Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EFFICACY AND MECHANISMS OF MEDICINAL PLANTS AS IMMUNOTHERAPY IN TREATMENT OF ALLERGIC RHINITIS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Allergic rhinitis is a common disease of immune system that negatively affects general health, quality of life, and social relationships. In the recent years, many studies have been conducted to discover novel treatments for this disease particularly using natural products. Here, we review findings of recent studies that harness medicinal plants and phyto-therapies in oriental medicine that have effectively reduced allergic rhinitis complications. We also assess the use of medicinal plants and their derivatives in oriental medicine to treat allergic rhinitis. In addition, these agents have been reported to be used in combination with each other or separately as complementary therapies and even, in some cases, alternative therapies instead of chemical drugs. These plants display their anti-allergy effects through affecting immunoglobulin and inhibiting different cytokines and interleukins. Medicinal plants and traditional approaches can still offer new therapeutic alternatives to researchers and pharmacists so that these alternatives may further contribute to allergic rhinitis drug discovery. Keywords Author Keywords:Allergic rhinitis; Respiratory allergic diseases; Phytotherapy; Immunomodulation; Herbal drugs
Chip-Level Design for Digital Microfluidic Biochips

Recently, electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD) chips have become the most popular actuator for droplet-based digital microfluidic biochips (DMFBs) due to its high throughput, automatic control, and low cost. As the complexity of biochemical assays increases, powerful computer-aided-design (CAD) tools are needed. This paper provides an overview of DMFBs and describes some important issues and problems in the chip-level design of DMFBs.
Bands detection and Lanes segmentation in DNA Fingerprint images

Gel electrophoresis (GE) is a widely used technique to separate DNA sequence according to their size and weight, GE results are presented using images. In this paper, we present a scheme that aims to detect and segment the lanes in DNA gel images without any human interventions. We have successfully implemented an image processing scheme to automatically detect and segment the lanes in DNA gel images, applying this scheme to several DNA fingerprint gel images ,all the lanes are successfully segmented. Also we have obtained up to 99.5% accuracy for the segmentation of lanes in good quality images. The proposed scheme is compared with other techniques and the comparison shows that it has a minimum error rate.
A Versatile Terrain and Roadside Chipper for Energy Wood Production in Plantation Forestry

A new industrial chipper was designed for use in short-rotation forestry plantations, which requires high productivity and allround mobility. The new machine was tested at seven different sites, representative of the main work environments negotiated by modern agroforestry contractors. The tests produced 114 chip containers, or 929 tonnes of fresh chips (ca. 3,500 m3 of loose chips). Productivity varied between 28 and 55 tonnes of fresh chips (or 105 and 194 m3 of loose chips) per productive work hour, excluding delays. Pure chipping productivity (calculated on chipping time only) was higher and peaked at 70 tonnes of fresh chips or 242 m3 of loose chips per hour. Fuel consumption ranged from 1.38 to 2.15 litres of diesel per tonne of green chips, or from 0.39 to 0.59 litres of diesel per m3 of loose chips. Machine utilization rate varied between 69 and 83 %. Highest efficiency was reached at plant yards, due to optimum pile layout, wide space availability and easy chip discharge. Due to its remarkable off-road mobility, the new machine can restore efficiency to terrain chipping, provided that the terrain is flat and solid, the piles are duly arranged and a large enough support fleet is available for moving the chips to their destination.
Theory of acoustic surface plasmons

J. M. Pitarke,1,2 V. U. Nazarov,3 V. M. Silkin,2 E. V. Chulkov,2,4 E. Zaremba,5 and P. M. Echenique2,4 1Materia Kondentsatuaren Fisika Saila, Zientzi Fakultatea, Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, 644 Posta kutxatila, E-48080 Bilbo, Basque Country, Spain 2Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC) and Centro Mixto CSIC-UPV/EHU, Manuel de Lardizabal Pasealekua, E-20018 Donostia, Basque Country, Spain 3Department of Physics and Institute for Condensed Matter Theory, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 500-757, Korea 4Materialen Fisika Saila, Kimika Fakultatea, Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, 1072 Posta kutxatila, E-20080 Donostia, Basque Country, Spain 5Department of Physics, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6 (Received 2 June 2004; published 4 November 2004)
Testing A Novel Gesture-Based Mixing Interface

