Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EVALUATION OF ANTIOXIDANT POTENTIAL IN SELECTED LEAFY VEGETABLES OF ODISHA, INDIA

Generally vegetables represent a class of under exploited plants that are stipulated to be rich source of natural antioxidant. Seven edible widely used leafy vegetables of Odisha have been analyzed for their DPPH radical scavenging activity, namely Amaranthus tricolor, Amaranthus viridis, Brassica oleracea, Brassica campestris, Basella alba, Cucurbita maxima, Cicer arietinum using methanol, ethanol, petroleum ether as solvent. Their total phenolic content was measured by Folin- ciocalteu reagent. The plant extracts were found to have different levels of antioxidant properties in the system tested. Correlation analysis established a positive Correlation between the phenolic contents and the in vitro free radical scavenging activity of the plant extracts. In all the species methanolic and ethanolic extract gave maximum yield of crude extract, phenol content as well as antioxidant activity. Highest antioxidant activity was demonstrated in Brassica campestris followed by Amaranthus tricolor and Cucurbita maxima . Accordingly minimum IC 50 values were obtained in the concentration of maximum antioxidant activity. These values are comparable with ascorbic acid as standard. The conclusions drawn from the study suggest that the rich phytochemical contents especially phenolics of the leafy vegetables and good antioxidant activity may be responsible for its wide and popular use in any balanced diet.
A Survey of Attacks on Manet Routing Protocols

An Adhoc network is a network in which nodes communicate without using any network infrastructure and move in random order. MANET (Mobile Adhoc NETwork) is an attractive technology for many applications, such as rescue and tactical operations, due to the flexibility provided by their dynamic infrastructure. MANET is an autonomous system of wireless mobile hosts without fixed network infrastructure and centralized access point such as a base station. Due to lack of a defined central authority, MANETs are more vulnerable to security attacks and thus security is essential requirement in MANET as compared to the wired network. In this paper we have attempted to represent an overview of AODV, the possible attacks on MANET and some security mechanism to these attacks.
Corporate Finance in an Interest Free Economy: An Alternate Approach to Practiced Islamic Corporate Finance

This paper suggests an alternate approach to corporate finance in an interest free economy by looking beyond practiced Islamic finance and suggesting alternatives for corporate finance in sourcing funds i.e. i) Ijara with embedded options, ii) limited liability partnership, iii) equity modes like Musharakah and Mudarabah iv) income bonds and v) convertible income bonds. It also suggests alternatives for corporate finance in using funds i.e. i) Islamic income funds, ii) Islamic REITs, iii) Treasury Bonds, iv) income bonds v) convertible income bonds, vi) foreign currency reserves, vii) making strategic expansion, and viii) equity investments in other companies. It also suggests methods of valuation by suggesting an alternate means of pricing capital in interest free economy and use of appropriate discount rate i.e. Nominal GDP growth rate in public finance and corporate finance in CAPM, dividend discount model, project valuation, calculating NPV, valuing income bonds and stocks. It also discusses how the problems of scarcity of capital will be solved and alternatives for insurance in an interest free economy.
Venture Capital Firms’ Specialization, Differences and Complementarities

The paper analyses the differences in venture capital (VC) firms, proposes a classification of the firms and empirically investigates their investment and co-investment behaviour. The VC firms are not homogeneous and beside funds they possess a diverse set of nonfinancial resources which they optimize. A classification is developed based on VC firm resources and specialization represented by organizational form and affiliation. Based on Australian market data, we classify the VC firms in three categories, namely strategic, financial and independent using resource based theory, and highlight differences. Then the firms’ specialization is related to their portfolio characteristics to identify and analyse differences and complementarities in terms of investment strategies. The influence of specialization in investment and co-investment strategies is also analysed. This study shows that specialization influences investment decisions and co-investor selection. Implications of such investment practices on resource efficiency, financial viability and transition to sustainability are also discussed.
Socio-Economic Differences in the Development of Rural Areas in Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina – Case Study

