Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Studies of Cap Independent Internal Ribosome Entry Segment Activity of ATXN8OS RNA

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 8 (SCA8) involves bidirectional expression of CUG (ATXN8OS) and CAG (ATXN8) expansion transcripts. Although being transcribed, alternatively spliced and polyadenylated in the CTG orientation, only small open reading frames (ORFs) were noted in ATXN8OS RNA. To investigate if a 102 amino acids containing-ORF (ORF1) and a 41 amino acids plus a polyleucine tract containing-ORF (ORF2) in the ATXN8OS RNA could be translated, we cloned 5' region of the human ATXN8OS cDNA into dicistronic Renilla and firefly luciferase reporter. Transient transfection in human embryonic kidney (HEK)-293 cells and reporter assay revealed the presence of bipartite cap independent internal ribosome entry segments (IRESs) in the ATXN8OS RNA. The translation of ORF1 was further demonstrated by expression of chimeric construct with an in-frame ORF1-EGFP gene. Western blot with GFP antibody suggested that the expressed ORF1-EGFP protein may be initiated from an upstream non-AUG initiator. The biological meaning of the ATXN8OS ORF1 protein and its role in the pathogenesis of SCA8 remains to be determined.
Physicochemical Characterization of Solid Dispersions of Cefdinir with PVP K-30 and PEG 4000

The purpose of this study was to prepare and characterize solid dispersions of the antibacterial agent Cefdinir with PEG 4000 and PVP K-30 with a view to improve its dissolution properties. Investigations of the properties of the dispersions were performed using release studies, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR). The results obtained showed that the rate of dissolution of Cefdinir was considerably improved when formulated in solid dispersions with PVP K-30 and PEG 4000 as compared with pure drug and physical mixtures. The results from XRD studies showed the transition of crystalline nature of drug to amorphous form, while FTIR studies demonstrated the absence of drug-carriers interaction.
Transformational Leadership Behavior and Turnover Intention in China Physical Education

High-level sports teams in universities are crucial for cultivating high-level athletes in China. Currently, coaches are the most direct managers of university (including colleges) sports teams in China, with their management styles and approaches having a direct impact on athletes’ psychology. This study focused on high-level university football teams and explored the impact of transformational leadership on athlete turnover intention. The mediating effect of the “coach–athlete relationship,” which helps establish and develop high-level university sports teams in China, was also examined. Overall, coaches with a transformational leadership style were found to have a significant effect on reducing athlete turnover intention and enhancing the coach–athlete relationship. In fact, the effect of coaches’ transformational leadership behavior on athlete turnover intention is mediated through the coach–athlete relationship.
Hazardous radioactivity levels and heavy mineral concentrations in beach sediments of Lake Peipsi, northeastern Estonia

Abstract The present study discusses results of heavy mineral analyses and radioactivity of beach sediments of Lake Peipsi. Such analyses are commonly done globally, but had not yet been conducted for the fourth largest lake in Europe. The average heavy mineral content in Lake Peipsi beach sediments along the northern and western coast is higher than usual for Estonian coastal and Quaternary sediments. Concomitantly, elevated radioactivity levels have been measured in several places, with the highest concentrations observed at Alajõe (1885.5 Bq/kg), which is over five times more than the recommended limit. The aim of the present study is to find sites with higher radioactivity levels, because the northern coast of Lake Peipsi is a well-known recreational area.
The impact of emotions on the helpfulness of movie reviews

Online customer reviews have become a significant source of product-related information for consumers. As a result of the growing number of customer reviews, determining which customer reviews are the most helpful is important in reducing information overload. The ways in which reviews can be helpful need to be identified. In this study, we examine the impact of emotional content in online customer reviews on the number of votes those customer reviews receive that indicate they were helpful. We find that content that is more emotional yields more votes. Furthermore, our findings suggest that reviews with positive emotional content have a positive effect on review helpfulness whereas reviews with negative emotional content have no effect on review helpfulness. This study contributes to an understanding of emotional content in word of mouth and has important implications for online retailers and consumers. All Rights Reserved © 2015 Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Centro de Ciencias Aplicadas y Desarrollo Tecnológico. This is an open access item distributed under the Creative Commons CC License BY-NC-ND 4.0.
Geospatial Informatics for Management of a New Forest Disease: Sudden Oak Death

