Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reactive Nitrogen and Human Health:Acute and Long-term Implications

Abstract Reactive-nitrogen (Nr) has a wide variety of beneficial and detrimental effects on human health. The most important of the beneficial effects are increasing global and regional food supplies and increased nutritional quality of available foods. However, lack of adequate dietary intake of amino acids and proteins is a serious cause of malnutrition when food supplies are inadequate because of poverty, drought, floods, wars, and displacements of people as refugees. There is sufficient, though limited, quantitative data indicating that increased circulation of Nr in the environment is responsible for significant human health effects via other exposure pathways. Nr can lead to harmful health effects from airborne occupational exposures and population-wide indoor and outdoor air pollution exposures to nitrogen dioxide and ozone. Nr can also affect health via water pollution problems, including methemoglobinemia from contaminated ground water, eutrophication causing fish kills and algal blooms that can be toxic to humans, and via global warming. The environmental pollutants stemming from reactive nitrogen are ubiquitous, making it difficult to identify the extent to which Nr exerts a specific health effect. As all populations are susceptible, continued interdisciplinary investigations are needed to determine the extent and nature of the beneficial and harmful effects on human health of nitrogen-related pollutants and their derivatives.
Phytochemical investigation of Phoenix canariensis Hort. ex Chabaud leaves and pollen grains and spathe volatile analysis.

Phoenix canariensis is a commonly grown, yet understudied, palm plant. The phytochemical screening of leaves and pollens revealed the presence of flavonoids, saponins, tannins, sterols and/or triterpenes. Quantitative estimation of constituents, revealed that the total polyphenolics were higher in the leaves (69.9) than in pollens (29.98) expressed in mg gallic acid equivalent/g d.wt, the total flavonoids calculated as rutin equivalent were (23.86 mg/g) in leaves and (17.20 mg/g) in pollens, the total tannins content was 55.18 and 3.31 mg tannic acid equivalent/g fresh wt, while the total steroids content were 2.6 and 12.4 mg β-sitosterol equivalent/g d.wt, in leaves and pollens, respectively. Eighteen phenolic compounds and ten flavonoids were identified by HPLC. GLC analysis of lipids, revealed identification of phytosterols (4.93 and 28.90%), saturated (35.35 and 40.56%) and unsaturated (62.42 and 59.01%) fatty acids in leaves and pollens, respectively. Proximate analysis revealed a total moisture content of (6.4 and 7.7 %), crude fiber (32.22 and 39.50%), total ash (12.1 and 8.1%) and acid insoluble ash (4.7 and 7.6 %) for leaves and pollens, respectively. Moreover, spathe headspace volatile analysis combined with GC-MS revealed the presence of fifty-two compounds constituting 72.84% of the total oil composition where α- copaene predominates (18.72%).
New Three-Phase Inductive FCL With Common Core and Trifilar Windings

Fault current limiters (FCLs) are expected to play an important role in the protection of future power grids. Inductive FCLs are particularly interesting due to their inherent reaction to a fault, but are not commercialized because of a too large amount of magnetic material and an induced overvoltage across dc windings. This paper introduces a new three-phase FCL with a common core and trifilar windings. With the new FCL topology, the phase windings are placed on a single core, resulting in significant reduction of the amount of required magnetic material. Furthermore, the phase windings are wound simultaneously, so that the flux coupling between the phases is increased considerably. It cancels out the magnetic field and reduces the FCL normal impedance significantly. The dc windings are used only to compensate for possible asymmetry in the system currents. Consequently, the number of dc turns and the induced overvoltage are considerably decreased. Testing of a scaled-down FCL lab prototype made it possible to verify the FE simulation results and demonstrated the principle of operation of the new topology. Experimental and simulation results matched very well.
Photometric structure of polar-ring galaxies

The results of B, V, R surface photometry of three polar-ring galaxies (PRGs) - A 0017+2212, UGC 1198, UGC 4385 - are presented. The data were acquired at the 6-m telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences. It was shown that all three galaxies are peculiar late-type spirals in the state of ongoing interac- tion or merging. We discuss available photometric properties of the PRGs with spiral hosts and consider the Tully-Fisher relation for different types of PRGs. In agreement with Iodice et al. (2003), we have shown that true PRGs demonstrate ∼1/3 larger maximum ro- tation velocities than spiral galaxies of the same luminosity. Peculiar objects with forming polar structures satisfy, on average, the Tully-Fisher relation for disk galaxies but with large scatter.
Maternal and fetal outcomes after laparoscopic vs. Open appendectomy in pregnant women: data from two tertiary referral centers.

