Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hepatoprotective Potential of Cnidoscolusaconitifolius Leaf Extract on CCl4 Treated Wistar Rats

Hepatoprotective potential of Cnidoscolusaconitifolius leaf extract on carbon tetrachloride treated wistar rats was investigated. Forty two adult male wistar rats (91-185g) were housed in plastic cages of seven groups with six animals in each. Group one fed with normal rat chow (control). Group two to six were administered CCl4 subcutaneously on day twenty-one. Group three was administered vitamin C orally on daily basis for twenty-one days, group four, five, six took 50mg/kgbw, 75mg/kgbw and 100mg/kgbw extract dose orally for twenty-one day before administration of CCl4. Group seven was given subcutaneous dose of olive oil. All the analysis were done using standard methods. In comparison to the disease control and normal control animals, administration of the extract dose (50mg/kgbw, 75mg/kgbw and 100mg/kgbw) dependently lowered creatinine, albumin, calcium, potassium, ALT, AST and total bilirubin. There was no significant difference (p<0.05) in the magnesium concentrations of rats treated with the leaf extract of C.aconitifolius. The 50mg/kgbw and 75mg/kgbw extract doses provided better protection. Histopathological examination of the liver showed histological normal liver in normal control rats and distortion of the liver sections in disease control rats which was corrected by the extracts at 50mg/kgbw and 75mg/kgbw doses. The result of this study clearly demonstrated the hepatoprotective effect of Cnidoscolusaconitifolius leaf extract against carbon tetrachloride induced hepatotoxicity in rats.
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms AreAssociated With Lower Adaptive Behavior Skills inChildren With Autism

Method: This case-control study recruited 347 children from specialty clinics, primary care, and the community. Linear regression was used to test whether ADHD Rating Scale, Fourth Edition, scores of autistic children associated with poorer adaptive behavior scores, after controlling for the effects of age, intelligence, sex, and ASD symptom severity. Adaptive behaviors were measured with the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Second Edition. Subsequent analyses tested this relation in a subset of the ASD sample with subclinical ADHD symptoms (n 1⁄4 179) and another with teacher ratings (n 1⁄4 153). Prior relations between age with adaptive behaviors and ADHD symptoms were replicated and age was explored as a moderator.
Diyabetik ve Nondiyabetik Farelerin Böbrek Dokusunda HGF ve PCNA’nın İmmunohistokimyasal Dağılımı

Diabetes mellitus is a systemic disease that causes functional disorders in various organs and systems. In this study, we investigated the immunohistochemical localization of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in the kidneys of streptozocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice. Twenty-four Swiss albino mice were divided into three groups: control, sham and diabetic groups. STZ (100 mg/ kg) was administered intraperitoneally (ip) for the development of diabetes. The avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex (ABC) technique was used to determine HGF and PCNA immunoreactivity. In diabetic kidney tissue, there was hydropic degeneration and irregularities on the epithelium of some proximal and distal tubules. Narrowing was observed in some of the Bowman’s spaces. HGF and PCNA immunoreactivities were especially intense in the inner cortex and weak in the medulla. More intense HGF and PCNA immunoreactivities were found in the individual epithelial cells of the proximal and distal tubules. Immunoreactivities were stronger in the proximal tubules than in the distal tubules. In addition, HGF and PCNA immunoreactivities were strong in both interstitial regions and papillary ducts. HGF immunoreactivity was weaker in the diabetic group compared to the other groups. PCNA immunoreactivity generally decreased in the diabetic group but increased in the glomeruli of this group. The reason for the latter result was thought to be based on the increase of mesangial cells in the glomeruli.
Development of Waste Polystyrene as a binder for emulsion paint formulation I: Effect of polystyrene Concentration

