Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Relationships of Leptin and Anthropometry, Physical Work Capacity, Metabolic Syndrome in Chinese Postmenopausal Women

Postmenopausal women gain abdominal and visceral fat during the menopausal period. Leptin is an adipocyte-secreted hormone that is involved in metabolic disturbance disease. However, few studies have investigated the associations between leptin and metabolic syndrome (MS) in Chinese postmenopausal women. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships of serum leptin and anthropometry, physical work capacity and MS in sixty Chinese postmenopausal women. Factor analysis extracted five factors characterized by leptin and obesity, muscle mass and physical work capacity, blood pressure and atherosclerosis, cardiovascular risk marker, and cholesterol, which accounted for 78.38% of the total variance. Leptin correlated positively with waist-to-hip ratio, body mass index and systolic blood pressure, and correlated negatively with physical work capacity of 75% heart rate max (R2 = 0.805, p < 0.001). Leptin levels in MS subjects with central obesity were higher than in both non-MS subjects (p < 0.01) and MS subjects without central obesity (p < 0.05). Subjects with a high leptin level had higher risks of the development of MS with central obesity than non-MS subjects (OR = 16.00, 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.15-51.26, p < 0.01), and MS subjects without central obesity (OR = 16.00, 95% CI: 1.69-81.53, p < 0.05). In conclusion, serum leptin can be predicted by waist-to-hip ratio, BMI, physical work capacity, and systolic blood pressure. In addition, a high leptin level increases the risk of MS with central obesity.
Biological Corridors: Form, Function, and Efficacy

H abitat loss and fragmentation are among the most pervasive threats to the conservation of biological diversity (Wilcove et al. 1986, Wilcox and Murphy 1985). Habitat fragmentation often leads to the isolation of small populations, which have higher extinctionrates (e.g., Pimm et al. 1988). Ultimately, the processes of isolation and population extinction lead to a reduction in biological diversity. Concern for this loss has motivated conservation biologists to discuss the actions that are needed to increase the effective size of local populations. Predominant among these possible str,ltegies has been the recommendation that corridors be induded in conservation plans (Figure 1) to increase the connectivity of otherwise isolated patches (Meffe and Carroll1994). The indusion of corridors in reserve designs has become an importa nt conservation tactic for protecting biological diversity. This strategy was motivated by theoretical and empirical observations demonstrating that increased interchange of in-
Process-based Ecohydrological Modelling at the River Basin Scale and Options for Regionalisation

The paper discusses the importance of physical basis and level of complexity in ecohydrological models at the catchment scale, their spatial structure and temporal resolution, and preconditions for regional applications of models of that kind. As an example, the process-based ecohydrological model SWIM developed for integrated modelling of interrelated hydrological processes, vegetation dynamics and nutrient cycling at the river basin scale is presented along with examples of its validation and a regional climate impact case study.
Arc-ophiolite obduction in the Western Kunlun Range (China): implications for the Palaeozoic evolution of central Asia

The nature of the ‘Kudi ophiolite’ in the Western Kunlun Range is hotly debated. Our new structural–geochemical data reveal that it is actually an arc ophiolite comprising: (1) arc- or ophiolite-derived turbidites of two generations containing Late Ordovician–Silurian and Late Devonian–Early Carboniferous radiolarians; (2) a central intra-oceanic (Yixieke) arc with basalt–andesite–tuff–agglomerate; (3) lower (Buziwan) oceanic crust containing dunite–harzburgite–gabbro. We propose the following tectonic evolution. South-dipping subduction in Late Cambrian to earliest Ordovician time generated the Yixieke arc on top of the Buziwan oceanic crust–mantle. This subduction led to emplacement of the arc northwards onto the North Kunlun terrane (Tarim block), creating an active continental margin with northward subduction below it. The Kudi ophiolite was thrust southeastward over the incoming Kudi continental (gneiss) terrane in mid-Ordovician–mid-Devonian time. During a tectonic hiatus in the Kudi region Late Devonian–Carboniferous subduction further west led to development of the Oytag arc, formerly regarded as an equivalent of the Kudi ophiolite. Lower Permian arc lavas and Upper Triassic granites in the Xiananqiao arc south of Kudi mark the resumption of north-dipping subduction before final collision with the incoming Qiangtang block. Comparison with the Lapeiquan ophiolite in the Eastern Kunlun assists regional correlation along this Palaeozoic orogen and constrains Cenozoic displacement of the Altyn Tagh fault.
Plataforma de Suporte à Geração de Cenas Animadas com Agentes Inteligentes

