Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antioxidant Potential of the Polyherbal Formulation “ImmuPlus”: A Nutritional Supplement for Horses

In order to counteract harmful effects of oxidative stress due to pathological conditions or physical exercise, horses are often administered dietary supplements having supposed high antioxidant activities. The aim of the present study was to identify the in vitro antioxidant potential of “ImmuPlus”, a polyherbal formulation (Global Herbs LTD, Chichester, West Sussex, Great Britain), containing three medicinal plants (Withania somnifera, Tinospora cordifolia, and Emblica officinalis), known in Ayurveda for their use in human disease treatment. Extracts obtained by different solvents (water, methanol, ethanol, acetone, and hexane) were tested for total antioxidant capacity, total reducing power, scavenging activity against DPPH radical, and total polyphenol and flavonoid contents. Our results showed that, except as regards hexane, all the used solvents are able to extract compounds having high antioxidant activity, even when compared to ascorbic acid. Regression analysis showed significant correlations between antioxidant properties and polyphenol/flavonoid contents, indicating the latter, known for their beneficial effects on health of human and animal beings, as major components responsible for the strong antioxidant capacities. Moreover, obtained results suggest the effective role of the polyherbal mixture as good source of antioxidants in horses.
Dispersal and seed limitation affect diversity and productivity of montane grasslands

So far, seed limitation as a local process, and dispersal limitation as a regional process have been largely neglected in biodiversity-ecosystem functioning research. However, these processes can influence both local plant species diversity and ecosystem processes, such as biomass production. We added seeds of 60 species from the regional species pool to grassland communities at 20 montane grassland sites in Germany. In these sites, plant species diversity ranged from 10 to 34 species m(-2) and, before manipulation, diversity was not related to aboveground biomass, which ranged from 108 to 687 g m(-2). One year after seed addition, local plant species richness had increased on average by six species m(-2) (29%) compared with control plots, and this increase was highest in grasslands with intermediate productivity. The increased diversity after adding seeds was associated with an average increase of aboveground biomass of 36 g m(-2) (14.8%) compared with control plots. Thus, our results demonstrate that a positive relationship between changes in species richness and productivity, as previously reported from experimental plant communities, also holds for natural grassland ecosystems. Our results show that local plant communities are dispersal limited and a hump-shaped model appears to be the limiting outline of the natural diversity-productivity relationship. Hence, the effects of dispersal on local diversity can substantially affect the functioning of natural ecosystems.
The Effect of Pulsed Radiofrequency Applied to the Peripheral Nerve in Chronic Constriction Injury Rat Model

Objective To investigate the effect of pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) applied proximal to the injured peripheral nerve on the expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in a neuropathic pain rat model. Methods Nineteen male Sprague-Dawley rats were used in the study. All rats underwent chronic constriction injury (CCI) procedure. After 7 days of CCI, withdrawal frequency of affected hind paw to mechanical stimuli and withdrawal latency of affected hind paw to heat stimulus were measured. They were randomly divided into two groups: group A, CCI group (n=9) and group B, CCI treated with PRF group (n=10). Rats of group B underwent PRF procedure on the sciatic nerve. Withdrawal frequency and withdrawal latency were measured at 12 hours, and 7 days after PRF. Immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis were performed using a TNF-α antibody. Results Before PRF, withdrawal frequency and withdrawal latency were not different in both groups. After PRF, withdrawal frequency decreased and withdrawal latency prolonged over time in group B. There was significant interaction between time and group for each withdrawal frequency and withdrawal latency. Group B showed decreased TNF-α immunoreactivity of the spinal cord and sciatic nerve at 7 days. Conclusion PRF applied proximal to the peripheral nerve injury is potentially helpful for the reduction of neuropathic pain by neuromodulation of inflammatory markers.
Preliminary empirical model for scaling Fourier Amplitude Spectra of strong ground acceleration in terms of earthquake magnitude, source-to-station distance, and recording site conditions

