Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Weight control, endocrine hormones and cancer prevention

The prevalence of obesity is increasing which becomes worrisome due to its association with several diseases and certain types of cancers. While weight control through dietary caloric restriction and/or physical activity protects against cancer in animal models, the underlying mechanisms are not fully defined. Weight loss due to negative energy balance is associated with alterations of multiple growth factors and endocrine hormones. The altered hormones and hormone-related functions appear to be responsible for anti-cancer mechanisms. In this review, we summarize the recent studies related to weight loss and the altered endocrine hormones, focusing on the reduced levels of the mitogenic insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and adipokine leptin as well as the raised levels of adiponectin and glucocorticoids. The potential molecular targets of these hormone-dependent signalling pathways are also discussed. Considering the increasing trends of obesity throughout the world, a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms between body weight, endocrine hormones and cancer risk may lead to novel approaches to cancer prevention and treatment.
Synthesis and Characterization of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles by Sol-Gel Process

In the present work zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO) were successfully synthesized by a sol-gel method and zinc acetate dehydrate and triethnolamine (TEA) were used as the precursor materials. Ethanol and ammonium hydroxide takes care for the homogeneity and PH value of the solution and helps to make a stoichiometric solution to get Zinc oxide nanoparticles. The ZnO powder obtained from this method is calcined at 700 oC and 900 o C temperatures. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV- visible spectroscopy and DSC-TG. Results shows that the calcinations temperature significantly affected the crystalline nature, particle size, and optical properties of the processed ZnO nanoparticles. The XRD spectra indicate that the ZnO crystal has a hexagonal wurtzite structure. TEM images agreement with the XRD data shown that the average size of the nanoparticles. The optical properties of the samples are investigated by measuring the UV-VIS absorption at room temperature. With increasing calcinations temperature the band gap of the samples remains almost same, and the size of the particles increases.
The Kin System as a Poverty Trap?

An institution found in many traditional societies is the extended family system (kin system), an informal system of shared rights and obligations among extended family for the purpose of mutual assistance. In predominantly non-market economies, the kin system is a valuable institution providing critical community goods and insurance services in the absence of market or public provision. But what happens when the market sector grows in the process of economic development? How do the members of kin groups respond, individually and collectively, to such changes? When the kin system meets the modern economy, does the kin system act as a vehicle of progress helping its members adapt, or as an instrument of stagnation holding back its members from benefiting from market development? In reality, the consequences of membership in a kin group have been varied for people in different parts of the world. Hoff and Sen characterize the conditions under which the kin system becomes a dysfunctional institution when facing an expanding modern economy. The authors first show that when there are moral hazard problems in the modern sector, the kin system may exacerbate them. When modern sector employers foresee that, they will offer employment opportunities on inferior terms to members of ethnic groups that practice the kin system. These entry barriers in the market, in turn, create an incentive for some individuals to break ties with their kin group, which hurts members of the group who stay back in the traditional sector. The authors then show in a simple migration model that if a kin group can take collective action to raise exit barriers, then even if migrating to the modern sector and breaking ties increases aggregate welfare (and even if a majority of members are expected to gain ex post, after the resolution of uncertainty about the identity of the winners and losers), a majority of agents within a kin group may support ex ante raising the exit barrier to prevent movement to the modern sector. This result is an example of the bias toward the status quo analyzed by Raquel Fernandez and Dani Rodrik in the context of trade reform. The authors do not claim that all kin groups will necessarily exhibit such a bias against beneficial regime changes. But they provide a clear intuition about the forces that can lead to the collective conservatism of a kin system facing expanding opportunities in a market economy-forces that can lead the kin group to become a poverty trap for its members.
Comparison of the Effects of Saline and Alkaline Stress on Growth, Photosynthesis and Water-Soluble Carbohydrate of Oat Seedling (Avena sativa L)

