Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Finite element model of ferroelectric/ferroelastic polycrystals

A finite element model of polarization switching in a polycrystalline ferroelectric/ferroelastic ceramic is developed. It is assumed that a crystallite switches if the reduction in potential energy of the polycrystal exceeds a critical energy barrier per unit volume of switching material. Each crystallite is represented by a finite element with the possible dipole directions assigned randomly subject to crystallographic constraints. The model accounts for both electric field induced switching and stress induced switching with piezoelectric interactions. Experimentally measured elastic, dielectric, and piezoelectric constants are used consistently, bu different effective critical energy barriers are selected phenomenologically. Electric displacement versus electric field, stress versus strain, and stress versus electric displacement loops of a ceramic lead lanthanum zirconate titanate are modeled well below the Curie temperature.
Household expenditure on food at home in Malaysia

“Engel’s law” explains that the share of household expenditure on food typically falls as income and expenditure increase. The objectives of this study are to investigate the food expenditure patterns of different income groups and the relationships between household characteristics and expenditure patterns. Household Expenditure Survey 2004/2005 data from Department of Statistics was used to analyze the food expenditure pattern of households. An expenditure model was developed and the coefficients are estimated by Working-Leser model. The estimated results are clearly a reflection of “Engel’s law”, resulting in higher income elasticity for lower income groups than higher income groups. The share of food expenditure increases with increase in income. The results also indicate that household size, races, age of household head, level of income, and gender are the main variables related to household food expenditure pattern.
Interaction between phosphate starvation signalling and hexokinase‐independent sugar sensing in Arabidopsis leaves

Expression of selected genes in relation to phosphate (Pj) starvation and sugar sensing was studied in leaves of Arabidopsis. Excised leaf segments with different P status were supplied with combinations of P i and sugars. Sugar-inducible genes, encoding β-amylase (β-AMY) and chalcone synthase (CHS), were also induced by P deficiency, and were more strongly regulated by sugars when leaf segments originated from P-starved plants. Furthermore, transcript levels of the P-starvation-inducible genes ACP5 (encoding an acid phosphatase), RNS1 (encoding a ribonuclease), and IPS1 (unknown function) increased in response to exogenously applied sugars. Supply of P i to the leaf segments reversed both P-starvation-induced and sugar-induced gene expression. These interactions reveal a close relationship between P and sugar sensing. To differentiate between hexokinase-dependent and hexokinase-independent sugar sensing the effect of the glucose analogue 2-deoxyglucose and gene expression in the hexokinase-1 deficient mutant, gin2-1, were studied. Both β-AMY and CHS were induced by supplying sucrose to excised leaves but not by 2-deoxyglucose, confirming that these genes are regulated by hexokinase-independent sugar sensing. In the gin2-1 mutant both β-AMY and CHS responded clearly to P starvation excluding that hexokinase-1 mediates the response to P. Similarly, the P-responding genes, IPS1 and RNS1 were repressed by addition of P i also in the gin2-1 mutant. In conclusion, several phosphate starvation-induced genes are also sugar-induced and hexokinase-independent sugar sensing in Arabidopsis is strongly intensified by phosphate starvation.
The impact of early childhood instruction on children's academic self-concept outcomes

Early childhood education lays the foundation for academic learning and ranges on the continuum of teacher-directed and child-centered instruction. In recent years, early childhood education has shifted its emphasis from child-development to academic centered in order to improve students' achievement on standardized tests. This shift has led to much debate among early childhood professionals in regards to which instructional approach is most beneficial to children's academic success. Most of the literature compares these instructional types as it relates to academic achievement, and do not consider children's academic self-perceptions; even though they are significant predictors of achievement. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-K.indergarten-98-99, this research adds to the literature by examining the relationships between teacher-directed instruction, child-centered instruction, and academic selfconcept. Results from the Pearson Correlations showed that both teacher-directed and childcentered instruction were significant inverse predictors of academic self-concept. The Multiple Regression analysis revealed that when both predictor variables were controlled for, only teacher-directed instruction emerged as a significant negative predictor of academic self-concept. Children who spent longer amounts in child-centered instruction were expected to have lower levels of academic self-concept. Findings from this study seeks to provide insight on teachers' contributions to children's academic self-perceptions, as well as identify the appropriate teaching strategies that should be used to promote children's development of positive academic selfperceptions, which are needed to promote the longevity of their academic achievement.
Remediation of oily wastewater from an interceptor tank using a novel photocatalytic drum reactor

