Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antioxidant potential of Gaultheria fragrantissima against adjuvant induced arthritis in Wistar rats

Adjuvant arthritis is one of the extensively used models of chronic inflammatory joint disorder such as rheumatoid arthritis. It is postulated that oxidative stress plays a pivotal role in rheumatoid arthritis. The current research was designed to examine the antioxidative effect of Gaultheria fragrantissima Wall. (Ericaceae) against complete Freund’s adjuvant induced arthritis. Arthritis was induced by single subcutaneous injection of complete Freund’s adjuvant (0.1 mL) into the plantar surface of the right hind paw of male Wistar rats. Gaultheria fragrantissima leaf extracts (100 and 200 mg kg−1day−1) and indomethacin (3 mg kg−1day−1) were administered orally for 14 days (from day 14 to day 28) after the adjuvant injection. The protective effect was evaluated by DPPH radical scavenging activity, alterations in paw volume, lipid peroxidation (measured in terms of MDA), antioxidant, enzymatic (SOD, CAT, GPx, GR and GST), nonenzymatic (GSH), and marker enzymes (AST, ALT, ALP and GGT) levels from liver and serum of adjuvant induced and treatment groups. These biochemical alterations were significantly (p < 0.05) ameliorated nearly to control values after administration of Gaultheria fragrantissima leaf extract to arthritic animals.
Exploring Perceived Emotional Intelligence of Personality-Driven Virtual Agents in Handling User Challenges

An effective virtual agent (VA) that serves humans not only completes tasks efficaciously, but also manages its interpersonal relationships with users judiciously. Although past research has studied how agents apologize or seek help appropriately, there lacks a comprehensive study of how to design an emotionally intelligent (EI) virtual agent. In this paper, we propose to improve a VA's perceived EI by equipping it with personality-driven responsive expression of emotions. We conduct a within-subject experiment to verify this approach using a medical assistant VA. We ask participants to observe how the agent (displaying a dominant or submissive trait, or having no personality) handles user challenges when issuing reminders and rate its EI. Results show that simply being emotionally expressive is insufficient for suggesting VAs as fully emotionally intelligent. Equipping such VAs with a consistent, distinctive personality trait (especially submissive) can convey a significantly stronger sense of EI in terms of the ability to perceive, use, understand, and manage emotions, and can better mitigate user challenges.
NUTRITIONAL EVALUATION OF FOUR VARIETIES OF DRY BEANS (Phaseolus vulgaris, L.)

-ABSTRACT Proximate composition, globulin, albumin, nonprotein nitrogen and amino acid contents wemdetermined in four varieties of dry bean. Protein and nonprotein nitrogen contents were similar in all four varieties. The lysine was higher in the varieties Rico 23 and Rosinha -G2. The sulfur-containing amino acids were higher in Rico 23. PER, apparent biological value, nitrogen retention and methionine availability were highest in Rico 23 and lowest in the variety Carioca. For these two varieties PER values ranged from 1.32-0.75, apparent biological value from 58.9-39.4%, nitrogen retention from 36.1-21.0 mg N retained/rat/day and methionine availability from 40.6-29.3%, respectively. Apparent digestibility was lowest for Rico 23 and highest for Pirata-1. Pirata-1 ranked second in all biological parameters, except for methionine availability. Cooking the raw bean did not raise digestibility beyond 66%. Availability of iron was in the range 4-5% for all varieties.
Analysis of Cochliobolus carbonum races by PCR amplification with arbitrary and gene-specific primers.

The pathogenic races of Cochliobolus carbonum cause necrotic lesions of characteristic sizes and shapes on maize leaves. To distinguish the races at the molecular level, isolates of C. carbonum races as well as other related species were analyzed by PCR (polymerase chain reaction) amplification of genomic DNA using either arbitrary oligonucleotide primers or primers with homology to sequences within the Tox2 locus, which is essential for production of a host-specific toxin. Amplification products from isolates of the four pathogenic races of C. carbonum were very similar to each other and to those from species thought to be closely related but were substantially different from nonpathogenic race 0 and from most other species []
The effectiveness of manipulation and mobilization on pain and disability in individuals with cervicogenic and tension-type headaches: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Cervicogenic (CGH) and tension-type (TTH) headaches are prevalent conditions that are associated with considerable pain and disability. Joint mobilization and manipulation are common interventions used by physical therapists to manage individuals with musculoskeletal conditions. However, there is controversy surrounding their effectiveness. Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of mobilization and manipulation (MM) compared to other conservative treatments on reducing pain, frequency, and disability in patients with CGH and TTH. Methods: A literature search using terms related to mobilization, manipulation, CGH, and TTH was conducted to identify randomized clinical trials comparing MM to conservative treatment in treating CGH and TTH. The overall quality of the evidence was assessed using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool. Meta-analysis and qualitative synthesis of the evidence were performed. Results: Nine total studies were included in the systematic review. The majority of studies scored lower than a 69% on the Cochrane risk of bias tool indicating a moderate to high risk of bias. MM were found to be equally as effective as conservative treatment in reducing pain, disability, and frequency of headache in individuals with CGH. MM had statistically significant short-term (1–4 weeks) improvements over conservative treatment for TTH on pain and disability, but not frequency. When comparing the effectiveness of MM versus conservative treatment for TTH, both groups exhibited improvement between 1–3 months in all three outcomes. Conclusions: Manipulation and mobilization were only found to be more effective than conservative care at short-term follow up for individuals with TTH.
Information Systems as Representations: A Review of the Theory and Evidence

