Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Accumulation of lead in the tissues and effects on growth rate of freshwater Cyprinus carpio

The present study was undertaken to determine the accumulation of heavy metal Lead (Pb) in different tissues of Cyprinus carpio as well as description the growth rate of C. carpio. The experimental fish were exposed to lead at sub lethal concentration (0.4 mg/l) and (0.2mg/l) for 60 days by added Pb in water aquarium. The element of lead was assayed by using flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer (FAAS) and the results were given as µg/gm. dry wt. The high level lead accumulation was found to be in liver in T1 (98.77±41.46) µg/gm and T3 (94.9568.20) µg/gm. The order of lead accumulation in organs was liver > gill > kidney > spleen. As well as showed a decrease in the growth rate of the fish because of the addition of lead element in a water aquarium.
Econometric Assessment of Research Programs: A Bayesian Approach

Effective research-project assessment typically is impeded by project variety. In particular, bibliometric approaches to science assessment tend to offer little information about the content of the projects examined. We introduce here a new approach – based on Bayesian theory – of econometrically evaluating the factors affecting scientific discovery, and use the method to assess a biological research program comprised of numerous heterogeneous projects. Our knowledge metric not only flexibly accommodates project variety but accounts for information in “failed” as well as “successful” studies. Using a mean-absolute-deviation utility functional form to measure new scientific knowledge, we decompose knowledge gain into a mean-surprise and statistical-accuracy effect. The two effects are econometrically examined independently, and then combined into the net knowledge production function. Research FTE and distance to study site have statistically significant but moderate effects on the amount by which research shifts the prediction of scientific outcome. However, scientist education powerfully improves the research study’s predictive accuracy or precision, a one-percent boost in the average investigator’s formal schooling improving precision by 4.3 percent. Largely on the basis of that precision effect, increasing returns to research project scale are evident.
IMPROVEMENT OF PRODUCTION PLANNING IN COMPANY PARS KOMPONENTY

The article analyzes the current status of production planning in company Pars Komponenty s.r. o. , proposes a new method of planning based on application of the principle of MRP. It is a discrete type of production with high complexity of BOM and MTO (Make-to-Order) and ETO (Engineering-to-Order) from the point of decoupling point. The original planning system plans according to production capacity backward without collisions, but for a given type of production does not work in practice. Planning system was analyzed and the main problems were identified, which were high work in progress and material stocks. This article target is to propose a new planining system based on the inclusion of time reserves of purchased material items. New planning system was tested in practise with benefit in reducing both the material inventory and work in progress.
Accelerating the local search algorithm for the facility location

This paper presents several methods to significantly speed up the local search algorithm for the facility location clustering. Most papers regarding the facility location focus on the mathematical theory, tight approximation ratios, and solid proofs. While this is certainly important, the papers rarely concern the practical application of the proposed algorithms. A straightforward, naive approach is often not efficient, so special techniques must be used to achieve high performance. This paper focuses on an acceleration of the local search algorithm. Specially, it proposes an acceleration using a space partitioning and a parallelisation on a desktop computer.
On the Asymptotic Number of Active Links in a Random Network

A network of n transmitters and n receivers is considered. We assume that transmitter i aims to send data to its designated destination, receiver i. Communications occur in a single-hop fashion and destination nodes are simple linear receivers without multi-user detection. Therefore, in each time slot every source node can only talk to one other destination node. Thus, there is a total of n communication links. An important question now arises. How many links can be active in such a network so that each of them supports a minimum rate Rmin? This dissertation is devoted to this problem and tries to solve it in two different settings, dense and extended networks. In both settings our approach is asymptotic, meaning, we only examine the behaviour of the network when the number of nodes tends to infinity. We are also interested in the events that occur asymptotically almost surely (a.a.s.), i.e., events that have probabilities approaching one as the size of the networks gets large. In the first part of the thesis, we consider a dense network where fading is the dominant factor affecting the quality of transmissions. Rayliegh channels are used to model the impact of fading. It is shown that a.a. s. log(n) links can simultaneously maintain Rmin and thus be active. In the second part, an extended network is considered where nodes are distant from each other and thus, a more complete model must take internode distances into account. We will show that in this case, almost all of the links can be active while maintaining the minimum rate.
The endogeneity of the natural rate of growth – an empirical study for Latin‐American countries