In Bosnia and Herzegovina some rural municipalities with similar population density are very different regarding key demographic and economic indicators like migration, unemployment and average wages. According to the existing studies in Europe the answer for differential economic performance is firstly in the potential of local community to recognize, strengthen and utilize less mobile assets in the form of economic, social, cultural and natural capital. Secondly, researchers point to the synergy between those assets and external networking and using information and communications technology in reaching new markets and resources. Understanding the reasons for differential economic performance and more or less competitiveness in rural areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina could thus be a key element in devising practical strategies and programs for sustainable rural development. This could also contribute to the programming of Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance for Rural Development of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the future. The aim of the study is by comparing the most and least developed rural municipalities to investigate the reasons for the differences in economic performance, in particular, to investigate the role of capitals or tangible and less tangible factors influencing development outcomes. In order to achieve that, the authors have chosen high and low performing municipalities according to the criteria of population density, rurality and proximity to large city. In order to have more clear picture, community profiling is conducted and data was collected by surveying community stakeholders. The analysis showed that in high performing municipality all capitals are accessible and properly utilized with space for improvement while low performing municipality has many problems and higher need for change and new strategy of development.
Combined effects of grain size, flow volume and channel width on geophysical flow mobility: three-dimensional discrete element modeling of dry and dense flows of angular rock fragments

Abstract. We have carried out new three-dimensional numerical simulations by using a discrete element method (DEM) to study the mobility of dry granular flows of angular rock fragments. These simulations are relevant for geophysical flows such as rock avalanches and pyroclastic flows. The model is validated by previous laboratory experiments. We confirm that (1) the finer the grain size, the larger the mobility of the center of mass of granular flows; (2) the smaller the flow volume, the larger the mobility of the center of mass of granular flows and (3) the wider the channel, the larger the mobility of the center of mass of granular flows. The grain size effect is due to the fact that finer grain size flows dissipate intrinsically less energy. This volume effect is the opposite of that experienced by the flow fronts. The original contribution of this paper consists of providing a comparison of the mobility of granular flows in six channels with a different cross section each. This results in a new scaling parameter χ that has the product of grain size and the cubic root of flow volume as the numerator and the product of channel width and flow length as the denominator. The linear correlation between the reciprocal of mobility and parameter χ is statistically highly significant. Parameter χ confirms that the mobility of the center of mass of granular flows is an increasing function of the ratio of the number of fragments per unit of flow mass to the total number of fragments in the flow. These are two characteristic numbers of particles whose effect on mobility is scale invariant.
A NATURAL SET OF EIGENVECTORS FOR THE DYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS

A general numerical algorithm is presented that produces a complete set of orthogonal vectors that can be used to reduce the number of unknown displacements required to produce an accurate analysis of structures subjected to both static and dynamic loads. For any specified type of loading error indicators are calculated and the generation of the vectors can be terminated automatically; hence, the engineer/program-user need only to specify the error tolerance and not the number of vectors requested. Therefore, an optimum number of vectors are calculated and there is no need to add approximate static load corrections to the solution or to be concerned about missing mass in a dynamic response analysis. The new algorithm generates a different set of vectors for different types of spatial loading acting on the structure. Thus, the vectors generated are a set of Natural Load Dependent, NLD, vectors for the problem to be solved. A special application of the NLD vector algorithm, using random load vectors and iteration, produces exacts dynamic eigenvectors, rigid-body modes and static elastic modes for any structural system. However, the use of these exact eigenvectors in a dynamic response analysis may require a very large number of vectors to produce the same accuracy as obtained by the use of a small number of NLD vectors. The NLD vectors are always a linear combination of the exact eigenvectors; however, eigenvectors are not calculated unless they are required to obtain an accurate solution. The algorithm has been applied to the dynamic analysis of many large structural systems with over 50,000 degrees-of-freedom. The method has proven to be very robust, numerically efficient and accurate.
High Resolution Radar Precipitation Evaluation

