Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Muscle damage and inflammation following a three-day trail run

Objectives: To investigate the effect of a three-day trail run on markers of muscle damage and inflammation in recreational runners. Method: An observational cohort study was conducted on 19 recreational male (n=6) and female (n=13) athletes during a 95km trail run consisting of three stages, covering 29.3, 37.9 and 27.8 km with peak elevation gains and losses of 1226 and 1231m, respectively. Main Outcome Measures: Pre-and post-stage and 24 and 72 h post-race concentrations of serum creatine phosphokinase (CPK), high sensitivity C-reactive Protein (hsCRP), cortisol, cardiac Troponin T (cTnT), and osmolality (sOsm) as well as urinary myoglobin (uMb), changes in body mass, delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and thigh circumference (TC) were measured. Continuous recordings of heart rate (HR) and intestinal temperature (Tintest ) were made throughout each stage. Results: Heart rate ranged between 77 and 83% age-predicted-maximum (APmax) and Tintest between 36.1 and 40.2 oC during the three stages. Significant rises in mean serum CPK, hsCRP, sOsm and blood neutrophil count reached peak concentrations of 1488U/L, 8.91mg/l, 298mosm/L and 10.21 10^9/L (p≤0.001), respectively. No evidence of elevations in uMb and cTnT were detected. The stage-induced increments in DOMS correlated positively with CPK, r=0.71; 95% CI [0.62, 0.78], TC decreased significantly post S1post and S2post (p≤0.05) and a maximum mean body mass loss of 3.09% (±1.04%) occurred during S2. Conclusion: Three consecutive days of 95km trail running resulted in modest increases in markers of muscle damage and inflammation, despite the maintenance of a heart rate above 77% APmax, Tintest rising above 39 C and mean body mass decrement of >2.0%.
Rice Pest Constraints in Tropical Asia: Quantification of Yield Losses Due to Rice Pests in a Range of Production Situations.

A series of experiments was conducted where a range of injuries due to rice pests (pathogens, insects, and weeds) was manipulated simultaneously with a range of production factors (fertilizer input, water supply, crop establishment method, variety) in different seasons and years. These factors were chosen to represent lowland rice production situations characterized in surveys conducted in tropical Asia and their corresponding range of attainable yield. Experiments complemented one another in exploring the response surface of rice yields to yield-limiting and yield-reducing factors. The resulting experimental data base consisted of 445 individual plots and involved 11 manipulated injuries in a range of attainable yields of 2 to 11 t ha-1. A first, nonparametric, multivariate analysis led to a hierarchy of potential injuries, from marginally (e.g., bacterial leaf blight) to extremely harmful (e.g., rice tungro disease). A second, parametric, multivariate approach resulted in a multiple regression model involving factors generated by principal component analysis on injuries that adequately described the variation in actual yield. One major finding was that some (attainable yield × injury factors) interactions significantly contributed to the description of variation in actual yield, indicating that some injuries (or their combinations) had a stronger or weaker yield-reducing effect, depending on the level of attainable yield. For instance, yield losses due to sheath blight, weed infestation, and rice tungro disease tend to increase, remain stable, and decrease, respectively, with increasing attainable yields. Back-computations using the principal component regression model estimated yield losses caused by individual injuries, using the mean injury levels in a population of farmers' fields surveyed across tropical Asia. The results indicate that sheath blight, brown spot, and leaf blast are diseases that cause important losses (between 1 and 10%) regionally. Among the insect injuries, only white heads caused by stem borers appear of relevance (2.3% yield losses). These injuries, however, do not match in importance those caused by weeds, whether outgrowing the rice crop canopy (WA) or not (WB), both types of injuries causing about 20% yield losses when considered individually. When all mean injuries were combined into one mean injury profile occurring at a regional attainable yield of 5.5 t ha-1, a mean yield loss of 37.2% was estimated, indicating that injuries were less than additive in their yield-reducing effects. Scenario analyses were conducted in a set of (production situations × injury profiles) combinations characterized from surveys in farmers' fields in tropical Asia. Depending on the scenario chosen, losses ranging from 24 to 41% were found.
A Multistage Non?inferiority Study Analysis Plan to Evaluate Successively More Stringent Criteria for a Clinical Trial with Rare Events

