Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
NTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF OLIVE LEAF, POMACE AND VIRGIN OIL EXTRACTS FROM PICUAL CULTIVAR AND THEIR HEAT AND pH STABILITY

Antioxidant activity of olive leaf, olive pomace and olive virgin oil as affected by ethanol, ethyl acetate and chloroform solvents were evaluated. Ethanol extracts of olive leaf and olive pomace as well as chloroform extract of olive virgin oil had higher antioxidant activity than those from other solvents. Leaf ethanol extract and α-tocopherol had the similar antioxidant activity. Pomace ethanol extract had a higher (p ≤ 0.05) antioxidant activity than that of α-tocopherol however; virgin oil chloroform extract had a lower (p ≤ 0.05) antioxidant activity than that of α-tocopherol. Antioxidants of leaf ethanol extracts were heat-stable with retaining 67.04, 74.15, and 75.60% of its activity after dry heating at 100°C for 30 min, boiling at 100°C for 35 min and autoclaving at 121°C for 30 min, respectively. Antioxidants of pomace ethanol extracts were fairly heat-stable with 57.71, 63.75, 51.73% activity after dry heating at 100°C for 30 min, boiling at 100°C for 35 min and autoclaving at 121°C for 30 min, respectively. Antioxidant activities of leaf ethanol extract, pomace ethanol extract and virgin oil chloroform extract extracts were the maximum at pH 5.5. The induction periods of sunflower oil with 1% pomace ethanol extract, leaf ethanol extract and virgin oil chloroform extract were increased by 42.22, 35.56 and 16%, respectively as compared with the control sunflower oil. Pomace ethanol extract and leaf ethanol extract might be promising sources of natural antioxidant to be used in food products.
Genetically Driven Optimal Selection of Opinion Spreaders in Complex Networks

The problem of influence maximization (IM) represents a major challenge for modern network science, with direct applicability in political science, economy, epidemiology, and rumor spreading. Here, we develop a novel computational intelligence framework (GenOSOS) based on genetic algorithms with emphasis on the optimal layout of spreader nodes in a network. Our algorithm starts with solutions consisting of randomly selected spreader nodes; then, by defining custom original crossover and mutation operators, we are able to obtain, in a short number of genetic iterations, nearly optimal solutions in terms of the nodes’ topological layout. Experiments on both synthetic and real-world networks show that the proposed GenOSOS algorithm is not only a viable alternative to the existing node centrality approach, but that it outperforms state of the art solutions in terms of spreading coverage. Specifically, we benchmark GenOSOS against graph centralities such as node degree, betweenness, PageRank and k-shell using the SIR epidemic model, and find that our solution is, on average, 11.45% more efficient in terms of diffusion coverage.
Effectiveness of Increasing the Angle of Lateral Wedge Insole on Spatiotemporal Gait Parameters in Patients with Medial Knee Osteoarthritis

In previous studies, the effect of lateral wedge insole on gait variables in people with medial knee osteoarthritis has been studied. However, No study was found to examine the effect of insole slope. This study was sought to assess the effect of increasing the angle of lateral wedge insole on spatiotemporal gait parameters in patients with medial knee osteoarthritis.Ten individuals with medial knee osteoarthritis and 10 healthy subjects with similar age, height and mass were selected. The spatiotemporal gait parameters of subjects were calculated in four walking conditions (walking barefoot, walking while wearing shoes with 0°, 5°, 11° insoles). Repeated measures and t-test was used in case of intragroup comparison and MANOVA in case of intergroup comparison. The main effect of insole had a significant effect on walking speed (p = 0.000). Walking speed in wearing shoes with 0° and 5° insoles were significantly higher than other condition. The intragroup analysis showed that walking speed, Double Support time, percent of foot off, and stride and step length in walking barefoot were significantly less than walking while using insoles in both groups. The speed of walking, stride and step length in barefoot conditions showed a significant difference between the two groups (p < 0.05). These findings imply that the use of insole was a similar effect in affected and non- affected limb. To increase the efficiency of gait, according to the results, recommended using laterally wedged insoles in people with medial knee OA.
Comparative potentiality study of three different vero cell culture systems for production of PPR Vaccine

