Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Protective effects of L-carnitine and homogenized testis tissue on the testis and sperm parameters of busulfan-induced infertile male rats

Background: Busulfan(Bus) is a chemotherapy drug that is widely used for cancer treatment. However, administration of busulfan may cause temporary or permanent sterility in male patients. Therefore, reduction of this side is necessary. Objective: evaluation of the protective effects of L-carnitine and testis homogenized tissue(THT) on sperm parameters and the testis structure after busulfan treatment. Materials and Methods: Twenty rats were divided four groups. Group I (Control) received a single dose of DMSO and 1mL of distilled water (I.P.). Group II (Bus) received a single of busulfan (10 mg/kg) plus 1 ml of the distilled water(I.P.). Group III (Bus+THT) received busulfan plus 1mL of THT daily by oral gavages. Group IV (Bus+L-car) received a single dose of busulfan plus 100 mg/kg/day L-carnitine(I.P.). after 48 dayst, the Stereological technique was used for the estimating volume and diameter of testis, seminiferous tubules and interstitial tissue, flagella length, germinal epithelium height and spermatoginic cell number. Semen analysis was used for the assessment of sperm parameters. Results: THT increased volume of testis (6.5%), seminiferous tubule and interstitial tissue volume (6.5%), 6.9% and 11.7% respectively), germinal epithelium height (13%), sperm count (7.5%), and decreased sperm with abnormal morphology (1%) in comparison with the L-carnitine in busulfan treated group. Conclusion: It seems the use of L-carnitine and THT decreases side effects of busulfan on the male reproductive system. However, in our study, THT is more effective than L-carnitine and leads to the recovery testis structure and sperm parameters after treatment with busulfan. This article extracted from M.Sc. thesis. (Ashraf Hassanpour)
Cyber bullying: a general Islamic outlook and response.

This paper discusses cyber bullying that includes any communications seeking to intimidate, control, manipulate, discredit, or humiliate the recipient. From the criminal perspective, the term refers to a situation when the internet, cell phones or other devices are used to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person. Using content analysis approach, and document analysis of the secondary data, the study tends to show how spiritual and environmental approaches suggested by Islam would play a significant role in preventing this form of bullying, besides decreasing one’s tendency of involving in cyber bullying circles.
Equilibrium evaluation of active labor market programmes enhancing matching effectiveness

This paper evaluates counselling programmes in an equilibrium matching model where workers are heterogeneous in skill levels. Job search effort, labour demand and wages are endogenous. When wages are bargained over, raising the effectiveness of or the access to counselling programmes pushes wages upwards and leads to lower search effort among nonparticipants. The effects of increasing the access of the low-skilled are evaluated numerically by enlarging successively the set of endogenous behaviours. Induced effects outweigh substantial positive micro effects on low-skilled employment when all `margins' are taken into account. The inter-temporal utility of the low-skilled nevertheless increases because search effort declines. On the contrary, when the net wage of the low-skilled is a fixed proportion of the one bargained by the high-skilled, raising the access to counselling programmes has small positive effects on all criteria.
Explanation of Light/Dark Superposition Failure in CIGS Solar Cells

CIGS solar cells in many cases show a failure of light/dark superposition of their currentvoltage (J-V) curves. Such failure generally becomes more pronounced at lower temperatures. J-V measurements under red light may also show an additional distortion, known historically as the “red kink”. The proposed explanation is that a secondary barrier results from the conduction band offset between CIGS and the commonly employed CdS window layer. This barrier produces a second diode with the same polarity and in series with the primary photodiode. The secondary-diode barrier height is modified by photoinduced changes of trap occupancy in the CdS layer, hence creating a voltage shift between dark and light conditions. Numerical modeling of the proposed explanation, including a band offset consistent with experimental and theoretical values, gives a very good fit to measured light and dark J-V curves over a wide temperature range. It also predicts the observed difference between illuminated J-V curves with photon energy above the CdS band gap, and those with sub-band-gap illumination.
The devil to pay: a cost of mutualism with Myrmelachista schumanni ants in ‘devil's gardens’ is increased herbivory on Duroia hirsuta trees