A New Forest Disease: Sudden Oak Death In central California coastal forests, a recently discovered, virulent pathogen (Phytophthora ramorum) has killed hundreds of thousands of trees, including tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus), coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia), and black oak (Quercus kelloggii). The disease complex rapidly reached epidemic levels in several coastal forests and was quickly and convincingly dubbed “Sudden Oak Death” (SOD) by both the popular press and the research community (Rizzo and Garbelotto, 2003). As of May 2004, the disease was present in 12 California counties (Figure 1), has been detected on 16.2 ha in southern Oregon (Curry County), and been found in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. In addition, hosts for the disease are present throughout the western coastal states and the American southeast. Clearly, the disease has the potential to affect many more areas than are currently measurably impacted. In California, where SOD has been evident the longest, epidemic dieback of tanoaks, coast live oaks, and black oaks occurs in large patches along the coast, presenting serious threats to the ecology, wildlife habitat, soil erosion properties, fire regime, and aesthetic value of thousands of hectares of forest (Garbelotto et al., 2001; McPherson et al., 2000; Rizzo and Garbelotto, 2003). Monitoring the disease through time is a critical issue for natural resource management, and for further elucidating disease spread patterns (Kelly and McPherson, 2001). Quite quickly after the disease first appeared in California, a unique statewide task force – the California Oak Mortality Task Force (COMTF) – was created by a host of local, state, and federal agencies dedicated to implementing a program for managing, monitoring, and researching SOD, as well as developing outreach and educational programs. The Task Force has continued to expand, and currently includes natural resource managers, foresters, arborists, outdoor enthusiasts, nursery officials and representatives, regulators, fire personnel, and database managers, among others, all united in a desire to develop and apply strategies to alleviate the impacts of this disease. For more information, please see www.suddenoakdeath. org.
Long-term aerosol optical depth datasets over China retrieved from satellite data

Abstract. Nine years of daily aerosol optical depth (AOD) measurements have been derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data using the Synergetic Retrieval of Aerosol Properties (SRAP) method over China for the period from August 2002 to August 2011, comprising AODs at 470, 550, and 660 nm. Then, the variation over China over the nine years was determined from the derived AOD data. Preliminary daily results show the agreement between the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) AOD data and the derived AOD data. From 1219 daily collocations, representing mutually cloud-free conditions, we find that more than 54% of SRAP-MODIS retrieved AOD values comparing with AERONET-observed values within an expected error envelop of 20%. From 222 monthly averaged collocations, representing mutually cloud-free conditions, we find that more than 63% of SRAP-MODIS retrieved AOD values comparing with AERONET-observed values within an expected error envelop of 15% and more than 70% within an expected error envelop of 20%. In addition, the long-term SRAP AOD dataset has been implemented in analysing case studies involving dust storms, haze and the characteristics of AOD variation over China over the past nine years. It was found that areas in China with high AOD values generally appear in the Inner Mongolia, the North China Plain, Tarim Basin, the Sichuan Basin, the Tibetan Plateau and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and area with low AOD values generally appear in the Fujian Province, the Yungui Plateau, and northeast plain. The seasonal averaged AOD results indicate that AOD values generally reach their maximum in spring and their minimum in winter. The yearly mean and monthly mean SRAP AOD were also used to study the spatial and temporal aerosol distributions over China. The results indicate that the AOD over China exhibited no obvious change. Monthly averaged AOD in August in Beijing experienced one decreasing processes from 2006 to 2010, especially after 2007. The monthly mean AOD decreased from 0.46 in 2007 to 0.29 in 2010. SRAP AODs were used to study one haze case and dust case. Combining AOD data from the SRAP AOD dataset and HYSPLIT model can forecast the transport of haze. SRAP AOD data are also sensitive enough to reflect the occurrence and intensity of dust weather. Thus, the SRAP AOD dataset can be used to precisely reflect the spatial distribution, concentration distribution and transmission path of dust.
Government Subsidy and Crash Risk