An empirical model for scaling Fourier Amplitude Spectra of strong earthquake ground acceleration in terms of magnitude, M, epicentral distance, R, and recording site conditions has been presented. The analysis based on this model implies that: It has been shown that the uncertainties which are associated with the forecasting of Fourier amplitude spectra in terms of magnitude, epicentral distance, site conditions, and component direction are considerable and lead to the range of spectral amplitudes which for an 80 per cent confidence interval exceed one order of magnitude. A model has been presented which empirically approximates the distribution of Fourier spectrum amplitudes and enables one to estimate the spectral shapes which are not exceeded by the presently available data more than 100 (1 - p) per cent of time where p represents the desired confidence level (0 < p <1).
THE BEHAVIORAL THEORY OF STRATEGIC DECISION MAKING: BUILDING ON GREVE'S EMPIRICAL STUDIES

There has been a reinvigorated interest in the behavioural theory of the firm within strategic management, with several influential books and articles being published in the last few years (e.g. Augier & March, 2002; Bromiley, 2005). Prominent within this line of research have been a series of studies by Henrich Greve on strategic decision making in the radio station and shipbuilding industries (Greve, 1998, 2002, 2003a, b, c). Greve has made significant contributions to the behavioural theory of the firm by injecting risk and strategic decision making into the sometimes passive behavioural view, and by applying empirical techniques to a variety of strategic decisions such as asset expansion, product changes and innovation.
Detecting spam webpages through topic and semantics analysis

Spam web pages have posed great challenges to the development of search engines. The content spam is among the commonly used. Along with the development of Internet technologies, the content spam is difficult to detect. The current detection methods for the web page using content spam technique primarily rely on the statistical features, which has obvious limitations. In this article, a spam webpage detection method based on topic and semantics was proposed, with the use of two categories of features, namely, semantics and statistics. Topic modeling was first performed over the contents of the webpage, with the webpage contents mapped into the topic space. This was followed by semantic analysis and calculation in the topic space according to the distribution of topics. Semantic features were extracted for the classification of webpages by combining with the statistical features. The results verified that the proposed method can achieve a better effect.
The Design of a High Efficient DNA In-Situ Synthesis Apparatus Based on the Principle of Typography Technique

The paper describes a novel machine for in-situ synthesis of DNA Micro-arrays based on the use of typography technique. This apparatus was designed to incorporate platform for imprinting, precision printing stencil, one-way positioning device, manipulator, and liquid & gas delivery part and control part. The programmable logic controller was employed to control operation steps involving in biochip synthesis including locating and imprinting, and delivering the specific liquid. Finally, the control precision of system is measured using three coordinated instrument: the accuracy of location in X, Y axis is 5 µm, accuracy of printing template is 7 µm, and the repeated printing accuracy of whole machine is 16 µm. The result indicates that the design can completely meet the requirement of in situ synthesis of biochip based on the principle of typography printing.
Unit Root Tests for Dependent and Heterogeneous Micropanels

This paper proposes a panel unit root test for micropanels with short time dimension (T) and large cross section (N). There are several distinctive features of this test. First, the test is based on a panel AR(1) model, which allows for cross-sectional dependency, which is introduced by the initial condition's assumption of a factor structure. Second, the test employs the panel AR(1) model with heterogeneous AR(1) coefficients. Third, the test does not use the AR(1) coefficient estimator. The effectiveness of the test rests on the fact that the initial condition has permanent effects on the trajectory of a time series in the presence of a unit root. To measure the effects of the initial condition, this paper employs cross-sectional regression using the first time series observations as a regressor and the last as a dependent variable. If there is a unit root in every individual time series, the coefficient of the regressor is equal to one. The t-ratio for the coefficient is this paper's test statistic and has a standard normal distribution in the limit. The t-ratio is based on the instrumental variables estimator that uses a reshuffled regressor as an instrument. The test proposed in this paper makes it possible to test for a unit root even at T=2 as long as N is large. Simulation results show that the test has reasonable empirical size and power. The test is applied to college graduates' monthly real wage in South Korea. The number of time series observations for this data is only two. The test rejects the null hypothesis of a unit root.
ClimApp: A novel approach of an intelligent HVAC control system