Objectives Appendectomy is the most common cause of non-obstetric surgery in pregnant women. Our aim was to compare the clinical characteristics, peri-and post-operative data of pregnant women undergoing either laparoscopic appendectomy (LA) or open appendectomy (OA). Materials and methods This was a retrospective study of medical records of all pregnant women diagnosed and treated surgically for acute appendicitis at two referral centers of Yuzuncu Yil University Medical Faculty and Kafkas University Medical Faculty, from January 2010 to January 2015. Results The study included 48 patients, divided to two groups (12 - LA and 36 - OA). There were no significant differences in demographic characteristics of the studied population, including age, BMI, gestational age at operation, gravidity, parity, and history of cesarean sections. A far as obstetric and fetal outcomes are concerned, no significant differences were found in terms of preterm delivery, fetal loss, delivery mode, birth weight, APGAR score, and maternal death between the two investigated groups. One perioperative complication of intra-abdominal abscess was noted in the OA group. However, the LA group had shorter hospital stay (3.25±2.45 vs. 4.28±3.31, p=0.004), earlier mobilization time (8.1±2.2 vs. 10.1±1.6, p=0.025), and shorter time to first flatus (2.3±0.3 vs. 4.0±1.6, p=0.032) as compared to the OA group. The OA group had statistically shorter operation time than the LA group (38.61±11.5 vs. 49.42±11.38, p=0.007). Conclusion LA is related to shorter hospital stay, faster return to daily activities, and shorter time to first flatus. LA appears to be as safe and effective as OA in pregnant patients without increasing adverse perinatal outcomes.
To the moon or bust? Factors of success of an Initial-Coin-Offering

Whilst cryptocurrencies and initial-coin-offerings (ICO) have gained increased popularity and mainstream attention throughout the last decade, it is unclear as to whether investors rely on traditional investment criteria, or subjective indicators such as overall market sentiment, and additional psychological influences. This paper is an empirical analysis on whether the content and quality of an ICO whitepaper influences its success. The research has found that not all data on an initial-coin-offerings is significant, and therefor begs the question on whether psychological investment drivers have a more significant effect on their success.
Neonatal sepsis: Role of a battery of immunohematological tests in early diagnosis

Background and Objective: Worldwide, many neonates with sepsis die due to lack of early diagnosis. In this study we attempt to analyze the value of various immunological and hematological parameters, singly and in combination, for the diagnosis of neonatal sepsis, with the aim being to formulate guidelines for the early diagnosis of the condition. Materials and Methods: In this prospective study, 62 patients having clinical suspicion of neonatal sepsis were evaluated with a battery of investigations. Neonates admitted for other causes and without clinical suspicion of sepsis were selected as controls (n=40). The tests included blood culture, hemoglobin level, total and differential blood count, absolute neutrophil count, ratio of immature to total neutrophil count (I/T ratio), micro-erythrocyte sedimentation rate (m-ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), platelet count, serum IgM level, and plasma fibrinogen level. Patients were divided into proven cases (positive blood culture) and probable cases (negative blood culture). Results: Positive blood culture was seen in 38 cases (61.3%). Raised m-ESR (>8 mm in the first hour) was seen in 63.2% of proven and 66.7% of probable cases. I/T ratio of ≥0.2 was seen in 63.2% and 58.3% of proven and probable cases, respectively. Morphological changes in neutrophils were detected in 68.4% of proven cases and 91.7% of probable cases. Positive CRP test (≥6 mg/l) was found in 84.2% of proven cases and 100% of probable cases. Raised serum IgM, leucopenia, and neutropenia were seen in a small number of patients (11%–37%). Raised fibrinogen level (>400 mg/l) was seen in patients as well as in controls. Conclusions: The four useful tests that we identified were m-ESR, I/T ratio, morphological changes in neutrophils, and CRP; and role of these tests in early diagnosis of neonatal sepis were statistically significant (P<.05). The most sensitive test was CRP (84%) and the most specific test was m-ESR (94%). A combination of three or all of these four tests was highly specific (95%–100%).
On the Design of Fault-Tolerant Two-Dimensional Systolic Arrays for Yield Enhancement

