Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
BIOMONITORING OF HEAVY METAL ACCUMULATION IN SELECTED INLAND FISHES OF KERALA

Inland f ishing is a time old practices in the extensive network of interconnected water bodies of Kerala and most of the production is consumed locally and marketed domestically. However, with the increasing urbanization and industrialization, the discharge of untreated or partially treated sewage and industrial wastes along with wash out of agricultural pesticides, the water resources are getting polluted extensively and our f ish resources are dwindling rapidly. Fish production plays an important role in the socioeconomic life of Kerala. Therefore, toxic effects of the different pollutants in f ishes may have signif icant socio-economic and environmental impression in our society. In this context, present study was aimed to determine the accumulation of heavy metals in most common and commercially important inland f ish species of Kerala. Based upon commercial importance and consumption rate especially for common people, four f ish species viz. Etroplus suratensis, Catla catla, Labeo rohita and Hypselobarbus curmuca were selected for the study. Acid digested tissues like gills, liver and muscles were analysed for heavy metals viz. Hg, As, Cd, Pb, Cu and Zn using ICP – AES method. The results conf irmed that our inland f ishes are highly accumulated heavy metals especially the toxic Pb, which is comparatively higher than the permissible limit recommended by WHO. In general, all the f ishes accumulated metals in the order Zn > Cu > Pb > As, Hg, Cd. In muscles, the total metal accumulation were in the order Pb (33.6 %) > Zn (10.4%) > Cu (4.1%) > As, Hg, Cd (bdl). Present study conf irms the necessity of regular monitoring of our f ish resources for the wellbeing of the human beings and also emphasize that the liver and gills of f ishes can be considered as a reliable bio-monitor of heavy metal pollution in our aquatic ecosystem.
Coloração do Fruto e Substrato na Emergência e no Crescimento de Plantas de Eugenia calycina Cambess

O objetivo do trabalho foi avaliar a influencia da coloracao dos frutos na emergencia e no crescimento das plantas de Eugenia calycina Cambess (pitangueira-do-cerrado), assim como de substratos com diferentes proporcoes de material orgânico e estruturante. Tres experimentos foram instalados: o primeiro de emergencia; o segundo de crescimento de plantas constituidos de sementes provenientes de frutos verdes, alaranjados/avermelhados, vermelho-claros e vermelho-escuros; e o terceiro comparou cinco misturas de Bioplant® suplementado com Vermiculita® e com po-de-coco no crescimento das plantas, ambos nas proporcoes de 20% e 40%. A coloracao do fruto nao influenciou a capacidade de emergencia, tempo (inicio, medio e final), velocidade e sincronia de emergencia das plântulas de E. calycina. O crescimento das plantas ate 270 dias de cultivo foi independente da coloracao do fruto. A Vermiculita® e o po-de-coco suplementados ao Bioplant® nao afetaram o crescimento das plantas ate os 120 dias de cultivo.
Evaluating the Performance of Factor Pricing Models for Different Stock Market Trends: Evidence from China

ABSTRACT This paper examines the performance of three famous factor pricing models in markets of bull, bear, and consolidation in China. Empirical results show that these models explain the time-series variations in portfolio returns in bearish market reasonably well, but fail to explain the cross-sectional variations. Another two findings are revealed by instability tests. First, the three models are more unstable in trending (i.e., bearish and bullish) markets under time-series regression due to the higher stock price synchronicity. Second, greater instability causes the unitary parameter estimates less reliable and brings about difficulties in explaining the cross-sectional portfolio returns in trending markets.
Demographic approach on the study of genetic parameters in the dog Braque Français type Pyrénées Italian population

