Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A combination of levosimendan and N-Acetylcysteine shows significant favorable efficacy on experimental liver ischemia/reperfusion injury.

BACKGROUND Ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is cellular damage that emerges from re-oxygenation of a hypoxic organ. In the present study, we aimed to examine the effects of a combination of levosimendan, an inotropic agent, and N-Acetylcysteine, the precursor of antioxidants and glutathione, in an experimental liver IRI model. METHODS In this study, 38 rats were randomly divided into five groups. Before the ischemia, study arms were given physiological saline solution, N-Acetylcysteine (NAS), levosimendan or a combination of NAS+levosimendan in a predetermined amount and duration, and the infusion was continued until the end of this study. The hepatic pedicle was occluded using an atraumatic vein clamp, and 60 minutes of ischemia was achieved. The clamp was then opened and 60 minutes of reperfusion was ensured. Liver tissue samples were obtained after sacrifice, and tissue malondialdehyde (MDA) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) levels were determined. Serum Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF)-α, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and MPO levels of blood samples were also measured. RESULTS Among the histopathological changes in the liver tissue after IRI, differences between groups were statistically significant in the injury scoring system based on congestion, vacuolization and necrosis levels. Histopathological injury score, plasma MPO, AST, ALT, tissue MPO and tissue MDA values were statistically significantly lower in the treatment groups, prominently in the levosimendan and NAS combination group concerning liver histopathological damage. CONCLUSION The use of a levosimendan plus NAS combination in liver IRI markedly suppressed inflammation and oxidative stress and significantly reduced liver ischemia-reperfusion injury and can be recommended for decreasing IRI instead of single agent use of levosimendan or NAS.
Frameworks for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from municipal solid waste in Oman

The Gulf Cooperation Council member countries not only generate the highest quantity of municipal solid waste (MSW) per capita when compared globally, but also in most of these countries, such waste is just dumped at different landfill stations. In Oman, the total quantity of MSW stood at 2.0 million tons per year. The emission from this waste is estimated at 2,181,034 tons/year (carbon dioxide equivalent). This article attempts to develop frameworks that considered landfilling, composting and recycling of MSW. ,To know the composition of the municipal solid waste in Oman, a quantitative research method was employed. The greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from MSWM in this study focus on three major gases, CO2, CH4 and N2O. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2006 model is used to calculate GHG emissions from landfills and composting (IPCC, 2006). Four frameworks – baseline F0, framework F1, framework F2 and framework F3 – are outlined in this paper. The F0 represents the current situation of the MSW in which most of the waste goes to landfills and dumpsites. In F1, improved MSW collection service and landfilling are incorporated and open burning is restricted. The F2 considered landfilling and composting, while F3 is based on landfilling, composting and recycling. ,The framework F2, which proposes the composting process for the organic waste which normally goes to landfills, results in the reduction of emissions by 40% as compared to landfill practice. Similarly, the samples of MSW collected in Oman show a good amount of recycling waste. The framework F3, which considers the landfill, composting and recycling, reduced the total GHG emissions from 2,181,034 tons/year to 1,427,998 tons/year (carbon dioxide equivalent), representing a total reduction of 35% in emissions. ,Different values such as CH4 correction factor, the fraction of degradable organic carbon and the fraction of DOC used to determine the GHG emissions from MSW considering landfilling, composting and recycling based on the IPPC model and existing literature review. The actual determination of these values based on the Oman conditions may result in more accurate emissions from MSW in Oman. ,Different frameworks suggested in this research have different practical implications; however, the final framework F3, which produces fewer emissions, required a material recovery facility to recycle the MSW in Oman. For framework F3, it is important that the residents in Oman have enough knowledge and willingness to do the waste segregation at the household level. Apparently, such knowledge and willingness need to be determined through a separate study. ,The frameworks F2 and F3 are considered to be more suitable solutions compared to the current practices for Oman and other gulf countries to reduce its per capita emissions from MSW and protect its local environment. There is a potential for further work that needs to explore the possible solutions to implement the suggested frameworks.
Size-Dependent Overwinter Mortality of Young-of-the-Year Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens): Laboratory, In Situ Enclosure, and Field Experiments

