Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Beech Bark Extract in the Sage (Salvia Officinalis L.) Plant Growth and Volatile Oil Profile

The use of bioactive compounds can act in growth stimulation and also influence the biosynthesis of the metabolites in plants. The aim of this paper is to assess the influence of the beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) bark crude extract (BBCE) on the growth and development of sage (Salvia officinalis L.) plants. Special attention was given to the analysis of volatile oil obtained from the sage treated plant. Thus, the biological activity of BBCE was assessed by determining the germination capacity, biomass accumulation, histo-anatomical aspects, and photoassimilatory pigment accumulation, quantitative, and qualitative sage volatile oil analysis. The results show stimulation of the biomass and photoassimilatory pigment accumulation. The mesophyll thickness and the vascular tissue surface are smaller in the treated variants, compared to the control. On the other hand, the amount of volatile oil was significantly higher in the treated plants. In the experimental variants, an increase in the quantity of eucalyptol, camphor, camphene, and α-caryophyllene is observed. The amount of eucalyptol increased in the experimental variant, with about 82%, compared to the control. BBCE could be properly used as natural bioregulators because according to our results seems to improve the yield of the sage crop. The results of this research have the potential to contribute greatly to ecological agricultural production.
Ambulatory Detection of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) Associated with Depression

Background: Depression has been associated with dysbiosis and transit disturbances. Objective: We investigated whether a new ambulatory device (X-PID 8500®) may detect a specific gas associated with depression. Methods: A retrospective analysis of data collected during routine consultations for Small Intestinal Bowel Overgrowth. Results: 117 patients were included. 48 patients presented with a peak between 92 and 97 seconds (m-xylene peak). 69 patients did not exhale VOCs detectable within this range. 32 patients had a recent medical history of depression. 22 of them presented with m-xylene peak whereas the 10 remaining patients did not (45.8% versus 14.5%; p<0.001). 8 patients presented with ulcerative colitis: 7 of them presented with m-xylene peak (p<0.001). 8 patients have a medical history of severe acne treated with isotretinoin. Only two of them exhaled m-xylene (p<0.001). Constipation was more frequent in patients with depression (19.4% versus 11.8%; p<0.01) and was not associated with m-xylene. Two different mechanisms are possible and are discussed. The probability to find m-xylene peak in a non-depressive patient remains high. However, such a peak may precede a depressive decompensation. Further investigations and follow-up are required to clarify this issue. Conclusion: X-PID 8500® can detect VOCs associated with a subgroup of depression in clinical ambulatory practice.
Method for in vitro screening of aquatic fungicides.

Methods were developed for in vitro screening of candidate aquatic fungicides for efficacy against Achlya flagellata, A. racemosa, Saprolegnia hypogyna and S. megasperma. Agar plugs containing fungal hyphae, removed from the edge of actively growing colonies, were placed in the depressions of spot plates containing 1.0, 10.0 and 100 mg/l of the candidate compounds for 15 or 60 min. After exposure, the plugs were transferred on to filter papers (0.45-μm pore) in a holder, rinsed, and then placed on cornmeal agar medium in tri-petri dishes. The plates were checked for mycelial growth after 48, 96 and 168 h of incubation in a lighted (400–800 μm) environmental control chamber at 20±2°C. Criteria for the acceptance or rejection of candidate aquatic fungicides for further study were based on the antifungal spectrum index (ASI) comparisons between respective compounds and malachite green after 48 h and the concentration level producing complete growth inhibition. Candidate compounds whose ASI was Jess than 50% that of malachite green after 48 h or did not inhibit growth at levels less than 100 mg/l were rejected. This method provides a base from, which in vivo and definitive test regimens can be developed. Preliminary in vitro screening of candidate fungicides reduces the need for costly in vivo tests on compounds that have low antifungal activity.
Chlorophyllum and Macrolepiota (Agaricaceae) in Australia

