Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nephroprotective Effect of Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) Seeds and Their Sprouts on CCl4-Induced Nephrotoxicity and Oxidative Stress in Rats

Functional and nutritional characteristics of seed sprouts and their association with oxidative stress-related disorders have recently become a focus of scientific investigations. The biological activities of fennel seeds (FS) and fennel seed sprouts (FSS) were investigated in vitro and in vivo. The total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoids (TF), total flavonols (TFF), and antioxidant activity (AOA) of FS and FSS were examined. HPLC and GC–MS analyses for FS and FSS were carried out. Consequently, the nephroprotective and antioxidative stress potential of FS and FSS extracts at 300 and 600 mg kg−1 on CCl4-induced nephrotoxicity and oxidative stress in rats was investigated. In this context, kidney relative weight, blood glucose level (BGL), lipid profile, kidney function (T. protein, albumin, globulin, creatinine, urea, and blood urea nitrogen (BUN)), and oxidative stress biomarkers (GSH, CAT, MDA, and SOD) in the rat’s blood as well as the histopathological alteration in kidney tissues were examined. Results indicated that the sprouting process of FS significantly improved TPC, TF, TFL, and AOA in vitro. HPLC identified nineteen compounds of phenolic acids and their derivatives in FS. Thirteen phenolic compounds in FS and FSS were identified, the highest of which was vanillic acid. Six flavonoids were also identified with a predominance of kaempferol. GC–MS indicated that the trans-anethole (1-methoxy-4-[(E)-prop-1-enyl]benzene) component was predominant in FS and FSS, significantly increasing after sprouting. In in vivo examination, administering FS and FSS extracts ameliorated the BGL, triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (CHO), and their derivative levels compared to CCl4-intoxicated rats. A notable improvement in FS and FSS with 600 mg kg−1 compared to 300 mg kg−1 was observed. A dose of 600 mg FSS kg−1 reduced the TG, CHO, and LDL-C and increased HDL-C levels by 32.04, 24.62, 63.00, and 67.17% compared to G2, respectively. The atherogenic index (AI) was significantly improved with 600 mg kg−1 of FSS extracts. FS and FSS improved kidney function, reduced malondialdehyde (MDA), and restored the activity of reduced glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT). Both FS and FSS extracts attenuated the histopathological alteration in CCl4-treated rats. Interestingly, FSS extract presented better efficiency as a nephroprotection agent than FS extract. In conclusion, FSS can potentially restore oxidative stability and improve kidney function after acute CCl4 kidney injury better than FS. Therefore, FS and FSS extracts might be used for their promising nephroprotective potential and to help prevent diseases related to oxidative stress. Further research on their application in humans is highly recommended.
a Theorem on Homeomorphisms for Elliptic Systems and its Applications

This paper is devoted to the substantiation of a criterion for the quasisymmetric conjugacy of an arbitrary group of homeomorphisms of the real line to a group of affine transformations (the Ahlfors problem). In a criterion suggested by Hinkkanen the constants in the definition of a quasisymmetric homeomorphism were assumed to be uniformly bounded for all elements of the group. Subsequently, for orientation-preserving groups this author put forward a more relaxed criterion, in which one assumes only the uniform boundedness of constants for each cyclic subgroup. In the present paper this relaxed criterion is proved for an arbitrary group of line homeomorphisms, which do not necessarily preserve the orientation. Bibliography: 4 titles. Introduction A homeomorphism g : R → R is said to be quasisymmetric [1] if it satisfies the condition M−1 g g(x+ t)− g(x) g(x) − g(x− t) Mg . (1) If g is a quasisymmetric homeomorphism, then the homeomorphism g−1 is also quasisymmetric. For arbitrary quasisymmetric homomorphisms g1 and g2 their composite is also a quasisymmetric homeomorphism and Mg1g2 Mg1Mg2 [1]. Since the constant Mg in condition (1) for a homeomorphism g is not unique, this means that there exists a constant Mg1g2 for the homeomorphism g1g2 such that the inequality holds. We say that a group G consisting of quasisymmetric homeomorphisms is quasisymmetric. The following basic result for a quasisymmetric group of line homeomorphisms was obtained in [2]. Theorem 1. Let G be a group of line homeomorphisms. Then a quasisymmetric homeomorphism η such that η ◦G ◦ η−1 is a group of affine transformations exists if and only if G is a quasisymmetric group such that Mg = M for all g ∈ G, where M is a fixed constant. This research was carried out with the support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (grant no. 53-01-00174) and the Programme of Support of Leading Scientific Schools of RF (grant no. NSh-457.2003.1). AMS 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification. Primary 54H15; Secondary 20F38, 28D99.
Constructing algebraic models for local social networks using statistical methods