In laboratory experiments, fed and starved young-of-the-year yellow perch (Perca flavescens) lost weight when kept under simulated overwinter temperature and photoperiod regimes, small fish losing a greater proportion of their mass than larger ones. Perch in fed and starved treatments suffered 1 and 46% mortality, respectively, mortality being higher among the smaller individuals. Winter duration was an important determinant of both total mortality and the intensity of size-selective mortality. Size-selective mortality also occurred in yellow perch from the same stock kept overwinter in an in situ lake enclosure with natural food. Fall and spring population estimates for two cohorts of young-of-the-year yellow perch from Lake St. George also indicated the occurence of size-selective overwinter mortality. We present a quantitative technique for identification of size-dependent mortality and size-dependent growth from sequential length frequency distributions. This technique allowed identification of overwi.
The effect of salt stress on polyamine biosynthesis and content in mung bean plants and in halophytes

The activity of L-arginine decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.19) and L-ornithine decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.17), polyamine content, and incorporation of arginine and ornithine into polyamines, were determined in mung bean [Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek] plants subjected to salt (hypertonic) stress (NaCl at 0.51–2.27 MPa). Changes in enzyme activity in response to hypotonic stress were determined as well in several halophytes [Pulicaria undulata (L.), Kostei, Salsola rosmarinus (Ehr.) Solms-Laub, Mesembryanthemum forskahlei Hochst, and Atriplex halimus L. ]. NaCl stress, possibly combined with other types of stress that accompanied the experimental conditions, resulted in organ-specific changes in polyamine biosynthesis and content in mung bean plants. The activity of both enzymes was inhibited in salt-stressed leaves. In roots, however, NaCl induced a 2 to 8-fold increase in ornithine decarboxylase activity. Promotion of ornithine decarboxylase in roots could be detected already 2 h after exposure of excised roots to NaCl, and iso-osmotic concentrations of NaCl and KCl resulted in similar changes in the activity of both enzymes. Putrescine level in shoots of salt-stressed mung bean plants increased considerably, but its level in roots decreased. The effect of NaCl stress on spermidine content was similar, but generally more moderate, resulting in an increased putrescine/spermidine ratio in salt-stressed plants. Exposure of plants to NaCl resulted also in organ-specific changes in the incorporation of both arginine and ornithine into putrescine: incorporation was inhibited in leaf discs but promoted in excised roots of salt-stressed mung bean plants. In contrast to mung bean (and several other glycophytes), ornithine and arginine decarboxylase activity in roots of halophytes increased when plants were exposed to tap water or grown in a pre-washed soil—i.e. a hypotonic stress with respect to their natural habitat. NaCl, when present in the enzymatic assay mixture, inhibited arginine and ornithine decarboxylase in curde extracts of mung bean roots, but did not affect the activity of enzymes extracted from roots of the halophyte Pulicaria. Although no distinct separation between NaCl stress and osmotic stress could be made in the present study, the data suggest that changes in polyamines in response to NaCl stress in mung bean plants are coordinated at the organ level: activation of biosynthetic enzymes concomitant with increased putrescine biosynthesis from its precursors in the root system, and accumulation of putrescine in leaves of salt-stressed plants. In addition, hypertonic stress applied to glycophytes and hypotonic stress applied to halophytes both resulted in an increase in the activity of polyamine biosynthetic enzymes in roots.
Checklist de Simuliidae (Insecta, Diptera) do Estado de São Paulo, Brasil

In this paper it is provided a checklist of Simuliidae species in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. There are 52 species recorded for the state, which represents more than 50% of all black fly known species in Brazil. It is also presented data about the Simuliidae species richness in the State of Sao Paulo as well as in different regions of Brazil.
Address Unknown: German Children's Literature about Refugees

