Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Association between Serum Oxidative Stress Indexes and Pathogenesis of Parkinson’s Disease in the Northwest of Iran

Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a prevalent neurodegenerative disorder. Oxidative stress is a main modulator in the advancement of PD. This investigation aimed to evaluate the relations between serum trace elements, vitamin C, ferritin, transferrin, Nitrite Oxide (NOx) and Peroxynitrite (PrN) concentrations and clinical parameters in patients with PD. Methods: Serum concentrations of variables were measured in 75 PD patients and 75 healthy subjects from Imam Reza Hospital, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran between Feb 2016 and Sep 2018. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to examine incremental diagnostic value of vitamin C, NOx, and PrN in the study groups. Results: Mean serum NOx (35.81±5.16 vs. 11.27±3.59 mol/L, P<0.001) and PrN (15.78±4.23 vs. 9.62±4.57 mol/L, P= 0.004) were markedly higher in patient group versus healthy individuals. Significant differences were also observed in the serum levels of vitamin C (P<0.001), copper (Cu) (P<0.001), Iron (Fe) (P=0.003), and Zinc (Zn) (P<0.001) between patients with PD and healthy subjects. Nevertheless, the serum levels of Se (P=0.515), ferritin (P=0.103), and transferrin (P=0.372) were not statistically significant between the study groups. ROC analysis has revealed a diagnostic ability of serum vitamin C levels for PD with an area under ROC curve of ≥0.7 (P<0.05) and relatively high sensitivity and specificity. Conclusion: Serum levels of NOx and PrN are significantly higher in patients with PD. In additions, serum vitamin C levels have a diagnostic value as a biomarker. Further studies are required with larger sample size to provide more detailed information about the cognitive profile of participants and the outcome measures.
Atmospheric precursors for intense summer rainfall over the UK

Intense sub-daily summer rainfall is linked to ﬂooding impacts in the UK. Characterizing the atmospheric conditions prior to the rainfall event can im-prove understanding of the large-scale mechanisms involved. The most intense sub-daily rainfall intensity data generated from rain gauge records across the UK over the period 1979-2014 are combined with ﬁelds from the ERA Interim reanalysis to characterize atmospheric conditions prior to heavy rainfall events. The 200 most intense 3-hourly events for six UK regions are associated with negative anomalies in sea level pressure ( < − 2 hP a ) and 200 hP a geopotential height ( < − 60 m ) to the west or south west of the UK 1 day earlier, with above average moisture, evaporation and dewpoint temperature over north west Europe. Atmospheric precursors are more intense but less coherent between regions for composites formed of the 25 heaviest rainfall events but all display substan-tial moisture transport from the south or south east prior to their occurrence. Composites for the heaviest events are characterised by a tripole geopotential anomaly pattern across the north Atlantic. Above average geopotential height and dewpoint temperature over Newfoundland and below average geopotential height but elevated evaporation in the north Atlantic are found to be weakly associated with an increased chance of the most intense sub-daily rainfall events 5 to 9 days later.
TOWARD POLISHING POLICIES ON BASIC EDUCATION CURRICULUM CHANGE: FROM THE WISDOM OF THE GRASSROOTS

Where there are changes in the curriculum, there always arise opposition or resistance among the grassroots and the direct implementers--the teachers themselves--from the micro to the macro level. What brings teachers to their respective stances and what may be done to connect their experiences and school practices to relevant policies is the primary concern of this study. This qualitative research content-analyzed data gathered through interviews of 10 seasoned public elementary school teachers who have rendered 10-30 years of teaching and have been handling all subject areas. Their shared experiences as among those who have witnessed the “evolution” of the basic education curriculum and had directly experienced at least three waves of changes were taken as a sample of what may also be happening in the macro level. Findings show that the participants have experienced difficulties in implementing the changes as mandated primarily because of the lack or absence of mechanisms for the timely dissemination of accurate information and the ‘delayed’ conduct of orientation and seminars or training. With orientation usually held only during the implementation stage already, the teachers are rushed to learn new methods and content resulting in raw formation of skills and competencies, giving rise to their feeling of inadequacy. What complicates their situation is the usual lack or absence of updated instructional materials such as textbooks and teacher’s guides. Their unfavorable circumstances in facing curricular changes implementation led them to appeal for an improved system of information dissemination, timely conduct of orientation and training, and provision of ample budget to enable the Department of Education supply the needed instructional materials and give support to teacher development endeavors. The study concludes that a gap exists between what the policy on curriculum implementation mandates and what is actually experienced by the teachers. Findings and insights are offered as inputs for the rethinking of policies, guidelines and practices in implementing curricular changes, whether it be in the macro or micro level. ________________________________________________________________________
Evaluating the Association between CCR5delta32 Polymorphism (rs333) and the Risk of Breast Cancer in a Cohort of Iranian Population

