Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Greater muscle strength is associated with reduced autonomic reactivity

We aimed to investigate the autonomic responses to cold pressor test (CPT) in individual with different levels of muscle strength. 57 male subjects participated in the study. Volunteers were divided in tertiles according to their level of relative handgrip strength as Low (LS), Medium (MS) and High (HS). For the CPT the volunteers remained seated in resting for 15 minutes and inserted the right hand in cold water for two minutes. Blood pressure (BP) measurements were taken at rest, during CPT and during recovery. HRV was continuously recorded during the entire protocol. All three groups had similar BP variation, with the values of systolic blood pressure (SBP) increasing during CPT and diminishing during recovery until the third minute. At the first CPT minute LS group showed a substantial increase in low-frequency (LF) activity and a diminished high frequency (HF). LS also presented higher and lower values of LF and HF, respectively, than MS group at the first CPT minute. HS showed an increased vagal activity during recovery. In conclusion, individuals from LS presented similar BP responses to CPT than MS and HS groups but with higher sympathetic activation. HS individuals presented an elevated vagal activity during recovery.
Electrodeposition of Lead Sulfide Thin Film and Application As Counter Electrode for Quantum Dot Solar Cells

Semiconducting lead sulfide films (PbS) was deposited on fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) conductive glass electrode by cyclic voltammetry (CV) from the solution of Pb(NO3)2 1.5 mM and Na2S2O3 1.5 mM. CV experiments were carried out at various potential scan rates in a potential range 0.0 to –1.0 V versus Ag/AgCl/KCl(sat) electrode, pH from 2.40 to 2.70 and ambien temperature. The structure of deposited thin film was determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The surface morphology and crystallite size were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and CV measurement were used to investigate the electrochemical behavior of PbS thin film in the polysulfide solution. The results showed good adherence of PbS thin films, prepared at pH 2.65 and 100 mV.s potential scan rate, to the glass substrate. These conditions also support the formation of 100−300 nm sized cubic crystals. The obtained PbS/FTO system was used as a counter electrode for fabrication of quantum dot solar cells (QDSCs) with total active area of 0.385 cm. The photoanodes of cells were made by three-layer CdSeCdS-ZnS adsorption on a mesoporous TiO2 film. The polysulfide solution was used as an electrolyte. At the full-sun (1000 W/cm) simulated light, the primary results of fabricated QDSCs were: energy conversion efficiency of around 0.63%, short circuit current 6.14 mA.cm, open-circuit potential 0,43 V.
Thermodynamic Micellization of Cationic-Nonionic Surfactants in Aqueous Solution Using Conductivity and Surface Tension Measurements

In the current work, we discuss the mixed micelles and thermodynamic micellization of aqueous binary mixture of polyoxyethylene - 20 sorbitan-monododecanoate (Tween 20) as nonionic surfactant and Benzyldimethylhexadecyl ammonium chloride (HDBAC) as cationic surfactant using conductivity and surface tension (γ) estimations in the temperatures range (288 -318K). Critical micelle concentration (CMC) and variables of micellization, like the standard thermodynamic functions: Gibbs free energy (Δ𝐺𝑚 ⁰ ), enthalpyΔ𝐻𝑚 ⁰ ) and entropy (Δ𝑆𝑚 ⁰ ) were calculated using the variation of conductivity and γ with molar concentration and the variation of ln XCMC with temperature. The experimental CMC values were applied to calculate the mole fractions of surfactant in the mixed micelle (𝑋1 𝑚 ), the β parameter and the coefficient of activity f1and f2, using the equations proposed by Clint and Rubingh, which indicate the β parameter, is always negative. In addition, the results of thermodynamic parameters show that ΔG⁰m are negative for both individual and mixture of HDBAC-Tween20 surfactants and the values negatively increased with increasing temperature while its negative values decreasing with decreasing initial mole fraction of HDBAC.
Attitudes toward Divorced Women Scale and Its Associations with Ambivalent Sexism and Demographic Variables

ABSTRACT The purposes of this study were to develop a Likert type of scale on attitudes toward divorced women (ADW), and to test its associations with hostile sexism (HS), benevolent sexism (BS), and demographic variables which, in return, provide evidence for construct-convergent validity. An item pool of ADW scale was administered to participants along with Ambivalent Sexism Scale and demographic information via an online survey. Results from 444 participants (296 female; Mage = 25.11, SDage = 7.58) provided a valid and reliable scale including three subfactors, negative perception about divorced women (α = .89) strength of divorced women (α = .73), and prescriptive social norms for divorced women (α = .91). There were associations among the subfactors and HS/BS.
Functionalization of chemically derived graphene for improving its electrocapacitive energy storage properties

