Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Edinburgh Research Explorer Is phonetic target uniformity phonologically, or sociolinguistically grounded?

In this paper, I investigate to what degree phonetic uniformity in diachronic vowels shifts can be ac-counted for in terms of a shared phonetic implementation rule of phonological features [6, 10], versus a shared social evaluation of the phonetic realizations [19]. I take a particular focus on the parallel fronting and subsequent retraction of the G OOSE , G OAT and M OUTH vowels, as well as the raising of the pre-consonantal F ACE and pre-voiceless P RICE vowels in Philadelphia, drawing data from the Philadelphia Neighborhood Corpus [15]. Using generalized additive models [21] I ﬁt models for these vowels accounting for gender, date of birth, educational attainment, and vowel duration using tensor product smooths. Looking at the correlation of the by-speaker random intercepts, back vowel fronting ap-pears to be highly correlated, thus likely phonologically grounded, while F ACE and P RICE raising is not, thus likely socially grounded.
Molecular Docking Studies of Deva Chooranam against the Target Protein 6LU7 of Novel Corona Virus 2019

Plants and bioactive compounds have played an important role in the development of several clinically useful therapeutic agents since time immemorial. In the recent years, more emphasis has been placed on identifying plant-derived compounds that can be used as an effective treatment for life-threatening diseases. COVID-19, a new strain of coronavirus (CoV), was identified in Wuhan, China, in 2019. No specific therapies are available and investigations regarding COVID-19 treatment are lacking. Bioactive compounds found in Siddha herbal formulation Deva Chooranam which was previously confirmed through molecular docking to have antiviral effects against HIV -RT. The present study aimed to assess Deva Chooranam as potential COVID-19 Mpro inhibitor. Molecular docking was performed using Autodock 4.2, with the Lamarckian Genetic Algorithm and results were visualized using pymol. The physiochemical and ADMET(Adsorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion) properties were also analysed.COVID-19 Mpro was docked with several compounds, Eugenol A-Pinene, Atlantone, Myrcene, Luteolin, Apigenin, Kaempferol and docking was analysed using Pymol. The results showed that out of the 7 compounds screened Luteolin appeared to have the best potential binding against the COVID-19 Mpro 6LU7. However, further research is necessary to investigate their potential medicinal use. © 2020 iGlobal Research and Publishing Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Effect of Culture on Budgetary Slack: Evidence from Jordan

We investigate the relationship between Hofstede’s cultural values and budgetary slack in Jordanian financial companies listed on Amman Stock Exchange (ASE). The financial sector companies were selected because managers within these companies often have better understanding of accounting practices, including budgeting, than managers in non-financial companies. Data are collected, using a questionnaire, from 54 individuals who occupy a financial manager position or head of department within these companies. Based on the non-parametric one sample t-test, the results show that power distance, uncertainty avoidance, collectivism, femininity and short-term orientation are positively associated with budgetary slack, while restraint is negatively associated with budgetary slack.
Investigation of Place Components Affecting the Child's Perception of the School Environment Utilizing Q-Sort Methodology

School environments are connected to children perceptions and emotions. The goal of this research is to explore children subjective perceptions of their school environment using “Q-sort methodology” as a unique method for environmental studies. This paper makes two main contributions. First, the research provides a study design to identify children’s perceptions of school environment that propose new information about what children prefer and can be used in the design of school spaces by designers. Second, it evaluates Q-sort methodology for gathering data directly from children concerning about their perceptions and preferences to clarify their perspectives of the environment based on these objectives. The questions that this paper addresses are: 1What environmental components in schools do children percieve positively and prefer? And, 2How can research with children about their place perceptions using Q-sort? According to the purpose of the study, the respondents included 30 children (boys) from the first and second grade of two private primary schools in Kerman. The research, based on q-sort methodology, used interview as a tool for collecting data and discourse analysis for analyzing the data, and exploring the children’s perspectives. The study revealed that children interpreted spaces psychologically and had positive perceptions of and preferences for informal, personal, hiding, cozy, home-like and playground spaces and so on, likely due to affording their psychosocial needs. The result shows that future school designs should explore strategies that use connections of physical and psychosocial characteristics of child's environments to foster positive experience and perceptions.
Preliminary screening and analysis of differentially expressed circRNAs in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

