Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Predicted pKa Values for Some Amino-Acids, Dipeptides and Tripeptides, Using COSMO-RS, ChemAxon and ACD/Labs Methods

Liquid-phase pK a values play a key role in food science. Chemical properties of molecules depend largely on whether they are ionized or not. Most organic molecules are capable of gaining and/or losing a proton in aqueous solutions. Proton transfer most. frequently occurs between water and any ionizable atom of the organic molecule. The molecule’s response to profanation or deprotonation depends significantly on the site that was disturbed by proton transfer. Partial charge distribution in the molecule also varies with protonation of the acidlbase active sites. Then it can he used to determine the pK a of a molecule. First, we use the COSMO-RS method, a combination of the quantum chemical dielectric continuum solvation model COSMO with a statistical thermodynamics treatment fin- more Realistic Solvation (RS) simulations, for the direct prediction of pK a constants of about 50 molecules (amino-acids, dipeptides and tripeptides). Then, we compare our results with experimental data and the pK a values predicted using two other methods. We used respectively the ChemAxon method using a program based on the calculation of partial charge of atoms in the molecule and the ACD/Labs method that enables to calculate single pK a values. for all possible dissociation centers when the rest of the molecule is considered neutral, using an internal database containing chemical structures and their experimental pK a values. The averaged Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of the predicted pK a values for each method compared to experimental results were respectively 0.596 for COSMO-RS, 0.445 for ChemAxon and 0.490 for ACD/Labs. While ACDILabs and ChemAxon are parameterized using a large set ofexperimental data (including several of the studied molecules), the COSMO- RS method was used in a fully predictive way. Regarding these results, COSMO-RS appears as a promising method to predict the pK a values of molecules of interest in food science with scarce available pK a values such as peptides. The final goal of this study is to use the pK a values in a predictive thermodynamics model for products of interest in food industry. For this purpose, the effects of several factors (like conformations set treatment in COSMO-RS calculations, ionic strength effect) that can affect the comparison between observed and predicted pK a data are discussed.
MANET Routing Protocols: A Review

MANET is a kind of wireless ad hoc network in which nodes are mobile. It is a self-designing network of mobile routers connected by wireless links with no access point. Every mobile device in a network is independent. Th e mobile devices are free to move irregularly and org anize themselves illogically. Mobile ad hoc network do no t rely on any fixed infrastructure. The Communication in MANET is supported by multi-hop paths. Nodes in the MANET share the wireless medium and the topology of the network changes unreliably and dynamically. In MANET, breaking of communication link is very frequent, li ke as nodes are free to move to anywhere. The density of nodes and the number of nodes are depends on the applicat ions in which we are using MANET. This paper presents a review on various routing protocols in MANET and selects one of the routing protocols which may be perform better.
Multifunction waveform generator for EM receiver 1 testing 2

In many electromagnetic (EM) methods, such as magnetotelluric, spectrum induced 6 polarization, time domain induced polarization, and controlled source audio magnetotelluric methods, 7 it is important to evaluate and test the EM receivers during their development stage. To assess the 8 performance of the developed EM receivers, controlled synthetic data that simulate the observed 9 signals in different modes are required. In controlled source audio magnetotelluric (CSAMT) and 10 spectrum induced polarization (SIP) mode testing, the waveform generator should use the GPS time as 11 the reference for repeating schedule. Based on our testing, the frequency range, frequency precision, 12 and time synchronization of the currently available function waveform generators in the market are 13 deficient. This paper presents a multifunction waveform generator with three waveforms: 1) a 14 wide-band low-noise electromagnetic field signal to be used for magnetotelluric, audio-magnetotelluric, 15 and long period magnetotelluric studies; 2) a repeating frequency sweep square waveform for CSAMT 16 and SIP studies; and 3) a “positive-zero-negative-zero” signal that contains primary and secondary 17 fields for time domain induced polarization studies. In this paper, we provide the principles of the 18 above three waveforms along with a hardware design for the generator. Furthermore, testing of the EM 19 receiver was conducted with the waveform generator, and the results of the experiment were compared 20 with those calculated from the simulation and theory in the frequency band of interest. 21 22
Access to External Capital for Techno Start-Ups: Evidences from the UK