We address a multistage clinical trial to assess a sequence of hypotheses in the noninferiority and also rare events setting. Three successive hypotheses are used to evaluate whether the new treatment meets the criteria for new drug approval. Sample sizes for a five stage trial for all hypotheses are calculated using Poisson and Logrank sample size methods. Three strategies and corresponding analysis plans are developed to evaluate the sequential hypotheses. Simulations show the design is satisfactory with respect to controlled Type I error, sufficient power, and early success at interim analyses. A Multistage Non‐inferiority Study Analysis Plan to Evaluate Successively More Stringent Criteria for a Clinical Trial with Rare Events Ms. Siying Li, Dr. Gary Koch, Dr. Todd Schwartz Abstract We address a multistage clinical trial to assess a sequence of hypotheses in the noninferiority and also rare events setting. Three successive hypotheses are used to evaluate whether the new treatment meets the criteria for new drug approval. Sample sizes for a five stage trial for all hypotheses are calculated using Poisson and Logrank sample size methods. Three strategies and corresponding analysis plans are developed to evaluate the sequential hypotheses. Simulations show the design is satisfactory with respect to controlled Type I error, sufficient power, and early success at interim analyses.We address a multistage clinical trial to assess a sequence of hypotheses in the noninferiority and also rare events setting. Three successive hypotheses are used to evaluate whether the new treatment meets the criteria for new drug approval. Sample sizes for a five stage trial for all hypotheses are calculated using Poisson and Logrank sample size methods. Three strategies and corresponding analysis plans are developed to evaluate the sequential hypotheses. Simulations show the design is satisfactory with respect to controlled Type I error, sufficient power, and early success at interim analyses.
Spectral sensitivity of larval and juvenile coral reef fishes: implications for feeding in a variable light environment

The spectral sensitivity of larval and juvenile stages of 3 species of coral reef fishes, Apogon compressus (Apogonidae), Pomacentrus amboinensis (Pomacentridae) and Premnas biaculeatus (Pomacentridae) has been investigated using feeding behaviour. Ontogenetic and taxonomic differences in spectral sensitivity were determined by establishing the minimum light intensity at which larvae and juveniles could strike prey at 12 restricted wavelength bands between 355 and 650 nm. Following construction of chromatic action spectra, the wavelength of maximum sensitivity (λmax) and the median wavelength (λP50) of the 3 species were found to be located close to 500 nm. All 3 species increased in sensitivity during growth, with A. compressus becoming the most sensitive prior to settlement. Ontogenetic shifts in spectral sensitivity towards longer wavelengths occurred in P. amboinensis and P. biaculeatus, but not in A. compressus. Spectral efficiency (wavelength-dependent efficiency of photon capture) was modelled for eutrophic and oligotrophic coral reef waters (Jerlov types Oceanic IA, Oceanic III and Coastal 1) at 2 different optical depths. Spectral efficiency was highest in the intermediate coral reef water type (JOIII) in all 3 larval fish taxa throughout early ontogeny, regardless of water depth. The results imply that the larvae would be able to feed across a broad spectrum of coral reef water types and depths.
Evaluation of European mistletoe ( Viscum album L.) infection in the Castle Park in Lednice

BALTAZAR TIVADAR, PEJCHAL MILOS, VARGA ILDIKO: Evaluation of European mistletoe (Viscum album L.) infection in the Castle Park in Lednice. Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, 2013, LXI, No. 6, pp. 1565–1574 This experiment focused on the evaluation of mistletoe infection (Viscum album L.) in main sections of the castle park in Lednice. The study evaluates the proportion of aff ected and unaff ected individuals of host taxa and the intensity of their infestation. For Acer campestre and Tilia cordata one-way ANOVA was used to detect the diff erence among the number of mistletoe bushes and tree age, development stage, vitality and location. For the modelling of mistletoe infection probability also the dependence on these and other continuous explanatory variables (height and crown volume) was used for logistic regression with binomial distribution. Our results show that number of mistletoe on trees within same taxa increases with the tree age and with the lower tree vitality, but there is large diff erence between the hosts. Due to the results of logistic regression, the same factors also have strong impact on the probability of mistletoe infection, e.g. tree age and tree vitality. In this case no large diff erences were found between the hosts. Viscum album, host woody species, mistletoe infection, probability of infection, incidence of mistletoe, logistic regression
The Impact of Entrepreneurial Orientation on Access to Debt Finance and Performance of Small and Medium Enterprises in South Africa

