Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phytochemical and Biological Studies on Proteins Isolated From Different Microalgal Species

Microalgae are rich in high protein content that enhances their nutritional and therapeutic benefits in addition to their ability for high mass production. Therefore, the present study was designed to reveal the biological efficiency of the natural proteins isolated form Dunaliella salina, Scenedesmus obliquus and Spirulina platensis. During the current study, it was found that the highest protein content was noticed in S. platensis (48.44%) followed by D. salina (31.75%) then S. obliquus (28.56%). The protein content decreased upon applying some stress conditions on S. platensis and S. obliquus. The electrophoretic detection of the proteins isolated from the microalgal species showed that the vegetative and stressed S. obliquus were physiologically similar to S. platensis by 42.11 and 57.14%, respectively. D. salina was similar to S. platensis by 46.15%. As compared to the vegetative S. obliquus, the stressed S. obliquus and D. salina were similar to 30.77 and 33.33%, respectively. The D. salina was similar to the stressed S. obliquus by 57.14%. The protein pattern was electrophoretically represented by 10 denatured bands in S. platensis, 9 bands in the vegetative S. obliquus, 4 bands in the stressed S. obliquus and 3 bands in D. salina. There was one common band identified in all microalgal species at relative mobility (Rf) 0.95 (Molecular weight (Mwt) 5.27 KDa). There were 5 characteristic (unique) bands identified in the vegetative S. obliquus at Rfs 0.07, 0.17, 0.50, 0.58 and 0.86 (Mwts 214.68, 137.74, 42.37, 30.18 and 12.44 KDa, respectively). The amino acids that were analyzed in the isolated protein hydrolysate showed that 15 amino acids were noticed in S. platensis and S. obliquus. While in D. salina, 17 amino acids were identified. Glutamic acid was the most predominant amino acid and exhibited the highest percentages in D. salina, S. obliquus and S. platensis (4.96%, 3.3% and 7.58%, respectively). Additionally, the in-vitro studies on the isolated proteins showed that the D. salina protein exhibited the highest antioxidant activity at a dose of 100 μg/ml (308.78%) followed by the S. platensis and S. obliquus proteins (140.81% and 124.49%, respectively). Furthermore, D. salina and S. obliquus showed moderate anticholinesterase activity (34% and 36%, respectively). Therefore, microalgal proteins might be used as therapeutic antioxidants and might be used in combination with treatments of Alzhiemer's disease (AD).
Kariya (Hildegardia barteri) seed oil extraction: comparative evaluation of solvents, modeling, and optimization techniques

Abstract In this work, the effects of solid/solvent ratio (0.10–0.25 g/ml), extraction time (3–8 h), and solvent type (n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and acetone) together with their shared interactions on Kariya seed oil (KSO) yield were investigated. The oil extraction process was modeled via response surface methodology (RSM), artificial neural network (ANN) and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) while the optimization of the three input variables essential to the oil extraction process was carried out by genetic algorithm (GA) and RSM methods. The low mean relative percent deviation (MRPD) of 0.94–4.69% and high coefficient of determination (R2) > 0.98 for the models developed demonstrate that they describe the solvent extraction process with high accuracy in this order: ANFIS, ANN, and RSM. The best operating condition (solid/solvent ratio of 0.1 g/ml, extraction time of 8 h, and acetone as solvent of extraction) that gave the highest KSO yield (32.52 wt.%) was obtained using GA-ANFIS and GA-ANN. Solvent extraction efficiency evaluation showed that ethyl acetate, n-hexane, and acetone gave maximum experimental oil yields of 19.20 ± 0.28, 25.11 ± 0.01, and 32.33 ± 0.04 wt. %, respectively. Properties of the KSO varied based on the type of solvent used. The results of this work showed that KSO could function as raw material in both food and chemical industries.
A new discovery of a Giraffokeryx skull and associated fossil assemblage of Ruminants from the Middle Miocene deposits of the Siwaliks