Abstract The complete electronic record of the Braque Français type Pyrénées reared in Italy was downloaded from the ENCI database in order to estimate the genetic variability of the breed. Pedigree records of all active registered animals (reference population = RP) were considered. The whole population (WP = RP and its genealogy) included 1250 dogs (628 males and 622 females). Seven hundred eighty-three dogs were inbred. To explain 50% of the genetic variability, a total of seven ancestors were sufficient in the RP. The average inbreeding coefficient (F) in the RP was 4.3%, while the average inbreeding of the inbred was 5.19%. F was <0.05 in 511 dogs (65.3% of inbred), whereas it was >0.20 in only 13 dogs (1.66% of inbred). F per year ranged from 0.98% for dogs born in 2003 (27 dogs) to 7.05% in 204 dogs born in 2009. Ten traced generations were highlighted. A maximum average inbreeding value (6.62%) was observed in the dogs with 10 traced generations. This research highlighted the good genetic variability of the breed obtained through the efficient management by the Italian Club of Braque Français Type Pyrenees (CIBF), in collaboration with the member breeders and the active cooperation of the French Club. The CIBF has made arrangements with our genetic centre to constantly monitor the genetic variability of the breed in order to prevent excessive increases in inbreeding in the future.
Do What (You Think) the Rich Will Do: Inequality and Belief Heterogeneity in Public Good Provision1

Beliefs about others’ cooperativeness are among the strongest determinants of cooperative behaviours. Beliefs about different others, however, are not necessarily uniform, nor necessarily related to past behaviours: different expectations about different others might solely originate from differences in observed individual characteristics. Finally, not all such beliefs need drive conditional behaviour alike. In an experimental public good game with heterogeneous endowments, I find that rich subjects are expected to cooperate more by both rich and poor individuals, and that behaviours of both the rich and poor significantly correlate only with beliefs about the rich. I further find that an intervention aimed at downplaying the salience of heterogeneity has no impact on neither beliefs nor cooperation. I conclude with implications for information dissemination about uncooperative behaviour in the mass media and avenues for further research. JEL classification codes: C91, H41
Tunneling and Value Relevance of Financial Reports: Evidence from Hong Kong

Using a sample of Hong Kong listed firms that announced related party transactions, this paper examines the informativeness of financial reports prior to the announcements of related party transactions. We find that the value relevance of financial reports is higher for firms undertaking asset or equity tunneling transactions than for firms undertaking other types of related party transactions in the period prior to the announcement of transactions. Given firms with forthcoming tunneling transactions, financial reports are more value relevant for firms with more conservative accounting than for firms with less conservative accounting. Further, the association between conservatism and entrenchment effect is stronger for firms with forthcoming tunneling transactions. Collectively, the evidence suggests that firms adopt conservative accounting to increase the informativeness of financial reports prior to the tunneling transactions, which assists controlling shareholders in expropriating wealth from the minority shareholders from the tunneling transactions.
Learning an Optimal Sampling Distribution for Efficient Motion Planning

Sampling-based motion planners (SBMP) are commonly used to generate motion plans by incrementally constructing a search tree through a robot’s configuration space. For high degree-of-freedom systems, sampling is often done in a lower-dimensional space, with a steering function responsible for local planning in the higher-dimensional configuration space. However, for highly-redundant sytems with complex kinematics, this approach is problematic due to the high computational cost of evaluating the steering function, especially in cluttered environments. Therefore, having an efficient, informed sampler becomes critical to online robot operation. In this study, we develop a learning-based approach with policy improvement to compute an optimal sampling distribution for use in SBMPs. Motivated by the challenge of whole-body planning for a 31 degree-of-freedom mobile robot built by the Toyota Research Institute, we combine our learning-based approach with classical graph-search to obtain a constrained sampling distribution. Over multiple learning iterations, the algorithm learns a probability distribution weighting areas of low-cost and high probability of success, which a graph search algorithm then uses to obtain an optimal sampling distribution for the robot. On challenging motion planning tasks for the robot, we observe significant computational speed-up, fewer edge evaluations, and more efficient paths with minimal computational overhead. We show the efficacy of our approach with a number of experiments in whole-body motion planning.
Variability and past long-term changes of brominated very short-lived substances at the tropical tropopause