How should new technology based firms (NTBFs) finance their business? Some high-tech entrepreneurs choose debt instead of equity in order to preserve their chance of high returns in the future, accepting the greater risks involved. However, some experts believe that the riskier the project, the more entrepreneurs should seek VC support. Our work attempts to answer this question and build a framework helping technology-based entrepreneurs match their business plans with the most appropriate financial strategy. We relate to the pecking order and financial rationing theories. Many attempts to understand them have been developed, but with dominant focus on investor’s supply and their decisional criteria, and few determinants normally investigated at a time. Our approach is novel because it is firm centric and holistic, evaluating the relationship between firm’s profile and the optimal investor. Through multiple in- depth case studies on UK NTBFs, and their critical discussion, we provide entrepreneurs with a robust assessment tool to navigate the complex scenario of financial alternatives available to NTBFs. The research investigates and discusses the role played in the fund raising process by entrepreneur’s profile, technology, features of the business plan and market; it can also help investors understand entrepreneur’s motivations and expectations. Our contribution is twofold: first, the model is made of reliable assessment criteria for complex and ambiguous dimensions such as technological risk and market focus; secondly, we develop a holistic approach with understanding of both the firm’s and investor’s points of view.
Artículos originales GEPRO : Gene Expression Profiler for DNA microarray data

The DNA microarray technology has been widely employed in recent biological research. However, the unprecedented large amount of data produced by the technology has presented inevitable challenges to biological scientists, forcing individual researchers to take extensive training or rely on database specialists for the use of the data. Microsoft Excel® has a number of convenient functions and may be the most widely used spreadsheet package for data storage and manipulation. Therefore, we developed a userfriendly, Excel spreadsheet-based microarray data-managing program. The program, gene expression profiler (GEPRO), is designed to facilitate organizing miocroarray data, performing statistical analysis, and displaying the results. Using GEPRO’s filtering and sorting capabilities, a user can easily identify differentially expressed genes, display the expression profiles of the genes of interest, and present and save the analyzed data in a user-defined way. The versatility and utility of GEPRO should enable bench work researchers to maximize the use of their microarray data. The GEPRO is freely available for noncommercial users at http://www.mc. uky.edu/cls/ko/gepro1.html.
Depth trajectory and performance of a trawl used for an international bottom trawl survey in the Mediterranean

An international bottom trawl survey (the MEDITS programme) has been carried out every year in the Mediterranean since 1994. During each survey, about 1000 hauls are done by a fleet of 8 to 11 vessels from 10 to 800 m depth, applying a unique standardized sampling protocol. This study analyses the trajectory and the performances of the sampling gear used for this survey, from records obtained during the surveys aboard some vessels in different geographical sub-areas and at different depth levels. Two kinds of sensors have been used, one to characterize a posteriori the vertical trajectory of the trawl from the beginning of shooting to the end of hauling (830 hauls), the other to describe in real time the stabilization of the trawl at its beginning (16 hauls) and its geometry during the tow (840 hauls). The results show the variability extent of these parameters linked with vessel, area, depth and period, illustrating their impact on the swept area estimates used for biological assessments. The results strongly suggest the inforcement of a quality strategy combining the use of rigourous sampling protocols and systematic controlling of the main parameters characterizing the trawl performance during routine surveys.
A Second Order Asymmetric Finite Difference Method for the Black-Scholes Equation of European Options

