Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exercise and Academic Achievement in Children: Effects of Acute Class-Based Circuit Training

Purpose. For schools, the increasingly imposed requirement to achieve well in academic tests puts increasing emphasis on improving academic achievement. While treadmill exercise has been shown to have beneficial effects on cognitive function and cycling ergometers produce stronger effect sizes than treadmill running, it is impractical for schools to use these on a whole-class basis. There is a need to examine if more ecologically valid modes of exercise might have a similar impact on academic achievement. Circuit training is one such modality shown to benefit cognitive function and recall ability and is easily operationalised within schools. Methods. In a repeated measures design, twenty-six children (17 boys, 8 girls) aged 10-11 years (mean age 10.3; SD ± 0.46 years) completed the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT 4) at rest and following 30 minutes of exercise. Results. Standardised scores for word reading were significantly higher post exercise (F(1,18) = 49.9, p = 0.0001) compared to rest. In contrast, standardised scores for sentence comprehension (F(1,18) = 0.078, p = 0.783), spelling (F(1,18) = 4.07, p = 0.06) mathematics (F(1,18) = 1.257, p = 0.277), and reading (F(1,18) = 2.09, p = 0.165) were not significantly different between rest and exercise conditions. Conclusions. The results of the current study suggest acute bouts of circuit based exercise enhances word reading but not other areas of academic ability in 10-11 year old children. These findings support prior research that indicates acute bouts of exercise can selectively improve cognition in children.
Gaining competitive advantage through human resource management practices

Critical to a corporation's growth and prosperity is gaining and retaining competitive advantage. Although corporations may pursue many paths to this end, one that is frequently not recognized is capitalizing on superior human resource management. Currently, many companies recognize the growing importance of their human resources, but few are conceptualizing them in strategic terms—in ways to gain a competitive advantage. As a result, many companies forego the opportunity to seize competitive advantage through human resource practice initiatives. However, there are a few companies that do not forego the opportunity. We use them as examples to show how to systematically develop such advantages via a “target/thrust matrix. ” The end results of this matrix have significant implications for both corporate strategy and personnel and human resource management.
Zimbabwean female participation in physics: the use of drawings in documenting students' images of scientists

The study investigated the Zimbabwean Advanced Level female adolescent students’ images of a scientist and the influence of female students perceived images on their participation in the subject. Three high schools that were offering physics at A’ level in the Midlands Province were targeted. Four female students eighteen years and above: three doing mathematics and physics and one doing physics without mathematics were purposively chosen. The data generating instruments were classroom observation and drawing. Findings show that two out of four female students drew stereotypical image of a male scientist and listed Eurocentric names of male scientists The other two female students, gave African names to the scientists that they drew and this may suggest that scientists are not only Eurocentric but can also be Afrocentric. Their diagrams might denote a positive physics perception which may have resulted in the construction of a positive identity formation regarding physics. The positive physics identity in turn may indicate that the female participants were more attuned to continue studying physics. However, the female students did not seem to perceive scientists as ordinary people but as famous inventive people they encountered in their science text books.
Production of chromophoric dissolved organic matter by marine phytoplankton

Incubation experiments with axenic cultures of four common phytoplankton species of the genera Chaetoceros, Skeletonema, Prorocentrum, and Micromonas were performed to test for the production of fluorescent dissolved organic matter (FDOM) by marine phytoplankton. Our results prove that the four species exuded both fluorescent protein‐like and marine humic‐like materials in variable amounts, with more production by the diatoms Chaetoceros sp. and Skeletonema costatum and less by Prorocentrum minimum. Whereas the exudation of protein‐like substances by healthy phytoplankton cells has been recognized, the in situ production of marine humic‐like substances is still a matter of debate. Using axenic cultures, we demonstrate unequivocally that phytoplankton can directly contribute to the autochthonous production of colored humic‐like substances in the ocean. Extrapolation of these findings to the field indicates that about 20% of the marine humic‐like substances produced in the highly productive coastal upwelling system of the Ria de Vigo could originate from growing phytoplankton. Therefore, the exudation of FDOM by marine phytoplankton should be considered in future studies of the dynamics of colored DOM in marine systems.
Draft 1 A practical overview of transferability in species distribution 1 modelling 2