ABSTRACT A detailed taxonomic study of fossil ruminants from three localities of the Chinji Formation, Lower Siwaliks of the Siwalik Group, Pakistan has been carried out. These fossil sites; Dhok Bun Ameer Khatoon, Chinji type locality, and Lava have produced an important quantity of fossil fauna of the Middle Miocene age. Many new Ruminant samples have been collected including three different families Tragulidae, Giraffidae, and Bovidae. The 41 collected and described specimens belong to five species. Quantitatively, bovids and girafids provide evidence of small to medium size ruminants. The skull of Giraffokeryx punjabiensis has been reported for the first time from the locality Dhook Bun Ameer Khatoon. Giraffokeryx is the medium-sized member of the Giraffidae famed for its two pairs of horn cores. The litho-stratigraphic paleoenvironmental data of Chinji Formation (14.2–11.2 Mya) indicate that the Miocene climate of Pakistan was likely to be monsoonal and humid having extensive forest components and grasslands. Biogeographically, the Miocene fauna of Lower Siwaliks shows similarities with Eurasian and African Miocene sites. The composition of the fauna suggests a Middle Miocene age.
Influence of diurnal variation in the chemical composition and bioactivities of the essential oil from fresh and dried leaves of Lantana camara

ABSTRACT Lantana camara species is generally seen only as a detriment to plantations but it also possess medicinal potential. This work aimed to analyse the essential oil (EO) yield and chemical composition of fresh and dry leaves versus seasonal variation of L. camara, as well as its inhibition of fungi, bacteria and towards the enzyme acetylcholinesterase. Variations in EO yield and its chemical composition in front of the aforementioned variations were found to be notorious. EO obtained from fresh and dry leaves throughout the day (6am, 12pm and 6pm) presented inhibition of Candida albicans higher than the standards. However, what is clear is that the EO from dry leaves of L. camara were the best inhibitors of fungi, bacteria and also of AChE, this latter standing out by a potent inhibition reaching 96.10%, superior to the standard used (90.31%).
Who are the young users of tobacco products? Prevalence and characteristics of Danish adolescents who have either smoked cigarettes, used alternative tobacco products, or used both

Aims: We examined characteristics (smoking in social relations, binge drinking, and well-being measures) of Danish 13-year-olds in relation to their tobacco use patterns. Ever use of cigarettes exclusively, ever use of alternative tobacco products (ATPs; e-cigarettes, snus, or waterpipe) exclusively, and use of both cigarettes and ATPs were studied. Methods: We used self-reported data from students at 46 Danish schools in 2017 comprising 2,307 students (response rate = 86%). Multi-level logistic regression analyses were used to examine the associations between student characteristics and the odds for having ever used any tobacco products, smoked cigarettes exclusively, used ATPs exclusively, or used both cigarettes and ATPs compared with never use of any tobacco products. Unadjusted estimates and estimates adjusted for gender were reported. Results: A significant minority of youth (13.2%) had used one or more tobacco products. Of these, 2.0% had exclusively smoked cigarettes, 7.2% had exclusively used ATPs, and 4.0% had used both. Findings showed that all included characteristics (families’ and friends’ smoking, binge drinking, and well-being characteristics) were associated with using any tobacco product; however, students with friends who smoked, had been binge drinking, and had low well-being at home had notably higher odds for having both smoked cigarettes and used ATPs compared to the other tobacco use patterns. Conclusion: ATPs were popular among Danish adolescents compared with conventional cigarettes. Thus, prevention efforts among adolescents should not merely focus on the health risks of conventional cigarette smoking but also on ATPs. Students with diverse tobacco use patterns were similar on various characteristics. However, findings indicate that adolescents who had used both conventional cigarettes and ATPs constitute a more risk-averse group in special need of prevention efforts. Gender did not markedly influence the results. These findings may help future strategies aiming at the youngest adolescents at risk of using tobacco products.
Disclosure Style and Response Engagement During Disclosures of Concealable Stigmatized Identities