Background: CC chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) is introduced as an immune response modulator. The activity of CCR5 influences breast tumour development in a p53-dependent manner. This study aimed to investigate the frequency of CCR5delta32 and its association with the risk of breast cancer in 1038 blood samples in North East of Iran. Methods: In this case-control study, we genotyped 570 control samples and 468 breast cancer patients by a gel electrophoresis-based gap-polymerase chain reaction (gap-PCR) method Mashhad, Iran. The data were analyzed using the SPSS software. Results: Of 570 controls included, 542 (95.09%) had CCR5delta32 wild/wild (W/W) genotype, 28 samples (4.91%) had CCR5delta32 wild/deletion (W/D) genotype and none of them were CCR5delta32 deletion/deletion (D/D) genotype (0%). While 428 samples of patients (91.45%) had CCR5delta32 W/W genotype, 40 samples (8.55%) had CCR5delta32 W/D and CCR5delta32 D/D homozygous was nil (0%) amongst cases. All samples were in the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (P>0.05). According to the allele frequency, D allele, as a risky allele, in the cases was more than the control samples (0.0427 vs 0.0245, respectively) (P=0.0206). Hence, W/D genotype may confer a risk effect (OR=1.77, CI: 1.09–2.90; P=0.0206) compared with WW genotype between case and control groups. Conclusion: There is a statistically significant association between CCR5W/D and breast cancer risk. CCR5 may be regarded as a target for the prevention of breast cancer in certain conditions such as interaction with p53 variants, which remains to be further investigated.
FARMERS’ PERCEPTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND MAIZE CULTIVATION IN RELATION TO INSECT DIVERSITY ACROSS THE ALTITUDINAL GRADIENT OF NEPAL

Household survey was done with randomly selected 148 respondents from three districts, representing the altitudinal variation focusing to maize growing areas in inner terai (Chitwan), mid (Kaski), and high (Mustang) hills of Nepal to explore the farmers’ perception on climatic variabilities and maize production relating to the insect diversity. Data were collected through purposive random sample survey of households using a stratified-multi stage cluster sampling method. Findings revealed that majority of farmers were aware of climate change, particularly about the climatic variability and its impact on maize production, but they posses poor knowledge about appropriate adaptation strategies. The findings also showed that most of the respondent farmers (68.9%) experienced increased temperature whereas about one-third (35.5%) also experienced about erratic rainfall pattern. About three-fifth of the respondent farmers felt about the emergence of insect pests in the last decade, and they relate this fact as the effect of climate change, resulting decreased maize production over the years. Analysis of the recorded temperature revealed an increment of 0.02-0.07°C/ temperature/year with the increment of precipitation of 24.6 mm/year between 1980 and 2018, and these facts matches well to the perception of respondent farmers. Findings also identified the major problems related to the maize production as pest severity, lack of labour, unavailability of improved seed, poor extension service, and frequently occurrence of drought. Likewise, pest attack was also revealed as an important cause of decreased maize production. About two-fifth (44%) respondent farmers considered stem borer as the most prevalent pest in all ecological domains, causing significant damage to maize. Majority of the farmers followed only cultural practices to manage pests whereas their poor knowledge on insect and disease management was the major challenge to increase maize productivity that needs serious consideration for a better policy formulation and planning.
Activity Diagram as an Orientation Catalyst within Source Code

: There is a premise that the activity diagrams can communicate their knowledge to the source code. This article analyzes the opportunity of the activity diagrams to improve the comprehensibility, orientation, reading, and modularization of the source code. It proposes an Activity Diagram Driven Approach (ADDA) and verifies application suitability of the approach in comparison to Use Case and Package-based approach. It highlights the strengths and weaknesses of such behavior description and discusses the identified limits and benefits of the proposed approach. It proposes an extension of the source code modularization at metamodel level based on source code parts associated with certain elements of the activity diagram. The proposed solution is evaluated over several test cases from different aspects using implemented plug-in and the results show appropriate use of the proposed approach.
Software Platform for Learning about Brain Wave Acquisition and Analysis

: Using brain waves, for user authentication, is an important emerging technology. The University of Defence, in the Belgrade and the Serbian Ministry of Defence (MoD), have recognized the importance of biometric applications in identity management. As a result, an intensive research, under the project named “Access control management of protected resources in Ministry of Defence and Serbian Armed Forces computer networks based on multimodal user identification”, has been conducted over the last few years. The main contribution of this paper, is a software platform, for learning about brain wave acquisition and analysis. This platform was developed as a part of the project, with the main goal to improve and increase participant’s knowledge in biometrics. A research study was conducted, with the aim of comparing traditional learning methods and learning methods based on the developed platform.
Public Pensions and Private Savings