Abstract This study investigates the impact of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) on access to debt finance and performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Inaccessibility to debt finance is one of the primary causes of failure and weak performance of SMEs in South Africa. The survey area was King William’s Town and East London in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Data was collected through the use of self-administered questionnaires in a survey. Data was analysed through the use of descriptive statistics, correlation and regression. The Cronbach’s alpha was used to measure reliability. The results indicate that there is a significant positive relationship between EO and access to debt finance and the performance of SMEs. The results also indicate that access to debt finance partially mediates the relationship between EO and the performance of SMEs. Recommendations on how SMEs can improve EO such as training and incorporating EO in the reward system are suggested.
Effects of artificial sweeteners on Lemna minor

Artificial sweeteners are common micropollutants in the aquatic environment. They were detected both in surface waters and in groundwater. Human toxicity has also been studied quite intensively but their ecotoxicity has not been studied so far. To assess the impact of four artificial sweeteners (aspartame, sucralose, saccharine, and acesulfame K) and one natural sweetener (stevioside) on freshwater plants, a growth inhibition test was set up in the macrophyte duckweed (Lemna minor). Subsequently full dose-response curves were established by exposing L. minor plants to concentrations of each individual sweetener ranging from 6.25 mg/l up to 100 mg/l for 7 days. Three different endpoints were tested: frond number, frond area and total chlorophyll content. Tests were performed under sterile conditions. Sweeteners had various effects on Lemna plants. Saccharine, acesulfame K and stevioside did not cause any significant negative effects on any of the measured parameters. On the contrary, stevioside and saccharine caused slowly stimulative effects. Aspartame and sucralose inhibited growth parameters (frond number and frond area) but the chlorophyll content was not affected.
The organization of R&D and environmental policy: So does emission subsidy reduce emissions?

This paper reexamines the Poyago-Theotoky model and provides additional investigation that was conducted under a corrected environmental damage parameter. As new findings, we obtain the following. First, social welfare under a time-consistent emission tax (emission subsidy) policy is always welfare-enhancing rather than the case of laissez-faire. Second, if the environmental damage parameter is sufficiently small, then the equilibrium emission tax rate is invariably negative. It is therefore an emission subsidy. Moreover, total emissions under the emission subsidy become smaller than those under laissez-faire if the damage parameter is sufficiently small, and if the R&D cost is low. However, total emissions under the emission subsidy become greater than those under laissez-faire if the damage parameter is sufficiently small, and if the R&D cost is high.
Applications of laser welding for the joint of plastic materials

A pulsed infrared laser source, like the Nd:YAG, welds the irradiated plastic materials by means of a thermal process that gives a direct chemical bond between two layers in close contact each other. The intense photon radiation, of the order of 1010 W/cm2, is capable to modify the polymeric materials inducing a melting process that seals two sheets at their interface. The sealing action occurs between the polymeric layers if one of them, placed in second plane, can absorb the laser light while the other, placed in first plane, is radiation transparent. The polymer filler presence (like carbon nano-structures, iron oxide, silicate,.) is required in order to absorb the laser light and to obtain the joint at the interface with other polymers through an accurate control the filler concentration. The penetration depth of the laser light and the mechanical resistance can be regulated by the absorption power of the polymeric layer. With this aim, the filler amount must be accurately chosen in order to produce a strong joint. In this work we investigated the applications of Nd:YAG laser welding for the polyethylene biomedical joint devices. In particular, we examined the possibility to define the optimal depth of the sealing action by regulating the filler type and amount in different joint geometries.
A posteriori error control for a quasi-continuum approximation of a periodic chain

