Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antioxidant and cytotoxicity activities of veitchia merrillii fruits / Ali Vafaei

Veitchia merrillii (Arecaceae family) is commonly known as the "Christmas Palm" because its fruits become bright scarlet and tend to be that color in winter. A study was conducted to evaluate Veitchia merrillii fruits for the presence of total phenolic and flavonoid contents and determine antioxidant activity as well as cytotoxicity effects of extracts with solvents methanol, ethyl acetate and water. Further more, qualitative and quantitative composition of phenolics and flavonoid compounds in all extracts were also analyzed using RP-HPLC. The results of the study showed that methanol extract gave the highest yield compared to the other solvents used. The analysis showed that a 5 g powdered dried fruit sample of Veitchia merrillii, resulted in 28.25 ±2.12%, 21 ±1.31% and 14.75 ±1.83% yield of extracts in methanol, ethyl acetate and water, respectively. Results of analysis on phenolics and flavonoids in the Veitchia merrillii fruit extracts also showed significant differences (P<0.05). The total phenolic content in methanolic, ethanolic and water extracts were found to be 17.8, 7.6 and 2.22 mg GAE/g DW, respectively. On the other hand the total flavonoid content in the methanolic, ethanolic and water extracts were found to be 5.43, 3.12 and 1.11 mg Rutin/g DW, respectively. Meanwhile the results of the HPLC analysis clearly showed gallic acid, pyrogallol, caffeic acid, vanillic acid syringic acid, as the major phenolic acid whereas naringin and rutin are flavonoid compounds present in extracts of Veitchia merrillii fruits. Antioxidant activity determined using DPPH radical scavenging, NO scavenging and ABTS scavenging assays indicated that methanolic extracts exhibited higher levels of antioxidant activity compared to ethyl acetate and water extracts. The IC50 concentrations of methanolic extract for DPPH, NO scavenging and ABTS scavenging activity were found to be >1000 μg/ml, 616.5 μg/ml and 884.8 μg/ml, respectively. Compared with the standards these activities were not very strong. The extracts exhibited moderate to weak cytotoxic activity against two Human hepatocytes cells (Chang liver cells) and NIH/3T3 (Fibroblast cells). The compounds present in the extracts were non-toxic, which render them as suitable potential therapeutics to develop an anticancer drug.
Target Tracking based on KCF Combining with Spatio-Temporal Context Learning

Most target tracking is based on a lot of samples training to build the model of the target, which is then carried on the tracking processing. This will need to choose a lot of tracked target samples for learning and training. However, there are all kinds of deformation of the training samples, including variety of light and scale, and so on, causing the long computation time, high computational complexity, and less robustness. The traditional kernel correlation filtering (KCF) tracking is through online learning of the first frame in the target vide. It then uses cyclic matrix to strengthen samples robustness, reducing the complexity of the calculation and time. But, the traditional KCF nuclear is unsatisfactory used for complex scenarios and quick treatment. In this paper, under the framework of the KCF, the target context information is introduced to make the tracking have better robustness and a better effect to deal with complex scenarios.
The effect of service performance and ski resort image on skiers' satisfaction

Most ski resort managers make use of techniques to monitor customer satisfac-tion with their services. This aspect is a major concern for management. This paper defines ski resort services as those that offer the consumer the opportunity to take part in ski (e.g., quality of the snow, ski lifts velocity) and non-ski activities. This study examined how ski resort image, and ski and non-ski service attributes affect customer satisfaction. Skiers (N = 1448) responded to a questionnaire in order to measure the above variables. Using structural equa-tion modelling, these relationships were examined. We hypothesized that ski resort image influence consumer satisfaction more than functional attributes. Several models were tested. The final model's goodness-of-fit summary re-vealed an adequate fit of the model to the data (Satorra-Bonnet Chi-square = 1377.65 [577 df], CFI = .95, GFI = .94, RMSEA = .03). The results indicate that ski resort image, and ski and non-ski attributes are predictive of consumer satisfaction. A well positioned ski resort image will increase consumer satisfac-tion more than a high assessment on ski attributes. These results correspond with the experiential model and contradict the rational consumer satisfaction model. Consequently quality management needs to focus both on image and functional attributes.
Development and in vitro evaluation of Eudragit E100 and PVP based matrix films for the transdermal delivery of Repaglinid