Abstract In this paper we discuss the construction and fitting of structural models for local, or ego-centered, social networks. We define partial algebraic structures from the collection of network paths having a focal individual as their source. Such structures are constrained in part by different methods of local network data collection. We present a statistical method for deriving algebraic representations from local network data. The method relies on a statistical strategy for evaluating algebraic relations and is sensitive to the various constraints associated with methods of data collection. The outcome of the method is a set of partial algebras constructed from network paths with a fixed, maximum length.
Variation in Leaf Reflectance Spectra Across the California Flora Partitioned by Evolutionary History, Geographic Origin, and Deep Time

Evolutionary relatedness underlies patterns of functional diversity in the natural world. Hyperspectral remote sensing has the potential to detect these patterns in plants through inherited patterns of leaf reflectance spectra. We collected leaf reflectance data across the California flora from plants grown in a common garden. Regions of the reflectance spectra vary in the depth and strength of phylogenetic signal. We also show that these differences are much greater than variation due to the geographic origin of the plant. At the phylogenetic extent of the California flora, spectral variation explained by the combination of ecotypic variation (divergent evolution) and convergent evolution of disparate lineages was minimal (3%–7%) but statistically significant. Interestingly, at the extent of a single genus (Arctostaphylos) no unique variation could be attributed to geographic origin. However, up to 18% of the spectral variation among Arctostaphylos individuals was shared between phylogeny and intraspecific variation stemming from ecotypic differences (i.e., geographic origin). Future studies could conduct more structured experiments (e.g., transplants or observations along environmental gradients) to disentangle these sources of variation and include other intraspecific variation (e.g., plasticity). We constrain broad‐scale spectral variability due to ecotypic sources, providing further support for the idea that phylogenetic clusters of species might be detectable through remote sensing. Phylogenetic clusters could represent a valuable dimension of biodiversity monitoring and detection.
Ultrastructural Analysis of Cancer Cells Treated with the Radiopharmaceutical Radium Dichloride ([223Ra]RaCl2): Understanding the Effect on Cell Structure

The use of alpha-particle (α-particle) radionuclides, especially [223Ra]RaCl2 (radium dichloride), for targeted alpha therapy is steadily increasing. Despite the positive clinical outcomes of this therapy, very little data are available about the effect on the ultrastructure of cells. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the nanomechanical and ultrastructure effect of [223Ra] RaCl2 on cancer cells. To analyze the effect of [223Ra]RaCl2 on tumor cells, human breast cancer cells (lineage MDA-MB-231) were cultured and treated with the radiopharmaceutical at doses of 2 µCi and 0.9 µCi. The effect was evaluated using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) combined with Raman spectroscopy. The results showed massive destruction of the cell membrane but preservation of the nucleus membrane. No evidence of DNA alteration was observed. The data demonstrated the formation of lysosomes and phagosomes. These findings help elucidate the main mechanism involved in cell death during α-particle therapy.
The Cauchy problem for the nonisentropic compressible MHD fluids: Optimal time‐decay rates

