Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of hydroethanolic extract of Piper betle in isoproterenol induced cardiac hypertrophy

Cardiac hypertrophy (CH) is a condition in which myocardial mass is increased beyond the normal range due to irreversible fibrotic events that lead to various complication like ventricular chamber dilation, thinning of the internal walls and extensive myocardial damage. In this study, the cardioprotective potential of the hydro-ethanolic extract of Piper betle (P. betle) was evaluated against cardiac hypertrophy induced by isoproterenol in male albino Wistar rats. Isoproterenol (10 mg/kg b.w., i.p., 7 days) induced cardiac hypertrophy in experimental rats which were simultaneously treated with the standard drug losartan (50 mg/ kg b.w., oral., 7 days) and hydro-ethanolic extract of P. betle (200 mg/kg b.w., oral., 7 days). Biochemical estimations revealed increased levels of glucose, protein, cholesterol, serum creatinine, cardiac maker enzymes (SGOT; SGPT and LDH), reduced enzymic antioxidants (SOD, CAT, GPx) and serum were observed during CH which were reciprocated to normal when treated with plant extract. Histopathological analysis of the heart tissue (left ventricles) showed repairment of cellular architecture with reduced stiffened cell layers and necrosis in plant extract administered rats thereby indicating the anti-hypertrophic potential of P. betle.
Audit Committee, Foreign Ownership and Sustainability Report

The purpose of this study is to see whether the audit committee and foreign ownership influence the sustainability report with leverage, size and independent commissioners as control variables. The population of this study are mining companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange and have complete data on audits, independent commissioners, foreign ownership, size and leverage for the period 2012 - 2015. Data analysis techniques in this study used multiple regression with the help of SPSS. The results of the study indicate that audit committee does not involve sustainability report, while foreign ownership is considered negative for sustainability report. Keywords: audit committee, foreign ownership and sustainability report. DOI : 10.7176/RJFA/10-4-03
Point of Truth Calibration: Putting science into scoring systems

Scoring systems are commonly employed in risk analysis as a way of integrating information about a range of variables (called risk attributes) into a single risk score suitable for decision making. The construction of scoring systems is often criticised as being arbitrary as there is no transparent basis for the selection of weightings and integration methods. This paper describes an alternative approach which overcomes these difficulties. The method we detail is called Point of Truth Calibration. It is based on expert judgements on constructed risk scenarios rather than individual scores of risk attributes. We argue that it is an improved form of expert elicitation for many complex risk assessment problems. The proposed method will ‘automatically’ calibrate weightings (scores) of risk attributes from the overall risks given by experts using well developed statistical techniques. Several examples from biosecurity are presented to demonstrate the approach.
A Review of Outliers: Towards a Novel Fuzzy Method for Outlier Detection

Outliers and outlier detection are among the most important concepts of data processing in different applications. While there are many methods for outlier detection, each detection problem needs to be solved with the method most suited to its unique characteristics and features. This paper first classifies different outlier detection methods used in different fields and applications to provide a better understanding, and then presents a new fuzzy method for outlier detection. The proposed method uses the fuzzy logic and the local density to assign a point to data instances, and then determines whether a piece of data is normal or outlier based on the value of resulted membership function. Evaluation of the proposed outlier detection algorithm with synthetic datasets demonstrates its good accuracy; moreover, evaluation of the performance in solving real datasets show that the proposed method outperforms the k-means and K-NN algorithms.
Lingual Nerve Damage during Third Molar Extraction – A Review

Aim: The lingual nerve damage during the third molar extraction has been prevalent in all cases. Injury to the lingual nerve are serious complications that can arise rom the performance of a number of oral and maxillofacial surgeries. Background: The lingual nerve is a branch of the mandibular division of trigeminal nerve which supplies the sensory innervation to the tongue. Lingual nerve injury is a common complication following the dental procedures. The clinical presentation of lingual nerve injury, its epidemiology, predisposing factors, and anatomy are explored in an attempt to identify those patients at risk for developing pain. Reason: The alternative methods used to extract the tooth without causing any damage and coupling with anatomical, dental and proper classification will ultimately determine the potential for nerve injury. This review will bring about a clear idea of the actual cause of the lingual nerve damage.
University of São Paulo “Luiz de Queiroz” College of Agriculture Center of Nuclear Energy in Agriculture Effects of UV-B radiation on plant litter decomposition in a tropical ecosystem on the north coast of the State of Sao Paulo, southeast Brazil

