Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Synthesis and Characterization of Novel Polyimides with Bulky Pendant Groups

New dianhydrides containing t-butyl and phenyl pendant groups have been synthesized and used as monomers, together with commercial diamines, to prepare novel polyimides. The influence of the chemical structure of the monomers on their reactivity has been studied by quantum semiempirical methods. The polyimides have been characterized by FTIR and by NMR in the case of soluble polymers. The presence of pendant groups and the method used to imidize polyimide precursors greatly affected polymer properties such as solubility, glass transition temperature, thermal stability, and mechanical properties. As a rule, the novel polyimides showed better solubility in organic solvents than the parent polyimides. Glass transition temperatures in the range 250 -270°C and decomposition temperatures over 520°C were observed for the set of current polymers. Tensile strengths up to 135 MPa and mechanical moduli up to 3.0 GPa were measured on films of the current polyimides. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 805- 814, 1999
Jurnal Teknologi Full Paper INSPECTION AND QUALITY CHECKING OF CERAMIC CUP USING MACHINE VISION TECHNIQUE : DESIGN AND ANALYSIS

The development of inspection and quality checking using machine vision technique are discussed where the design of the algorithm mainly to detect the sign of defect when a sample product is used for inspection purposes. There are several constraints that a machine need to be improved based on technology used in vision application. CMOS image sensor as well as programming language and open source computer vision library were used in designing the inspection method. Experimental set-up was conducted to test the proposed technique for evaluate the effectiveness process. The experimental results were obtained and represented in graphical and image processing form. Besides, analysis and discussion were made according to obtained results. The proposed technique is able to perform the inspection process using good and defect ceramic cup based on detection technique. Moreover, based on the analysis gathered, the proposed technique able to differentiate between good and defect ceramic cup. The result shows that there is a difference frequency by 236 which is 2% of total value in pixels frequency. The frequency indicated as pixel frequency of image using histogram method based on scaled value of image.
Density effect and economic threshold of Japanese brome (Bromus japonicus Houtt.) in wheat

Japanese brome ( Bromus japonicus Houtt.) is a winter annual weed commonly found in the wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) fields of China. It is prevalent in northern China and produces obvious wheat yield losses. Information on the interference of Japanese brome on wheat density and its economic threshold (ET) is unknown; this information is useful to manage Japanese brome. Two-year field experiments were designed to determine the ET of Japanese brome in wheat. The dry weight of Japanese brome with a density of 320 plants m -2 was similar to the ‘natural weeds including Japanese brome’ treatments and higher than other Japanese brome densities, except for the 640 plants m -2 density which had the highest weed dry weight and yield loss. In the absence of Japanese brome, natural weed infestation was less competitive. The ET of Japanese brome in wheat was between 4 and 5 plants m -2 with 80% efficiency for the herbicide flucarbazone. It predicted that 4 plants m -2 of Japanese brome can cause 2.11% to 2.24% yield losses. This information can contribute to decision making for Japanese brome management. Given several production factors, this ET is more precise and reliable than the ET determined with only yield losses and can be used to develop better control strategies. ABSTRACT
Association Of Cd40 Genotyping And Its Protein Expression With Airway Inflammatory Diseases

CD40 plays a substantial role in inflammation and has been linked to pathogenic processes of chronic inflammatory diseases such as asthma as well as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Aim: The study was to investigate the association of CD40 gene (-1C/T) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) with the susceptibility to asthma and COPD in the Egyptian population, and its functional effect on the expression of CD40. Methods: We analyzed -1C/T SNP of the CD40 gene in 40 patients with COPD, 50 patients with asthma, and 60 normal subjects using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). CD40 expression was measured using flow cytometry. Immunoglobulin E was also determined in asthmatics. Results: The CT genotype was prevailing in the COPD patients and control group, while in the asthmatics it was the CC. Independent of the smoking status; being CC homozygous still conferred a 4-fold increase in the risk of asthma and a 2.5-fold increase in the risk of COPD. Carrying T allele showed a significantly lower risk for asthma. Furthermore, in both asthma and COPD, the least expression of CD40 protein was found with the TT genotype, which seems to have a protective effect. Despite the significant upregulation of total serum IgE in asthmatics it was not significantly associated with CD40 genotyping or the protein expression. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that CD40 ? 1C/T polymorphism significantly contribute to the susceptibility to asthma and COPD in the Egyptian population. Reduced CD40 expression with the TT genotypes might imply that the ? 1C/T polymorphism is linked to inflammation in addition to the initiation and development of both. The genetic predisposition to certain pathways may further help to define the development of either asthma or COPD. This may lead to stratification of patients by their genetic make-up and open new therapeutic prospects.
Forcing Voters to Choose by using Discrete Choice Experiments to Estimate Political Preferences

