Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phytochemical study of Tribulus Terrestris L.

Tríbulus terrestris L. , an annual herb belonging to the Zygophyllaceae family and growing in moderate and tropical climates, has a rich chemical composition of biologically active substances and chemical elements.The aim of the work is a phytochemical study of Tribulus terrestris L. growing in different geographical zones.Materials and methods. The objects of study were herb specimens of Tribulus terrestris L. collected in different habitats. The samples of the raw materials were shade-dried. The determination of saponins in the raw materials, was carried out by high performance liquid chromatography with a mass spectrometric detection (HPLC-MS / MS). The study of the qualitative and quantitative composition of the elements was carried out on an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer.Results. The saponins had been studied by HPLC-MS/MS, according to which in all the studied samples, dioscin and protodioscin were found. Their retention times coincided with the retention times of dioscin and protodioscin standards. It has been established that among the macroelements of Tríbulus terrestris L. , potassium and calcium are mostly accumulated. They account for about 90% of the total content of the elements in the plant. It has been revealed that the distribution of macroand microelements in the plant, varies significantly depending on their place and growing conditions.Conclusion. The maximum dioscin content was observed in the samples harvested in Moldova, and the minimum – in the samples from the nursery garden of the All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of medicinal and aromatic plants. The largest amount of protodioscin was found out in the samples from the Crimea, and the minimum – in the samples from Moldova. The carried out study of the elements content of Tríbulus terrestris L. showed that the habitats (geographical zones) in which the studied samples of raw materials had been were collected, affect the accumulation of the elements by the plant. Based on the data obtained, biological absorption series have been compiled for the samples from each habitat.
Hybrid Low-Order Modeling for Conceptual Vehicle Design

Parametric vehicle modeling permits rapid iteration and optimization of vehicles in the conceptual design phase. A significant portion of vehicle design can be optimized parametrically without knowing specific Computer Aided Design (CAD) based details. Many vehicle characteristics such as curb mass, center of gravity location, key dimensions, occupant packaging and cargo volume can be assessed and improved at the parametric level. Key vehicle performance measures can be determined to a high level of confidence. This work develops a continuum of dimensional parameters which tie vehicle internal and external dimensions together; it employs a combination of industry standard and author-defined component dimensions which make up overall vehicle outside dimensions. An effective continuum of functional parameters is also developed. The work develops a parametric modeling, scenario builder and optimization software framework which provides a design and optimization tool for vehicle design with trade-off evaluation tools. Hybrid electric vehicle drivelines, mass impact and economy measures are addressed.
Association Between Cytomegalovirus Disease and Dementia: A Population-Based Cohort Study

Background The association between human cytomegalovirus (CMV) and dementia remains controversial. Previous studies have suggested that CMV serostatus assessed by serum immunoglobulin G plays a role in neurodegeneration with cognitive impairment. We aimed to evaluate the association between CMV tissue-invasive diseases and vascular dementia (VD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). MethodsThe International Classification of Diseases (ICD) 10th revision codes from the National Health Insurance Database covering entire people in Republic of Korea were used to classify patients: case group (n = 687), age ≥40 years with CMV tissue-invasive end-organ disease and control group (n = 3,435), without CMV disease, matched by age and sex (ratio, 1:5). The case and control subjects selected during 2010–2014 with a washout period of the previous 4 years were followed-up until December 2016.ResultsThe multivariate regression model adjusted for age and sex showed a significantly higher incidence of dementia (odds ratio [OR], 2.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.5–3.1) in the case group. The risk of VD (OR, 3.3; 95% CI, 1.3–8.4) was higher than that of AD (OR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.1–2.8) in the case group. In age subgroup analysis adjusted for sex, patients aged 40–59 years with CMV disease had a significantly higher risk of all kinds of dementia than those aged 60-79 and ≥80 years (OR, 12.6; 95% CI, 3.3–48.8 vs. OR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.3–3.4 vs. OR, 1.4; 95% CI, 0.7–2.9; P=0.021). Conclusions CMV disease may be associated with the risk of VD.
Systematic Identification and Analysis of NAC Gene Family in Moso Bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis)

