Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bacterial Degradation of Biarylethers

zwei Bakterienstamme Rhodococcus sp. und Paenibacillus sp. aufgrund ihrer Fahigkeit, Dibenzofuran als einzige Kohlenstoffquelle zu verwerten, isoliert. Rhodococcus sp. HA01 mineralisierte nicht nur Dibenzofuran sondern setzte auch Dibenzo-p-dioxin durch angulare Dioxygenierung um, allerdings mit relativ geringer Rate. Auch 3-Chlordibenzofuran wurde uberwiegend durch angulare Dioxygenierung zu 4-Chlorsalicylat als Endprodukt umgesetzt. 2-Chlordibenzofuran sowohl durch angulare Dioxygenierung zu 5-Chlorsalicylat als Endprodukt, als auch in gleichem Ausmas durch laterale Dioxygenierung zu 2-Chlor-3,4-dihydro-3,4-dihydroxydibenzofuran als neuartigem Produkt umgesetzt. Wahrend in bisher charakterisierten Dibenzofuran-Abbauern die Anwesenheit nur eines fur die angulare Dioxygenierung verantwortlichen Genclusters beschrieben ist, zeichnete sich HA01 durch zwei solche Cluster aus, Das Gencluster Dibenzofuran Dioxygenase, mit hoher Ahnlichkeit zur DfdA Dibenzofuran Dioxygenase des Stammes Terrabacter sp. YK3. Ein zweites Dibenzofuran Dioxygenase mit hoher Ahnlichkeit zu derjenigen des Stammes Terrabacter sp. DBF63. durch angulare Dioxygenierung umsetzte, jedoch nicht 3-Chlordibenzofuran. Zusammenfassend konnen die im Wildtyp beobachteten Aktivitaten aus dem Zusammenspiel beider angularer Dioxygenasen und einer nicht weiter untersuchten lateralen Dioxygenase erklart werden. Mittels knock-out Mutanten konnte gezeigt werden, dass die DbfB Extradiol Dioxygenase des Stammes Sphingomonas wittichii RW1, welche als am Abbau von Dibenzofuran and Dibenzo-p-dioxin beteiligt beschrieben wurde, fur ein Wachstum verzichtbar ist und durch eine bisher nicht identifizierte Extradiol Dioxygenase ersetzt werden kann. Eine detaillierte kinetische Analyse von vier Extradiol Dioxygenasen des Stammes RW1 (DbfB, Edo2, Edo3 and Edo4) zeigte, dass alle einer signifikanten im Enzymmechanismus begrundeten Inaktivierung durch 2,2`,3-Trihydroxybiphenyl Ether, das Zwischenprodukt des Dibenzo-p-dioxin Abbaus unterliegen. Edo4 erwies sich, obwohl es beim Wachstum mit Dibenzo-p-dioxin nicht induziert ist, als den anderen Enzymen uberlegen, was durch das hohe “partition ratio” und die vergleichbar geringe Effizienz der Inaktivierung belegt ist.
Optimisation of Remazol Brilliant Blue R dye decolourisation and laccase enzyme production by Marasmius cladophyllus using response surface methodology

The decolourisation of Remazol Brilliant Blue R dye and laccase activity was investigated using pure culture of an endophytic fungus, Marasmius cladophyllus. The fungus is found capable of decolourising 99% of the dye after 12 days of incubation in Glucose Minimal (GM) liquid media (pH 5.5) and laccase activity of 285 U/L was recorded. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to determine and optimise the significant variable(s) in order to obtain the optimum dye decolourisation conditions and laccase production. It was also used to study the interaction effect of the variables on both responses. Box-Behnken Design was used to identify the significant variable(s) whereas the optimisation process was done by using Central Composite Design. It was found that initial dye concentration of 100-300 mg/L, incubation period of 4-20 days and pH of liquid medium of 4-8 significantly influenced the decolourisation of dye and laccase activity. However, only the relationship of the incubation period and pH is significantly affected both the responses. Maximum dye decolourisation of 100% was successfully achieved and the highest laccase activity of 504.53 U/L was recorded after 16 days of incubation period at pH 7 with 259.46 mg/L initial dye concentration.
Critical study of gene action and combining ability for varietal development in wheat: an overview.

