Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neuroprotective and MAOB inhibitory effects of a series of caffeine-8-thioglycolic acid amides

The effects of new derivatives of caffeine-8-thioglycolic acid (100 μM) on isolated rat brain synaptosomes, human neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y and human recombinant MAOB enzyme (hMAOB) (1 μM) were evaluated. Most of the compounds, administered alone, didn’t show statistically significant neurotoxic effects on SH-SY5Y, when compared to the control (non-treated cells). Of all studied structures JTA-2Ox, JTA-11, JTA-12 and JTA-13 decreased cell viability. In combination with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) (100 μM), only JTA-1 and JTA-2 revealed neuroprotective effects, stronger than those of caffeine. All compounds administered alone revealed, neurotoxic effects on synaptosomes, as compared to nontreated synaptosomes. JTA-1, JTA-2 and JTA-3 showed lowest neurotoxic effects and were investigated in a model of 6-OHDA-induced oxidative stress. In this model of neurotoxicity, only JTA-1 and JTA-2 showed statistically significant neuroprotective effect, by preserving the synaptosomal viability and the level of reduced glutathione. Inhibition of hMAOB, was revealed by JTA-1 and JTA-2. They inhibited the enzyme by 23% and 25% respectively, thus approaching the selegiline activity, which was 42%. The possible mechanisms of neuroprotection of JTA-1 and JTA-2 might be a result from the inhibition of hMAOB, which catalyze the production of neurotoxic p-quinone from 6-OHDA.
Does broad gender diversity affect corporate social responsibility disclosures?

Nowadays, corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures becoming a business world issue. Many public listed companies are voluntarily disclosing their CSR information. This study aims to examine the relationship between gender diversity and CSR disclosures in basic and chemical manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesian stock exchange during 2014 to 2016 periods. The analysis method used in this research was a mixed-method, a combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques. The quantitative analysis implemented in the study by utilizing the Spearman correlation. Further, qualitative analysis was based on content analysis. The results of this study showed that there is a lack of gender diversity amongst board members since the number of women on the boards in basic and chemical manufacturing companies still being a minority. Therefore, the relationship between gender diversity as measured by the level of female on the company board and CSR disclosures were insignificant.
Purchase and retrieval competition for seasonal produce

We study the competition problem of purchase and multiretrieval of perishable seasonal produce, where wholesalers purchase and stock their products in the first period, and then retrieve and sell them in subsequent periods. We first consider the duopoly case and assume that the prices are exogenous and fluctuate. In each period, after the price realization, the wholesalers retrieve some stock from their warehouses to satisfy their demands. One wholesaler's unsatisfied customers can switch to another and be satisfied by its left retrieved products. Any unsold retrieved stock has no salvage value and any unsatisfied demand is lost. The unretrieved stock is carried to the next period at a perishable rate. The wholesalers compete for the substitute demand by determining their own purchase and retrieval quantities. We show the existence and uniqueness of a pure‐strategy Nash equilibrium, and that the Nash equilibrium strategy has the simple “sell‐down‐to” structure. We also consider the general N‐person game and show the existence of the Nash equilibrium, and characterize the structure of the equilibrium strategy for the symmetric case. In addition, we consider the case with endogenous prices, and show that the problem reduces to a repeated newsvendor game with price and inventory competition. We derive the conditions under which a unique Nash equilibrium exists and characterize the equilibrium strategy. Finally, we conduct numerical studies to examine the impacts of the model parameters on the equilibrium outcomes and to generate managerial insights.
Prevalence and predictors of low bone mineral density in treatment-naive HIV-infected patients and its correlation with CD4 cell counts