Background: NAC (NAM/ATAF1/2/CUC2) gene family is a large plant-specific transcription factor family, which is implicated in many functions, such as morphogenesis, the thickness formation of secondary cell walls as well as biotic and abiotic stress and more. In moso bamboo ( Phyllostachys edulis ), 94 PeNACs have been identified and three members are predicted to relate to the secondary cell wall. However, there were few studies on moso bamboo NAC genes under stress.Results: In this study, we re-identified 165 PheNACs with the latest moso bamboo genome data and divided them into 12 subfamilies using NAM domains. Gene structure and motif distribution manifested the NAC gene family was fairly conserved. Evolutionary analysis showed that the segmental duplication played a significant role in the expansion of NAC genes and the relationship between moso bamboo and Brachypodium distachyon was closest than beween moso bamboo and other four species ( Arabidopsis thaliana, Oryza sativa , Sorghum bicolor and Zea mays ). Based on the promoter analysis of the 27 NAC members in A subfamily, quantitative real-time PCR exhibited these genes reacted differently under drought, high salt, abscisic acid and methyl jasmonate treatments. Finally, we selected out four potential stress-associated genes (PheNAC001, -056, -080 and -100) and found they all localized in the tobacco nucleus and had transcriptional activity in yeast.Conclusions: These preliminary results provide valuable information for mining potential resistance NAC genes and lay theoretical basis for breeding new stress-resistant varieties in moso bamboo.
RESPUESTA DEL PIMIENTO MORRÓN AL SECADO PARCIAL DE LA RAÍZ EN HIDROPONIA E INVERNADERO* RESPONSE OF SWEET PEPPER TO PARTIAL ROOT DRYING IN HYDROPONIC AND GREENHOUSE

This study was carried out with the purpose of evaluating the effect of two levels of residual humidity on the substrate, using the technique of partially drying the root, on growth, yield, water relations and gas exchange for sweet pepper plants (Capsicum annuum L.) Cannon F1. The experiment was carried out in 2009, in the Montecillo Campus of the Colegio de Postgraduados en Ciencias Agricolas, Mexico. Treatments were distributed under a design completely at random, with four repetitions as follows: 1) SPR80-80, with a split root and residual humidity of the substrate in both containers ≥80%; 2) SPR80-30, with a split root and residual humidity of the substrate in one of the containers ≥80% and the other ≥30% with alternance cycles; and 3) control, with a complete root system, and a residual humidity of the substrate ≥80%. Fertilization was performed through drip irrigation, with Steiner solution (1984) at an osmotic potential of -0.046 MPa. During the experimental period, variables related to growth, yield, water relations, gas exchange and fruit quality were measured, undergoing variance analysis and the Tukey test at 5% probability. Results show that plants under
The Trade‐Off Between Work and Education: Evidence from Public Transportation Penetration to Arab Towns in Israel

Disadvantaged communities are often geographically segregated from employment and higher education opportunities. Increasing access can entail substantial welfare gains, but this can also affect the tradeoff faced by young adults between investing in higher education and working for pay. We evaluate the introduction of bus services to Arab towns in Israel, which substantially and differentially increased access either to work only or to work and higher education opportunities among a disadvantaged population. Exploiting the variation that different bus line connections created in the cost of accessing higher education institutions, we find that young adult male responses are consistent with a tradeoff between investing in higher education and working for pay. For females, our results are less clear-cut and while there is evidence of responses in terms of the probability of currently studying, we do not observe sufficiently concise labor market responses. Our results demonstrate the importance of accounting for potential reductions in educational attainment when expanding work opportunities to disadvantaged communities
Rapid prototyping of biomolecular circuits through module characterization in cell-free expression systems