Since the summer of 2008, the Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) has had the capability to process base reflectivity data at eight times higher spatial resolution than previously (250 m x 0.5o vs. 1000 m x 1.0o). While this “super-resolution” is only being applied to some base radar products during the initial phase of implementation, we wish to determine what benefits may be achieved from its application to rainfall accumulation products such as those of the WSR-88D Precipitation Processing System (PPS). For example, higher radar spatial resolution may be expected to result in better detection of small-scale, heavy rain patterns and, in turn, better distribution of that rain to topographic features such as small-scale stream basins. However, these potential benefits might be offset by factors known to cause discrepancies between quantitative precipitation estimates (QPE) determined aloft and the amounts and distribution of rainfall realized at the ground, including subbeam advection, evaporation, and hydrometeor interactions. Indeed, the impact of these factors may be exacerbated when QPEs are analyzed at finer spatial scales.
Criminalizing Race: Racial Disparities in Plea Bargaining

Most of the empirical research examining racial disparities in the criminal justice system has focused on its two endpoints – the arrest and initial charging of defendants and judges’ sentencing decisions. Few studies have assessed disparities in the steps leading up to a defendant’s conviction, where various actors make choices that often constraint judges’ ultimate sentencing discretion. This article addresses this gap by examining racial disparities in the plea-bargaining process, focusing on the period between the initial filing of charges and the defendant’s conviction. The results presented in this article reveal significant racial disparities in this stage of the criminal justice system. White defendants are twenty-five percent more likely than black defendants to have their principal initial charge dropped or reduced to a lesser crime. As a result, white defendants who face initial felony charges are less likely than black defendants to be convicted of a felony. Similarly, white defendants initially charged with misdemeanors are more likely than black defendants to be convicted for crimes carrying no possible incarceration or not being convicted at all. Racial disparities in plea-bargaining outcomes are greater in cases involving misdemeanors and low-level felonies. In cases involving severe felonies, black and white defendants achieve similar outcomes. Defendants’ criminal histories also play a key role in mediating racial disparities. While white defendants with no prior convictions receive charge reductions more often than black defendants with no prior convictions, white and black defendants with prior convictions are afforded similar treatment by prosecutors. These patterns in racial disparities suggest that prosecutors may be using race as a proxy for a defendant’s latent criminality and likelihood to recidivate.
Analysing impacts of changing price variability with estimated farm risk-programming models

We formulate and estimate a farm level simulation model of agricultural crop production, and apply it to a scenario with increasing yield variability. The objective function is of the mean-variance utility type with a positive mathematical programming (PMP) cost function, and it is estimated using the optimality conditions and a large panel data set obtained from the FADN. Special attention is given to the problem of separating the effect of the covariance matrix from that of the quadratic PMP terms. The model is applied in a partial analysis of impacts of climate change in Germany by exogenously changing yield patterns.
Breeding and Analysis of Two New Grapefruit-Like Varieties with Low Furanocoumarin Content