A novel photocatalytic reactor has been developed to remediate oily wastewaters. In the first instance degradation rates of model organic compounds, methylene blue (MB) and 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) were determined. The experimental set-up investigated a 1:10 w/v catalyst to organic solution volume, 30 g catalyst, 300 mls MB (10 μM) or 4-CP (100 μM). The catalyst investigated was a pellet catalyst to improve separation of the remediated volume from the catalyst following treatment. MB concentration decreased by 93% after 15 mins irradiation whilst 4-CP concentration decreased by 94% following 90 mins irradiation. Oily waste water (OWW) from an interceptor tank typically containing diesel oils was obtained from Sureclean, an environmental clean-up company. The OWW was treated using the same conditions as MB and 4-CP, the model organic compounds. Levels of total organic carbon (TOC) and total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) were used to monitor the efficacy of the photocatalytic reactor. TOC reduced by 45% followin.
Trophic Influence of Sensory Axons in Denervated Skeletal Muscles

Scientific background Are there myotrophic factors? The lower motor neurons, sensory ganglionic neurons, and preganglionic and postganglionic autonomic neurons constitute the nervous supply of our body tissues. These peripheral neurons regulate the activity of their target tissues. Conversely, their well-being depends on the integrity of their connections with the targets. They are known to be regulated by trophic factors produced by the peripheral tissues (7,9,16,24,25). The nerve growth factor, for example, is produced by peripheral targets of sensory ganglionic neurons, sympathetic neurons, fibroblasts and Schwann cells; and it promotes the survival of sensory and sympathetic neurons (17,42). Much less is known about the trophic effects in the reverse direction. The theory that nerves exert a trophic effect on skeletal muscles is an old, widely accepted one (2,7). According to this theory, axotomy not only interrupts the passage of electric impulses (which elicit contractile activity), but also the flow of certain substances to the neuromuscular junctions. Many studies had pointed to the existence of neurogenic "myotrophic" substances but so far none has been identified (reviewed in 11,13). A skeletal muscle undergoes less severe atrophy when only the neuromuscular transmission, but not the physical length of its axons, was interrupted. This suggests that some beneficial factors flow in the axons towards muscle fibres. Extract of the peripheral nerves, specifically the sciatic nerve in most studies, was shown to ameliorate atrophy of denervated skeletal muscle fibres, reduce shrinkage of their organelles, and increase aceiylcholinesterase activity of cultured muscles (5,15,27). The exact chemical nature of the trophic substance(s) in the extract is not known. A once hopeful candidate, named "sciatin", was shown to be just a special form of the iron-binding protein transferrin (35,36). Although transferrin is known to promote myoblast proliferation and growth of muscle cells in culture, its neuronal origin and in vivo effect on muscle fibres remain uncertain.
Influence of lattice-preferred orientation with respect to magnetizing field on intensity of remanent magnetization in polycrystalline hemo-ilmenite

S U M M A R Y New experimental and computational approaches to interpret orientation and intensity of natural remanent magnetization (NRM) carried by lamellar magnetism are applied to historic magnetic measurements on a collection of 82 massive hemo-ilmenite samples from the Allard Lake District in the Grenville Province, Quebec. The anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS), together with declination and inclination of NRM, indicate a systematic deflection β of the NRM vector away from the unit vector v that represents the Mesoproterozoic magnetizing field direction. The deflection β is caused by a statistical lattice-preferred orientation (LPO) of the individual (0001) basal planes, to which the NRM is confined in hemo-ilmenite crystals. Here, we study a second deflection ψ that is the angle the NRM makes with the statistical (0001) basal plane of the crystal assemblage, in relation to the angle α between the statistical (0001) basal plane and v. The relation between these two angles depends on the scatter of the distribution of crystal platelets, which also influences the AMS of the assemblage. For a Fisher distribution of basal planes, the distribution parameter K can be determined from ψ and α. It is then further possible to infer the single-crystal anisotropy of individual platelets. Typical crystals of hemo-ilmenite turn out to have a relatively weak AMS so that samples with a narrow Fisher distribution of platelets nevertheless can have a weak AMS. This has been confirmed in two samples by measurement of the (0001) basal plane distribution of crystals using electron backscatter diffraction, and in one of these two samples by measuring AMS and NRM of a single hemo-ilmenite crystal. Based on our estimated K values for selected samples, we calculate values of β, NRM intensity and ψ for any value of α. These data provide striking examples of the influence of the orientation of the crystal LPO on the intensity of lamellar magnetism, and explain the large variation of observed NRM intensities by varying orientation with respect to the magnetizing field, without requiring large variations of the paleomagnetic field intensity. This relation between NRM and LPO is also important for anomaly interpretation in areas with strong foliation.
Rayleigh scattering in high-Q microspheres

The Rayleigh scattering has to be largely suppressed in high-Q whispering-gallery modes in microspheres because of restrictions imposed on scattering angles by cavity confinement. Earlier estimates of the fundamental limit for the quality factor in fused-silica microspheres are revisited, and Q≃1012 is predicted in few-millimeter-size fused-silica spheres, if the surface hydration problem is ovecome. Particular effects of surface scattering losses are analyzed, and the manifestation of scattering in the form of intermode coupling is calculated. The predominant effect of counterpropagating mode coupling (intracavity backscattering) is analyzed in the presence of a mode-matched traveling-wave coupler. As much as 100% resonance reflection regime is shown to be feasible.
Chemical composition and antioxidant capacity of the leaf extract of Justicia insularis