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is considered one of the most dangerous viral diseases of small ruminants in Africa and Asian countries. The disease control is based on vaccination of susceptible animals with an attenuated PPR virus strain (Nigeria 75/1) propagated in monolayers of Vero cells using stationery and roller flasks. This study for constructing alternative method for production of PPR vaccinal strain through propagation of PPR virus (75/l) on Vero cell culture supported on cytodex-three microcarrier beads using spinner stirring flasks and compare the recorded results with that obtained from stationary flasks (175cm) and Roller Bottles. All cultures were propagated under the same conditions (media, pH, time of incubation) and infected with the same multiplicity of infection by PPR vaccinal virus. Samples were obtained daily for successive five days from all cultures. The PPR virus titers were 12 log10 TCID50, 5 log10 TCID50 and 6 log10 TCID50 on microcarriers culture, stationary system and roller system respectively after six days post infection. These results provide further insights to apply microcarriers cell culture technology in production of PPR vaccine.
Thermal Decomposition and Safety Assessment of N-Nitrodihydroxyethyl Dinitrate by DSC and ARC

N-Nitrodihydroxyethyl dinitrate (DINA), an explosive as well as high-energy plasticizer, was widely used in double-base propellant production. In this paper, the thermal explosion hazard and decomposition progress of DINA under dynamic and adiabatic conditions were investigated using differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and accelerating rate calorimeter (ARC) respectively to acquire thermodynamic parameters (e.g. Tonset, Tp and ΔHd) for self-heat reactions. The specific heat capacity was calculated based on a linear ramp method using DSC. Futhermore, we carried out these tests, which can provide more useful information for determining the decomposition kinetic parameters (Ea and A) and thermal hazard parameters (ΔG, ΔH, ΔS, Tb and TD24) under the non-isothermal and adibatic conditions, respectively. The SADT predictions for the 5, 20 and 50 kg packages of DINA and some simulation for spatial distribution of T and α have been performed using the finite element analysis method of AKTS software, which can help us to optimize the conditions of storage and transportation for chemical, also minimize industrial disasters.
A Scalable Framework for Robust Vehicle State Estimation with a Fusion of a Low-Cost IMU, the GNSS, Radar, a Camera and Lidar

Automated driving requires highly precise and robust vehicle state estimation for its environmental perception, motion planning and control functions. Using GPS and environmental sensors can compensate for the deficits of the estimation based on traditional vehicle dynamics sensors. However, each type of sensor has specific strengths and limitations in accuracy and robustness due to their different properties regarding the quality of detection and robustness in diverse environmental conditions. For these reasons, we present a scalable concept for vehicle state estimation using an error-state extended Kalman filter (ESEKF) to fuse classical vehicle sensors with environmental sensors. The state variables, i.e., position, velocity and orientation, are predicted by a 6-degree-of-freedom (DoF) vehicle kinematic model that uses a low-cost inertial measurement unit (IMU) on a customer vehicle. The Error of the 6-DoF rigid body motion model is estimated using observations of global position using the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and of the environment using radar, a camera and low-cost lidar. Our concept is scalable such that it is compatible with different sensor setups on different vehicle configurations. The experimental results compare various sensor combinations with measurement data in scenarios such as dynamic driving maneuvers on a test field. The results show that our approach ensures accuracy and robustness with redundant sensor data under regular and dynamic driving conditions.
IMPEDIMENTS TO THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF SMEs TOWARDS INDUSTRIAL GROWTH IN AFRICA

SMEs, meaning Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, is an over-used acronym in the business world. SMEs are non-subsidiary, independent organizations having a specified number of employees that varies from country to country, though with an upper limit of 250 employees, especially in the European Union. The industrialization of the African continent has been greatly impacted by the activities of the SMEs both positively and negatively over time. This paper discusses the enormous impediments that have bedeviled industrialization and industrial growth in Africa despite the contributions of SMEs towards her development. It critically reviews industrialization in Africa with the aim/objective of enhancing industrial growth. It analyses the impediments that have challenged this strategic objective and recommends means of achieving successful industrialization with great industrial growth in Africa, as well as routes through which Africa will emerge as a competitive industrial continent globally.
Gamified discrimination tests for speech therapy applications

