Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measurement of Pterygium Tissue Dry Weight Using Two Different Tissue Preparation Techniques in Freeze-Dry Method

Due to pterygium tissue compression on the corneal surface, it has been hypothesised that the degree of corneal astigmatism caused by pterygium can vary. This study aims to develop a freeze-dried method for estimating net pterygium tissue mass (NPTM) as dry weight. A single surgeon (KMK) excised 60 primary pterygium using the controlled partial avulsion technique and divided them into two groups: formalin-fixed (n=30) and unfixed (n=30). After determining the weight of each sterile container, 5 mL of 5% buffered formaldehyde was added to the formalin-fixed group and stored for one week, while 5 mL of distilled water was added to the non-fixed pterygium group. Each container was pre-frozen for 12 hours before being freeze-dried (-24 hours at -80 degrees Celsius). The result is referred to as the net pterygium tissue mass (NPTM). Using an independent T-test, a comparison of wet and dry weight and percentage of NPTM was conducted between groups. Wet weights for formalin-fixed and non-fixed pterygium were 253.33 82.17 g and 255.17 63.52 g, respectively, while dry weights were 184.92 84.31 g and 179.54 72.85 g. Formalin-fixed pterygium tissue revealed a slightly higher percentage of NPTM than non-fixed pterygium tissue (69.39 13.29% vs. 67.75 13.29%, p = 0.792), but this difference was not statistically significant. The freeze-dried method can be utilised to quantify the NPTM of pterygium fibrovascular tissue and investigate the influence of pterygium translucency on predicting induced-corneal astigmatism.
Prior beliefs in market efficiency and fund cash flows

ABSTRACT This study investigates the effect of fund investors’ prior beliefs on flow-performance relationships. Nonmonotonic inflow- and outflow-performance relationships, with a monotonic relationship in net flows, suggest that more investors exhibit return-chasing behaviour but that some investors behave in a strongly biased manner; these phenomena exist in high-risk funds with extreme performance. With regard to investors’ prior beliefs in market efficiency to the fund performance, inflows and outflows have a monotonic relationship with performance. From these findings, the nonmonotonic relationship can be explained by the biased behaviour resulting from the lack of beliefs in market efficiency.
Whole-cell biocatalytic selective oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furancarboxylic acid

Currently, the catalytic upgradation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), an important bio-based platform chemical, is of great interest. In this work, we reported the biocatalytic oxidation of HMF to 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furancarboxylic acid (HMFCA) by using a newly isolated strain Comamonas testosteroni SC1588. Compared to growing cells, resting cells were found to be a better biocatalyst for the synthesis of HMFCA. This strain exhibited high tolerance to HMF (up to 180 mM). However, its catalytic performances were highly sensitive to pH. The product exerted a significant negative effect on the catalytic performances and viability of the cells, partially due to the acidity of this compound. The product inhibition and toxicity toward this strain were reduced considerably after adjusting the pH of the reaction mixtures to 7.0. Excellent substrate conversions (approximately 100%) and good HMFCA yields (88–99%) were obtained when the substrate concentrations were less than 130 mM. In addition, the HMFCA synthesis could be improved significantly by the combination of histidine addition with pH tuning at higher substrate concentrations. Catalytic activities of the cells increased markedly when they were cultivated in the presence of a low concentration of furfural and furfuryl alcohol. HMFCA was afforded in a yield of approximately 98% after 36 h at a substrate concentration of up to 160 mM. Besides, this strain was capable of selectively transforming other furfurals to the target acids with good yields of 90–93%.
Market Orientation, Innovative Capability And Firms Performance: A Study Of The Nigeria Manufacturing Firms

This study investigates the relationship between market orientation, innovative capability and firm’s performance in the Nigeria manufacturing firms. We explore whether firms do and how they articulate and influence the roles/activities of individual market orientation and innovative capability in achieving superior performance. Despite the important roles played by Nigeria manufacturing firms in delivering process, their performance has not been impressive due to the orientation of their customers and generating new ideas and knowledge. A survey method was used to generate data from employees working in various manufacturing firms. A simple and stratified sampling technique was employed to determine the sample size selected for the study. Primary data were collected from 50 companies by through 600 questionnaires to employees working in Nigeria manufacturing firms. Responses from the survey were statistically analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson Product Moment Correlation coefficient (PPMCC), and regression analysis. The results of the study confirms that a significant relationship exist between market orientation, innovative capability and firm’s performance in the Nigeria manufacturing firms.
Anionic multiblock core cross-linked star copolymers: Via RAFT polymerization

