Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Efficient DNA extraction protocol suitable for molecular authentication of medicinal herbs

Medicinal plants are being used since from the days of yore for the treatment and management of human, animals and plant diseases. Although there was a slump in their use for some period, it is re-attaining popularity due to its unmatched benefits. The enormous demand at both national and international market has resulted in necessity to maintain the purity and authenticity of plants. As most of the herbal medicines are administered in dried form, identification and authentication is becoming difficult. The current molecular methods to identify such material demand quality DNA for downstream molecular analysis. Obtaining the quality DNA from the available extraction protocols in selected medicinal herbs is troublesome due to the interference of plant secondary metabolites. There are quite a few publications in which specific protocols for isolation has been defined for a particular family or species of medicinal herbs. The prior art describes various protocols for DNA extractions in fresh and dried samples, whereas the extension of the same methods universally to obtain quality DNA from dry samples was either unsuccessful or time-consuming and expensive. This necessitates us to develop and optimize the efficient and economical quality DNA extraction protocol. The resulted modified protocol is rapid, simple and effective for dried plant material and very useful for further molecular methods for authentication. This method does not require expensive chemicals such as proteinase K, liquid nitrogen etc. The extracted DNA was also suitable for PCR and RAPD, ISSR proofing.
Comparison of Airtraq® and Macintosh laryngoscope applied by nurses in manikins with normal and difficult airways: pilot data

Introduction. Endotracheal intubation is currently the gold standard of airway management. In direct laryngoscopy in pre-hospital settings, though, it turns out insufficiently effective. Aim. The study purpose was to compare direct laryngoscopy and videolaryngoscopy for endotracheal intubation performed by nurses in normal and difficult airway conditions. Material and methods. This randomized cross-over study involved 27 nurses. The protocol was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Polish Society of Disaster Medicine (approval number: 32.04.2018.IRB). The participants performed intubation using a Macintosh laryngoscope (MAC) and an Airtraq® videolaryngoscope (ATQ) in 2 study scenarios: A – normal airway; B – difficult airway. For this latter purpose, the manikin had the cervical spine immobilized with a standard one-piece cervical collar. Results. The effectiveness of the first intubation attempt with MAC and ATQ was varied both in scenario A: 66.7 and 92.6% (p = 0.007) and in scenario B: 14.8 and 70.4% (p = 0.001). The median intubation time in scenario A was 23 s (IQR: 22-33.5) for MAC and 17 s (IQR: 15.5-25) for ATQ (p = 0.031), respectively. In scenario B, this parameter value equaled 53 s (IQR: 48-67) for MAC and 26 s (IQR: 24-49) for ATQ (p < 0.001). Conclusions. In the simulation study, nurses were able to perform endotracheal intubation with the use of ATQ with higher efficacy compared with direct laryngoscopy – this relationship was observed under both normal and difficult airway conditions.
OP 90 TEST METHOD OF LUMINANCE DYNAMIC RANGE FOR HDR CAMERA WITH CMOS IMAGE SENSOR

We present a test method of luminance dynamic range for a CMOS-based HDR camera, which provides a practical solution with a cost-effective instrumentation. The method is based on the separate measurements of the relative linearity and the absolute scaling. The relative linearity measurement is performed in the illuminance mode for the CMOS image sensor without lens system by using a collimated beam. The absolute scaling measurement is performed for the camera including the lens system against an integrating sphere source at a moderate luminance level. Combining these two measurements, we obtain a linearity plot of the camera reading signal against object luminance, from which the saturation luminance and the noise equivalent luminance are determined. The method is demonstrated for a HDR camera with a dynamic range of 20,000:1.
Peptides ToAP 3 and ToAP 4 decrease release of in fl ammatory cytokines through TLR4 blocking

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are small molecules with microbicidal and immunoregulatory activities. In this study we evaluated the anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities of peptides ToAP3 and ToAP4, AMPs from the venom of the Brazilian scorpion Tityus obscurus. To test the peptides’ activity, murine bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) or dendritic cells (BMDCs) were stimulated with peptides plus LPS to analyze their ability to modulate cytokine release as well as phenotypic markers. For antimicrobial analysis, we evaluated the indirect activity against macrophage-internalized Cryptococcus neoformans and direct activity against Mycobacterium massiliense. Our data demonstrate that they were able to reduce TNF-α and IL-1β transcript levels and protein levels for BMDM and BMDC. Furthermore, the reduction of TNF-α secretion, before LPSinflammatory stimuli, is associated with peptide interaction with TLR-4. ToAP4 increased MHC-II expression in BMDC, while ToAP3 decreased co-stimulatory molecules such as CD80 and CD86. Although these peptides were able to modulate the production of cytokines and molecules associated with antigen presentation, they did not increase the ability of clearance of C. neoformans by macrophages. In antimicrobial analysis, only ToAP3 showed potent action against bacteria. Altogether, these results demonstrate a promising target for the development of new immunomodulatory and anti-bacterial therapies.
Does The Level Of Cultural Intelligence Affect Burnout And Job Performance ? : Multinational Kosovo Forces ( KFOR ) Sample * *

