Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antiplasmodial activity of methanol leaf extract of Citrus aurantifolia (Christm) Swingle

Introduction: Citrus aurantifolia (Christm) is a plant used for the treatment of various ailments including malaria. This study aimed to evaluate the in vivo antiplasmodial efficacy of methanol leaf extract of C. aurantifolia in Swiss albino mice. Methods: The median lethal dose (LD50) was determined by intraperitoneal administration of different doses of the extract (100–4000 mg/kg) to 6 groups of 3 mice each and the animals were observed for 24 hours for physical signs of toxicity. To evaluate the antiplasmodial activity of the extract, three models were used: suppressive, curative and repository. Doses of the extract used were 320, 640 and 960 mg/kg/d in mice, with Chloroquine (5 mg/kg/d) as standard drug. Pyrimethamine (1.2 mg/kg/d) was used as the standard drug for the repository test and distilled water (10 mL/kg/d) as control in all models. Results: In all models, the low dose (320 mg/kg) of the extract produced the highest chemosuppressive effects in all models (P < 0.001). Mice treated with extract lived longer than those in the control group (P < 0.001). Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, tannins and cardiac glycosides and the LD50 of 3280 mg/kg ± 0.01 shows that the extract has low toxicity. Conclusion: The result of this study shows that C. aurantifolia has antiplasmodial properties which support its use in ethnomedicine in the treatment of malaria.
High frequent modelling of a modular multilevel converter using passive components

Grid connection of an offshore wind power plant using HVDC fundamentally changes the electrical environment for the power plant. Detailed knowledge and understanding of the characteristics and behavior of all relevant power system components under all conditions, including under transients, are required in order to develop reliable offshore wind power plant employing HVDC. In the present study, a back to back HVDC transmission system is designed in PSCAD/EMTDC. Simulations and results showing the importance of high frequent modeling are presented. Abstract— Prevalence of High Voltage direct current (HVDC) based on Voltage source converters (VSC) has made it necessary to investigate the behavior of the converter under various fault conditions. In this paper we will deal with the transient characteristics of a modular multilevel converter (MMC). This means that a high frequency model of the converter has to be designed, which gives a better overview of the impact of high frequency transients etc. The functionality of the model is demonstrated by application to grid connections of off-shore wind power plants.
Price transmission between biofuels, fuels, and food commodities

For the biofuel markets and related commodities, we study their price transmission, which is in fact equivalent to studying price cross‐elasticities. Importantly, we focus on the price dependence of the non‐linear price transmission mechanism. We discuss several methodological caveats. Specifically, we combine the memory robust feasible generalized least squares estimation with two‐stage least squares to control for endogenity bias and inconsistency. We find that both ethanol and biodiesel prices are responsive to their production factors (ethanol to corn, and biodiesel to German diesel). The strength of transmission between both significant pairs increased remarkably during the food crisis of 2007/2008. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Evaluation of digital image correlation techniques using realistic ground truth speckle images

Digital image correlation (DIC) has been acknowledged and widely used in recent years in the field of experimental mechanics as a contactless method for determining full field displacements and strains. Even though several sub-pixel motion estimation algorithms have been proposed in the literature, little is known about their accuracy and limitations in reproducing complex underlying motion fields occurring in real mechanical tests. This paper presents a new method for evaluating sub-pixel motion estimation algorithms using ground truth speckle images that are realistically warped using artificial motion fields that were obtained following two distinct approaches: in the first, the horizontal and vertical displacement fields are created according to theoretical formulas for the given type of experiment while the second approach constructs the displacements through radial basis function interpolation starting from real DIC results. The method is applied in the evaluation of five DIC algorithms with results indicating that the gradient-based DIC methods generally have a quality advantage when using small sized blocks and are a better choice for calculating very small displacements and strains. The Newton–Raphson is the overall best performing method with a notable quality advantage when large block sizes are employed and in experiments where large strain fields are of interest.
MBE 1   Running title : aDNA and feather cloaks 2   3   Ancient DNA recovers the origins of M ā ori feather cloaks 4  