In this paper, we develop a fast numerical scheme for computing the European option pricing problems governed by the Black-Scholes equation. We prove that the proposed scheme has second order accuracy in both time and space. Under some restrictions, the stability of the proposed method in the sense of Von Neumann analysis is presented. It is shown that the proposed scheme has a good performance in the sense of the computational cost compare to the Crank-Nicolson scheme. Also the accuracy of the proposed scheme is better than the semi-implicit scheme in most cases.
Effect of Castration on some Blood Metabolites of Fattened Nubian Male Kids

Ten male Nubian kids at sexual maturity age ranged between (7-8) months were used in a study to investigate the effect of castration on feed intake, feed conversion ratio, body weight gain and some blood parameters which include: glucose, cholesterol, total protein, albumin, globulin, urea and uric acid. The kids were randomly divided into two groups. Group (A) were all intact males and (B) were castrated using Burdizzo castration method. Each group contained five kids. The average initial weight of the two groups were matching 14.6 + 3.41 and 14.8+ 3.36kg respectively. The kids were individually accommodated and fed adlibitum . The daily feed intake and weekly weight and blood samples for the metabolites tests were taken. This experiment continued for eight weeks. The data obtained were then analyzed using student t test to examine the significance of the effect of castration on the feedlot performance and the blood metabolites levels. The study showed that there was no significant differences between the intact and castrated kids in feed intake, although, the intact kids showed significantly (P<0.05) higher body weight gain compared to the castrated kids. There were no significant differences between the intact and castrated kids in feed conversion ratio, although the castrated kids had a higher value than the intact kids which suggest that the feed conversion ratio of intact kids was better than the castrated. The results of blood metabolites showed that there were no significant differences between the two groups except for the glucose level which was significantly higher for the castrated kids and the urea level was significantly higher for the intact kids. Correlation and regression among the examined parameters showed that there were significant correlations between feed intake, weekly weight gain and blood urea levels with the weekly body weight, total cholesterol, albumin and urea levels. The study showed no significant effect on most feedlots performance and metabolic parameters studied.
Point-cloud lossless compression new algorithm by merging gray-coded structured light series patterns and compression of two-dimensional single channel matrix

In this paper with presenting a new and distinct method for lossless compression on points cloud obtained from 3D scan operations in the form of an ordinary single-channel 2D image based on the image-based encoding techniques, we have evaluated the performance and effectiveness of the proposed method, while designing and constructing a non-contact 3D scanner with structured-light pattern based on the Gray code technique. The results show the accuracy and applicability of this method and the achievement of distinct compression rate [230:1] among other lossless compression methods of 3D data.
P o S ( N L S 1 ) 0 0 9 The near-infrared broad emission line region of AGN

We summarize the main results from our on-going near-infrar ed (near-IR) and quasi-simultaneous optical spectroscopic programme of broad-emission line AG N. Our near-IR spectra have a large wavelength coverage (0 .8−2.4 μm), medium resolution and relatively high S/N ratio ( > 100). The focus is on the the properties of the hot dust component an d he kinematics of the hydrogen emitting region. Furthermore, we introduce the near-IR rad ius-luminosity relationship, which is expected to be used to derive black hole masses in particular of obscured AGN. Roughly a third of our sample are NLSy1s and their properties are compared to those of the total sample.
RAINFORESTS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 21

Rainforests are situated at low latitude where for ests enjoy steady and strong radiation. Biodiversity in rainforests has been very high, for historical and climatic reasons. The number of spe cies is very high and tends to increase with precipitati on and decrease with seasonality. Disturbance, soil fertility and forest stature also influence the spe cies richness and high turnover of species contribu te to diversity. Field observation and studies revealed t hat large scale deforestation could alter the regio nal and global climate significantly. Deforestation alters the surface albedo which leads to climate change. Regional land use contributes to climate change thr ough surface-energy budget, as well as the carbon cycle. Forest fragmentation, logging, overhunting, fire and the expanding agriculture threaten the biodiversity. Rainforest covered area has significa ntly shrunk in the last decades. It is hard to prot ect he forests because of the growing demand for agricultu ral area and forest-derived products. Most measures proved ineffective to slow down the destruction. He nc , more forest will be lost in the future. Conservationists should take into consideration the secondary forests because biodiversity can be high enough and it is worth protecting them.
Exchange rates, market efficiency and purchasing power parity: Long-run tests for the Latin American currencies