The leaves of Justicia insularis have been generating a lot of interest among the Yoruba people in the Southern Nigeria. They provide useful source of human nutrition and medicinal value. In this study, J. insularis leaves were harvested, processed and analysed to determine their chemical compositions and also to investigate their antioxidant properties. The proximate analysis showed that the sample contained 15.955% ash, 4.48% crude protein, 2.144% lipid and 18.367MJ/kg energy. The contents of calcium, potassium, phosphorous and magnesium were 3.30, 1.68, 0.11, and 0.76, respectively, while the amounts of sodium, manganese, iron, copper and zinc were 631.04, 334.02, 4490.08, 6.31 and 49.72 mg/g, respectively. The free radical scavenging activity of ethanol extract of J. insularis was determined by three methods namely: scavenging effect on 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryhydrazyl radical (DPPH), hydroxyl radical and peroxide oxidation. Comparison of the results obtained with the three antioxidant standards used in the assay revealed that the ethanol extract of the plant possessed antioxidant activity. The results obtained revealed high value of iron in the leaf and free radical scavenging properties indicating the presence of primary antioxidants in the plant. Key words: Antioxidants, chemical composition, free radical, Justicia insularis
Validation of the cell cycle g 2 delay assay in assessing ionizing radiation sensitivity and breast cancer risk

: Genetic variations in cell cycle checkpoints and DNA repair genes are associated with prolonged cell cycle G 2 delay following ionizing radiation (IR) treatment and breast cancer risk. However, different studies reported conflicting results examining the association between post-IR cell cycle delay and breast cancer risk utilizing four different parameters: cell cycle G 2 delay index, %G 2 –M, G 2 /G 0 –G 1 , and (G 2 /G 0 –G 1 )/S. Therefore, we evaluated whether different parameters may influence study results using a data set from 118 breast cancer cases and 225 controls as well as lymphoblastoid and breast cancer cell lines with different genetic defects. Our results suggest that cell cycle G 2 delay index may serve as the best parameter in assessing breast cancer risk, genetic regulation of IR-sensitivity, and mutations of ataxia telangiectasia mutated ( ATM ) and TP53 . Cell cycle delay in 21 lymphoblastoid cell lines derived from BRCA1 mutation carriers was not different from that in controls. We also showed that IR-induced DNA-damage signaling, as measured by phosphorylation of H2AX on serine 139 ( γ -H2AX) was inversely associated with cell cycle G 2 delay index. In summary, the cellular responses to IR are extremely complex; mutations or genetic variations in DNA damage signaling, cell cycle checkpoints, and DNA repair contribute to cell cycle G 2 delay and breast cancer risk. The cell cycle G 2 delay assay characterized in this study may help identify subpopulations with elevated risk of breast cancer or susceptibility to adverse effects in normal tissue following radiotherapy.
Desulfuromonas chloroethenica sp. nov. Uses Tetrachloroethylene and Trichloroethylene as Electron Acceptors

Strain TT4B, isolated from freshwater sediments contaminated with chlorinated ethylenes, is described as Desulfuromonas chloroethenica sp. nov. This organism grows with acetate or pyruvate as electron donors and tetrachloroethylene, trichloroethylene, fumarate, polysulfide, and Fe(III) nitriloacetate as electron acceptors. D. chloroethenica is unique among the desulfuromonads in using chloroethylenes as electron acceptors. It is phenotypically and phylogenetically most closely related to Desulfuromonas acetexigens and shares many other features with this species.
Modern research in the reduced fertility of high yielding dairy cows: an innovative way of thinking

It has frequently been reported that, along with continuously increasing milk production, dairy cow fertility has been declining. Maintaining the fertility of dairy cows is of capital importance for guaranteeing optimal milk yield and profitability. The endocrine pathways leading to this subfertility have been extensively investigated. However, disappointing fertilization rates and early embryonic mortality have recently been proposed as major factors in the problem of disappointing reproductive performance. It is suggested that oocytes and embryos are highly sensitive to any disruption in their environment caused by metabolic, dietary or other factors, which can have fatal consequences for final fertility. Because knowledge of the oocyte's microenvironment and of oocyte and embryo quality in high yielding dairy cows is extremely limited, future research should concentrate on providing this missing knowledge.
Maxillary sinus septa: prevalence, morphology, diagnostics and implantological implications. Systematic review