K. Hartnup, L. Huynen , R. Te Kanawa L. D. Shepherd, C. D. Millar 5 and D. M. Lambert . 6 7 1 Institute of Natural Sciences, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand 8 2 Griffith School of Environment and the School of Biomolecular and Physical Sciences, 9 Griffith University, 170 Kessels Road, Nathan, Qld 4111 Australia 10 3 Te Papa Tongarewa, PO Box 467, Wellington, New Zealand 11 4 Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology and Evolution, Institute of Molecular 12 Biosciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand 13 5 Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, 14 University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand 15 16
CREeLS: Crowdsourcing based Requirements Elicitation for eLearning Systems

Crowdsourcing is the process of having a task performed by the crowd. Because of the Web evolution, recently crowdsourcing is being used in the field of Requirements Engineering to help in simplifying its activities. Among the information systems that were highly affected by the Web evolution are the eLearning Systems (eLS). eLS has special characteristics, such as the large number and diversity of users who could be geographically dispersed. To the best of our knowledge, there is little evidence that a crowdsourcing based requirements elicitation approach especially tailored for eLS that addresses their special characteristics exists. In this paper we attempt to fill in this gap. We present Crowdsourcing based Requirements Elicitation for eLS (CREeLS), which is made up of a framework of the necessary elements of crowdsourcing suggesting specific tools for each element, and a phased approach to implement the framework. We evaluated our approach through analyzing real-life users’ reviews and extracted keywords that represent users’ requirements by using topic modeling techniques. The reached results were then evaluated by manual text reviewing and the extracted features were found to be coherent. CREeLS has 0.66 precision and 0.79 recall. Hence we contend that CREeLS can help requirements engineers of eLS to analyze users’ opinions and identify the most common users’ requirements for better software evolution.
A Composite Indicator of Systemic Stress (CISS): The Case of Jamaica

This paper seeks to introduce a Composite Indicator of Systemic Stress (CISS) to enhance BOJ’s existing toolkit for macro-prudential policy and to improve financial stability assessments going forward. Similar to Hollo, et al (2010, 2012), the development of the CISS involved the aggregation of sub-indices from the foreign exchange, equity, money and bond markets using portfolio theory to determine contemporaneous stress in the financial system. A VAR model was used to determine the impact of the CISS on economic activity in both a high stress and low stress regime. Results indicated that the shocks to the CISS had a sustained impact on economic activity in the high stress regime relative to the low stress regime. It was also found that shocks to the forecasted CISS values would also result in reduction in economic activity. The paper confirms that the CISS is an adequate policy tool that facilitates early identification of systemic stress within the Jamaican financial system. Hence, the generation of timely forecasts will allow for expedient action by the monetary authorities in ensuring financial stability.
Study of the mosquito larval diversity in the artificial breeding habitat of Gangtok, Sikkim

With the growing urbanization, the number of discarded containers and construction of drains has increased considerably in Gangtok which may provide a conducive breeding habitat for mosquito larva. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to investigate the mosquito larval diversity in the artificial breeding habitat of Gangtok. A random sampling was done from the discarded buckets, tanks, tyres, drains at seven different sites during the months of July to October 2017. A total of 247 mosquito larvae was collected from seven sampling sites. The species observed in the different sampling sites were Aedes albopictus, Aedes atropalpus, Ochlerotatus japonicus, Culex pipiens, Culex territans, Ochlerotatus taeniorhynchus, and Ochlerotatus trivittatus. Among the observed species Ochlerotatus japonicus was found to have the maximum abundance (32%). Correlation analysis tests showed the significant positive correlation between the larval abundance and the volume of water (r=0.94, P=0.002). As per the Shannon-Wiener index, highest diversity was observed at Fifth mile (1.37) and least in Gangtok town (0.44). Pielou’s Evenness index indicated that species were evenly distributed in all the sites except Gangtok town (0.63). Bray-Curtis index revealed the highest species similarity between Ranipool and Tadong (0.82). The present study gives elementary information about the species diversity of mosquitoes in the artificial breeding sites of Gangtok. The presence of potent disease vectors like Culex and Aedes shows the vulnerability of this region for the outbreak of mosquito-borne diseases in the near future as Gangtok is a famous tourist destination.
Designing Microstrip Low Pass Filter In ISM Band For Rectenna System