Journal: Environmental Reviews Manuscript ID er-2016-0045.R1 Manuscript Type: Review Date Submitted by the Author: 23-Sep-2016 Complete List of Authors: Werkowska, Wioletta; Universidad de Malaga Facultad de Ciencias Márquez, Ana L. ; Universidad de Malaga Facultad de Ciencias Real, Raimundo; Universidad de Malaga Facultad de Ciencias Acevedo, Pelayo; Instituto de Investigacion en Recursos Cinegeticos
Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security in Africa: An Overview

The development of the agricultural sector and the improvement of the food security situation are seen as essential components to sustainable development in Africa. However, continuing population growth, impacts of climate change and environmental degradation add to an unprecedented combination of pressures that threaten existing efforts and solutions. This article discusses the challenges of meeting the food security needs in a sustainable way. Due to its involvement of all three dimensions of sustainable development, economic, social and ecological, we argue that organic farming could be one possible approach to create a more sustainable agricultural system.
Role of S-adenosylmethionine in the Modulation of Oxidative Stress- Related Neurodegeneration

S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) is the main biological methyl donor in transmethylation reactions, consisting in the transferring of a methyl moiety to different substrates including DNA, proteins, lipids and RNA. SAM level in the organism decreases with aging and restoring the original levels through exogenous supplementation is an important tool for the improvement of many vital functions. Indeed, SAM deficiency may contribute to the onset of several diseases, i.e. depression, liver diseases, osteoarthritis and senile neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Recent evidences indicate that SAM may have an involvement in oxidative stress, a process which typically involves an alteration of cellular sulfur amino acids homeostasis. SAM is not only the principal methyl donor, but also a precursor of glutathione, the major endogenous antioxidant, whose role in counteracting oxidative stress is well known. In this review we will highlight the role of SAM not just as a methyl-donor but also as a regulator of different metabolic pathways involved in the antioxidant response in brain related disorders.
PAUSING PRECEDING AND FOLLOWING à/de IN INFINITIVE PHRASES IN THE PRODUCTION OF NATIVE AND NON-NATIVE SPEAKERS OF FRENCH

Pausing strategies in speech of native and non-native speakers have been of significant interest for researchers since it was observed that the speech of both groups of speakers’ pausing patterns do display considerable differences. Since English is a syllable timed language, pausing strategies of native English speakers and non -native speakers, especially those whose languages are not syllable timed, display considerable differences. This study was conducted with a specific focus on the a/deinfinitive phrases in French . The study reports on the audio recordings produced by native (NSF), and non -native (NNSF) speakers of French and aims to identify different silent pausing strategies as they were employed by these speakers. Both groups watched the French dubbed version of the animated cartoon, Scrooge, and then commented on its various themes. Considerable attention was given to pausing preceding (PP) and following (PF) the a/de particle in a/de- infinitive phrases. The results display significant differences between pausing preceding and following a/de -infinitive phrases in the speech of native and non-native speaker groups. While pausing preceding a/de -infinitive phrases was observed to be significantly shorter than in the following position in the speech of native speaker group, in non-native speakers group there was no statistically significant difference between pausing in preceding and following positions. Not only does this observation, partly, justify the theory of principles and parameters (PPT) but also it may have significant implications for reading and speaking skills of French learners in particular, and L2 learners in general. Keywords: Pausing; Teaching speaking/reading; First language acquisition; Second language acquisition; Principles and parameters theory
The educational and career interest scale in science, technology, and mathematics: Validity and reliability study 1