Chemically derived graphene holds great promise as an electrode material for electrochemical energy storage owing to its unique physical and chemical properties. Recent years have witnessed tremendous research breakthroughs in the field of graphene-based materials for electrochemical capacitors. This article presents a review of the latest developments in the functionalization of chemically derived graphene for improving its electrocapacitive properties. Beginning with a brief description of supercapacitors, graphene, and chemically derived graphene, we discuss the preparation, electrocapacitive properties, and drawbacks of chemically derived graphene and its derivatives, followed by a discussion on how to functionalize chemically derived graphene for improving its double-layer capacitance and pseudocapacitance. Emphasis is made on comparing and highlighting demonstrated approaches to functionalizing chemically derived graphene. Future research towards developing advanced electrochemical capacitors, perspectives and challenges are outlined.
Epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis and outcome of SARS-COV-2 cases in Uttar Pradesh: descriptive analysis

Corona virus is one of the major pathogens that primarily target the human respiratory system. Previous outbreaks of corona viruses include the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV-2 and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)-CoV which have been previously characterized as agents that are a great public health threat. In late December 2019, a cluster of patients was admitted to hospitals with an initial diagnosis of pneumonia of an unknown etiology. These patients were epidemiologically linked to a sea food and wet animal wholesale market in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. In India on 30th January 2020 first positive case in a student from Kerala of the SARS-CoV-2 infection, who was studying in Wuhan University and had travelled to India, tested positive by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). As of 15th March 2021, in India total confirmed cases 94,61,901 recovery 88,47,600 death 1,37,582 have been reported from 32 states/union territories in U.P. state has 6,05,290 confirmed cases, resulting in 8,746 deaths and 595,637 recoveries. The case fatality rate in Uttar Pradesh was stands at 1.4%. Among different districts of U.P., the Lucknow was listed as first with 82,213 cases, 80,740 recovered and 1,190 deaths. Next states were Kanpur; 33,111 cases, and 839 deaths, Prayagraj 29,436 cases, and 409 deaths, Meerut; 22477 cases, and 442 deaths, Ghaziabad 26902 cases, 26694 recovered, 102 death and Gorakhpur 21510 confirmed case 21115 recovered and 366 deaths till 15th March 2021.
Does Corporate Social Responsibility Determine the Stock Return of Indonesian Listed Firms?

As CSR becomes a company’s obligation in Indonesia, question arises whether or not CSR will impact the return of listed companies. This research focus on testing CSR as a risk factor to help explain the stock return of listed companies in Indonesia by using KOMPAS100 companies. The methodology used in this research is Multi Linear Regression by regressing excess return (Ri-Rf) with 3 portfolio returns which are CSR Expense portfolio, Sri-Kehati Portfolio Return, and CSA Portfolio return. CSR Expense portfolio is formed by grouping the top 10% highest and 10% lowest CSR expense from the KOMPAS 100, the return of the portfolio is calculated by extracting HighCSR return from LowCSR as the researcher expects from previous studies that High CSR leads to lower return. The result of the regression indicates that CSR expense cannot explain the stock return significantly. However, the result is significant when using sustainability portfolio such as Sri-Kehati and CSA. This leads to conclusion that CSR is a significant risk factor that can be used to explain stock return, but in valuing the CSR of a company, CSR expense cannot be used as a single measurement, it has to include other aspect aside from expense alone.
Exploring Public Opinions on Renewable Energy by Using Conventional Methods and Social Media Analysis

Renewable energy is one of the most discussed topics nowadays, more so than traditional combustible energy sources and nuclear energy. There is an apparent need to study its public acceptance and the general public’s knowledge about it, especially in the context of more advanced inventions, such as smart grids, energy storage, or photovoltaic inverters. In this research, the results of a custom survey and those of several types of public social media datasets were processed to gain insights into the acceptance and awareness of these technologies. The second aim was to investigate technologies and related public opinions about manufacturers. One social media dataset was processed by a novel technology based on automatic data collection from popular social media sources, blogs, forums and public news. All the collected and anonymized data were restored in a custom-made data lake (unstructured database) and analyzed by a natural language processing (NLP) engine to extract the required information. The results showed that the Hungarian public’s knowledge differs from the European reference values by a very high percentage. A further goal for new research in the investigated area will be to achieve a business intelligence rated system in order to predict future trends and events. Since different methods provide results from different viewpoints, the conclusion is that combined analyses have to be used for investigating popular topics related to energy, such as various technologies, issues related to energy transition, or even car sharing services for a sustainable future.
Technology, Use and Reuse of Gold during the Middle Period: The Case of Casa Parroquial, Atacama Desert, Chile