---------------------------------------------------------------ABSTRACT-----------------------------------------------------------------In our continuous desire to find suitable methods of recycling waste, expanded polystyrene waste was converted into a paint binder using gasoline as a solvent. Some properties of the binder at different concentrations (5% 30%) were investigated. The melting point, refractive index, density, viscosity, turbidity and elongation at break were found to increase with increase in binder concentration. The solubility of the binder was however, found to decrease with increase in binder concentration. At a concentration of 20% w/v, the binder was found to be insoluble in water. Thus, the processing of waste polystyrene binder for emulsion paint formulation should therefore be carried out below this concentration level. This study provides polystyrene waste as a potential binder for emulsion paint formulation.
2019 Special Issue: Psychological Wellbeing and Distress in Higher Education

This statement was the catch-cry of the Students, Transitions, Achievement, Retention and Success (STARS) Conference held in Adelaide, South Australia in 2017. How people defined wellbeing might have varied some defined it as a proxy for mental illness and distress, others as an indicator of mental robustness and resilience but the need was clear. Estimates at the time suggested that 1 in 5 students were experiencing psychological distress during their time at university, and that wellbeing declined over the time a person is at university, never again returning to baseline even after graduation (Larcombe et al., 2016; Stallman, 2008; 2010). Whether the question was to reduce prevalence and severity of distress, or to promote optimal development and resilience, there was consensus throughout the Conference that the higher education sector needed to pay attention.
The Effects of Physically Effective Neutral Detergent Fibre Content on Growth Performance and Digestibility in Beef Cattle Fed with Total Mixed Ration

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of physically effective neutral detergent fibre (peNDF) content on growth performance and digestibility in beef cattle fed with total mix ration (TMR). A total of 54 six-month-old male Holstein beef cattle (averaged weight of 280 kg) were divided into 3 groups each consisting of 18 cattle. Feed ingredients were added to the TMR wagon as follows; wheat straw, alfalfa hay, barley, corn, cotton seed meal, conventional beef feeding, corn silage, beet pulp, molasses and feed additives. TMR was offered daily to animals. The dietary treatments included; a) TMR diet mixed for 7 min (T1); b) TMR diet mixed for 14 min (T2), and c) free choice diet (FCD). The same ingredients feeds of TMR was given to the T1 and T2 groups but in different mixed times. Alfalfa hay and calf grower feed were separately offered animals in FCD. End of first month of trial, the daily feed intake (DFI) and dry matter intake (DMI) were significantly lower in the cattle that received FCD. At the end of the second month, the daily feed intake and dry matter intake were the highest in T1 diets among all the groups. There was no significant effect of different mixing times on n 48-h NDF digestibility (NDFD48) and ADF (ADFD48) digestibility of TMR. The lowest ration cost of 1 kg daily gain was observed for T2 and the daily feed intake cost was lower for FCD group than T1 and T2. It was concluded that mixing time had an effect on dry matter intake (DMI), average daily gain (ADG).
Portal Hypertensive Polyps as Gastroscopic Finding in Liver Cirrhosis

Background Portal hypertensive polyps in patients with portal hypertension are described. Aims The most significant and serious complication in liver cirrhosis proves to be portal hypertension. Polypoid lesions, which can be seen in the stomach as endoscopic finding in patients with portal hypertension, have not quite been defined in the literature. The aim of this study, therefore, was to define polypoid lesion formation due to portal hypertension in the upper gastrointestinal system in patients with portal hypertension. Study Design. Cross-sectional study. Methods The study covered a group of patients with liver cirrhosis and a healthy control group that did not have portal hypertension. All individuals covered by the study received upper GI endoscopy, while the endoscopic features and pathological characteristics of the identified polypoid lesions were defined. Standard histological criteria were used in polyp diagnosis. Results A total of 400 individuals were included in the study. Upper GI endoscopy was performed for 200 patients with liver cirrhosis and another 200 healthy individuals with no portal hypertension in the control group. When the cases were gastroscopically assessed with regard to polypoid lesion presence, it was seen that a total of 87 (21.8%) individuals had polyps. While 67 (33.5%) cirrhotic patients were identified to have polyps, 20 (10%) individuals in the healthy control group had polyps. When the results of those with liver cirrhosis who received esophageal variceal endoscopic band ligation (EVL) and who did not were compared, it was observed that a higher number of individuals in the group with EVL had polypoid lesions. When the patient and control groups were compared as to Helicobacter pylori presence, the results showed that it was slightly higher in the dyspepsia group but the difference was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Conclusion Portal hypertension-associated polypoid lesions are common in advanced liver cirrhosis cases. The pathological analyses of these polyps pointed out that they were all benign and no malignant cases were detected. It was argued that these polypoid lesions, referred to as portal hypertensive polyps, were associated with elevated angiogenesis in the gastric mucosa.
Atmospheric Radiative Processes Accelerate Ground Surface Warming over the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau during 1998–2013