Furanocoumarins (FCs) are a group of related plant defense metabolites occurring in several plant families, including some species in the genus citrus, such as grapefruit and pummelo. FCs function as toxins against pathogens, insects and other plant pests and some are toxic to humans at high levels. Although the levels of FCs in grapefruits are non-toxic to humans, they inhibit the intestinal enzyme CYP3A, thus preventing degradation of medicines, such as statins, and causing dangerous overdose effects. This overdosing can cause devastating side effects, ranging from stomach bleeding to kidney problems, muscle aches and irregular heartbeats. In the present study, we utilize LC/MS to characterize the levels of FCs pathway intermediates and end products in twelve citrus cultivars, including mandarin (Citrus reticulata), orange [Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck], Pummelo [Citrus maxima (Burm.) Merr. ], grapefruit (Citrus paradisi Macf.), and two newly selected grapefruit like varieties [(Citrus reticulate) X [Citrus maxima (Burm.) Merr]. The orange and mandarin varieties do not contain FCs or FCs precursor compounds suggesting that this biosynthetic pathway is absent or inactive in mandarins and oranges and therefore a good genetic source for null alleles to FCs biosynthesis. We report the selection and characterization of two new low FCs and seedless grapefruit-like varieties, “Aliza” and “Coocki”, developed by a cross between pummelo and mandarin. Fruits of these varieties resemble grapefruit and contain high levels of the flavanone naringin, typical of grapefruit, but contain only trace amounts of FCs (based on LCMS analysis). Based on the variability of FCs content and inheritance in citrus species, the results suggest that future development of new low-FCs grapefruit varieties is an achievable objective.
The manuscript addresses an important new method of measurements of water surface elevations using SWOT, with a virtual-reality numerical experiment on two reaches of the Amazon

The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission, scheduled for launch in 2020, will provide a step-change improvement in the measurement of terrestrial surface water storage and dynamics. In particular, it will provide the first, routine two-dimensional measurements of wa5 ter surface elevations. In this paper, we aimed to (i) characterize and illustrate in two-dimensions the errors which may be found in SWOT swath measurements of terrestrial surface water, (ii) simulate the spatio-temporal sampling scheme of SWOT for the Amazon, and (iii) assess the impact of each 10 of these on estimates of water surface slope and river discharge which may be obtained from SWOT imagery. We based our analysis on a “virtual mission” for a 300 :::: ~260 : km reach of the central Amazon river ::::: (Solimõ :: es) ::::: River, using a hydraulic model to provide water surface elevations accord15 ing to SWOT spatio-temporal sampling to which errors were added based on a two-dimension height error spectrum derived from the SWOT design requirements. We thereby obtained water surface elevation measurements for the Amazon mainstem as may be observed by SWOT. Using these 20 measurements, we derived estimates of river slope and discharge and compared them to those obtained directly from the hydraulic model. We found that cross-channel and alongreach averaging of SWOT measurements using reach lengths of greater than 4 : km for the Solimões and 7.5 : km for Purus 25 reduced the effect of systematic height errors, enabling discharge to be reproduced accurately from the water height, assuming known bathymetry and friction. Using cross-section averaging and 20 : km reach lengths, results show NashSutcliffe model efficiency values of 0.99 for the Solimões 30 and 0.88 for the Purus, with 2.6% and 19.1% average overall error in discharge, respectively. ::: We ::::: extend ::: the :::::: results :: to :::: other :::: rivers :::::::::: worldwide :::: and ::::: infer :::: that ::::::::::::: SWOT-derived :::::::: discharge ::::::: estimates :::: may ::: be :::: more ::::::: accurate ::: for ::::: rivers :::: with ::::: larger :::::: channel ::::: widths :::::::::: (permitting : a :::::: greater ::::: level :: of ::::::::::: cross-section :::::::: averaging 35 ::: and ::: the ::: use :: of :::::: shorter ::::: reach ::::::: lengths) ::: and ::::: higher ::::: water :::::: surface ::::: slopes :::::::: (reducing ::: the ::::::::::: proportional :::::: impact :: of ::::: slope :::::: errors :: on :::::::: discharge :::::::::: calculation). :
Performance of Selected Agricultural Spray Nozzles using Particle Image Velocimetry