High-quality arable land is necessary for human socio-economic development, but up to 60% (0.9 x 109 ha) of the world’s arable land is considered too saline and/or too alkaline for agricultural use, it severely affect agricultural productivity (Richards 1990; Allakhverdiev et al., 2000; Lauchli and Luttge 2002). The main ions in salt soil are Na+, K+, Cl– and NO3– in the salt soil, the saline stress usually had been defined two distinct kinds of stresses: saline stress and alkaline stress (Shi and Yin 1993). Saline stress generally involves osmotic stress and ion injury, but alkaline stress not only included osmotic stress and ion injury, but also has high pH effect (Yang et al., 2009a). The high pH environment surrounding the roots can directly cause mineral elements availability significantly decreased and Ca2+, Mg2+ and H PO3to precipitate, which possible inhibit ion uptake and disrupt the ion homeostasis of plant cells (Shi and Wang, 2005; Xue and Liu, 2008). Oat is one of the major economic and ecological food crops in the world, and it is a kind of low sugar, high protein, fat and energy foods, it’s exposed to multiple environment stresses, including drought, salinity etc (Shtangeeva and Ayrault, 2007). But salinity and alkalinity are significant constraints on the productivity of oat, a major staple cereal crop with global socioeconomic importance (Gale, 2005). The tolerance of oat has been widely studied; its physiological characteristics enable it to tolerate saline stress, however there were only a few researches on alkaline stress. In this study, the aim was to analyze and compare the growth, photosynthesis and water soluble carbohydrate in oat seedlings under saline and alkaline stresses, to determine and elucidate how high pH levels cause damage to oat seedlings tissues and how oat adapt to overcome alkaline stress. The goal can be achieved either by improving the soil or planting crops that are tolerant to both saline and alkaline stress.
STUDY OF THE INFLUENCE OF ACADEMIC SUCCESS ON THE CHOICE OF PROFESSIONAL SPECIALTY / ISTRAŽIVANJE UTJECAJA USPJEHA NA STUDIJU NA ODABIR STRUČNE SPECIJALIZACIJE

ABSTRACT The aim of the research presented in this paper was to identify the relation of mechanical engineering students’ individual motives and their choice of specialty to success in their studies. The research includes consideration of motivational factors from a number of aspects. The results suggest a connection between academic success and the motives of professional advancement, success in the profession, achieving perceptible success at work, opportunities for hierarchical advancement in a company and others. In accordance with the expressed motives, the results highlight the importance of individual specialties for students depending on the success achieved in the course of their studies.Key words: engineering education, motives, career orientation-----SAŽETAK Cilj je istraživanja prikazanog u ovom radu utvrditi povezanost između pojedinačnih motiva studenata strojarstva i njihovog odabira specijalizacije s obzirom na uspjeh u tijeku studija. Istraživanje uključuje razmatranje motivacijskih čimbenika s različitih gledišta. Rezultati upućuju na povezanost između uspjeha na studiju i motiva profesionalnog napredovanja, uspjeha u struci, postignuća vidljivog uspjeha na poslu, mogućnosti hijerarhijskog napredovanja u tvrtki i drugih. U skladu s izraženim motivima, rezultati upućuju na važnost pojedine specijalizacije za studente ovisno o postignutom uspjehu u tijeku studija. Ključne riječi: obrazovanje inženjera, motivi, profesionalna orijentacija
Use of magnetic quasi static field (QSF) updates for pedestrian navigation

This paper assesses a novel method of using a quasi-static magnetic field to provide updates to the navigation (i.e. attitude) filter. The method is able to make use of magnetometer measurements in a perturbed magnetic field, under the condition that the field's magnitude remains constant for short periods of time. The fact that magnetometer measurements can still be used in perturbed environments makes this update significant in terms of incorporating the magnetometer measurements into a navigation solution. The QSF process requires a detection algorithm to first identify quasi-static fields and second to perform the update. Thus this paper applies the QSF algorithm in a navigation filter to assess its performance in GNSS degraded or denied environments. Data sets are used to assess QSF updates. These range from open athletic fields to deep indoors where GPS signals are denied. The environments vary in terms of soft iron effects. The data was collected with high grade miniature MEMS IMUs, a high sensitivity GPS receiver and a low cost magnetometer. An accurate reference solution is derived from a tactical grade IMU. For the backpack mounted IMU the application of QSF updates yielded a 56 % heading error improvement when used as a heading reference system. For a corresponding ankle mounted system the application of QSF updates yielded a 56 % improvement in the position error (RMS) when used as a pedestrian navigation system. The maximum error over a 45 minute GPS outage decreased from 208 m to 128 m. The updates do not significantly decrease the estimated gyro error state variances, indicating that it is more suited for gyros and magnetometers with a lower performance than those used herein.
Internet Adaptive Active Queue Management Algorithm

Based on the system of Internet congestion control, an adaptive network controller is established as active queue management (AQM) algorithm to adjust the congestion marked possibility at the links, whose parameters is auto-tuned by applying the minimization of an integral criterion for adapting the change of the network. By comparing with those existent AQM schemes in the simulations, the adaptive AQM algorithm has the better robustness for the loading perturbation.
A Dual-Band High-Gain Resonant Cavity Antenna with a Single Layer Superstrate

