Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In-Line Measurement of Water Content in Ethanol Using a PVA-Coated Quartz Crystal Microbalance

An in-line device for measuring the water content in ethanol was developed using a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-coated quartz crystal microbalance. Bio-ethanol is widely used as the replacement of gasoline, and its water content is a key component of its specifications. When the PVA-coated quartz crystal microbalance is contacted with ethanol containing a small amount of water, the water is absorbed into the PVA increasing the load on the microbalance surface to cause a frequency drop. The determination performance of the PVA-coated microbalance is examined by measuring the frequency decreases in ethanol containing 2% to 10% water while the ethanol flows through the measurement device. The measurements indicates that the higher water content is the more the frequency reduction is, though some deviation in the measurements is observed. This indicates that the frequency measurement of an unknown concentration of water in ethanol can be used to determine the water content in ethanol. The PVA coating is examined by microscopy and FTIR (Fourier transform infrared) spectroscopy.
Catching the "local" bug: a look at state agricultural marketing programs.

The United States has experienced a rapid increase in consumer interest in purchasing locally grown foods. This trend has led to many changes in the food system. For one, from 1994 to 2009, there was a 201% increase in the number of operating farmers’ markets, with most featuring local products (USDA, AMS, 2009). Additionally, in 2007, over 12,500 farms marketed products through a Community Supported Agriculture arrangement, where for a predetermined fee consumers receive a portion of the local farm’s total harvest (USDA, NASS, 2007). The emergence of local can even be witnessed in the marketing activities of snack-food giant Frito-Lay, who in 2009 made “Lay’s Local” their primary promotional campaign.
Redetermination and absolute configuration of 7α-hydroxyroyleanone

The title compound [systematic name: 7α,12-dihydroxy-8,12-abietadiene,11,14-dione or (4bS,8aS,10R)-3,10-dihydroxy-2-isopropyl-4b,8,8-trimethyl-1,4,4b,5,6,7,8,8a,9,10-decahydrophenanthrene-1,4-dione], C20H28O4, is an abietane diterpenoid, which was isolated from the roots of Premna obtusifolia (Verbenaceae). Its crystal structure has been reported previously [Chen et al. (2000 ▶). Jiegou Huaxue, 19, 122–125], but the absolute configuration could not be determined using data collected with Mo radiation. This redetermination using Cu radiation shows the the absolute configurations of the stereogenic centres at positions 4b, 8a and 10 to be S, S and R, respectively. Two intramolecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds [one generating an S(5) ring and one generating an S(6) ring] and a number of short C—H⋯O contacts occur. In the crystal, molecules are linked into infinite chains propagating in [100] by O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds and weak C—H⋯O interactions.
The Relationship between Body Mass Index and Periodontitis in Arab Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

OBJECTIVE Our study sought to evaluate the association between periodontitis and body mass index (BMI) among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS In this cross-sectional case control study analysis of 186 diabetic patients, 112 patients had a body mass index ≥30kg/m(2) and 74 control patients had BMI <30kg/m(2). All participants underwent oral examinations including a full mouth recording of clinical attachment level (CAL). Information regarding HbA1c levels and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were also gathered. RESULTS Over half (61%) of patients had a BMI ≥30. Of these 52% had CAL less than 2mm. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that there was no association between BMI and CAL. In addition, hs-CRP levels were significantly and positively associated with CAL (OR:1.06, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.12; p=0.007). CONCLUSION Among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, there was no association between periodontitis and BMI. More studies are needed to further explore this relationship taking into consideration additional lifestyle factors.
rac-tert-Butyl 2-{5-[(4-{2-[methyl(pyridin-2-yl)amino]ethoxy}phenyl)methyl]-2,4-dioxo-1,3-thiazolidin-3-yl}acetate