The filter is required in all RF-communication techniques. Low Pass Filters play an important role in wireless power transmission systems. Transmitted and received signals have to be filtered at a certain frequency with a specific bandwidth. In this paper the design of filter is done in the ISM (Industrial, Scientific and Medical) band whose frequency lies between 1.55GHz- 3.99GHz. After getting the specifications required, we realized the filter structure with the help of CST-MW software.
Relationship Between Delta Troponin I Levels 
And In-Hospital Cardiovascular Endpoints In Acute 
ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction

Objectives. In this study, we investigated the relationship between the rate of increase in troponinI levels and in-hospital cardiovascular endpoints (outcomes) in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Methods. Eighty-four patients with acute STEMI who received thrombolytic treatment or who underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were enrolled. After admission to hospital, delta troponinI levels, which were determinedby serial measurements after 2, 4, and 6h of admission, and in-hospital major cardiovascular events were evaluated. Results. There were 35(41.7%) patients in the thrombolytic group and 49(58.3%) patients in the primary PCI group. As major cardiovascular endpoints, death from cardiovascular events was seen in 7(8.3%) patients, stroke/transient ischemic attack in 2(2.4%), recurrent ischemia in 5(6%), arrhythmia in 8(9.5%), and urgent revascularization was performed in 5(6%) cases. In patients with arrhythmia, ventricular fibrillation was seen in 3(3.6%) patients, atrial fibrillation in 3(3.6%), and ventricular tachycardia in 2(2.4%) patients. The ventricular septal defect was observed only in 1(1.2%) patient as a mechanical complication, and the patient underwent urgent surgery. The analysis of all patients and sub-groups of thrombolytic and primary PCI patients revealed no statistically significant difference between delta troponinI levels at time intervals of (02), (04), and (06)h and in-hospital major cardiovascular endpoints (p0.05). Conclusion. The analysis of delta troponinI levels is not a predicting factor of in-hospital endpoints (outcomes) in patients with STEMI treated by thrombolytic therapy or primary PCI. Randomized controlled studies with a larger study population are needed on this subject.
The effect of a new non-toxic water-soluble selenorganic substance on antioxidant protection and development of seedlings of oilseed radish (Raphanus sativus L. var. oleiferus Metzg.)

The effect of 2,6-dipyridinium selenabicyclo[3.3. 1]nonandibromide (996 zh) on the level of lipid peroxidation (LPO), on the activity of glutathione reductase (GR) and on the morphometric parameters of oilseed radish seedlings under normal conditions and under stress (200 mmol NaCl) has been studied. It has been established that the substance 996 zh at a concentration of 100 μm exerted an antioxidant effect reducing the level of lipid peroxidation and increasing the activity of GR. In connection with that the germinating ability of seeds and the biomass of the roots and stems of seedlings increased, both under normal conditions and under stress conditions.The concentration of the substance 996 zh of 1000 μmol had a toxic effect, increasing the LPO level in normal conditions, but neutralized the effect of stress due to the addition of NaCl. This concentration had a slight inhibitory effect on germinability and on root development in seedlings. However, the same concentration of the substance 996 zh (1000 μmol) had a positive effect on the development of shoots under both normal and stressed conditions.
ASSESSMENT OF THE ACCURACY OF A SOIL SALINITY MODEL FOR SHALLOW GROUNDWATER AREAS IN XINJIANG BASED ON ELECTROMAGNETIC INDUCTION