Over the past years, the field of synthetic biology has gained a significant array of tools and parts, making way for increasingly complex bio-molecular circuits to be constructed. The development of biocircuits can be facilitated by assembling parts in a less complex, cell-free, environment which contains only the machinery for gene transcription (TX) and translation (TL), which have been extracted from bacteria. In this project, a part library was collected and used to assemble DNA constructs for a newly designed biocircuit. An in vitro TX-TL extract was used to test the circuit modules using linear DNA, and in parallel with predictive modeling of the biomolecular reactions, the overall circuit design was evaluated. The results have given valuable insight into the performance of the circuit modules in a much shorter time than conventional in vivo cloning and testing would have achieved.
Acceleration of Oxygen Ions in Dipolarization Events: 1. CPS Distributions

Using an MHD simulation of near tail reconnection associated with a flow burst and the collapse (dipolarization) of the inner tail in combination with test particle tracing we study the acceleration and flux increases of energetic oxygen ions (O+). The characteristic orbits, distributions, and acceleration mechanisms are governed by the dimensionless parameter σ = ωcitn, where ωci is the ion gyro frequency and tn a characteristic Alfvén time of the MHD simulation. For σ < 1, central plasma sheet (CPS) populations after the passage of the dipolarization front are found to resemble half‐shells in velocity space oriented toward dusk. They originate from within the CPS and are energized typically by a single encounter of the region of enhanced cross‐tail electric field associated with the flow burst. For larger σ values (σ > 1) the O+ distributions resemble more closely those of protons, consisting of two counter‐streaming field‐aligned beams and an, albeit more tenuous and irregular, ring population perpendicular to the magnetic field. The existence of the beams, however, depends on suitable earthward moving source populations in the plasma sheet boundary layer or the adjacent lobes. The acceleration to higher energies is found to indicate a charge dependence, consistent with a dominance of more highly charged ions at energies of a few hundred keV. As in earlier simulations, the simulated fluxes show large anisotropies and nongyrotropic effects, phase bunching, and spatially and temporally localized beams.
A Comprehensive Strategic Analysis of the Environmental Scanning of Iranian Public Hospitals: A Prospective Approach

Objectives: This study was conducted to interpret the micro and macro environmental issues of public hospitals in order to equip hospital managers to plan and perform proactively and could deal more better with uncertain future. Results: semi-structured in-depth interview and a researcher-made questionnaire were used to determine macro and micro level issues based on PESTLE (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental) and Douglas West framework in order to determine the effectiveness and feasibility of factors The key issues at micro level environment were related to prescription and overuse of pharmaceuticals, inequality in distribution of healthcare services and high demands for luxurious services. At macro level: changes in disease patterns, inappropriate hospital budgeting, economic sanctions, government corruption and centralization had a great impact on public hospitals in Iran. following the safety guidelines laid down by the government and better management of bed distribution in order to decrease waiting times at micro level and improve strategic policies in order to have quality-based payment system, enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of services and strategic purchasing are the most important ways at macro level. At this time, the considerable impact of economic sanctions on hospital financial resources should not be ignored.
Paris saponin VII enhanced the sensitivity of HepG2/ADR cells to ADR via modulation of PI3K/AKT/MAPK signaling pathway