The study aims the feasibility of transdermal delivery of an antidiabetic agent Repaglinide for controlled and extended release by formulating as matrix film using Eudragit E100 and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). The films were prepared by solvent evaporation technique and characterized in vitro for physico chemical properties, drug release and permeation across synthetic cellulose acetate membrane Effect of plasticizer concentration (20% w/w, 30%w/w and 40%w/w) penetration enhancers (menthol and propylene glycol+oleic acid) on drug release and permeation respectively were studied. Stability studies were conducted at ambient and accelerated conditions. Translucent flexible films of Repaglinide having uniform thickness, weight, folding endurance and drug content were formulated. A 30% w/w concentration of plasticizer in the film had produced higher drug release of 93.26%±0.46% in 14 h and the release was found to follow higuchi kinetics with diffusion mediated mechanism. The formulation Eudragit E100 and PVP (7:3) with 5% menthol as enhancer was chosen as an optimized formulation that effectively penetrated Repaglinide across the cellulose acetate membrane and thus suitable for transdermal delivery. The optimized film was stable at ambient conditions of storage with respect to drug content and release.
SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF FUNCTIONALIZED MAGNETITE NANOCOMPOSITE PARTICLES FOR TARGETING AND RETRIEVAL APPLICATIONS

of Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF FUNCTIONALIZED MAGNETITE NANOCOMPOSITE PARTICLES FOR TARGETING AND RETRIEVAL APPLICATIONS By Barry William Miller May 2004 Chair: Laurie Gower Major Department: Materials Science and Engineering There is much interest in the use of biologically functional magnetic particles for biomedical applications. The general idea is that an external magnetic field can guide the particles to a specific area of the body, and then the functionality of the particles will allow them to target specific cells or tissues. These particles must therefore be small enough to flow through blood capillaries. This study presents the synthesis procedure and characterization of a novel magnetic particle system that possesses organic functionality. These particles can achieve high magnetizations due to their high content of magnetite, Fe3O4, and they are generally on the order of 150-350 nanometers. Functionality was afforded to the particles by addition of three separate polymers during the solution synthesis procedure. The effect of the molecular weight and concentration of the selected polymer additive was explored. Poly(acrylic acid) and poly-L-glutamic acid were used to give the particles carboxyl functionality. Attempts were also made to incorporate poly-L-lysine to give them an amino functionality;
Increase in Electrical Resistivity of Copper and Aluminum Fine Lines

The resistivities of thin films and fine lines of copper (Cu) and aluminum (Al) were measured by a resistance ratio method (referred to as “RR method” hereafter), which measures the ratio of room-temperature resistance to liquid-nitrogen-temperature resistance. This method can predict resistivity exactly without the need for precise and detailed line or film dimension measurements. Thinner films and finer lines have higher resistivities in the case of both Cu and Al, with Cu showing larger resistivity increases (films and lines) than Al. From the present data, we estimated the electron mean free path of Cu to be 55 nm, which is close to most of the previously reported values, and that of Al to be 22 nm. Line resistivities depend not only on the line width but also on line thickness. We propose a simple equation for expressing line resistivity in terms of line thickness and width.
ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF STANDARDIZED PIPER BETEL EXTRACT AND ITS MOUTHWASH PREPARATION