The authors propose a unified approach to the design of the fault-tolerant systolic arrays incorporating design for testability, a testing scheme, a reconfiguration algorithm, time-complexity analysis of the proposed reconfiguration algorithm, and yield analysis. A main feature of the proposed designs is that multiple processing elements in a 2-D array can be tested simultaneously, thus reducing the testing time significantly. Another feature is that with the introduction of delay registers, the proposed reconfiguration algorithm reconfigures a faulty 2-D systolic array into a fault-free array without reducing throughput. The overall aim is to provide a design for a 2-D systolic array that produces high yield in VLSI/WSI implementations. >
Apprentissage de relations morphologiques en corpus

Nous proposons une méthode pour apprendre des relations morphologiques dérivationnelles en corpus. Elle se fonde sur la cooccurrence en corpus de mots formellement proches et un filtrage complémentaire sur la forme des mots dérivés. Elle est mise en oeuvre et expérimentée sur un corpus médical. Les relations obtenues avant filtrage ont une précision moyenne de 75,6 % au 5000è rang (fenêtre de 150 mots). L’examen détaillé des dérivés adjectivaux d’un échantillon de 633 noms du champ de l’anatomie montre une bonne précision de 85–91 % et un rappel modéré de 32–34 %. Nous discutons ces résultats et proposons des pistes pour les compléter.
Validity, Reliability and Factorial Structure of the Self Compassion Scale in the Greek Population

Self-compassion is a construct in the field of Positive psychology. It involves being kind, warm and standing with understanding towards oneself when one suffers, fails or feels inadequate, rather than criticizing and blaming oneself or ignoring the pain and negative feelings. A plethora of studies has highlighted its beneficial outcomes on people’s psychological prosperity. In the present study, we examined the psychometric properties of the Greek version of Self Compassion Scale (SCS). The standardization was carried out in a sample of 642 Greek adults, ranging from 18 to 65 years old. Results showed that the SCS has satisfactory reliability and validity indexes. Moreover, the factorial structure of the scale matches the ones found in previous studies in many countries.
Acquisition of practical skills in the protected learning space of a scientific community

Digitalization is constantly forcing companies to refine their products, services and business models. To shape this change, companies expect not only knowledge of the technologies from the graduates of the respective study programs, but also comprehensive methodological and social competences. For this purpose, we describe the concept of a project semester in an Enterprise Computing study programme, which imparts the required skills. The task set by a partner in the industry allows the achievement of different goals and integrates the various dimensions. On this basis, we describe the best practices in the areas of project management, knowledge building, administration and dealing with customers and other stakeholders. The description of actually carried out projects shows the application of our concept and allows the reader to transfer the best practices to his own needs. Finally, we point out the advantages for the project participants and outline expansion potential.
Circulating methylated septin 9 nucleic Acid in the plasma of patients with gastrointestinal cancer in the stomach and colon.