Accurate and rapid assessment of soil salinity is a prerequisite for monitoring and management of soil salinization. Electromagnetic induction technology (EMI) has been broadly applied for scientific research and soil salinity monitoring. In this study, the path analysis method was used to analyze the influence of the soil properties of different soil layers and groundwater (GW) characteristics on apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) values measured at different heights of an EM38. The results showed that for all soil layers, the standard electrical conductivity of a saturated soil extract (ECe) was the most important factor affecting ECa measured at different heights. Both soil moisture content and GW characteristics (GW depth, GW conductivity) had an obvious effect on ECa, whereas the soil clay content had little effect. The reliability of ECe prediction models for different soil layers was improved to various degrees by the addition of soil water content and GW characteristics as auxiliary factors. The ECe prediction model was validated with the coefficient of determination (R) between the predicted and measured ECe values of each layer reaching more than 0.70. The ECe prediction model can be used to accurately estimate any unsampled points in a study area.
Helminthiasis control in calves raised in a hot Semi-arid area

This study aimed to characterize the helminthiasis and anthelminthic effectiveness in calf herds raised in a hot semi-arid area. Sixty (60) cattle farms from the northern area of Minas Gerais, Brazilian sertão, were categorized by semi-structured questionnaires. It was also performed the fecal egg counts (FEC) reduction test to analyze the profile of anthelminthic resistance in eight herds. The study selected groups of at least 10 homogeneous calves with FEC ≥ 150 per treatment. After 12 h of fast, calf groups were treated with albendazole, levamisole, ivermectin, doramectin or abamectin, except the
The effect of dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) on steroidogenesis in granulosa cells

The insecticide dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its major metabolite p,p'dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) are endocrine disrupters. The DDT metabolite p,p'-DDE has been found contaminating human tissues and follicular fluid around the world, due to its persistence and continued use. The focus of this research was to investigate the effects ofDDE on progesterone synthesis in a stable porcine granulosa cell line, JC-41 0, and in primary cultures of porcine granulosa cells. Further objectives of this research were to validate the JC-41 0 cell line as an in vitro model for the study of endocrine disrupters on ovarian steroidogenesis, and to elucidate the mechanism of action ofDDE. Low concentrations ofDDE, 0.1-100 ng/ml, did not affect basal progesterone synthesis in the JC-410 cells. However, 10 ng/ml DDE increased 8-Br-cAMPand cholera toxin (CT)-stimulated progesterone synthesis 0.4-0.7-fold over the levels observed with 8-Br-cAMP or CT alone. This effect was confirmed in primary cultures of porcine granulosa cells. Neither basal nor CT -stimulated cAMP levels were changed by 0.1-100 ng/ml DDE. In the JC-410 cells, 1 and 10 ng/ml DDE increased CTstimulated cytochrome P450-cholesterol side chain cleavage (P450scc) mRNA levels 0.3and 0.4-fold over the values observed with CT alone. High concentrations of DDE, 3000 and 10000 ng/ml, reduced basal progesterone synthesis in the JC-410 cells 0.51and 0.75-fold, respectively. As well, DDE, 30010000 ng/ml, blocked the CT -induced stimulation of progesterone synthesis. High concentrations ofDDE, 3000 and 10000 ng/ml, decreased basal cAMP generation 0.33and 0.64-fold, respectively. The addition ofDDE 300, 3000, and 10000 ng/ml
Active Courts and Menu Contracts

We describe and analyze a contractual environment that allows a role for an active court. The model we analyze is the same as in Anderlini, Felli, and Postlewaite (2006). An active court can improve on the outcome that the parties would achieve without it. The institutional role of the court is to maximize the parties' welfare under a veil of ignorance. In Anderlini, Felli, and Postlewaite (2006) the possibility of "menu contracts" between the informed buyer and the uninformed seller is described but not analyzed. Here, we fully analyze this case. We find that if we maintain the assumption that one of the potential objects of trade is not contractible ex-ante, the results of Anderlini, Felli, and Postlewaite (2006) survive intact. If however we let all "widgets" be contractible ex-ante, then multiple equilibria obtain. In this case the role for an active court is to ensure the inefficient pooling equilibria do not exist alongside the superior ones in which separation occurs.
Efficiency Improvement of pi-n Structure over p-n Structure and Effect of pLayer and i-Layer Properties on Electrical Measurements of Gallium Nitride and Indium Nitride Alloy Based Thin Film Solar Cell Using AMPS-1 D