In this article, a sound-mixing system controlled by hand gestures recognized in a video stream is presented. This novel approach to DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) controlling, was motivated by the limited ergonomics of the computer mouse and keyboard interface, as well as by the influence of audio information visualization on sound mixing. The article reviews existing approaches to gesture controlled audio, and presents the engineered system architecture and approach to gesture sonification. The methodology involved examining the systemwiththehelpofprofessionalaudioengineersintestsconductedtoassess,amongothers, what influence the visualization of audio parameter values may have on mixing results. The results of a questionnaire and the subjective assessment of the obtained mixes have been given. The system efficiency and gesture recognition reliability have been assessed.
Can native species crucian carp Carassius auratus recognizes the introduced red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii

Procambarus clarkii is native to the south-central United States (Louisiana) and northeastern Mexico, and is a highly efficient predator that poses a damager to native species after its introduction or invasion. In its natural habitat, P. clarkii con- sumes Carassius auratus, however, whether C. auratus recognizes P. clarkii as a predator is not yet clear. In laboratory experi- ments, we investigated whether experienced and inexperienced C. auratus recognize P. clarkii as a predatory threat and the spe- cific sensory modality used by C. auratus to respond to chemical and visual stimuli from P. clarkii. In the chemical stimuli ex- periment, two kinds of chemical stimuli were used, water from a tub containing P. clarkii previously fed with C. auratus (C. au- ratus diet cues) and water from a tub containing unfed P. clarkii (P. clarkii cues). In the visual experiment, experienced C. auratus decreased activity, but inexperienced C.auratus avoided the predator compartment. When C. auratus diet cues were presented, both experienced and inexperienced C. auratus increased the use of shelter, decreased activity in the initial response phase. Com- pared with the blank treatment, experienced C. auratus responded to P. clarkii cues by decreasing activity; however, inexperi- enced C. auratus showed no reduction in activity. C. auratus appears to recognize P. clarkii as a predator both through visual and chemical cues. Further analysis revealed that C. auratus may recognize P. clarkii visually through the disturbances caused by P. clarkii movement and chemically by detecting conspecific alarm cues in the diet of P. clarkii. The results also indicate that ex- perienced C. auratus can recognize P. clarkii by innate chemical cues from P. clarkii, whereas inexperienced C. auratus cannot (Current Zoology 57 (3): 330-339, 2011).
Change in the shoaling behaviour and nutritional condition of anchovies (Engraulis encrasicolus L.) during a wind-induced water column disturbance: a natural event test of a general hypothesis

Fishermen have long observed the sudden change of shoaling behaviour of small pelagic fish following a strong wind event. The phenomenon was thereafter confirmed by fisheries scientists using acoustic tools. In this study, we report our observations made with acoustics to measure disorganization of the previously observed spatial distribution and shape of shoals that occurred after a wind event. The measurements were made during a fisheries research cruise in the Bay of Biscay (NE Atlantic) aimed at determining (1) small pelagic fish species abundance and (2) the individual nutritional state of anchovies (Engraulis encrasicolus L.) via evaluation of their RNA/DNA ratio. A spatial fine-scale study was conducted in two of the main breeding areas for anchovy, one located near the plume of a large river (haline stratification) and the other in an open sea location over the continental shelf break (thermal stratification). After a strong wind event, a change of the spatial and bathymetric distribution of the fish community, including anchovy, was observed in the open sea area, whereas no effect was detected in the near shore area. The RNA/DNA ratios determined in anchovy white muscles were quite similar in both areas before the wind event. Afterwards, they remained unchanged near the shore but were significantly reduced in the open sea location. This difference can be explained by the disparity in the strength of the stratification (i.e. haline versus thermal), but a change in the species composition of the fish community may also have played a role.
Mass Estimation of Santacrucian Sloths from the Early Miocene Santa Cruz Formation of Patagonia, Argentina