BACKGROUND Methylated Septin 9 (mSEPT9) in plasma has recently been suggested as a screening marker for colorectal cancer (CRC) with variable sensitivity. We aimed to determine the usefulness of plasma mSEPT9 for screening CRC and gastric cancer (GC) and its diagnostic role in postoperative CRC patients. METHODS A total of 350 peripheral blood samples from 101 CRC patients, 153 GC patients, and 96 healthy persons were collected. In addition, we obtained 35 follow-up blood samples from 27 CRC patients after curative radical surgery. Plasma mSEPT9, serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), and serum CA19-9 were evaluated with clinicopathologic features. RESULTS The sensitivity of plasma mSEPT9 was 36.6% for detecting CRC and 17.7% for detecting GC, and the specificity was 90.6%. During follow-up periods, mSEPT9 showed negative conversion in eight of nine CRC patients (88.9%) whose plasma mSEPT9 had been positive before radical surgery. The patients with plasma mSEPT9 had a tendency of presence of distant metastasis and lower disease-free survival in both CRC and GC. In GC patients, plasma mSEPT9 was more frequently observed in intestinal (23.5%) and mixed type (40.0%) than diffuse type (7.3%; P =.009). Combined analysis of mSEPT9, CEA, and CA19-9 increased the sensitivity for diagnosing GC to 32.7% (P = .002). CONCLUSION Considering the high incidence of plasma mSEPT9 in intestinal or mixed type GCs similar to CRCs, GC should be examined through the plasma mSEPT9 screening test. In addition, plasma mSEPT9 is proposed as a follow-up marker in CRC patients, but further validation is required.
COLITIS IN PATIENTS TREATED WITH GANGLION‐BLOCKING AGENTS

BOWEL DISTURBANCE in patients being treated with ganglion-blockingagents is well recognized: some degree of constipation is almost universal, and most of the patients require continued use of purgatives; occasional casesof paralytic ileus have also been reported (Bourne and Hosford, 1951; Hirson and Kelsall, 1951; Mackey and Shaw,1951). However, it is not generallyappreciatedthat the treatment may sometimes be complicated by severe diarrheea due to an ulcerative lesion of the bowel. The following casehistories are reported to draw attention to this possibility.
Global Exponential Synchronization of Two Memristor-Based Recurrent Neural Networks With Time Delays via Static or Dynamic Coupling

This paper is concerned with the global exponential synchronization of two memristor-based recurrent neural networks (MRNNs) with time delays via static or dynamic coupling. First, four coupling rules (i.e., static state coupling, static output coupling, dynamic state coupling, and dynamic output coupling) are designed for the exponential synchronization of drive-response pair of MRNNs. Then, several global exponential synchronization criteria are derived by constructing suitable Lyapunov-Krasovskii functionals based on the Lyapunov stability theory. Compared with existing results on synchronization of MRNNs, the conditions herein are easy to be verified. Moreover, the designed dynamic state coupling and output coupling rules have good anti-interference capacity. Finally, two illustrative examples are presented to substantiate the effectiveness and characteristics of the presented theoretical results.
AutoBLG: Automatic URL blacklist generator using search space expansion and filters

Modern web users are exposed to a browser security threat called drive-by-download attacks that occur by simply visiting a malicious Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that embeds code to exploit web browser vulnerabilities. Many web users tend to click such URLs without considering the underlying threats. URL blacklists are an effective countermeasure to such browser-targeted attacks. URLs are frequently updated; therefore, collecting fresh malicious URLs is essential to ensure the effectiveness of a URL blacklist. We propose a framework called automatic blacklist generator (AutoBLG) that automatically identifies new malicious URLs using a given existing URL blacklist. The key idea of AutoBLG is expanding the search space of web pages while reducing the amount of URLs to be analyzed by applying several pre-filters to accelerate the process of generating blacklists. Auto-BLG comprises three primary primitives: URL expansion, URL filtration, and URL verification. Through extensive analysis using a high-performance web client honeypot, we demonstrate that AutoBLG can successfully extract new and previously unknown drive-by-download URLs.
FcγRIIa and FcγRIIIb polymorphisms and associations with clinical manifestations in systemic lupus erythematosus patients