Poly(2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid) is a polyelectrolyte currently used in numerous industrial applications. Herein, we report the use of reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization to prepare a range of well-defined homopolymers and block copolymers of 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid (AMPS®) and either N-hydroxyethyl acrylamide (HEAm) or 4-acryloylmorpholine (NAM) as a comonomer. We also describe the one-pot synthesis of multiblock core cross-linked star copolymers of AMPS® and HEAm with low dispersities (<1.3). The influence of several parameters such as the cross-linker type, cross-linker to chain transfer agent (CTA) ratio, arm length and composition on the polymerization efficiency are investigated.
Acoustic wave-driven oxidized liquid metal-based energy harvester

We report an oxidized liquid metal droplet-based energy harvester that converts acoustic energy into electrical energy by modulating an electrical double layer that originates from the deformation of the oxidized liquid metal droplet. Gallium-based liquid metal alloy has been developed for various applications owing to the outstanding material properties, such as its high electrical conductivity (metallic property) and unlimited deformability (liquid property). In this study, we demonstrated energy harvesting using an electrical double layer between the acoustic wave-modulated liquid metal droplet and two electrodes. The proposed energy harvester consisted of top and bottom electrodes covered with the dielectric layer and a Gallium-based liquid metal droplet placed between the electrodes. When we applied an external bias voltage and acoustic wave to the proposed device, the contact area between the liquid metal droplet and the electrodes changed, leading to the variation of the capacitance in the electrical double layer and the generation of electrical output current. Using the proposed energy harvester, the maximum output current of 41.2 nA was generated with an applied acoustic wave of 30 Hz. In addition, we studied the relationships between the maximum output current and a variety of factors, such as the size of the liquid metal droplet, the thickness of the hydrophobic layer, and the distance between the top and bottom electrode plates.
Distributed Control Algorithm for Cooperative Autonomous Driving Vehicles Inspired by Flocking Behaviour

Control strategies for cooperatively autonomous driving vehicles are becoming more and more complex to ensure safe operation while, when taking inspiration from nature, more simple mathematical descriptions exist which describe behaviour of animals moving in a flocking or herding manner. In the eighties Reynolds came up with a set of heuristic rules [1] which form a model for flocking behaviour of birds and his work has been an inspiration for constructing a control strategy based on flocking behaviour for self-driving vehicles. Previous research relied on more simple kinematic models of vehicles and thus using it directly in real vehicles would be difficult. This research provides an algorithm inspired by flocking behaviour as found in swarms of birds and a bridge between said algorithm and a vehicle. A dedicated simulation environment which uses parallelism on a GPU is written and is used to determine the performance of the proposed algorithm. It is found that the proposed algorithm performs relatively well under the tested situations and is found that a wide range of parameters could be used which result in stable behaviour.
Cytotoxic Activity of Ethyl Acetate Extract of Calotropis gigantea L. Stem Bark and its Fractions against P388 Cells

Abstract. The present study deals with the cytotoxic activity of ethyl acetate extract of Calotropis gigantea L. stem bark and its fractions such as A, B, C, D and E fractions on murine leukemia cell line P388. Qualitative screening of ethyl acetate extract of stem bark of Calotropis gigantea L. for secondary metabolites showed the presence of phenolics, alkaloids, steroids, flavonoids, saponins and coumarins. Cytotoxic activity of the ethyl acetate extract of this plant and A, B, C, D and E fractions was conducted on P388 cells through MTT assay, with IC 50 value 57.05 μg/mL, 60.37 μg/mL, 55.65 μg/mL, and 58.26 μg/mL respectively, while D and E fractions less active. However the potential of the active fractions as indicated by the results in this study needs to be further investigated. Keywords: Calotropis gigantea, secondary metabolites , cytotoxicity , P388 cells .
Hardware Acceleration of Image and Video Processing on Xilinx Zynq Platform