The integrity of phonetic perception abilities is necessary for a normal functioning future speech development. Since the ability to discriminate linguistic sounds is typically associated to the correct acquisition and production of the same sounds, an alteration of this ability could contribute to the onset of speech and language disorders. Support for presenting discrimination tests to young children (5and 6-years-old), however, is provided when gamified settings are put in place. Moreover, moving beyond static tests in favour of dynamically generated ones may help personalise the test. In this work, we propose an acoustic discrimination test as the first step for the creation of a renovated Italian Literacy Tutor. Presented results show promising indications concerning the application of the proposed approach both from the user experience and from the reporting point of view.
Characterization of Cu-resistant bacterial communities in Cu-contaminated soils

Abstract Bacterial communities in a spoil heap in a copper mine, a forest soil with high Cu contamination, and an agricultural soil with low Cu contamination were characterized in terms of Gram-staining, plasmid frequency, pigmentation, Cu-resistance system, and predominant Cu-resistant bacterial species. Similarity existed in that the ratio of green colonies for sorbing Cu and Gram-negative bacteria increased with the increase of the Cu content of the medium regardless of the characteristics of the bacterial communities. It was found that the plasmid was not present in most of the Cu-resistant bacteria of the soils. Curesistant genera including Burkholderia, Alcaligenes, and Methylobacterium species were isolated from the Cu contaminated soils using YG agar plates treated with 2 mM Cu. Furthermore, the bacterium with the highest Cu resistance (MIC = 5.5 mm Cu) was identified as a Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus sp. , though most of the Cu-resistant bacteria were Gram-negative.
The Effect of Age, Sex and Winter Severity on Return Rates and Apparent Survival in the Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis

Survival is a major life history trait known to be age- and/or sex-specific in many bird species. Regardless of age and sex, the survival of resident birds can be reduced by high mortality during harsh winters. In this study, we used mark-recapture data collected during 2014–2018 to assess return rates and apparent survival in relation to age, sex and winter severity in two Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis populations from Slovakia and the Czech Republic. During five seasons, we ringed a total of 2261 Kingfishers, 353 adults and 1908 nestlings, which yielded 85 recaptures. In total, we recaptured 13.0% of birds ringed as adults (17.5% males, 8.2% females) and 0.8% of those ringed as nestlings (0.7% males, 0.1% females). Surviving adults returned to the previously used nesting hole in 87.0% of cases. Young birds never returned to the hole where they hatched. Breeding dispersal was significantly shorter than natal dispersal. Returned birds started to breed significantly earlier in the year of their return than in the previous year, but breeding success did not vary between these years. Estimated values of apparent survival were quite low, varied annually, and were negatively affected by winter severity. Males did not differ in apparent survival from females, but adults survived better than juveniles. We discuss the difference in apparent survival between the age categories by varying degrees of site fidelity/philopatry and different mortality rates.
Effect of replacing [NTf2] by [PF6] anion on the [BMIm][NTf2] ionic liquid confined by gold

The effect of replacing bis(trifluoromethylsulphonyl)imide ([NTf2]) by hexafluorophosphate ([PF6]) in room temperature ionic liquid (IL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulphonyl)imide ([BMIm][NTf2]) confined between two gold interfaces is herein reported through molecular dynamics simulations using all-atom non-polarisable force-fields. Five systems were studied ranging from pure [BMIm][NTf2] to pure [BMIm][PF6], with [PF6] molar fractions of 0, 0.125, 0.25, 0.375 and 0.5. Special attention was drawn to investigate the impact of the [PF6] anion on the IL, in particular on the first layers of the liquid in close contact with the solid gold surface.
Molecular Depiction of Thirteen Indian Toxic Plants with ITS Markers

