Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Acute Temperature Change and Temperature Acclimation on the Respiratory Metabolism of the Snakehead

The effects of acute temperature change and the following two weeks of acclimation from the initial 25°C to 15, 20, 30, and 35°C on the respiratory metabolism of the snakehead (Channa argus), a species tolerant to wide temperature range were examined in this study. The resting metabolic rate (RMR), ventilation frequency (VF), and several hematological parameters were determined. RMR of the fish post either acute temperature change or chronic acclimation was positively correlated with temperature, and exhibited V-shaped Q10 values change vs temperature, which suggests that the snakehead has a varying thermal metabolic sensitivity dependent on temperature range. The decreased Q10 value for RMR post chronic acclimation suggests that the metabolic thermal sensitivity of the snakehead can be reduced by acclimation. The VF increased with increasing temperature slower than RMR, which suggests that regulation of VF alone may not be sufficient to satisfy the oxygen demand of the snakehead as temperature increases. Cold compensation was observed in VF, but not RMR, which could be due to a decreasing oxygen exchange capacity of the gill during cold acclimation. Thus, the compensation in VF of cold acclimated fish may be necessary to maintain oxygen supply.
Superstition and Cultural Diversity-Case Study: Isfahan Province, Iran

Studying different cultures clarifies that general values and attitudes are closely related to the other aspects of individuals’ life. Economical conditions, historical experiments, geographical environment, etc are among the factors forming individuals’ beliefs, and consequently any alteration in any of these factors changes the individuals’ beliefs accordingly. Superstition is an ingredient of the public beliefs detectable in almost all cultures; though its definition has been exposed to alterations through the time. The current study aims at collecting and categorizing different superstitions in Isfahan province, Iran. All 15 years old and above are considered as the population for the current study. The total sample size consists of 6192 individuals, selected based on three variables of age, sex, and residential area. The current study enjoys the conventional approach, with survey to study and recognize the superstitions. Open questions are asked in face-to-face interviews. Every individual is asked to answer the questions after contemplating about his/ her superstitious beliefs and those of his/ her parents and residential sub-province as well. The results indicate that all superstitions are in accordance with economical conditions, and value alterations in Iranians beliefs. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013. v4n4p73
An example of beneficial use of variable-structure modeling to enhance an existing rocket model

This paper introduces a rocket model and discusses the advantages of refining it using a variable-structure approach to remodel critical parts. Both versions of the model are implemented in Modelica and were simulated using Dymola as simulation environment. The DySMo framework, which supports the simulation of variable-structure models in common simulation environments, was used to facilitate the redesign. The general benefits of the variable-structure approach are presented, and on the basis of the rocket model we present that simulation time and the data volume of the simulation can be reduced while maintaining the accuracy of the simulation results. variable-structure modeling, simulation speed, data reduction, reduce equation stiffness, rocket launch
Antidiabetic Activity Of Enicostemma Littorale (Mamajjaka) Leaf Extracts In Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats

The antidiabetic activity of Enicostemma littorale (Mamajjaka) leaf extracts was investigated in Streptozotocin-induced diabetic albino rats. A comparison was made between the action of different extracts of Enicostemma littorale (Mamajjaka) and known antidiabetic drug glibenclamide (600 μg/kg b. wt.). An oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was also performed in experimental diabetic rats. The petroleum ether, chloroform, alcohol and aqueous extract of E. littorale were obtained by simple maceration method and were subjected to standardization using pharmacognostical and phytochemical screening methods. Dose selection was made on the basis of acute oral toxicity study (50-5000 mg/kg b.wt.) as per OECD guidelines. E. littorale aqueous extract (ELAE) and ethonolic extract (ELEE) showed significant antidiabetic activity. In Streptozotocin -induced model, blood glucose levels of these extracts on 7 day of the study were 132.00±4.955 mg/dl (ELAE) and 163.3±28.69 mg/dl (ELEE) in comparison of chloroform extract (210.8±14.91 mg/dl). In glucose loaded rats, ELAE exhibited glucose level of 176±3.724 mg/dl after 30 min. and 110.33±6.687 mg/dl after 90 min, whereas the levels in ELEE treated animals were 166.66±3.403 mg/dl after 30 min. and 148.83±4.615 mg/dl after 90 min. These extract also prevented body weight loss in diabetic rats. The drug has the potential to act as an antidiabetic drug.
The Need for Regulating a Bayesian Regulator ∗ SEMIH