To find the effect of Paris saponin VII (PS VII)‐mediated PI3K/AKT/MAPK signaling pathway on the sensitivity of ADR‐resistant HepG2 cell (HepG2/ADR) cells to ADR. The proliferation inhibitory rates were detected by using MTT assay. Flow cytometry was employed to examine the intracellular accumulation of ADR. The expressions of drug‐resistant genes (P‐gp, MRP and BCRP) were detected by qRT‐PCR, cell apoptosis by Annexin‐V‐FITC/PI staining, and the expressions of drug‐resistance‐related proteins, apoptosis‐related proteins, and PI3K/AKT/MAPK pathway‐related proteins were determined by Western blotting. HepG2/ADR and HepG2 cells treated with PS VII (0.88, 1.32, 1.98, and 2.97 μM) for 48 hours showed increased proliferation inhibitory rate in a dose‐dependent manner. HepG2/ADR cells treated PS VII (0.88, 1.32, 1.98 μM) for 48 hours showed decreased IC50 of ADR. Compared with HepG2/ADR cells treated with ADR (5 nM), those treated with PS VII (≤1.98 μM) and ADR (5 nM) showed enhanced ADR accumulation, decreased drug‐resistant gene expressions, increased cell apoptosis with unregulated Bax and cleaved caspase‐3 and downregulated Bcl‐2, as well as the inhibition of PI3K/AKT/MAPK pathway. Moreover, the combination of ADR (5 nM), PS VII (1.98 μM), and LY294002 (PI3K/AKT inhibitor, 20 μM)/SB203580 (P38 inhibitor, 20 μM) for 48 hours could further decreased the HepG2/ADR cell viability, but induced cell apoptosis, accompanying with the decreased expressions of drug‐resistant genes. PS VII could downregulate the expressions of drug‐resistance genes, increase intracellular accumulation of ADR, promote cell apoptosis, and enhance the sensitivity of HepG2/ADR cells to ADR via PI3K/AKT/MAPK.
Islamic

The present chapter explores the likelihood that Second Temple–era Jewish apocryphal and pseudepigraphical texts have an important role to play in the history of classical Islamic literature. It makes a preliminary start toward identifying and outlining some of the ways in which Jewish noncanonical lore might shed light on certain terms or expressions, some narrative features, and particular ideological trajectories resident within distinctively Muslim literary formulations such as Qur’ān, tafsīr, “tales of the prophets” (qiṣaṣ al-anbiyā’) collections, and the early universal histories of Ya‘qūbī (d. 897) and Ṭabarī (d. 923). It is hoped that the present chapter will stimulate further comparative work and contributions to this important field of study.
Supply Chain Interoperability Measurement

Abstract : Academia recognizes that although supply chains have an inherent need to be validated for their performance, supply chain performance measurement systems are still inadequate and one of the major barriers to successful supply chain collaboration. In this research, theory of Systems Architecture is used to make the first step towards an innovative supply chain performance measure defined as supply chain interoperability. Interoperability is considered a similarity metric with regard to a set of deterministic and stochastic characters (criteria) describing supply chain participants, a methodology that adapts and expands an interoperability measurement tool initially developed in and for a military context. A process that could be used to develop a set of initial supply chain interoperability characters to be included in the interoperability measurement is demonstrated based on interviews from managers of various functional roles at a single defense company in Greece. The presented measurement methodology can assist in efficiently directing resources to best improve interoperability between and among the various elements of a supply chain.
Systems of nonlinear PDEs arising in multilayer channel flows

This thesis presents analysis and computations of systems of nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs) modelling the dynamics of three stratified immiscible viscous layers flowing inside a channel with parallel walls inclined to the horizontal. The three layers are separated by two fluid-fluid interfaces that are free to evolve spatiotemporally and nonlinearly when the flow becomes unstable. The determination of the flow involves solution of the Navier-Stokes in domains that are changing due to the evolution of the interfaces whose position must be determined as part of the solution, providing a hard nonlinear moving boundary problem. Long-wave approximation and a weakly nonlinear analysis of the Navier-stokes equations along with the associated boundary conditions, leads to reduced systems of nonlinear PDEs that in general form are systems of coupled KuramotoSivashinsky equations. These physically derived coupled systems are mathematically rich due to the rather generic presence of coupled nonlinearities that undergo hyperbolic-elliptic transitions, along with high order dissipation. Analysis and numerical computations of the resulting coupled PDEs is presented in order to understand the stability of multilayer channel flows and explore and quantify the different types of underlying nonlinear phenomena that are crucial in applications. Importantly, it is found that multilayer flows can be unstable even at zero Reynolds numbers, in contrast to single interface problems. Furthermore, the thesis investigates the dynamical behaviour of the zero viscosity limits of the derived systems in order to verify their physical relevance as reduced models. Strong evidence of the existence of the zero viscosity limit is provided for mixed hyperbolic-elliptic type systems whose global existence is an open and challenging mathematical problem. Finally, a novel sufficient condition is derived for the occurrence of hyperbolic-elliptic transitions in general conservation laws of mixed type; the condition is demonstrated for several physical
A WIN-WIN MODEL OF DEVELOPMENT: HOW INDIAN ECONOMICS REDEFINED UNIVERSAL DEVELOPMENT FROM AND AT THE MARGINS, 1870–1905