In this research, the effect of cultural intelligence on burnout levels and working performance of the employers of the security sector within a multinational environment is searched. For this purpose, the questionnaire data, which was collected from 133 participants who were employed in Kosovo Forces (KFOR) within the scope of peacekeeping in 2014, was analyzed. In this study, while relationships and effects among factors were revealed by correlation and regression analyses, structural equation modeling has been used during verification of factors and scales. As a result of the findings, it was seen that the cultural intelligence of security employers, who were in charge of KFOR, had negative effects on burnout levels, but positive effects on working performance. Especially positive effect of all subgroups of cultural intelligence on working performance of the employers reveals the importance of the cultural intelligence on success of the personnel who are selected for these multinational tasks. It is evaluated that this finding is important for both the employees working in environments with different cultures and the employers to emphasize the importance of cultural intelligence for the selection of the people who are working in these environments.
Group conversion revision of the Adolescent Gratitude Scale

Background: currently, China lacks relevant measuring tools of gratitude, and the exploration of localization background is limited. In this study, the existing AGS will be modified to enhance the applicability of different groups. Methods: 195 participants were selected from a Chinese university and the original AGS scale and the revised AGS scale were used for the measurement. Results: through exploratory factor analysis (KOM > 0.8), reliability (alpha = 0.937), and to distinguish the validity check, the scale of the revised item has a good degree of differentiation (t = 20.401, P < 0.05), the difficulty (0.2 < P < 0.4), and normal use standard, after adjusting dimensions: gratitude to the natural, social, and lack of gratitude, gratitude to others. Discussion: some theoretical assumptions were not properly considered in the revision process, but overall, the applicability of the revised scale was strengthened, fully conforming to the original assumptions, and achieving the purpose of broadening the scope of scale users and highlighting the practical value of combining exploration with local background.
Changes in environmental salinity during the life of Pangasius krempfi in the Mekong Delta (Vietnam) estimated from otolith Sr : Ca ratios

Pangasius krempfi is a commercially important catfish in the Mekong River and is believed to migrate along the Mekong River basin. To verify this migration, elemental concentrations were measured in the water and in otoliths to infer the salinity of the water through the fish’s lifetime. In 2017, eight element concentrations were measured along the Mekong Delta using solution-based inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Concentrations of Sr, Li and Rb were strongly and positively correlated with salinity. Otoliths were taken from P. krempfi caught in the brackish waters of the lower Mekong Delta and seven element:Ca ratios were measured from the core to the otolith edge using laser ablation ICP-MS. The Sr:Ca, Ba:Ca, P:Ca and Mn:Ca ratios varied through the lifetime of the fish, but only Sr:Ca was suitable for estimating ambient salinity. The Sr:Ca profiles in otoliths were analysed and significantly correlated between individuals, with all fish hatched in water with very low levels of salinity, indicating a single freshwater spawning ground, and then living in waters with higher salinity, with two types of migration behaviour. Some individuals may return to low-salinity waters when older. These conclusions were supported by the Ba:Ca and Mn:Ca ratios. These migration patterns may have implications for fishery management.
Frontier Culture : Historical Roots and Persistence of “ Rugged Individualism ” in the United States ∗

In a classic 1893 essay, Frederick Jackson Turner argued that the American frontier promoted individualism. In this paper, we restate the Frontier thesis and examine its relevance at the subnational level. Using Census data and GIS techniques, we track the frontier throughout the 1790–1890 period and construct a novel, county-level measure of historical frontier experience. We document the sharp demographic differences of frontier locations—high sex ratios, high shares of prime-age adults, high fertility rates, high shares of foreigners, low literacy rates—as well as their higher levels of individualism, proxied by the share of unique names among children. Higher individualism is not driven entirely by selective migration, suggesting that frontier conditions may have shaped behavior, for example, by means of an evolutionary advantage of self-reliance. We offer empirical evidence on this mechanism and consider other potential channels for cultural persistence. We then show that counties with longer frontier experience exhibit greater individualism in the mid-20th century and higher opposition to redistribution and regulation today. The results are robust to accounting for a number of potential confounders as well as an instrumental variable strategy that exploits variation in immigration flows over time.
Inverse Optimal Control from Demonstrations with Mixed Qualities

