantly higher than that displayed by H. pallida. The former species showed maximum antibacterial activity and inhibition against all the bacteria tested. The bacterial growth inhibitory effect was found to be dependant on the solvents used for extraction as well as on the specific to the species extracts. Of the nine strains examined, Gram positive were the most susceptible after treatment with all fractions except fraction VI which showed activity against Escherichia coli and Salmonella paratyphii (Gram negative). Lipophilic (chloroform) extracts were highly active against the pathogens tested. The study was also extended to find out the chemical nature of the active compound. IR, 1 H NMR and 13 C NMR spectra of the fraction II provided the complete carbon skeleton of a tyrosine derivative. This tyrosine derivative could be probably responsible for the antibacterial activity and a future study involving pharmacology would pave a way for the invention of a new antibiotic drug from P. nigra.
The potential application of avian egg antibodies with emphasis on immunotherapeutic and immunodiagnostic purpose

Avian eggs present an ideal alternative antibody source to mammals as the immunoglobulin (IgY) in the chicken’s blood is transported to the egg and accumulates in the egg yolk in large quantities. The existence of an immunoglobulin G (IgG)-like molecule in avian eggs, referred to as IgY, has been well documented, and extensive research has been carried out on its characterization, production and purification. Although it is the functional equivalent of mammalian IgG, the major serum antibody found in mammals IgY is structurally different, and has been found to exhibit several important differences when compared to mammalian antibodies, including its physicochemical properties and immunological capabilities. Recently, considerable research has focus seldom use of IgY as an alternative to mammalian antibodies for several applications, including immunotherapeutic applications, especially for the oral passive immunization against various bacteria and viruses. Much research has also been carried out on the use of IgY as a replacement for IgG in various immunodiagnostic and immunoaffinity purification purposes. The use of IgY offers several advantages over polyclonal antibodies produced in mammals, including providing a much more hygienic, cost efficient, convenient, humane and plentiful source of antigen-specific antibodies. Key words: Avian, egg yolk antibody, immunodiagnostic, immunotherapeutic, IgY.
Strong effect of the cluster environment on the size of protoplanetary discs

Context. Most stars are born in clusters, thus the protoplanetary discs surrounding the newly formed stars might be influenced by this environment. Isolated star-disc encounters have previously been studied, and it was shown that very close encounters are necessary to completely destroy discs. However, relatively distant encounters are still able to change the disc size considerably. Aims. We quantify the importance of disc-size reduction that is due to stellar encounters in an entire stellar population. Methods. We modelled young, massive clusters of di erent densities using the code Nbody6 to determine the statistics of stellar encounter parameters. In a second step, we used these parameters to investigate the e ect of the environments on the disc size. For this purpose, we performed a numerical experiment with an artificial initial disc size of 10 5 AU. Results. We quantify to which degree the disc size is more sensitive to the cluster environment than to the disc mass or frequency. We show that in all investigated clusters a large portion of discs is significantly reduced in size. After 5 Myr, the fraction of discs smaller than 1000 AU in ONC-like clusters with an average number density of cluster 60 pc 3 , the fraction of discs smaller than 1000 AU is 65%, while discs smaller than 100 AU make up 15%. These fractions increase to 84% and 39% for discs in denser clusters like IC 348 ( cluster 500 pc 3 ). Even in clusters with a density four times lower than in the ONC ( cluster 15 pc 3 ), about 43% of all discs are reduced to sizes below 1000 AU and roughly 9% to sizes below 100 AU. Conclusions. For any disc in the ONC that initially was larger than 1000 AU, the probability to be truncated to smaller disc sizes as a result of stellar encounters is quite high. Thus, among other e ects, encounters are important in shaping discs and potentially forming planetary systems in stellar clusters.
The Galactic Distribution of Low-Mass X-Ray Binaries

We have analyzed the Galactic distribution of low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) in which the accreting compact object is a neutron star. The rms value of their distances, z, to the Galactic plane equals ~1 kpc. This wide z-distribution cannot be explained by systemic velocities that increased as a result of sudden symmetric mass loss at the formation of the neutron star alone. Kick velocities imparted on the neutron star, following the radio pulsar velocity distribution recently derived by Lyne & Lorimer (1994) can account for the LMXB z-distribution. This distribution is consistent with formation of the neutron stars in LMXBs from direct collapse of a helium star and also from accretion-induced collapse of a white dwarf. The triple-star evolution proposed by Eggleton & Verbunt is not a dominant production mechanism for LMXBs.
Assessing the Twenty-First-Century Shift in ENSO Variability in Terms of the Bjerknes Stability Index*