A review of research work done on Triticum aestivum, at individual as well as multiple environments, was taken to study general and specific combining ability (GCA and SCA) for grain yield and its related traits. High SCA variance than GCA variance was reported in many experiments which indicating the non-additive genetic inheritance of these agronomic traits. However, in various other research experiments GCA variances and SCA variances indicated equal importance of additive and non-additive gene action. The reviewed results indicated the significance of studying combining ability and gene action governing yield, to identify potential parental genotypes and crosses that can help the breeders to plan a strong crop improvement strategy. [Naseem Z, SA Masood, S Irshad, N Annum, MK Bashir, R Anum, Qurban A, Arfan A, Naila K, Nazar HK. Critical study of gene action and combining ability for varietal development in wheat: An Overview. Life Sci J 2015;12(3s):104-108]. (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite. com. 16
Is The Combined Oral Contraceptive Treatment Of 150 mcg Levonorgestrel And 30 mcg Ethinyl Estradiol Effective In Preventing Bothersome Unscheduled Uterine Bleeding

Objective: The objective of this selective evidence-based medicine (EBM) review is to determine whether or not the combined oral contraceptive treatment of 150 mcg levonorgestrel and 30 mcg ethinyl estradiol is effective in preventing unscheduled uterine bleeding. Study Design: Review of two randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and one post hoc analysis, published after 2014 all in the English language. Data Sources: Two randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and one post hoc analysis, all of which evaluate the efficacy of the combined oral contraceptive (COC) treatment of 150 mcg levonorgestrel and 30 mcg ethinyl estradiol in preventing bothersome unscheduled uterine bleeding. In both RCTs, an experimental group is compared to a control group receiving an identical appearing placebo. All studies were found using PubMed. Outcomes Measured: Each of the three articles analyzed the effects of the combined oral contraceptive of levonorgestrel and ethinyl estradiol in preventing bothersome unscheduled uterine bleeding. A five-point Likert Scale and bleeding diaries were the methods used to measure bothersome unscheduled uterine bleeding. Results: In the studies by Guiahi et al. and Hou et al., participants receiving the treatment of combined oral contraceptive showed statistically significant reduction in unscheduled uterine bleeding compared to the control group with p-values of <0.01 (Guiahi) and 0.03 (Hou). The study by Nappi et al. compared participants with 0-6 and >6 days of bleeding and showed significant improvement that increased each 91-day cycle of the combined oral contraceptive treatment with a confidence interval of 95% and an odds ratio (OR) of 1.531. Conclusions: Based on the systematic review of the two randomized controlled trials and one post hoc analysis, one can decisively say that 150 mcg levonorgestrel and 30 mcg ethinyl estradiol is effective in treating bothersome unscheduled uterine bleeding. All three studies verified statistically significant reduction in bleeding with use of the therapy.
Fabrication of weak‐acid functionalized mesoporous carbon solid acid from tannic acid and its use for saccharification of cellulose

A series of mesoporous carbon‐based solid acid catalysts were prepared using tannic acid (C76H52O46), a polyphenol compound, as starting carbon materials and SBA‐15 as silica template. The tannic acid catalysts were characterized by use of N2 Adsorption‐Desorption Isotherm, XRD, FTIR, XPS, and titration method. Phenolic hydroxyl group with weak acidity was confirmed as main functional groups in these catalysts based on characterization using FT‐IR and XPS. The catalysts were tested in saccharification of cellulose. Effects of different preparation parameters of catalyst were correlated to its saccharification activity: (a) oxidation using H2SO4 was important factor determined the high catalytic activity of catalysts, proved by comparison of catalytic activity of catalysts after treatment in concentrated H2SO4 and parent materials lacking the functionalization, (b) higher carbon coating also promoted good catalytic activity since it has higher relative percentage of acid functional groups based on XPS measurement, and (c) catalyst that treated by short oxidation time (2 h) could exhibit higher catalytic activity compared with catalysts that treated by longer oxidation time. With a ratio of catalyst/substrate: 0.5/1 (g/g) at 180°C for 1 h, glucose yield and conversion of 31.45 and 53.86% could be obtained. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 37: 850–860, 2018
An application of Lasso regression in Factor Augmented HAR models