Effects of UV-B radiation on plant litter decomposition in a tropical ecosystem on the north coast of the State of Sao Paulo The solar radiation in general and UV radiation in particular has been recognized to stimulate plant litter decomposition through photochemical mineralization of photosensitive organic molecules, such as lignin, facilitating microbial decomposition, with great relevance role in dryland ecosystems where microbial activity is low, however little is known about how photodegradation could influence other ecosystems without moisture limitations and under what conditions may be favored, therefore the mechanisms has not yet been established. Decomposition in tropical ecosystem is a complex process and can be induced by a number of environmental factors with certain differences when compared to arid and semi-arid ecosystems. To assess the mechanisms underlying UV-B photodegradation, we designed a 300 days field experiment at a tropical ecosystem with high levels of annual precipitation and exposure litter to three levels of radiation combined with a biocide treatment. Results show that the removal of UV-B radiation decelerated plant litter decomposition during the later stage compared to litter exposure to full sun, however shaded litter had similar mass loss compared to litter exposed to full sun. Furthermore, differences in the decay constant among radiation treatments due to UV-B effect is independent of lignin loss. Overall, our study suggest that UV-B contributes to the plant litter decomposition through carbon losses, however, had no effect on nitrogen, neither lignin nor cellulose loss. However, more studies are needed in order to investigate the positive and negative effects of UV exposure on microbial activity in tropical ecosystems.
How complex analyses of large multidimensional datasets advance psychology – examples from large-scale studies on behavior, brain imaging, and genetics

Psychology investigates the interplay of human mind, body, and its environment in health and disease. Fully understanding these complex interrelations requires comprehensive analyses across multiple modalities and multidimensional datasets. Large-scale analyses on complex datasets are the exception rather than the rule in current psychological research. At the same time, large and complex datasets are becoming increasingly available. This thesis points out benefits, challenges and adequate approaches for analyzing complex multidimensional datasets in psychology. We applied these approaches and analysis strategies in two studies. In the first publication, we reduced the dimensionality of brain activation during a working memory task based on data from a very large sample. We observed that a mainly parietally-centered brain network was associated with working memory performance and global measures of white matter integrity. In the second publication, we exhaustively assessed pairwise interaction effects of genetic markers onto epigenetic modifications of the genome. Such modifications are complex traits that can be influenced by the environment and in turn affect development and behavior. The lack of observed strong interaction effects in our study suggested that focusing on additive effects is a suitable approach for investigating the link between genetic markers and epigenetic modifications. Both studies demonstrate how psychological scientists can exploit large complex datasets by applying adequate research practices and methodologies. Further adopting these approaches will prepare psychological research for harnessing large and complex datasets, leading towards a better understanding of mental health and disease.
Robust Inference for Consumption-Based Asset Pricing

The reliability of traditional asset pricing tests depends on: (1) correlations between asset returns and factors; (2) the time-series sample size T compared to the number of assets N. For macro-risk factors, like consumption growth, (1)-(2) are often such that traditional tests cannot be trusted. We extend the Gibbons-Ross-Shanken statistic to test identification of risk premia and construct their 95% confidence sets. These sets are wide or unbounded when T and N are close, yet they show that average returns are not fully spanned by betas when T exceeds N considerably. Our findings indicate when meaningful empirical inference is feasible.
In-vitro studies on antiviral effects of Galaxaura elongata marine algae on white spot syndrome virus