Resumo Neste artigo apresenta-se uma plataforma de suporte à geração de cenas animadas com agentes inteligentes. É proposta uma arquitectura que separa o processamento gráfico do processamento inteligente. A plataforma que a concretiza incorpora várias aplicações que são articuladas por dois módulos independentes que comunicam entre si: a camada de processamento gráfico e a camada de processamento inteligente. Palavras Chave: humanos virtuais, ambientes virtuais, animação comportamental.
Differential gene expression in mammary gland epithelial cells between Holstein individuals with high or low α-lactalbumin milk protein content

α-lactalbumin is one of the key protein components in milk. It is a small, acidic and Ca2+ binding protein. It has several important functions, primarily as one of the two components in lactose synthase, which catalyzes the final step in lactose synthesis in the mammary gland. α-lactalbumin has a single strong Ca2+ binding site and several zinc binding sites. The binding of these ions can induce conformational changes and greater stability towards denaturing reagents (reviewed in Permyakov & Berliner, 2000). It has also been shown that α-lactalbumin can have apoptotic effects on specific tumors (Ho et al., 2017). α-lactalbumin is also one of the key constituents of infant formula and in human milk it constitutes 20-25% of the proteins however in bovine milk it only constitutes 2-5% (Lönnerdal & Lien, 2003). This difference makes it necessary to complement bovine milk with additional αlactalbumin in infant formulae especially as α-lactalbumin is rich in the essential amino acid tryptophan and is the key supplement for this amino acid (Lien, 2003). The purpose of this study was to elucidate gene expression levels in individuals with high or low α-lactalbumin content in milk, respectively, in order to identify differentially expressed genes between these two phenotypes. This could aid in the understanding of the processes involved in the production of this protein in the mammary gland and could point towards pathways or genetic variants with an effect on production of α-lactalbumin. Likewise, it could also point to genes and/or pathways affected by changes in levels of α-lactalbumin.
Enhancement Security in Smart TV Web Application

During the course of its research, the security firmware of the TV's Internet interface failed to confirm script integrity before scripts were run. The attacker could intercept transmissions from the television to the network using common DNS, DHCP server, and TCP session hijacking techniques. The code could then be injected into the normal DataStream, allowing attackers to obtain total control over the device's Internet functionality. This attack could render the product unusable at important times and extend or limit its functionality without the manufacturer's permission. More importantly, however, this same mechanism could be used to extract sensitive credentials from the TV's memory, or prompt the user to fill out fake online forms to capture credit card information. Additionally, Hackers were able to recover the manufacturer's private third-party developer keysâ€ from the television, because in many cases, these keys were transmitted unencrypted and in the clear. Many third-party searches, music, video and photo-sharing services delivered over the Internet require such keys, and a big TV Manufacturer often purchases high-volume special access privileges to these service provider's networks. A hacker could potentially employ these keys, for example, to access these high-volume services at no charge. This paper describes the new Authentication mechanism for online transaction payment for more secured service and, analyzing network managed challenge to avoid the vulnerabilities.
Isolation and Characterization of Early Lineage Adult Stem Cells from the Synovial Fluid of Osteoarthritis Patients