Objective: HIV virtually affects every organ system of the body. The skeletal system is no exception, and antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been implicated in bone diseases. However, not many studies have been done to evaluate bone disease in treatment (ART) naive HIV-infected patients, and hence, the present study was executed. Materials and Methods: One hundred and twenty HIV-infected ART-naive patients and 80 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were recruited for this study. A thorough history and physical examination was done followed by laboratory investigations after an overnight fasting. Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scan at the level of lumbar spine, femur, and forearm. Results: Of 120 ART-naive HIV-infected cases, the prevalence of osteoporosis and osteopenia was 13% and 41%, respectively, as compared to 0% and 17.5% in controls (P < 0.001). The mean BMD in cases was 0.842 g/cm2 which was approximately 25% lesser than that in controls. Hypovitaminosis-D was seen in 100% of cases as compared to 65% of controls (P < 0.01). A significant association of low BMD was seen with HIV-infection per se (P < 0.001), low CD4 cell counts (P < 0.001), low Vitamin D levels (P < 0.001), long duration of disease (P < 0.04), history of opportunistic infections (P < 0.03), and history of tuberculosis in the past (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Bone diseases such as osteoporosis and osteopenia characterized by low BMD are very common in HIV-infected patients. Virus per se, along with low CD4 cell counts and low Vitamin D levels are major predictors of pathological fractures in these individuals.
Morphology of germlings of urediniospores and its value for the identification and classification of grass rust fungi

The identification and classification of grass rust fungi is often difficult since most traditionally used morphological characters are quantitative and subjective. Besides, when using the host range as a taxonomic criterion, it is important to realize that a rust fungus may have jumped to a new host species and that host range may also be affected by the variability and age of the host plant, and inoculation conditions. The present study was initiated to assess the taxonomic value of the germling morphology of the urediniospores of grass rust fungi. The germling morphology of grass rust fungi was observed after inoculation on the barley line L94. Since the rate of development and the morphology of the germlings was similar in host and non-host plants until formation of the first haustorium, rust fungi collected from barleys were studied at about 20 h after inoculation and from other grasses at about 40 h. Germling morphology was proven to be a reliable and useful criterion for identification and classification of grass rust fungi. It enabled an easy discrimination of species complexes that are very similar in traditionally used morphological characters, e.g. Puccinia hordei and P.recondita. Species complexes which are distinct on the basis of these traditionally used morphological characters were also distinct in germling morphology, viz. Puccinia coronata, P. graminis and P.brachypodii. Besides, germling morphology differed greatly between taxa subsumed under the P. recondita and P. brachypodii complexes. In other taxa the differences were mostly quantitative. The differences and similarities in germling morphology observed within and between species complexes were in general correlated with differences in isozyme banding patterns, nuclear DNA contents, and literature data on several other molecular, biochemical, and hybridization experiments. The results from the studies on germling morphology and isozyme banding patterns suggest to treat the species included in the P. brachypodii and P. recondita complexes as separate species, to recognize varieties within P. coronata and P.striiformis (including the newly described var. poae), to unite P.hordei and Uromyces rusts from barleys in one species, and not to assign any taxonomic rank yet to taxa subsumed under P.graminis.
If we build – they mostly come: partial functional recovery but persistent compositional differences in wetland beetle community restoration

There is growing evidence of restoration success for wetland plant communities. However, little research has been done on the associated invertebrate community. We test whether restoring plant communities after peat extraction is sufficient for restoring the taxonomic and functional composition of beetle communities. We monitored taxonomic and trait‐based community metrics for beetle assemblages on restoration islands that were up to 13 years old and compared these with the adjacent “target” undisturbed peat bog. Recovery of beetle abundance, species richness, and trophic structure on the islands was remarkably rapid (i.e. within a decade) and converged on that of the undisturbed peat bog within 13 years after restoration commenced. In contrast, small, native, and poor‐dispersing taxa were persistently less abundant on the islands than in the undisturbed peat bog, causing persistent differences in species composition, even on the oldest islands. These poor‐dispersers probably need assistance to reach the islands and possibly ongoing intervention to allow them to survive there. Our findings emphasize the potential for functional trait analysis to reveal barriers to full restoration of insect community composition.
The Relationship between Some Pro-inflammatory Markers and BODE Index in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common clinical pathological disease characterized by rapid deterioration of lung function. Lack of effective treatment and complete understanding of mechanism of this disease lead to increased incidence of mortality and morbidity rate globally. The aim of this study is to determine the association of proinflammatory mediators with BODE index in patients with COPD. This study is a case control study including 87 COPD patients and 100 healthy individuals (as a control). FEV1 was assessed using spirometry to investigate pulmonary function. ELIZA technique was applied to examine the serum levels of IL-1B, IL-6 and TNF-a. There was significant increase in bothinterleukin-1 (IL-1) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in COPD patients when compared to healthy individuals. However, the levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a) in COPD patients were not significantly different when compared to healthy individuals. FEV1/FVC ratio in COPD patients was significantly decreased when compared to healthy group. The pro inflammatory markers, IL-1 and IL-6, are more likely to be applicable in diagnosis and assessment of COPD. Additionally, BODE index is a suitable tool for assessment of severity of the disease.
Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy: The Role of Traditional Versus Alternative Approach

