Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
IN VITRO ANTIPLASMODIAL ACTIVITY AND CYTOTOXICITY OF LEAF EXTRACTS OF JATROPHA TANJORENSIS

The in vitro antiplasmodial activity and cytotoxicity of extracts from Jatropha tanjorensis leaves was evaluated. The plant leaves were successively extracted into three (3) extract forms (aqueous extract, ethanolic extract and hydro-ethanolic (50:50 v/v)) using standard procedures. For quality control, high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) was performed on extracts. Antiplasmodial activity was assessed in vitro by using a 3D7 chloroquine sensitive clone of NF-54 isolate of Plasmodium falciparum. Cytotoxicity of extracts against non-cancerous vero cell lines was determined with doxorubicin serving as the standard cytotoxic drug. The spectra from the chemical finger-print of the extracts revealed that the ethanolic extract contained eleven peaks in contrast to the hydro-ethanolic (eight peaks) and aqueous (six peaks) extracts. The ethanolic extract had the highest antiplasmodial activity (IC50 10.86 ± 1.52 ug/ml), low cytotoxicity (IC50 86.8 ± 4.8 ug/ml) and selectivity index (SI) of 8.0 when compared with the hydro-ethanolic (IC50plasmodial 48.0 ± 1.34 ug/ml, IC50vero cells 547 ± 9.4 ug/ml, and SI of 11.4) and aqueous (IC50plasmodial 44.0 ± 2.4 ug/ml; IC50vero cells > 1000 ug/ml) extracts. The antiplasmodial activity of the crude ethanolic extract was however moderate when compared with the standard antimalaria drug chloroquine (IC50 0.087 ± 0.0003 ug/ml). The results therefore suggest moderate antiplasmodial activity and low cytotoxicity of ethanolic extract of Jatropha tanjorensis leaves against chloroquine sensitive strain of Plasmodium falciparum. The antiplasmodial activity of the plant leaves supports local claims on its efficacy in the treatment of malaria infection.
Identification of Silicone Oil Maculopathy by OCT after Vitrectomy for Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment

Background: silicone oil (SO) is used as a vitreous replacement and has been shown to be effective in repairing complicated retinal detachment. Its use, however, may have several disadvantages. Aim: to study the macular changes after SO injection as tamponade in vitrectomy for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD). Patients and Methods: a prospective, interventional and non-randomized study was performed on 75 eyes (75 patients) of RRD. The patients underwent primary vitrectomy with SO tamponade. All the patients were examined at baseline and postoperatively at day one, one week, one month, and three months. Each visit examination included best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), indirect ophthalmoscopy slit-lamp biomicroscopy, fundus examination by binocular indirect slit-lamp biomicroscopy, measurement of intraocular pressure, and optical coherent tomography (OCT) at 1,3 months postoperatively. Results: 71 of the 75 eyes, had a successful vitrectomy with reattached retina under SO tamponade and 4 eyes were excluded. The patients’ mean age was 48±4.5 years. Preoperatively, the macula was on in 41(57.75%) eyes and off in 30(42.25%) while retinal detachment (RD) was total in 18(25.35%) eyes and subtotal in 53(74.65%) eyes. Central macular thickness (CMT) was 177-850 microns. Three months after vitrectomy, CMT was 154-708 microns. While no statistical significant difference was detected between 1 month to 3 months after vitrectomy (P=0.175). Postoperative OCT changes include attenuated IS/OS junction in 16(22.54%) eyes, macular edema in 15(21.13%) eyes, epiretinal membrane in 13(18.31%) eyes. Conclusions: OCT is a beneficial tool for identification of silicone oil maculopathy even in clinically normal maculae.
WTC 2005-64335 VAPOR DEPOSITION OF COMPOSITE ORGANIC-INORGANIC FILMS