Using the sample of companies listed on Chinese GEM between 2009 and 2015, we examines the impact of government subsidy on companies’ future stock price crash risk and explores how the earning information opacity moderates the relation between government subsidy and crash risk. We find that: 1) the government subsidies for the listed companies increase their crash risk; 2) the firms with higher information opacity are exposed to higher stock price crash risk; 3) considering the cross effect of opacity and government subsidy, the positive correlation between government subsidy and crash risk is weakened under the high information opacity environment. With further analysis, we find that that government subsidy dominates the earning management level of Jones model while measuring firm’s information opacity. This paper not only enriches the study of external influencing factors of crash risk, but also broadens the study of government subsidy efficiency and provides a new decision basis for the investors to recognize the firms’ earning information quality.
Is Nonfarm Diversification a Way Out of Poverty for Rural Households? Evidence from Vietnam in 1993-2006

school. Using the four high quality household living standards surveys available to date this paper reveals that Vietnam’s rural labour force has been markedly diversifying toward nonfarm activities in the doi moi (renovation) reform period. The employment share of the rural nonfarm sector has increased from 23 percent to 58 percent between the years 1993 and 2006. At the individual level, the results indicate that participation in the rural nonfarm sector is determined by a set of individual-, household-, and community-level characteristics. Gender, ethnicity, and education are reported as main individual-level drivers of nonfarm diversification. Lands as most important physical assets of rural households are found to be negative to nonfarm employment. It is also evident that both physical and institutional infrastructure exert important influences on individual participation in the nonfarm sector. At the household level, a combination of parametric and semi-parametric analysis is adopted to examine whether nonfarm diversification is a poverty exit path for rural households. This paper demonstrates a positive effect of nonfarm diversification on household welfare and this effect is robust to different estimation techniques, measures of nonfarm diversification, and the usage of equivalent scales. However, the poor is reported to benefit less than the non-poor from nonfarm activities. Though promoting a buoyant nonfarm sector is crucial for rural development and poverty reduction, it needs to be associated with enhancing access to nonfarm opportunities for the poor.
Purification and Characterization of Trypsin Inhibitor from the Cicer arietinum L. (Chickpea) Sprouts

The proteins fraction of chickpea sprout were extracted and purified by two steps of ion-exchange chromatography and high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) for the first time, the peptides components and molecular weights were determined as11079.57 11440.95, 16619.09, 26016.41, 26032.49, 26016.34 and 28822.02 Da by liquid chromatography and mass spectrometer (LC/MS). The major protein component of this 26032.49 kDa fraction was isolated with trypsin inhibitor activity by HPLC and the partial amino acid sequence was determined as the:
Required profile of trainers and instructors of forest workers in Greece

Teaching personnel plays a central role in vocational training systems. This paper presents the results of a study on the required profile of trainers and instructors responsible for the theoretical and practical part of the training, respectively, of forest workers in Greece. The data was collected by means of personal interviews of forest workers and a mailed questionnaire to forestry experts. According to the results, forest engineers and forest workers are the best choice for trainers and instructors, respectively. An average work experience of about 6 years is required for trainers, and it increases to 12 years for instructors of forest workers, and to 15 years for instructors of machine operators. All groups of teachers will be required to update their knowledge, as well as to acquire pedagogical skills. Information and communication technology is expected to play a significant role, and future teachers will be expected to implement it in the teaching process. The use of content analysis provides more insight into the perceptions and attitudes of the respondents, which were recorded during the interviews.
Jewish and Muslim Dialects of Moroccan Arabic