The Tibetan Plateau (TP), known as the world’s “Third Pole,” plays a vital role in regulating the regional and global climate and provides freshwater for about 1.5 billion people. Observations show an accelerated ground surface warming trend over the southeastern TP during the global warming slowdown period of 1998–2013, especially in the summer and winter seasons. The processes responsible for such acceleration are under debate as contributions from different radiative processes are still unknown. Here we estimate for the first time the contributions of each radiative component to the ground surface warming trend before and after 1998 by analyzing multisource datasets under an energy balance framework. Results show that declining cloud cover caused by the weakening of both the South Asian summer monsoon and local-scale atmospheric upward motion mainly led to the accelerated ground surface warming during the summers of 1998–2013, whereas the decreased surface albedo caused by the snow melting was the major warming factor in winter. Moreover, increased clear-sky longwave radiation induced by the warming middle and upper troposphere was the second largest factor, contributing to about 21%–48% of the ground surface warming trend in both the summer and winter seasons. Our results unravel the key processes driving the ground surface warming over the southeastern TP and have implications for the development of climate and Earth system models in simulating ground surface temperature change and other related complex cryosphere–hydrosphere–atmosphere interactions over high-altitude land areas.
Towards Developing Transgenic Rice For Salinity and Drought Tolerance: Role Of Rab7

Abiotic stresses such as salinity and drought adversely affect the growth and productivity of crop plants. The development of stress-tolerant crops will be greatly advantageous for modern agriculture in areas that are affected by such stresses. In recent years components of membrane trafficking has been reported to be involved in protecting abiotic stress induced damage, indicating possibility to explore house-keeping genes as candidate for raising abiotic stress tolerance in crop plants. We have validated the basic characteristic of rice Rab7 proteins and their role in abiotic stress tolerance through transgenic approach. The amino acid sequence of OsRab7 and PgRab7 proteins showed 92.3% identity and the protein structures are also highly similar. Rice has four orthologs of Rab7 distributed on only 2 chromosomes and regulated by different stress conditions. PgRab7, a Rab7 gene cloned from Pennisetum glaucum, a stress tolerant plant, was over-expressed in a salt sensitive rice cultivar Pusa Basmati-1(PB-1), a staple crop plant. The transgenic rice plants expressing PgRab7 showed considerable tolerance at the vegetative stage against both the salinity as well as drought stresses. When evaluated for yield, a significant amount of seed setting was maintained in transgenic lines in drought stress; however salt stress decreased seed setting. These results indicate that PgRab7 expression in rice confers differential tolerance at the seed setting stage during salinity and
A mathematical model for the novel coronavirus epidemic in Wuhan, China

We propose a mathematical model to investigate the current outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Wuhan, China. Our model describes the multiple transmission pathways in the infection dynamics, and emphasizes the role of the environmental reservoir in the transmission and spread of this disease. Our model also employs non-constant transmission rates which change with the epidemiological status and environmental conditions and which reflect the impact of the on-going disease control measures. We conduct a detailed analysis of this model, and demonstrate its application using publicly reported data. Among other findings, our analytical and numerical results indicate that the coronavirus infection would remain endemic, which necessitates long-term disease prevention and intervention programs.
12th International Conference on Fluidized Bed Technology VALIDATION STUDY ON SPATIALLY AVERAGED TWO-FLUID MODEL FOR DENSE GAS-SOLID FLOWS