AbstractA decadal change in the character of ENSO was observed around year 2000 toward weaker-amplitude, higher-frequency events with an increased occurrence of central Pacific El Ninos. Here these changes are assessed in terms of the Bjerknes stability index (BJ index), which is a measure of the growth rate of ENSO-related SST anomalies. The individual terms of the index are calculated from ocean reanalysis products separately for the time periods 1980–99 and 2000–10. The spread between the products is large, but they show a robust weakening of the thermocline feedback due to a reduced thermocline slope response to anomalous zonal wind stress as well as a weakened wind stress response to eastern equatorial Pacific SST anomalies. These changes are consistent with changes in the background state of the tropical Pacific: cooler mean SST in the eastern and central equatorial Pacific results in reduced convection there together with a westward shift in the ascending branch of the Walker circulation. This shif.
EVALUATION OF THE FRACTIONATION OF TEN MEDICINES IN TABLETS UNDER THREE METHODS IN COSTA RICA

To obtain the correct dose it was sometimes necessary to split tablets. Some organizations have developed guides in order to verify the quality of the tablets with functional score and their fragments. The objective of this work was to evaluate the fractionation of tablets in halves, performed with three methods and applied to ten medicines used in pathologies of epidemiological relevance in Costa Rica. For each medicine, 60 participants fractionated a tablet once with splitter, knife and hand. The errors produced in the fractionation was determined. The tablet breaking force and the uniformity of mass of whole tablets were verified and the test of uniformity of mass and the percentage of loss of mass was applicate to tablets halves. The results showed that 98% of the whole tablets were in the expected range of Percentage deviation of mass average. No pattern linked the breaking force with the results of tablets halves. A high number of errors in the fractionation were associated with the knife. About tablets halves, the splitter showed the better accuracy for split, and the good results in percentages of loss of mass were evidenced for the fractionation with hand. The fractionation showed a global waste of 46% of 1,800 tablets available for the study. Atenolol and warfarin sodium have the higher levels of waste, which draw attention due to their high consumption associated with to the epidemiological profile of population. These findings should not be extrapolated to other unanalyzed batches and neither to other drugs.
Is there an immigrant-gender gap in education? An empirical investigation based on PISA data from Italy.

Gender and origin background are widely accepted in the economics of education literature as factors that highly correlate with educational outcomes. However, little attention has been devoted so far to the interaction of these two dimensions. We use Italian data from PISA 2015 to investigate potential immigrant-gender gaps in education. We find that, as expected, girls outperform boys in reading and are outperformed by them in math and science. In addition, immigrant students’ scores are persistently below those of natives. However, interestingly, we find that being immigrant and female does not imply a double disadvantage in math and science. On the contrary, immigrant girls slightly compensate for the immigrant gap in all disciplines. Moreover, the wider gap we find is that of immigrant boys in reading: it ranges from to 0.66 to 2 school years with respect to native boys. Language spoken at home is one of the main cofactors affecting immigrant boy’s scores. Targeted policies should therefore be implemented.
Capital Adequacy of the Jordanian Banking Sector for the Period 2000-2013

The study seeks to identify the capital adequacy of the Jordanian banking system for the period 20002013. The researcher adopted the descriptive and the analytical approaches to identify the capital adequacy of the Jordanian banking system depending on data obtained from the Amman Stock Exchange Market, the Central Bank of Jordan and the Jordanian Ministry of Finance for the period 2000 2013. The study showed that there is a statistically significant relationship between the capital adequacy and liquidity. There is a statistically significant relationship between capital adequacy and credit risk. There is a statistically significant relationship between capital adequacy and the capital risk. There is a statistically significant relationship between capital adequacy and investments in the securities portfolio. The researcher recommends the commercial banks to increase their strategic planning and management capacity to utilize any rise in capital to increase profits. They should develop market and operational risk assessment methods to be included in the calculation of capital adequacy ratio of the commercial banks. Further studies should be conducted on the capital the adequacy of the Jordanian commercial banks.
Effects of soil fertility and fertiliser nitrogen rate on seed yield and seed quality of Paspalum atratum in Thailand

Two experiments were carried out with the intention of determining the optimum rate of N application for seed production of Paspalum atratum in north-east and northern Thailand. Experiment 1 measured the effect of 5 N rates (0, 100, 200, 300 and 400 kg/ha/yr N) on a fertile clay soil at Pakchong and Experiment 2 measured the effects of 3 N rates (0, 125 and 250 kg/ha/yr N) on infertile sandy soils at 3 sites (Lampang, Chiang Rai and Prae provinces). The response of seed yield to N application was different in the first and second years after planting. In the first year, N application had no significant effect on pure seed yield or seed quality of P. atratum at any of the sites. In the second year, at the fertile Pakchong site, a rate of 200 kg/ha/yr N produced significantly higher seed yield than other rates. Diminishing seed yields at rates above 200 kg/ha/yr were probably due to the severe lodging of grass by one month before flowering, while low yields at rates below 200 kg/ha/yr were attributed to lower availability of N in the soil. At the 3 infertile sites, seed yields were greater in the second than the first year, and in the second year responded to increases in applied N up to 250 kg/ha/yr N, at which the crop yielded 1459 and 1108 kg/ha of seed at Lampang and Prae, respectively. Seed germination and seed purity increased with increasing N rates at all 3 sites in the second year. We considered that overall reduced yields in the second year at the lower N input levels were due to a reduction in available soil N resulting from the removal of large amounts of N in vegetation. We concluded that the optimum N rate for seed production of P. atratum in Thailand was approximately 200 kg/ha/yr N on fertile clay soil and at least 250 kg/ha/yr N on infertile sandy soil, with the greater need for high levels in the year after planting.
Technology Trade