This paper analyzes the Baron and Myerson’s (B–M) (Econometrica 50: 911–930 [1982]) scheme of monopoly regulation, a standard representative of Bayesian mechanisms. As is well known, the B–M mechanism (and other related mechanisms) have as an explicit starting point the assumption that the regulator has an unchallenged prior belief about the cost function of the regulated monopolist.We analyze here the consequences resulting from the possibility that this prior belief may be subject to influence or manipulable. As we show in detail, under the B–M scheme, consumers and the regulated monopoly are highly sensitive to the regulator’s prior belief about the (private) cost information of the monopolist. Therefore, if a regulator’s beliefs are unaccountable to and unverifiable by a higher authority, the regulator has both the incentive and the possibility to change and/or misrepresent his prior belief when facing pressure or payoffs from interest groups representing consumers or the regulated firm. The results here show that the outcomes under a B–M mechanism favoring one or another interest group can vary over a wide spectrum. The results are consistent with capture theory and rent-seeking explanations of monopoly regulation and suggest the need to exercise care in using the insights and results of Bayesian regulatory theory to inform practice.
The macroinvertebrate biodiversity and conservation value of garden and field ponds along a rural-urban gradient

The biodiversity and conservation value of semi-natural and field ponds in rural locations are widely acknowledged to be high compared to other freshwater habitats. However, the wider value of urban ponds, and especially garden ponds, has been largely neglected in comparison. This study examines the biodiversity and conservation value of aquatic macroinvertebrates in ponds along an urban-rural continuum over three seasons. Macroinvertebrate faunal richness and diversity of garden ponds (in both urban and sub-urban locations) was markedly lower than that associated with field ponds. The fauna recorded in garden ponds were largely a subset of the taxa recorded in the wider landscape. A total of 146 taxa were recorded from the 26 ponds examined (135 taxa from field ponds and 44 taxa from garden ponds); although only 10 taxa were unique to garden ponds. Garden ponds were frequently managed (macrophytes removed or sediment dredged) and contained artificial fountains or flowing water features which allowed a number of flowing water (lotic) taxa to colonise and persist. Despite the relatively limited faunal diversity and reduced conservation value of garden ponds they have the potential to serve as refugia for some taxa, especially Odonata with highly mobile adults. At the landscape scale, garden ponds provide a diverse and abundant range of freshwater habitats that could play an important role in conserving urban-macroinvertebrate biodiversity. However, for this to be achieved there is a need to provide guidance to home-owners on how this potentially valuable resource can help support freshwater biodiversity.
Checked C: Making C Safe by Extension

This paper presents Checked C, an extension to C designed to support spatial safety, implemented in Clang and LLVM. Checked C's design is distinguished by its focus on backward-compatibility, incremental conversion, developer control, and enabling highly performant code. Like past approaches to a safer C, Checked C employs a form of checked pointer whose accesses can be statically or dynamically verified. Performance evaluation on a set of standard benchmark programs shows overheads to be relatively low. More interestingly, Checked C introduces the notions of a checked region and bounds-safe interfaces.
Irritant Contact Dermatitis: Mechanisms to Repair

Irritant contact dermatitis is an extremely common condition resulting from epidermal exposure to any number of skin irritants. Upon contact with skin irritants, the epidermis develops many identifiable problems including specific epidermal lipid deficiencies, elevated epidermal pH with concomitant suppression of epidermal lipid production, pHdependent susceptibility to infection, inflammation, and aberrant calcium gradients. By addressing these problems simultaneously, and through irritant avoidance, the treatment of irritant contact dermatitis can be maximized.
Localized surface plasmon resonance enhanced magneto-optical activity in core-shell Fe–Ag nanoparticles