Abstract In this study, we aimed to investigate whether the distribution of the FcγRIIa and FcγRIIIb polymorphisms determines susceptibility to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and acts as predictors of SLE clinical manifestations in the Brazilian patients. A total of 157 patients that fulfilled the American College of Rheumatology classification criteria for SLE and 160 healthy volunteers were included in this study. FCGR2A and FCGR3B genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction-based allotyping methods with allele-specific primers; the clinical features were obtained from the patients' official medical records. In the case of FcγRIIa polymorphism, it was observed association of the allele FCGR2A-R-131 (p = 0.02, odds ratio (OR)=1.44) and genotype RR-131 (p = 0.03, OR = 2.09) with SLE. These associations were higher with allele (p < 0.01, OR = 1.67) as well genotype (p = 0.01, OR = 2.85) when lupus nephritis was considered. In contrast, the allele FCGR2A-H-131 was associated with susceptibility to arthritis and anti-DNA antibodies (p = 0.05 for both). As for FcγRIIIb polymorphism, skewing did not differ significantly between patients and controls, however the genotype FCGR3B*02*02 was associated with susceptibility to arthritis (p = 0.02) and malar rash (p = 0.03), but no association with nephritis was found. The results demonstrate that FcγRIIa polymorphism is associated with susceptibility to SLE in Brazilian patients, whereas for FcγRIIIb polymorphism no association was found. However, notably, both polymorphisms present allelic variants that influence the clinical manifestations and may contribute to the pathogenesis of the disease. In addition, to our knowledge, this is the first study considering the frequency of FcγRIIIb polymorphism in Brazilian SLE patients.
Review of Literature and Curricula in Smart Supply Chain & Transportation

This study provides a review of existing smart supply chain management (SCM) literature and current course offerings in order to identify unexplored implications of smart SCM. Specifically, the study focuses on curricula within the state of California to derive potential opportunities for the relevant practitioners in the Bay Area. In addition, the study further extends curriculum review to other well-recognized SCM programs around the U.S. By exploring current relevant course offerings from different academic institutions for higher education (i.e., universities), this research aims to deliver general ideas useful to knowledge practitioners in fields concerning SCM. Finally, the research illustrates a conceptual framework aimed at fostering familiarity with the necessary research topics for the evolving smart SCM
The value of non-executive directors to small and medium size enterprises,including a gender perspective

The role and value of NEDs is well defined within listed companies but little is known about NEDs in the SME market. Given the importance of SMEs to the economy and the need to support their growth and development, TLT, ACCA, Transpire and Practice commissioned this report to address the following six key factors relating to the value of NEDs in SMEs: •What is the need for NEDs in the SME market? •What is the recruitment process for NEDS and who determines who is hired? •How are NEDs integrated into the board/company, for example, through networking, mentoring, and induction programmes? •What does a NED role entail in an SME? •What are the challenges for NEDs and their organisations? •What are the terms of engagement in relation to NEDs?
Performance Evaluation and Comparative Analysis of Network Firewalls

Firewalls are no longer just perimeter devices for the data center, but should be weaved into the fabric of the network from edge to edge such as to offer security layered in-depth and ubiquitous. The next evolution of the firewall has to combine dynamic policy-based security with performance, rapid scaling, high availability and application intelligence. Today, increasing attention is paid to network firewall design quality due to regulations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley act, CobiT framework, the Payment-Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and the NIST standard. All these regulations include specific sections dealing with firewall configuration, management and audit. This paper is a humble attempt to examine various types of firewalls operational as on today and cross reference each firewall operation with causes and effects of weaknesses in their operation. In addition, we analyze reported problems with existing firewalls. Detailed analysis and comparison is done in terms of cost, security, operational ease and implementation of Open source packet filter (PF) firewall, Checkpoint SPLAT and Cisco ASA in a testing environment with laboratory generated traffic. Various throughputs and connections statistics were used as benchmark for performance comparison. The results indicated that Cisco ASA outperforms its peers in most performance criterions. Checkpoint SPLAT and OpenBSD PF also provides reasonably good and competitive performance. The results reported in this paper will also be useful in comparing vendors to procure firewall based on one's own organizational business requirements.
The Value of Crowdsourcing: Evidence from Earnings Forecasts

We use a novel dataset containing earnings forecasts from buy-side analysts, sell-side analysts, and individual investors, to examine whether the crowdsourcing of earnings forecasts provides value-relevant information. Consistent with the ‘wisdom-of-crowds’ effect, crowdsourced earnings consensus is more accurate than the I/B/E/S consensus 57% of the time. The accuracy of the crowdsourced consensus increases with diversity. The crowdsourced consensus produces errors that are more strongly associated with abnormal returns, suggesting that it is a superior measure of the market’s true earnings expectations. A trading strategy based on the difference between the consensuses yields an abnormal return of 0.592% per month. JEL Classifications: G140, G240