The aim of this study is to examine the psychometric features of Educational and Career Interest Scale (ECIS) developed by Oh et al. (2013) in order to assess the high school student's own interests in the fields of Science, Technology, and Mathematics (STEM) on Turkish sample. The scale consists of three sub dimensions called career interest in Science, career interest in Technology and career interest in Mathematics as well as 9 items. The sample of the study comprises of 588 students who study at three different high schools. The studies of internal consistency, item and factor analysis and criterion cohesion validity were performed to examine the psychometric features of the scale. The values obtained from the internal consistency analyses of the scale was . 89 for SCI sub dimension; . 81 for TCI sub dimension; . 88 for MCI sub dimension and . 87 in total, and it was shown that the scale has sufficient reliability levels. The results of item discrimination and confirmatory factor analysis showed that the original threefactor structure of the scale is suitable for Turkish sample. So, it is thought that the scale is a valid and reliable tool to be used for determining the educational and career interest levels for Turkish sample group.
Mechanisms of DNA repair in mitochondria

A. S. Singatulina, P. E. Pestryakov © 2016 A. S. Singatulina et al.; Published by the Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics, NAS of Ukraine on behalf of Biopolymers and Cell. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited UDC 577
Evaluation of Immunomodulatory activity of the flavanoid from Kigelia africana

Modulation of the immune responses to alleviate the diseases has been of interest for many years. Thus a real need exists to protect our immun e systems and lead healthier lives. Hence the present study is aimed to evaluate the immunomodulatory activity of Flavanoid of Kigelia africana. The effect of flavanoid of Kigelia africana on the immune system of rats and mice was evaluated by using different experimental model s such asmice lethality test, Serum immunoglobulin level, Haemagglutination reaction, hypersensitivity reaction, and delayed type hypersensitivity reaction test. Flavanoid of Kigelia africana was administered orally at low dose and high dose of 100mg/kg/day, poand 200 mg/kg/day, po respectively and Levamisole (2.5 mg/kg/day, po) was used as standard drug. Flavanoid of Kigelia africana in both doses increased the levels of serum immunoglobulin and prevented the mortality induced by bovine Pasteurella multocida in mice. Exhibits a dose related increase in the e arly hypersensitivity reaction and Delayed type hypersen sitivity reaction to the SRBC antigen. It also resulted in a significant increase in the anti body titer value, to SRBC, in experimental animals. Hence, it was concluded that flavanoid of Kigelia africana increases both humoral immunity and cell mediated immunity.
Is part-time farming less subsidised ? The example of direct payments in France and Switzerland

Farms in Western countries are strongly subsidised while part-time farms are in general ignored in agricultural support regulations. But is public support truly designed in such a way that it favours full-time farms? The common view is that part-time farms, not involved solely in farming, receive fewer subsidies than full-time farms.In this paper we investigate whether the part-time character is disadvantageous to farms when it comes to receiving direct payments. Using an econometric regression on farm-level data, we assess the influence of off-farm activities on the level of payments received in France and in Switzerland in 2003. Our results show that the influence is non linear: the effect is negative for farms with a low part-time character but positive for the others. A strong part-time character can therefore favour the receipt of direct payments.
INVESTIGATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YIELD RISK AND AGRIENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS

OF THESIS INVESTIGATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YIELD RISK AND AGRIENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS The U.S. crop insurance program provides subsidies and risk reduction benefits to producers. In response to enhanced income and decreased risk, farmers increase planted acres, often in more risky areas of production. The primary objective of this thesis is to determine the relationship between the environment and acreage brought into production as a result of crop insurance. This thesis does so indirectly, by examining the relationship between yield risk and a set of agri-environmental indicators. An ordinary least squares (OLS) model is used to examine this relationship. It is hypothesized that as acreage becomes more risky in terms of yield, environmental damages resulting from production will increase. Results suggest that while this is not always the case, there is a strong correlation between yield risk and increased soil erosion for the majority of the acreage in the study area.
In vitro secretion of ecdysteroid-dependent proteins and of a 70 kDa subunit reactive to anti-prophenoloxidase serum by Apis mellifera integument