En mercados eficientes, los precios corrientes reflejan toda la informacion disponible. Los precios pasados no contienen ninguna informacion util para predecir precios futuros y realizar ganancias extraordinarias. Este principio, hipotesis debil de la eficiencia informativa de los mercados, ha sido incorporado a la teoria de la paridad del poder adquisitivo (PPA), a fin de sobreponer sus limitaciones en el analisis intertemporal del ajuste de los tipos de cambio a las tendencias inflacionarias. En general, estudios de mercados de divisas de los paises desarrollados validan su eficiencia; sin embargo, la investigacion para el caso de los paises en vias de desarrollo es limitada. En este trabajo se analiza la eficiencia de los mercados de divisas de 15 paises latinoamericanos para el periodo 1970-2000. Basandose en el modelo ampliado de PPA, se aplican dos modelos de analisis de regresion y uno de raiz unitaria.
Crystallization of Ruthenium Dioxide during Vitrification of HLW, and its Effect on Leachability of the Glass - 9032

Ruthenium (Ru) is one of the major fission products contained in the High-Level Radioactive Waste (HLW). During reprocessing spent nuclear fuel, Ru is immobilized with the other fission products in borosilicate glass matrix. Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited (JNFL) currently operates a nuclear reprocessing plant in Japan where HLW vitrification process is in operation. Recently, the process was temporarily stopped due to a trouble arising from sedimentation of platinum group metals in the glass melter. A crystallization of RuO2 was confirmed by XRD analysis of the sediment in the melter, but the detail mechanisms of the crystallization have not been clarified. We performed a laboratory scale experiments using non-radioactive Ru and obtained fundamental data which might lead to an explanation how to form crystals of RuO2 during vitrification of HLW. Additionally, some leaching experiments were performed with using a glass specimen containing the needle-like crystals of RuO2. No enhancement of leachability of the glass was observed due to the existence of RuO2 in the glass.
Farmer-Herdsmen Conflicts: A Factor Analysis of Socio-economic Conflict Variables among Arable Crop Farmers in North Central Nigeria

Abstract The persistence of farmer-herdsmen conflicts portend grave socioeconomic consequences. Although there is no clear consensus on which group experiences greater hardships, the plight of arable crop farmers, who constitute the bulk of Nigeria’s agricultural production population, continues to attract research attention. The study investigates the variables associated with farmer-herdsmen conflicts from the perspectives of farmers in Kwara State, Nigeria. Using a four-stage random sampling technique to select 300 farmers in communities contiguous with herdsmen’ stock routes, data were collected with the aid of structured questionnaire and subjected to factor analysis and descriptive statistical procedures. Data analysis revealed that respondents generally experienced ‘losses’ in nine out of ten identified material and non-material resources, and ‘gains’ in three. Factor analysis showed that socioeconomic, production, institutional, and situational factors among farmers, with Eigen values of 2.6412, 1.6103, 1.2456, and 1.0348 respectively, accounted for their conflict with herdsmen. Awareness of and compliance with designated stock routes (situational variables), having coefficients -0.741 and -0.662 respectively were particularly crucial farmer variables of conflict. The paper recommends regular review of stock routes and educational campaigns to increase their awareness and compliance rates among conflict actors. Farmer-herdsmen conflict resolution initiatives should also incorporate a careful consideration of all conflict factors from the perspectives of the actors.
Motion-Induced Blindness Using Increments and Decrements of Luminance