Advancements in image and video processing are growing over the years for industrial robots, autonomous vehicles, indexing databases, surveillance, medical imaging and computer-human interaction applications. One of the major challenges in real-time image and video processing is the execution of complex functions and high computational tasks. In this paper, the hardware acceleration of different filter algorithms for both image and video processing is implemented on Xilinx Zynq-7000 System on-Chip (SoC) device. It consists of Dual-core Cortex-A9 processors which provide computing ability to perform I/O and processing functions and software libraries using Vivado High-Level Synthesis (HLS). In the proposed work, Sobel-Feldman filter, posterize and threshold filter algorithms are implemented for 192
Syntheses of 2-(trifluoromethyl)acrylate-containing block copolymers via RAFT polymerization using a universal chain transfer agent

This article describes the synthesis and characterization of a series of well-defined block copolymers (BCPs) comprising a poly(vinyl acetate-alt-tert-butyl-2-trifluoromethacrylate) (poly(VAc-alt-MAF-TBE)) alternating copolymer segment and a homopolymer segment (PVAc, polystyrene, poly(meth)acrylate, polyacrylamide, or poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone)) using RAFT polymerization under mild conditions (at 40 °C). The abilities of four chain transfer agents (CTAs) to copolymerize VAc and MAF-TBE were compared. Recently reported as a universal RAFT CTA, cyanomethyl 3,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrazole-1-carbodithioate (CDPCD) afforded better-defined BCPs compared to O-ethyl-S-(1-methoxycarbonyl)ethyldithiocarbonate (CTA-XA), 2-cyano-2-propyl benzodithioate (CPDB), and 4-cyano-4-(2-phenylethanesulfanylthiocarbonyl)sulfanyl pentanoic acid (PETTC). While the chain extension of poly(VAc-alt-MAF-TBE)-DPCD with vinyl acetate (VAc), styrene (St), n-butyl acrylate (nBA), and dimethyl acrylamide (DMA) led to well-defined poly(VAc-alt-MAF-TBE)-b-poly(M) BCPs with acceptable dispersity values (Đ ≤ 1.36), high Đ values were observed when methyl methacrylate (MMA) and N-vinylpyrrolidone (NVP) were used to form the second block. An attempt to synthesize poly(M)-b-poly(VAc-alt-MAF-TBE) block copolymers using poly(M)-DPCD as the macroCTA led to copolymers with high Đ values (1.53–2.0).
Substituent Effect of Chiraldiphenyl Salen Metal (M = Fe(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II)) Complexes for New Conceptual DSSC Dyes

The authors have designed and synthesized new chiral salen-type metal (M = Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn) complexes (1-5) for new conceptual dyes (co-sensitizer or colorful multi-dyes) of DSSCs (dye-sensitized solar cells). The authors measured substituent effects on their absorption spectra and redox properties, and compared them with TD-DFT (time-dependent density functional theory) calculations. Electron withdrawing groups resulted in red-shift of ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectra. For the first time, the authors also proposed and confirmed the importance of substituent effects on their electric transition dipole moments, calculated by TD-DFT for designing dyes. Chemisorption for TiO2 of the complex by carboxyl groups was confirmed by XPS measurement. In view of electronic properties, all compounds have the possibility to be dyes of DSSCs.
Magnet-responsive, superhydrophobic fabrics from waterborne, fluoride-free coatings

In this study, durable superhydrophobic fabrics with magnet responsive properties were prepared by a two-step coating technique using polydopamine (PDA), Fe3O4 nanoparticles, and hexadecyltrimethoxysilane as coating materials. The coated fabrics exhibit fast magnetic responsivity and a water contact angle of 156°. The coating is durable enough to withstand at least 50 cycles of home laundering and 500 cycles of Martindale abrasions without losing its superhydrophobicity and magnetic properties. The PDA pre-coating plays a significant role in improving the adhesion of hydrophobic Fe3O4 nanoparticles on fabric surface. The coated fabric is highly oleophilic (oil contact angle = 0°). When used for absorbing oil, the coated fabric floats naturally on the surface of oily water, and it can be moved to approach oil drops under magnetic actuation. The fabric is reusable for at least 10 cycles. This may offer an environmentally friendly way to prepare “smart” oil-recovery materials.
Junctional Epithelium or Epithelial Attachment around Implant: Which Term is Desirable?: A Review