The life-histories of gold artefacts can provide rich insight into technology and culture, but so far the potential of this research approach has not been exploited in the south central Andes. Here we present the analysis of 34 gold and silver objects from the Middle Period cemetery of Casa Parroquial (San Pedro de Atacama, northern Chile), using pXRF, SEM-EDS, PIXE and digital microscopy. Chemical analyses detected variable compositions (2.4–73.1 per cent Ag and 0.2–3.4 per cent Cu) suggesting that artisans used both native gold and artificial gold-silver-copper alloys. Based on their manufacturing techniques, quality and designs, we identify two working styles, one technically more ‘careful’ than the other. Given their elemental and technological variety, together with the lack of local production evidence, we propose that these artefacts were imported as finished objects from Tiwanaku or Cochabamba and northwest Argentina. However, we identify a series of objects that were modified or reshaped as they entered a new cultural context, revealing complex life-histories. Modifications used relatively simple mechanical means: punching, cutting and folding, most likely made in multi-craft contexts by non-metallurgists from San Pedro.
Modelling user reactions expressed through graphical widgets in intelligent interactive systems

ABSTRACT Nowadays, most interactive social systems allow users to react to their contents and exploit user reactions to provide intelligent behaviours, such as adaptation or recommendation. Therefore, carefully understanding and designing the user/system dialogue that revolves around reaction provisioning is a crucial aspect. In this paper, we introduce the UpRISEmodel with the aim of formally describing the user/system interaction while providing and using reactions. Then, we show how this model can be used to formally represent and describe interactive social systems that collect user reactions, as well as to compare them. In addition, we exemplify how the UpRISEmodel can provide a sort of checklist that stimulates system designers to approach design/redesign tasks involving user reactions in a thorough and well-structured manner, suggesting all the possibly relevant points with respect to different usability and performance-related goals. This approach can be seen as the first step towards more transparency in the design of intelligent interactive systems.
Threshold of vapour–pressure deficit constraint on light use efficiency varied with soil water content

Understanding the constraints on light‐use efficiency (LUE) induced by high evaporative water demand (vapour–pressure deficit; VPD) and soil water stress (soil moisture content; SMC) is crucial for understanding and simulating vegetation productivity, particularly in the arid and semi‐arid regions. However, the relative impacts of VPD and SMC on LUE are unclear, as we lack a mechanistic understanding of impacts and their interactions. In this study, we quantified the relative roles of VPD and SMC in limiting LUE and analysed the interactions among VPD, SMC and LUE using data from CO2 and water flux stations and weather stations along a climatic gradient in the Heihe River Basin, China. We found a threshold of VPD constraint on LUE; above the threshold, LUE decreased at only 3.6% to 23.1% of the rate below the threshold. As SMC decreased, however, the VPD threshold increased, and the reduction of LUE caused by VPD decreased significantly, which is more than half of that in moister regions. Therefore, both VPD and SMC played essential roles in LUE limitation caused by water stress. A threshold also existed for heat flux and the correlation between SMC and LUE; the strength of the correlation first decreased and then increased with increasing VPD. Our results clarified the relative impacts of VPD and SMC on LUE, and can improve simulation and prediction of plant productivity.
Evaluation of anti-nociceptive, anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective effects of methanol extract of Mazus pumilus (Burm. f.) Steenis (Mazaceae) herb

Purpose: This study was designed to investigate the anti-nociceptive, anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective activities of the methanol extract of Mazus pumilus (Mazaceae) herb. Methods: Anti-nociceptive activity was determined using hot plate, tail flick and acetic acid-induced writing methods. Carrageenan-induced rat paw edema (0.1 mL of 1 %) model was used for the assessment of anti-inflammatory activity. The methanol extract was administered orally at three different doses (150, 300 and 600 mg/kg) to three separate groups in all the experiments. Diclofenac sodium (50 mg/kg) was used as standard drug while control group received DMSO (1 %, 10 mL/kg). The hepatocurative effect of methanol extract of M. pumilus (400 mg/kg) was determined in isoniazid (50 mg/kg) and rifampicin (100 mg/kg) induced liver injury. Silymarin (100 mg/kg) was used as standard drug for comparison. The control group received distilled water (10 mL/kg). Preliminary phytochemical screening was also carried out. Results: The methanol extract of M. pumilus significantly (p < 0.05) augmented latency time and reduced the number of writhes in the pain models at all doses used for the assessment of antinociceptive actions. The anti-inflammatory activity of different doses of extract was evaluated by measuring the reduction in the size of the paw. A significant (p < 0.05) hepatocurative effect was observed when administered after anti-tuberculosis drugs. Histopathological analysis of the liver tissues also revealed restored hepatocellular architecture. Conclusion: The results demonstrate the anti-nociceptive, anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective effects of the methanol extract of M. pumilus, thus substantiating the ethnomedical claims associated with the herb.
Advanced Fuzzy-Logic-Based Traffic Incident Detection Algorithm