The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of nozzle configurations on spray drift and explain the influences using several atomization characteristics (length of spray sheet, spray angle, velocity distribution of flow field, fluctuation of velocity, and droplet size). Nozzles manufactured by one company (Lechler GmbH, Germany) were tested by spraying local tap water in a wind tunnel at an operating pressure of 0.3 MPa and under room temperature. The nozzles tested were compact air-induction flat fan nozzles (IDK120-02, IDK120-03), standard flat fan nozzles (ST110-02, ST110-03), and hollow-cone swirl nozzles (TR80-02, TR80-03). The atomization process was recorded using a Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) system, droplet size was measured by a Sympatec Helos laser-diffraction particle-size analyzer, and spray drift was evaluated in a wind tunnel with deposition measured using a calibrated fluorometer (Turner-Sequoia model 450). Results showed that spray drift was significantly different among nozzle types (P<0.0005) and that nozzle configurations influenced breakup length, spray angle, droplet size, and velocity. Nozzles producing larger droplet sizes had lower velocity. Smaller droplets were produced when longer and wider spray sheets were produced. Compared to ST and TR nozzles, IDK nozzles started to breakup in the center of the liquid sheet, producing droplets with larger diameter, lower velocity, and less velocity fluctuation. The IDK nozzle is a good choice for low spray drift at higher wind speeds.
Aquatic Microbial Ecology 66:247

The abundance (based on catalyzed reporter deposition-fluorescence in situ hybrid ization, CARD-FISH) and leucine incorporation rates of Archaea and Bacteria were determined throughout the water column in the eastern Atlantic. Bacteria dominated throughout the water column, although their contribution to total prokaryotic abundance in the bathypelagic layer (1000 to 4000 m depth) was lower than in the surface and mesopelagic layers (0 to 1000 m depth). While marine Crenarchaeota Group I (MCG I) contributed 28 ± 12% to the total prokaryotic abundance, with a generally higher contribution in the bathypelagic layer than in the surface and mesopelagic layers, marine Euryarchaeota Group II contributed <5% throughout the water column. Using microautoradiography in combination with CARD-FISH, we tested the specificity of erythromycin and diphtheria toxin and found them to selectively inhibit bacterial and archaeal activity, respectively. These inhibitors were thus used to determine the contribution of Bacteria and Archaea to total leucine incorporation: Bacteria contributed 69 ± 15%, and this value decreased with depth; Archaea contributed 32 ± 16% over the entire water column, with no significant difference between surface and mesopelagic waters and the bathypelagic realm. The mean cell-specific leucine incorporation rate of MCG I (5.3 ± 3.0 × 10−20 mol cell−1 d−1) was 3.5-fold lower than that of Bacteria (18.6 ± 18.2 × 10−20 mol cell−1 d−1) in the surface and mesopelagic layer. In the bathypelagic layer, cell-specific leucine incorporation rates of Crenarchaeota were similar to those of Bacteria (2.3 × 10−20 mol cell−1 d−1 for MCG I, 2.9 × 10−20 mol cell−1 d−1 for Bacteria). In the surface and mesopelagic waters of the subtropical eastern North Atlantic, MCG I exhibited a lower heterotrophic activity on a per-cell level than Bacteria. In the bathypelagic zone, cell-specific heterotrophic activities of Bacteria and MCG I were similar.
Accuracy analysis of the dose delivery process while using the Xsight® Spine Tracking technology

The Accuray CyberKnife® system provides radiotherapy for the treatment of moving lung tumors, thanks to the use of the Xsight® Lung Tracking technology for monitoring the motion of the target. However, there are situations in which this technology is not able to properly track the target. Thus, the aim of the proposed work is to study the accuracy of the dose delivery process while using the Xsight® Spine Tracking technology, which helps to overcome the aforementioned issue. The CIRS Dynamic Thorax Phantom was used to simulate the motion of a spherical target (diameter 2 cm), which moves along the craniocaudal direction (motion 3 cm). Monte Carlo algorithm calculated PTV and ITV treatment plans for isocentric and non-isocentric irradiation methods. Ionization Chamber and Film Dosimetry measurements were performed to study the accuracy of the dose delivery process to the center, and to the periphery of the tumor. Results obtained through the implementation of the PTV treatment plans were used as a baseline to analyze the accuracy of dose delivery for ITV plans. Although results indicated a decrease for the dose delivered compared to the planned one, the dose delivered was not lower than the prescribed one in any of the studied cases.