The title compound, C24H29N3O5S, is a chiral molecule which crystallizes in a centrosymmetric space group as a racemate. The thiazolidine ring forms the dihedral angles of 29.22 (12) and 67.79 (10)° with the benzene and pyridine rings, respectively. The benzene and pyridine rings are tilted by dihedral angle of 67.18 (9)°. In the crystal, intermolecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the molecules into a two-dimensional network.
Interactive effects of pesticide exposure and pathogen infection on bee health – a critical analysis

Bees are fundamentally important for pollination services and declines in populations could have significant economic and environmental implications. Pesticide exposure and pathogen infection are recognised as potential stressors impacting upon bee populations and recently there has been a surge in research on pesticide–disease interactions to reflect environmentally realistic scenarios better. We critically analyse the findings on pesticide–disease interactions, including effects on the survival, pathogen loads and immunity of bees, and assess the suitability of various endpoints to inform our mechanistic understanding of these interactions. We show that pesticide exposure and pathogen infection have not yet been found to interact to affect worker survival under field‐realistic scenarios. Colony‐level implications of pesticide effects on Nosema infections, viral loads and honey bee immunity remain unclear as these effects have been observed in a laboratory setting only using a small range of pesticide exposures, generally exceeding those likely to occur in the natural environment, and assessing a highly selected series of immune‐related endpoints. Future research priorities include the need for a better understanding of pesticide effects on the antimicrobial peptide (AMP) component of an individual's immune response and on social defence behaviours. Interactions between pesticide exposure and bacterial and fungal infections have yet to be addressed. The paucity of studies in non‐Apis bee species is a further major knowledge gap.
Dagmar: Defining Advertising Goals for Measured Advertising Results

Seldom does a book challenge and change the way we look at advertising. The first edition of DAGMAR did just that. And Solomon Dutka's revision maintains that initial lesson of separating our expectations for advertising from those for the entire marketing plan. Dutka adds new examples and insights to give this classic work a contemporary freshness. -- Bruce Vanden Bergh Chairman, Department of Advertising Michigan State University "The DAGMAR model has long been a landmark in the ongoing effort to make advertising more accountable and to evaluate its performance. In updating Russell Colley's original formulation Sol Dutka applies a lifetime of keen observation and study of the tough, competitive, real world of marketing. " -- Leo Bogart Author, Strategy in Advertising "In 1961, the first edition of DAGMAR was important reading. With today's increased focus on measurable results, the second edition is essential reading. Once again, Solomon Dutka has demonstrated both his solid knowledge of the subject and his ability to convey it in very clear and concise terms. " -- Ronald B. Kaatz Associate Professor Integrated Marketing Communications Medill School of Journalism Northwestern University
Quercetin induced ROS production triggers mitochondrial cell death of human embryonic stem cells

Small molecules to selectively induce cell death of undifferentiated human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) have been developed with the aim of lowering the risk of teratoma formation during hPSC-based cell therapy. In this context, we have reported that Quercetin (QC) induces cell death selectively in hESCs via p53 mitochondrial localization. However, the detailed molecular mechanism by which hESCs undergo selective cell death induced by QC remains unclear. Herein, we demonstrate that mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS), strongly induced by QC in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) but not in human dermal fibroblasts (hDFs), were responsible for QC-mediated hESC’s cell death. Increased p53 protein stability and subsequent mitochondrial localization by QC treatment triggered mitochondrial cell death only in hESCs. Of interest, peptidylprolyl isomerase D [PPID, also called cyclophilin D (CypD)], which functions in mitochondrial permeability transition and mitochondrial cell death, was highly expressed in hESCs. Inhibition of CypD by cyclosporine A (CsA) clearly inhibited the QC-mediated loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and mitochondrial cell death. These results suggest that p53 and CypD in the mitochondria are critical for the QC-mediated induction of cell death in hESCs.
The Decision to Produce Altcoins: Miners' Arbitrage in Cryptocurrency Markets