How does the provision of public pension benefits impact private savings? We answer this question in the context of a reform in Denmark that altered old-age benefit payouts through a discontinuous increase in pension eligibility ages contingent on birthdate. Using detailed administrative data and a regression discontinuity design, we identify the causal effects of the policy, leveraging our setting to study essentially the entire financial portfolio. We document responses over two distinct time horizons. First, we show a lack of responses after the reform was announced but before it was implemented, inconsistent with the notion that future differences in pension eligibility impact savings. Second, we show large savings responses after implementation, when delayed benefit eligibility induces individuals to extend employment. Specifically, we find increased contributions to both employer-sponsored and personal retirement accounts, whereas we find no evidence of adjustments to other savings vehicles, such as bank or stock market accounts. Additional analyses point to inertia as a leading explanatory channel. The increased savings in personal retirement plans is entirely driven by those who made consistent contributions in the past. Moreover, the increased savings in employer-sponsored plans is largely explained by continuing to contribute at employer default rates, highlighting a role for firm policies in mediating responses to social security reform.
Probes of the conduction process of a voltage-gated Cl- channel from Torpedo electroplax

The open-channel conductance properties of a voltage-gated Cl- channel derived from Torpedo californica electroplax and incorporated into planar bilayers were studied by several approaches. In neutral bilayers the channel conductance saturates with Cl- activity according to a rectangular hyperbolic relation with a half-saturation activity of 75 mM and a maximum conductance of 32 pmho. The observation of identical behavior in charged membranes implies that ions permeating the channel do not sense the surface potential of the bulk membrane. The Cl-:Br- permeability ratio, measured under biionic conditions, is independent of salt concentration. SCN- ion reversibly blocks the channel. The voltage dependence of the block implies the existence of two separate blocking sites within the channel: one accessible from the cis side only (the side to which vesicles are added) and the other accessible from the trans side only. The block at each site is competitive with Cl- . The results are consistent with a single-ion Eyring model of the conduction process in which the ion must traverse three kinetic barriers as it permeates the channel and in which the channel can accommodate at most one ion at a time.
A study on the effect of historical volatility using two option pricing models

This paper analyses the Black-Scholes’ and Heston Option Pricing Model. We discuss the concept of historical volatility in the two Models. We compare the two models for the parameter –‘Volatility’. A mathematical tool, UMBRAE (Unscaled Mean Bounded Relative Absolute Error) is used to compare the two models for historical volatility while pricing European call options. Real data from NSE (National Stock Exchange) is considered for three different sectors likeBanking, Automobiles and, Pharmaceuticals for comparison through Moneyness (which is defined as the percentage difference of stock price and strike price) and Time-To-Maturity. Mathematical software – Matlab is used for all mathematical calculations.
Microalgae in Poultry Field : A Comprehensive Perspectives

| Many years ago, antibiotics have been added to animals and poultry feed as growth promotor. Hazardous using of antibiotics on long run creates several health problems for animals as well as humans. Therefore, countries searched for natural alternatives that incorporate antimicrobials in livestock and poultry ration without any adverse effect on both productivity and health. One of these important and promising alternatives is microalgae. Microalgae are microscopic, unior multi-cellular and photosynthetic algae that grow in marine, fresh and brackish water. They considered as rich sources of proteins, essential fatty acids, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, pigments and antioxidants. Several types of microalgae have been used safely in human, animals and poultry. Different species of microalgae as Spirulina, Chlorella and others proved positive influences on poultry nutrition. Therefore, this review article aimed to show the effects of using different types of microalgae on the productive characteristics, immune response, microbial resistance and carcass trait of poultry.
Synthesis of a Functionalized Insoluble Polystyrene-bound Zinc (II) Phthalocyanine and the Metal Free Resin

In this paper, the synthesis of two interesting resins based on for further photophysical studies, have been described . At first, the synthesis of a cesium salt of Zn (II) tetra-substituted carboxy-phthalocyaninefrom conventional routes, starting from trimellitic anhydride, urea, zine acetate and ammonium molybdate, has been described . This salt was then covalently attached to an insoluble functionalized polystyrene matrix, with a known functionality, to produce a new resin, the functionality of which has been calculated. The polystyrene matrix carries a nitro group at the o-position of the methyl group on the benzene ring, which makes the photophysicalproperties of the synthesized resins interesting forproductionof singlet molecular oxygen. The synthesized resin with a new functionality, has then gone under metal removal reaction, using aqueous hydrochloricacid in dichloromethane . The anchored phttralocyanine chromophores have been detached successfully from the polymeric backbone to produce the free metal tetra-substituted phthalo- cyanine molecules and the functionalized polystyreneresin.
Effects of seafarers' emotion on human performance using bridge simulation