In this communication, we present a novel design of a dual-band high-gain resonant cavity antenna (RCA) with single polarization. First of all, the theory of dual-frequency operation of conventional RCA with single superstrate is discussed. Next, we designed a feed system, for dual-band operation with single polarization and directional patterns, two T-shape slots in nonradiating edges of the microstrip patch are introduced, which serves as the feed system of the designed dual-band high-gain RCA. Then, a full-wave analysis is performed to extract the impedance matching and radiation patterns of feed system and the complete RCA. At the last, measurement results are provided to compare with the modeling and simulations results which agree reasonably well.
Review of augmented reality agent in education

Augmented reality becomes mature enough to create various applications for end users especially in education field. This is also supported by the presence of more affordable smart phones. The features offered by augmented reality applications could make students more easily understand the lessons and the learning process more fun. Most of current augmented reality applications still present information that is always the same from time to time, there is no personalization in order to obtain an appropriate learning experience for each student. Most of the studies concentrate on the aspect of personalization assures that agents approach is needed to make the learning experience more personal and exciting. This paper aims to review the literature concerning augmented reality agents, its earlier and possible usages in educational setting.
Analysis of the distribution of the equalizing current in superconducting windings of transformer

In a case where a rated current of the transformer windings is higher than the critical current of the used superconducting tape, it is necessary to use parallel tapes. As a result, the currents flow in individual parallel tapes is uneven. The effect of the uneven current distribution is the flow of equalization currents which violate the distribution of the current in the winding. The equalizing currents cause not only the occurrence of additional losses in the windings but also the decrease of the efficiency of superconducting tapes. The main objective of the paper is the analysis of the distribution of the equalizing current in the superconducting transformer windings made of parallel 2G HTS tapes.
Filterbank based multi carrier transmission (FBMC) — evolving OFDM: FBMC in the context of WiMAX

This paper gives an overview of some outcomes produced in the FP7 project PHYDYAS — PHYsical layer for DYnamic AccesS and cognitive radio. The main concern of the project is to analyze and propose a new physical layer succeeding OFDM, i.e. a multi carrier system applying filter banks omitting the severe out-of-band leakage of OFDM. The new physical layer was investigated within two different scenarios. On the one side a cognitive radio scenario exploiting the stronger frequency containment for improved dynamic spectrum access. On the other side a cellular basestation ruled network harvesting the increased spectral efficiency. Within this paper we concentrate on the latter. We compare a conventional OFDM based system to its modified version applying the filter bank in terms of complexity, performance and compatibility. Additionally we propose a smooth evolution path ensuring legacy support.
Setting a process to effectively measure COTS functional suitability

In attempting to build a COTS integrated system, selection of candidates typically pays attention to specify search criteria and goals to be met. Yet they often overlook some elements in the process such as fact-based decisions and teamwork, which might drive the process helping increase the probability of success. In this paper, we identify some features that we have found useful in our research, and which we believe need further discussion before integrating a process for COTS components measurement.
The Physical and Biological Properties of NanoTiO2 Material

The physical and biological properties of TiO2 materials including nano TiO2, micrometer-TiO2 and nano TiO2 tubes have been studied using scanning electron and infrared spectrometer, X-ray diffraction instrument as well as 3-(4,5- dimethylthiazol 2-yl)-2,5 diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) colorimetric method, respectively. These materials are prepared by chemical deposition and anode oxidation methods, respectively. The sizes of nano TiO2 are 80 nm and 1000 nm, respectively, their infrared properties of absorption are different, the characteristic peaks of the former are 1271,1615, 2957 and 3422 cm-1, the latter are 1645 and 2356 cm-1. The nano TiO2 tubes can be formed by anode oxidation method, its diameters are between 50-100 nm, different nano TiO2 tubes contain different components of oxygen and titanium. In MTT experiment we discover the changes of properties of proliferation of the liver and chick embryo fibroblast cells under influences of nanoTiO2 relative to those of the controlled groups, when small nanoTiO2 suspension is added in these cultivated liquids of cell, but the influence of nano TiO2 on the proliferation of the person’s liver cell is still very small, therefore, the toxicities of nano TiO2 containing 80nm and 1000 nm to these cells are still first score.
Environmental factors affecting mayfly assemblages in tufa-depositing habitats of the Dinaric Karst