The effect of p-layer and i-layer characteristics such as doping concentration and thickness on the electrical behaviors of the p-n and p-i-n GaInN solar cells such as electric field, photo generation rate and recombination rate through the cells are studied. Introducing i (un-doped) layer between p and n-doped layers to form the p-i-n solar cell is an effective approach in improving performances with respect to p-n cell. The efficiency improvement of 3.0 % of p-i-n cell over p-n cell is observed for low doping concentration (< 5 × 10 cm) and high surface recombination (10cm/s) of less passivated p-layer surface of the device. The photo-generated short-circuit current density (Jsc) and the open-circuit voltage (Voc) of both structures under AM 1.5G (one sun) illumination (1kW/m, 0.32 – 0.88 μm) of photon flux from ASTM G173-03 are simulated for different p-layer doping concentrations varying from 5 × 10 to 1 × 10cm.
PEDESTRIAN DEAD RECKONING USING SMARTPHONES SENSORS: AN EFFICIENT INDOOR POSITIONING SYSTEM IN COMPLEX BUILDINGS OF SMART CITIES

Abstract. This paper proposes an indoor positioning method using Pedestrian Dead Reckoning (PDR) based on the detection of the mode of the user’s smartphone. In the first step, to determine the mode of carrying the smartphone (Holding, Calling, Swinging) by suitably formed feature vectors based on sensor data, three classification algorithms (Decision Tree (DT), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN)) are evaluated. From the classification algorithm perspective, the decision tree algorithm had the best performance in terms of processing time and classification. Secondly, to determine the user position, the step detection is performed by defining the upper threshold and time threshold for Acceleration norm values. The orientation component is obtained by combining accelerometer, magnetometer, and gyroscope data using Complementary Filtering and Principal Component Analysis based on Global Acceleration (PCA-GA) methods. The mean standard deviation along the direct path for the three modes of carrying (Holding, Calling, and Swinging) were obtained 6.22, 6.82, and 14.68 degrees, respectively. Localization experiments were performed on 3 modes of carrying a smartphone in a rectangular geometry path. The mean final error of positioning from ordinary walking for the three modes of holding (Calling, Holding, Swinging) were obtained 2.11, 2.34, and 4.5 m, respectively.
Estimating incomplete parity- and age-specific fertility rates

Complex demographic analyses often require long-time series of detailed vital rates. In many cases, the data available do not meet these requirements: whereas crude indicators are given for long-time series, detailed rates are only available for short periods of time. In the area of fertility for example Total Fertility Rates (TFR) are easily obtained, while parityand age-specific fertility rates (PASFR) are often incomplete. This paper provides a new approach to deal with this kind of data structure. We suggest a modified application of the Lee Carter model (LC), which usually is being used in the area of mortality (Lee and Carter, 1992); given the fact that fertility patterns are generally speaking more erratic than mortality trends, the linear assumption in the forecast of the LC does not lead to reasonable results. Therefore, we use the information given by the available TFR to project PASFR. In our paper we concentrate on Germany; this for two reasons. First, fertility data available for Germany are a typical example of the data structure described above. PASFR for West Germany only exist for the period 1957 to 1985, for East Germany only for 1956 to 1989 (Figure 1). Second, fertility patterns in East and West have differed significantly both before and after reunification. Especially East Germany showed wavering trends. Our aim is to complete the incomplete PASFR for the projected period until 2004 for both parts of Germany taking into account the given TFR. The data we use come from the Fertility Database at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research. ∗Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Statistics Laboratory; email:camarda@demogr.mpg. de †Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Population and Policy Laboratory; email: wilkoszewski@demogr.mpg. de