8 ABSTRACT: 75-96% of maritime accidents are caused by human and organisational factors. Seafarers’ 9 emotion may degrade the effectivity of human behaviour when tasks in onboard environment are complex 10 and demanding. This study was concerned with the relationship between seafarers’ emotion and occurring 11 events in navigation. The Electroencephalogram (EEG) and Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM) scale rating 12 are used to investigate the occurrence and impact of seafarers’ emotions on their performance using a bridge 13 simulator. The study was conducted and described in two sections: emotion calibration and test recognition. 14 In the first section, two types of emotions are induced by the sound clips of the International Affective Dig-15 itized Sounds (IADS), developed by the National Institute of Mental Health Center for the Study of Human 16 Emotions. In the second section, emotion is recognised by the Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier, as 17 well as self-rated after the crew-qualified test in a bridge simulator. The results indicate that SVM can identify 18 the emotions by EEG feature extraction, with an accuracy of 77.55%. The results concerning officers’ emo-19 tion in a bridge simulator test reveal that seafarers’ emotion in maritime operations, relating to events expo-20 sure, affects their behaviour and decision-making. In addition, negative emotion has a higher likelihood of 21 contributing to human errors than positive emotion. Less negative emotion is the most dangerous emotion
Elementary Notes on Classical Thermodynamics

It has been said over and over again that Thermodynamics is not an easy subject to learn and understand. Some students think the mathematics level required to study it is too high for them. This is probably just partly true, as much of the subject requires only derivatives (partial derivatives too) and integrals. What makes Thermodynamics not terribly intuitive is its non-visualizability. This means that to many thermodynamic variables and concepts it is not always easy to associate intuitive and pictorial notions. Speed, force and angular momentum in Mechanics, for instance, are easily imagined in terms of bodies moving under some form of push or pull, and rotating or spinnning. Or consider how, in Electromagnetism, a field is made real by the arrangement of iron filings on a piece of paper held on a natural magnet. But what can we imagine when somebody talks about the entropy of a gas; or, what exactly is Gibbs free energy? The famous italian physicist Enrico Fermi, in his book on Thermodynamics [2], writes:
Centralised Multihop Routing Techniques for Device-to-Device Communication

—Device-to-Device (D2D) communication is a new paradigm in mobile networks that allows users in proximity to each other to communicate directly, without passing data through a central Base Station. However, due to users’ mobility and their location, the users may be far away from each other and this can lead to low-performance data transmission. The multihop approach allows the source user to relay data to the destination user through hop by hop. The advantages of D2D communication can be fully exploited in a multihop communication environment given that the single-hop communication usually limits the communication scope to a specific geographic area. However, routing in multihop cellular D2D networks raises performance-related challenges, versus a traditional cellular network, if non-optimal routes decisions are made. The contribution of this paper is a short review of multihop D2D networks and then a selection is made to discuss more details on a number of centralised routing techniques. The work is still in progress and tries to identify some open research issues to be considered in the future. Therefore, this work will serve as a base model for future performance comparisons, made by simulations between multihop routing techniques.
Undo Workarounds for Kernel Bugs

OS kernels are full of bugs resulting in security, reliability, and usability issues. Several kernel fuzzers have recently been developed to find these bugs and have proven to be effective. Yet, bugs take several months to be patched once they are discovered. In this window of vulnerability, bugs continue to pose concerns. We present workarounds for kernel bugs, called bowknots, which maintain the functionality of the system even when bugs are triggered, are applicable to many kernel bugs, do not cause noticeable performance overhead, and have a small kernel footprint. The key idea behind bowknots is to undo the side effects of the in-flight syscall that triggers a bug, effectively neutralizing the syscall. We also present a static analysis tool, called Hecaton, that generates bowknots automatically and inserts them into the kernel. Through extensive evaluations on the kernel of Android devices as well as x86 upstream kernels, we demonstrate that bowknots are effective in mitigating kernel bugs and vulnerabilities. We also show that Hecaton is capable of generating the right bowknots fully automatically in majority of cases, and requires minimal help from the analyst for the rest. Finally, we demonstrate the benefits of bowknots in improving the efficiency of kernel fuzzing by eliminating repetitive reboots.
Test of Impedance Formulas for Small Circular Loop Antennas

In this paper, two simple formulas are tested for the impedance of small circular loop antennas against the theoretical values and the numerical simulation. The first formula is a textbook formula consisting of equations for the radiation resistance and the loop inductance. The second formula is an empirical formula proposed by Awadalla and Sharshar. The accuracy of the two formulas are examined using the full-wave simulation using the CST Studio Suite and theoretical results by Strorer. It has been found that the two formulas give rough approximate impedance values for loop antennas whose perimeter is less than a few tenths of a wavelength. The reasons for large discrepancy of the formulas with accurate values are suggested.