Abstract This study addresses the question of why some countries import more research and development-intensive goods than others. Using a panel data set of 80 countries for the period 1970–1995, results indicate that domestic investment, foreign direct investment and the quality of intellectual property rights systems positively affect technology imports. However, the higher the percentage of the workforce with primary studies, the lower technology imports are. Moreover, intellectual property rights tend to reinforce the positive role played by foreign direct investments in importing technology while the ability of imitation reduces the effect of intellectual property rights.
Flexibility windows and phase transitions of ordered and disordered ANA framework zeolites

The analcime-like feldspathoids are a group of microporous minerals with the ANA framework topology. Analcime proper has predominantly Na as its channel cation content, while leucite contains predominantly K, pollucite contains Cs and wairakite contains Ca. Under compression, all these minerals display structural displacive phase transitions to low-symmetry forms at relatively low pressures (0.5–3.2 GPa). We show, using geometric simulation, that these phase transitions are controlled by the “flexibility window” of the ANA framework, defined as the range of framework densities over which the tetrahedral units of the framework can in principle be made geometrically ideal. We discuss experimental compression data for these minerals and its relationship to the theoretical flexibility of the ANA framework, the influence of cation content, and framework ordering.
Seasonal Prediction of Distinct Climate Anomalies in Summer 2010 over the Tropical Indian Ocean and South Asia

Abstract The characteristics and predictability of climate anomalies over the tropical Indian Ocean (TIO) and South Asian region during the boreal summer (June–July–August) of 2010 are investigated on the basis of atmospheric regional model simulations and five forecasts obtained from Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Climate Center coupled models. The robust features of summer 2010 are the basin-wide TIO warming and enhanced (suppressed) rainfall over the north Indian Ocean and maritime continent (head Bay of Bengal and parts of monsoon trough region). Our regional atmospheric model experiments corroborate that rainfall over South Asia was mostly deter-mined by the TIO sea surface temperature (SST) warming during summer 2010. Most of the coupled models and their multi-model ensemble (MME) used in this study successfully predict the robust features over the TIO and/or South Asian region with 01 May 2010 initial condition. The positive rainfall anomalies over the west coast of India, southern Peninsular India, and central Bay of Bengal are qualitatively well predicted by the MME. Suppressed rainfall over the northeast Bay of Bengal associated with the northwestward extension of the northwest Pacific ridge is also reasonably predicted by the MME. On the other hand, the MME has a moderate skill in predicting positive rainfall anomalies over the convective zone of southeast TIO due to weak local SST warming. Further, the coupled models and their MME fail to predict the anomalous positive rainfall in northern Pakistan because of their inability in predicting mid-latitude circulation anomalies. This study reveals that the predictive skill of rainfall and circulation anomalies during summer 2010 over the TIO and South Asia is largely attributable to the Indian Ocean basin-wide warming during the decay phase of El Nino. These results indicate that the accurate simulation of the TIO SST by coupled models is critical in determining the 2010 South Asian summer monsoon rainfall.
EFFECTS OF CATION TREATMENT ON BODY-ORGAN WEIGHT RATIO AND PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL CHANGES IN PERITONEUM CAVITY OF FEMALE NEW ZEALAND RABBITS