This study demonstrates an incident detection algorithm that uses the meteorological and traffic parameters for improving the poor performance of the automatic incident detection (AID) algorithms under extreme weather conditions and for efficiently using the meteorological devices on advanced freeways. This algorithm comprises an incident detection module that is based on learning vector quantization (LVQ) and a meteorological influencing factor module. Field data are obtained from the Yuwu freeway in Chongqing, China, to verify the algorithm. Further, the performance of this algorithm is evaluated using commonly used criteria such as mean time to detection (MTTD), false alarm rate (FAR), and detection rate (DR). Initially, an experiment is conducted for selecting the algorithm architecture that yields the optimal detection performance. Additionally, a comparative experiment is performed using the California algorithm, exponential smoothing algorithm, standard normal deviation algorithm, and McMaster algorithm. The experimental results demonstrate that the algorithm proposed in this study is characterized by high DR, low FAR, and considerable suitability for applications in AID.
Compound Heterozygous Mutations Involving Splicing Mutations Cause Rothmund–Thomson Syndrome in Two Chinese Families

Abstract Objective: Biallelic mutations in the RecQ like helicase (RECQL) 4 gene, a guardian of the genome, cause Rothmund–Thomson syndrome type II (RTS-II). Two Chinese girls with mild-phenotype RTS-II mainly restricted to their skin are herein described. Methods: Blood specimens from two families with mild-phenotype RTS-II were collected. DNA isolation, RNA isolation and complementary DNA synthesis, and next-generation sequencing using a multi-gene panel were applied to verify the underlying pathogenic variants in the causative RECQL4 gene. Results: We analyzed two patients with mild phenotypes. One patient had an unreported paternal c.2885+1G>A alteration in intervening sequence 16 and the previously reported maternal exon 14 c.2272C>T (p.R758X), both resulting in premature termination codons. The other patient carried two novel alterations, c.2886-1G>A and c.2752G>T (p.E918X). Complementary DNA sequencing showed that different splice-site mutations within the same intron could lead to completely different splicing modes. Conclusion: We identified three novel pathogenic RECQL4 variants in two patients with RTS, thus expanding the mutational spectrum of RTS-II. We also explored their pathogenic effect by transcripts analysis to address genotype–phenotype correlations.
Automated Test Data Generation Based on a Genetic Algorithm with Maximum Code Coverage and Population Diversity

In the present paper, we investigate an approach to intelligent support of the software white-box testing process based on an evolutionary paradigm. As a part of this approach, we solve the urgent problem of automated generation of the optimal set of test data that provides maximum statement coverage of the code when it is used in the testing process. We propose the formulation of a fitness function containing two terms, and, accordingly, two versions for implementing genetic algorithms (GA). The first term of the fitness function is responsible for the complexity of the code statements executed on the path generated by the current individual test case (current set of statements). The second term formulates the maximum possible difference between the current set of statements and the set of statements covered by the remaining test cases in the population. Using only the first term does not make it possible to obtain 100 percent statement coverage by generated test cases in one population, and therefore implies repeated launch of the GA with changed weights of the code statements which requires recompiling the code under the test. By using both terms of the proposed fitness function, we obtain maximum statement coverage and population diversity in one launch of the GA. Optimal relation between the two terms of fitness function was obtained for two very different programs under testing.
Flavonoids Modulate Bacterial Endophyte Communities of Ginkgo Biloba Leaves

Plant-specialized secondary metabolites have ecological functions in mediating interactions between plants and their entophytes. Here, we aimed to reveal the interaction between flavonoid synthesis and endophytic bacterial communities in wild Ginkgo trees spanning 100-800 years. We found that flavonoids including quercetin, kaempferol and isorhamnetin decreased while the microbial diversity in leaves increased with the age of sampled trees. Older trees had more unique genera and shifted their endophytic bacterial community structure. Also, Mantel tests and correlation analysis indicated a generally significant (p < 0.05) negative correlation between endophytic bacterial communities and flavonoids. Additionally, both deterministic and stochastic processes could play roles in the assembly of endophytic bacterial communities in Ginkgo trees with a progressive increase in stochastic processes as flavonoid concentrations decreased. This study provides a mechanistic understanding of how flavonoids modulate the endophytic microbial community assembly.