Abstract:Children's literature offers a rich site for investigating the confrontation between childhood and the turbulent forces of political and cultural change. German children's literature about refugees illustrates this dynamic through the responses of different generations to the enduring challenge of children dislocated by state violence. This article discusses Postkarten für einen kleinen Jungen (2013) by Henry Foner, Bestimmt wird alles gut (2016) by Kirsten Boie, Ich war ein Glückskind (2013) by Marion Charles, and Sami und der Wunsch nach Freiheit (2017) by Rafik Schami to reveal an underlying kinship between the portrayal of child refugees during the Kindertransport of 1938-39 and the European refugee crisis of 2015-19.
Factors affecting growth and recruitment of yellow perch, Perca flavescens Mitchill, in South Bay, Lake Huron

Five hypotheses explaining variations in growth and recruitment were tested statistically with data from a study of yellow perch, Perca flavescens, 1950–83. Recruitment was not a function of water temperature during spawning, hatching or the first year, but was a function of lake water levels. Growth was not related to average water temperatures or degree-days, but was inversely correlated with the abundance of year-classes.
HT-2 and T-2 toxins in barley inoculated with Fusarium sporotrichioides

To assess field production of the Fusarium trichothecenes HT-2 toxin, T-2 toxin, and neosolaniol, inoculation trials with four barley cultivars and local isolates of Fusarium sporotrichioides were performed over 2 yr at an experimental farm in southern Manitoba. In the 1998 study, HT-2 toxin was detected in 14 of 16 barley rows at levels between 0.14 and 0.52 µg g-1, with positive samples averaging 0.26 µg g-1. T-2 toxin was not detected. Fusarium sporotrichioides infection ranged between 15 and 49% with an average value of 29%. In the 1999 study, HT-2 toxin was detected in 16 of 16 barley rows at levels between 0.67 and 3.72 µg g-1, averaging 1.92 µg g-1, and T-2 toxin in 15 of 16 rows between 0.35 and 1.27 µg g-1, with positive samples averaging 0.70 µg g-1. Fusarium sporotrichioides infection ranged between 52 and 93% with an average value of 7 5%. No neosolaniol was detected in any of the samples. The data suggest that in years of moderate F. sporotrichioides infection, HT-2 toxin might to be found in.
Three-wavelength system for practical application in skin oximetry: simultaneous equations with prediction-correction approach

This paper presented the use of a three-wavelength system coupled with a prediction-correction model for the measurement of a person’s tissue oxygen levels and in the eﬀorts towards the development of a ﬁeld-portable system. This study considered light wavelength of market-available emitters in the range 500 − 650 nm for its practical implementation. This approach required the use of light attenuation and hemoglobin absorptivity information of three diﬀerent wavelengths in determining tissue oxygen saturation value, StO2. It was found through the analysis of results using Monte Carlo method that considerable improvement in the accuracy of the predictions was obtained using the corrective models (ρ =0.874). The low mean prediction errors of similar magnitude, not exceeding 4 %, given by two wavelength combinations 538, 560, 633 nm and 538, 560, 650 nm were observed for signals with signal-noise ratio (SNR) of down to 30 dB. A signiﬁcant statistical diﬀerence was found between the prediction errors and the wavelength combination used under this noise condition (ρ =0.011). This work concluded that the ﬁndings of this study provide insights into technology implementation of skin oximetry and the possible impacts it might have in medical arena.
Quantifying trends in arsenic, nitrate, and dissolved solids from selected wells in Utah