A checklist of and a key to seven species of Chlorophyllum Massee and Macrolepiota Singer in Australia are given. Two species are described as new: C. nothorachodes Vellinga & Lepp from Australian Capital Territory and M. eucharis Vellinga & Halling from Queensland. Chlorophyllum hortense (Murrill) Vellinga is adopted as name for Leucoagaricus fimetarius (Cooke & Massee → Sacc.) Aberdeen. Chlorophyllum brunneum (Farl. & Burt) Vellinga is the correct name for the species often referred to as M. rachodes in Australia. Macrolepiota clelandii Grgur. is variable in colour and especially in the number of spores per basidium and the shape of the cheilocystidia and encompasses all Australian collections under the names M. konradii, M. gracilenta, M. mastoidea and M. procera.
Use of NCPA to understanding genetic sub-structuring of Podarcis lilfordi from the Balearic archipelago

Podarcis lilfordi is an endemic lizard found on islands and islets off the coast of Mallorca and Menorca (including the Cabrera archipelago) in the Balearic Islands, which is extinct on the two main islands themselves. Analyses of mtDNA revealed four unconnected parsimony networks. These represented (I) all Menorcan populations, (II) Dragonera, Malgrats and Toro islands (Western Mallorca), (III and IV) the remaining populations from Cabrera and Mallorca. We applied NCPA to evaluate its utility in understanding the genetic sub-structure. Within network I, contiguous range expansion was inferred for both main clades. Populations from western Mallorca (II) have undergone historical allopatric fragmentation events following isolation around the start of the Pleistocene. Clades within networks III and IV showed some allopatric fragmentation and restricted gene flow (isolation by distance) among islands from Cabrera, as well as long distance dispersal between the Cabrera archipelago and southern Mallorca. The NCPA strongly supports the importance of allopatric fragmentation, with some additional support for range expansion. The primary advantage of the NCPA approach was to provide statistical support for these inferences.
Do maternal intrauterine environmental influences that lower offspring birthweight causally increase offspring cardiometabolic risk factors in later life? A Mendelian randomization study of 45,849 genotyped parent offspring pairs in the HUNT study

There is a robust and well-documented observational relationship between lower birthweight and higher risk of cardiometabolic disease in later life. The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) hypothesis posits that adverse environmental factors in utero or in the early years of life result in increased future risk of cardiometabolic disease. Our aim was to investigate whether there was evidence for causal effects of the intrauterine environment, as proxied by maternal single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that influence offspring birthweight independent of offspring genotype, on offspring cardiometabolic risk factors such as blood pressure, non-fasting glucose, body mass index (BMI), and lipid levels.We investigated whether a genetic risk score of maternal SNPs associated with offspring birthweight was also associated with offspring cardiometabolic risk factors, after controlling for offspring genotypes at the same loci, in up to 26,057 mother-offspring pairs from the Nord-Trøndelag Health (HUNT) Study. We also conducted similar analyses in 19,792 father-offspring pairs from the same study to investigate whether there was evidence that any such causal effects operated through the postnatal, rather than the intrauterine environment. To take account of the considerable cryptic relatedness in HUNT, we implemented a computationally efficient genetic linear mixed model using the OpenMx software package to perform our analyses.We found little evidence for a maternal genetic effect of birthweight associated variants on offspring cardiometabolic risk factors after adjusting for offspring genotypes at the same loci. Likewise, we found little evidence for paternal genetic effects on offspring cardiometabolic risk factors performing similar analyses in father-offspring pairs. In contrast, offspring genetic risk scores of birthweight associated variants were strongly related to many cardiometabolic risk factors, even after conditioning on maternal genotypes at the same loci.Our results suggest that the maternal intrauterine environment, as proxied by maternal SNPs that influence offspring birthweight, is unlikely to be a major determinant of adverse cardiometabolic outcomes in population based samples of individuals. In contrast, genetic pleiotropy appears to explain some of the observational relationship between offspring birthweight and future cardiometabolic risk.
Morphological differentiation and occurrence of thiophenes in leaf callus cultures from Tagetes species: Relation to the growth medium of the plants