A tissue culture approach was used to monitor changes in protein secretion by integuments from Apis mellifera along the pupal stage. A dramatic change in epidermal protein secretion was correlated with the variation in endogenous ecdysteroid from a low level at the beginning of the pupal stage to a maximum level in the middle of this stage. Only a fraction of these proteins, however, turned out to be directly regulated by ecdysteroids when we exposed cultured integument to 20-hydroxyecdysone. An antiserum raised against a honey bee activated prophenoloxidase (proPO) found in hemolymph recognized a 70 kDa subunit in pupal integument incubations, strongly suggesting that honey bee epidermis synthesizes a genuine proPO. The 70 kDa subunit is not developmentally regulated by the ecdysteroid titer. Its constitutive expression throughout the pupal stage makes it difficult to reconcile the function of this protein with progressive cuticle pigmentation in late honey bee pupae. Apis mellifera / integument / epidermis / cuticle / cuticular protein / prophenoloxidase
Formulation of Ibuprofen Nanoparticles and Nanosuspensions with Enhanced Dissolution Rate using Ultra-Homogenization Technique

Introduction: Ibuprofen (IBU), a well-known drug with dissolution rate-limited bioavailability was formulated as nanoparticles and nanosuspensions by ultra-homogenization technique, employing a series of hydrophilic polymers/surfactants. Materials and Methods: Various nanosuspensions were prepared using different hydrophilic polymers, freeze-dried into nano-particles and evaluated for relevant physicochemical characteristics. Based on the in vitro dissolution and particle size, the optimized drug: Polymer ratio was re-formulated into nano-suspensions using Tween-80 to study any further reduction in particle size and enhancement in dissolution as compared with marketed suspensions. Results and Discussion: All the suspensions prepared with the different drugs: Polymer ratio (1:1, 1:2 and 1:3) showed a significant decrease in particle size with increase in the number of homogenization cycles and pressure. Polyvinyl pyrrolidone K30 (PVP-K30) served as the best polymer to enhance the aqueous solubility of IBU, based on stability constant (K) and Gibbsfree energy (ΔGo) values. IBU: PVP-K30 (1:2 w/w) nanosuspensions gave the least particle size (527 ± 31.04 nm) with a narrow polydispersibility index and high negative zeta potential value. Nanoparticles produced by freeze drying the nano-suspension were amorphous in nature as confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared and also showed enhanced release rate than the pure drug. Furthermore, a combination of IBU: PVP-K30:Tween 80 (T80) (1:2:2 w/w) homogenized nanosuspensions exhibited much smaller particle size (127 ± 6.18 nm) and two-fold faster release compared to the marketed products (DP15 min = 95%). Other polymer combinations either did not show any significant change in particle size or exhibited agglomeration and crystal growth. Conclusion: IBU/PVP-K30/T80 nanosuspensions were successfully prepared by high-pressure homogenization technique, with enhanced solubility and dissolution properties which could reduce the required dose and gastrointestinal side effects of the pure drug. This, in turn, is expected to increase the therapeutic benefits of IBU and other similar drugs belonging to Class II of Biopharmaceutics Classification System system, as well as to decrease/abolish the ulcerative effect. The proposed technique also has the potential of commercial scale-up to formulate safe products with higher bioavailability.
ROSMARINIC ACID AMELIORATES DIABETIC NEPHROPATHY IN UNINEPHRECTOMIZED DIABETIC RATS