Bitcoin has become the de facto 'gold' standard among cryptocurrencies as it is the most widely accepted in commerce, has the largest mining network, and greatest volume of transactions. Because of this, miners of other SHA-256 cryptocurrencies will tend to convert those altcoins into bitcoin in order to transact in a meaningful way with the real economy. The result is that bitcoin mining regulates that of all other SHA-256 blockchains. Specifically, what matters is the expected number of bitcoins produced per day given a unit of hashing (mining) power, whatever the equivalence in the coin being mined. If mining for a different coin would yield a greater return in bitcoins at the margin (per day) for a miner, an apparent arbitrage opportunity will exist to direct mining effort at that cryptocurrency and subsequently exchange those for bitcoin. These opportunities, once taken, quickly eliminate the profitable arbitrage and appear to operate in a fairly efficient and predictable manner. A model is developed in this paper to formalize this process where cryptocurrency miners seeking to maximize production in terms of bitcoins earned in a day will exploit any such opportunities. If no such opportunities exist, they will simply revert to mining bitcoins directly. There are some important implications to this process, such as a tendency for cryptocurrencies to fall in price relative to bitcoin over time, and for changes in bitcoin mining difficulty to indirectly influence the market prices of altcoins. Finally, it seems that those undertaking this process of miners' arbitrage do so at the expense of speculators and noise traders who make decisions regarding buy and sell trades without the use of fundamental data. These participants generally have poor timing, follow trends, and over-react to good and bad news. Altcoins are produced by miners and subsequently offered for sale in the market in order to obtain bitcoins; meanwhile noise traders serve as the only bid-side to the market, on average.
Adjusting for energy intake--what measure to use in nutritional epidemiological studies?

BACKGROUND The measurement of energy intake in epidemiological studies is difficult. However, it is important that energy intake is assessed if epidemiological analyses are to correspond to isocaloric experiments. The aim of this study was to compare self-reported energy intake, physical activity, and body weight with energy expenditure measured by 4 days of heart rate monitoring with individual calibration of the relationship between heart rate and oxygen consumption. METHODS Volunteer sub-study of 97 men and women (mean ages 54 and 51 years respectively) within the European Investigation into Cancer (EPIC) study in Norfolk (UK). Dietary assessment of energy intake and physical activity was by self-report and weight was measured using standard techniques. Energy expenditure was assessed objectively by recording heart rate for 4 days following a calibration of the relationship between heart rate and oxygen consumption. RESULTS Self-reported energy intake by 7-day diary (mean 8.5 MJ/day) and food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) (mean 8.8 MJ/day) were significantly lower than objectively measured total energy expenditure (mean 11.2 MJ/day). The deattenuated partial correlations between total energy expenditure were 0.33 (7-day diary), 0.34 (FFQ), 0.50 (physical activity), and 0.56 (weight). Weight accounted for 31% (deattenuated) of the sum of squares about the mean of true energy intake after adjusting for age and sex. With the addition of self-reported physical activity, the model was significantly improved (R2 = 0.57). Adding energy either assessed by the diary or FFQ did not improve the model. CONCLUSIONS The results presented here indicate that to adjust for energy intake, for the purpose of replicating an isocaloric experiment in an observational epidemiological study, one would do considerably better adjusting for weight and physical activity, than adjusting for energy intake estimated from an FFQ.
First reported occurrence of Helicoverpa armigera ( Hübner ) ( Lepidoptera : Noctuidae ) in Brazil

Helicoverpa (=Heliothis) armigera (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is geographically widespread, being present in Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania (Zalucki et al 1986, Guo 1997). So far, there was no record of this lepidopteran in the American continent and it had been considered a quarantine pest in Brazil. H. armigera is a highly polyphagous species. Its larvae have been reported in more than 60 species of cultivated and wild plants and in around 67 host families, including Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Malvaceae, Poaceae and Solanaceae (Pawar et al. 1986, Fitt 1989, Pogue 2004). Moreover, this herbivore can cause losses to different economically important crops, such as cotton, leguminous plants, sorghum, maize, tomato, ornamental plants and fruit trees (Reed 1965, Fitt 1989, Moral Garcia 2006). H. armigera larvae feed on leaves and stems, although they prefer buds, inflorescences, fruits and pods (Reed 1965, Wang & Li 1984), causing damage in the vegetative and reproductive plant stages. According to Lammers & MacLeod (2007), the worldwide annual costs for controlling this pest, ABSTRACT RESUMO
Do Boards Matter? The Links between Governance, Organizational Monitoring and Alignment Capacity and Hospital Performance