This paper proposes an inverse optimal control (IOC) framework which incorporates demonstrations with mixed qualities. The proposed method utilizes the benefits of sub-optimal demonstrations which can provide information about what not to do and supplies training data near states unvisited by optimal demonstrations. The main idea of the proposed method is to find the value function which satisfies the optimality condition over optimal demonstrations and violates it over sub-optimal demonstrations. We conduct experiments on three environments and empirically show that the proposed method outperforms the original IOC algorithm, which uses only optimal demonstrations.
The effect of modulating the quantity of enzymes in a model ethanol pathway on metabolic flux in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

Synthetic metabolism allows new metabolic capabilities to be introduced into strains for biotechnology applications. Such engineered metabolic pathways are unlikely to function optimally as initially designed and native metabolism may not efficiently support the introduced pathway without further intervention. To develop our understanding of optimal metabolic engineering strategies, a two-enzyme ethanol pathway consisting of pyruvate decarboxylase and acetaldehyde reductase was introduced into Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. We characteriseda new set of ribosome binding site sequences in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 providing a range of translation strengths for different genes under test. The effect of ribosome-bindingsite sequence, operon design and modifications to native metabolism on pathway flux was analysed by HPLC. The accumulation of all introduced proteins was also quantified using selected reaction monitoring mass spectrometry. Pathway productivity was more strongly dependent on the accumulation of pyruvate decarboxylase than acetaldehyde reductase. In fact, abolishment of reductase over-expression resulted in the greatest ethanol productivity, most likely because strains harbouringsingle-gene constructs accumulated more pyruvate decarboxylase than strains carrying any of the multi-gene constructs. Overall, several lessons were learned. Firstly, the expression level of the first gene in anyoperon influenced the expression level of subsequent genes, demonstrating that translational coupling can also occur in cyanobacteria. Longer operons resulted in lower protein abundance for proximally-encoded cistrons. And, implementation of metabolic engineering strategies that have previously been shown to enhance the growth or yield of pyruvate dependent products, through co-expression with pyruvate kinase and/or fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase/sedoheptulose-1,7-bisphosphatase, indicated that other factors had greater control over growth and metabolic flux under the tested conditions.
Habitat and dietary specificity in aphidophagous ladybirds ( Coleoptera : Coccinellidae ) : Explaining specialization

In this paper I review the factors responsible for the evolution of dietary and habitat specialization in the aphidophagous Coccinellidae. Trade-offs related to foraging and capture efficiency, particularly body size, are probably more important in determining diet breadth than trade offs related to aphid chemistry/nutritional suitability. Habitat specialization occurs when a species is able to persist on aphids in a particular habitat type for a long period of time: this is more important than aphid abundance. The trade-offs underlying habitat specialization remain a matter for speculation. The underlying factors responsible for ecological specialization in ladybirds may differ from those in other aphidophagous insects, due to adult feeding on aphids, which occurs to a much greater extent in ladybirds than in many other aphidophages.
Managerial Labor Market Competition and Incentive Contracts

This paper assesses the impact of managerial labor market competition on executive incentive contracts. I develop a dynamic contracting framework that embeds the moral hazard problem into an equilibrium search environment. Competition for executives increases total compensation, and generates a new source of incentives, called labor market incentives, which substitutes for performance-based incentives (e.g. bonus, stocks, options, etc.). The model is estimated using a newly assembled dataset on executive turnovers of U.S. publicly listed firms. The structural estimates show that the model is capable of explaining and predicting the puzzling facts that executives of larger firms experience higher compensation growth and receive higher performancebased incentives.
TDP 2 promotes repair of topoisomerase I mediated DNA damage in the absence of TDP 1