Groundwater makes up a primary portion of the water supply in many parts of Utah, with annual withdrawals estimated at more than 1,000,000 acre-feet per year. Increases to groundwater withdrawal and land use may negatively impact water availability. Ensuring availability of clean water requires understanding how water quality has changed over time and how natural and human activities and processes influence water quality. Changes in arsenic, nitrate, and dissolved-solids concentrations in the groundwater in basins with high groundwater withdrawals were evaluated between 1975 and 2015 as indicators of basinwide water quality and the suitability of water for drinking. Data were used from the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System (NWIS) database and the Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) maintained by the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Drinking Water. Mann-Kendall trend tests were used to assess temporal trends in decadal and 5-year (sub-decadal) median analyte concentrations in basins. Trends also were assessed in smaller parts of larger basins to focus on changes occurring at a smaller spatial scale. To evaluate the relationship between land-use change and water-quality changes, trends also were evaluated for wells where land use has changed. Trends in decadal and sub-decadal median arsenic, nitrate, and dissolved-solids concentrations over time were identified throughout the basins and sub-basins in this study. For combined NWIS and SDWIS data, rates of median arsenic concentration change in basins and sub-basins ranged between decreases of –0.24 microgram per liter (ug/L) per year and increases of 0.48 ug/L per year. Rates of median nitrate-concentration change ranged between decreases of –0.08 milligram per liter (mg/L) per year and increases of 0.02 mg/L per year. Rates of median dissolved solids concentration change ranged between decreases of –5 mg/L per year and increases of 7 mg/L per year. The rates of change for nitrate and dissolved solids were similar to or less than rates of change observed in other parts of the country. Trends were not directly related to land-use change approximal to well, although more data from wells where land use has changed would improve this evaluation. These findings highlight that water quality at a well is related to a range of factors including land, demographics, and water use over a larger area surrounding and up-gradient from the well; rates and direction of groundwater movement; and geologic and hydrologic conditions.
The Role and Regulation of Child Factory Labour During the Industrial Revolution in Australia, 1873–1885

Abstract This study investigates child factory labour in Victoria, the most populous and industrialized colony in Australia in the second half of the nineteenth century. Three sources of primary data are analysed: Royal Commission reports, texts of bills and statutes, and parliamentary and public debates. The findings inform current academic debates by enhancing understanding of the role played by child workers during industrialization. They show that children were low-cost substitutes for adult males and that child labour was central to ongoing industrialization. A wide range of industries and jobs is identified in which children were employed in harsh conditions, in some instances in greater proportions than adults. Following the reports of the Royal Commission, the parliament of Victoria recognized a child labour problem serious enough to warrant regulation. While noting that circumstances were not as severe as in Britain, it passed legislation in 1885 with provisions that offered more protection to children than those in the British factory act of 1878. The legislation also offered more protection than factory laws in other industrializing colonies and countries. The findings throw light on the character of colonial liberal reformers in a wealthy colony who sought to create a better life for white settlers by adopting policies of state intervention.
Sampling egg batches of Maliarpha separatella RAG. (Lep., Pyralidae) in Madagascan rice fields.

Abstract Sampling with quadrats of 0.25 m2 in Madagascan rice fields reveals that egg batches of the African White Stem Borer, Maliarpha separatella RAG. are distributed at random. The physical size of the sampling unit is selected because of practical rather than ecological considerations. According to the enumerative sampling plan at least 40 quadrats should be taken per field to satisfy precision requirements. Sequential binomial sampling with constant error rates is more cost efficient and decision making with respect to an action threshold is possible with 12 quadrats or more at a critical time. For regional estimates a stratified random sampling procedure is proposed.
Organic or conventional agriculture? A Study on yield and nutritional status of sweet corn

Organic cultivation of field crops became popular in the last decades due to public awareness about the effects of residual chemicals used in conventional farming systems on human health. Thus, we aimed to compare yield and plant nutritional status of conventionally and organically grown sweet corn (Zea mays saccharata L., Jubilee F1 cultivar) under Isparta, Turkey, ecological conditions. The effects of organic fertilization with leonardite (L) at 3 Mg ha-1, farmyard manure (FYM) at 30 Mg ha-1 and L + FYM application were compared with the conventional cultivation (CC). Two year field experiments in completely randomized block design in triplicates were set up in 2012 and 2013 growing seasons. Fresh kernel samples were taken at milky maturing stage to reveal nutritional status of sweet corn. The yield and yield components obtained for conventionally cultivated corn were significantly higher than the organically cultivated ones. As the yield and yield components considered, L+FYM treatment was the best performing of the organic treatments and it was comparable to CC for some traits. Nitrogen deficiency was the critical problem of the organic treatments whereas there were also milder deficiencies of other nutrient elements. It can be concluded that despite smaller amounts of yield, the organic farming may be considered for the healthier sweet corn.
A Refractive Index Sensor Based on PCF With Ultra-Wide Detection Range