The aim of this paper is to analyse the sensitivity of the natural rate of growth to the actual rate of growth for a sample of 11 Latin‐American countries, assuming the natural rate to be determined endogenously by changes in the actual rate of growth. The natural rates of growth are estimated in a system of SUR estimations over the period 1986–2003. In order to determine whether they react endogenously to changes in the actual rate of growth, a dummy variable for boom periods is added to the system of regressions. The results confirm the hypothesis about the endogeneity of the natural rate of growth.
Presenting an ideal self: a study of narcissism impact on uses & gratifications of microblog in Mainland China

Won the Best Student Paper Award in Social Media, Digital Network and Globalization: 2012 China New Media Communication Association Annual Conference, Macao International Conference (全球化下的社交媒體與數字網絡: 2012 中國網絡傳播學年會 澳門國際會議) co-organized by China New Media Communication Association (CNMCA) and University of Macau.
IPM program successful in California greenhouse cut roses

We developed and tested an integrated pest management (IPM) program for the key pests of cut roses, which was based on fixed precision sampling plans, thresholds, biological control, directed sprays of reduced-risk pesticides, and cultural control. This program represented the largest effort to date to implement an IPM program in U.S. floriculture. The biological control of mites was successful at all locations, and pesticide use was generally lower in the IPM greenhouses. Future work will concentrate on reducing scouting time, improving natural-enemy release methods, and developing IPM techniques for secondary pests and powdery mildew.
Evaluation of Physical Properties of Selected Excipients for Direct Compressible Tablet

Excipients play important roles in the manufacturing of direct compressible tablet. The physical properties of excipients like flow properties, bulk density, tapped density, compressibility and diameter of particles are the most important studies which should be taken under consideration. Excipients like lactose, ludipress, avicel, povidone, sodium starch glycolate, sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium carboxy methyl cellulose, polyethylene glycol 4000 (PEG 4000) and maize starch are used and found that PEG 4000, avicel PH-101, ludipress and sodium lauryl sulfate showed an angle of repose below 400 which indicates good flow properties and others are not. The highest compressibility value is obtained from lactose and compressibility value was lowest for PEG 4000. It was found from the average diameter of excipients that sodium starch glycolate is very fine graded powder because all particles pass through a sieve (100 mesh) and the highest value is obtained from PEG 4000. Bangladesh Pharmaceutical Journal 20 (1): 34-38, 2017
TREE GROWTH ON RIPPED, COMPACTED, AND SLIGHTLY COMPACTED GRAY SANDSTONE TOPSOIL SUBSTITUTE ON A SURFACE COAL MINE IN WEST VIRGINIA 1