Miocene deposits of the Santa Cruz Formation, Patagonia, comprise a diverse and excellently preserved vertebrate fauna, allowing detailed paleobiological and paleoecological studies based on three ecological parameters: body mass, diet, and substrate preference. In contrast to the small and arboreal extant sloths, Bradypus and Choloepus, Santacrucian sloths were much more diverse and larger, and comprised 11 genera previously characterized as arboreal or climbing forms. Here, we focus on body mass estimation based on measurements of postcranial elements. We present a morphometric database comprising 64 linear, base-ten logged variables applied to Santacrucian sloths and a wide sample of extant mammals, as well as the body mass of the extant taxa as reported in the literature. To detect any potential phylogenetical bias, we performed a variance decomposition test on our sample of extant mammals. Based on four orthogram statistics, logged body mass was found not to be dependent on phylogenetic tree topology. Predictive equations for the body mass of extant mammals were generated through multiple regression analysis, using weighting procedures to avoid taxonomic biases and stepwise analysis to discard redundant variables. Using this procedure, we derived separate equations for the scapula, humerus, radius, ulna, pelvis, femur, tibia plus fibula, astragalus, and calcaneum. These equations were then applied to estimate the body mass of our sample of Santacrucian sloths. We obtained an average body mass of about 70 kg for the megalonychid Eucholoeops. Among stem megatherioids, Hapalops ranged between 30 and 80 kg, Analcimorphus was estimated at 67 kg, and Schismotherium at 44 kg. Larger genera included the megatheriid Prepotherium (∼123 kg), and the mylodontids Analcitherium (∼88 kg) and Nematherium (∼89 kg). The medium to large body size of Santacrucian sloths imposed constraints on their climbing abilities. Megalonychids and stem megatherioids were likely unable to access the finest branches, while megatheriids and mylodonts were more terrestrial forms.
Influence of the aerosol solar extinction on photochemistry during the 2010 Russian wildfires episode

Abstract. In this work, impact of aerosol solar extinction on the photochemistry over eastern Europe during the 2010 wildfires episode is discussed for the period from 5 to 12 August 2010, which coincides to the peak of fire activity. The methodology is based on an online coupling between the chemistry-transport model CHIMERE (extended by an aerosol optical module) and the radiative transfer code TUV. Results of simulations indicate an important influence of the aerosol solar extinction, in terms of intensity and spatial extent, with a reduction of the photolysis rates of NO2 and O3 up to 50 % (in daytime average) along the aerosol plume transport. At a regional scale, these changes in photolysis rates lead to a 3–15 % increase in the NO2 daytime concentration and to an ozone reduction near the surface of 1–12 %. The ozone reduction is shown to occur over the entire boundary layer, where aerosols are located. Also, the total aerosol mass concentration (PM10) is shown to be decreased by 1–2 %, on average during the studied period, caused by a reduced formation of secondary aerosols such as sulfates and secondary organics (4–10 %) when aerosol impact on photolysis rates is included. In terms of model performance, comparisons of simulations with air quality measurements at Moscow indicate that an explicit representation of aerosols interaction with photolysis rates tend to improve the estimation of the near-surface concentration of ozone and nitrogen dioxide as well as the formation of inorganic aerosol species such as ammonium, nitrates and sulfates.
Micro-blog Real Time Personalized Recommendation based on Partial Indexing

Micro-blog is a new social networking service platform and users are very concerned about real-time personalized information. However, the existing micro-blog platform does not fully consider the user's real-time personalized demands. The paper proposes a micro-blog realtime personalized recommendation model. We constructed partial index mechanism to maintain the latest release or update of micro-blog, and inferred the topic distribution of micro-blog and user interest vector based on the LDA model to meet the real-time personalized demands of users. Experimental results on real datasets show that the proposed method is real-time and effective.
INTERCAMBIO DE MENSAJES DICOM