Hypnosis is a state of mind that is characterized by focused attention and heightened receptivity for suggestions. It is either established by compliance with instructions or achieved naturally; the critical nature of the mind is bypassed during hypnosis and acceptable suggestions are delivered. Misperceptions about hypnosis by clinical practitioners and their clients have been shaped through years of inaccurate but interesting portrayals of hypnosis in books, plays, and movies. Part of the misperceptions is that individuals with seemingly magical powers to manipulate the unsuspecting innocent with their authoritative voice commands and penetrating eyes are depicted as hypnotists. This chapter will review the traditional and conventional approaches used in hypnosis, their advantages and disadvantages as well as where hypnosis is used as a complementary or alternative therapy to the modern day orthodox medicine. Despite the pejorative image display of hypnosis and misconceptions surrounding it, hypnosis still has numerous applications in contemporary medicine. Hypnotherapy conducted by a trained therapist is considered as a complementary or safe alternative to present day orthodox medication for numerous ailments.
Wing venation teratology in Apis mellifera L.

Honey bee ( Apis mellifera L.) wing venation is quite distinctive and the resulting pattern is currently used in subspecies discrimination. In recent years the forewings of worker bees sampled in A. m. mellifera , A. m. ligustica , A. m. carnica , and hybrid colonies were examined and various abnormalities - due to the presence of both supernumerary and defective veins - were observed. The supernumerary veins were considered as present only if an evident vein length could be detected, while slight thickenings were ignored. Most colonies did not show any teratology in wing venation, while a few ones provided several workers with abnormal wings; in these cases, some individuals showed two or more abnormalities. Spurs of various length protruding from the standard veins were the most frequent abnormalities observed; among them an adventitious distal abscissa of the 2 rs-m crossvein, a spur protruding from the 2nd abscissa of Rs vein into the 1st submarginal cell, and the extension of the Rs vein beyond the distal end of the marginal cell were rather common. In some cases two opposed spurs tended to join or a single vein branched, thus defining an open or even closed supernumerary cell. In defective veins the missing stretch varied considerably in length so that in a few cases two contiguous cells merged more or less completely. Wing venation teratology should be taken into account when using the wing venation pattern for a morphometric distinction of honey bee subspecies, and data from abnormal wings should not be acquired, especially if automated procedures are used.
Research Reports: Movement and Establishment of Sugarcane Borer (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) Larvae on Resistant and Susceptible Sugarcane