Discrete choice experiment represents a method allowing for the estimation of the relative strength of political preferences, which traditional survey design does not allow for. The respondents are asked in pair-wise comparison to asses a bundle of attributes grouped in different scenarios. Discrete choice experiment is used to disentangle strongly correlated political preferences and estimation of their relative weight. This study presents a discrete choice experiment which combines salary increases, increasing or decreasing unemployment and the candidate for prime minister. Change in unemployment proves to be a more important attribute than prime ministerial candidate and changes in individual salary. Regardless of predisposition, voters are willing to accept a change of prime minister if unemployment decreases without any compensation in individual salary. The sociotropic frame is thus stronger than the egotropic frame.
Robustness of Feedback Linear Time-Varying Systems: A Commutant Lifting Approach

There have been numerous attempts in the literature to generalize results in robust control theory (42; 45) to linear time-varying (LTV) systems (for e.g. (10–13; 30; 33; 37; 39; 40) and references therein). In (12)(13) and (11) the authors studied the optimal weighted sensitivity minimization problem, the two-block problem, and the model-matching problem for LTV systems using inner-outer factorization for positive operators. Abstract solutions involving the computation of induced operators norms of operators are obtained. However, there is no clear indication on how to compute optimal linear LTV controllers. In (40) the authors rely on state space techniques which lead to algorithms based on infinite dimensional operator inequalities which are difficult to solve. These methods lead to suboptimal controllers and are restricted to finite dimensional systems. An extension of these results to uncertain systems is reported in (41) relying on uniform stability concepts. In (9) both the sensitivity minimization problem in the presence of plant uncertainty, and robust stability for LTV systems in the l induced norm is considered. However, their methods could not be extended to the case of systems operating on finite energy signals. In (37) the standard problem of H control theory for finite-dimensional LTV continuous-time plants is considered. It is shown that a solution to this problem exists if and only if a pair of matrix Riccati differential equations admits positive semidefinite stabilizing solutions. State-space formulae for one solution to the problem are also given. The gap metric was introduced to study stability robustness of feedback systems. It induces the weakest topology in which feedback stability is robust (6; 7; 31; 32; 38). Extensions of the gap to time-varying systems have been proposed in (33; 34) where a geometric framework was developed. Several results on the gap metric and the gap topology were established, in particular, the concept of a graphable subspace was introduced. In (21) the problem of robust stabilization for LTV systems subject to time-varying normalized coprime factor uncertainty is considered. Operator theoretic results which generalize similar results known to hold for linear time-invariant (infinite-dimensional) systems are developed. In particular, a tight upper bound for the maximal achievable stability margin under TV normalized coprime factor uncertainty in terms of the norm of an operator with a time-varying Hankel structure is computed. Analysis of time-varying control strategies for optimal disturbance rejection for known time-invariant plants has been studied in (2; 16). A robust version of these problems was 2
THE EFFECTS OF DIETARY SYNBIOTIC SUPPLEMENTATION ON THE LIVER ENZYMES, INFLAMMATORY MARKERS AND HEPATIC FIBROSIS IN PATIENTS WITH NONALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE: A DOUBLE-BLIND RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL

1 ،هیذغت مولع دشرا یسانشراک هتخومآ شناد هیذغت تاقیقحت وتیتسنا یتشهب دیهش یکشزپ مولع هاگشناد ،ییاذغ عیانص و هیذغت هدکشناد ،روشک ییاذغ عیانص و يا 2 رایشهوژپ نارهت یکشزپ مولع هاگشناد ،یتعیرش ناتسرامیب ،دبک و شراوگ هاگتسد ياه يرامیب تاقیقحت زکرم . 3 ،رامآ دشرا سانشراک نارهت یکشزپ مولع هاگشناد ،یتعیرش رتکد ناتسرامیب ،دبک و شراوگ هاگتسد ياه يرامیب تاقیقحت زکرم 4 نارهت یکشزپ مولع هاگشناد ،یتعیرش ناتسرامیب ،دبک و شراوگ هاگتسد ياه يرامیب تاقیقحت زکرم داتسا 5 لوئسم هدنسیون : ،ینیلاب هیذغت هورگ رایشناد هیذغت تاقیقحت وتیتسنا یتشهب دیهش یکشزپ مولع هاگشناد ،ییاذغ عیانص و هیذغت هدکشناد ،روشک ییاذغ عیانص و يا یکینورتکلا تسپ : a_hekmat2000@yahoo.com
Optimal experiment design for quantum state tomography: Fair, precise, and minimal tomography

Given an experimental setup and a fixed number of measurements, how should one take data to optimally reconstruct the state of a quantum system? The problem of optimal experiment design (OED) for quantum state tomography was first broached by Kosut et al.[R. Kosut, I. Walmsley, and H. Rabitz, e-print arXiv:quant-ph/0411093 (2004)]. Here we provide efficient numerical algorithms for finding the optimal design, and analytic results for the case of 'minimal tomography'. We also introduce the average OED, which is independent of the state to be reconstructed, and the optimal design for tomography (ODT), which minimizes tomographic bias. Monte Carlo simulations confirm the utility of our results for qubits. Finally, we adapt our approach to deal with constrained techniques such as maximum-likelihood estimation. We find that these are less amenable to optimization than cruder reconstruction methods, such as linear inversion.
An Insight in the Reproductive Biology of Therophilus javanus (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, and Agathidinae), a Potential Biological Control Agent against the Legume Pod Borer (Lepidoptera, Crambidae)

Therophilus javanus is a koinobiont, solitary larval endoparasitoid currently being considered as a biological control agent against the pod borer Maruca vitrata, a devastating cowpea pest causing 20–80% crop losses in West Africa. We investigated ovary morphology and anatomy, oogenesis, potential fecundity, and egg load in T. javanus, as well as the effect of factors such as age of the female and parasitoid/host size at oviposition on egg load. The number of ovarioles was found to be variable and significantly influenced by the age/size of the M. vitrata caterpillar when parasitized. Egg load also was strongly influenced by both the instar of M. vitrata caterpillar at the moment of parasitism and wasp age. The practical implications of these findings for improving mass rearing of the parasitoid toward successful biological control of M. vitrata are discussed.
Anti- S. aureus and Anti- L. monocytogenes Molecules Produced by Cheese-isolated Lactic Acid Bacteria

Lamberti C. , Genovese F. , Coisson J.D. , Lo Bianco G. , Cocolin L. , Pessione E. (2014): Anti- S. aureus and antiList. monocytogenes molecules produced by cheese-isolated lactic acid bacteria . Czech J. Food Sci., 32: 54–60. Nine lactic acid bacteria from artisanal-made cheeses were investigated for their ability to inhibit Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus . Both extracellular and surface-bound bacteriocins were recovered. While Lb. plantarum molecule was present only extracellularly, all the other strains displayed interference in both compartments. Maximum bacteriocin production was observed at the end-logarithmic phase, with the exception of Lb. plantarum (late station ary) and L. lactis subsp. cremoris (very early exponential). Lactobacillus and Lactococcus strains inhibited both List. monocytogenes and S. aureus. On the contrary, both E. faecium strains were active only on List. monocytogenes , and the enterocin A amount was enhanced under oxygen stress. All L. lactis strains (including L. lactis subsp. cremoris EL3 generally producing nisin Z) biosynthesised nisin A, while Lb. plantarum caused interference because of its very high lactic acid production. All these results suggest that artisanal-made cheeses can contain promising strains for food biosafety: these strains can be employed in toto directly in the food matrix or the purified bacteriocins can be incorporated into food packaging.
Polymer Viscoelasticity and Residual Stress Effects on Nanoimprint Lithography