No systematic research has been undertaken in Canada on the relationship between hospital performance, organizational monitoring capacity and board governance. This three-part dissertation aims to fill that gap. The conceptual framework elaborated in a theoretical paper and tested in two exploratory empirical studies proposes that boards reflect their institutions, with high performers exhibiting greater capacity to harmonize accountability needs and align governance decision-making and monitoring systems with external performance measurement and reporting requirements. Top team (board and management) characteristics, and governance practices, both proposed elements of “governance capacity,” are hypothesized to reflect and reinforce “organizational monitoring and alignment capacity” thereby contributing directly and indirectly to key aspects of hospital performance including quality of care, financial health and patient satisfaction. Using hierarchical regression analyses, six hypotheses were tested on a sample of 101 acute hospital corporations that participated in the 2005, 2006 and 2007 Ontario Hospital Report Research Collaborative. After controlling for hospital size, evidence of a statistically significant relationship was detected between organizational monitoring and alignment capacity and quality performance, and between one element of governance capacity, governance practices, and financial performance. A relationship was also detected between governance practices and top team characteristics, including diversity, education and turnover. These findings suggest that the relationship between hospital governance and performance is tenuous and that some aspects of performance may be more amenable to governance influence than others. In highly-regulated environments governance space is circumscribed and myriad stakeholders have a stronger pulse on singular aspects of organizational performance than the board. This study argues that the role of boards in environments of distributed governance is to mine the ‘accountability web’ for timely, multivariate intelligence on performance and use it to drive alignment, integration and performance improvement. The contribution of this research, its limitations, and implications for researchers, policymakers and hospital leaders are discussed.
A new model for assessment fast food customer behavior case study

Purpose – Nowadays, because of more availability of products, there is an increasing need for companies to establish a strong relationship with their customers. As the fast food industry is not an exception and has a competitive environment, analyzing customers' behavior helps bridge this gap. Data mining techniques help to segment customers as well as to drive improved customer relationship management. This paper seeks to address these issues.Design/methodology/approach – This study proposes a new model based on RFM model for defining customers' value as well as using K‐means algorithm to segment restaurants' customers. In addition, the authors combine a new category in the account portfolio analysis in order to analyze the behavior of each cluster.Findings – A real dataset of an Iranian fast food restaurant chain is employed to show the procedure of the authors' model. The customers are segmented into four clusters. The clusters are analyzed and named based on categories in the account portfolio analysi.
Performance Evaluation of Different PV Module Technologies in a Grid-Connected Pilot Project in Greece

The need for increased penetration of Renewable Energy Sources and gradual decarbonisation ofthe energy supply chain is well established. Photovoltaic (PV) technology is constantly emerging as a key playerin the green energy generation market. Numerous PV technologies are competing for market share, making thechoice of the most suitable type of equipment essential for the viability of any application. In this study the reallifeperformance of four different PV technologies in actual southern Mediterranean climatic conditions wasexamined. A quality check of the recorded data throughout the monitoring period was carried out, followed bythe calculation of the performance indices proposed by the IEC 61724 international standard on PV systemperformance monitoring and analysis. The outdoor evaluation has shown that grid-connected PV systems canhave a major impact on the future energy mix of countries with high solar resources. The module technology thatwill claim a leading role in the PV industry will depend almost entirely on the future trends of manufacturing andproduction costs as well as, the BoS costs related to the final installation.
Microcanonical determination of the interface tension of flat and curved interfaces from Monte Carlo simulations