This paper is concerned with the time‐decay rates of the strong solutions of the three‐dimensional nonisentropic compressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) system. First, motivated by Pu and Guo's result [Z. Angew. Math. Phys. 64 (2013) 519–538], we establish the existence result of a unique local‐in‐time strong solution for the MHD system. Then, we derive a priori estimates and use the continuity argument to obtain the global‐in‐time solution, where the initial perturbation is small in H2$$ {H}^2 $$ ‐norm. Finally, based on Fourier theory and the idea of cancelation of a low‐medium frequent part as in [Sci. China Math. 65 (2022) 1199–1228], we get the optimal time‐decay rates (including highest‐order derivatives) of strong solutions for nonisentropic MHD fluids when the boundedness of L1$$ {L}^1 $$ ‐norm of the initial perturbation is required. Our result is the first one concerning with the optimal decay estimates of the highest‐order derivatives of the nonisentropic MHD system.
Does national corruption encourage earnings management? A comparison of countries on the European and American continents

We analyzed the effect of national corruption perceived by the population on earnings management. Our sample consisted of 3,239 companies from 38 countries located in four geopolitical regions of the American and European continents between 2012-2019, analyzed using regression with panel data. We found that increasing levels of perceived corruption implies an increase in earnings management practices. Behavior that does not occur in the same way when considering the different geopolitical regions, because it occurs only in Latin American, North America and the Caribbean, but is non-existent in the other regions. We provide evidence that the perception of national corruption is a trigger for managers to change accounting choices.
An Improved DC Power Electronic Transformer Based on Voltage Balancing Converter for Bipolar Distribution System

This article proposes a bipolar dc power electronic transformer (DCPET) with monopole fault operation capability for medium-voltage/low-voltage dc (LVdc) distributions. Compared with the conventional bipolar LVdc topology, the proposed DCPET considers the reduced number of switching devices and the normal operation under monopole faults, which improves power supply reliability. The dc fault ride-through (FRT) strategy is further proposed in this article to increase the power supply reliability under LVdc short-circuit faults. To reduce the short-circuit current and maintain the LVdc voltage, the switching device reversely series with the capacitor is blocked after the fault. Thus, the fault current is restricted, and power supply recovery time after fault clearance is reduced. Moreover, the LLC resonant converter adopting phase-shift control outputs stable fault criterion current to assist the protection system in locating the fault location and fault removal. Finally, a downscaled prototype is built to verify the proposed topology and FRT strategy through experiments.
Effects of high-energy astrophysical events on habitable planets

Abstract With the possible exception of meteor impacts, high-energy astrophysical events such as supernovae, gamma-ray bursts (GRB) and flares are usually not taken into account for biological and evolutionary studies due to their low rates of occurrence. We show that a class of these events may occur at distances and time scales in which their biological effects are non-negligible, maybe more frequent than the impacts of large asteroids. We review the effects of four transient astrophysical sources of ionizing radiation on biospheres – stellar flares, giant flares from soft gamma repeaters (SGR), supernovae and GRB. The main damaging features of them are briefly discussed and illustrated. We point out some open problems and ongoing work.
Soft-Switching Bridgeless Buck PFC With Low THD

In this article, a modified soft-switching bridg- eless buck converter is introduced. In the proposed converter, input current dead angle is eliminated by applying a simple auxiliary circuit. In addition, by operating under discontinuous capacitor mode and discontinuous capacitor voltage mode conditions, high efficiency and low total harmonic distortion (THD) are achieved for a wide range of load variation. The proposed converter is analyzed, and design considerations are discussed. A prototype converter is implemented. The efficiency of 93.7% and the THD of 4.3% are achieved using low-cost insulated gate bipolar transistor switches and diodes for the output voltage of 24 V. The proposed converter is controlled by a simple pulsewidth modulation controller.
Current diffusion in TEXT

A study of current diffusion in the TEXT device has been performed. The plasma current was ramped up from steady state conditions (150 kA) on a time-scale (20 ms) much faster than the classical skin time (100 ms), with ∂lp/∂t ≅ 8 MA·s−1. A stable discharge was obtained and held at the resulting higher current (300 kA). Density (4 × 1019 m−3) and position were held constant during current ramping. The profiles derived from Thomson scattering and the surface barrier diode soft-X-ray array were used in the solution of the poloidal magnetic field diffusion equation. The experimental data were also compared with the prediction of a three-zone model of radial particle and energy transport. No enhanced or anomalous resistivity is required to adequately match the data for the case where the current was ramped from a steady state condition.
Partitioning of root, litter and microbial respiration by plant input manipulation in forests