Aim: review of previous relevant studies to assess histological differences in gingival tissue around dental implants and natural teeth to answer the question whether the tissue around dental implants is junctional epithelium or it better be named epithelial attachment. Methodology: An electronic search of three databases (PubMed, Science Direct and Google Scholar) between May 1980 and May 2017 were performed. Full text, Histological and clinical evaluation, Animal and human studies were included. Result: Of articles selected by each researcher after reading their abstracts, a total of 49 articles were selected after excluding the duplicates. The full texts of these articles were thoroughly read and were discussed. Finally, 45 out of 49 articles were found to be incomplete relevance to our topic based on our criteria and were reviewed. Some differences were seen in epithelial attachment around teeth and implant in terms of thickness, length and adhesion strength; moreover implant characteristics effect on epithelial attachment dimensions around implants. Conclusion: According to existing studies, it seems that the origin of the epithelium around the Review Article Kadkhodazadeh et al.; JAMMR, 26(12): 1-13, 2018; Article no.JAMMR. 41593 2 implants is similar to the junctional epithelium around teeth histologically but there is controversial information on the similarities and differences between the epithelium around the tooth and the implant in terms of thickness, length and adhesion strength. Therefore, it is suggested to use the word “epithelial attachment” around implant instead of “junctional epithelium”.
Effect of propanil, linuron, and dicamba on the degradation kinetics of 2,4‐dichlorophenoxyacetic acid by Burkholderia sp. A study by differential analysis of 2,4‐dichlorophenoxyacetic acid degradation data

The successive application of distinct pesticides, or mixtures of them, is a frequent practice that could adversely affect the microbial species inhabiting soil and aquatic ecosystems. The ability of soil or aquatic microbiota to degrade a pesticide could be affected by the presence of another. If the degradation rate of the first compound is inhibited, its dissipation half‐life in the environment could be hazardously enlarged. Few studies have been made to quantify the impact on the biodegradation rate of pesticides in soils or water by the presence of other pesticides. In this work, a method for assessing the effect of a pesticide on the biodegradation rate of another, measuring its effect on the biodegradation kinetics of a single bacterial strain is presented. The mathematical analysis is a powerful tool to study the stoichiometry and kinetics of microbial processes, which was used to evaluate independently, in detail, the effect of three pesticides (propanil, linuron, and dicamba) on the biodegradation kinetics of 2,4‐dichlorophenoxyacetic acid by a strain of Burkholderia sp. It was evidenced that linuron and dicamba caused a decay of more than 40% in the top instantaneous degradation rate of 2,4‐dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, while propanil showed a minimal effect.
ALLOSTERIC INTERACTIONS WITHIN CANNABINOID RECEPTOR 1 (CB1) AND DOPAMINE RECEPTOR 2 LONG (D2L) HETEROMERS