Objective(s) Oxidative stress plays an important role in diabetic nephropathy pathogenesis. Rosmarinic acid, a plant phenolic compound, was first used as an antioxidant agent for inhibition of diabetic nephropathy. Material and Methods Forty male rats were uninephrectomized from the left flank.The rats were divided in four groups randomly; group one as control, group two diabetic untreatment, groups three and four treatment with rosmarinic acid by 100 or 200 mg/kg/d orally respectively. Diabetes was induced in the second, third and fourth groups by alloxan injection subcutaneously. After 8 weeks treatment, serum malondialdehyde was measured by thiobarbituric acid (TBA) test. Serum creatinine and serum urea were measured by kits. Kidney paraffin sections were prepared and stained by periodic acid Schiff method.Glomerular volume and glomerular number were estimated by stereological rules and glomerular sclerosis was studied semi-quantitatively. Data were analyzed by non-parametric Man Whitney test ( using SPSS 13 software) and P< 0.05 was considered significant. Results Rosmarinic acid (100 or 200 mg/kg) significantly inhibited glomerular hypertrophy, glomerular number loss, glomerulosclerosis, lipid peroxidation, serum urea and creatinine compared with the diabetic untreated group. The level of glomerular number and serum malondialdehyde in the treated groups (100 mg/kg or 200 mg/kg of rosmarinic acid) was maintained at the same level as compared to the control group. Conclusion Rosmarinic acid could significantly reduce glomerular hypertrophy, loss of glomerular number, glomerulosclerosis and attenuated serum urea and serum creatinine in diabetic rats.
Human pluripotent stem cells in contemporary medicine

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) are capable of indefinite proliferation and can be differentiated into any cell type of the human body. Therefore, they are a promising source of cells for treatment of numerous degenerative diseases and injuries. Pluripotent stem cells are also associated with a number of ethical, safety and technological issues. In this review, we describe various types of hPSCs, safety issues that concern all or some types of hPSCs and methods of clinical-grade hPSC line development. Also, we discuss current and past clinical trials involving hPSCs, their outcomes and future perspectives of hPSC-based therapy. Резюме: Такие свойства человеческих плюрипотентных стволовых клеток (чПСК) как способность к неограниченному размножению и образованию всех типов клеток взрослого организма делают их привлекательным источником материала для регенеративной медицины. С другой стороны, множество этических и практических проблем, связанных с чПСК, ограничивают их применение в медицине. Этот литературный обзор посвящён описанию различных видов чПСК, рисков их применения и клинических испытаний, в которых чПСК служат источником клеток для лечения дегенеративных заболеваний и травм. Ключевые слова: человеческие плюрипотентные стволовые клетки (чПСК), человеческие эмбриональные стволовые клетки, человеческие индуцированные плюрипотентные стволовые клетки, клинические испытания с применением чПСК
Cadmium contamination of drinking water and its treatment using biological chelators

Received: July 2016, Accepted: October 2016 Background: Cadmium (Cd) is an extremely toxic metal and environmental exposure to Cd has been particularly problematic in the world. Oral exposure to Cd may result in adverse effects on a number of tissues, the immune system, and the cardiovascular system. Compounds containing Cd are also carcinogenic. The presence of Cd in drinking water resources in the southeastern region of Rafsanjan plain (Iran) at concentrations greater than acceptable limits may result in various adverse health effects. The aim of this research was to test the chelation potency of deferasirox (DFS or ICL670), a tridentate metal chelator, and deferiprone (L1), a bidentate metal chelator, in the mobilization of Cd in Cd-exposed rats as a biological model. Materials and Methods: Male Wistar rats were exposed to 40 mg/kg body weight of cadmium chloride in drinking water for 6 weeks, followed by treatment with DFS (100 mg/kg body weight, oral, once daily) and L1 (100 mg/kg body weight, oral, once daily), alone or in combination, for 7 consecutive days. After chelation therapy, the rats were anesthetized by ether vapor and immobilized by cervical dislocation. Then, their heart, liver, kidneys, intestine, and blood were sampled for clinical hematological variables and determination of Cd and Fe concentration by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The data were subjected to statistical analysis using Student’s t-test. All Ρ values of less than 0.05 were considered significant. Results: The results show that both chelators (DFS and L1) increase the removal of Cd from the tissues. No effects of Cd or any of the two treatments (L1 or DFS) were observed on white blood cell (WBC) count, red blood cell (RBC) count, and hemoglobin‎ (Hb) level. Conclusions: The comparison of single and combined therapy showed that the combined chelation therapy (DFS + L1) was more effective in depleting Cd concentration in soft tissues.