Metallic nanoparticles (NPs) are suitable platforms for miniaturized biosensing based on their optical and magneto-optical properties. It is possible to enhance the sensitivity of specific kinds of NPs by exploiting their optical and magneto-optical properties under suitable external magnetic field modulation. Here, the magneto-optical properties of Fe–Ag core-shell ferromagnet-noble metal NPs have been investigated as a function of the incident light frequency. For Fe–Ag NPs with a concentration ratio around 25:75, an optical absorption band centered at 3 eV due to localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) excitation is observed. A strong enhancement of the Faraday rotation is also observed, greatly exceeding the value estimated for pure Fe NPs, also associated with the LSPR excitation. Our findings open up the possibility of highly sensitive miniaturized magneto-optically modulated biosensing.
Third-order Intermodulation Reduction in Mobile Power Amplifiers by the First Stage Bias Control

In this paper, the third order intermodulation distortion (IMD3) of three-stage power amplifier (PA) is analyzed using the Volterra series. The analysis explains how the total IMD3 of the three-stage power amplifier can be reduced by the first-stage bias condition. The threestage PA, which is fabricated using InGaP/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT), operates with an optimized first driver stage bias for higher P1dB and good gain flatness. The power amplifier has been designed for 1626.5 MHz~1660.5 MHz satellite mobile communications. With π/4 DQPSK modulation signals, this PA can deliver a highly linear output power of 33 dBm from 3.6V supply voltage. At 33 dBm output power, it shows a gain of 31.9 dB, a power-added efficiency (PAE) of 39.8%, an adjacent channel power ratio (ACPR) of -28.2 dBc at a 31.25 kHz offset frequency.
A Divergence Dating Analysis of Turtles Using Fossil Calibrations: An Example of Best Practices

Abstract Turtles have served as a model system for molecular divergence dating studies using fossil calibrations. However, because some parts of the fossil record of turtles are very well known, divergence age estimates from molecular phylogenies often do not differ greatly from those observed directly from the fossil record alone. Also, the phylogenetic position and age of turtle fossil calibrations used in previous studies have not been adequately justified. We provide the first explicitly justified minimum and soft maximum age constraints on 22 clades of turtles following best practice protocols. Using these data we undertook a Bayesian relaxed molecular clock analysis establishing a timescale for the evolution of crown Testudines that we exploit in attempting to address evolutionary questions that cannot be resolved with fossils alone. Some of these questions, such as whether the turtle crown originated in the Triassic or Jurassic, cannot be resolved by our analysis. However, our results generate novel age-of-origination estimates for clades within crown Testudines. Finally, we compare our fossil calibrations and posterior age estimates to those from other studies, revealing substantial differences in results and interpretation.
Income convergence in the process of the Western Balkan states' accession to the European Union

One of the main expectations in European transition economies is that the processes of building the market economy and European integrations lead to a significant increase in the living standard, as well as to catching up with the level of the income per capita achieved in developed European economies. A quarter century after the beginning of transition, many of the former socialist countries joined the EU and significantly increased their GDP per capita. On the other hand, transition in the countries of the so-called Western Balkans has disappointed in this sense. The paper tests the existence and speed of income convergence in the Western Balkan states and developed EU countries, in comparison with the so-called 'New Member States'. The results indicate that, despite the achieved income convergence in the pre-crisis years, the outbreak of the global economic crisis has revealed many structural and reform problems that the countries of the region have been facing for a long time. Catching up with developed EU members' average GDP per capita stopped in the Western Balkan states after the beginning of the crisis, with a simultaneous increase in the income gap between the Western Balkan states and the new EU member states.
Structure-Activity Relationship of Novel Lactam Based Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors as Potential Anticancer Drugs