Soil respiration (R s) is the largest carbon (C) flux from terrestrial ecosystems to the atmosphere and is of great significance to the global C budget. An increasing number of studies have assessed R s through in situ observations and model estimates over the last decades, but the sources and pathways of soil carbon dioxide (CO2) are not fully understood, and great uncertainty remains in R s partitioning of soil CO2 sources. Here, we compiled 236 paired observations that measured soil CO2 fluxes after concurrently removal of living roots (and rhizosphere), litter, and both roots and litter in plant input manipulation experiments conducted at 14 forest sites to partition root + rhizosphere (R r), litter (R l) and soil organic matter-derived microbial respiration (R m) in total soil CO2 flux. We found that R r, R l and R m accounted for 20.1%, 21.8% and 62.7% of the total R s, respectively. Mean annual precipitation (MAP) was the most important factor driving R r/R s, R l/R s and R m/R s, and MAP was positively correlated with R r/R s and R l/R s but negatively correlated with R m/R s, suggesting a significant climatic control over the proportions of R s components. Across all sites, the proportions of R r/R s and R l/R s increased but R m/R s decreased with the increase in soil CO2 flux, suggesting that the proportions of root- and litter-derived soil CO2 are generally higher in the tropics than in cold temperate and boreal forests. More accurate partitioning of R r, R l and R m to elucidate different sources and pathways of soil CO2 flux will provide important insights for the global R s assessment and terrestrial C budget.
Convective instability boundary of Couette flow between rotating porous cylinders with axial and radial flows

The convective instability boundary of a circular Couette flow in the annular region bounded by two co- or counter-rotating coaxial cylinders with angular velocities ω1 and ω2, respectively, is studied in the presence of an axial flow due to a constant axial pressure gradient and a radial flow through the permeable walls of the cylinders. A linear stability analysis is carried out for positive and negative radial Reynolds numbers corresponding to outward and inward radial flows, respectively. Axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric disturbances are considered. In the particular case of no axial flow, the Couette flow is stabilized by an inward, or a strong outward, radial flow, but destabilized by a weak outward radial flow. Non-axisymmetric disturbances lead to instability for some negative values of μ=ω2/ω1. Bifurcation diagrams for combined radial and axial flows are more complicated. For particular values of the parameters of the problem, the Couette flow has regions of stabilization and destabilization in .
Intention Prediction-Based Control for Vehicle Platoon to Handle Driver Cut-In

Vehicle platoons (VPs) are groups of vehicles driving together with a short inter-vehicle gap and a harmonized velocity. For a long period, the VPs and human-driven vehicles (HDVs) will coexist in mixed traffic flow, where the cut-in maneuver of the HDVs towards the VPs can be frequently expected. In this paper, to handle such cut-ins, we propose an intention prediction-based control method for the VPs by considering the tradeoff between the platoon integrity and traffic safety. Particularly, the proposed method is designed to prevent as many cut-ins as possible while taking care of the road safety. It consists of a cut-in prediction part, including intention and trajectory prediction algorithms, and a finite state machine (FSM)-based predictive control part, including a high-level FSM and a low-level predictive control. Driver-in-the-loop experiments were conducted in the VP-based driving scenarios to train the intention prediction algorithm and test the proposed method. We show the results detailing the control behavior of the proposed method in a no cut-in test, a mandatory cut-in test, and three discretionary cut-in tests. The results demonstrate that the proposed method can predict the cut-in intention of human drivers in real time. Besides, according to the prediction results, the proposed method can prevent cut-ins for the VPs while taking care of the road safety.
SMT: Software-Defined Memory Tiering for Heterogeneous Computing Systems With CXL Memory Expander