Supportive disclosure experiences benefit the well-being of those with concealable stigmatized identities (CSIs). The present research examines relationships between discloser’s disclosure directness, recipient’s response engagement, feelings of identity support, and disclosure response satisfaction. Across several correlational and experimental studies, direct disclosures (i.e., those referencing the CSI more explicitly) were met with more engaged recipient responses (e.g., verbal discussion of CSIs). Moreover, more engaged recipient responses were evaluated by disclosers as more supportive/validating and satisfying. To isolate the effects of disclosure directness, we explored and controlled for other disclosure factors including closeness to recipient and discloser outness. This work fills a current literature gap regarding how disclosure and response styles may promote positive disclosure experiences for those with varied CSIs.
Survey on Near-Data Processing: Applications and Architectures

One of the main challenges for modern processors is the data transfer between processor and memory. Such data movement implies high latency and high energy consumption. In this context, Near-Data Processing (NDP) proposals have started to gain acceptance as an accelerator device. Such proposals alleviate the memory bottleneck by moving instructions to data whereabouts. The first proposals date back to the 1990s, but it was only in the 2010s that we could observe an increase in papers addressing NDP. It occurred together with the appearance of 3D-stacked chips with logic and memory stacked layers. This survey presents a brief history of these accelerators, focusing on the applications domains migrated to near-data and the proposed architectures. We also introduce a new taxonomy to classify such architectural proposals according to their data distance.
Polymorphism, Structure, and Nucleation of Cholesterol·H2O at Aqueous Interfaces and in Pathological Media: Revisited from a Computational Perspective

We revisit the important issues of polymorphism, structure, and nucleation of cholesterol·H2O using first-principles calculations based on dispersion-augmented density functional theory. For the lesser known monoclinic polymorph, we obtain a fully extended H-bonded network in a structure akin to that of hexagonal ice. We show that the energy of the monoclinic and triclinic polymorphs is similar, strongly suggesting that kinetic and environmental effects play a significant role in determining polymorph nucleation. Furthermore, we find evidence in support of various O–H···O bonding motifs in both polymorphs that may result in hydroxyl disorder. We have been able to explain, via computation, why a single cholesterol bilayer in hydrated membranes always crystallizes in the monoclinic polymorph. We rationalize what we believe is a single-crystal to single-crystal transformation of the monoclinic form on increased interlayer growth beyond that of a single cholesterol bilayer, interleaved by a water bilayer. We show that the ice-like structure is also relevant to the related cholestanol·2H2O and stigmasterol·H2O crystals. The structure of stigmasterol hydrate both as a trilayer film at the air–water interface and as a macroscopic crystal further assists us in understanding the polymorphic and thermal behavior of cholesterol·H2O. Finally, we posit a possible role for one of the sterol esters in the crystallization of cholesterol·H2O in pathological environments, based on a composite of a crystalline bilayer of cholesteryl palmitate bound epitaxially as a nucleating agent to the monoclinic cholesterol·H2O form.
Modeling of neutron and x-ray scattering by liquids: The risks of using phenomenological models

We review exact formalisms for describing the dynamics of liquids in terms of static parameters. We discuss how these formalisms are prone to suffer from imposing restrictions that appear to adhere to common sense, but which are overly restrictive, resulting in a flawed description of the dynamics. We detail a fail-safe way for modeling the scattering data of liquids that are free from any unwarranted restriction and avoid overparametrizations. We also list some common habits in analyzing the data and discuss how often they do not do justice to the accuracy achieved in scattering experiments, thus frequently leading to overinterpretations in place of a better-grounded model rejection.
How Does the Family Influence the Process of Transition to Adulthood? A Comparative Study of Young People with and without Family Ties in Spain

The transition to adulthood is a process that brings childhood to an end and turns the individual into a young adult. This process is characterised by the acquisition of new roles for young people, roles linked to the development of personal autonomy that culminate in their emotional and functional independence. The aim of this study was to ascertain how young people with family ties and youths without family support perceive and understand their emancipation process. The study also sought to identify the extent to which family provides support during the emancipation process. The research design was qualitative and used the focus group technique for data collection. The total sample consisted of 12 participants (seven males and five females) with an average age of 18. Five of them were minors in the custody of the State, and seven were young adults in a regular family environment. The information collected was analysed using Atlas.ti software. The results highlighted the existence of difficulties and barriers among young people (with and without family ties) related to psychological problems, difficulties in choosing training, finding a job and, in short, emancipation. However, young people with healthy social ties and family stability during their childhood had more support for an effective transition to independent adulthood compared to young people without family ties.
Formulation Development, Statistical Optimization, In Vitro and In Vivo Evaluation of Etoricoxib-Loaded Eucalyptus Oil-Based Nanoemulgel for Topical Delivery