‘Devil's gardens’ are nearly pure stands of the myrmecophyte, Duroia hirsuta, that occur in Amazonian rainforests. Devil's gardens are created by Myrmelachista schumanni ants, which nest in D. hirsuta trees and kill other plants using formic acid as an herbicide. Here, we show that this ant–plant mutualism has an associated cost; by making devil's gardens, M. schumanni increases herbivory on D. hirsuta. We measured standing leaf herbivory on D. hirsuta trees and found that they sustain higher herbivory inside than outside devil's gardens. We also measured the rate of herbivory on nursery-grown D. hirsuta saplings planted inside and outside devil's gardens in ant-exclusion and control treatments. We found that when we excluded ants, herbivory on D. hirsuta was higher inside than outside devil's gardens. These results suggest that devil's gardens are a concentrated resource for herbivores. Myrmelachista schumanni workers defend D. hirsuta against herbivores, but do not fully counterbalance the high herbivore pressure in devil's gardens. We suggest that high herbivory may limit the spread of devil's gardens, possibly explaining why devil's gardens do not overrun Amazonian rainforests.
A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR B 2 B ELECTRONIC CONTRACTING

Electronic contracting aims at improving existing business relationship paradigms and at enabling new forms of contractual relationships. To successfully realize these objectives, an integral understanding of the contracting field must be established. In this paper, we propose a conceptual framework for businessto-business contracting support. The framework provides a complete view over the contracting field. It allows positioning research efforts in the domain, analysing them, placing their goals into perspective, and overseeing future research topics and issues. It is the basis for drawing conclusions about basic requirements to contracting systems.
Inference Channels in the Facebook Social Network

A method and apparatus are provided for indicating an operating characteristic of a periodically combusting internal combustion engine, such as a diesel engine, having exhaust gas issuing from one or more combustion chambers in a periodic manner through a duct. The particulate in the exhaust gas stream are electrically charged and of the same polarity, and are grouped in packets associated with the periodic combustion in the respective chambers. An electrically conductive, passive electrode, preferably annular in shape, is disposed such that most or all of the exhaust gas flows therethrough so as to electrostatically sense, principally by induced image charge, the passage of the respective packets of charged particles. The electrode is electrically isolated from the duct. Circuitry with the probe converts the sensed induced image charge to a signal containing a series of pulsating components corresponding in time with the respective particle packets and corresponding quantitatively with the charge-quantity of the respective particle packets. An indicating device responds to the pulsating signal and provides an indication of an operating characteristic of the engine. The electrode is preferably of short axial extent relative to the packet interval to enhance resolution. Structure and circuitry may be provided to minimize soot deposition and/or leakage currents across an insulator between the electrode and duct. In one instance, the indicating device may respond to the root mean square of the pulsating signal to provide a quantitative indication of the level of particulate in the exhaust gas stream. In another instance, the successive pulsations of the signal waveform may be displayed to afford evaluation of the performance of the respective combustion chambers and/or injectors.
ANALISIS PENGARUH RISIKO PASAR, SIZE, BOOK TO MARKET, DAN MOMENTUM TERHADAP KEPUTUSAN INVESTOR DI BURSA EFEK INDONESIA (BEI)(Studi Kasus Pada Perusahaan Non Perbankan Yang Termasuk Dalam Indeks LQ 45 Periode 2007-2010)