The morphology, and the number and concentration of thiophene-like compounds were studied in leaves, roots and calli of Tagetes species grown with different nutrient solutions. The type of nutrient solution exerted no effect on the number of thiophene-like compounds, but altered the type of morphological differentiation and thiophene content of calli. Calli of T. minuta L. showed little differentiation and resulted in suspensible callus after two passages. Calli of T. erecta L. cv. Rose d'Inde differentiated rapidly and turned dark brown after one passage. The morphology of calli from T. patula L. cv. Nana furia was intermediate. Tertiary callus of T. patula contained more thiophene-like compounds and higher concentrations than did the corresponding calli of T. minuta. The content of thiophene-like compounds decreased after various callus passages, but the relative decrease varied between species.
The genetic structure and the conservation of the five natural populations of Pinusradiata

Pinusradiata is restricted to three mainland coastal populations in California and two island populations off Baja California, Mexico. In this study each population was divided into two geographic stands based on natural disjunctions within populations. In addition to the division mentioned above, each mainland population was also divided into a number of ecological stands based on ecological and environmental criteria. Genetic variation was measured by analysing 31 allozyme loci electrophoretically using germinated seed from 272 families across all stands and populations. Moderate levels of allozyme variation were found as shown by population averages for mean number of alleles per locus (1.79), percent polymorphic loci (46.4%, 0.99 criterion), and expected heterozygosity (0.098). In fact, the overall genetic diversity in P. radiata (HT = 0.117) is low compared with that of other conifers. In comparison with populations, the levels of allozyme variation in both ecological and geographic stands were sligh.
Δ-Convergence of Products of Operators in p-Uniformly Convex Metric Spaces

In this paper, we first introduce the new notion of p-strongly quasi-nonexpansive maps on p-uniformly convex metric spaces, and then we study the Δ (weak)-convergence of products of p-strongly quasi-nonexpansive maps on p-uniformly convex metric spaces. Furthermore, using the result, we prove the Δ -convergence of the weighted averaged method for projection operators.
Perfil granulométrico da fibra dietética sobre o tempo médio de retenção e a digestibilidade aparente de dietas para vacas leiteiras

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effects of different dietetic fiber physical effectiveness on the retention time and apparent digestibility of lactating dairy cows. Ten Holstein cows (average 550 kg of live weight) were allotted to a switch back experimental design in three successive periods. The animals were individually housed in a tie stall and fed with total mixed rations constituted by Tifton hay (50.4%) and concentrated (49.6%). The Tifton hay was ground in commercial miller with sieves with mesh of 3,2; 4,8; 7,9; 15,9 and 25,4 mm. Samples from each grinding were submitted to the Particles Separator Model Penn State for determination of profile distribution of the fiber particles. Five treatments were constituted: T1-100% of particles below 8 mm; T2-76% below 8 mm and 24% from 8 to 19 mm; T3-36.7% below 8 mm, 26.6% from 8 to 19 mm and 36.7% above 19 mm; T4-32% below 8 mm, 28% from 8 to 19 mm and 40% above 19 mm; T5-26% below 8 mm, 28% from 8 to 19 mm and 46% above 19 mm. The fiber particle profile exercised effect on the retention time of the diets, being observed that those with larger particles size spend more time in the gastrointestinal tract. Dry matter and organic matter digestibility coefficients were higher for diets with smaller fiber particle size when compared to higher fiber particle size. There was not effect on the crude protein and nonfiber carbohydrate digestibilties. The digestibility of fiber was higher in the diets with finer fiber particle size. The results suggest that the fiber particle size of the diet could be decisive on the retention time and on the digestibility of the diets.
Syndrome-Enabled Unsupervised Learning for Neural Network-Based Polar Decoder and Jointly Optimized Blind Equalizer