Results on the thermal and immersion stability of ultra-thin composite films created by a deposition method call MVD (Molecular Vapor Deposition [1]) are reported. It is observed that these composite films were denser and more stable in thermal and immersion applications when compared to traditional self-assembled monolayer (SAM) films. These improved films were created by a special “sequential” or “layered” deposition process sequence. The MVD composite coatings can be deposited at room temperature on a variety of materials such as polymers, fibers, metals, alloys and other materials which normally do not allow films to form with complete surface coverage.
Education and Income Relationship in Turkey

This paper examines the causal relationship between four different measures of education and income in Turkey using time series data for the period 1971-2013. The four measures are: (a) gross primary-school enrolment, (b) gross secondary-school enrolment, (c) gross higher-school enrolment and (d) government expenditure on education relative to total government expenditure. The analysis employs a Toda and Yamamoto (1995) approach to Granger non-causality. The empirical findings indicate evidence of a unidirectional causality running from secondary-school enrolment to GDP per capita and higher-school enrolment to GDP per capita. The results also indicate that primary education and government spending on education do not Granger cause economic growth and vice versa.
Assessing preferences for a mega shopping centre in the Netherlands: A conjoint measurement approach

In 2004, the Dutch central government decided to liberalise her restricted retail policy. This stimulated some retail developers to prepare plans for mega shopping centres. As mega shopping centres do not exist in the Netherlands, this study aims at eliciting consumers’ preferences for this kind of new developments. Consumers visiting a down town shopping centre and one of the largest out-of-town shopping centres in the Netherlands were presented descriptions of different hypothetical mega shopping centres, systematically varying on 10 attributes. The consumers were asked to select the centre they preferred most from sets of two centres. The following attributes were used to define the mega shopping centres: accessibility by car, accessibility by public transport, parking tariff, length of the main shopping streets, type of shopping supply, type of anchor stores, type of traffic allowed in the shopping centre, design style, scale of the shopping streets, and type of activities in the shopping centre. Over 300 respondents completed the online questionnaire. Discrete choice models (both multinomial and mixed logit) were estimated to assess the importance of each attribute. Overall, the estimation results confirm expectations. Shoppers prefer well accessible shopping centres and free parking. The preferred time needed to walk through the main streets of the shopping centre is 45 minutes; 30 minutes is still acceptable, but 15 minutes is not preferred at all. Shoppers do not prefer a shopping supply existing of small and medium sized (local) shops, and specialised/exclusive shops are preferred over the well known national chains. Regarding anchor stores, shoppers seem to dislike the very large electronics stores and traditional department stores are preferred over flagship stores. Only pedestrians should be allowed to enter the shopping centre. Other traffic modes like bicycles and especially motorized modes are not preferred. The design style should be historically while a Disney style is detested. A modern design style is somewhere in between. The preferred scale of the shopping streets is a mixture of short/narrow and long/wide streets. Only long/wide scale shopping streets are not preferred. Finally, the type of activities offered by the shopping centre should be a mixture of passive and active activities. Shoppers seem to be less happy with active activities only. Although all attributes have a significant impact on the preference for a shopping centre, parking fee and design style appear to be the most important attributes. In addition to the overall effects, significant differences between females and males, between younger and older respondents, and between respondents recruited in the down town shopping centre and respondents recruited in the large out-of-town shopping centre were found. Some interactions between attributes were significant as well. The models perform very satisfactory.
An Empirical Evaluation of Simplified Function Point Measurement Processes