Steep topography and thin native soils characterize the coal mining regions of southern West Virginia. State and federal regulations require replacement of native topsoil during reclamation for re-establishment of a vegetative cover. Due to hazards and expense associated with collecting this thin layer of soil before mining, regulators have allowed mine operators to use substitute topsoil materials, including weathered (brown) and unweathered (gray) geologic materials for growth media. For pasture and hayland post-mining land uses, substitute materials provide suitable physical and chemical properties for establishment and growth of forages with fertilization and liming. When reforestation is the post-mining land use, regulations in West Virginia require a 1.2 m layer of native topsoil and brown weathered sandstone, but unweathered materials may be used if native topsoil quantities are insufficient. This study examined tree growth on areas where brown and gray sandstone materials were applied to the surface as growth media at the Samples Mine in West Virginia. In a study already published at this site, we found significant differences in tree growth on brown and gray sandstone plots. For this study, we selected two additional gray sandstone plots for comparison to the original brown and gray plots. The two original sites were brown sandstone compacted and gray sandstone compacted, and we added nearby plots of gray sandstone slightly compacted and gray sandstone compacted and then ripped. Average pH ranged from 7.3 to 7.9 on the gray plots compared to 5.4 on the brown plot. Tree growth on brown sandstone was more than triple that of tree growth on all of the gray sandstone plots. Mean tree volume index on the brown compacted plot was 3108 cm 3 while mean tree volume index was significantly lower on the gray compacted plot (909 cm³), the gray slightly compacted plot (407 cm 3 ), and the gray ripped plot (885 cm³). Eight years after reclamation, the gray sandstone plots, whether slightly compacted, compacted, or ripped, showed poor tree growth compared to brown sandstone. Gray sandstone has proven to be an inferior topsoil substitute for reforestation on this site.
Melting depths and mantle heterogeneity beneath Hawaii and the East Pacific Rise: Constraints from Na/Ti and rare earth element ratios

Mantle melting calculations are presented that place constraints on the mineralogy of the basalt source region and partial melting depths for oceanic basalts. Melting depths are obtained from pressure-sensitive mineral-melt partition coefficients for Na, Ti, Hf, and the rare earth elements (REE). Melting depths are estimated by comparing model aggregate melt compositions to natural basalts from Hawaii and the East Pacific Rise (EPR). Variations in melting depths in a peridotite mantle are sufficient to yield observed differences in Na/Ti, Lu/Hf, and Sm/Yb between Hawaii and the EPR. Initial melting depths of 95–120 km are calculated for EPR basalts, while melting depths of 200–400 km are calculated for Hawaii, indicating a mantle that is 300°C hotter at Hawaii. Some isotope ratios at Hawaii are correlated with Na/Ti, indicating vertical stratification to isotopic heterogeneity in the mantle; similar comparisons involving EPR lavas support a layered mantle model. Abundances of Na, Ti, and REE indicate that garnet pyroxenite and eclogite are unlikely source components at Hawaii and may be unnecessary at the EPR. The result that some geochemical features of oceanic lavas appear to require only minor variations in mantle mineral proportions (2% or less) may have important implications regarding the efficiency of mantle mixing. Heterogeneity required by isotopic studies might be accompanied by only subtle differences in bulk composition, and material that is recycled at subduction zones might not persist as mineralogically distinct mantle components.
Is contextual-potentiated eating dependent on caloric density of food?

One experiment tested whether a specific context could elicit eating in rats as a result of Pavlovian conditioning and whether this effect depended on the caloric density of food. Thirty two deprived rats experienced two contexts. They had access to food in context A, but no food was available in context B. During conditioning, half of the animals received high density caloric food (HD groups) whereas the other half, low density caloric food (LD groups). Then, half of the rats in each type of food group was tested in context A and the other half in context B. The results demonstrated an effect of context conditioning only in HD groups. These findings suggest the relevance of both contextual conditioning and caloric density of food in eating behaviour. Implications for the aetiology of binge eating will be discussed.
Using an Integrated Group Decision Method Based on SVM, TFN-RS-AHP, and TOPSIS-CD for Cloud Service Supplier Selection

To solve the cloud service supplier selection problem under the background of cloud computing emergence, an integrated group decision method is proposed. The cloud service supplier selection index framework is built from two perspectives of technology and technology management. Support vector machine- (SVM-) based classification model is applied for the preliminary screening to reduce the number of candidate suppliers. A triangular fuzzy number-rough sets-analytic hierarchy process (TFN-RS-AHP) method is designed to calculate supplier’s index value by expert’s wisdom and experience. The index weight is determined by criteria importance through intercriteria correlation (CRITIC). The suppliers are evaluated by the improved TOPSIS replacing Euclidean distance with connection distance (TOPSIS-CD). An electric power enterprise’s case is given to illustrate the correctness and feasibility of the proposed method.
EXTraS discovery of a peculiar flaring X-ray source in the Galactic globular cluster NGC 6540