White spot syndrome virus is currently the most devastating viral pathogen threatening the shrimp farming industry worldwide. Studying efficiency of Galaxaura elongata as red marine algae on that shrimp virus was the aim of this work. Cells culture from lymphoid organ of Penaeid semesulacatus were established and when confluent cell monolayer was formed, the cell were infected with 0.1ml virus of titer 106.4 TCID50/ml mixed with (5, 10, 20 μl) algal extract. Data cleared algal extract of G. elongata has antiviral effect to WSSV where it results in reduction of virus titer 1.3 logs at concentration 5 μl/well, 2.2 logs at concentration10 μl/well and the highest reduction was at concentration 20 μl/well which was (2.5 log10TCID50). Algal extract was reduced CPE of infected cells in the attachment assays by 55, 70 and 75% consecutively and in the trypsin inhibition assay a significant activity was determined for 10 μl extract concentration. So, it can be suggested that using of G. elongata as red algae has vitro effect against WSSV replication.
JEPonline Equations to Predict Body Fat Percentage in Young Chilean Soccer Players

Gómez-Campos R, Urra-Albornoz C, Andruske CL, Almonacid-Fierro A, Pacheco-Carrillo J, Cossio-Bolaños M. Equations to Predict Body Fat Percentage in Young Chilean Soccer Players. JEPonline 2017;20(4):96-107. The purpose of this study was to develop equations to predict body fat percentage in young Chilean soccer players. Ninetyfour footballers 13.0 to 17.9 yrs of age were studied. The anthropometric variables that were recorded included weight, height, sitting height, and five skinfolds (bicipital, tricipital, subscapular, iliac crest, and abdominal). The reference method used was the dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Biological maturity was estimated by age peak height velocity (APHV). Three body fat percentage equations were generated for young soccer players: (a) 7.86 + (0.51*TR) + (0.165*SB) + (0.56*I) (1.33*APHV); (b) 8.834 + (0.47*TR) + (0.017*SB) + (0.29*I) + (0.27*AB)(1.21*APHV); and (c) 8.677 (0.008*BI) + (0.502*TR) + (0.051*SB) + (0.24*I) + (0.28*AB) (1.29*APHV). All three equations displayed similar results when compared with the reference method (P>0.001). The
Marketing Program Implementation of Greek Fisheries Firms

This study analyses the marketing program implementation in Greek fisheries firms. In this perspective, quantitative research with personal interviews to fisheries firms’ executives is elaborated. Data were analyzed elaborating cluster and discriminant analysis. Findings reveal that there are two distinct groups of Greek fisheries firms regarding their decisions about the components of marketing mix. The results demonstrate that there are differences among the two groups mainly in terms of price and distribution policies. Particularly, 62.6% of sample firms seem to dispose a differential marketing mix, while 37.4% of sample firms seem to dispose a non-differential marketing mix. Notably, both clusters are not aware of quality and sustainability assurance certifications regarding seafood products. From this perspective, there is a potential for a better organized marketing program implementation aiming to respond efficiently in modern market needs.
Smooth constrained mortality forecasting

BACKGROUND Mortality can be forecast by means of parametric models, principal component methods, and smoothing approaches. These methods either impose rigid modeling structures or produce implausible outcomes. OBJECTIVE We propose a novel approach for forecasting mortality that combines a well established smoothing model and prior demographic information. We constrain future smooth mortality patterns to lie within a range of valid age profiles and time trends, both computed from observed patterns. METHODS Within aP -spline framework, we enforce shape constraints through an asymmetric penalty approach on forecast mortality. Moreover, we properly integrate infant mortality in a smoothing framework so that the mortality forecast covers the whole age range. RESULTS The proposed model outperforms the plain smoothing approach as well as commonly used methodologies while retaining all the desirable properties that demographers expect from a forecasting method, e.g., smooth and plausible age profiles and time trends. We illustrate the proposed approach to mortality data for Danish females and US males. CONCLUSIONS The proposed methodology offers a new paradigm in forecasting mortality, and it is an ideal balance between pure statistical methodology and traditional demographic models. Prior knowledge about mortality development can be conveniently included in the approach, leading to large flexibility. The combination of powerful statistical methodology and prior demographic information makes the proposed model suitable for forecasting mortality in most demographic scenarios. 1 Institut National d’Études Démographiques, Paris, France. Email: carlo-giovanni.camarda@ined.fr. http://www.demographic-research.org 1091 Camarda: Smooth constrained mortality forecasting
GPU-based cone-beam CT reconstruction with extended FOV