The investigation of phase coexistence in systems with multi-component order parameters in finite systems is discussed and, as a generic example, Monte Carlo simulations of the two-dimensional q-state Potts model (q = 30) on L × L square lattices (40 ≤ L ≤ 100) are presented. It is shown that the microcanonical ensemble is well suited both to find the precise location of the first-order phase transition and to obtain an accurate estimate for the interfacial free energy between coexisting ordered and disordered phases. For this purpose, a microcanonical version of the heat bath algorithm is implemented. The finite size behaviour of the loop in the curve describing the inverse temperature versus energy density is discussed, emphasizing that the extrema do not have the meaning of van der Waals-like ‘spinodal points’ separating metastable from unstable states, but rather describe the onset of heterophase states: droplet/bubble evaporation/condensation transitions. Thus all parts of these loops, including the parts that correspond to a negative specific heat, describe phase coexistence in full thermal equilibrium. However, the estimates for the curvature-dependent interface tension of the droplets and bubbles suffer from unexpected and unexplained large finite size effects which need further study.
Initial outcomes of a mental illness self-management program based on wellness recovery action planning.

OBJECTIVE This study examined changes in psychosocial outcomes among participants in an eight-week, peer-led, mental illness self-management intervention called Wellness Recovery Action Planning (WRAP). METHODS Eighty individuals with serious mental illness at five Ohio sites completed telephone interviews at baseline and one month after the intervention. RESULTS Paired t tests of pre- and postintervention scores revealed significant improvement in self-reported symptoms, recovery, hopefulness, self-advocacy, and physical health; empowerment decreased significantly and no significant changes were observed in social support. Those attending six or more sessions showed greater improvement than those attending fewer sessions. CONCLUSIONS These promising early results suggest that further research on this intervention is warranted. Confirmation of the efficacy and effectiveness of peer-led self-management has the potential to enhance self-determination and promote recovery for people with psychiatric disabilities.
A strategy for determining a Jacobi specific dataflow processor

In this paper we present a strategy for determining a dataflow processor which is intended for the execution of Jacobi algorithms which are found in the application domain of array processing and other real-lime adaptive signal processing applications. Our strategy to determine a processor for their execution is to exploit the quasi regularity property in their dependence graph representations in search for what we call the Jacobi processor. This processor emerges from an exploration iteration which takes off from a processor template and a set of Jacobi algorithms. Based on qualitative and quantitative performance analysis, both the algorithms and the processor template are restructured towards improved execution performance. To ensure the mapper is part of the emerging processor specification, the algorithm-to-processor mapping method is included in the iterative and hierarchical exploration method. Processor's hierarchy exploits properties related to regularity in the algorithm's structure, allows gentle transitions from regular to irregular levels in the algorithm hierarchy and offers different control models for the irregular structures that appear at deeper levels of the hierarchy. Transformations aiming at reducing critical paths, increasing throughput, improving mapping efficiency and minimizing control and flow overheads are essential. They include retiming, pipelining and lookahead techniques.
Lymphangiogenesis in colorectal cancer—Prognostic and therapeutic aspects

Colorectal cancer (CRC) represents the second most common cause of cancer mortality in the western world. The tumors frequently show metastatic spread which affects different organs such as lymph nodes, liver and lungs. Although the pattern of spread may vary, the initial step usually involves dissemination to regional lymph nodes. At present it is clear that neovessel formation, including lymphangiogenesis, represents key events in tumor progression. However, to what extent lymphangiogenesis contributes in the progression of CRC is unclear. This work focuses on recent progress within the field of tumor lymphangiogenesis with special reference to CRC, and on novel therapeutic strategies for anti‐lymphangiogenic therapies. Inhibition of metastatic spread may be achieved by restriction of lymphatic vessel growth by using targeted therapeutic strategies towards molecules involved in lymphangiogenic signalling. Such adjuvant therapeutic approaches in addition to existing therapeutic strategies may represent a favourable treatment for CRCs with higher than average risk of disease recurrence and progression. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.