— Function Point Analysis is widely used, especially to quantify the size of applications in the early stages of development, when effort estimates are needed. However, the measurement process is often too long or too expensive, or it requires more knowledge than available when development effort estimates are due. To overcome these problems, simplified methods have been proposed to measure Function Points. We used simplified methods for sizing both “traditional” and Real-Time applications, with the aim of evaluating the accuracy of the sizing with respect to full-fledged Function Point Analysis. To this end, a set of projects, which had already been measured by means of Function Point Analysis, have been measured using a few simplified processes, including those proposed by NESMA, the Early&Quick Function Points, the ISBSG average weights, and others; the resulting size measures were then compared. We also derived simplified size models by analyzing the dataset used for experimentations. In general, all the methods that provide predefined weights for all the transaction and data types identified in Function Point Analysis provided similar results, characterized by acceptable accuracy. On the contrary, methods that rely on just one of the elements that contribute to size tend to be quite inaccurate. In general, different methods show different accuracy for Real-Time and non Real-Time applications. The results of the analysis reported here show that in general it is possible to size software via simplified measurement processes with an acceptable accuracy. In particular, the simplification of the measurement process allows the measurer to skip the function weighting phases, which are usually expensive, since they require a thorough analysis of the details of both data and operations. Deriving our own models from the project datasets proved possible, and yielded results that are similar to those obtained via the methods proposed in the literature.
ESTIMATING INDUSTRIAL STRUCTURE CHANGES IN CHINA USING DMSP – OLS NIGHT-TIME LIGHT DATA DURING 1999–2012

Abstract. The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program’s Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS) night-time light imagery has been proved to be a powerful tool to monitor economic development with its relatively high spatial resolution at large scales. Night-time lights caused by human activities derived from DMSP-OLS satellite imagery are widely used in socioeconomic parameter estimations and urbanization monitoring. In this paper, DMSP-OLS night-time stable light data from 1999 to 2012 are utilized to analyze inter-annual variation in GDP of per unit light intensity (RGDP) in China. Furthermore, RGDP was compared with statistical data of the tertiary industry structure for 28 provincial regions. The results show that the provincial RGDP decreased abruptly in 2001–2002, 2008–2009 and 2011–2012, which is consistent with the proportional growth of the tertiary industry in GDP. These results indicate that the changes in RGDP can reflect tertiary industry structural changes in China's province-level regions.
Importance of Gut Microflora In Poultry

Introduction The development and composition of the gut microflora in poultry involves several complex mechanisms and are both dependant on many factors, ranging from the age of the birds to dietary ingredients as well as the environment in which the birds are reared. The physiological contribution of gut microflora in poultry nutrition include improvement in digestion through secretion of microbial enzymes, vitamin synthesis, detoxification of some anti-nutritional factors, competitive exclusion of pathogens, development of immune system and intestinal homeostasis. Recently it has been established that gut microflora also play role in the expression of gut gene. Gut microflora can also directly interact with the lining of the gastrointestinal tract (Van Leeuwen et al., 2004), which may alter the physiology of the tract and immunological status of the bird (Klasing et al., 1999). Harmful members of the gut microflora may be involved in localized or systemic infections, intestinal putrefaction and toxin formation (Yegani and Korver, 2008). Gut microflora on production Gut microflora involved in competitive exclusion, which is resistance to colonization by pathogenic and other non-indigenous microbes (Snel et al., 2002). Competitive exclusion relates to maintaining beneficial microflora in the host by suppressing the growth of pathogenic bacteria while encouraging the growth of beneficial bacteria. This protection occurs by resident flora suppressing colonization by secreting antimicrobial compounds such as organic acids, by direct stimulation of the immune system and by competing for nutrients and attachment to the mucosal surfaces (Dibner and Richards, 2005). The gut microflora provides an extensive array of enzymes and substrates which together provides an extensive metabolome available for nutrient and energy derivation from International Journal of Science, Environment ISSN 2278-3687 (O) and Technology, Vol. 6, No 1, 2017, 549 – 552 2277-663X (P)
Microbiology of bovine semen and artificial breeding practices under New Zealand conditions

Abstract The total number of viable micro-organisms in semen from 42 bulls used for artificial breeding varied between 20 and 534000/ml, with a mean of 4630/ml. Most were bacteria of the genera Bacillus, Corynebacterium, and Micrococcus; also represented were Aerobacter, Alkaligenes, Escherichia, Flavobacterium, Herellea, Nocardia, Proteus, Sarcina, and Staphylococcus and the yeasts Rhodotorula rubra and Candida guilliermondi. Seminal plasma contained natural inhibitors effective against 80% of the Gram positive and 40% of the Gram negative organisms isolated. There was no correlation between total viable count of semen and concentration of inhibitor in the seminal plasma. The high proportion of organisms in semen which were sen,itive to natural inhibitors and the lack of correlation between total viable count and concentration of inhibitor are consistent with the view that semen bacteria are transient invaders derived from the urethra and preputial cavity. However, no consistent difference was found betw.
Title: Women’s greater fear of pain is mediated by neuroticism Titre : Les femmes, plus que les hommes ont peur de la douleur : la contribution du névrosisme