Modern graphics processing units (GPUs) offer high level of parallelism and huge computational power which makes them suitable for complex calculations and processing of voxel data, including Computed Tomography (CT) image reconstruction. 3D reconstruction has higher computational cost but superior image quality than 2D methods. Using a fast GPU-based algorithm, these 3D algorithms became fast enough to be used in commercial CT equipment. In our paper we present our extended CT reconstruction framework with 3D reconstruction. We implement the Tang and xFDK algorithms. These are based on the Feldkamp-Davis-Kress (FDK) method and extend the field of view as much as possible. We evaluate speed and image quality using real measurements with Mediso CT equipment.
Chemical Properties, Phenolic Profiles and Antioxidant Activities of Pepper Fruits

This study was conducted to investigate the phytochemical properties of different varieties of pepper fruits, to identify and quantify the phenolic profile of methanolic extracts of the aforementioned plants and to evaluate the antioxidant activity of the crude extracts of the plants under investigation in comparative study. Results revealed that ascorbic acid and total carotenoids contents of pepper fruits ranged between 83.30 to 194.44 (mg/g fw) and 12.19 to 75.72 (µg/g F.W), respectively. Balady green pepper extract contained the highest total polyphenols and total flavonoids contents as 52.65 (mg GAE/g) and 41.69 (mg QE/g), respectively. Hesperidin was the predominant flavonoid in red bell and Balady green peppers extracts with concentrations of 1513.13 and 1065.65 µg/g, respectively. While, pyrogallol was identified as the highest phenolic compound in yellow bell pepper extract as 2175.89 µg/g. This study also confirmed the highest antioxidant activity of Balady green pepper extract using total antioxidant capacity (TAC), DPPH radical scavenging and reducing power assays. This study recommends consumers using the balady green pepper as a rich and inexpensive source of natural antioxidants
Malnutrition in India. Trends and determinants.

This paper analyses trends in malnutrition over the past two decades and shows that improvements in nutritional status have not kept pace with the reduction in poverty and the currently level of malnutrition is unacceptably high. About half of the pre-school children are malnourished and are exposed to the risk of functional impairments. Malnutrition levels are uneven across states. Some middle income states such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu have comparatively better nutritional achievements than higher income states like Maharashtra and Gujarat. North-eastern states are comparatively better performing states and some of them have even out-performed Kerala. (authors)
New Phosphate-based Electrode Material for High Performance Sodium-Ion Batteries

A new Nasicon-type phosphate Na<inf>3</inf>ZrCo(PO<inf>4</inf>)<inf>3</inf>is successfully synthesized using a sol-gel method. In this study, we investigate the synthesis, structural and electrochemical properties of this 3D phosphate. The Rietveld refinement of the XRD pattern showed that at room temperature, the material exhibits a hexagonal symmetry with the space group (R-3) and the cell parameters a = 8.931(3) Å; c = 22.310(1) Å. The structure of Na<inf>3</inf>ZrCo(PO<inf>4</inf>)<inf>3</inf>consists of edge sharing [MO6] octahedra (M = Zr, Co) resulting in chains parallel to [-101]. These chains are linked together via the [PO4] tetrahedra to form two distinct tunnels in which sodium cations are located. The synthesized Na<inf>3</inf>ZrCo(PO<inf>4</inf>)<inf>3</inf>were tested in sodium half-cell. An initial discharge capacity of 120 mAhg<sup>−1</sup>at C/20 for the first cycle and good capacity retention at high rates were obtained.
Frequency Rate and Indications of Cesarean Sections at Prince Zaid Bin Al Hussein Hospital - Jordan