Representation theory proposes that the basic purpose of an information system (IS) is to faithfully represent certain real-world phenomena, allowing users to reason about these phenomena more cost-effectively than if they were observed directly. Over the past three decades, the theory has underpinned much research on conceptual modeling in IS analysis and design and, increasingly, research on other IS phenomena such as data quality, system alignment, IS security, and system use. The original theory has also inspired further development of its core premises and advances in methodological guidelines to improve its use and evaluation. Nonetheless, the theory has attracted repeated criticisms regarding its validity, relevance, usefulness, and robustness. Given the burgeoning literature on the theory over time, both positive and negative, the time is ripe for a narrative, developmental review. We review representation theory, examine how it has been used, and critically evaluate its contributions and limitations. Based on our findings, we articulate a set of recommendations for improving its application, development, testing, and evaluation.
Relationship between adherence and health-related quality of life among HIV-patients in South Africa : findings and implications

Greater access to highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) has increased the survival of people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA), and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has emerged as an important indicator of treatment outcomes. However, the success of HAART depends on consistent and optimum adherence. Various cross-sectional studies and few longitudinal studies identified the relationship between HRQoL and HAART; however their association over time is still unclear. The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between HRQoL and adherence to HAART over time. 431 PLWHAs were followed for one year at 4-monthly intervals. A descriptive adherence self-report rating scale and WHOQOL-HIV BREF were administered to collect adherence and HRQoL data respectively. Optimum adherence was set at ≥95%. Significant differences (p<0.05) in the overall mean HRQoL scores of the HAART adherent (≥95%) and non-adherent (<95%) patients were observed amongst patients on HAART for the periods of 9-28 months, 49-64 months and 81-120 months. This study established a strong relationship between adherence to HAART and HRQoL over time. Adherence to HAART is still a challenge and needs to be addressed through appropriate interventions. Key words: Highly active antiretroviral therapy, health-related quality of life, medication adherence, interrupted time-series analysis, South Africa.
Virtue out of Necessity? Compliance, Commitment, and the Improvement of Labor Conditions in Global Supply Chains

Private, voluntary compliance programs, promoted by global corporations and nongovernmental organizations alike, have produced only modest and uneven improvements in working conditions and labor rights in most global supply chains. Through a detailed study of a major global apparel company and its suppliers, this article argues that this compliance model rests on misguided theoretical and empirical assumptions concerning the power of multinational corporations in global supply chains, the role information (derived from factory audits) plays in shaping the behavior of key actors (e.g., global brands, transnational activist networks, suppliers, purchasing agents, etc.) in these production networks, and the appropriate incentives required to change behavior and promote improvements in labor standards in these emergent centers of global production. The authors argue that it is precisely these faulty assumptions and the way they have come to shape various labor compliance initiatives throughout the world—even more than a lack of commitment, resources, or transparency by global brands and their suppliers to these programs—that explain why this compliance-focused model of private voluntary regulation has not succeeded. In contrast, this article documents that a more commitment-oriented approach to improving labor standards coexists and, in many of the same factories, complements the traditional compliance model. This commitment-oriented approach, based on joint problem solving, information exchange, and the diffusion of best practices, is often obscured by the debates over traditional compliance programs but exists in myriad factories throughout the world and has led to sustained improvements in working conditions and labor rights at these workplaces.
Deep Neural Network Structure to Improve Individual Performance based Author Classification

This paper proposed an improved method for author name disambiguation problem, both homonym and synonym. The data prepared is the distance data of each pair of author’s attributes, Levenshtein distance are used. Using Deep Neural Networks, we found large gains on performance. The result shows that level of accuracy is 99.6% with a low number of hidden layers
The Influence of Business Process Representation on Performance of Different Task Types