E-mail: gyoonhee@yonsei.ac. krReceived September 26, 2011, Accepted March 12, 2012Key Words : Histone deacetylase (HDAC), Quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR), Lactam basedhistone deacetylase inhibitor Histone acetyltransferases (HAT) and histone deacetylases(HDAC) regulate the chromatin structure related to tran-scriptional activity; epigenetic control.
Spatial relationship of grain size and coarse sediment mineralogy on the shallow Luiche delta platform and its river streams

Lake Tanganyika is located in Western Tanzania and is the world’s second largest lake (32,600 km and 1470m deep), containing 18% of the world’s fresh water. It belongs to western arm of the Tertiary East African Rift System, and is the oldest lake with an estimated age of 9-12 Ma (Cohen et al., 1993). The lake drains water from three main rivers: the Rusizi, Malagarasi and Luiche. These rivers are important for terrestrial sediment supply. The study of grain size distribution and mineralogy of lake sediments and their associated areas of drainage are important as they shed light on the provenance of sediments and the way they are transported along and away from the shore. Based on that study, it will be possible to compare the mineralogy and grain size distribution in the lake, as well as the sediments that are continuously supplied by the river into the lake, and thus be able to characterize them. This study will explain how tectonic and lake level fluctuations influence the distribution of coarse sediments along the shallow water of the Luiche delta platform.
The unicellular green alga Dunaliella salina Teod. as a model for abiotic stress tolerance: genetic advances and future perspectives

The physiology of the unicellular green alga Dunaliella salina in response to abiotic stress has been studied for several decades. Early D. salina research focused on its remarkable salinity tolerance and ability, upon exposure to various abiotic stresses, to accumulate high concentrations of -carotene and other carotenoid pigments valued highly as nutraceuticals. The simple life cycle and growth requirements of D. salina make this organism one of the large-scale commercially exploited microalgae for natural carotenoids. Recent advances in genomics and proteomics now allow investigation of abiotic stress responses at the molecular level. Detailed knowledge of isoprenoid biosynthesis mechanisms and the development of molecular tools and techniques for D. salina will allow the improvement of physiological characteristics of algal strains and the use of transgenic algae in bioreactors. Here we review D. salina isoprenoid and carotenoid biosynthesis regulation, and also the biotechnological and genetic transformation procedures developed for this alga that set the stage for its future use as a production system.
Ecological and Socio-Economic Factors Affecting Agricultural Intensification in the West African Savannas: Evidence from Northern Nigeria

ABSTRACT Agricultural intensification in West Africa is at an early stage and the process is taking place through various pathways. Population pressure and market access are generally considered as major factors driving intensification and crop-livestock interaction. In this paper both ecology and economic factors and their interactions are hypothesized as driving forces in intensification and crop-livestock interaction. Analyses of a survey involving farming households in Nigeria confirm the hypothesis and show that the degree of intensification is higher in the Sudan savanna than the Northern Guinea savanna. Intensification is occurring mostly through higher land and labor use intensity, higher livestock stocking rates and application of more manure per hectare. It is concluded that policies to enhance market access will facilitate the process and that different technological options need to be pursued in the two agroecological zones to facilitate intensification.
Autonomous Quadrocopter for Search, Count and Localization of Objects

This chapter describes and evaluates the design and implementation of a new fully autonomous quadrocopter, which is capable of self‐reliant search, count and localiza‐ tion of a predefined object on the ground inside a room. A camera attached to the quadrocopter and directed at the ground is used to find the searched objects and to determine its positions during the autonomous flight in real time. Hence, objects that fulfil the scanning parameters can be found in different positions. Based on its own known position and the position of the object in the picture of the camera, the position of the detected objects can be determined. Thus, repeated detections of objects can be excluded. Consequently, objects can be counted and localized autonomously. The position of the object is transferred to the ground station and compared with the true position to evaluate the system. Two different search situations and two different strategies, breadth first search (BFS) and depth first search (DFS), are investigated and their results are compared. The evaluation shows the potential, constraints and drawbacks of this approach just as the effects of the search strategy, and the most important parameters and indicators such as field of view (FOV), masking area (MA) and minimal object distance. Moreover, the accuracy, performance and completeness of the search are discussed. The entire system is composed of low‐cost components and constructed from scratch. Its integration in the innovative real‐time operating system RODOS (Real‐time Onboard Dependable Operating System) developed by the German Aerospace Centre is described in detail. RODOS has been developed for embedded systems such as satellites and comparable aerospace systems.
REPORT ON MOD ` REPRESENTATIONS OF Gal(Q/Q)