Results: Out of 2400 deliveries during the study period, 450 cesarean sections were performed with a frequency of 18.75%. Of these 450 patients 128 (28.4%) were primigravida. There were 216 (48%) primary and 234 (52%) repeated cesarean sections. One hundred sixty-seven cesarean deliveries (37.1%) were performed on women in the above 30 years age group and those who were parity 1-3 (47.3%). Of the primary cesarean section group; the commonest indication was failure to progress (30.1%) and of the repeated cesarean section group; the commonest indication was two or more cesarean section (26%). The review showed that all cesarean sections performed had specific indications. The three most common indications for cesarean sections are fetal distress, failure to progress in labor and repeated cesarean sections Conclusion: Preventive efforts should be directed towards decreasing the frequency of primary cesarean deliveries by appropriate management of labor. Efforts to lower cesarean section rate should focus on the areas of fetal distress, failure to progress in labor and by attempting vaginal birth after cesarean delivery.
Correlation between Peak SAR and Maximum Temperature Increase Due to Dipole Antenna above 3GHz

Peak SAR (specific absorption rate) averaged over any 1 or 10g of body tissue is used as a measure for the protection of RF near-field exposure in safety guidelines. However, physiological effects and damage to humans by EM wave exposures are induced by temperature increases. In our previous work, we discussed the correlation maximum temperature increases in the head with peak spatial-average SAR over the frequency bands from 900 MHz2.5 GHz. In this study, we extend the discussion to the frequency band from 1 GHz to 10 GHz, which covers the fourth generation mobile cellular system, wireless LAN, and so forth. The motivation of this study is that the SAR is more localized around the antenna due to the reduction of physical size of antenna, and thus further discussion is required for correlating SAR and temperature elevations. In particular, 3D Green function for bio-heat equation is introduced in order to give insight for heat diffusion in human tissue.
Fertility Programs for First AI

Hormonal synchronization protocols have been incorporated widely into reproductive management programs by dairy farmers (Caraviello et al., 2006; Norman et al., 2009). The initial impact of TIMED AI protocols on 21-day pregnancy rates in U.S. dairy herds has been to increase the AI service rate (Norman et al., 2009); however, a deeper understanding of the physiology underlying the Ovsynch protocol has allowed for a dramatic increase in fertility to timed AI. Thus, the newest iteration of synchronization protocols are perhaps better described as fertility programs for high-producing lactating dairy cows.
On fundamentals of models and sampling in compressed sensing

Sparsity is the traditional mainstay of the majority of compressed sensing. However, recent evidence suggests that in many applications where the sampling mechanism is fixed one does not recover all sparse vectors, but rather a much smaller subclass possessing greater structure. We therefore pose the following question: What type of structured signals does compressed sensing actually recover? To answer this question we provide an array of tests known as flip tests that aid one in determining the right structured sparsity model for a given problem. Only once the correct model has been determined can one provide mathematics that accurately describe the recovery properties of compressed sensing. In the case of wavelets (or, more generally, X-lets) we suggest a structured sparsity model that aligns with the corresponding flip tests, and demonstrate improved recovery guarantees. The fact that such sampling mechanisms recover the sparsity structure common to many signals of interest, e.g. images, leads us to question the conceived compressed sensing wisdom of complete random, or generally, incoherent sampling (e.g. random sub-Gaussian, permuted Fourier, expanders etc.). In particular, we pose the following question: In applications where the sampling mechanism can be chosen, does structured sampling outperform incoherent sampling? We answer this question affirmatively for certain cases of interest. In investigating these two themes, we find that there are many questions at the heart of compressed sensing that require us to revisit its fundamentals. Aiming to spur new research in this direction, we conclude this note with a list of open problems and topics for future research.
Stratégies optimales pour la recharge de réservoirs hydriques à l’aide d’eaux retraitées – application au cas d’étude du Lac de Jaunay

María Crespo1,*, Julien Orsoni2, Jérôme Bortoli2, Alain Rapaport1, Antoine Rousseau3, Vincent Jauzein4 1 UMR MISTEA, U. Montpellier, INRA, Montpellier SupAgro. 2 Place Pierre Viala, 34060 Montpellier (France). 2 VENDÉE EAU. 57 Rue Paul Emile Victor, 85000 La Roche-sur-Yon (France). 3 LEMON Team, INRIA Sophia-Antipolis Méditerranée, Antenne de Montpellier. 860 Rue Saint-Priest, 34095 Montpellier (France). 4 SAUR Recherche et Développement. 1 rue Antoine Lavoisier, 78280 Guyancourt (France).