The role of trace elements in normal function of the body cannot be over emphases. This study was carried out to determine the effects of oral administration of zinc (Zn), copper (Cu) and magnesium (Mg) on body, organ weight and pathophysiological changes in the peritoneum of New Zealand White rabbits. Standard solutions of the cationic salts were prepared using sterile distilled water to obtain two concentration of each cation. The rabbits were distributed into seven groups: Group I was administered 10.00 μg / ml of Mg, Group II received 20.00 μg / ml of Mg, Group III received 16.00 μg / ml of Zn, Group IV received 32.00 μg / ml of Zn, Group V received 2.00 μg / ml of Cu, Group VI received 4.00 μg / ml of Cu while, group VII were left untreated with any cation supplement. The increase in body, and organ weights in the rabbits treated the cations was concentration dependent in Zn supplemented group (P > 0.05), but not in Cu and Mg groups. The increment in mean body – organ ratio of treated rabbits was statistically significant (P < 0.05) when compared with untreated rabbits. Mg showed more fat deposit followed by Cu groups but none in Zn groups. It was therefore, concluded that oral supplements of copper, zinc and magnesium caused changes in body weight and weight of organs of spleen, liver, lungs, kidneys and ovaries. The excess fat deposit around some of the internal organs may impede it normal physiological function. European Scientific Journal June 2014 edition vol.10, No.18 ISSN: 1857 – 7881 (Print) e ISSN 18577431 284
NMDA Receptors in Astroglia: Chronology, Controversies, and Contradictions from a Complex Molecule

The neurocentric theory dismissed for decades the role of glia in information handling within the central nervous system (CNS). Nevertheless, almost 3 decades ago, this started to change and today astrocytes are considered relevant players for this function. Astrocytes “listen” to neuronal communication, regulate it, and respond at the cellular and synctitial level. Ionotropic glutamate NMDA receptor (NMDAR) is critical in CNS. It mediates synaptic neuronal communication and it is involved in different mechanisms. However, NMDAR is also expressed by astrocytes, but its functional role in these cells has not been deeply investi- gated and has been a matter of debate in the last decades. In this chapter, we briefly outline NMDAR intracellular transduction pathways initiated by Ca 2+ flux. Then, we review chrono logically NMDAR expression and function in astrocytes that have been a source of controver- sies and apparent contradictions. Finally, some insights are presented regarding NMDAR in astrocytes in the context of the tripartite synapse concept and the recently described Ca 2+ flux– independent metabotropic-like NMDAR function in astrocytes. Given the complex molecu- lar nature of NMDAR, its critical role, and the relevance of astrocytes, the study of astrocytic NMDAR promises to provide further understanding of CNS physiology and pathology. (a) responses to Glu and QUIN were not transient but sustained even after 30 s of agonist removal; (b) disparate concentrations of Glu (500 μM) and QUIN (1 μM) were required to elicit a similar iCa 2+ response; and (c) these experiments were made with a fluorometer despite employing live microscopy. On the other hand, cytotoxicity levels induced by Glu or QUIN were prevented by MK-801 or memantine, but again Glu and QUIN concentrations to achieve the same response were disparate (500 μM vs. 500 nM, respectively). Together, these findings indicated that NMDAR in cortical astrocytes is assembled with GluN1, GluN2C or D, and GluN3 subunits.
Revisited Stress-Dependent Curie-Temperature in BCC Iron: LSDA+U Cleansing of Magnon Ambiguities

This study proposes that the strong correlation of the 3d electrons in Fe is an important key to understanding the stress dependence behavior of Curie temperature (Tc). We proved our proposed hypothesis using density functional theory (DFT) within an LSDA+U (local spin density approximation +U) framework. Applying LSDA+U correction increased both the magnetic moment and magnon energy. The increased magnon energy directly contributed to the higher magnitude of the calculated Tc (compared with LSDA). The acquired Tc (from LSDA and LSDA+U) decreased with increasing unit cell volume; this was consistent with previous studies. Although introducing an on-site Coulomb interaction yielded the same stress dependence trend of Tc compared with the LSDA results, increasing the Tc magnitude was more reasonable under meanfield approximation, suggesting that the strong interaction of the 3d electrons in Fe influenced this phenomenon.
The Sensitivity of WRF Simulations of Hurricane Ivan to Choice of Cumulus Parameterization

As progressively smaller grid spacing is used in numerical modeling of mesoscale weather systems, explicit simulation of convection without parameterization has become more common. However, to our knowledge, the appropriateness of omitting the cumulus parameterization (CP) scheme at smaller grid spacing (4 km or less) has not been systematically determined in a tropical environment, particularly for tropical cyclones. The objective of this study is to observe the effects of explicitly resolving convection in a tropical cyclone, as opposed to using a convective parameterization. It is our hypothesis that explicit treatment of convection will provide a more realistic representation of the hurricane secondary circulation, eye and eyewall structure, and storm intensity.
THE EFFECT OF MICROTEACHING APPLICATIONS IN ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the effects of micro-teaching applications used in environmental education on the attitudes and behaviors of individuals. The present study carried out within the framework of the environmental education course was performed with 31 pre-service teachers from the primary education department of Aksaray University in the fall term of 2009-2010 academic year. The study which is an experimental study carried out according to pretest-posttest control group design continued for 14 weeks. At the end of the study, it was found that scores for the environmental awareness, attitude and behavior of the pre-service teachers significantly increased. In light of this finding, it can be argued that more frequent use of micro-teaching applications in environmental education is useful.