We consider a one-dimensional periodic atomistic model, for which we formulate and analyse an adaptive variant of a quasicontinuum method. We establish a posteriori error estimators for the energy norm and for the energy, based on a posteriori residual and stability estimates. We formulate adaptive mesh refinement algorithms based on these error estimators. Our numerical experiments indicate optimal convergence rates of these algorithms.
SYNTHESIS AND ANTIMICROBIAL EVALUATION OF SOME NEW ASYMMETRICALLY SUBSTITUTED 4-ARYL- 2,6-DI(COUMARINYL) PYRIDINES

In the present work the synthesis of various 4-aryl-2-(coumarin-3-yl)-6-(4-methyl-3-phenyl coumarin-6-yl)pyridines (6a-i) and 4-aryl-2-(coumarin-3-yl)- 6-(4-methyl-7-methoxy coumarin-8-yl)pyridines ( 7a-i) have been carried out by reacting 1-[2( H )-1-benzopyran-3-yl]-3-aryl-prop-2-en-1-ones (coumarinoyl chalcones) ( 3a-f) with appropriate coumarinoyl methyl pyridinium bromide salt 4 and 5 respectively. The target compounds were characterized by the IR, 1 H-NMR, 13 C-APT and mass spectral analysis. Preliminary examination of target compounds as antimicrobial agents has been carried out using Broth dilution method.
A Critical Review on Wind Turbine Power Curve Modelling Techniques and Their Applications in Wind Based Energy Systems

Power curve of a wind turbine depicts the relationship between output power and hub height wind speed and is an important characteristic of the turbine. Power curve aids in energy assessment, warranty formulations, and performance monitoring of the turbines. With the growth of wind industry, turbines are being installed in diverse climatic conditions, onshore and offshore, and in complex terrains causing significant departure of these curves from the warranted values. Accurate models of power curves can play an important role in improving the performance of wind energy based systems. This paper presents a detailed review of different approaches for modelling of the wind turbine power curve. The methodology of modelling depends upon the purpose of modelling, availability of data, and the desired accuracy. The objectives of modelling, various issues involved therein, and the standard procedure for power performance measurement with its limitations have therefore been discussed here. Modelling methods described here use data from manufacturers’ specifications and actual data from the wind farms. Classification of modelling methods, various modelling techniques available in the literature, model evaluation criteria, and application of soft computing methods for modelling are then reviewed in detail. The drawbacks of the existing methods and future scope of research are also identified.
Silver nanoparticles synthesized from marine fungi Aspergillus oryzae

In the present study six fungal strains were isolated from marine mangrove sediment from parangipettai on Saborauds agar. The pure culture was grown in Saborauds broth at 27 0 c for 5 days in a shaker incubator. After incubation, the mycelium was separated and washed twice with milli Q water. 20 g of biomass was treated with 200ml of milliQ water for 72 hours at 27 0 c and agitated in the shaker incubator. After incubation, the cell was filtered through Whatmann filter paper and the 1mM silver nitrate solution was mixed with 50 ml of cell filtrate and kept at 25 0 c in dark. Control was prepared without addition of Silver nitrate solution. The nanoparticles synthesized showed an absorption peak at 420nm in UV-Vis spectrum corresponding to the Plasmon resonance of silver nanoparticles, thus, confirming their presence. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed the presence of protein as stabilizing agent surrounding the silver nanoparticles. This elite fungal strain was identified and confirmed as Aspergillus oryzae by isolating their genomic DNA and amplifying the ITS region present in 5.8s rRNA and sequenced using ITS primer1 and 4.
The Effect of Morphological Characteristic of Coarse Aggregates Measured with Fractal Dimension on Asphalt Mixture’s High-Temperature Performance

