Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Long-Term Supplemental Dietary Cadmium on Lipid Peroxidation and the Antioxidant System in the Liver and Kidneys of Rabbits

We investigated the effects of chronic exposure to dietary cadmium (Cd) on the levels of lipid peroxidation (LPO) and reduced glutathione (GSH) associated with activities of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and the catalase (CAT) enzyme in the liver and kidneys of rabbits. Twenty 10-month-old clinically healthy New Zealand white rabbits (10/group) of 3545 ± 250 g average body weight were used. The control group was allowed to take food and tap water ad libitum, while the experimental group was given tap water containing 200 ppm CdCl2/L for 28 weeks. Lipid peroxidation contents increased significantly in the liver (p < 0.001) and kidneys (p < 0.005) of Cd-treated rabbits. Glutathione levels decreased significantly in both the liver (p < 0.001) and the kidneys (p < 0.005) of the experimental group. Cadmium treatment caused a significant decrease in the activities of GSH-Px and CAT in the liver (p < 0.001, p < 0.01) and kidneys (p < 0.005, p < 0.1) of the rabbits. These results indicated that a Cd-induced increase in LPO was associated with reductions in GSH-Px and CAT enzyme activities, and in GSH levels in the liver and kidneys of rabbits.
Structural adaptation in gesture and speech

Interlocutors are known to repeat the structure of each other's speech and to repeat each other's gestures. Yet would they also repeat the information structure of each other's gestures? And which are we more prone to adapt to: gesture, or speech? This study presented participants with gesture and speech in which manner and path information were either conflated into one gesture/clause, or separated into two gestures/clauses. We found that both the information structure perceived in speech and in gesture influenced the information structure participants produced in their gesturing. However, the information structure perceived in gesture only influenced the structure participants produced in their speech if a less preferred structure was perceived in speech. When the preferred structure was perceived in speech, this structure was (re)produced in speech irrespective of perceived gestures. These results pose a challenge to the development of models of gesture and speech production.
THE AUDITOR AS AN ELEMENT OF IN- AND EXTERNAL CORPORATE GOVERNANCE THEORETICAL FINDINGS IN THE GERMAN TWO TIER SYSTEM

This article is focused on the assisting role and gatekeeper function of the external auditor in the German two tier system. From on an agency-theoretical view, the auditor is part of the inand external corporate governance. Conflicts of interests may arise from different tasks of the assisting role and gatekeeper function of the auditor, influencing the quality of the inand external audit. Thus, future research is needed to provide theoretical foundation of the auditor’s assisting role for the benefit of the shareholders.
Competition, the Lisbon Strategy and the Euro

This paper considers whether the Euro-area economies have become more competitive since the introduction of the Euro and the implementation of the Lisbon strategy. Using a measure of the markup as a proxy for competition we show that while the markup has varied considerably over the past 25 years and declined recently, most of this variation can be explained by movements in inflation and the business cycle. Consequently, based on our data, we find little evidence of a pro-competitive impact of the introduction of the Euro and implementation of the Lisbon strategy.
Investigation of the interfacial bonding in composite propellants. 1,3,5-Trisubstituted isocyanurates as universal bonding agents

A series of 1,3,5-trisubstituted isocyanurates (substituents: CH2CH2OH, CH2CH=CH2 and CH2CH2COOH) was synthesized according to a modified literature procedure. Experimental investigations included modification of the synthetic proce- dure in terms of the starting materials, solvents, temperature, isolation techniques, as well as purification and identification of the products. All the synthesized isocyanurates were identified by their melting point and FTIR, 1 H NMR and UV spectroscopic data. Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry was also used to study the interaction be- tween ammonium perchlorate, hydroxyl terminated poly(butadiene), carboxyl termi- nated poly(butadiene), poly(butadiene-co-acrylonitrile), poly(propylene ether), cyclo- trimethylenetrinitramine and the compounds synthesized in this work, which can serve as bonding agents. The results show that tris(2-hydroxyethyl)isocyanurate is a universal bonding agent for the ammonium perchlorate/carboxyl terminated poly(butadiene)/cy- clotrimethylenetrinitramine composite propellant system.
Could health care workers determine the occupational performance priorities of people with disability living in a developing community