Fear of pain is an emotional state linked to a host of negative events, including exaggerated pain perception, distress, and chronic pain. Although many studies have shown that women experience fear of pain more than men do, little is known about the factors that might explain these sex differences. According to an individual-difference approach, it seems valuable to examine the contribution of personality factors, which are considered as major antecedents of cognitions and emotions, including fear. The present study focuses on the potential mediating role of neuroticism – and its six specific facets – in the sex-fear of pain relationship for fear of severe pain, fear of minor pain, and fear of medical pain. Given that neuroticism is greater in women and that this personality trait contributes to the fear of pain, we hypothesized that neuroticism would mediate the sex-fear of pain relationship. Due to the previously established link between experience of pain and the fear of pain, we controlled for the previous experience of pain in the mediation model. Participants (n = 133 women; 96 men) completed measures of previous experiences of pain, neuroticism, and fear of pain. Using Preacher and Hayes’ SPSS script, we used a bootstrapping method with n = 5000 bootstrap resamples to test the model. Bootstrapped mediation analyses revealed that neuroticism significantly (within a 95% confidence interval) mediated the sex-fear of severe pain relationship. Working within a 90% confidence interval, neuroticism also significantly mediated the sex-fear of pain relationship for fear of minor pain and fear of medical pain. Although the global trait of neuroticism contributed to sex differences in fear of minor pain, it was specifically the neuroticism facet of anxiety that mediated the relationship between sex and fear of severe pain and sex and fear of medical pain. The results suggest that women experience more fear of pain partly because they are more neurotic than men and provide the first evidence that neuroticism in an integral part of the process that differentiates the sexes in fear of pain. Given that the proportion of variance
RECYCLABILITY : FIBROUS CHARACTERISTICS

* Authors’ references 1. Maestría en Ciencias de Madera, Celulosa y Papel – FCEQyN-FCF – Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Argentina 2. Instituto de Pesquisas Tecnológicas de São Paulo (IPT). Brazil 3. Programa de Celulosa y Papel FCEQyN – Universidad Nacional de Misiones – Félix de Azara 1552 (3300) Posadas, Misiones, Argentina. 4. Escola Politecnica, Universidad de Sao Paulo (USP). Brazil 5. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET). Argentina ABSTRACT Recyclability is the ability of a material to reacquire the same properties it had originally. The aim of this work was to verify the recyclability of three printing and writing papers, from the characteristics of their fibers after two recycles. Three ECF bleached kraft eucalyptus commercial bond papers from Argentina and Brazil were studied (A, B, C). The papers were repulped and refined using different levels and intensities of energy (1st recycle). Laboratory sheets were produced, and they were repulped and refined again (2nd recycle). The microscopic characteristics of repulped papers were obtained by automatic equipment based on image analysis. Differences found in the behavior of the different samples can be explained by fiber parameters. The fiber length was significantly different in the three papers (A > B > C) and globally decreased in the second recycle (about 6%). Sample A had the highest initial fiber length and length/width, but it largely decreased with refining conditions in the 1st recycle (length fall 12%, generating fines by cutting), whereas it fall 9% between the 1st and 2nd recycles, and nothing with refining conditions in the 2nd recycle. Sample B fall by 5% with refining conditions in the 1st recycle, and 9% between the 1st and the 2nd recycle, but suffered few alteration in the second recycle. Fiber length of sample C was unaffected by refining conditions and only decreased 9% between the 1st and 2nd recycles. In all cases, the generated fines increased lightly with refining in the first recycle, but were two-fold higher in the second recycle than in the first one. The fiber coarseness of the 3 samples was similar in the first recycle, but decreases significantly in the 2nd recycle.
QuSpin: a Python Package for Dynamics and Exact Diagonalisation of Quantum Many Body Systems part I: spin chains