In this article, I argue that looking at lesser known intellectuals can help the history of economics to uncover new ways of seeing the world. My focus is the beginnings of “Indian economics” and its conceptualization of development. The Indian economists, despite their elite status in India, were from an imperial context where they were never considered economists. Studies throughout the twentieth century continued to treat them only as nationalists, rarely as contributors to economic knowledge. My research gives agency to these economists. I show how the position of Indian economics from the margins of discursive space offered a unique perspective that enabled it to innovate at the margins of development discourse. Indian economics redefined the concept of universality in the existing nineteenth-century idea of development by rejecting the widely accepted comparative advantage model and assertion that progress originated in Europe. Moreover, the economists pushed for universal industrialization, even for imperial territories, arguing that universal progress was beneficial to all.
Enhancing Participation in Probability-Based Online Panels: Two Incentive Experiments and Their Effects on Response and Panel Recruitment

This article investigates how mail-based online panel recruitment can be facilitated through incentives. The analysis relies on two incentive experiments and their effects on panel recruitment, and the intermediate participation in the recruitment survey. The experiments were implemented in the context of the German Emigration and Remigration Panel Study and encompass two samples of randomly sampled persons. Tested incentives include a conditional lottery, conditional monetary incentives, and the combination of unconditional money-in-hand with conditional monetary incentives. For an encompassing evaluation of the link between incentives and panel recruitment, the article further assesses the incentives’ implications for demographic composition and panel recruitment unit costs. Multivariate analysis indicates that low combined incentives (€5/€5) or, where unconditional disbursement is unfeasible, high conditional incentives (€20) are most effective in enhancing panel participation. In terms of demographic bias, low combined incentives (€5/€5) and €10 conditional incentives are the favored options. The budget options from the perspective of panel recruitment include the lottery and the €10 conditional incentive which break-even at net sample sizes of 1000.
The prevalence of low health literacy and its socio-demographic risk factors in Hebei: a provincially cross-sectional survey

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of low health literacy in Hebei Province of China, and to investigate its socio-demographic risk factors.Methods: This study was a community-based, cross-sectional questionnaire survey with a multiple-stage randomization design and a sample size of 10560. Participants’ health literacy status was evaluated by a questionnaire based on the 2012 Chinese Resident Health Literacy Scale. Meanwhile, participants’ socio-demographic characteristics were also collected by the questionnaire.Results: A total of 9952 participants provided valid questionnaires and were included in the final analyses. The mean health literacy score was 63.1±17.1 points; for its subscales, the mean basic knowledge and concepts score, lifestyle score, health-related skills score were 31.7±9.0, 17.2±4.8, 14.3±4.1, respectively. Meanwhile, low health literacy prevalence was 81.0%; for its subscales, low basic knowledge and concepts prevalence (70.6%) was numerically reduced compared to low lifestyle prevalence (87.4%) and low health-related skills prevalence (86.1%). Further analyses showed that age, male and rural area were positively associated, but education level and annual household income were negatively associated with low health literacy prevalence. Further multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that higher age, male, lower education level, lower annual household income and rural area were closely correlated with the risks of low total health literacy or low health literacy in subscales in Hebei Province.Conclusion: The prevalence of low health literacy is 81.0% in Hebei Province. Meanwhile, higher age, male, lower education level, lower annual household income and rural area closely associate with low health literacy risk.