The analysis of business processes is an integral part of audit methodology. In both auditing research and process modeling research, there is an ongoing debate on which representation format might be best suited to support analysis tasks. Most important in this context is the question of whether process models as visual representation might be superior to textual narratives. This paper investigates the affinity of different tasks with two process representational formats: textual narratives and visual diagrams (BPMN models). Our findings demonstrate that the representation format has an impact on task performance and that the direction of this impact depends upon the affinity of the tasks type with the representation format. This implies that auditors are best provided with different process representations, depending on the task they are performing. These findings have important implications for research on auditing tasks, and more broadly also for software engineering and information systems research.
A Global Assessment of Distribution, Diversity, Endemism, and Taxonomic Effort in the Rubiaceae1

Abstract Analyses of distribution, diversity, endemism, and taxonomic effort for Rubiaceae are reported, based on queries from a World Rubiaceae Checklist database. Rubiaceae are widespread and occur in all major regions of the world except the Antarctic Continent, but are predominantly a group in the tropics with greatest diversity in low- to mid-altitude humid forests. A count of Rubiaceae species and genera is given (13,143 spp./611 genera), which confirms that this is the fourth largest angiosperm family. Psychotria L. is the largest genus in the Rubiaceae (1834 spp.) and the third largest angiosperm genus. Most genera (72%) have fewer than 10 species and 211 are monotypic. Calculation of relative species diversity and percentage endemism enables areas of high diversity and endemism to be enumerated, and identifies areas where further field collecting and taxonomic research are required. Endemism is generally high in Rubiaceae, which supports data from recent studies showing that many species have restricted distributions. Given the assumed ecologic sensitivity of Rubiaceae, in combination with a range of other factors including restricted distribution, we suggest that species in this family are particularly vulnerable to extinction. The rate at which new species are being described is inadequate; more resources are required before the diversity of Rubiaceae is satisfactorily enumerated.
Revealing Undocumented or Poorly Known Flight Calls of Warblers (Parulidae) Using a Novel Method of Recording Birds in Captivity

ABSTRACT. Flight calls are commonly produced by nocturnal migrant birds. Uncertain or unknown identities and lack of information about inter- and intraspecific variation in call notes limit the usefulness of flight calls in monitoring bird populations. We developed a novel method for recording flight calls of temporarily captive birds that allows us to study inter- and intraspecific variation in call notes of birds of known identity, age, and sex. We recorded calls and analyzed data from 13,271 flight calls recorded from 469 individuals of 28 warbler species (Parulidae) over a two-year period. Principal coordinate ordination of spectral cross-correlation data on 7 of the 28 species indicated that flight calls recorded in captivity are similar to those recorded from wild birds. Visual and aural comparisons of species' flight calls from these two different types of recordings support these results. Additionally, we verified flight calls previously identified primarily on inferential evidence and report on previously undocumented flight calls. This method quickly provides many high-quality recordings of the flight calls of individuals of known age and sex, and the results of our analyses greatly facilitate the development of automated sound-analysis algorithms critical for implementing and strengthening future acoustic monitoring applications.
Testing for host‐associated differentiation in two egg parasitoids of a forest herbivore

Several studies underline the importance of ecological barriers and differential selection in driving sympatric speciation. Host‐associated differentiation (HAD) has been proposed as one of the mechanisms leading to sympatric speciation. However, it is still unclear how common HAD is or which are the factors that could promote it. In particular, not much is known about HAD in predators and parasitoids of herbivorous insects. One of the characteristics postulated to pre‐dispose insects to HAD is parthenogenesis as it may favour adaptive responses to particular environments, amplifying selected gene complexes. In this study, we used amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers to determine whether HAD is present in two parthenogenetic egg parasitoids attacking the same herbivore species – the pine processionary moth, Thaumetopoea pityocampa (Denis & Schiffermüller) (Lepidoptera: Notodontidae) – on two host Pinus species. A total of 100 loci for 59 individuals sampled in four populations of Baryscapus servadeii (Domenichini) (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), a specialist parasitoid, and 106 loci for 117 individuals sampled in six populations of Ooencyrtus pityocampae Mercet (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), a generalist parasitoid, were analysed. Levels of genetic differentiation were also assessed with an outlier analysis, checking for alleles associated to host plants. No evidence of HAD was detected in any of the two parasitoid species. We hypothesize that both the lack of strict parthenogenetic reproduction and the ectophagous nature of the insect host could explain the absence of HAD. The genetic variation observed in the generalist parasitoid responded to a pattern of local adaptation, whereas no relationship with either host or geography was found in the specialist parasitoid.
The Role of the Micropyle in the Pollination of Pinus