An ultra-wide detection range refractive-index sensor based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) with photonic crystal fiber (PCF) is designed and discussed. The central air-hole of the fiber is injected with the analyte. The properties of refractive-index sensor are investigated with different structure parameters. Simulation results show that the proposed sensor has an ultra-wide detection range from 1.29 to 1.49. The refractive index sensitivities of x-polarized and y-polarized core mode are −4156.82 nm/RIU and −3703.64 nm/RIU respectively, and the corresponding linear fitting degrees are 0.99598 and 0.99236. The designed refractive-index sensor with ultra-wide detection range has a great potential in the fields of biology, chemistry, environment and medicine.
Information Security Behaviour: A Critical Review and Research Directions

Individual behaviour is a core topic of information security (InfoSec) research. This can be seen in the substantial number of studies on issues such as compliance, misuse, avoidance, and policy violation. These behaviours can be distinguished on various attributes, such as their different periodicities (are they habitual or non-habitual responses? ), their embeddedness (are they the sole focus of an activity or are they embedded in other primary activities? ) and their underlying cognitive mechanisms (to what extent the intuitive and reflective thinking processes shape the behaviours? ). However, there has been little attempt to consider the broader underlying dimensions of InfoSec behaviours. The lack of attention paid to conceptualising the phenomenon of “InfoSec behaviour” makes it difficult to evaluate progress in the field, especially since a variety of theories have been used to study InfoSec-related behaviours. This study reviews research on InfoSec behaviours and highlights three main lacunae: a widespread assumption that InfoSec behaviours are non-habitual activities, a lack of attention to intuitive cognition, and a lack of focus on InfoSec behaviour as a secondary activity. We conclude with suggestions for future research on InfoSec behaviours.
Rapid capture of growing space by red maple

Red maple (Acer rubrum L.) is becoming increasingly dominant in forest stands throughout the eastern United States. To investigate the reasons for the increase, we examined the development of red maple and oak (Quercus spp.) seedlings and stump sprouts following the harvest of oak-dominated stands. Within 7 years after harvest, red maple seedlings were present in far greater numbers and captured more growing space than all oaks combined. Growing space occupied by red maple stump sprouts exceeded oak sprouts by a ratio of 3.5:1. Through stump sprouts alone, red maple fully recaptured the amount of growing space it had previously occupied in the overstory 7 years after harvest. Results from similar but older stands show that red maple dominance is sustained into the third decade of stand development. Red maple surpassed all oaks combined in rapid site capture through both seed-origin and sprout-origin regeneration. Red maple’s superior ability to regenerate by sprouts is particularly favored by timber harve.
Ledelse af innovation i den offentlige sektor: Kommunal affaldshåndtering som en del af noget større

Resumé Den offentlige sektor står over for mange og store udfordringer i det 21. århundrede, og der kan argumenteres for, at innovation skal være en del af svaret på disse udfordringer. I denne artikel fremdrages forskellige bud fra den eksisterende litteratur på, hvordan innovation kan initieres og ledes i den offentlige sektor. Artiklen indeholder også en case om en ny og innovativ tilgang til kommunal affaldshåndtering, og når denne case sammenholdes med de grundlæggende teoretiske perspektiver fra litteraturen, så viser analysen, at den konkrete innovationsproces mest hensigtsmæssigt kan ses som værende en del af et større og komplekst system, hvori mange aktører, delelementer og delprocesser har været relevante og spillet en rolle. Dette bliver diskuteret yderligere i slutningen af artiklen sammen med nogle af de heraf afledte konsekvenser for ledelse af innovation i den offentlige sektor.