Objective: Piper betel plant (Piper betel Linn.) is a native plant of South East Asia. It is empiritically long known for medication of dental caries and bad breath. The aim of this study wasto evaluate astandardized ethanol extract frompiper betelfor its antimicrobial activity toward Streptococcus mutans and several other microbes. Methods: 150 g fresh leaves were steamly destilated resulting 15 g betel pipel oil and aqueous phase. The mixture, namely actifold 30 and 60, was characterized on its hydroxychavicolusing high performace liquid chromatography followed by formulation of mouthwash. Antimicrobial activities of Actifold 30 and 60 was then screened on Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Eschericia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacilus cereus, Candida albicans, Aspergilus niger, Staphylococcus cerevisae and Streptococcus mutan . The piper betel oil was further analyzed using gas chromatography. Result s : The extract had a wide range of inhibitionswith low MIC against P.aeruginosa, E.coli, S.aureus, B.cereus, C.albicans, A.niger, and S.cereviceae. High purity active compound in Actifold, hydroxychavicoloil, gave significantly lower MIC value compared toother active ingredients in a commercial brand mouthwash. Mouthwash formulated with Actifold containing the same ethanol amount as the commercial brand mouthwash gave half the MBC value. Mouthwash formulated with hydroxychavicol without ethanol addition gave the same MBC value as the commercial brand mouthwash.The standardized piper betel extract Actifold 30x shows good potential in mouthwash formulation using a concentration 2.5 times its MBC value. It is also proven effective in low alcohol mouthwash formula. Conclusion: Actifold 30x showed best inhibition towards the mold A.niger and showed fair inhibition towards yeast and bacteria tested. Keywords: Betelpiper, Mouthwash, Hydroxichavicol, Antimicrobial activity.
Education and the New Sciences of Human Nature: How Evolutionary Psychology Can Inform the Education of Young People

The driving purpose of the entire educational enterprise is to cultivate changes in the cognitive capacities, conceptual schemata, character, and conduct of young people. Underlying this mission is a deep optimism that educational environments and experiences can shape and reshape a student’s developmental trajectory. Of course, every student, no matter how young, comes to school already molded in important ways by parents, peers, and prevailing cultural norms. Thus each student’s developmental trajectory always bears a certain inertia, a socially-conditioned momentum, that educators must not only seize upon, but also redirect and sometimes even counteract. Just as engineers develop technologies that both utilize and contend with the physical forces of inertia and momentum, so do educational researchers strive to engineer potent practices that both employ and combat social forces, with the goal of sculpting the thought and behavior of young people.
AN OVERVIEW OF CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS OF PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP IN THE DELIVERY OF URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES

The inability of the public sector to independently meet the increasing demand for infrastructure and services has prompted many governments to adopt Public-private partnership (PPP) as an alternative strategy. In worldwide practices, however, there are mixed results and controversy in the application of PPP model. The Public-private partnership has, for this reason, become an increasingly active research area mainly to establish the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) towards improving the PPP model. This article reviews the current debate on the subject of PPP and compares the findings of different literature regarding the relative importance of CSFs of PPP projects. The authors argue that the CSFs of PPP projects are distinctive to the context of location and time. The article concludes that this subjectivity has implications for the “guaranteed” success of both existing and future PPP projects. Keyword: Public-Private Partnership, Critical Success Factors, Infrastructure and
Coupling between a glacier and a soft bed: II Model results

Abstract The relation between the local effective pressure and shear stress on till beneath Storglaciären, Sweden, discussed in Iverson and others (1999), provides an empirical basis for studying the processes that control the strength of the ice/bed coupling. Particles in the bed that protrude into the glacier sole support shear stresses that are limited by either ploughing or the traditional sliding mechanisms. Model calculations, based on studies of cone penetration through fine-grained sediment and sliding theory, agree with the observed relation between shear stress and effective pressure if the water layer at the ice/bed interface is assumed to thicken rapidly as the effective pressure approaches zero. Studies of the hydraulics of linked cavities provide support for this assumption, if the mean thickness of the water layer reflects the extent of microcavity development at the interface. Comparison of the calculated shear stress with the ultimate strength of till suggests that bed deformation limits the shear stress on till beneath Storglaciären only at intermediate effective pressures; at very low effective pressures, like those inferred at the site of the tiltmeter discussed in Iverson and others (1999), and at sufficiently high effective pressures, ploughing and sliding should focus motion near the glacier sole. A calculation using parameter values appropriate for Ice Stream B, West Antarctica, suggests that ploughing may occur there at shear stresses not sufficient to deform the bed at depth. This conclusion is reinforced by the likelihood that pore pressures in excess of hydrostatic should develop down-glacier from ploughing particles, thereby weakening the bed near the glacier sole. However, given the apparent sensitivity of the ice/bed coupling to basal conditions that may be highly variable, any blanket assumption regarding the flow mechanism of ice masses on soft beds should probably be viewed with skepticism.
Nutrient budget considerations for rice in Lao PDR