We report the discovery of a flaring X-ray source 7″ from the center of the globular cluster NGC 6540 obtained during the EXTraS project devoted to a systematic search for variability in archival data of the XMM–Newton satellite. The source had a quiescent X-ray luminosity on the order of ~1032 erg s−1 in the 0.5–10 keV range (for a distance of NGC 6540 of 4 kpc) and showed a flare lasting about 300 s. During the flare, the X-ray luminosity increased by more than a factor 40, with a total emitted energy of ~1036 erg. These properties, as well as Hubble Space Telescope photometry of the possible optical counterparts, suggest the identification with a chromospherically active binary in the cluster. However, the flare luminosity is significantly higher than what is commonly observed in stellar flares of such a short duration, leaving open the possibility of other interpretations.
Using video-stimulated recall to understand teachers' perceptions of teaching and learning in the classroom setting

This paper has emerged from a research project based on exploring the interplay between teachers' beliefs about teaching and learning and their registered practices in language and math classes at an upper secondary level. The text describes one aspect of the research project which involved developing a more in depth understanding of teachers' beliefs about the teaching and the learning process in the classroom settings. The topic was explored through interviews with 13 teachers involved in this stage of the project. The interviews applied video stimulated recall with selected clips from the teachers' classrooms, and were analysed as part of the research. Data from the video stimulated interviews with the teachers were one of the essential components of the project allowing for the teachers' perspective to be heard and thus acknowledging them as important partners in the research. The paper reports findings from the interviews on how teachers interact with the videos and how their inputs have framed consequent stages of the analysis, in return shaping the researchers' understanding of particular classroom practices.
Assessing environmental risks of laundry detergents in greywater used for irrigation

The objective of this study was to assess the environmental risk posed to Australian and New Zealand ecosystems by the presence of powdered laundry detergents in greywater used for irrigating gardens. Fifty powdered laundry detergents were assessed and all contained hazards which posed moderate to very high risks from increased alkalinity, sodicity and salinity to plants and soils when used at manufacturer-recommended doses and the resulting greywater used for irrigation. A number of detergents had phosphorus and boron concentrations considered to be a high risk for a number of plants. Risk to groundwater quality was also evaluated and found to potentially be a tighter constraint than risk to plants and soil where irrigation reuse is extensive in arid areas. A detergent environmental performance index was composed on risks assessed for three scenarios to compare with a washability performance index for the same powders. Only one detergent exceeded the 80% environmental index (100% = low risk from all hazards assessed) and maintained wash performance above 85%. The analysis suggests that for poorly drained soils greywater reuse is not recommended for most of the powdered laundry detergents evaluated. However the methodology may provide a basis for environmental labelling of detergents.
A Bayesian framework for the extraction of input function for 18F-FDG metabolism study for both healthy and infarcted rats' hearts

The quantitative analysis of tracers in positron emission tomography (PET) studies requires the measurement uptake and retention of tracer in tissue over time. This analysis applied to the heart allows to diagnose its state. It could provide a means to identify areas of myocardial viability and to assess myocardial ischemia. However, the input function (IF), quite commonly used in quantitative analysis, can be corrupted by undesirable effects such as spillover. In this paper, we propose a new approach to correct the cross contamination effect on PET dynamic image sequences. It is based on the decomposition of image pixel intensity into blood and tissue components using Bayesian statistics. The method uses an a priori knowledge of the probable distribution of blood and tissue in the images. Likelihood measures are computed by a General Gaussian Distribution (GGD) model. Bayes’ rule is then applied to compute weights that account for the concentrations of the radiotracer in blood and tissue and their relative contributions in each image pixel. We tested the method on a set of dynamic cardiac FDG-PET of healthy and unhealthy rats. The results show the benefit of our correction on the generation of pixel-wise images of myocardial metabolic rates for glucose (MMRG).
In vitro conservation of micro-propagated Ruscus aculeatus L. (Liliaceae) plants