Abstract. Halogenated very short-lived substances (VSLSs), such as bromoform (CHBr3), can be transported to the stratosphere and contribute to the halogen loading and ozone depletion. Given their highly variable emission rates and their short atmospheric lifetimes, the exact amount as well as the spatio-temporal variability of their contribution to the stratospheric halogen loading are still uncertain. We combine observational data sets with Lagrangian atmospheric modelling in order to analyse the spatial and temporal variability of the CHBr3 injection into the stratosphere for the time period 1979–2013. Regional maxima with mixing ratios of up to 0.4–0.5 ppt at 17 km altitude are diagnosed to be over Central America (1) and over the Maritime Continent–west Pacific (2), both of which are confirmed by high-altitude aircraft campaigns. The CHBr3 maximum over Central America is caused by the co-occurrence of convectively driven short transport timescales and strong regional sources, which in conjunction drive the seasonality of CHBr3 injection. Model results at a daily resolution reveal isolated, exceptionally high CHBr3 values in this region which are confirmed by aircraft measurements during the ACCENT campaign and do not occur in spatially or temporally averaged model fields. CHBr3 injection over the west Pacific is centred south of the Equator due to strong oceanic sources underneath prescribed by the here-applied bottom-up emission inventory. The globally largest CHBr3 mixing ratios at the cold point level of up to 0.6 ppt are diagnosed to occur over the region of India, Bay of Bengal, and Arabian Sea (3); however, no data from aircraft campaigns are available to confirm this finding. Inter-annual variability of stratospheric CHBr3 injection of 10 %–20 % is to a large part driven by the variability of coupled ocean–atmosphere circulation systems. Long-term changes, on the other hand, correlate with the regional sea surface temperature trends resulting in positive trends of stratospheric CHBr3 injection over the west Pacific and Asian monsoon region and negative trends over the east Pacific. For the tropical mean, these opposite regional trends balance each other out, resulting in a relatively weak positive trend of 0.017±0.012 ppt Br per decade for 1979–2013, corresponding to 3 % Br per decade. The overall contribution of CHBr3 together with CH2Br2 to the stratospheric halogen loading accounts for 4.7 ppt Br, in good agreement with existing studies, with 50 % and 50 % being injected in the form of source and product gases, respectively.
Short-term dynamics of a neotropical forest: why ecological research matters to tropical conservation and management

Arguments that ecological research on species-rich tropical forests is too little, too late, an irrelevancy, and a luxury we can ill afford when time is running out to save tropical forests are wrong. Focused basic and applied ecological research has a vital and cost-effective role to play in tropical forest conservation and management. Sustainable management of natural tropical forests is not possible without a better holistic understanding of how such forests actually work ecologically and interact with humans. Because time is short, however, we must learn «on-the-job» by conducting research as we implement management plans. We base our argument on experience with a large-scale study of the tropical forest on Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Panama (.)
Effect of chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) on postprandial glycaemia, body weight and hematological parameters in rats fed a high fat and fructose diet

Chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) are currently consumed by varied populations as superfoods due to their protective, functional and antioxidant properties. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of ground chia seeds/extracts on postprandial glycaemia, body weight, hematological parameters and cellular morphology in rats. Twenty male Wistar rats were assigned into three experimental groups and a control (n =5). Each experimental group received 10 g/20 g fructose/lard. Additionally, 90 g rat pellet was fed to group 1 and 3 which was supplemented with 20 g chia seed extract, group 2 received ground chia seeds only. Control group received 90 g rat pellet only for 28 days. The results on body weight changes indicated a gradual increase in body weight of chia seeds/extract fed rats as compared to fructose/lard group. There was an increase in postprandial blood glucose levels in group 1 from week I to IV contrary to groups supplemented with chia seeds/extract. Complete blood counts showed a significant increase (p = 0.008) in mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, basophils (p = 0.035), platelets (p = 0.025) and red cell distribution width (p = 0.008) in experimental groups compared to control. These results pinpoint the benefits of chia seeds.Keywords: Blood composition, functional food, glucose concentration, metabolic diseases, omega-3 fatty acids
Nutrient contents and in vitro digestibility of different parts of corn plant