This is a comprehensive study of the Jewish and Muslim dialect networks of Morocco in its traditional boundaries. It is based on the author's fieldwork in 22 Muslim communities, and (in Israel) with speakers who grew up in some 30 Moroccan Jewish communities. (The Western Sahara, whose vernacular Arabic is of Mauritanian type, was off- limits during the time of fieldwork and is not covered.)
Effect of organic fertilizer on the yield and nutrient content of leaf-mustard (Brassica juncea) organically grown under shelter

Four rates of organic fertilizer (0, 15, 30, 45 t/ha) were evaluated on three leaf-mustard cultivars, organically grown under shelter. Yield responses to increasing rates of organic fertilizer for all the three cultivars showed a quadratic trend. The first cultivar (V1) is represented by the equation Y = –0.0088x2 + 0.6887x + 1.241, where Y = yield in t/ha and x = organic fertilizer in t/ha. The optimum rate of organic fertilizer (processed poultry manure) was 39.1 t/ha. Yield obtained at this rate was 14.7 t/ha. For cultivar 2, the yield response is represented by the equation Y = –0.0028x2 + 0.2859x + 0.699. The optimum rate of organic fertilizer was 51.1 t/ha. The yield at this rate was 8.0 t/ha. For cultivar 3, a quadratic relationship represented by the equation Y = –0.0112x2 + 0.7517x + 0.971 was obtained. The optimum rate of organic fertilizer was 33.6 t/ha and the yield at this rate was 13.6 t/ha. Fertilizer rates had a significant effect on P, K, Mn, B, Cu and Zn. A second crop grown on plots with residual fertilizers only, gave yields ranging from 60% to 76% of yields from plots with fertilizer added. *Strategic Resources Research Centre, MARDI Headquarters, Serdang, P.O. Box 12301, 50774 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia **Horticulture Research Centre, MARDI Headquarters, Serdang, P.O. Box 12301, 50774 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia ***Technical Services Centre, MARDI Headquarters, Serdang, P.O. Box 12301, 50774 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Authors’ full names: Vimala Purushotaman, Mohamad Roff Mohd Noor, Ahmad Shokri Othman and Lim Ah Hong E-mail: roff@mardi.gov. my ©Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute 2010 Introduction Leaf-mustard, locally known by the generic name sawi is the most popular leaf vegetable in Malaysia, occupying more than 3,000 ha (DOA 2006). Several cultivars differentiated by their stem colour, leaf size and flowering habits are grown locally. Leaf-mustards are usually heavily sprayed with insecticides because they are susceptible to attack by insect pest such as plutella (Ho 1965). The heavy spraying of pesticide to control insect damage can result in residues exceeding permissible level, thus posing a health hazard to consumers (Ramasamy and Nursiah 1988; Ong 1990; Anon. 2001; NPHL 2005). This study was an attempt to grow leafmustard organically i.e. without using any chemical pesticides and fertilizers. To avoid the use of pesticides, insect proof shelters were used. Organically grown vegetables are increasingly sought after by health conscious consumers. Presently organic products command premium prices, both locally and elsewhere. As little information exists on the organic fertilizer requirement of leaf-mustard, various rates of processed poultry manure were evaluated to determine
Velocity distributions of superthermal electrons fitted with a power law function in the magnetosheath: Cluster observations

[1] Satellite observations have revealed that superthermal electrons in space plasma generally possess a power law distribution. In this paper, we utilize a power law function to model the omnidirectional differential fluxes of superthermal electrons observed by Cluster in the magnetosheath. By assuming an isotropic pitch angle distribution and performing a nonlinear least squares fitting, we can calculate the index α of the power law distribution of the superthermal electrons. We found that in the magnetosheath the indices α of the power law distributions decrease with the increase of ωpe/Ωe. It is consistent with the results of the recent particle-in-cell simulations, which described the electron distributions scattered by enhanced whistler waves. This is the first reported observation of this relation in space plasma.
Effects of Germination and Fermentation on the Functionality of Whole Soy Flour