In our prior study (Schneiderbauer, 2017), we presented a spatially averaged twofluid model (SA-TFM), where closure models for the unresolved terms were derived from first principles. These closures require constitutive relations for the turbulent kinetic energies of the gas and solids phase as well as for the sub-filter variance of the solids volume fraction. We had ascertained that the filtered model do yield nearly the same time-averaged macroscale flow behavior in bubbling fluidized beds as the underlying kinetic-theory-based two-fluid model (TFM), thus verifying the SA-TFM model approach. In the present study, we have performed a set of 3D computational simulations for validation of the SA-TFM against the experimental data on riser flow (Panday et al., 2014). It is found that near the walls the filter size, which appears in those constitutive relations, has to be replaced by the cell wall distance. Finally, the SA-TFM predictions are in fairly good agreement with experimental data in the case of Geldart A and B particles even though using very coarse grids.
Driving Forces Of Master Teachers’ Research Capability: Towards Building A Research Culture In The Division Of Romblon, Philippines

This study is in response to the Department of Education’s call for a stronger research orientation among its teachers and staff geared towards the improvement of better policy and program development. It is an attempt to help build a research culture in the basic education institutions particularly in the Division of Romblon by providing baseline information about the master teachers’ research capability as well as the factors predicting their capability thereby providing a capability building program which can be used by the Department of Education to advance the research productivity. Anchored within the theory of Bandura’s Self-Efficacy, this study shed light on the master teachers’ level of capability in conducting, utilizing and disseminating research and what factors can significantly predict their research capability. The study employed the survey method in gathering the needed data. Quantitative data analysis using varied statistical tests yielded the following major findings: Master teachers are incapable in the following research capability dimensions: Research Process, Research Utilization, and Research Dissemination suggesting that their capability in research is indeed low and would explain the reason for non-progressive research productivity among the master teachers. There is a correlation between research capability and the following personal related variables such as age, length of service, teaching position, training attended, research conducted, research project involvement, research knowledge, attitude towards research and institutional support. The regression analysis showed that certain personal related variables such as attendance to training, attitude towards research, and knowledge about research could significantly determine higher-level research capability. The result provides a general implication that for any research capacity building program to succeed, the Department of Education must emphasize the importance of knowledge, attitude, institutional support as driving forces towards research productivity.
Determination Of Effect Of Land Use On Distribution And Abundance Of Ground Dwelling Macro Invertebrates In Kirimiri Forest In Embu County, Kenya

Ground dwelling macro invertebrates are essential for soil functions and other significant ecological process such as nutrient cycling. The distribution and ecological role of crawling macro invertebrates may be influenced by anthropogenic factors. Human factors such as deforestation and agricultural activities that destroy the habitat pose great threat for the survival of macro invertebrates. Most of the natural ecosystems including forests in Kenya have been encroached, segmented and reduced in size by the rapidly growing population. However, studies on the impact of such destructive activities on the abundance and distribution of ground dwelling macro invertebrates are limited. Thus, there exist information gap on macro invertebrate composition and their distribution in different ecosystem and habitat segments in Kenya. Such studies are necessary in generating knowledge and creating wholesome understanding to facilitate policy making, habitat management and conservation of crawling macro invertebrates. Based on the above highlights, this study was conducted to determine the effect of land use on the distribution and abundance of ground dwelling macro invertebrate in Kirimiri forest in Embu County, Kenya between January and April 2016. The Napier grass plantation, Tea plantation and indigenous intact forest were evaluated for their macro invertebrates. In every habitat studied, crawling macro invertebrates were caught using the pit fall traps set in 50 m by 50 m grid subdivided into six rows at equidistance gap of 8 m. The pit holes comprised of 60 (250 ml capacity) clear plastic containers filled with 30 ml mixture of ethanol and liquid soap. Macro invertebrates were identified using their morphometric features and then stored in 70 % Ethanol for further laboratory identification at the National museums of Kenya headquarter in Nairobi, Kenya. The data collected was analyzed using Scientific Analysis System (SAS) version 9.4 and significance means separated using Least Significance Difference (SLD). The indigenous intact forest recorded the highest mean of macro invertebrates with family of Polydesmidae being the most abundant (mean=17.33). Tea plantation had the second largest mean (4.59) of macro invertebrates, and the family Gryllidae was the most abundant group with mean of 12.667. Napier grass plantation had a mean of 3.94 and the family Platydesmidae was the most abundant group (mean=12.833). The disparity in abundance and distribution of terrestrial macro invertebrate observed in this study may have resulted from micro climate and microenvironment shift influenced by human activity along and within the forest.
Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha Deficiency Improves Endothelial Function and Cardiovascular Injury in Deoxycorticosterone Acetate/Salt-Hypertensive Mice