and let S = Sk(Γ1(N)) be the complex vector space of cusp forms of weight k on Γ1(N). There is a standard action d 7→ 〈d〉 ∈ AutS of the group (Z/NZ)∗ on S. In addition, S comes equipped with a family of Hecke operators Tn (n ≥ 1); the Tn commute with each other and with the “diamond bracket” operators 〈d〉. These operators are traditionally written on the right; for example, the n Hecke operator is normally written f 7→ f |Tn. An eigenform in S is a non-zero cusp form f ∈ S which is an eigenvector for each of the operators Tn and 〈d〉. In particular, if f is an eigenform, then there is a Dirichlet character 2 defined mod N such that f |〈d〉 = 2(d)f for d ∈ (Z/NZ)∗. The functional equation satisfied by a weight-k cusp form implies that this “Nebentypus” character has the same parity as k: 2(−1) = (−1)k. The eigenvalues an of the Tn acting on f are algebraic integers, and generate together a finite extension of Q. Let Q be an algebraic closure of the field of rational numbers, and consider the Galois group Gal(Q/Q). Suppose that f ∈ S is an eigenform, and let E be a number field containing the associated eigenvalues an and 2(d). A construction of Deligne [10] attaches to f a family of continuous representations
Reproducibility and Accuracy of Tumor Volume Measurement at MicroCT Colonography in Living Mice

Rationale and Objectives—We sought to demonstrate the viability of microcomputed tomographic colonography (μCTC) as a tool for monitoring tumorigenesis in mouse models of human colorectal cancer during prospective longitudinal studies. The precision and accuracy of volumetric measurements were determined to assess whether changes in tumor volume over time were readily detectable. Materials and Methods—All animal studies were conducted under the guidelines set forth by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of the American Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care. μCTC was performed on C57BL/6J (B6) mice carrying the Min allele of Apc, ultimately yielding 18 scans. Assessments of scan quality and tumor volume were both performed once a week over a period of eight weeks. Results—Scans with a good quality rating had a mean standard deviation in tumor volume measurement of 8%. By contrast, scans with a poor quality rating had a mean standard deviation in tumor volume measurement of 35%. Variables affecting μCTC scan quality in living mice included bowel preparation, motion artifact, and tumor morphology. Tumor volume measurements were highly correlated with tumor weight (r 2 =0.87). Conclusion—The reproducibility of tumor volume measurement at μCTC in living mice makes prospective longitudinal evaluation of colonic tumor response feasible. For μCTC scans of good quality, a 16% change in tumor volume can be detected at the 95% confidence level.
A three‐dimensional model of microbial transport and biodegradation at the Schoolcraft, Michigan, site

Bioremediation can be a cost‐effective approach to clean up groundwater contaminants, especially in cases where numerical models have been used to evaluate microbial processes and design remediation strategies. This paper describes the three‐dimensional reactive transport modeling of carbon tetrachloride (CT) bioremediation at the Schoolcraft site in western Michigan. A “biocurtain” was created to remediate this site using a recirculation well gallery installed normal to groundwater flow, which was inoculated with nonnative microbes and fed with weekly additions of electron donor (acetate) and nutrients. The model simulates the transport and reactions of aqueous and sorbed phase CT, acetate, electron acceptor (nitrate), mobile and immobile microbes, and tracer (bromide). Simulated microbial processes include growth, decay, attachment, detachment, and endogenous respiration. This model was used to predict solute concentrations across the site using laboratory‐based reaction parameters and to evaluate changes in rates from the laboratory to the field. A reasonable agreement was found between predicted and observed acetate and nitrate concentrations; however, a lower CT degradation rate was needed to describe the CT concentrations observed after the inoculation event.