The movement and establishment of sugarcane borer, Diatraea saccharalis (F.), larvae was studied on resistant and susceptible sugarcane. A field study was conducted over three years on the cultivars `CP 74-383' (susceptible), `CP 65-357' (intermediate), and `CP 70-321' (resistant). Stalks of each cultivar were artificially infested with neonate sugarcane borer larvae and sampled at 10, 20, and 30 days after infestation. Larval movement, entrance holes, and plant growth were mapped and recorded for each cultivar and sample date. Larval recovery at 30 days after infestation was low and varied among cultivars totalling 10.2% on CP 74-383, 7.0% on CP 65-357, and 3.5% on CP 70-321. Larvae entered stalks of CP 74-383 earlier than those of CP 65-357 and CP 70-321; at 10 days after infestation, 48% of the larvae on CP 74-383 had entered the stalk, but only 19% on CP 65-357 and CP 70-321. Larvae generally moved up the stalk before entering, indicating that young internodes were preferred to older internodes for entry sites. Larvae feeding on CP 74-383 were also more likely to damage multiple internodes. This study suggests that a major component of sugarcane's resistance to sugarcane borer is reducing the frequency of the establishment of young larvae in the stalk.
The home range and behaviour of yellow‐stage European eel Anguilla anguilla in an estuarine environment

The behaviour patterns of yellow-stage European eels Anguilla anguilla within the tidal waters of the rivers Frome and Piddle, and the neighbouring Poole Harbour estuary (Dorset, England) were examined from July to December using acoustic transmitters and a fixed hydrophone array. Point-to-point measures of range varied between 630 m and 4150 m, with no relationship between eel size and range. Eight eels displayed repeated circuits, travelling distances of 440 m to 5060 m over a few hours. Activity was generally, but not exclusively, nocturnal, with the start and end times closely associated with sunset and sunrise, respectively. Neither direction of travel nor average ground speed was influenced by tidal flow direction, and seasonal declines in water temperature did not appear to influence behaviours. These results on distance travelled during regular, nocturnal movements provide valuable insights into the spatial and temporal distribution of yellow eels in an estuarine environment, which can aid the design of survey programmes in terms of the range over which to deploy fishing gears and the number of nights they should be fished. These survey programmes are urgently required to estimate eel production from saline environments for national Eel Management Plans, and the subsequent implementation of effective conservation measures. The strong influence of light regime on the behaviour patterns of eels points towards control of artificial illumination (light pollution) being an important eel conservation measure in this environment, at least. Copyright © 2013 Crown copyright.
Examining Adaptations of the Good Behavior Game: A Comparison of Known and Unknown Criteria for Winning

ABSTRACT The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is a classroom management intervention whereby students earn points toward a particular criterion to “win” the game. Typically, students know the criterion at the start of the game. However, this approach may cause behavior to deteriorate if, during the game, students believe that they have already won or lost. The current study investigated the effects of known and unknown criteria in a Welsh Year 4 (ages 8–9) classroom. Participants included three students who engaged in disruptive behavior (target students) and three who typically did not (nontarget peers). Tau-U and percentage nonoverlapping data (PND) effect size calculations indicated that both known and unknown criterion games were effective at reducing target students’ disruptions to within the range of their nontarget peers, but neither game was more effective than the other. Teachers reported that they preferred playing the GBG with an unknown criterion; however, the students’ preferences were mixed.
Shopping value, trust, and online shopping well-being: a duality approach

PurposeBased on a duality approach, this study examines the path from utilitarian value via cognitive trust versus hedonic value via affective trust in online shopping well-being. This study also explores the moderating role of extraversion in the relationships between shopping value and trust.Design/methodology/approachA data set collected from 648 online consumers in Vietnam was used to validate the measures employing confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and to test the hypotheses using structural equation modelling (SEM). FindingsThe results show that online shopping well-being is determined hedonically and affectively rather than in an utilitarian manner and cognitively. Affective trust positively contributes to online shopping well-being, but cognitive trust does not. The dual-process associations between utilitarian shopping value and cognitive trust and between hedonic shopping value and cognitive trust were also confirmed. Finally, extraversion moderates the cognitive and affective associations between shopping values and trust.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature on online shopping by applying a dual perspective to confirm the role of hedonic shopping value and affective trust in positively determining online shopping well-being. As a result, this study provides a deeper understanding about if and why online shopping well-being is affect-based, instead of cognition-based.
Main-Beam Range Deceptive Jamming Suppression With Simulated Annealing FDA-MIMO Radar