It has been shown that the inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) plays a role in the development of hypertension and end-stage renal diseases. We hypothesize that TNFα contributes to endothelial dysfunction and cardiac and vascular injury in deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)/salt-hypertensive mice. The wild-type or TNFα-deficient mice were uninephrectomized and implanted with DOCA pellet treatment for 5 weeks; the mice were given either tap water or 1% NaCl drinking water. DOCA mice developed hypertension (systolic blood pressure (SBP): 167 ± 5 vs. 110 ± 4 mmHg in control group, p < 0.05), cardiac and vascular hypertrophy, and the impairment of endothelium-dependent relaxation to acetylcholine (EDR). TNFα deficiency improved EDR and lowered cardiac and vascular hypertrophy with a mild reduction in SBP (152 ± 4 vs. 167 ± 5 mmHg in DOCA group, p < 0.05) in DOCA mice. The mRNA expressions of the inflammatory cytokines, including TNFα, interleukin 1β (IL1β), monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP1), and monocyte/macrophage marker F4/80 were significantly increased in the aorta of DOCA-hypertensive mice; TNFα deficiency reduced these inflammatory gene expressions. DOCA-hypertensive mice also exhibited an increase in the vascular oxidative fluorescence intensities, the protein expressions of gp91phox and p22phox, and the fibrotic factors transforming growth factor β and fibronectin. TNFα deficiency reduced oxidative stress and fibrotic protein expressions. The DOCA mice also showed a decrease in the protein expression of eNOS associated with increased miR155 expression; TNFα deficiency prevented a decrease in eNOS expression and an increase in miR155 expression in DOCA mice. These results support the idea that TNFα significantly contributes to vascular inflammation, vascular dysfunction, and injury in hypertension.
Ignitability analysis using the cone calorimeter and lift apparatus

The irradiance plotted as function of time to ignition for wood materials tested in the Cone Calorimeter (ASTM E1354) differs signiticantly from that tested in the Lateral Ignition and Flame spread Test (LIFT) apparatus (ASTM E1321). This difference in piloted ignitabilty is primarily due to the difference in forced convective cooling of the specimen tested in both apparatus. By calibrating for the convective heat transfer coefficient and using appropriate heat conduction analysis of the test data for both apparatus, similar values were derived for the following thermophysical properties: surface emissivity, surface ignition temperature, thermal conductivity, and thermal diffusivity. This paper reports on results with tongue & groove boards of clear grade redwood.
The Effects of the Electoral Regime on Trade Policy

This paper studies how tariffs will vary with the mechanism used to elect that country’s legislature. In particular, we study tariff policy under legislatures elected by a majoritarian election rule in single member constituencies and under a proportional, or party-list, rule. We develop a theoretical model in which office-seeking politicians’ decisions regarding tariffs are determined by their electoral institution. We find that proportional systems have higher average tariffs than majoritarian systems, and that under both systems, sectors with higher levels of employment will recieve higher tariffs, but that the effect will be more pronounced under a proportional electoral rule. Finally, we test this model empirically, and find that these predictions are borne out by the data. ∗We are grateful to Felix Kubler, John Shoven and Romain Wacziarg for helpful discussions. Comments are welcome and may be emailed to hatfield@stanford.edu