Nutritional quality and technological performances of grains can be modulated through germination and controlled fermentation. The aim of the work was to estimate the effect of germination (72 h at 23oC) and fermentation on the fundamental rheological properties of the soy flour based suspensions and sourdoughs, and to assess the bread making potential of the whole soy flours by considering the thermo-mechanical functionality of soy in admixture with white wheat flour. Soy flour based sourdough were prepared using three different starter cultures, consisting of mixtures of lactic acid bacteria like Lactobacillus plantarum, Lb. brevis, Lb. rhamnosus, Lb. casei, Lb. acidophilus, Bifidobacterium BB12Â®, and Streptococcus thermophilus and/or yeast Kluyveromyces marxianus subsp. Marxianus. The rheological behaviour of the suspensions and sourdoughs was influenced by the soy germination and fermentation processes. The stress sweep tests indicated significant narrowing of the linear viscoelastic regions, as well as the decrease of the stress values required for the beginning of flow. The temperature ramp test showed more intense swelling in case of the germinated and fermented samples. Both native and germinated soy flours were used to replace 15% of the wheat flour, and the Mixolab test indicated that the germination process caused the decrease of protein weakening and dough stability. The sourdoughs addition to the wheat flour resulted in significant changes of the thermo-mechanical properties of the dough. Properties related to stability of starch gel during heating, starch gelatinization and retrogradation depended on the type of starter culture used for fermentation.
The Impact of Oil Price Shocks on the Macroeconomy of Ghana

The impact of oil price shocks on macroeconomic activities has attracted a great deal of attention since the 1970s first oil price shock. Initially, many studies argue that there exist a significant negative impact of oil price shocks on GDP, but recent empirical studies suggest a diminishing relationship between oil shocks and the macroeconomy. A key feature characterizing existing literature is that it applies predominantly to advanced oil-importing economies. For developing oil importing countries, different conclusions may be expected but this can be empirically ascertained. Despite the key role energy plays in industrial production and the socio-economic development of countries, many studies only focused on the causal link between oil price shocks and output. This study therefore, employs a restricted VAR model and Johansen Cointegration test to investigate the impact of oil price shocks on the macroeconomy of Ghana- a developing oil importing economy. The findings reveal that oil price shocks have significant negative impact on output and economic activities in Ghana. We further employ a nonlinear oil price shocks specification to account for asymmetric effects and we find that negative oil price shocks adversely affect economic growth whiles positive oil price shocks stimulate growth and increase output. Our results indicate a nonlinear oil-price macroeconomy relationship but no evidence of asymmetric effects exist between oil price shocks and macroeconomic variables in Ghana. This study recognizes that the magnitude of the percentage impact is small, however, this does not mean that the oil shock effects on the Ghanaian economy is negligible. Key w ords: Oil price shocks; Macroeconomy; Nonlinear models; Ghana; VECM.
Creating a culture of prevention in occupational safety and health practice: Perceived body discomfort in two sitting positions

Prolonged sitting is one of the factors for back discomfort. Sitting in the same position for long periods of time is worse. This experimental based study was conducted to achieve three objectives. There were to 1) identify whether is there any differences between perceived body discomfort among respondents before and after upright sitting, 2) identify whether is there any differences between perceived body discomfort among respondents before and after slump sitting and 3) compare the level of perceived body discomfort among respondents after two sitting postures. Thirty young and healthy adults were recruited as study respondents. Each respondent was asked to sit in a posture either upright or slump for 30 minutes. Respondents were then rated their body discomfort using Borg CR-10 scale before and after sitting. Another sitting posture was carried out after one day interval. There is a significant difference between perceived body discomfort among respondents before and after upright and slump sitting. Body discomfort of upright sitting was shown significantly greater than slump sitting. Although, slump sitting caused less discomfort than upright, but it proven by previous studies did not provide benefit to occupational safety and health practice in preventing occupational health related disease.