1. The structure and function of the micropyle in Pinus was studied and its role in pollination described. The micropyle is shown to be a composite structure, consisting of two arms, a neck, and a canal, and is an integral part of the ovule at the time of pollination. The closing mechanism is initiated spontaneously by a stimulus from within the enlarging ovule and is not triggered by the presence of pollen germinating on the nucellus. 2. The occurrence of a secretion from the micropyle at the time of pollination was verified. This fluid was present in all receptive strobili which had been protected from stray pollen. It was most obvious in the early-morning hours and especially under conditions of high atmospheric humidity. Contact of pollen with the fluid causes permanent withdrawal of the latter, which is fairly rapid and complete. The secretion and absorption of this fluid in the absence of pollen closely resembled the phenomenon of guttation, and it is suggested that both processes are initiated in a similar fashion. 3. A chemical analysis of the micropylar fluid revealed the presence of three sugars, sucrose, glucose, and fructose, with a total concentration of approximately 1.25%. 4. From a study of the action of the micropylar fluid in transporting the pollen to the nucellus, absorption rather than flotation was found to play the dominant role.
Resveratrol in Management of Diabetes and Obesity: Clinical Applications, Bioavailability, and Nanotherapy

Diabetes is the most common serious metabolic disorder and one of the five leading causes of death worldwide. It is characterized by persistent hyperglycemia coincident with the induction of oxidative stress and alterations in glucose and lipid metabolism– regulating enzymes. Resveratrol has immerged as one of the leading natural ingredients to combat diabetic and its complications. Despite an abundance of laboratory and animal research, there is little clinical evidence to establish resveratrol effectiveness as a thera peutic against diabetes. Further, the poor bioavailability and stability of resveratrol in humans have been a major concern for translating basic science findings into clinical utility. In this review, we embark on large, well-controlled clinical studies to confirm the efficacy of resveratrol in the management of diabetes mellitus and gain a better insight into its biological effects in humans. Further possible methods of increasing the stability and bioavailability for such trials are also discussed.
An improvement of the method for calibrating measurements of photosynthetic CO2 flux

Measurements of rapid changes in concentrations and fluxes of gaseous compounds relating to photosynthetic gas exchange are commonly performed using flow-through cuvettes in connection with infrared gas analysers. The accuracy and repeatability of these measurements relies ultimately upon the design of the system as a whole, rather than upon each of its components, and therefore the calibration and testing of the system should be performed keeping this in mind. We present here a simple and efficient method for the calibration of such a measurement system using a precisely determined CO2 flow. This method gives us the opportunity to take into account any disturbing effects caused by undesired properties of the chamber or tubing materials. With the proposed calibration method, the accuracy of the CO2 flux measurement is improved from 8% up to the level of 2%, determined mainly by the accuracy of the control gas used for calibration of the CO2 analyser.
New Cost-Benefit of Brazilian Technology for Vector Surveillance Using Trapping System

The recent introduction of chikungunya and Zika virus and their subsequent dispersion in the Americas have encouraged the use of novel technologies for adult Aedes surveillance to improve vector control. In Brazil, two platforms for surveillance of eggs and gravid Aedes aegypti have been developed. First, it consists of using data of sampling of eggs in ovitraps associated with GIS technologies to monitor Aedes spp. populations. Although effective, it is not realistic to use in a large-scale epidemic scenario as it requires a large amount of human resources for field and laboratory activities. Second, it consists of trapping female Ae. aegypti citywide at fine spatial and temporal scales for vector surveillance (MI- Aedes ) to detect high Aedes infestation areas using a GIS environment and the identification of arbovirus-infected trapped mosquitoes by RT-PCR (MI-Virus platforms). Such integration of continuous vector surveillance and targeting vector control in hotspot areas is cost-effective (less than US$ 1.00/person/year), and it has been shown to reduce mosquito population and prevent dengue transmission. The main advantage of the MI- Aedes platform over traditional mosquito surveillance is the integration of continuous vector monitoring coupled with an information technology platform for near real-time data collection, analysis, and decision-making. The technologies also provide data to model the role of climate on the vector population dynamics.
Joint Research Centre Statistical Audit of the 2015 Global Innovation Index

Conceptual and practical challenges are inevitable when trying to understand and model the fundamentals of innovation at the national level worldwide. The Global Innovation Index (GII) considers these conceptual challenges in Chapter 1 and deals with practical challenges—related to data quality and methodological choices—by grouping country-level data into 21 sub-pillars, 7 pillars, 2 sub-indices, and, f inally, an overall index. The object of this annex is to offer a detailed insight into the practical issues related to the construction of the index, analysing in-depth the statistical soundness of the calculations and assumptions made to arrive at the f inal index rankings. Notwithstanding, statistical soundness should be regarded as a necessary but not sufficient condition for a sound GII, since the correlations underpinning the majority of the statistical analyses carried out herein ‘need not necessarily represent the real inf luence of the individual indicators on the phenomenon being measured’. 1 Consequently, the development of the GII must be nurtured by a dynamic iterative dialogue between the principles of statistical and conceptual soundness or, to put it another way, between the theoretical understanding of innovation and the empirical observations of the data underlying the variables. The Econometrics and Applied Statistics at the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Ispra ANNEX 3