This paper describes a novel deployment of an intelligent user-centered HVAC (Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioner) control system. The main objective of this system is to optimize user comfort and to reduce energy consumption in office buildings. Existing commercial HVAC control systems work in a fixed and predetermined way. The novelty of the proposed system is that it adapts dynamically to the user and to the building environment. For this purpose the system architecture has been designed under the paradigm of Ambient Intelligence. A prototype of the system proposed has been tested in a real-world environment.
Cognitive functioning in spousal caregivers of dementia patients: findings from the prospective MAASBED study.

BACKGROUND Spousal caregivers are usually of the same age as the dementia patient and therefore at risk of age-related cognitive decline. Suboptimal cognitive functioning in caregivers may have profound implications. METHODS Fifty-four spousal caregivers of dementia patients from the Memory Clinic of the Academic Hospital Maastricht and the Regional Institute for Community Mental Health Care in the Netherlands were compared with 108 non-caregiving controls. Data were collected on patient and caregiver characteristics and caregiver cognitive functioning. Repeated measures statistical analyses were carried out to investigate the relationship between caregiver cognitive functioning at baseline and patient behavioural problems and caregiver competence during 1 year of follow-up. RESULTS Caregivers performed significantly worse on several cognitive domains compared with control subjects. Low performance on a verbal memory task was related to a decrease in caregiver subjective competence and an increase in patient hyperactivity. CONCLUSION The results indicate that screening for cognitive impairment of spousal caregivers may be helpful, because suboptimal cognitive functioning may affect the ability to provide adequate care.
Screening a Strain of Aspergillus niger and Optimization of Fermentation Conditions for Degradation of Aflatoxin B1

Aflatoxin B1, a type of highly toxic mycotoxin produced by some species belonging to the Aspergillus genus, such as Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus, is widely distributed in feed matrices. Here, coumarin was used as the sole carbon source to screen microorganism strains that were isolated from types of feed ingredients. Only one isolate (ND-1) was able to degrade aflatoxin B1 after screening. ND-1 isolate, identified as a strain of Aspergillus niger using phylogenetic analysis on the basis of 18S rDNA, could remove 26.3% of aflatoxin B1 after 48 h of fermentation in nutrient broth (NB). Optimization of fermentation conditions for aflatoxin B1 degradation by selected Aspergillus niger was also performed. These results showed that 58.2% of aflatoxin B1 was degraded after 24 h of culture under the optimal fermentation conditions. The aflatoxin B1 degradation activity of Aspergillus niger supernatant was significantly stronger than cells and cell extracts. Furthermore, effects of temperature, heat treatment, pH, and metal ions on aflatoxin B1 degradation by the supernatant were examined. Results indicated that aflatoxin B1 degradation of Aspergillus niger is enzymatic and this process occurs in the extracellular environment.
A technique for finding storage allocation errors in C-language programs

This paper describes a simple tool for diagnosing allocation errors in C-language [Kern 78] programs. Our tool consists of a traced replacement for the standard memory allocator, and a program to analyze traces. We have found this tool quite helpful in making long-running programs (e.g. text editors) more robust.
Extended Abstract : Computational Models of Non-cooperative dialogue

Cooperativity is usually seen as a central concept in the pragmatics of dialogue. There are a number of accounts of dialogue performance and interpretation that require some notion of cooperation or collaboration as part of the explanatory mechanism of communication. For instance, Grice’s cooperativity principle and associated maxims are used to explain conversational implicature (Grice, 1975). Searle uses general principles of cooperative conversation to account for indirect speech acts (Searle, 1975). Clark and Wilkes-Gibbs use a principle of “least collaborative effort” as a goal of the processes of grounding and accepting referring expressions. (Clark and Wilkes-Gibbs, 1986). Alwood (Allwood, 1976) considers that fullblown communication requires at least some degree of cooperation, and defines ideal cooperation between a number of interacting normal rational agents as adherence to the following principles:
Dynamic legged locomotion for palm-size robots