Remarkably, unlike other parts of Europe, the ecology of mayflies in the southeastern regions is still poorly known. Here we present the first comprehensive study of Ephemeroptera in the tufa-depositing habitats of the Dinaric Karst. The study was conducted in Plitvice Lakes National Park monthly during a one-year period (2007–2008) in different types of habitats (springs, streams, mountainous rivers, tufa barriers). The aims of the study were to determine mayfly composition, abundance, spatial distribution and habitat preferences, and to examine the environmental factors important for the structuring of mayfly assemblages in Plitvice Lakes National Park. The mayfly fauna of tufa-depositing habitats was composed of 14 species (20 taxa). Water temperature, pH and ammonium concentration were the most important environmental variables explaining mayfly assemblages. Mayfly assemblages grouped according to habitat type. Generally, the most favourable habitat type was mountainous stream, tufa barriers were less favourable, and the least favourable were springs. Our results confirmed that mayflies are a powerful tool as descriptors of their environment, as the presence or absence of certain mayflies was strongly influenced by physico-chemical water properties.
Analysis of dimensionality reduced local directional pattern on different scales

This paper affords an analysis of a novel local descriptor-dimensionality reduced local directional Pattern (DR-LDP) on different scales. DR-LDP extracts the features of the face by partitioning the image into 3 χ 3 sub-regions and the sub-region was convoluted with a set of eight Kirsch masks. The single eight-bit code generated for each sub-region. The histogram features are extracted by partitioning the resultant DR-LDP encoded image into 8 × 8 regions. The features of each regions are combined to form a feature vector for the given facial image. For any query image, the same process is carried out to extract the feature vector. A chi-square test is used to measure the dissimilarity of the feature, the dissimilarity of feature vector in the database with the feature vector of query image was determined to recognize the face. The experiments had been accomplished on well-known benchmark databases. In this paper, an analysis of DR-LDP on 3 χ 3, 5 χ 5, 7 χ 7 regions and convultes each region with 3 × 3, 5 × 5, 7 × 7 eight Kirsch masks are performed to test the robustness of it. From the analysis, it is evident that the DR-LDP performs the best for the scale 3 χ 3.
A probabilistic model for the evolution of promoters

In comparative genomics one analyzes jointly evolutionarily related species in order to identify conserved and diverged sequences and to infer their function. While such studies enabled the detection of conserved sequences in large genomes and discovered specific motifs that are surprisingly conserved in those regions, the evolutionary dynamics of regulatory regions as a whole remains poorly understood. Here we present a probabilistic, process-based model for the evolution of promoter regions, combining the effects of regulatory interactions of multiple transcription factors into one principled model. The model expresses explicitly the selection forces acting on transcription factor binding sites, and its likelihood provides a method for scoring the goodness of fit between a regulatory model and a set of promoter alignments. We develop algorithms to compute likelihood and to learn de-novo collections of transcription factor binding motifs and their selection parameters. Using the new techniques, we explore the evolutionary dynamics in the Saccharomyces yeast species promoters. We validate our approach using previously reported regulatory motifs and infer new motifs. Additionally, we examine our methods using artificial simulations. Our study demonstrates how detailed understanding of the complex evolutionary dynamics in non-coding regions emerges from proper formalization of the evolutionary consequences of known regulatory mechanisms.
Serotonin in Human Tears

It has been postulated that serotonergic receptors are present in the corneal epithelium and that their activation by serotonin released from subepithelial corneal nerves raises the level of cyclic AMP, which in turn stimulates active Cl-secretion by the corneal epithelium. We looked for serotonin in tears because these bathe the corneal epithelium. Twenty-two normal subjects, 14 women and 8 men between 25 and 60 years of age (average 36.5±9 years), participated in this study. Twenty μl of tears were collected in capillary tubes after trigeminal stimulation (pepper in the nose) and were immediately analysed using high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. Serotonin was identified and measured in every subject. Its mean concentration was 2.74±1.99 ng/ml. No difference was found between women and men. Emotionally evoked tears were obtained from two subjects. The amount of serotonin in these samples was much higher than in the samples obtained by trigeminal stimulation. These results demonstrate for the first time that serotonin is present in human tears. The possible role of this serotonin in chloride transport in the corneal epithelium and the probable difference between “emotional” and stimulated tears warrants further investigation.
Cloning and Characterization of Replication Protein A from Dictyostelium discoideum

Charles L. Rutherford, Pawjai Khampang, Xiao Wen, Reyna Favis and Ian McCffery. Purification and Identification of a Protein that Binds to Regulatory Sites of the Glycogen Phosphorylase-2 Promoter of Dictyosteliym discoideum . International Dictyostelium Conference, October 13-18, 1996, Sendai, Japan