Return is one of the investor‟s motive in investment decision making. Investment decision associate with whether to sell or buy stocks. Trading activity is reflected by stock trading volume with indicator of trading volume activity (TVA). In other words trading volume represent investor‟s supply and demand in the stock market which is a manifestation of invetor behavior. The objective of this research is to analyze the influence of market risk, size, book to market, and momentum to investor‟s decision. The sample which is used in this research are 34 non-banking issuers in index LQ45 during 2007-2010 periods. This research used cross sectional data with 14 observation periods. The data analysis technique used in this study is multiple regression analysis and the classical assumptions test which includes autocorrelation, normality, multicollinearity, and heteroscedasticity test. The result of this research shows that market risk has a positive and significant influence on investor‟s decision. The size which is a proxy from market capitalization shows a negative and significant influence to investor‟s decision. The book to market, the return t-3 and t-12 show a positive influence, but they don‟t significantly influence the investor‟s decision, in the other hand the return t-6 shows a negative influence on investor‟s decision. Predictive ability of the sixth variables on the investor‟s decision of 18,4%, and the rest is affected by other factors outside of the research model.
Improved virtual queueing and dynamic EPD techniques for TCP over ATM

It is known that TCP throughput can degrade significantly over UBR service in a congested ATM network, and the early packet discard (EPD) technique has been proposed to improve the performance. However, recent studies show that EPD cannot ensure fairness among competing VCs in a congested network, but the degree of fairness can be improved using various forms of fair buffer allocation techniques. Based upon the work by H.Y. Tzeng and K.Y. Siu (1996), we propose an improved scheme that utilizes only a single shared FIFO queue for all VCs and admits simple implementation for high speed ATM networks. Our scheme achieves nearly perfect fairness of throughput among multiple TCP connections, comparable to the expensive per-VC queuing technique. Analytical and simulation results are presented to show the validity of this new scheme and significant improvement in performance as compared with existing fair buffer allocation techniques for TCP over ATM.
Structure‐based analysis of protein dynamics: Comparison of theoretical results for hen lysozyme with X‐ray diffraction and NMR relaxation data

An analytical approach based on Gaussian network model (GNM) is proposed for predicting the rotational dynamics of proteins. The method, previously shown to successfully reproduce X‐ray crystallographic temperature factors for a series of proteins is extended here to predict bond torsional mobilities and reorientation of main chain amide groups probed by 15N‐H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxation. The dynamics of hen egg‐white lysozyme (HEWL) in the folded state is investigated using the proposed approach. Excellent agreement is observed between theoretical results and experimental (X‐ray diffraction and NMR relaxation) data. The analysis reveals the important role of coupled rotations, or cross‐correlations between dihedral angle librations, in defining the relaxation mechanism on a local scale. The crystal and solution structures exhibit some differences in their local motions, but their global motions are identical. Hinge residues mediating the cooperative movements of the α ‐ and β‐domains are identified, which comprise residues in helix C, Glu35 and Ser36 on the loop succeeding helix B, Ile55 and Leu56 at the turn between strands II and III. The central part of the β‐domain long loop and the turn between strands I and II display an enhanced mobility. Finally, kinetically hot residues and key interactions are identified, which point at helix B and β‐strand III as the structural elements underlying the stability of the tertiary structure. Proteins 1999;37:654–667. ©1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A Comprehensive Review on Pharmacotherapeutics of Herbal Bioenhancers

In India, Ayurveda has made a major contribution to the drug discovery process with new means of identifying active compounds. Recent advancement in bioavailability enhancement of drugs by compounds of herbal origin has produced a revolutionary shift in the way of therapeutics. Thus, bibliographic investigation was carried out by analyzing classical text books and peer-reviewed papers, consulting worldwide-accepted scientific databases from last 30 years. Herbal bioenhancers have been shown to enhance bioavailability and bioefficacy of different classes of drugs, such as antibiotics, antituberculosis, antiviral, antifungal, and anticancerous drugs at low doses. They have also improved oral absorption of nutraceuticals like vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and certain herbal compounds. Their mechanism of action is mainly through absorption process, drug metabolism, and action on drug target. This paper clearly indicates that scientific researchers and pharmaceutical industries have to give emphasis on experimental studies to find out novel active principles from such a vast array of unexploited plants having a role as a bioavailability and bioefficacy enhancer. Also, the mechanisms of action by which bioenhancer compounds exert bioenhancing effects remain to be explored.
Selective redundancy-based design techniques for the minimization of local delay variations