Recently, the syndrome loss has been proposed to achieve “unsupervised learning” for neural network-based BCH/LDPC decoders. However, the design approach cannot be applied to polar codes directly and has not been evaluated under varying channels. In this work, we propose two modified syndrome losses to facilitate unsupervised learning in the receiver. Then, we first apply it to a neural network-based belief propagation (BP) polar decoder. With the aid of CRC-enabled syndrome loss, the BP decoder can even outperform conventional supervised learning methods in terms of block error rate. Secondly, we propose a jointly optimized syndrome-enabled blind equalizer, which can avoid the transmission of training sequences and achieve global optimum with 1.3 dB gain over non-blind minimum mean square error (MMSE) equalizer.
Feasibility study on application of laser induced breakdown spectroscopy for detection & identification of failed fuel pins and sodium–water reaction in fast reactors

In a fast reactor, during the analysis of the core cover gas, the presence of gaseous fission products, namely, Kr and Xe or the presence of He (in the case of He bonded fuel pins) would indicate the occurrence of fuel pin failure. Similarly, detection of hydrogen (H2) in the surge tank cover gas indicates the possibility of sodium–water reaction. Analysis for the presence of such gases in the cover gas is mandatory towards safety considerations of any fast reactor. This study demonstrates the feasibility of the application of laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) for the detection of H2, He, Kr and Xe gases in ultra high purity (UHP) Ar, similar to the cover gas of a fast reactor. The characteristic emission lines at 656.21 nm (Hα), 587.4 nm, 877.67 nm and 881.84 nm are chosen for the quantitative analysis of H2, He, Kr, and Xe, respectively. The calibration curve for all these gases shows a linear fit with a good correlation coefficient. The detection of H2 is found to have interference from the moisture content present in the LIBS sample chamber. The results on identification of the non-overlapping emission lines of these gaseous species, calibration curve, limit of detection, reproducibility and potential application in fast reactors are discussed in this study.
Autonomous Event Driven Model of Second Order Voltage Switched Charge Pump PLL

The charge-pump Phase-Locked Loop (CP-PLL) is a widely used subsystem in wireless communication and smart system applications to perform the function of frequency synthesizer. Since the CP-PLL is a mixed-signal system, it is more complex to analyze the system behavior, especially when a voltage switched charge-pump-PLL (VSCP-PLL) is used. A more robust approach is required for such a non-linear pulse width modulated system, where the overall gain of the loop is varying due to non-constant pump current. To analyze the sampled behavior of a VSCP-PLL, the Event Driven (ED) model based on discrete-time phase equations is one of the powerful and resource efficient tool. In this brief, an autonomous ED model (time-independent and linear to fixed point) is developed for a second order VSCP-PLL by modifying the ED approach. The developed Autonomous ED-model is validated using the ED simulations in the locked state.
Projective dynamics with dry frictional contact

Projective dynamics was introduced a few years ago as a fast method to yield an approximate yet stable solution to the dynamics of nodal systems subject to stiff internal forces. Previous attempts to include contact forces in that framework considered adding a quadratic penalty energy to the global system, which however broke the simple - constant matrix - structure of the global linear equation, while failing to treat contact in an implicit manner. In this paper we propose a simple yet effective method to integrate in a unified and semi-implicit way contact as well as dry frictional forces into the nested architecture of Projective dynamics. Assuming that contacts apply to nodes only, the key is to split the global matrix into a diagonal and a positive matrix, and use this splitting in the local step so as to make a good prediction of frictional contact forces at next iteration. Each frictional contact force is refined independently in the local step, while the original efficient structure of the global step is left unchanged. We apply our algorithm to cloth simulation and show that contact and dry friction can be captured at a reasonable precision within a few iterations only, hence one order of magnitude faster compared to global implicit contact solvers of the literature.
Miniaturized 4 × 4 Butler Matrix and Tunable Phase Shifter Using Ridged Half-Mode Substrate Integrated Waveguide