Minimally-actuated palm-size robots are capable of running at speeds greater than 2 meters per second (20 body lengths per second), with leg stride rates of greater than 20 Hz. In this dynamic regime, passive stabilization is needed for roll-and-pitch instability. However, we have found that certain roll-oscillation modes can be used for continuous high speed turning. Other continuous turning modes have also been identified, such as modulating foot contact location through foot compliance, and controlling differential leg velocity. For the small minimally actuated robots examined, the dynamically enhanced roll-steer mode showed the best turning rate, of over 8 degrees per step, but only appears at certain running frequencies. Interstride phase and velocity control appears promising as a mode for in-plane maneuverability for under-actuated robots.
Control System Development for a Novel Wire-Driven Hyper-Redundant Chain Robot, 3D-Trunk

This paper presents the control system for our novel hyper-redundant chain robot system “3D-Trunk” demonstrating an operational principle that is much different from traditional solutions. Its main features are that all the joints are passive, state controllable and share common inputs introduced by wire-driven control. For this unique design, a force-oriented method is employed to control the driving wires. The mechanical analysis, as well as an analysis of the differential driven mechanism of this design is formulated. The design of a novel wire tension state sensing component and its operation are also described. The system is controlled by distributed embedded controllers. The actuators’ coordination mechanism and the bang–bang controller-based closed-loop control implementation of this novel prototype are discussed from a mechatronic system level. Thus, this paper, together with a predecessor , presents all required details allowing for building and controlling 3D-Trunk.
A Comparative Study of the Effect of Word Segmentation On Chinese Terminology Extraction

Automatic term extraction is the first step towards automatic or semi-automatic update of existing domain knowledge base. Most of the researches applied word segmentation as a preprocessing step to Chinese term extraction. However, segmentation ambiguity is unavoidable, especially in identifying unknown words for Chinese. In this paper, we discuss the effect and limitations of segmentation to Chinese terminology extraction. Detailed study shows that propagated errors caused by word segmentation have great impact on the result of terminology extraction. Based on our analysis and experiments, it is proven that character-based terminology extraction yields much better result than that using segmentation as a preprocessing step.
Research and Design of the Pseudo-VRRP Based High Availability Mechanism in the ForCES Router

ForCES (Forwarding and Control Element Separation) architecture brought forward by IETF shows great advantages for network devices such as routers, wireless base stations, etc to be flexible, programmable, and cost-effective.This paper put forward a new high availability scheme for ForCES router. The framework of ForCES devices is firstly introduced. Then based on a revised VRRP protocol, a primary CE election mechanism is proposed and the kinds of ForCES information to be backuped are thoroughly analyzed. Next, system implementation issues are considered. Finally, a ForCES high availability router testbed is constructed, experiment results on it verifies the correctness, feasibility and efficiency of the proposed high availability scheme.
THE VIOLATION OF GRICE’S CONVERSATIONAL MAXIMS PERFORMED BY JOHN NASH IN ‘A BEAUTIFUL MIND’ MOVIE