Many questions have emerged in the econometric literature since the formulation of the heterogeneous autoregressive (HAR) model. Amongst them, what is the best way to estimate it? Furthermore, what variables we should include? Several approaches have arisen, for instance, decomposing the information available in datasets in common factors and adding them as explanatory variables. A second stream proposes numerous varieties of the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (Lasso) model for the automatic selection of the autoregressive structure of the unrestricted AR22. For such models, the selection of the sparsity parameter has a crucial role in the level of fitting and forecasting. In this paper, we aim to enter the discussion in two ways. The first one is by including the factors within the structure of the Lasso regression in the unrestricted AR22 and jointly selecting the variables to include in the autoregressive structure and the multiple common factors, leading to a parsimonious model with only the combination of variables that minimize a loss function. Second, by finding the sparsity parameter, we propose to minimize the BIC in-sample and minimize certain loss function based on the out-of-sample model’s forecasts. We perform the application on 15 Realized Volatilities of World Stock Indices. Our results evidence improvement in the fitting and forecasting afforded by the inclusion of the common factors and with the Lasso approach for model selection.
Access to Financing for Productive Employment Opportunities for Women in Rural Benin

Government and financial institutions have attempted to address low financial inclusion in the development of sustainable microenterprises in rural Benin, especially with regard to women. In general, however, their actions have not been guided by evidence regarding the design of financing schemes intended to boost rural, women-owned enterprises. This paper reports on the relationship between various financing schemes in rural Benin and the economic performance of women-owned enterprises. Using an extended multinomial, endogenous-switching-regression selection-bias-correction model on a representative sample of rural microenterprises, we find that social-network-based financing improves the business performance of rural women entrepreneurs in small-scale commerce more than any other alternative financing scheme in any sector. This is particularly true for microenterprises managed by adult women and by women with a primary-school education level. Formal credit-based financing increases the profit margins of mature microenterprises led by rural women or that employ salaried workers, as well as of all businesses that operate on the basis of credit obtained from social-network-based financing. Finally, our study shows that self-financing is more profitable for young rural women entrepreneurs than other financing alternatives. Our results call for policies that target experienced women microenterprises for innovative microfinancing programs and young women entrepreneurs for subsidy programs.
Pork, Infrastructure and Growth: Evidence from the Italian Railway Expansion

This paper studies the role played by politics in shaping the Italian railway network, and its impact on long-run growth patterns. Examining a large state-planned railway expansion that took place during the second half of the 19th century in a recently unified country, we first study how both national and local political processes shaped the planned railway construction. Exploiting close elections, we show that a state-funded railway line is more likely to be planned for construction where the local representative is aligned with the government. Furthermore, the actual path followed by the railways was shaped by local pork-barreling, with towns supporting winning candidates more likely to see a railway crossing their territory. Finally, we explore the long-run effects of the network expansion on economic development. Employing population and economic censuses for the entire 20th century, we show that politics at a critical juncture played a key role in explaining the long-run evolution of local economies.
Peer-Level Analyst Transitions