A novel $4 \times 4$ Butler matrix fabricated on ridged half-mode substrate integrated waveguide (RHMSIW) technology is designed and realized. The integration of the proposed Butler matrix with tunable phase shifters fabricated using the same technology is also demonstrated to achieve semi-continuous beam steering for fifth-generation (5G) applications. This article discusses the design considerations of the various ridged half-mode subcomponents of the Butler matrix in detail and presents two novel interconnects, namely 90° waveguide bends and a half-mode open-edge-to-open-edge transition. This article shows that the capacitive ridge on the open edge of one waveguide can be directly connected to the open edge on another with little compromise on the performance over a reference line of the same length. The simulated and measured results of each Butler matrix component are also presented and are all in good agreement. The proposed Butler matrix has a 5% operational bandwidth centered at 3.51 GHz with less than ±22° error in the progressive differential phase shift and less than ±1.2-dB coupling imbalance. Finally, it is shown that the proposed Butler matrix achieves over 70% board area miniaturization in comparison to a similar design fabricated on half-mode substrate integrated waveguide technology.
Release of polysaccharides by yeasts and the influence of released polysaccharides on colour stability and wine astringency

Release of polysaccharides by three strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae during alcoholic fermentation in synthetic medium and red wine was studied. Polysaccharides after isolation from media by ethanol precipitation were quantified by a colourimetric method as well as by HPLC assay in wines. Yeast strains differed in their capacity to release polysaccharides into the medium and a maximum concentration of 100mg/L was observed. For all strains, release varied according to metabolic phase, with greater release occurring when the yeast mortality rate was high. Mannose was the main component (90%) of these polysaccharides, with the exception of yeast strain BM45 which contained approximatively 50% glucose and 50% mannose. This composition may be related to cell wall composition. The results suggest that polysaccharides can combine with anthocyanins and tannins in wine. This combination seems to increase colour stability and decrease astringency.
Flattening the Electricity Demand Profile of Office Buildings for Future-Proof Smart Grids

The built environment has the potential to contribute to maintaining a reliable grid at the demand side by offering flexibility services to a future Smart Grid. In this study, an office building is used to demonstrate forecast-driven building energy flexibility by operating a Battery Electric Storage System (BESS). The objective of this study is, therefore, to stabilize/flatten a building energy demand profile with the operation of a BESS. First, electricity demand forecasting models are developed and assessed for each individual load group of the building based on their characteristics. For each load group, the prediction models show Coefficient of Variation of the Root Mean Square Error (CVRMSE) values below 30%, which indicates that the prediction models are suitable for use in engineering applications. An operational strategy is developed aiming at meeting the flattened electricity load shape objective. Both the simulation and experimental results show that the flattened load shape objective can be met more than 95% of the time for the evaluation period without compromising the thermal comfort of users. Accurate energy demand forecasting is shown to be pivotal for meeting load shape objectives.
Mass Appraisal Modeling of Real Estate in Urban Centers by Geographically and Temporally Weighted Regression: A Case Study of Beijing’s Core Area

The traditional linear regression model of mass appraisal is increasingly unable to satisfy the standard of mass appraisal with large data volumes, complex housing characteristics and high accuracy requirements. Therefore, it is essential to utilize the inherent spatial-temporal characteristics of properties to build a more effective and accurate model. In this research, we take Beijing’s core area, a typical urban center, as the study area of modeling for the first time. Thousands of real transaction data sets with a time span of 2014, 2016 and 2018 are conducted at the community level (community annual average price). Three different models, including multiple regression analysis (MRA) with ordinary least squares (OLS), geographically weighted regression (GWR) and geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR), are adopted for comparative analysis. The result indicates that the GTWR model, with an adjusted R2 of 0.8192, performs better in the mass appraisal modeling of real estate. The comparison of different models provides a useful benchmark for policy makers regarding the mass appraisal process of urban centers. The finding also highlights the spatial characteristics of price-related parameters in high-density residential areas, providing an efficient evaluation approach for planning, land management, taxation, insurance, finance and other related fields.
Distributed Velocity and Input Constrained Tracking Control of High-Speed Train Systems

This article investigates the velocity and input constrained tracking control problem of discrete-time high-speed train systems. A distributed cooperative tracking control algorithm is proposed for each train using the local information from its adjacent trains. Based on model transformation and the convex analysis approach, it is shown that all trains eventually cooperative run in a stable mode while tracking the desired speed. Finally, a simulation example is given to demonstrate the obtained theoretical results.