Developing efficient and balanced nutrient recommendations is important to ensure sustainable crop production systems. Rice, the primary crop grown in Lao PDR and the focus of this paper, is grown in three ecosystems: rainfed uplands, rainfed lowlands, and irrigated lowlands. Fertilizer consumption in LaoPDR is the lowest in Asia. Nitrogen and P account for 95 percent of the nutrients imported and K only 5 percent. Based on nutrient budgets (accounting for fertilizer and irrigation nutrient inputs and losses due to grain harvest and current residue management practices), the K balance is negative in all rice systems. In the irrigated environment, where higher amounts of N and P are applied and two crops of rice are grown each year, it is likely that K deficiency will become increasingly common. The N balance is positive only in the irrigated environment; however, if one accounts for losses due to denitrification, leaching, etc., it is most likely to be balanced or negative in these production systems. Phosphorus tends to be over applied in the lowland rice systems due to farmers’ preference for 16-20-0 fertilizer. Since P is not readily lost in the lowland systems it is probable that P will build up in these soils under current management practices.
Wakes and vortex streets generated by translating force and force doublet: laboratory experiments

Wakes and vortex streets such as those occurring behind towed or self-propelled bodies are generated by moving localized forces in a viscous fluid at moderate values of the Reynolds number, $\hbox{\it Re}\,{\sim}\,10^{2}$. The forcing is provided by an electromagnetic method and allows us to create a ‘virtual’ body without introducing any solid objects into the fluid. Characteristics of stable and unstable wakes, in particular the shedding frequency, are measured in the space of control parameters, namely the magnitude of the forcing and the speed of translational motion of the forcing. The results for a single force presented in the dimensionless form of the Strouhal number demonstrate quantitative similarity to those for the classical flow around a cylinder. The problem considered here has an extra degree of freedom compared to the problem of the flow around a cylinder and exhibit a wider array of different regimes. These regimes are documented in both our visualization experiments and particle image velocimetry measurements.
Evaluatie van de gebruiksvriendelijkheid van eConsult|Plus en optimalisatie van de afstemming tussen gebruiker en eConsult|Plus

Zorgconsumenten gaan zelf steeds meer op zoek naar informatie over hun gezondheid via het internet, de patient kan bijvoorbeeld via e-consultatie op verschillende manier geinformeerd worden over medische klachten. Een bedrijf die een vorm van e-consultatie aanbiedt is MedicInfo. Huisartsen die aangesloten zijn bij de eConsult|Plus website kunnen eConsult|Plus aanbieden aan de patient om zo de communicatie tussen patient en huisarts te verhogen. Omdat eConsult|Plus op dit moment nog een aantal knelpunten op het gebied van gebruiksvriendelijkheid bevat zullen deze in kaart gebracht moeten worden om zo een beeld te krijgen van de aanpassingen die gemaakt moeten worden.
Financing basic education in Bangladesh