Pain is a common distress in chronic inflammatory diseases, and etoricoxib (ETB) is frequently used in its management. It possesses fewer adverse effects when compared with other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). In the present study, ETB-loaded nanoemulsion (ETB-NE) was formulated and optimized. Eucalyptus oil, Tween 20, and PEG 200 were chosen as the oil, surfactant, and co-surfactant, respectively. The formulation was optimized using the Box–Behnken design. The optimized ETB-NE contained oil, Smix, and water in concentrations of 11.5, 38, and 50% respectively. It had droplet size, polydispersity index, and zeta potential values of 179.6 ± 4.21 nm, 0.373 ± 0.02, and −10.9 ± 1.01 mV, respectively. The optimized ETB-NE sample passed the thermodynamic stability and dispersibility tests. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed the spherical morphology of the NE droplets. The ETB-NE showed a biphasic drug release pattern and released 85.3 ± 1.8% of ETB at 12 h. The ETB-NE was formulated into nanoemulsion gel (NEG) by using 1% carbopol 934. ETB-NEG was characterized for pH, viscosity, drug content, and percentage entrapment efficiency. During in vitro permeation studies, the apparent permeability coefficient value was 0.072 cm−2 h−1 for ETB-NEG, while it was only 0.047 cm−2 h−1 for the ETB gel. The skin histopathology study results confirmed that the ETB-NEG formulation was non-irritant and safe for topical use. The maximum possible analgesia observed for ETB-NEG was significantly high (p < 0.05) with a value of 47.09% after 60 min. Similarly, a formalin-induced acute inflammatory pain study in rats also demonstrated higher analgesia for the ETB-NEG, with % inhibition values of 37.37 ± 5.9 and 51.95 ± 4.4 in the acute and late phases, respectively. Further, ETB-NEG showed 78.4 ± 3.5% inhibition at 8 h in the in vivo anti-inflammatory testing by rat paw edema method. The ETB-NEG was found to enhance the in vivo analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of ETB. The study results could stimulate further studies in this area for establishing a clinically successful NEG formulation of ETB.
Usability of Visual Analogue Scales in Assessing Human Perception of Sound with University Students Using a Web-Based Tablet Interface

Response scales in auditory perception assessment are critical for capturing the true responses of listeners. Despite its impact on data, response scales have received the least attention in auditory perception assessment. In this study, the usability of visual analogue scales for auditory perception assessment was investigated. Five response scales (a unipolar visual analogue scale–negated to regular, a unipolar visual analogue scale—regular to negated, a bipolar visual analogue scale–positive to negative, a bipolar visual analogue scale—negative to positive, and a unipolar 11-point scale (ISO/TS 15666:2021)) for auditory perception assessment are presented. Music and traffic noise were presented to 60 university students at two different levels, i.e., 45 and 65 dBA, respectively. A web-based experimental design was implemented, and tablet pads were provided to the respondents to record their responses. The unipolar 11-point scale required the longest response time, followed by the two unipolar visual analogue scales and two bipolar visual analogue scales with statistical significance. All response scales used in this study achieved statistical reliability and sensitivity for the auditory perception assessment. Among the five response scales, the bipolar visual analogue scale (negative to positive) ranked first in reliability over repeated measures, exhibited sensitivity in differentiating sound sources, and was preferred by the respondents under the conditions of the present study. None of the respondents preferred the unipolar 11-point scale. The visual analogue scale was favoured over the traditional unipolar 11-point scale by young educated adults in a mobile-based testing environment. Moreover, the bipolar visual analogue scale demonstrated the highest reliability and sensitivity, and it was preferred the most by the respondents. The semantic labelling direction from negated to regular, or from negative to positive, is preferred over its opposite counterpart. Further research is necessary to investigate the use of response scales for the general public including children and the elderly, as well as that of semantic adjectives and their counterparts for auditory perception assessment.
Impact of iron on the room temperature luminescence efficiency of oxygen-containing precipitates in silicon