Pelanggaran maksim adalah situasi dimana pembicara menyebabkan kesalahpahaman dalam partisipasinya atau dalam mencapai beberapa tujuan dari percakapan. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengidentifikasi proses terjadinya pelanggaran maksim Grice dan untuk mengetahui penyebab mengapa karakter yang memiliki penyakit skizofrenia melakukan pelanggaran maksim di film ‘A Beautiful Mind’. Untuk melaksanakan penelitiannya, penulis mengaplikasikan analisis kualitatif untuk menganalisis ucapan dan percakapan John nash yang dihubungkan dengan teori Grice. Pengumpulan data melalui pemilihan percakapan John Nash. Sementara itu, kumpulan data dianalisis dengan cara identifikasi, pengelompokkan, penjelasan, dan kesimpulan.Dari penelitian ini, data yang ditemukan adalah 28 percakapan dan 8 tanda gejala. Dari data yang ditemukan, penulis menyimpulkan bahwa John Nash melanggar maksim dengan cara berbicara terlalu sedikit, berbicara terlalu banyak, menggunakan kata-kata yang tidak perlu, berbohong, berbicara dengan bahasa yang aneh, mengubah topic pembicaraan dengan tiba-tiba, memberikan jawaban dan respon yang tidak cocok dengan topik dan menghindari untuk mengatakan sesuatu. Penyebab dari pelanggaran karna adanya tanda gejala skizofrenia berupa sedikit berbicara, berbicara banyak namun tidak ada tujuan yang jelas, tekanan dalam berbicara, ketidakcocokan topik, mengubah topik pembicaraan di akhir pembicaraan dengan topic yang keluar dari jalur, menggunakan banyak kata yang tidak perlu, berbicara menggunakan kata-kata yang terlalu angkuh, dan mengunakan kata yang berirama sama.
Mining Novellas from PubMed Abstracts using a Storytelling Algorithm

Motivation: There are now a multitude of articles published in a diversity of journals providing information about genes, proteins, pathways, and entire processes. Each article investigates particular subsets of a biological process, but to gain insight into the functioning of a system as a whole, we must computationally integrate information across multiple publications. This is especially important in problems such as modeling cross-talk in signaling networks, designing drug therapies for combinatorial selectivity, and unraveling the role of gene interactions in deleterious phenotypes, where the cost of performing combinatorial screens is exorbitant. Results: We present an automated approach to biological knowledge discovery from PubMed abstracts, suitable for unraveling combinatorial relationships. It involves the systematic application of a `storytelling' algorithm followed by compression of the stories into `novellas. ' Given a start and end publication, typically with little or no overlap in content, storytelling identifies a chain of intermediate publications from one to the other, such that neighboring publications have significant content similarity. Stories discovered thus provide an argued approach to relate distant concepts through compositions of related concepts. The chains of links employed by stories are then mined to find frequently reused sub-stories, which can be compressed to yield novellas, or compact templates of connections. We demonstrate a successful application of storytelling and novella finding to modeling combinatorial relationships between introduction of extracellular factors and downstream cellular events. Availability: A story visualizer, suitable for interactive exploration of stories and novellas described in this paper, is available for demo/download at https://bioinformatics.cs. vt.edu/storytelling.
Detecting anomalies in network traffic using Entropy and Mahalanobis distance

This paper proposes an Entropy-Mahalanobis-based methodology to detect certain anomalies in IP traffic. The balanced estimator II is used to model the normal behavior of two intrinsic traffic features: source and destination IP addresses. Mahalanobis distance allows to describe an ellipse that characterizes the network entropy, which allows to determine whether a given actual traffic-slot is normal or anomalous. Experimental tests were conducted to evaluate the performance detection of portscan and worm attacks deployed in a campus network, showing that the methodology is effective in timely and accurate detection of these attacks.
Linear Signal Detector for V-BLAST Scheme Based on Probabilistic Data Association

In this paper, we propose a linear probabilistic data association (PDA) based signal detector for V-BLAST. The main idea is to utilize the principle of a pre-whitening filter to realize single symbol detection, similar to virtual single input and single output (SISO) system, by removing the effects of past decisions. Simulation results show that our scheme can provide performance very close to ML decoding with extremely low computational complexity.
The impact of Green Marketing on Customer satisfaction and Envi- ronmental safety

1 Abstract . Green revolution, going green, environmental protection, sustainable life style, sustainable development, protecting our earth and many more have become a natural phenomenon in our everyday life. Green marketing is a tool used by many companies in various industries to follow this trend. There have been a lot of literature review on green marketing over the years, this paper analysis the impact of green marketing strategies on customer satisfaction and environmental safety using comprehensive literature review. As a result, this paper can be used by researchers who need to find out the impact of green marketing on customer satisfaction and environmental safety .