The morphological properties of coarse aggregates, such as shape, angularity, and surface texture, have a great influence on the mechanical performance of asphalt mixtures. This study aims to investigate the effect of coarse aggregate morphological properties on the high-temperature performance of asphalt mixtures. A modified Los Angeles (LA) abrasion test was employed to produce aggregates with various morphological properties by applying abrasion cycles of 0, 200, 400, 600, 800, 1000, and 1200 on crushed angular aggregates. Based on a laboratory-developed Morphology Analysis System for Coarse Aggregates (MASCA), the morphological properties of the coarse aggregate particles were quantified using the index of fractal dimension. The high-temperature performances of the dense-graded asphalt mixture (AC-16), gap-graded stone asphalt mixture (SAC-16), and stone mastic asphalt (SMA-16) mixtures containing aggregates with different fractal dimensions were evaluated through the dynamic stability (DS) test and the penetration shear test in laboratory. Good linear correlations between the fractal dimension and high-temperature indexes were obtained for all three types of mixtures. Moreover, the results also indicated that higher coarse aggregate angularity leads to stronger high-temperature shear resistance of asphalt mixtures.
Integrated low-carbon location-routing method for the demand side of a product distribution supply chain: a DoE-guided MOPSO optimiser-based solution approach

This article contributes to location-routing literature on three inter-linked aspects viz., formulation of a novel integrated low-carbon/green location-routing model for the demand side of a Supply Chain (SC) with a single product and multiple consumers, i.e., Drop-off Points (DoPs), a novel and robust solution approach through a Design of Experiment (DoE)-guided Multiple-Objective Particle Swarm Optimisation (MOPSO) optimiser and exhaustive analysis of the location-routing solutions (i.e., prioritisation, ranking and scenario analysis). The total costs, CO2 emission and the traversed distances of the vehicles during transportation are optimised. The optimisation model for the strategic decision-making is formulated by effectively integrating the 0-1 mixed-integer programming with a green constraint based on Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Due to the computationally NP-hard characteristic of the model a systematic and technically robust DoE-guided solution approach is designed using a commercial solver – modeFRONTIER® . DoE guides the solution through the MOPSO optimiser in order to eliminate the un-realistic set of feasible and optimal solution sets. A popular multi-attribute decision-making approach, TOPSIS, evaluates the solutions found from the Pareto optimal solution space of the solver. Finally decision-makers’ preferences are analysed for monitoring the changes in the controlling parameters with respect to the changes in the decisions. A scenario analysis of the location-routing events by considering alternative possible outcomes is also conducted. It is found that the implemented methodology successfully routes the vehicles with optimal costs and low-carbon emission thus contributing to greening the environment on the demand side of a SC network.
Changes in Activity of PG, PE, Cx and LOX in Pulp during Fruit Growth and Development of Two Different Ripening-Season Pear Cultivars

The activities of polygalacturonase (PG), pectinesterase (PE) and cellulase (Cx) and lipoxygenase (LOX) in pulp of two pear cultivars, Zaomi and Whangkeumbae, were detected every 10 days from anthesis to fruit maturation in this study. The results indicated that: (1) PG activity increased gradually along with fruit development of the two pear cultivars. It peaked at 50 Days after Full Blossom (DAFB) for Zaomi pear and peaked at 30, 90 and 130 DAFB for Whangkeumbae pear. Zaomi pear fruits contained higher activity of PG at the middle stage but had no statistically significant differences with Whangkeumbae pear fruits ; (2) The activity of PE kept at high level at early stage and decreased gradually along with fruit development, but rose in slightly range before maturation for the two cultivars. It peaked at 10, 70 and 100DAFB for Zaomi pear and peaked at 10, 80 and 130DAFB for Whangkeumbae pear which contained higher activity at early stage than Zaomi pear and had lower level of activity at middle and late stage; (3) The activity of Cx was a little low at early stage and increased along with fruit development up to maturation following with slightly decrease for the two cultivars. It rose dramatically from 30 to 70DAFB and from 80 to 90DAFB for Zaomi pear fruits, whereas from 20 to 30DAFB, from 50 to 70DAFB and from80 to 120DAFB for Whangkeumbae pear; (4) The two pear cultivars contained a little low level of LOX activity at initial stage and it increased equably along with fruit development. It rose remarkably from 20 to 40DAFB and from 50 to 90DAFB for Zaomi pear, but increased in slow rate for Whangkeumbae pear during the whole fruit development. In conclusion, activities of the five enzymes changed in a little similar trend during fruit growth and development for these two pear cultivars , but the peaks of activity appeared in different time.