Oxygen precipitation in silicon has been associated with a weak room temperature sub-bandgap luminescence emission at around 1600 nm. We show that the additional presence of iron impurities enhances this emission by an order of magnitude and results in a red shift of the peak luminescence by approximately 45 nm. We not only observe an increase in the luminescence emission with iron contamination level but also with the density and size of the oxide precipitates. Moreover, we provide evidence that the sub-bandgap luminescence emission increases proportionally with the concentration of iron segregated to oxide precipitates after high temperature (>700 °C) annealing and thus allows evaluation of the gettering efficiency of oxygen-containing precipitates. Annealing of iron-contaminated samples at low temperatures (550 °C) results in a considerable reduction in the interstitial iron concentration without changing the sub-bandgap luminescence, indicating that the sink to which iron diffuses depends upon temperature.
Renewable natural resources as green alternative substrates to obtain bio-based non-isocyanate polyurethanes-review

Abstract Commercially available polyurethanes are synthesized by the polyaddition of diisocyanates with polyols and low molecular weight chain extenders. A new approach to polyurethanes synthesis is realized via non-isocyanate routes. Negative impacts of petroleum-based chemicals on the environment and human health as well as gradual reduction of fuel-based resources, which leads to an increase in their prices, are an incentive to looking for bio-based components derived from renewable resources for the polyurethanes synthesis. The purpose of the presented review is a critical summary of the possibilities of using renewable natural resources as green intermediates to obtain non-isocyanate polyurethanes by polyaddition of bis(cyclic carbonate)s and di- or polyamines. The possibility of using carbon dioxide, plant oils, fatty acids and biomass-derived platform chemicals in non-isocyanate polyurethane synthesis is exhaustively commented.
Comparing the cognate effect in spoken and written second language word production

Abstract Cognates – words that share form and meaning between languages – are processed faster than control words. However, is this facilitation effect merely lexical in nature or does it cascade to phonological/orthographic (i.e., sub-lexical) processes? This study compared cognate effects in spoken and typewritten production, which share lexical, but not sub-lexical processes. Dutch–English bilinguals produced English names for pictures representing Dutch–English cognates and control words in either the spoken or typewritten modality. Onset latencies were shorter and accuracy was higher for cognates vs. control words and this effect was similar in both modalities. Compared to controls, total latencies in the written modality were similar for cognates with much cross-linguistic overlap, but longer for ones with less overlap. Additionally, error analysis showed that cognates were more affected by L1 interference than controls. These results suggest two different cognate effects: one at the lexical and one at the sub-lexical level.
Development and Comparative Analysis of Advanced Deep Learning Techniques for Crash Prediction in Advanced Driver Support Systems

Motor vehicle crashes claimed 38,800 lives and caused 4.4 million injuries in 2019 alone. Studies have shown that 94% of these crashes are because of driver errors. Such a huge contribution of driver errors to crashes indicates that efforts at improving safety should be directed toward both vehicles and drivers through advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and vehicular technologies. This study investigates the potential that real-time driver behavior data collected through vehicular technologies offer to predict crashes, as the first line of defense to avoid them. Three deep learning models were developed including multilayer perceptron neural networks (MLP-NN), long-short-term memory networks (LSTMN), and convolutional neural networks (CNN) using vehicle kinematics time series data extracted from the Second Strategic Highway Research Program Naturalistic Driving Study (SHRP2 NDS) dataset. The study builds on the hypothesis that crashes are preceded by turbulences that take place over time (turbulence horizon). If these turbulences are detected promptly they can help predict and avoid crashes. Several values were tested for the turbulence horizon and the prediction horizon (how long before the crash impact it can be predicted) to identify the optimal values. The results showed that the CNN model can predict all crashes with a 100% accuracy and zero false alarms 3 s before the crash impact time when a 6-s turbulence horizon is used. This outstanding performance demonstrates the developed model is a promising tool for implementation in ADAS.