1658-6794© 2020. AJFSFM. This is an open access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons, Attribution-NonCommercial License. Abstract Plant identification is an overwhelming task due to different biological attributes and great diversity in plant species. In the absence of physical markers, molecular techniques have become useful for the identification of species of origin of medicinal plant seeds, pastes, and formulations of suspected plants. The ITS region of nuclear rRNA was amplified from thirteen different toxic plant species by using universal primer ITS 1 & 4. Nucleotide sequences of all selected plants were submitted in NCBI and accession numbers were acquired. The results of this study give accurate identification of thirteen plant species and proved the ITS region of 18s-26s nuclear ribosome to be an important tool for phylogenetic analysis and species identification of plants. The sequence was aligned with top matched reference sequence and presented in Clustal Omega software for making a phylogenetic neighbour tree. The significance of these findings is paramount in forensic toxicology scenarios especially when fragmentary plant material is found in the stomach/intestine and its morphological identification becomes impossible. In these circumstances, the PCR based molecular technique surely plays a significant role in solving complicated forensic cases. ص�لختس�لما ةيجولويبلا تامش�لا ببش�ب ةقاش� ةمهم تاتابنلا ديدتح نوكي ام ابًلاغ ةيئايزيفلا تاملاعلا بايغ لظ فيو . ةيتابنلا عاونألال يربكلا عونتلاو ةفلتخلما أاش�نم عاونأا ىلع فرعتلل مادختش�لا في ةديفم ةيئيزلجا تاينقتلا حبش�ت هذه فيو . اهب هبتش�لما ةيتابنلا تارش�حتش�لماو ينجاعلماو ةيبطلا روذبلا افًلتمخ اعًون رش�ع ةثلاثل rRNA نم ITS ةقطنم ميخش�ت تم ةش�اردلا يمدقت تمو . ITS 1 & 4 لماش�لا ئدابلا مادختش�اب ةماش�لا تاتابنلا نم لوش�لحا تمو NCBI في ةراتخلما تاتابنلا عيملج تاديتويلكوينلا لش�لش�ت . ديقلا ماقرأا ىلع ايًتابن اعًون رش�ع ةثلاثل اقًيقد ادًيدتح ةش�اردلا هذه جئاتن يطعتو ةمهم ةادأا نوكتل 18s-26s يوونلا موش�وبيرلا نم ITS ةقطنم نأا تتبثأاو عاونألا ديدتحو ينيلجا عونتلا نم ققحتلاو ،تاتابنلل يثارولا ليلحتلل تمو قباطتم يعجرم لش�لش�ت ىلعأا عم لش�لش�تلا ةمءاوم تتمو . ةيتابنلا روطتلاو ءوش�نلا ةرجش� ءاش�نإل Clustal Omega جمانرب في هيمدقت . يرواجتلا مومش�لا ملع تاهويرانيش� في ىوش�ق ةيمهأا تاذ جئاتنلا هذه برتعتو /ةدعلما في ةأازمج ةيتابن ةدام ىلع روثعلا متي امدنع ةش�اخ يئانلجا نم فورظلا هذه في . لًايحتش�م يجولوفرولما اهديدتح حبش�يو ،ءاعمألا يدؤوت لش�لش�تلما زايرميلوبلا لعافت ىلع ةمئاقلا ةيئيزلجا ةينقتلا نأا دكؤولما . ةدقعلما ةيئانلجا اياش�ق لح في امًهم ارًود Arab Journal of Forensic Sciences & Forensic Medicine 2020; Volume 2 Issue (2), 171-181 Techical Note
Managing Hypertension in Coronary Artery Disease

Hypertension is one of the most important risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD) which, in turn, is commonly its first presenting complication. The present review will address the following key questions: 1. What are the epidemiological relationships between hypertension and CAD? 2. What are the pathophysiologic mechanisms underlying the risk of CAD due to hypertension? 3. How effective is blood pressure (BP) treatment for reducing the risk of CAD? 4. Does the benefit of treatment accrue only from BP lowering effect or also from some additional uniquely protective actions of specific classes of drugs? 5. Why is there a residual risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and CAD despite optimal treatment of hypertension? 6. What are the systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) targets that are appropriate in patients (i) With established CAD? (ii) Without established CAD? 7. How low should you go? Is there a J curve? 8. Which are the antihypertensive drugs that have shown particular efficacy (and should be used) in the secondary prevention of acute and chronic (stable) coronary syndromes and heart failure (HF) caused by CAD? 9. Which BP lowering drugs are inadvisable in patients with CAD? 10. Should all hypertensive people be on a statin? On aspirin?
Evaluating the effectiveness of a novel virtual driving training system for people with lower limb disabilities