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) have long been recognized as essential membrane receptors mediating a vast array of functions in eukaryotes. GPCRs have more complex signaling than originally envisioned due to the fact that GPCRs can associate to form homomeric complexes or associate with other GPCRs to form heteromeric complexes. Allosteric communication within complexes influences the range of receptor function. Cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) and dopamine receptor 2 long (D2L) are GPCRs that are colocalized in specific neuronal populations in the basal ganglia. These receptors play crucial roles in the coordination of movement. I hypothesized that CB1 and D2L receptors associate in heteromeric complexes and that CB1 and D2L ligands promote bidirectional allosteric interactions within heteromeric complexes. I confirmed that CB1 and D2L receptors form homodimers and that each homodimer was coupled to a Gαi protein. CB1 and D2L receptors formed higher order oligomeric complexes; the minimum functional heteromeric complex was composed of a CB1 and D2L homodimer each coupled to a Gαi protein. Activation of either CB1 or D2L receptors by the agonists, arachidonyl-2-chloroethylamide (ACEA) or quinpirole, respectively, resulted in fast and transient conformational changes among CB1, D2L and Gαi proteins indicative of receptor activation. Treating cells co-expressing CB1 and D2L receptors with both ACEA and quinpirole switched CB1 and D2L receptors coupling and signaling from Gαi to Gαs, enhanced β-arrestin1 recruitment and co-internalization. The high-affinity D2L receptor antagonist, haloperidol, was also able to switch CB1 coupling from Gαi to Gαs but, unlike D2 agonists, haloperidol inhibited β-arrestin1 recruitment to CB1 and inhibited complex internalization. Allosteric interactions within CB1/D2L heteromeric complexes were ligand dose-dependent and bidirectional. CB1/D2L heteromers were detected in the globus pallidus of C57BL/6J mice. Chronic exposure to the cannabinoid CP 55,940 increased CB1/D2L heteromers while the D2 antagonist haloperidol reduced CB1/D2L heteromers in the globus pallidus of C57BL/6J mice indicating that functional heteromers existed in vivo and were affected by chronic drug exposure. The concept of bidirectional allosteric interaction within CB1/D2 heterotetramers has significant implication for the understanding of the complex physiology and pharmacology of CB1 and D2L receptors. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED
Analysis Of Factors Affecting The Level Of Sacrose In Manufacturing Sugarcane Panel (Saccharumofficinarum)

: The objective of this article was to determine the factors that affect the% sucrose during the process of making sugar cane panela (Saccharumofficinarum). The sugarcane material used corresponded to variety V 78-1, harvested at the optimal time of maturity for the production of panela, using a fractional factorial design6-1, considering 32 observations, where the effect of 6 factors on the % sucrose: purity, investment time, cooling time, ° Brix, vacuum pressure and cooking temperature; applying the analysis of variance using the statistical program R. A significant effect (p≤0.05) of the purity and ° Brix factors was found, in addition to the interactions purity * ° Brix, inversion time * ° Brix and purity * pressure cooling vacuum; selecting the factors purity, investment time, ° Brix and vacuum pressure, as the predominant ones in the process of making panela from sugar cane. The application of the 2K-1 fractional factorial design allowed the selection of the factors purity, investment time, ° Brix and cooling vacuum pressure, from the total of factors initially addressed, which affect the% sucrose of sugar cane panela. sugar; In this way, it is proposed to consider these 4 factors when seeking to standardize the sucrose content in the final product and thus guarantee its quality, to reach higher value markets.
A Comparative Study of Propofol and Thiopentone with local Anaesthetic Spray as Inducing Agents for I-Gel Insertion

Aim: Of the study is to compare insertion conditions for I gel using propofol and thiopentone with lignocaine spray as inducing agents in terms of haemodynamic stability as well as in terms of no of insertion attempts, success of insertion, time taken for insertion, manipulations required, patient response to igel insertion, subjective ease of insertion and success of ventilation Material and Methods: 80 patients of age between 18-60 years with ASA grade I/II undergoing elective minor surgeries were divided into two groups. Group P (n=40) received injection propofol 2.0mg/kg over 30 seconds. Group TL (n=40)received 2 sprays of lignocaine 10% (10 mg/puff) to each side of oropharynx (total 40 mg) followed by injection thiopentone 5mg/kg over 30 seconds, ten minutes later. Result: Results showed that propofol caused decrease in mean heart rate in group (P), while tachycardia had developed as compared to baseline in thiopentone group (TL). A slight decrease in blood pressure for short duration was seen in both groups but significantly more in propofol group, so propofol caused more cardiovascular depression than thiopentone. Both the groups were comparable in terms of no of insertion attempts, success of insertion, time taken for insertion, manipulations required, patient response to igel insertion, subjective ease of insertion and success of ventilation. Conclusion: propofol gives ideal condition for I gel insertion with cardiovascular depression,while thiopentone with lignocaine spray provides the conditions for i-gel insertion equal to those of propofol, with more hemodynamic stability