Abstract Motion-induced blindness describes the disappearance of stationary elements of a scene when other, perhaps non-overlapping, elements of the scene are in motion. We measured the effects of increment (200.0 cd/m2) and decrement targets (15.0 cd/m2) and masks presented on a grey background (108.0 cd/m2), tapping into putative ON- and OFF-channels, on the rate of target disappearance psychophysically. We presented two-frame motion, which has coherent motion energy, and dynamic Glass patterns and dynamic anti-Glass patterns, which do not have coherent motion energy. Using the method of constant stimuli, participants viewed stimuli of varying durations (3.1 s, 4.6 s, 7.0 s, 11 s, or 16 s) in a given trial and then indicated whether or not the targets vanished during that trial. Psychometric function midpoints were used to define absolute threshold mask duration for the disappearance of the target. 95% confidence intervals for threshold disappearance times were estimated using a bootstrap technique for each of the participants across two experiments. Decrement masks were more effective than increment masks with increment targets. Increment targets were easier to mask than decrement targets. Distinct mask pattern types had no effect, suggesting that perceived coherence contributes to the effectiveness of the mask. The ON/OFF dichotomy clearly carries its influence to the level of perceived motion coherence. Further, the asymmetry in the effects of increment and decrement masks on increment and decrement targets might lead one to speculate that they reflect the ‘importance’ of detecting decrements in the environment.
SYSTEMATICS OF THE CRACILARIACEAE ( GRACILARIALES , RHODOPHYTA ) : A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT BASED ON r ! Jf ' L SEQUENCE ANALYSES

Generic concepts in the economically important agarophyte red algal family Gracilariaceae were ~val~ated based o? ~aximum parsimony, Bayesian likelihood, and rrurnmum evolution analyses of the chloroplast-encoded rbcL gene from 67 specimens worldwide. The results confirm the monophyly of the. family and identify three large clades, one of which corresponds to the ancestral antiboreal genera Curdiea and Melanthalia, one to Gracilar­ iopsis, and one to Gracilaria sensu lato, which con­ ~ins n~e distinct independent evolutionary lineages, m.cludmg Hydropuntia. The species currently at­ tributed to Hydropuntia comprise a single well­ supported clade composed of two distinct lineages. The two most basal clades within Gracilaria sensu lato deserve generic rank: a new genus centered around G. chilensis Bird, McLachlan et Oliveira and G. aff. tenuistipitata Chang et Xia and a resurrected Hydropuntia encompassing primarily Indo-Pacific (G. urvillei [Montagne] Abbott, G. edulis [So Gmelin] P. Silva, G. eucheumatoides Harvey, G. preissiana [S.onder] Womersley, and G. rangiferina [Kiitzing] Piccone) and western Atlantic species (G. cornea J. Agardh, G. crassissima P. et H. Crouan in Maze et Schramm, G. usneoides [C. Agardh] J. Agardh, G. caudata J. Agardh, and G. secunda P. et H. Crouan in Maze et Schramm). Cystocarpic features within the Gracilaria sensu lato clades appear to be more phylogenetically informative than male characters. The textorii-type spermatangial configuration is rep­ resented in two distinct clusters of Gracilaria. The rbcL genetic divergence among the Gracilariaceae ? ,enera ranged between 8.46% and 16.41 %, provid­ mg at least 2.5 times more genetic variation than does the I8S nuclear rDNA. rbcL also resolves intrageneric relationships, especially within Graci­ laria sensu lato, The current number of gracila­ riacean species is underestimated in the western Atlantic because of convergence in habit and apparent homoplasy in vegetative and reproductive anatomy.
Semantic summary generation from multiple documents using feature specific sentence ranking strategy

A B ST R A C T This paper proposes an approach of adapting the vector space model with dependency parse relations to generate semantic summary from multiple documents. Traditional vector space models with tf-idf weighting was not able to completely capture the content similarity because it treats the words within a document are independent of each other. In the proposed system the dependency parse of the document has been used to modify the tf-idf weight of words by incorporating the dependency between each pair of words. To select relevant sentences, different combinations of features are applied through sentence ranking strategy. The experiment result shows that consistent improvement of proposed system over traditional approaches.