The client-centred approach may be best suited to determine the occupational performance priorities of a developing community, but occasionally the health care worker has to anticipate the occupational performance priorities of an individual in order to render effective services. The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) was used to determine the occupational performance priorities of a developing community from the perspective of the People with Disability residing in that community as well as from the perspective of the health care workers responsible for their care. After their responses were coded according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), the data obtained from both groups were ranked and compared. The results indicated that although both groups of participants proposed similar priorities, some variations in the ranking existed. Valuable insight into the occupational performance priorities of the people with physical disabilities in a developing community was obtained activities. The therapist who makes use of the client-centred approach allows the client to identify his own unique occupational performance priorities and assumes that the occupational therapist can uncover them through negotiation with the client. The occupational therapist can not always fully comprehend the client’s values, beliefs and experiences and therefore accepts the client’s report of his occupational performance priorities as the most relevant source of information. 3 The concepts of autonomy or choice, partnership and responsibility, contextual congruence, accessibility and flexibility and respect for diversity seem to embody the characteristics of the client centred approach as conceptualised by Law and her
Ultrasonic phased array with dispersion compensation for monitoring multiple damages in structures

Multiple-damage-inflicted scattering signals usually overlap with each other due to Lamb wave dispersion and multi-mode characteristics. As a result, it is difficult to accurately distinguish damages that occur relatively close to each other using the conventional ultrasonic phased array method. In order to solve this problem, an improved linear mapping (ILM) dispersion compensation method is proposed and is applied to enhance the ultrasonic phased array monitoring resolution. Through a uniform linear array arrangement, the damage scattering signals are collected in a round-robin pattern of ultrasonic phased array, and then compensated based on the linear relation wavenumber curve from actual measurement. At last, the scan can be obtained by monitoring the energy scattered by the damages using delay-and-sum method. To verify the proposed method, experiments are performed on an aluminum (LY-12) plate. Two results of multiple artificial damages show that the proposed method can effectively compensate the dispersion characteristics of Lamb waves. The direction estimation error and distance estimation error are less than 4° and 2 cm, respectively.
Molecular variability of Apple chlorotic leaf spot virus isolated in Belarus

Apple chlorotic leaf spot virus (ACLSV) is a harmful latent pathogen distributed worldwide in apple orchards. To evaluate the genetic diversity of this virus in Belarusian apple orchards, 850 bp genome fragments coding parts of replicase and movement protein open reading frames from five viral isolates from apple in Belarus were sequenced. High genetic variability was detected among isolates studied. The potential sites of recombination were identified in the partial sequences of the replicase and movement protein genes of ASLSV. The estimation of selection pressure revealed strong negative selection on the genome fragments obtained in this study and homologous to them ACLSV sequences from the GenBank database. Relationships between the geographic origin and the nucleotide identity of the fragments of ACLSV were not found.
DEVELOPMENT OF A MICROFLUIDIC PLATFORM AND DETECTION SYSTEM FOR PLATELET FUNCTION ANALYSIS

We have developed a prototype point-of-care diagnostic tool for early warning of platelet related disorders. The system objectively quantifies early-stage, shearmediated platelet-surface interactions for well characterized protein surfaces. The hybrid microfluidic platform significantly reduces sample volume (from ~ 5000 µL to ~150 μL) relative to current laboratory systems, while the detection system utilises low-cost optical components for fluorescence detection of platelet-surface interactions in whole blood.
Braginskii MHD for arbitrary magnetic topologies: coronal applications

We investigate single-fluid magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) with anisotropic viscosity, often referred to as Braginskii MHD, with a particular eye to solar coronal applications. First, we examine the full Braginskii viscous tensor in the single-fluid limit. We pay particular attention to how the Braginskii tensor behaves as the magnetic field strength vanishes. The solar corona contains a magnetic field with a complex and evolving topology, so the viscosity must revert to its isotropic form when the field strength is zero, e.g. at null points. We highlight that the standard form in which the Braginskii tensor is written is not suitable for inclusion in simulations as singularities in the individual terms can develop. Instead, an altered form, where the parallel and perpendicular tensors are combined, provides the required asymptotic behaviour in the weak-field limit. We implement this combined form of the tensor into the Lare3D code, which is widely used for coronal simulations. Since our main focus is the viscous heating of the solar corona, we drop the drift terms of the Braginskii tensor. In a stressed null point simulation, we discover that small-scale structures, which develop very close to the null, lead to anisotropic viscous heating at the null itself (that is, heating due to the anisotropic terms in the viscosity tensor). The null point simulation we present has a much higher resolution than many other simulations containing null points so this excess heating is a practical concern in coronal simulations. To remedy this unwanted heating at the null point, we develop a model for the viscosity tensor that captures the most important physics of viscosity in the corona: parallel viscosity for strong field and isotropic viscosity at null points. We derive a continuum model of viscosity where momentum transport, described by this viscosity model, has the magnetic field as its preferred orientation. When the field strength is zero, there is no preferred direction for momentum transport and viscosity reverts to the standard isotropic form. The most general viscous stress tensor of a (single-fluid) plasma satisfying these conditions is found. It is shown that the Braginskii model, without the drift terms, is a specialization of the general model. Performing the stressed null point simulation with this simplified model of viscosity reveals very similar heating profiles compared to the full Braginskii model. The new model, however, does not produce anisotropic heating at the null point, as required. Since the vast majority of coronal simulations use only isotropic viscosity, we perform the stressed null point simulation with isotropic viscosity and compare the heating profiles to those of the anisotropic models. It is shown than the fully isotropic viscosity can over-estimate the viscous heating by an order of magnitude.
Large Scale Taxonomy Classification using BiLSTM with Self-Attention