RESUMEN El desarrollo de sistemas de almacenamiento ytransferencia de imagenes medicas (PACS) ha conducidoa la definicion del estandar de comunicacion DICOM.Este estandar emplea un protocolo de intercambio demensajes (DIMSE) que es usado por dos entidades deaplicacion para intercambiar imagenes e informacion. Eneste trabajo se describe este protocolo y se modela sucomportamiento aplicando un proceso de desarrollo deproyectos de software. Con los productos obtenidos delproceso se establece un modelo de solucion del protocolo,proporcionando los servicios que requieren los usuarios deDIMSE. Las pruebas del proceso indican que el modelopropuesto es adecuado para la capa DIMSE. Palabras clave: modelo de objetos, proceso dedesarrollo, casos de uso, diagramas de interaccion,diagramas de clase. 1. INTRODUCCION El desarrollo de nuevas tecnicas en imagenes y elincremento de las modalidades de imagenes en formatodigital ha ocasionado el desarrollo de sistemas deadministracion de imagenes medicas llamados PACS(Picture Archiving and Communication System). La evolucion en el diseno de PACS avanza hacia unaarquitectura abierta, con equipo de distintos proveedoresbasado en el estandar DICOM (Digital Imaging andCommunications in Medicine) cuyos objetivos son:• Promover la comunicacion de imagenes digitales sinimportar el fabricante del dispositivo. • Facilitar el desarrollo y expansion de PACS quepuedan iterconectarse con otros sistemas deinformacion del hospital. • Permitir la creacion de bases de datos de informacionde diagnostico que se puedan consultar por una ampliavariedad de dispositivos distribuidos geograficamente.DICOM es un estandar que contempla el modeloorientado a objetos, buscando con ello que los desarrollosen software del mismo, sean mas rapidos y que se eliminela necesidad de reinventar cada vez que se hace unaimplementacion de DICOM, dado que depende de modelosexplicitos y detallados de como estan descritos yrelacionados los objetos (pacientes, imagenes, reportes,etc.) involucrados en operaciones de radiologia.El diseno orientado a objetos proporciona una manera dedescribir la informacion y que hacer con ella, DICOM haceuso de este concepto definiendo servicios como “almacenaruna imagen” u “obtener informacion de paciente” [13]. Estos servicios se implementan en DICOM usandoconstrucciones conocidas como un conjunto generico deoperaciones y notificaciones llamados Elementos deServicio de Mensaje DICOM o DIMSE (DICOM MessageService Element). Ya que DICOM utiliza el modelo de objetos es necesarioaplicar un proceso de desarrollo de software en el disenode la implementacion de este estandar, de tal manera queaumente la posibilidad de obtener un producto de softwarede alta calidad, robusto y de facil mantenimiento.Aplicando el proceso de desarrollo para proyectos desoftware propuesto por Larman [8], se presenta un modelode solucion en el diseno de la parte que corresponde aDIMSE del estandar DICOM.
CORPORATE REPORTING ON HUMAN RIGHTS: CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES IN MALAYSIA

Accounting has a legitimate role in the globalised context in supporting concerns to protect and promote human rights through the concept of corporate transparency. Additionally, the language of human rights has entered the discourse of corporate accountability in the form of accounting disclosure on human rights. Hence, this paper attempts to investigate the adoption of voluntary disclosure on human rights among construction companies in Malaysia for the year 2010. The paper reviews the issues of human rights in Malaysia, the current human rights in corporations nowadays, accounting disclosure on human rights and, specifically human rights disclosure in the construction industry. Through the method of content analysis, this study has found that only 70% of the construction companies in Malaysia disclosed items on human rights which focus on occupational health and safety among employees. However, disclosure of other areas of human rights such as employee beliefs, harassment, freedom of association, and elimination of all forms of discrimination were performed by only 13% of the construction companies. The findings concluded that voluntary disclosure on human rights among construction companies in Malaysia are still at the initial stage.
Fabricating Pinhole-Free YSZ Sub-Microthin Films by Magnetron Sputtering for Micro-SOFCs

Submicron thin yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) films were prepared on a variety of substrates with different surface morphologies by magnetron sputtering followed by thermal oxidation. Pinholes were observed in the films deposited on nanoporous alumina substrates. Initial dense Y/Zr films developed nanocracks after thermal oxidation on smooth Si wafer substrates. At optimal sputtering and oxidation conditions, smooth and crack/pore-free films were achieved on Si wafer substrates. The thin YSZ films exhibited fully ionic conduction with ionic conductivities, and activation energy corroborated well with the values from commercial YSZ plates. The thin YSZ films can be utilized in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) for intermediate temperature operations.
Comparison of Milk Yield and Reproductive Performance of Sheep Breeds in the West Bank, Palestine