The rapid development of data-intensive technologies has driven an increasing demand for new architectural solutions with scalable, composable, and coherent computing environments. Compute Express Link (CXL), an open-standard interconnect protocol, overcomes architectural limitations by efficiently expanding memory capacity and bandwidth. In this work, we propose a power-efficient and cost-effective solution consisting of CXL-attached memory hardware and a software suite. The memory module hardware integrated with double-data-rate (DDR) dynamic random access memory and a CXL controller expands bandwidth by dozens of gigabytes per second and increases memory capacity by a few terabytes. Our software suite, scalable memory development kit, inherits and expands the traditional memory management architecture of existing Linux systems. We proved the functionality of the proposed solution by integrating renowned data centers and computing-intensive applications. The proposed CXL solution improved throughput for in-memory database and artificial intelligence applications by 1.5-fold and 1.99-fold, respectively, compared with the conventional DDR-only memory system.
Frontside illuminated TiO2 nanotube dye-sensitized solar cells using multifunctional microchannel array electrodes

Here we report a frontside illuminated TiO2 nanotube based dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). The photoanode with inclined microchannels (IMCs) formed by laser drilling acted as a multifunctional role for enhancing the cell’s efficiency; light trapping, pathway for transporting electrolyte, and extra surface area for dye loading. The amount of N719 dye absorbed on IMCs photoanode was measured to be 3.83×10−7 mol/cm2, which was almost 1.82 times as high as that of the flat photoanode. The frontside illuminated DSSC showed an energy conversion efficiency of 4.1% under AM1.5 condition, which was much higher compared to that (3.1%) of the backside illuminated DSSC.
Femtosecond laser writing Bragg gratings in pure silica photonic crystal fibres

The fabrication of Bragg gratings in pure silica photonic crystal fibres using ultra-violet femtosecond laser radiation at 267 nm is reported. Gratings have been fabricated with a depth of up to 10 dB and an average index change of /spl Delta/n> 4/spl times/10/sup -4/. Thermal annealing investigations indicate that our grating type is not type II.
Quality by Design Assisted Optimization and Risk Assessment of Black Cohosh Loaded Ethosomal Gel for Menopause: Investigating Different Formulation and Process Variables

Black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa) (CR) is a popular herb and is medically lauded for ameliorating myriad symptoms associated with menopause. However, its pharmaceutical limitations and non-availability of a patient-compliant drug delivery approach have precluded its prevalent use. Henceforth, the current research premise is aimed at developing an ethosomal gel incorporating triterpene enriched fraction (TEF) obtained from CR and evaluating its effectiveness through the transdermal application. TEF-loaded ethosomes were formulated using solvent injection, optimized and characterised. The optimized ethosomes were then dispersed into a polymeric gel base to form ethosomal gel which was further compared with the conventional gel by in-vitro and ex-vivo experiments. Here, the quality by design (QbD) approach was exploited for the optimization and development of ethosomal gel. The elements of QbD comprising initial risk assessment, design of experimentation (DoE), and model validation for the development of formulation have all been described in detail. The optimized ethosomes (F03) showed a nanometric size range, negative zeta potential and good entrapment. The in vitro release profile of gel revealed a burst release pattern following the Korsmeyer Peppas model having Fickian diffusion. The transdermal flux of ethosomal gel was observed to be more than that of conventional gel. Texture analysis and rheological characterization of the gel, revealed good strength showing shear thinning and pseudoplastic behaviour. The confocal microscope investigation revealed the deeper skin permeation of ethosomal gel than conventional gel. This result was further strengthened by DSC, IR and histological assessment of the animal skin (Wistar rat), treated with the optimized formulation. Conclusively, the implementation of QbD in the formulation resulted in a better understanding of the process and the product. It aids in the reduction of product variability and defects, hence improving product development efficiencies. Additionally, the ethosomal gel was found to be a more effective and successful carrier for TEF than the conventional gel through the transdermal route. Moreover, this demands an appropriate animal study, which is underway, for a stronger outcome.
Stochastic gradient estimation strategies for Markov random fields

This communication presents new results about convergence of stochastic gradient algorithms for maximum likelihood estimation of Markov random fields. We first present theoretical results dealing with the convergence of a generalized Robbins-Montro procedure. These results provide rigorous justifications for simple numerical strategies which can be employed in practice; they are illustrated by numerical experiments.