In this paper a novel approach to optimize digital integrated circuits yield with regards to speed and area/power for aggressive scaling technologies is presented. The technique is intended to reduce the effects of intra-die variations using redundancy applied only on critical parts of the circuit. The inherent property of the technique is that the improvement in the maximum frequency the circuit can run is higher for the larger variations. The work shows that the technique can be already applied for 65nm CMOS technology process where a beneficial delay vs. area/power tradeoff can be made. However, a significant benefit is expected for future nanoscale CMOS technologies such as 45nm and 32nm nodes and in low-voltage applications.
Inclusive Fitness does not Impact the Survival Processing Effect

Natural selection acts upon learning and memory processes, much as it does with other physical and behavioral characteristics. For example, numerous lines of inquiry using nonhuman species hypothesize adaptive specializations of Pavlovian conditioned responses and spatial memory. Comparatively less is known about the influence of evolution on learning and memory processes in humans, but the past decade has seen a growing interest in this area; particularly since the publication of Nairne, Thompson, and Pandeirada’s (2007) paper reporting the survival processing effect (SPE). The SPE describes a mnemonic advantage of considering one’s survival in an evolutionarily relevant scenario: Words encoded in such a scenario are better remembered than are words encoded in relation to survival irrelevant scenarios. Numerous publications inspired by Nairne et al.’s paper have subsequently attempted to describe the specific mechanisms, evolutionary and otherwise, that account for the SPE. In four experiments we tested whether manipulating levels of inclusive fitness in survival scenarios influences recall. In our scenarios we asked participants to consider the survival of kin, and other categories of social relationships (self, strangers, family, a famous person), in an evolutionarily relevant context. The basic SPE was replicated in three of the four experiments. However, although kin selection is an important evolutionary mechanism, it appears to be unrelated to the SPE in our sample.
Reversible Encephalopathy after Cardiac Transplantation: Histologic Evidence of Endothelial Activation, T-Cell Specific Trafficking, and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Expression

SUMMARY: Reversible encephalopathy after transplantation is well recognized. The condition is commonly thought to be related to immune suppression, and a characteristic brain imaging pattern is typically recognized with vasogenic edema in the parietal and occipital regions, typically termed posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES). We report the case of a patient with reversible encephalopathy after cardiac transplantation with brain biopsy evidence of endothelial activation, selective intravascular/perivascular T-cell trafficking, and VEGF expression in astrocytes, neurons, and the endothelium.
Clinical pharmacokinetics of 5-fluorouracil and its metabolites in plasma, urine, and bile.

Kinetics of 5-fluorouracil (FUra) and FUra metabolites in plasma and urine were investigated in 10 cancer patients following i.v. bolus administration of 500 mg/m2 FUra with 600 microCi of [6-3H]FUra. Biliary excretion was examined in two patients with external biliary catheters. Quantitation of unchanged drug and metabolites was assessed by a highly specific high-performance liquid chromatographic method. FUra plasma levels declined rapidly with an apparent elimination half-life of 12.9 +/- 7.3 min. Dihydrofluorouracil was detected within 5 min in most patients, demonstrating rapid catabolism and reached maximum peak levels of 23.7 +/- 9.9 microM at approximately 60 min. The apparent elimination half-life of dihydrofluorouracil (61.9 +/- 39.0 min) was consistently greater than that of the unchanged drug. The apparent elimination half-lives of the subsequent metabolites alpha-fluoro-beta-ureidopropionic acid and alpha-fluoro-beta-alanine were prolonged with values of 238.9 +/- 175.4 min and 1976 +/- 358 min, respectively. Approximately 60-90% of the administered dose was excreted in urine within 24 h, primarily as alpha-fluoro-beta-alanine. Biliary excretion accounted for 2-3% of total administered radioactivity. The major fraction of this radioactivity eluted on high-performance liquid chromatography as a previously unrecognized FUra metabolite. Analysis of its structure is currently ongoing in our laboratory. In conclusion, this study provides the first comprehensive analysis of the formation and excretion of FUra metabolites in plasma, urine, and bile following i.v. bolus administration of FUra in humans.
The possible future development of a market for PEM fuel cell road vehicles