AbstractThe objective of this study was to assess the nutrient contents and in vitro true digestibility (IVTD) of parts of the corn plant. The corn used in the study was P2088, a variety that is grown widely in Turkey. It had matured and was harvested 140 days after planting. Four replicate plants were separated into nine parts, namely lower stalk, central stalk, upper stalk, corn ear stalk, corn ear shuck, kernels, corn cob, leaf, tassel, plus the entire plant. The samples were dried and ground for analysis. Nutritional values were determined in the laboratory and in vitro digestibility was assessed. Significant differences in nutrient content were observed among parts of the corn plant. The highest crude protein (CP) content was found in the leaf (12.41%), followed by the grain (12.37%). Dry matter (DM) varied from 91.25% to 96.07%. The highest ether extract (EE) was in the grain (2.84%), and the upper stalk contained the least EE (0.29%). The parts also differed in their contents of crude cellulose (CS) and crude ash (CA) (P <0.001). Most organic matter (OM) was found in the corn cup (94.27%). The highest in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) was in the kernels (79.06%) and the lowest was in the lower stalk (38.13%). In terms of in vitro true organic matter digestibility (OMD) values of the corn plant and its 9 parts, the highest values were found in the kernels and the lowest in the lower stalk.Keywords: crude nutrients, in vitro true digestibility, parts of corn plant
Effect of soil burial on silane treated and untreated kenaf fiber filled linear low-density polyethylene/polyvinyl alcohol composites

In recent decades, natural fibers have become widely used with petroleum based polymers such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) because of their light weight, lower cost, and inherent biodegradability. In the present work, linear low-density polyethylene/polyvinyl alcohol (LLDPE/PVOH) composites with untreated kenaf and silane-treated kenaf at filler loadings of 0, 10, and 40 phr were prepared via the melt mixing process. The soil burial test was used to evaluate the degradability of the composites for different durations (90 and 180 d). The tensile properties, surface morphology, chemical composition, percentage of weight loss, and crystallinity of the composites before and after degradation were evaluated. With increased kenaf loading and soil burial duration, all the composites showed a decrease in tensile properties. This was further confirmed by the changes in surface morphology and chemical structure of the buried composites. The increase in weight loss percentage and crystallinity after soil burial indicated that the longer burial duration had increased the degradation of composites. Composites with silane-treated kenaf exhibited lower degradability than that of composites with untreated kenaf after being buried for 90 and 180 d. This may be attributed to the improved adhesion of kenaf to the LLDPE/PVOH matrix via silane treatment.
Light Treatment for Sleep Disorders : Consensus Report . IV . Sleep Phase and Duration Disturbances

Advanced and delayed sleep phase disorders, and the hypersomnia that can accompany winter depression, have been treated successfully by appropriately timed artificial bright light exposure. Under entrainment to the 24-h daynight cycle, the sleep-wake pattern may assume various phase relationships to the circadian pacemaker, as indexed, for example, by abnormally long or short intervals between the onset of melatonin production or the core body temperature minimum and wake-up time. Advanced and delayed sleep phase syndromes and non-24-h sleep-wake syndrome have been variously ascribed to abnormal intrinsic circadian periodicity, deficiency of the entrainment mechanism, or&mdash;most simply&mdash;patterns of daily light exposure insufficient for adequate phase resetting. The timing of sleep is influenced by underlying circadian phase, but psychosocial constraints also play a major role. Exposure to light early or late in the subjective night has been used therapeutically to produce corrective phase delays or advances, respectively, in both the sleep pattern and circadian rhythms. Supplemental light exposure in fall and winter can reduce the hypersomnia of winter depression, although the therapeutic effect may be less depen-
What is the Quality of Life of Transtibial Amputees in Brunei Darussalam?