Adult stem cells (ASCs), which possess the ability to self-renew and regenerate tissue, are of significant value for the development of cellular therapies, tissue engineering tools, and drug screening models. Conventional protocols for ASC enrichment generate a small number of cells that do not represent the total ASC population of tissues. We avoided these conventional methodologies and used a different approach to identify early lineage adult (ELA) stem cells, a subpopulation of ASCs 4-6 µm in diameter, in the synovial fluid of osteoarthritic patients. These cells lack cell surface markers expressed by other ASC (e.g. CD34, CD73, CD105, SSEA-1, CXCR4). However, RT-PCR studies demonstrated expression of pluripotency genes such as NANOG, OCT4, REX1, KLF4, STELLA, and SOX. When cultured in adipogenic, chondrogenic, or osteogenic differentiation media, ELA cells differentiated into fat, cartilage, and bone tissue, respectively. Quantitative PCR analysis revealed unique molecular signatures consisting of tissue-specific and non-tissue specific mRNA in the differentiated tissues, suggesting a continuum of mRNA expression. Furthermore, the ELA cell population shared unique gene sets with embryonic stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, and induced pluripotent stem cells. Some of these genes are unique to neuronal, cardiac, pancreatic, and hepatic progenitor cells, while others, such as mucins, ICAM, and tetraspans, have tissue-specific cell functions. ELA cells also demonstrated strong in vitro immunomodulatory properties by inhibiting T cell proliferation, inducing CD4+/ CD25+ regulatory T cells, and inhibiting natural killer cell activity. Collectively, these observations suggest that ELA cells might be useful for cell-based regenerative therapies and the treatment of systemic diseases with immunological etiologies.
The Incentives of Australian Companies to Utilize Executive Stock Option Plans

This study investigates the firm specific characteristics which provide ex ante incentives to Australian companies to utilize an executive stock option (ESO) plan. We hypothesize that the remuneration of the Chief Executive Officer, the firm's investment opportunity set, the level of leverage and the degree of international diversification of the firm are related to the firm's utilization of an ESO plan. Using a sample of 378 firms drawn from the largest 500 firms in Australia, we find that the results support our hypotheses, with the exception of the level of firm leverage.
Interactive post-editing in machine translation

The current state of the art in Machine Translation (MT) is far from being good enough, with a post-process carried out by a human agent being necessary in many cases in order to correct translations. Statistical post-editing of a MT system has been used in the past to improve the translation quality of that system. Additionally, research on interactive translation prediction has been done with the aim of reducing the human postediting effort. In this thesis, a new methodology that combines both techniques is proposed in order to, given a MT system, increase the translation quality of that system and reduce the effort that the human agent needs to make in order to correct the translation of that system. This methodology is tested on different scenarios (to connect with the output of a rule-based machine translation system, and as a method to adapt an statistical MT system from one domain to another) with different corpora, obtaining very encouraging results.
Changes in a coral population on reefs of the northern Florida Keys following a coral disease epizootic

Populations of the coral Dichocoenia stokesi were quantitatively monitored on reefs of the middle and northern Florida Keys during and after a 1995 epizootic of the coral disease white plague type II. Three large-scale surveys were conducted in the falls of 1995, 1998, and 2002 at selected sites throughout the Florida Keys totaling 8478, 6280, and 8792 m 2 respectively. Between 1995 and 2002, the average number of D. stokesi colonies per 314 m 2 site decreased from 44.3 to 11.2, a decline of almost 75%. We found no evidence of coral recruitment in the 7 yr following the epi- zootic, and have found a continuing pattern of coral population decline. The colony size-frequency distribution pattern on these reefs changed over this time period as well, with the D. stokesi popula- tion exhibiting a trend to domination by large colonies, suggesting that the remaining population, while growing, is no longer reproducing. The shift in population to dominance by large colonies is typical of coral populations on degraded reefs. Here we report the results of a quantitative field study on the Florida reefs and compare these data with a similar study on reefs of Lee Stocking Island, Bahamas, that have not experienced a white plague type II epizootic.
THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF FOREIGN DEBT IN GREECE