In this paper we present a deep learning model for the task of large scale taxonomy classification, where the model is expected to predict the corresponding category ID path given a product title. The proposed approach relies on a Bidirectional Long Short Term Memory Network (BiLSTM) to capture the context information for each word, followed by a multi-head attention model to aggregate useful information from these words as the final representation of the product title. Our model adopts an end-to-end architecture that does not rely on any hand-craft features, and is regulated by various techniques.
TRADITIONAL AGROECOSYSTEMS VS. ALTERNATIVE AGROECOSYSTEMS IN MAIZE IN CHIAPAS MEXICO

The purpose of this study was to evaluate environmental variables in a traditional agroecosystem (TA - slash, fell and burn) and alternatives (AA - modifying the sowing density and rotating with Mucuna deeringiana Bort.), in Chiapas, Mexico. The variables were analyzed in two seasonal farming cycles, spring-summer (SS-burn) and autumn-winter (AW-no burn). Analysis of the environmental variables indicated better properties in TA, but there was no correlation with the years left fallow. The results were positive for AA, although it was found that TA had beneficial effects on certain variables as a result of being left fallow and adapting to the environment . A relative decrease was observed in the number of species, of individuals and of families as the fallow period was extended (R=67.7%). Modification of the sowing density affected maize yield positively (3.1 t/ha vs. 1.8 t/ha in TA). Models predicting yield well were found for both farming cycles (R=97.6% for SS and 97.3% for AW). It was observed that TA are attacked less by Diatraea liniolata Walker, because of the effect of fire on its reproduction. Both before burning and after harvest, soils were observed to be fertile with high content in nutrients, slightly acid ic pH and good physical properties. Strong erosion was recorded from the beginning of the culture cycle, especially in TA (33.9 t/ha). The environmental sustainability of TA in the Selva Region was not affected over time by the reduction in fallow periods, but new agroecosystems must be found and implemented in the future.
A Scenario of Storm Surge Statistics for the German Bight at the Expected Time of Doubled Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Concentration

Past variations of water levels at Cuxhaven, Germany (German bight), are examined, and a scenario for future changes due to expected global warming is derived. The observational record of Cuxhaven water levels features a linear upward trend in the annual mean water level of about 30 cm 100 yr21 overlaid by irregular variations due to synoptic disturbances. These irregular storm-related variations are shown to have remained mostly stationary since the beginning of observations until today. A scenario for future conditions is derived by means of a two-step downscaling approach. First, a ‘‘time slice experiment’’ is used to obtain a regionally disaggregated scenario for the time mean circulation for the time of expected doubling of atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Then, an empirical downscaling model is derived, which relates intramonthly percentiles of storm-related water-level variations at Cuxhaven to variations in the monthly mean air pressure field over Europe and the northern North Atlantic. Past variations of storm-related intramonthly percentiles are well reproduced by the downscaling model so that the statistical model may be credited with skill. The combined time slice‐statistical model ‘‘predicts,’’ for the expect time of doubled atmospheric CO2 concentrations in the decade around 2035, an insignificant rise of the 50%, 80%, and 90% percentiles of storm-related water-level variations in Cuxhaven of less than 10 cm, which is well within the range of natural interdecadal variability. These numbers have to be added to the rise in mean sea level due to thermal expansion and other slow processes.
Monocular multi-view stereo imaging system