Background: The purpose of this review is to indicate the prevalence of septa, illustrate the most adequate diagnostic method and further discuss pre-operative considerations and implantological implications. Materials and methods: On June 30th, 2013, a comprehensive database search was executed using PubMed (Medline) and Google Scholar. No time frames were applied. Only publications in English, Polish and German in peer-reviewed journals were considered. Results: The final number of articles was 55: 7 articles were found to describe the possible aetiology of sinus septa, 34 articles describing the prevalence, 21 including information on classification, 19 showed methods of diagnosis and 24 articles included practical information about the influence of the septa in pre- and implantation surgery. One article could be found in more than one category. Conclusions: Septa can be found in 9% to 70% patients (mean prevalence: about 36%) in every age group — young dentate patients as primary septa and old edentate or edentulous patients as primary or secondary septa more frequentin edentate or edentulous patients. When planning any surgical procedures, septa incidence should be taken into consideration. Precise information about the septa can be obtained from computed tomography (CT) or cone-beam CT. With development of the knowledge and surgical technique, septa appearance has simply become another option for treatment as any form of disadvantage.
Wealth effect in the US: evidence from brand new micro-data

This article investigates how wealth and capital gains affected household consumption in the USA in the period 1989-2007. The empirical evidence brought so far by the literature is unclear, likely because of the low quality of the data more readily available. We combine information from the Consumer Expenditure Survey and the Survey of Consumer Finances to perform a detailed analysis on the effects of wealth on consumption. We divide between durables and non durables consumption, and we also investigate the roles of the different components of household wealth, both gross and net. Our estimates indicate that there is a significant tangible wealth effect (between one and four cents per dollar), and its economic importance lies in the low range of the estimates of the previous empirical literature. On the contrary, financial wealth seems to have no significant effects on consumption, apart from a low positive effect during the Nineties (around one cent per dollar of gross wealth). The estimation of the model with a Pooled OLS on the repeated cross sections confirms the findings of the cross-sections estimates. Interesting features arise from the estimation of the model dividing the sample by income quartiles, such as a decreasing wealth effect as income rises. Overall, our results suggest that the fears of sizable reverse direct wealth effects due to sudden declines in housing values has been overstated in previous studies.
Toward a unique person identifier model in the Slovak Republic

A national identification number of natural persons is used by the governments of many countries in various ways. The main objective is to improve security in online services and unify authentication. In the Slovak Republic, National identification number based on birth date is currently used, which does not correspond with EU legislation. In our article we describe our new prototypes of Unique Person Identifier prepared on the basis of request of the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic. The scheme is based on the idea of the Austrian system. Moreover, an introduction of proposal of an electronic system for identity management (IDM) in the Slovak Republic is presented.
The role of LMO 4 in T cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia by Eleni Georgiades

The combination of chemotherapy regimens has markedly improved the survival rates of patients suffering with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL). Nevertheless, there are still patients with poor prognoses, particularly for those experiencing a relapse of the disease. Early T-cell precursor ALL (ETP-ALL) is a subtype of T-ALL with such a poor prognosis and has an immature immunophenotype with a gene expression signature similar to ETPs. The LIM-only 4 (LMO4) protein has recently been found to be overexpressed in this subgroup, where it is supposed to play a critical role in early T-cell development. However, overexpression of other LMO family members such as LMO1 and LMO2 was suggested to displace LMO4 from a DNA-binding complex and thus deregulate the normal T-cell maturation process. To address the role of LMO4 in T-cell maturation we first sought to determine its presence in ETP-ALL cell lines and to identify potential interacting partners that could be present in the same transcriptional complex. We also performed LMO4 gene silencing experiments in order to investigate if it is indeed fundamental for T-cell maturation and survival processes. This research allowed us to characterise two cell lines that can serve as a model for ETPALL and provided us with a better insight into the role of the LMO proteins in this type of leukaemia. The presence of LMO4 during ETP maturation process indicates that it could be directly involved during the onset of ETP-ALL.
Carlos A

In this research, the treatment of soil spiked with petroleum was studied using a surfactant-aided soil-washing (SASW) process followed by sonolysis (US), photolysis and boron doped diamond electrolysis (BDD-electrolysis) for washing liquid treatment. Results clearly demonstrate that SASW is a very efficient approach in the treatment of soil, removing completely the petrochemical compounds by using dosages about 5 g of extracting surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)) per Kg of soil. The main characteristics of the effluents produced in this soil remediation technology as well as the efficiency of the treatment (US, photolysis and BDD-electrolysis) depend on the dosage of SDS. Depollution of the effluents (degradation and mineralization of the organic matter) is related to the reduction in size of micelles formed by SDS and petroleum, and it depends on the treatment used. US and photolysis were inefficient decontamination processes, while BDDelectrolysis favors the complete depletion of micelles. However, the intensification of the efficiency was attained by synergic degradation effects when UV light irradiation and US were coupled with BDD-electrolysis, US/BDD-electrolysis and photo/BDD-electrolysis, respectively. Sulfate (coming