The purpose . The impact of foreign debt growth on the social and economic performance of Greece was shown. The parameters of GDP, consumption, interest rates, unemployment and government spendings were analyzed. Methodology . Data obtained for 2001-2014 was used for regression analysis, vector autoregression and as well as Kalman filter. Results . A multi-faced analysis of the debt for EU-member states and Greece in particular was performed. The events and decisions of Greek authorities leading to the crisis were summarized in structural and logical scheme. The recommendations for the economic policy of Greece, based on the performed analysis were suggested. The practical applications . Establishment of all weaknesses and empirical testing of the necessary indicators in this study was the basis for the justification of measures to stabilize the economic situation in Ukraine and Greece. Value/originality . The Mandel-Fleming model and the model of balance of savings-investments was used for the first time for the theoretical interpretation of the nature of the debt crisis in Greece, that under the influence of capital inflows caused by the deterioration of the current account balance and interest rate cuts. The increase in foreign borrowings has led to an increase in the budget deficit and reduction in savings. Also for the first time performed regression-correlation analysis, in particular the Kalman filter is used to study the effect of debt on macroeconomic performance of the Greek economy.
Predictor Factors of Telecentres Outcome from the Users Perspectives in Rural Communities

Problem statement: Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in developing countries is considered as a fundamental strategy of community development. In this regard, the government of Malaysia and developing agencies considered telecentres as a tool for providing the potential and benefits of ICTs for rural and remote community in order to make value and offer equal ICT access to all Malaysians and to transform Malaysia into a value based Knowledge Society by the year 2020. However, the lack of success and sustainability is a common problem for telecentre projects that cause increasing necessity for paying more consideration to extract lessons learned of projects, with particular attention to factors influence telecentre outcomes which is the aim of this study. Approach: the main purpose of this study was to define the predictor factors of telecentres outcomes from user’s perception in rural communities in Malaysia. A cross sectional survey method was employed in the study and data were collected from 360 respondents who were randomly selected from the Pusat Internet Desa (PID) and Medan InfoDesa (MID) centers. For the purpose of analysis, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) by AMOS software was used. Result: The results of the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analyses show that individual characteristics, telecentres characteristics, information characteristics and leadership competency variables had significant contribution toward the prediction of telecentre outcome. Also the results showed that the information characteristic variable had better contribution toward the prediction of telecentre outcomes in rural community. Conclusion: based on highest contribution of the information characteristics among investigated factors, it could be concluded that any efforts must be made to improve service quality and provide relevant content to respondent needs in local language. Thus, access to local and relevant content can play a critical role in stimulating the users in rural community to have a continuous connection with telecentres and finally achieving desire outcome.
Heavy Metals in Brown Bears from the Central European Carpathians

âelechovska O. , I. Literak, S. Ondru‰, Z. Pospi‰il:Heavy Metals in Brown Bears from the Central European Carpathians. Acta Vet. Brno 2006, 75: 501-506. The aim of the present study was to assess heavy metal load in the brown bear (Ursus arctos) living in the central European Carpathians. Between 2002 and 2004, fifteen bears were examined to evaluate the distribution of cadmium, lead, mercury and copper in the animals’ muscles (diaphragm), spleen, liver and kidney. The highest content of cadmium, lead and mercury was found in the kidney (17.4 ± 5.2 mg·kg-1, 1.16 ± 0.39 mg·kg-1, 0.39 ± 0.25 mg·kg-1), whereas the lowest content of the metals was observed in the muscles (0.017 ± 0.009 mg·kg -1 , 0.299 ± 0.308 mg·kg-1, 0.013 ± 0.011 mg·kg-1). Second highest concentration of cadmium, lead and mercury was detected in the liver (0.83 ± 0.24 mg·kg -1 , 0.99 ± 0.61mg·kg - 1 , 0.11 ± 0.05 mg·kg -1 ). Copper distributions and concentrations in bear tissues were as follows (in descending order): liver (23.9 ± 6.7 mg·kg -1 ), > kidneys (9.0 ± 3.3 mg·kg -1 ), > muscles (1.9 ± 1.6 mg·kg -1 ) and > spleen (1.0 ± 0.2 mg·kg -1 ). As compared with heavy metal load observed in bear tissues between 1988 and 1990, the concentration of cadmium in the muscles and liver was significantly lower (p < 0.01). On the contrary, mercury values were significantly higher in the liver (p < 0.05), kidney and muscle (p < 0.01). Lead and copper tissue concentrations did not change substantially.
Curtailment of wind farm power output through flexible turbine operation using wind farm control