Abstract This study examines the effect of peer-level analyst transitions (i.e., switching between brokerage houses) on associated regular incumbent analysts' forecasting performance. We employ a difference-in-differences research design with analyst fixed effects and compare incumbent analysts of different groups within the same broker and same time periods. We find that incumbents who cover at least one common industry as the transiting analyst (i.e., affected incumbents) issue more accurate and timely forecasts after a transiting analyst arrives than incumbents who cover different industries (i.e., unaffected incumbents). Further, affected incumbents issue less accurate forecasts after a transiting analyst leaves than do unaffected incumbents. We also examine potential mechanisms of knowledge spillover and find some evidence that the effect is more salient when the transiting analyst switches from a larger brokerage house, has greater industry scope, or covers geographically linked firms.
Bank Signaling, Risk of Runs, and the Informational Impact of Prudential Regulations

Banks can take costly actions (such as higher capitalization, liquidity holding, and advanced risk management) to fend off runs. While such actions directly affect bank risks, they can also serve as signals of the banks’ fundamentals. A separating equilibrium due to such signaling, however, would involve two types of inefficiency: strong banks choose excessively costly signals, whereas weak banks are particularly vulnerable to runs. We show that minimum regulatory requirements can maintain a pooling equilibrium and eliminate the inefficiencies associated with the separation. We support this novel rationale for prudential regulations with evidence from the US liquidity requirement.
A CGE Analysis of Gender Disparities in Productivity in Nigeria’s Agriculture Sector

Based on the National Food Security Program (NFSP), this study examines both the impact of gender disparities in productivity in the Nigerian agriculture sector and the policy interventions that have attempted to close this gap. We use a CGE model and Nigeria’s updated social accounting matrix (SAM) for these analyzes. The results show that gender disparities in productivity cause aggregate agricultural output and real GDP to be 6.6% and 2.4% lower, respectively, then a baseline with no gender disparities in productivity. In terms of interventions, increasing capital supply to women farmers via access to farm inputs increases the output of farming men and women, but disproportionately favors women farmers. It also leads to higher real GDP and household welfare but results in higher agricultural prices and an unfavorable agriculture trade balance. On the other hand, public investment in infrastructure and tariffs on importation of agricultural commodities are not effective in bridging gender disparities in productivity. While the government should improve access to critical farm inputs for women farmers to bridge gender disparities in productivity and enhance household welfare, further interventions would be required to bring about food security.
The CH/π interaction : evidence, nature, and consequences

Evidence and Methods of Detection. Quantum--Mechanical Treatment of CH--PI Interaction. Comparison with Other Types of Weak Molecular Interactions. Conformational Consequences. Chiroptical Properties. Selectivity in Organic Reactions. Crystal Structures of Clathrates. Inclusion Compounds. Interligand Interactions in Coordination Chemistry. Specific Interactions in Protein Structures. Summary and Prospects. Index.
Foreign body aspiration in children; Analysis of 42 cases

Aim: Tracheal foreign body aspiration is among the major causes of death in developing countries, specifically in infancy and childhood. If it is diagnosed in early period and the foreign body is removed, no complication develops. Material & Method: Records of 42 forensic child patients who applied to Mustafa Kemal University, Medical Faculty Hospital and the Antakya State Hospital, Thoracic Surgery and Pediatric Surgery clinics between 2008-2011, and hospitalized with the thraceobronchial foreign body aspiration prediagnosis were studied retrospectively. Results: Of the 42 patients, 22 were male and 20 were female, and their ages ranged from 4 months to 5 years. Foreign body was detected in 38 cases. In 4 cases, bronchoscopy was performed with the suspicion of foreign body, but no foreign body was observed. The foreign body was removed with rigid bronchoscopy in 37 cases, and in one case, metal tip of a pen was removed from left upper lobe bronchus with thoracotomy. Conclusion: Foreign body aspirations in children mostly originate from accidents. Similarly, the cause of aspiration in children under the age of 5 in our study was mainly accidental and the rest were due to the negligence.
Microencapsulation of shiitake (Lentinula edodes) essential oil by complex coacervation: formation, rheological property, oxidative stability and odour attenuation effect