In vitro conservation of micropropagated Ruscus aculeatus L. (Liliaceae) cultures was studied. Plants were maintained without transfer on fresh media more than a year. Effi cient medium-term storage in two-phase culture at room temperature was proposed. Recovery of the cultures was investigated on media supplied with various plant growth regulators. Two-phase cultivation allowed eff ortless storage for 16 months. Th e best regeneration rates in the post-storage cultivation were obtained on media with thidiazuron or kinetin.
The O3 project - Implementing support for the transition to distance learning

This paper describes design and implementation of an institutionally supported initiative to convert Continuing Professional Development courses for health and social care professionals, from traditional face-to-face, to an online delivery method. E-learning specialists are used to mentor subject specialists, in producing effective, high quality online courses. Processes and tools have been created to promote staff development, for long-term sustainability of the initiative. Evaluation of both staff and student experiences will take place once the initial courses within the project have completed.
Estimation of measured pulmonary artery to aorta ratio for prognosis of pulmonary hypertension in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a type of obstructive lung disease which is characterized by poor air flow to the lungs which worsens over time. Enlargement of the pulmonary artery is associated with the severe exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Furthermore, it was indicated that MPA/AAo >1 could be an indicator to predict acute exacerbations of COPD. This study was thus undertaken to identify the association of MPA/AAo ratio and pulmonary hypertension by CT chest. Methods: 157 patients with definite diagnosis of COPD and 50 patients without any cardiovascular disease or lung disease were included into the study. The patients were asked to lay down in left lateral position with calm breathing during the Doppler test for PH measurement; electrocardiogram and heart rate were also measured for all patients. Results: Out of these 157 patients, 98 (62.4%) were males and 59 (37.6%) were females. Of the pulmonary artery diameter, the main, right and the left arterial diameter was considerably higher than that of the controls with 28.6, 21.8 and 21.5 mm respectively. There was no significant difference in the diameters of the ascending and the descending aorta between that of the patients and the controls. The ratio of MPA/AAo and MPA/DAo was higher in the patients that the controls. The MPA, LPA, RPA diameters were 30.3mm, 23.5mm and 23.2 mm in the patients with PH while they were significantly lesser in the COPD patients without PH. the most common comorbidities found was obesity, diabetes, dyslipidemia, stroke, abnormal CT findings, Emphysema, Fibrosis and Bronchiectasis with the MPA and AAo diameters significantly higher. Conclusions: We conclude that a high MPA:AAo ratio correlated with increase in the MPA and AAo diameter and as a result, increased arterial pressure and presence of PH.
Numerical implementation of finite strain elasto-plasticity without yield surface

In the present study, the finite element (FE) implementation of elasto-plasticity without a yield surface is discussed. For that purpose, the method of perturbing the deformation gradient tensor is employed to calculate approximate tangent moduli. The development of a user subroutine that enables one to use the proposed model within the FE programABAQUS is covered. A number of exemplary numerical simulations is conducted in order to check the performance of this subroutine. Material parameter values determined for different materials are utilized. Finally, the presented constitutive equation is examined upon its ability to capture the shear-softening process.
Clinical and health characteristic of patients diagnosed with Influenza A H1/N1 2009 and admitted in the respiratory unit of the area five hospital in the community of Madrid

Barros D, Prados C, Martín-Quirós A, Martí M, Romero MP, Figueiras JC, Quintana M, Paño JR and Work group of A/H1N1 2009 flu; La Paz University Hospital (Carpio CJ, Alcolea S, Gómez Mendieta MA, Santiago A, Ortega B, Martínez-Verdasco A, FernándezBujarrabal J, Álvarez-Sala R, Martínez Virto A, Paño JR, Martín Vega A, Arnalich F, Sánchez Pastor M, Herruzo R, Castillo F, Santos A, Ruiz JA, Adalid FJ, García de Miguel MJ)