When the installed capacity of wind power becomes high, the power generated by wind farms can no longer simply be that dictated by the wind speed. With sufficiently high penetration, it will be necessary for wind farms to provide assistance with supply-demand matching. The work presented here introduces a wind farm controller that regulates the power generated by the wind farm to match the grid requirements by causing the power generated by each turbine to be adjusted. Further benefits include fast response to reach the wind farm power demanded, high accuracy, little variability in the wind farm power output and provision of synthetic inertia.
The Impact of Parental Attitudes on Problem Solving Skills in High School Students

Problem solving skill is one of the important skills which are expected to be gained during the educational programs. In the development of children's skills and shaping the behaviors, parental attitudes are believed to be effective. That means problem-solving skills and behavioral characteristics of individuals are closely related. From that starting point this research aims at revealing the impact of parental attitudes on problem solving skills of high school students. The research is in quantitative method with relational survey model. The working group of the study is 326 high school students selected randomly from Silvan district in 2015. For the analysis of data, descriptive statistical techniques (frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation), cross-correlation and regression analysis were used. Some of the important results of the study are: The level of students' problem solving skills is medium, there is no significant relationship between authoritarian attitudes of mothers and problem-solving skills of high school students, there is a positive medium level relationship between democratic attitudes of parents and problem-solving skills of students, parental attitudes of students predict 20% of students' problem solving skills.
Seasonal variability of size-classes of phytoplankton biomass in a sub-tropical embayment, Muscat, Sea of Oman

The contribution of three different cell size classes of picoplankton: 0.74-2 μm, nanoplankton:2–20 μm and microplankton, >20 μm of the phytoplankton population and their relationship to environmental conditions were studied over two annual cycles at one station in Bandar Khyran Bay, Sea of Oman, from May 2006 to August 2008. Nanoplankton was the most important class contributing 54.4% to total Chl a (range 6-82%). Its seasonal highest concentrations was during the cold periods when temperature ranged from 28-29 °C in fall and near 24 C in winter when the supply of nutrients was sufficient to sustain their growth. Picoplankton had the second level of the contribution, comprising (23.5%, range 4-74 %) of the total Chl a. and their concentration was generally constant (0.04-.06 μg l–1) throughout the study period. The drop of picoplankton population coincided with an increase in the microplankton and nanoplankton populations indicating a high grazing pressure exerted on the picoplankton population. Microplankton size-class occupied the third level of the contribution comprising (22.2%, range 3-65 %). Their general concentration was below 0.1 μg l–1 and only dominant when temperatures were lowest and nitrate, nitrite, silicate and phosphate concentrations were the highest. The temporal variability observed was associated with changes in the nanaoplankton indicating that in some cases, it is the small fraction of phytoplankton that drives changes in abundances and productivity.
Brine Shrimp Lethality and Acute Oral Toxicity of Commiphora swynertonii (Burrt) Exudate

1 Dept of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, P.O. Box 65516, Dar es salaam, Tanzania. 2 Department of Pathology, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, P.O. Box 65002, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. 3 Department of Pharmacognosy, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, P.O. Box 65013, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. 4 Department of Medical botany, Agronomy and Plant breeding, Institute of Traditional Medicine, P.O. Box 65000, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Switching Response to Power Prices: Evidence from German Households

Empirical evidence on the response of German households to electricity price changes is largely lacking. Using data from Germany's Residential Energy Consumption Survey (GRECS), we fill this void by employing an instrumental variable approach to cope with the endogeneity of the consumers' tariff choice. Exploiting our information on the households' knowledge about power prices, we additionally employ an Endogenous Switching Regression Model to estimate price elasticities for two groups of households: those that are informed about prices and those that are price-ignorant. With elasticity estimates falling between -0.91 and zero, we find residential electricity demand to be quite inelastic. Households with price information are sensitive to price changes while the demand of uninformed household is entirely price inelastic.