We present a new open-source Python package for exact diagonalization and quantum dynamics of spin(-photon) chains, called QuSpin, supporting the use of various symmetries in 1-dimension and (imaginary) time evolution for chains up to 32 sites in length. The package is well-suited to study, among others, quantum quenches at finite and infinite times, the Eigenstate Thermalisation hypothesis, many-body localisation and other dynamical phase transitions, periodically-driven (Floquet) systems, adiabatic and counter-diabatic ramps, and spin-photon interactions. Moreover, QuSpin's user-friendly interface can easily be used in combination with other Python packages which makes it amenable to a high-level customisation. We explain how to use QuSpin using four detailed examples: (i) Standard exact diagonalisation of XXZ chain (ii) adiabatic ramping of parameters in the many-body localised XXZ model, (iii) heating in the periodically-driven transverse-field Ising model in a parallel field, and (iv) quantised light-atom interactions: recovering the periodically-driven atom in the semi-classical limit of a static Hamiltonian.
Multi-channel Opportunistic Spectrum Access with Channel Switching Cost Awareness

Opportunistic spectrum access is an efficient solution to improve spectrum efficiency. In multichannel opportunistic spectrum access, secondary users switch channels to escape from primary user occupied channels. This channel switching cost is significant. It depends on difference between current channel and the target switching channel. We build a model to reflect this switching cost based upon the existing protocols. We design a protocol and perform simulations to evaluate our proposal.
CONTEMPORARY ASPECTS OF THE THEORY AND APPLICATION OF NONLINEAR ACOUSTICS

The foundations of nonlinear acoustics may be traced nearly 250 years back in time, but only the last 50 years have shown an increasing number of attempts to exploit the research results in nonlinear acoustics. Based upon the fundamental equations of fluid dynamics, the second-order acoustic equations may be derived which can be reduced to a compound equation describing several of the most important and fast developing areas of research in nonlinear acoustics. The relations between this compound equation and Burgers’ equation, KortewegDeVries equation, the K–Z–K equation, Westervelt’s equation and the general second-order wave equation are discussed in depth. Finally, it is shown how the derivatives of the compound equation can be applied to nonlinear acoustic research related to materials characterisation by use of theB/A-ratio, to underwater acoustics by use of the parametric acoustic array and to focused, high-power ultrasonic fields.
CPG and Tegotae-based Locomotion Control of Quadrupedal Modular Robots

Animals exhibit astonishing capabilities in terms of locomotion control which Science aims at understanding and reproducing in robots. The ability to adapt movements based on morphological changes is specially interesting in the ﬁeld of reconﬁgurable robotics. It is commonly accepted that two components play an important role in the way animals perform control: Central Pattern Generators and Reﬂex Mechanisms. Respectively, two bio-inspired control strategies were studied under the scope of this work, an optimized open loop CPG network, and a closed loop decentralized control of the limbs by Tegotae feedback rules. A quadruped robotic platform was chosen for the study, being modelled in Webots simulator, where optimization and search algorithms were employed, and implemented on hardware, where validation experiments took place. The focus of this project was on analyzing performance of imposed gaits, with the ﬁrst strategy, comparing it with emergent gaits from the decentralized approach. This comparison proved that Tegotae-based control is able not just to drive the system towards a stable steady state limit cycle behaviour, as it does so for a near optimal one. Several gaits found in nature were reproduced with a simple trajectory parametrization method, indicating energetic cost and mechanical stability of these. Tegotae-based control was thoroughly analyzed, and some improvements are proposed, namely scaling with frequency and variable attraction coeﬃcient. Binary feedback was also put at proof for the ﬁrst time, showing feasibility but some performance loss. Diverse software and hardware tools were developed for use in future work.