In this study, we present a single-camera, multi-view stereo imaging system for capturing three-dimensional (3D) information. First, we design a monocular, multi-view stereo imaging device composed of a fisheye lens, and planar mirrors placed around the lens. The fisheye lens has a wide view-angle. The captured image includes a centered region of direct observation and surrounding regions of mirrored observations. These regions can be considered as images captured by multiple cameras at different positions and orientations. Therefore, the proposed device is equivalent to a synchronous multiple-cameras configuration, in which all the cameras share the same physical characteristics. In addition, we show how to place the mirrors in order to maximize the common view-angles, which is an important design consideration. Then, after calibrating the projection function of the fisheye lens, we obtain the positions and orientations of the virtual cameras from the external parameters. We also develop two multi-baseline stereo algorithms for the 3D measurement system. The first algorithm transforms the captured image to perspective images, and uses the traditional method to perform stereo determination. The second algorithm directly uses the original captured image along with an analysis of the epipolar geometry. Experimental results show that our system is more effective than traditional stereo methods that use a stereo pair, and it can achieve robust 3D reconstruction.
The Impact of Trade on Technology and Skill Upgrading Evidence from Argentina

In the last 20 years, wage inequality has increased in many developing countries. Most research on this topic focuses on two alternative causes: trade or skill-biased technical change. Several empirical studies in both developed and developing countries document increases in skill intensity within all sectors, favoring the technological change explanation over trade. Instead, I present and test a model where bilateral trade liberalization increases exporting revenues inducing more firms to enter the export market and to adopt skilled-biased new technologies. I find that the increase in the relative demand of skilled labor does not come from labor reallocation across sectors or firms but from skill upgrading within firms. Firms that upgrade technology faster also upgrade skill faster. Finally, firms entering the export market after liberalization become more skill and technology-intensive than non exporters.
A direct and comprehensive test of two postulates of politeness theory applied to uncertainty communication

Applied to uncertainty communication, politeness theory postulates that when announcing bad news (1) speakers may intend not only to inform, but also to manage (e.g., save) the hearers’ or speakers’ own faces (i.e., face-managing intentions), and (2) speakers may perform face-managing intentions by altering the explicitly communicated probability. Previous research has assumed these two core postulates when explaining various reasoning and judgment phenomena in hearers, but has failed to test them empirically in a comprehensive and direct way: jointly in relation to speakers. To provide this critical evidence, we asked subjects to communicate a predefined numerical probability of two negative outcomes, using a verbal probability scale. Subjects reported their communication intentions afterwards. In line with the first politeness theory postulate, speakers intended not only to be informative but also to tactfully announce bad news or to avoid being blamed in case they made inaccurate (too low or too high) prediction. In line with the second politeness theory postulate, speakers altered their explicitly communicated probability more often and more substantially when adopting face-managing intentions than when adopting informative intentions. We discuss how this evidence corroborates the politeness theory and validates the previous research that focused on hearers.
Heat-conducting viscous fluids over porous media

A new model is introduced for describing the heat-conducting viscous fluids over porous media. The innovative features of the presented model are the nonlinear character given by temperature dependence of the physical parameters such as the viscosities, the permeability, and complementary the thermal conductivity and thermal expansion. The flow velocities are small (for steady processes) and mainly driven by the pressure gradient in porous media such that the Stokes-Darcy system is completed by the energy equation with the heat flux given by the Fourier law. The existence of solutions is established for the Stokes-Darcy-Fourier system either with the Beavers-Joseph-Saffman or Beavers-Joseph interface boundary conditions. Both problems are solved by means a fixed point procedure and Lagrange multiplier approach.
Polynomial amplitude versus azimuth inversion in horizontally transverse isotropic media, as tested on fractured coal seams in the Surat Basin*

A new technique of amplitude versus azimuth (AVAZ) seismic inversion in horizontally transverse isotropic (HTI) media is presented. AVAZ is an effective method of characterising anisotropic variation within individual reflectors as well as characterising fractures. The compressional wave reflectivity equation in HTI media has been reformulated into a parabolic form that allows for fast and efficient inversion. The isotropic component of the azimuthal reflectivity has been separated precisely from the anisotropic component and the anisotropic component has been decoupled exactly into its constituent elliptic and anelliptic components. The exact isotropic, elliptic and anelliptic amplitude versus offset (AVO) gradient equations in HTI media are presented herein and the amount of error associated with previous approximations is also defined under the assumption of weak anisotropy. A method of calculating Thomsen’s weak anisotropy parameters using these AVO gradient terms is then outlined. Compared with the elliptic method, there is reduced error incorporated in the new AVAZ method and the error relationships of this method are compared with the Fourier method. Data from an open file 3D wide azimuth seismic survey in the Surat Basin were inverted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the techniques which are presented herein. Seismic amplitudes from six azimuthal stacks were extracted over two horizons and inverted around a well where full-wave sonic and density logs were acquired. For both horizons, the error between the inverted anisotropy parameters from seismic and the inverted anisotropy parameters from wire line logs were found to be less than 5% for both horizons.