not just sacrifi-cial resist formulations, makes NIL an attractive fabricationprocess. However, directly patterning such small featuresraises serious concerns regarding their long-term stability.Factors like surface tension and finite-size effects become sig-nificant when the pattern size approaches the nanometerscale. It is well-known that planar polymer films can, undercertain circumstances, spontaneously rupture and form drop-lets when their thickness is reduced to tens of nanometers;
Most Northerly Observation of a Grizzly Bear ( Ursus arctos ) in Canada: Photographic and DNA Evidence from Melville Island, Northwest Territories

During geological studies in 2003 and 2004 on Melville Island, Northwest Territories, Canada, field parties photographed and gathered genetic information on one or more grizzly bears ( Ursus arctos ). To our knowledge, these data constitute the most northerly observations made of this species in North America. The DNA of a hair sample collected on Melville Island in 2004 is genetically indistinguishable from DNA collected from a population of grizzly bears around Paulatuk, Northwest Territories, along the northern mainland coast. It is also distinct from the DNA of the Viscount Melville polar bear ( Ursus maritimus ) population. Our evidence and review suggest that, at a minimum, transient grizzly bears are now regular visitors to the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. More research will be required to understand the significance of these observations, but a small viable population of grizzly bears may now be using areas in or around Melville Island.
OIL PALM ROOTS COLONISATION BY Ganoderma boninense: AN INSIGHT STUDY USING SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY

Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) is an oil crop widely cultivated throughout South-east Asia countries. Unfortunately, the industry is badly affected by Basal Stem Rot (BSR) disease, caused by soil-borne pathogen, Ganoderma boninense, which is the most devastating and widespread disease in oil palm. Although some investigations have been conducted, complete understanding on BSR infection is yet to be achieved. In this article, observation on roots of inoculated oil palm seedlings under scanning electron microscopy showed G. boninense colonisation predominantly formed on root surface, proving endophytic colonisation primarily through the hair base, crossing epidermal cells, and followed by spreading into cortical cells which a possible pathway leading to vascular system. It also showed the formation of highly dense hypal network within the colonised area, mainly in the epidermal and cortical cells. By six months of inoculation, cell compartment of infected roots was lost and noticeable changes in the root cells structure were observed. The present study provides additional insights in the infection process and pathogen route inside the host tissue and may be useful for development of disease control strategies.
Method of Fundamental Solutions for Acoustic Wave Propagation in Shallow Water Region

An approach combining the method of fundamental solutions (MFS) in conjunction with the normal modes technique (NMT) is proposed to simulate the acoustic wave propagation over the shallow water region. It is assumed that the sound-speed is the isovelocity profile, the free surface is quiescent and the topography of seabed is rugged. The considered model, ranging from smooth to abrupt variation, is descritized into simple rectangular geometry and cosine bell deformation at the bottom in terms of the irregular topography. Mathematical formulations of the eigenfunction expansion, in point of NMT, are implemented clearly to describe the radiation conditions on the open boundaries. Effects of node resolution and small aspect ratios over the computational domain are discussed. Accuracy of the results by the proposed approach is assessed and verified by comparison with analytic solution and the boundary element method (BEM).
Annual metabolic carbon balance of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica: the importance of carbohydrate reserves