This paper presents education finance trends for Bangladesh since 2000. It shows that while government spending on education as a proportion of national income has stagnated, it has increased in real terms. Real increases in education spending have resulted in substantial increases in per student spending in basic education. At primary, enrolment declines have reinforced these trends and in 2005 per student spending in government primary schools was 30% higher, in real terms than in 2001. Despite these increases, per student spending on education in Bangladesh remains low compared to other countries in the region and countries at similar levels of development. Levels of government funding also vary enormously across different providers of basic education although these differences do not appear to have a significant impact on education outcomes at the primary level. At secondary, there appears to be a closer correlation between levels of public funding and outcomes although the socio-economic status of student intakes also appears to play an important role. To achieve equitable access to basic education, it is important to narrow these public funding differences. However, given the comparatively low levels of funding across the basic education system it is perhaps more important to increase overall levels of funding if the quality and overall efficiency of the system is to be improved.
Perceiving mental states: Co-presence and constitution

Recently, several philosophers have called attention to the idea that there are occasions on which we can perceive (at least some) mental states of others. In this paper we consider two recent proposals in this direction: the co-presence thesis (Smith, 2010) and the hybrid model (Krueger and Overgaard, 2012). We will examine the aforementioned alternatives and present some objections to both of them. Then, we will propose a way of integrating both accounts which allows us to avoid such objections. Broadly stated, our idea is that by perceiving other people’s behaviors we also perceive their mental states because behaviors co-present some features of the latter, and that this perception of others’ minds is direct and immediate because behavior is a constitutive part of the mental states in question. Keywords: mindreading, hybrid model, direct perception of other minds, co-presence thesis.
Metafiction, Transcendence, and Death in Nabokov's Lolita

Both John Ray Jr.'s fictional foreword and Nabokov's afterword "On a book entitled Lolita" strongly discourage a referential reading and lend support to Appel's proposals. While John Ray mocks the "old-fashioned readers who wish to follow the destinies of the "real" people beyond the "true" story" (4), Nabokov declares that "Lolita has no moral in tow. For me a work of fiction exists only insofar as it affords me what I shall bluntly call aesthetic bliss" (134). Later critics who wished to stress the novel's referential aspects (e.g. Lolita's suffering as a human being) often had to define themselves explicitly against Appel's readings.2 Feminist critic Linda Kauffman (1989) attempts to steer a middle course:
Theoretical Study of Chemical Reaction Effects on Vertical Oscillating Plate Immersed in a Stably Stratified Fluid

The unsteady free convection flow of a viscous incompressible stably stratified fluid past an infinite vertical oscillating plate with variable temperature and mass diffusion is presented here, taking into account the homogeneous chemical reaction of first order. The plate temperature as well as the concentration level near the plate is raised linearly with respect to time. The non-dimensional governing equations are solved in closed form by the Laplace's transform technique, when the plate is oscillating harmonically in its own plane. The effects of different parameters like phase angle, chemical reaction parameter, thermal Grashof number, mass Grashof number, Schmidt number, stratification parameter, and time on velocity, temperature, concentration, skin-friction, Nusselt number and Sherwood number are studied.
Effects of waves on coastal water dispersion in a small estuarine bay

[1] A three-dimensional wave-current model is used to investigate wave-induced circulations in a small estuarine bay and its impact on freshwater exchanges with the inner shelf, related to stratified river plume dispersion. Modeled salinity fields exhibit a lower salinity surface layer due to river outflows, with typical depth of 1 m inside the bay. The asymmetric wave forcing on the bay circulation, related to the local bathymetry, significantly impacts the river plumes. It is found that the transport initiated in the surf zone by the longshore current can oppose and thus reduce the primary outflow of freshwater through the bay inlets. Using the model to examine a high river runoff event occurring during a high-energy wave episode, waves are found to induce a 24 h delay in freshwater evacuation. At the end of the runoff event, waves have reduced the freshwater flux to the ocean by a factor 5, and the total freshwater volume inside the bay is increased by 40%. According to the model, and for this event, the effect of the surf zone current on the bay flushing is larger than that of the wind. The freshwater balance is sensitive to incident wave conditions. Maximum freshwater retention is found for intermediate offshore wave heights 1 m < Hs < 2 m. For higher-energy waves, the increase in the longshore current reduces the retention, which is two times lower for Hs = 4 m than for Hs = 2 m.