Introduction: Lower limb amputations have a profound impact on the quality of life (QoL) of the patients. This study was done to assess the QoL of patients with transtibial (below-the-knee) amputations (TTA) and transtibial amputees fitted with prosthesis. Material and Methods: A case-control study of patients who had undergone TTA from 2015 to 2018 was conducted in Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Hospital (RIPAS). Complete data was available for 30 subjects and it was compared with 30 diabetic, non-amputee patients matched for age and gender. QoL was assessed using the RAND 36-Item Health Survey (SF-36) and the functional outcome of prosthesis-fitted transtibial amputees was assessed using the Houghton Scale. Results: Almost all cases of TTA were a result of vascular problems related to diabetes and chronic renal disease (n=29; 97%). Eighteen (60%) participants were fitted with prosthesis and 15 (50%) reported having phantom pain. QoL of participants was found to be significantly lower than that of age and sex-matched diabetic non-amputees with regards to physical functioning, role limitation due to physical health, emotional well-being, social functioning, and bodily pain. The mean Houghton Score for participants fitted with prosthesis was 4.89 (SD= 2.83) suggesting low functional outcome. Conclusion: TTA has a negative impact on the QoL of patients, especially in terms of functionality. The availability of prosthesis does not significantly improve the quality of life except in the physical functioning domain. Emotional well-being should be emphasised more in the rehabilitation process as this study found poor emotional well-being among participants.
Highly Efficient Generation of Transgenically Augmented CAR NK Cells Overexpressing CXCR4

Natural killer (NK) cells are a noteworthy lymphocyte subset in cancer adoptive cell therapy. NK cells initiate innate immune responses against infections and malignancies with natural cytotoxicity, which is independent of foreign antigen recognition. Based on these substantive features, genetically modifying NK cells is among the prime goals in immunotherapy but is currently difficult to achieve. Recently, we reported a fully human CAR19 construct (huCAR19) with remarkable function in gene-modified T-cells. Here, we show efficient and stable gene delivery of huCAR19 to primary human NK cells using lentiviral vectors with transduction efficiencies comparable to those achieved with NK cell lines. These huCAR19 NK cells display specific and potent cytotoxic activity against target cells. To improve homing of NK cells to the bone marrow, we augmented huCAR19 NK cells with the human CXCR4 gene, resulting in transgenically augmented CAR NK cells (TRACKs). Compared to conventional CAR NK cells, TRACKs exhibit enhanced migration capacity in response to recombinant SDF-1 or bone marrow stromal cells while retaining functional and cytolytic activity against target cells. Based on these promising findings, TRACKs may become a novel candidate for immunotherapeutic strategies in clinical applications.
Analysis of reed vibration and mouthpiece pressure in contemporary bass clarinet playing techniques

While articulation on the B[-clarinet has already been a subject in various studies, articulation on the bass clarinet has gotten less attention. Because of the increasing interest for using the bass clarinet, especially in contemporary music, this instrument is emerging from the shadow of the B[-clarinet. In order to investigate articulation on the bass clarinet an experiment was carried out in an anechoic chamber at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. A professional clarinetist was recorded performing different articulation techniques on a German bass clarinet under controlled performance conditions. Results show that the attack transients on the bass clarinet were about 0.085 s long in staccato articulation. In comparison, attack transients on the B[-clarinet are 2 to 3 times shorter. This study especially focuses on the slap tonguing technique. Of particular interest is the reed bending signal, which shows the movement of the reed. It has been observed that tones articulated with slap tonguing have a significantly shorter attack transient and are immediately entering the decay phase. Such measurements allow an in-depth analysis of player-instrument interactions with contemporary playing techniques and may support the refinement of physical model parameters but may also support music education.