We present the seasonal carbon (C) balance of the Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile calculated from seasonal rates of C gain (photosynthesis), C loss (respiration) and growth. We compare our balance with the evolution of seasonal C reserves in order to determine the parameters (shoot:root biomass, reserve allocation, photosynthetic parameters, etc.) that influence the seasonal cycle of the plant. Additionally, we examine whether the annual C balance can be used as a valid tool for testing the vulnerability of seagrasses to light reduction. The seasonal whole-plant C balance showed alternate negative (from September to June) and positive (July and August) val- ues. This trend was the result of the interplay among several seasonal factors such as irradiance, water turbidity, photosynthetic parameters, respiratory rates, shoot growth, within-shoot age distrib- ution, and principally, the low photosynthetic:non-photosynthetic biomass ratio. The lack of signifi- cant correlation between seasonal growth and metabolic balance (C gain - C demand) did not permit the prediction of plant growth. Conversely, the seasonal pattern of carbon storage was consistent with the periods of positive and negative C balance. Consequently, reserve mobilization allows over- wintering and re-growth under conditions of negative C balance. Using different calculations the annual C balance was found to be negative during 1993; this is in accordance with the carbohydrate interannual depletion and the shoot density decline. Since Posidonia oceanica is regressing in the Mediterranean, our carbon budget may notably contribute to future carbon models that can be essen- tial tools for defining the minimum light requirements for survival. More insight into the functioning of some of the parameters that definitively influence this carbon budget (e.g.: the rhizome/root oxy- gen consumption and the O2 to C conversion) is needed to fully understand the vulnerability of sea- grasses to light reduction.
Attempts to delineate functional regions in Hungary based on commuting data

The issue of defining functional regions in Hungary is presented in this paper, which contains detailed methodological description with the help of relevant studies from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The use of Smart’s measure together with the CURDS algorithm and the relatively new concept of trade-off constraint function with four different sets of parameter values provided four optional solutions for this issue, based on the analysis of daily travel-to-work flows from the 2011 census. The resulting regions correspond to the micro-regional level and give valuable additions to the discussion about regionalization. The paper provides basic descriptive statistics for each of the four variants of functional region systems, which enables their overall evaluation (seeing advantages and disadvantages) and mutual comparison (seeing similarities and differences), and thus facilitates an informed debate on future work in functional regionalisation in Hungary carried out with respect to different purposes.
Spontaneous Formation of Micro- and Nano-Fibers on In-Y Thin Films

Large amount of In-rich fibers are found on combinatorial deposited In-Y thin film. Sizes, morphologies, and distributions of fibers are most likely dependent on the film composition. Oxidation of the film seems to play an important role for the spontaneous formation of fibers. Demonstrate a potential application of combinatorial method to study fibers. Open a possibility for novel synthesis technique of one dimensional nanostructured materials. The results presented could be utilized as a new synthesis technique for one-dimensional nanostructured materials. The SEM results improve the direct and spontaneous formation of In micro-and nano-fibers.
Long-term evolution and seasonal modulation of methanol above Jungfraujoch (46.5° N, 8.0° E): optimisation of the retrieval strategy, comparison with model simulations and independent observations

Abstract. Methanol (CH3OH) is the second most abundant organic compound in the Earth's atmosphere after methane. In this study, we present the first long-term time series of methanol total, lower tropospheric and upper tropospheric–lower stratospheric partial columns derived from the analysis of high resolution Fourier transform infrared solar spectra recorded at the Jungfraujoch station (46.5° N, 3580 m a.s.l.). The retrieval of methanol is very challenging due to strong absorptions of ozone in the region of the selected υ8 band of CH3OH. Two wide spectral intervals have been defined and adjusted in order to maximise the information content. Methanol does not exhibit a significant trend over the 1995–2012 time period, but a strong seasonal modulation characterised by maximum values and variability in June–July, minimum columns in winter and a peak-to-peak amplitude of 130%. Analysis and comparisons with in situ measurements carried out at the Jungfraujoch and ACE-FTS (Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment-Fourier transform spectrometer) occultations have been performed. The total and lower tropospheric columns are also compared with IMAGESv2 model simulations. There is no systematic bias between the observations and IMAGESv2 but the model underestimates the peak-to-peak amplitude of the seasonal modulations.
Impact of Buyback of Shares on Firm Value: An Empirical Evidence from India

The present study examines the impact of capital employed in buyback of shares on firm value for 180 firms listed in the Bombay Stock Exchange of India. The issue of buyback of shares in the period from 2006 to 2016 was examined. The firm value is measured by a proxy, enterprise value, as a substitute of share price. The results suggest that the firm value differs from pre and post buyback of shares. The findings of this study further imply that the proportion of paid-up equity capital employed by companies for buyback of shares does not have any significant effect on firm value.