The main-beam range deceptive jamming forms active jamming by storing, modulating, and retransmitting radar signals into the radar receiver, which greatly reduces the efficiency of radar detection. In this work, we propose a method based on simulated annealing algorithm frequency diverse array multiple-input multiple-output (SA-FDA MIMO) radar to suppress main-beam range deceptive jamming. This method firstly uses simulated annealing algorithm to calculate nonlinear FDA frequency increments. Its beampattern has the characteristic of single peak decoupled, which is different from the traditional range-angle coupled FDA beampattern. Secondly, by receiving signal compensation, the non-linear frequency increments make false target echoes present discrete distribution in the power spectrum. Finally, the echoes adaptively filtered, main-beam range deceptive jamming suppression is achieved while the desired target signals are retained. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed approach can effectively suppress main-beam range deceptive jamming. In comparison with MIMO and traditional linear frequency increment FDA radar, the performance of the proposed method has the superiority.
Food for psycholinguistic thought on gender in Dutch and German: a literature review on L1 and L2 production and processing

The aim of this paper is to explore how variation in the expression of gender has been and can be exploited to study gender perception in speakers of Dutch and German. We provide an up-to-date literature review on descriptive and psycholinguistic research on gender for these languages, considering empirical studies on both native (L1) and second language (L2) acquisition. This paper contributes to placing existing literature on gender in Dutch and German in a comparative mode and to offering a concrete rationale (e.g., three lines of enquiry) to move the psycholinguistic study of language, cognition and gender forward. Zusammenfassung: Das Ziel dieses Papers ist es herauszufinden, wie sich Unterschiede von Gender im Ausdruck von Sprache erfassen lassen und wie die Ergebnisse genutzt werden können, um die Perzeption von Gender bei niederländischen und deutschen Sprechern zu untersuchen. Vorgestellt wird eine aktuelle Übersicht der deskriptiven und psycholinguistischen Forschungsliteratur zum Thema Gender in diesen beiden Sprachen, wobei der Fokus auf empirischen Studien nach Erst(L1) und Zweitspracherwerb (L2) liegt. Dieser Beitrag ermöglicht somit den Vergleich der vorhandenen deutschen und niederländischen Genderliteratur und liefert im Ergebnis konkrete Ansätze (z.B. drei Forschungsgebiete), um die psycholinguistische Forschung von Sprache, Kognition und Gender weiter voranzubringen.
RESPONSE OF GROWING LAMBS FED ON DIFFERENT VEGETABLE PROTEIN SOURCES WITH OR WITHOUT PROBIOTICS

The study was planned to examine the effects of different protein sources with or without probiotics on the nutrients intake and their digestibility, nitrogen (N) balance, blood metabolites and growth performance. For this purpose, thirty two six month old lambs were randomly divided into eight groups, four animals in each, in a 4×2 factorial arrangement. Four iso-caloric and isonitrogenous diets were formulated using different protein sources [corn gluten meal 30% (CGM), canola meal (CM), cotton seed meal (CSM) and sunflower meal (SFM)] with (50 g/ton) or without probiotics. Dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) intake were higher (5.54%) in lambs fed CM diet, whereas neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and Acid detergent fiber (ADF) intake were higher in animals fed SFM diet. Dry matter, CP, NDF and ADF digestibility was not affected (P>0.05) in lambs fed diets containing different protein sources. Addition of probiotics increased (P<0.05) NDF and ADF digestibility (9.0 & 9.56%, respectively). Blood glucose was significantly (P<0.05) higher (18.67%) in lambs fed CM diets. The N-intake and Nbalance were different (P<0.05) in lambs fed diets containing different protein sources. Highest weight gain was observed in lambs fed CM diet, and lowest in lambs fed SFM diet. Feed conversion ratio was similar (P>0.05) across all the treatments. It is concluded that CM is better protein source for growing lambs than CGM, CSM and SFM. Moreover, diets containing probiotics significantly influenced the growth performance of growing experimental lambs. © 2011 Friends Science Publishers