The abortive activity of topoisomerases can result in clastogenic and/or lethal DNA damage in which the topoisomerase is covalently linked to the 30or 50-terminus of a DNA strand break. This type of DNA damage is implicated in chromosome translocations and neurological disease and underlies the clinical efficacy of an important class of anticancer topoisomerase ‘poisons’. Tyrosyl DNA phosphodiesterase-1 protects cells from abortive topoisomerase I (Top1) activity by hydrolyzing the 30-phosphotyrosyl bond that links Top1 to a DNA strand break and is currently the only known human enzyme that displays this activity in cells. Recently, we identified a second tyrosyl DNA phosphodiesterase (TDP2; aka TTRAP/EAPII) that possesses weak 30-tyrosyl DNA phosphodiesterase (30-TDP) activity, in vitro. Herein, we have examined whether TDP2 contributes to the repair of Top1mediated DNA breaks by deleting Tdp1 and Tdp2 separately and together in murine and avian cells. We show that while deletion of Tdp1 in wild-type DT40 cells and mouse embryonic fibroblasts decreases DNA strand break repair rates and cellular survival in response to Top1-induced DNA damage, deletion of Tdp2 does not. However, deletion of both Tdp1 and Tdp2 reduces rates of DNA strand break repair and cell survival below that observed in Tdp1 / cells, suggesting that Tdp2 contributes to cellular 30-TDP activity in the absence of Tdp1. Consistent with this idea, over-expression of human TDP2 in Tdp1 / /Tdp2 / / DT40 cells increases DNA strand break repair rates and cell survival above that observed in Tdp1 / DT40 cells, suggesting that Tdp2 over-expression can partially complement the defect imposed by loss of Tdp1. Finally, mice lacking both Tdp1 and Tdp2 exhibit greater sensitivity to Top1 poisons than do mice lacking Tdp1 alone, further suggesting that Tdp2 contributes to the repair of Top1-mediated DNA damage in the absence of Tdp1. In contrast, we failed to detect a contribution for Tdp1 to repair Top2-mediated damage. Together, our data suggest that Tdp1 and Tdp2 fulfil overlapping roles following Top1-induced DNA damage, but not following Top2-induced DNA damage, in vivo.
Cobbler , stick to thy last : the disciplining of business loans in credit unions

The credit union sector has grown quite significantly in recent years. Among other strategies, this growth has been achieved via expansion of the portfolio of services (mostly, the types of loans) that credit unions offer, an activity which has been heavily regulated. This regulatory emphasis seems to stem from two considerations. First, growth strategies based on expanding the range of services were thought to lead to significant increases in asset risk, since credit unions were considered to be at a special disadvantage in the selection and management of assets other than personal loans; second, the regulation tried to protect credit union member (shareholders) who probably did not recognize these risks and would not exercise explicit monitoring or disciplining on the credit union. We look at these two issues in the context of the particular example of credit union growth via expansion into member business loans. Using data from the universe of US credit unions we first provide evidence that indeed expanding the business loan portfolio increases the risk profile of the asset side of the credit union. We then show, however, that credit union members exercise significant monitoring of the credit union, in general, and of business loans, in particular. We offer both descriptive and quasiexperimental evidence which suggests that credit union members understand the risk characteristics of business loans and penalize the credit union by withdrawing deposits when business loans increase significantly. Our results have broad implications in that they suggest that risky growth strategies of even the “less sophisticated” financial institutions are subject to significant discipline mechanisms from their main stakeholders.
Graph Construction and Interpretation Ability by Frank

The purpose of this study was to investigate what, if any relationship exists between graph construction ability and interpretation ability. Sixty-seven college students completed two graphing tasks, one involving construction and the other interpretation of graphs, both based on actual data. Statistical analysis of the scores showed no significant correlation between total scores on the two tasks and no significant relationships between specific components of graph construction ability and graph interpretation ability. These results suggest that the two abilities are distinct from one another. The study’s findings add to our understanding of graph construction ability and have practical implications for teaching and learning.
UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) Personality traits , income , and economic ideology

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Computer System for Diagnostic of Electron Beam Using Transition Radiation

A beam diagnostic system based on transition radiation analysis is a high-sensitive method for studying physical properties of the beam and adjusting of an accelerator. Optical transition radiation converted to a standard TV signal is analysed by the use of the unconventional computer based binary system of technical vision. It is possible to ensure beam diagnostics in real time due to the special hardware algorithms of image processing implemented in a video processor. This feature ensures cost effective solutions and simple software support. Data flows of digitised information are very compact and full of information. A diagnostic system is connected to the computer control system of a racetrack microtron injector electron CW linac. Experimental results of the system application are described.
Corporate Governance , Product Market Competition and Payout Policy

We examine the effects of corporate governance and product market competition on payout policy when firms are subject to agency problems and external financing constraints. We find that corporate governance and competition alone affect a firm’s payout decisions. In particular, payout can be an outcome of or a substitute for both governance and competition among firms depending on the firms’ agency costs of free cash flows and external financing costs. When examining both effects together, we find that product market competition subsumes corporate governance in relation to payout policy. Our results suggest that product market competition as a governance tool can be more effective than other monitoring mechanisms.