The aim of this study was to compare milk production and reproductive traits of sheep breeds in the West Bank. The data included 1711 milk records on 1243 ewes and 3682 lambing records on 1837 ewes from the local Awassi breed, Assaf breed, Awassi x Assaf crosses, and two Improved Awassi strains, one of which is carrying the Booroola FecB gene. The data were collected between 2003 and 2010 from 21 farms covering five locations in southern West Bank (Dora, Hebron, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and Ramallah) and three locations in northern West Bank (Nablus, Qalqiliya, and Jenin). The results showed significant differences (P < 0.05) in performance among and within breeds in different locations. Milk production was highest for Awassi x Assaf in Nablus and Jenin (least-squares means of 330.6 kg and 267.6 kg for total milk yield in 150 d of lactation, respectively) and Assaf in Jenin (268.1 kg), and was lowest for Awassi in Jerusalem (124.6 kg). The Improved Awassi strain carrying the FecB gene had the highest reproductive performance (mean litter size of 1.69 lambs and mean lambing interval of 304.3d), while the lowest performance was for Awassi (mean litter size of 1.12 to 1.21 lambs and mean lambing interval of 347.3 to 416.6 d). The means of litter size and lambing interval for the Improved Awassi strain not carrying the FecB gene were 1.28 lambs and 353.5d. Introgression of the FecB gene may be utilized to improve reproductive performance of sheep breeds in the West Bank, particularly Awassi. هدفت الدراسة إلى مقارنة إنتاجية الحليب والكفاءة التناسلية لسلالات الأغنام في الضفة الغربية. واشتملت معطيات الدراسة على 1711 سجل حليب من 1243 نعجة و 3682 سجل ولادات من 1837 نعجة تعود إلى سلالة العواسي المحلي، وسلالة العساف، والسلالة الهجينة (عواسي × عساف) بالإضافة إلى صنفين من أغنام العواسي المحسن أحدهما يحمل طفرة الخصوبة FecB لأغنام البورولا. وقد تم جمع المعطيات في الفترة ما بين 2003 و2010 من 21 مزرعة توزعت على خمس مناطق في جنوب الضفة الغربية (دورا، الخليل، بيت لحم، القدس، رام الله) وثلاثة في شمال الضفة (نابلس، قلقيلية، جنين). وقد أظهرت النتائج وجود فروقات معنوية (P < 0.05) في الكفاءة الإنتاجية للحليب والكفاءة التناسلية ما بين السلالات وبين المناطق لنفس السلالة. وكانت أعلى إنتاجية حليب للأغنام الهجينية (عساف × عواسي) في نابلس وجنين (330.6 كغم و267.6 كغم في فترة حلابة 150 يوم، على التوالي) وأغنام العساف في جنين (268.1 كغم) وأقل إنتاجية كانت لأغنام العواسي في القدس (124.6 كغم). كماأظهرت النتائج أن صنف العواسي المحسن الذي يحمل جين الخصوبة كان الأفضل من حيث الكفاءة التناسلية (متوسط عدد التوائم كان 1.69 ومتوسط الفترة بين ولدتين كان 304.3 يوما) بينماكانت أقل كفاءة تناسلية لسلالة العواسي غير المحسن (متوسط عدد التوائم تراوح بين 1.12 و1.21 ومتوسط الفترة بين ولدتين تراوح بين 347.3 و416.6 يوما). أما صنف العواسي المحسن الذي لا يحمل جين الخصوبة فقد بلغ متوسط عدد التوائم 1.28 ومتوسط الفترة بين ولدتين 353.5 يوما. وتدل هذه النتائج على أنه يمكن زيادة الكفاءة التناسلية للأغنام في الضفة الغربية من خلال إدخال جين الخصوبة إليها وبخاصة في أغنام العواسي.
Cleavage in Dutch Society: Changing Patterns of Social and Economic Discrimination

This paper is on the long term changes of the nature of social and economic cleavage in the Netherlands. In the 1960’s the break down of traditional denominational affiliations associated with increasing individualization and accelerated economic growth moved Dutch consensus society into the direction of a class society. In the 1980’s the rise of structural unemployment led to the rise of a potential underclass which sharpened the lines of social division. In this potential underclass ethnic minorities are overrepresented. Consequently, for the first time in Dutch history economic division and socio-cultural cleavage now go together. To prevent a potentially resulting social instability a re-evaluation of social policy is needed. * Groningen University, Faculty of Management and Organization, P.O. Box 800, 9700 AV Groningen, the Netherlands. E-mail: E.H. BAX@BDK.RUG. NL. This paper was presented at the Conference on Political, Economic and Social Racism, Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece, May 14-18, 1995.