ABSTRACT In this study, a virtual driving training system was developed; it allowed people with lower limb disabilities to practice driving. The effectiveness of the virtual driving training system in people with lower limb disabilities and adults without disability was evaluated. Nine people with lower limb disabilities (group A) and 10 adults without disability (group B) were invited to participate in a 10-h virtual driving training program. A virtual driving license examination was conducted before and after the training program to evaluate whether the system was effective. The results indicated that the driving performance of the two groups improved after the training program. Both groups opined that driving had become easy after using the system. However, group A performed better after training than group B. Thus, people with disability require more driving practice than people without disability.
Putative Regulatory Element Located in the Introns 9 and 17 of the ACE2 Gene May Be Influenced By COVID-19 Risk Variants

Preliminary genomic data of the SARS-CoV2 virus responsible for COVID-19 showed that, its ability to infect relies on special cell surface spike proteins that have binding affinity to the human protein angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE2). Among several patients analysed, it usually infects most age groups evenly. However, only a small percent of the confirmed patients progress into the severe phase. It is yet unclear, what accounts for this variation in disease propensity. Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS) performed to map single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with susceptibility to diseases show that 90% of GWAS signals reside in non-coding DNA elements (in the form of SNPs), with ~60% mapping to immune-cell enhancers. In this work we probed into the genomic region upstream of the ACE2 gene to identify dynamic chromatinsig natures that can serve as novel biomarkers and may point toward novel pathways for therapeutic intervention. In future, these studies will aithe ground work for the development of rational therapies aimed at restoring homeostatic mechanisms of ACE2 transcription.
In vitro studies on biodegradable chiral nanostructure poly(amide-imide)s containing different natural amino acids in green medium

α-Amino acids, as one type of the major building blocks of living systems, are the principal components of all naturally occurring peptides and proteins. The aim of this paper was to synthesize and characterize of novel chiral nanostructured poly(amide-imide)s (PAIs) that are biologically active and biodegradable under a natural environment. PAIs were prepared from the polycondensation reaction of optically active diacids monomers containing different natural amino acids with 4,4′-methylene bis(3-chloro-2,6-diethylaniline) in molten tetrabutylammonium bromide as a green solvent. In vitro fungal colonization and weight loss studies showed that the synthetic polymer having alanine amino acid is biologically more active compared to the other components, nontoxic to microbial growth and could be classified as biodegradable compounds. The synthesized PAIs were characterized by different techniques. The field-emission scanning electron microscopy showed that the obtained PAIs were nanostructured polymers.
Evaluation of feasibility and acceptability of a web-based diabetes prevention program (DPP) for diabetes risk reduction in Chinese Americans in New York City

Introduction Intensive lifestyle intervention remains an effective modality to reduce diabetes incidence and delay the progression to type 2 diabetes. The primary aim of this study was to pilot-test the feasibility and acceptability of a culturally and linguistically tailored web-based DPP intervention among Chinese Americans with prediabetes living in New York City. Methods Thirteen Chinese American participants with prediabetes were recruited to complete a 1-year web-based Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) lifestyle intervention. Quantitative and qualitative measures such as retention rate and data collected from web-based questionnaires and focus groups were collected and analyzed to assess study feasibility and acceptability. Results and Discussion Participants were receptive to the program through high engagement, retention and satisfaction. Retention rate was 85%. 92% of participants completed at least 16 sessions out of 22 sessions. Post-trial surveys indicated high satisfaction of 27.2/32 based on Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8) score. Participants expressed the program increased their knowledge and methods to prevent onset of type 2 diabetes such as incorporating healthy eating habits and increasing physical activities. Although not a primary outcome, there was a significant weight reduction of 2.3% at the end of month 8 of the program (p < 0.05). The culturally and linguistically adapted DPP via online platform successfully demonstrated feasibility and acceptability among Chinese Americans with prediabetes. Further evaluation of the web-based Chinese Diabetes Prevention Program in a larger trial is warranted.