Hydrogen fuel cells are increasingly seen as the propulsion technology of the future for road transport. However, despite the potential of this technology to reduce the environmental impact of road transport and to improve energy efficiency, both technical and economic barriers need to be overcome for it to be successfully introduced in mass markets. At Imperial College we are currently undertaking an analysis of the possible future dynamics of the PEM fuel cell market for road transport in Europe. This study is part of an EC-funded, Integrated Project involving 18 partners from both industry and academia; this allows extensive interaction with key market players. This paper presents a dynamic simulation model which addresses all main feedback loops influencing the market introduction of PEM fuel cells in road transport applications in Europe, with a particular emphasis on modelling the effects of cumulative production and R&D on technology attributes.
On the Theory and Potential of Collaborative Cache Management

The goal of cache management is to maximize data reuse. Collaborative caching provides an interface for software to communicate access information to hardware. In theory, it can obtain optimal cache performance. In this paper, we study a collaborative caching system that allows a program to choose different caching methods for its data. As an interface, it may be used in arbitrary ways, sometimes optimal but probably suboptimal most times and even counter productive. We develop a theoretical foundation for collaborative cache to show the inclusion principle and the existence of a distance metric we call LRU-MRU stack distance. The new stack distance is important for program analysis and transformation to target a hierarchical collaborative cache system rather than a single cache configuration. We use 10 benchmark programs to show that optimal caching may reduce the average miss ratio by 24%, and a simple feedback-driven compilation technique can utilize collaborative cache to realize 38% of the optimal improvement. The research is supported by the National Science Foundation (Contract No. CCF-0963759, CNS0834566, CNS-0720796) and IBM CAS Faculty Fellowships. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding organizations.
A maximum-likelihood analysis of eight phylogenetic markers in gallwasps (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae): implications for insect phylogenetic studies.

We assessed the utility of eight DNA sequence markers (5.8S rDNA, 18S rDNA, 28S rDNA, ITS regions, long-wavelength opsin, elongation factor 1-alpha, cytochrome b, and cytochrome oxidase I) in reconstructing phylogenetic relationships at various levels of divergence in gallwasps (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae), using a set of eight exemplar taxa. We report sequence divergence values and saturation levels and compare phylogenetic results of these sequences analyzed both separately and combined to a well-corroborated morphological phylogeny. Likelihood ratio tests were used to find the best evolutionary model fitting each of the markers. The likelihood model best explaining the data is, for most loci, parameter rich, with strong A-T bias for mitochondrial loci and strong rate heterogeneity for the majority of loci. Our data suggest that 28S rDNA, elongation factor 1-alpha, and long-wavelength opsin may be potentially useful markers for the resolution of cynipid and other insect within-family-level divergences (circa 50-100 mya old), whereas mitochondrial loci and ITS regions are most useful for lower-level phylogenetics. In contrast, the 18S rDNA marker is likely to be useful for the resolution of above-family-level relationships.
ROADM system for space division multiplexing with spatial superchannels

A two-span SDM system includes the first ROADM supporting spatial superchannels and the first cladding-pumped multicore-EDFA directly spliced to multicore transmission fiber. For 6×40×128-Gb/s SDM-WDM-PDM-QPSK transmission, BER penalties are ≤1.6dB in Add, Drop, and Express paths.
Design of a general embedded software debug system

With the extensive application of embedded systems, embedded software development becomes very important, and debugging is an indispensable stage in the software development process. In early stage of embedded system development, the embedded debugging system provides program download, debugging and other functions, and production it provides the image file download function. The purpose of this paper is to carry out requirements analysis for the embedded debugging system functions, build a powerful, user-friendly, easy-to-transplant embedded debugging system and give solutions for the several key technologies to realize it.