Complex coacervation of gelatin (GE) with carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and the microencapsulation of shiitake essential oil (SEO) using the GE‐CMC coacervate were investigated. The ζ‐potential and coacervate yield data showed that the optimal complexation pH and CMC/GE ratio were 4.0 and 0.15 g g⁻¹, respectively. At this condition, the coacervate yield was 85.35 ± 4.89% and ζ‐potential was almost zero. The SEO contained microcapsules fabricated by the GE‐CMC coacervate were also electrostatic inducted formation, and the highest encapsulation efficiency was shown to be 85.75 ± 2.89%. The rheological measurement indicated that the GE‐CMC coacervated microcapsules had a viscoelastic solid behaviour (G’ > G”) which was resulted mainly from the interactions between GE molecules and CMC chains. The improved oxidative stability and odour attenuation effect of the GE‐CMC coacervated microcapsules were believed to be attributed to the increased protection against oxidation and flavour release by providing a physical barrier after complex coacervation.
Mainstream anammox, potential a feasibility of autotrophic nitrogen removal

Currently wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) consume a lot of energy and surface area. While the incoming water contains chemical energy (BOD) and reusable resources which are not effectively utilized. The ideal is to develop a treatment scheme which allows for the efficient removal of pollutants while minimizing the energy input and maximizing the recovery of energy and resources present in the wastewater. This thesis describes the potential and feasibility of implementing of the partial nitritation/anammox (PN/A) process in the mainstream of a municipal WWTP. Implementation of this technology will allow a complete re-design of the conventional wastewater treatment scheme from an energy consuming into an energy producing system. In wastewater treatment plants nitrogen is currently removed in two sequential microbial conversions: nitrification and denitrification. For the nitrification step oxygen is needed and for the denitrification step anoxic conditions and BOD are required. The PN/A technology can be used to optimize the municipal mainstream wastewater treatment technology. In the PN/A process the incomplete oxidation of ammonium to nitrite (by aerobic ammonium oxidising bacteria, AOB) is combined with the anaerobic ammonium oxidation (by anammox bacteria). The first advantage is; due to the autotrophic nature of the pathways used, there is no longer a need for carbon to remove nitrogen through denitrification. The carbon in the wastewater can therefore be used for different means for instance for the production of biogas. A second advantage of the PN/A technology is the use of biofilms for (part of) the biomass. Biofilms/granules can lead to higher biomass concentrations in the reactor and therefore higher volumetric loading rates can be applied. Biofilms are easier to separate from water compared to sludge flocs, so a more compact sludge retention system can be built (compared to current secondary clarifiers). Thirdly all nitrogen conversions can take place in the same reactor, omitting the two different zones/tanks for nitrification/denitrification.
The Macroeconomic Effects of the Federal Reserve's Unconventional Monetary Policies

After reaching the effective lower bound for the federal funds rate in late 2008, the Federal Reserve turned to two unconventional policy tools -- quantitative easing and increasingly explicit and forward-leaning guidance for the future path of the federal funds rate -- in order to provide additional monetary policy accommodation. We use survey data from the Blue Chip Economic Indicators to infer changes in private-sector perceptions of the implicit interest rate rule that the Federal Reserve would use following liftoff from the effective lower bound. Using our estimates of the changes over time in private expectations for the implicit policy rule, and estimates of the effects of the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing programs on term premiums derived from other studies, we simulate the FRB/US model to assess the actual economic stimulus provided by unconventional policy since early 2009. Our analysis suggests that the net stimulus to real activity and inflation was limited by the gradual nature of the changes in policy expectations and term premium effects, as well as by a persistent belief on the part of the public that the pace of recovery would be much faster than proved to be the case. Our analysis implies that the peak unemployment effect -- subtracting 1¼ percentage points from the unemployment rate relative to what would have occurred in the absence of the unconventional policy actions -- does not occur until early 2015, while the peak inflation effect -- adding ½ percentage point to the inflation rate -- is not anticipated until early 2016.