[摘 要] 目的:构建食管鳞状细胞癌的 circRNA表达谱,分析差异性表达的 circRNA。 方法:标本取自 2018年 6月至 2019年2月在江苏大学附属金坛医院胸外科住院的3例食管鳞状细胞癌手术患者,利用高通量测序技术构建circRNA表达谱,检 测3对食管鳞状细胞癌组织和癌旁组织中差异表达的circRNA,并运用GO和KEGG技术分析这些circRNA涉及的生物学作用和 相关的信号通路。 结果:通过构建的表达谱分析比较食管鳞状细胞癌组织与癌旁组织 circRNA的表达水平,共发现了905个差 异表达的circRNA,其中404个表达上调、501个表达下调,hsa_circ_0004390是上调倍数最大的circRNA(FC=7.9712),novel_circ_ 0012687是下调倍数最大的 circRNA(FC=5.8796)。 GO和KEGG分析表明,这些 circRNA可能涉及癌细胞的细胞周期、细胞组 分、蛋白质结合作用等生物学过程和Hippo、cGMP-PKG等信号通路。 结论:食管鳞状细胞癌组织circRNA表达谱分析得到的高 度显著差异表达的circRNA似可以作为食管鳞状细胞癌潜在的生物标志物。 [关键词] 食管鳞状细胞癌;环状RNA;差异表达;生物学作用;高通量测序 [中图分类号] R735.1; R730.5 [文献标识码] A [文章编号] 1007-385X(2020)09-1012-06
Overview of Mixed Connective Tissue Disease in Adults

Introduction: Mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) is described as a connective tissue disorder characterized by the presence of high titers of a distinctive autoantibody, now called anti-U1 ribonucleoprotein (anti-RNP). It is assumed to be an overlap syndrome that includes clinical features of major diffuse connective tissue diseases. The overlap feature often take several years to appear clear enough to be establish the confident diagnosis of MCTD. Nowadays, there is a consensus to consider MCTD as a “distinct clinical entity”. Aim of the Work: The definition, criteria, clinical features, prognosis, and general principles of management will be presented in this review. In-depth details of management will not be presented. Methodology: This article is a comprehensive review of medical literature regarding mixed connective tissue disease. Conclusion: In most cases, MTCD cannot be differentiated from other classical DCTDs in the early stages as the simultaneous presence of overlap features seen in SLE, SSc, and polymyositis (PM) is rarely obvious. The overlapping features appear more evident sequentially over several years. Early symptoms are usually puffy fingers, easy fatigability, poorly defined myalgias, arthralgias, lowgrade fever, and Raynaud phenomenon. Mixed connective tissue disease has a relatively good prognosis and excellent response to glucocorticoids due to a low prevalence of serious renal disease and life-threatening neurologic problems. MCTD-associated mortality are substantial in various report, ranging from 16 to 28 percent at 10 to 12 years follow-up. The highest mortality rate is seen in patients with vascular involvement. The primary causes of death include progressive pulmonary hypertension (PAH) and its heart complications. The management of MCTD is generally based upon the known effectiveness of specific therapies for similar diseases.
Internet Screen Time and Related Factors: Threat to Adolescents in Indonesia

The widespread use of the internet has produced both positive and negative impacts. Among the latter is internet addiction (IA). The worldwide prevalence of this addiction has been measured at approximately 6%, although the specific prevalence in Indonesia is uncertain because no validated instrument to measure IA has been developed for the Indonesian context. Hence, screen time was used in this study as an alternative measure of the magnitude of IA in Indonesia, where more than 6 hours is considered risk for IA. Researchers measured internet screen time (IST) and potential related factors in adolescents. The subjects of this cross-sectional study were 200 junior and senior high school students in Jakarta, Indonesia, who completed a questionnaire assessing IST and related factors. IST duration was divided into two categories: short (<6 hours/day) and long (>6 hours/day). Out of 200 students, 68 (34%) had long ISTs, with related factors being senior high education, positive perception of IA, and excessive body mass index. The percentage of students with long ISTs was quite high. A valid and reliable diagnostic tool for IA is a necessity. Prompt prevention is necessary to prevent adolescent IA, especially in higher-risk adolescents. Lama Penggunaan Internet dan Faktor yang Berkaitan: Sebuah Ancaman untuk Remaja di Indonesia
Quantum State Tomography of Single Qubit Using Density Matrix

The quantum state tomography is a fundamental part in the development of quantum technologies. It can be used to know the signal characterization of small particle called photon in the nanoscale. In this study, photon number has been measured in order to produce the states tomography. Optical devices and quantum-mechanical approaches were explored to obtain the quantum state tomography. Due to a single qubit state density matrix can be revealed by Stokes parameters, so there are four set-ups to measure the Stokes parameters for each sample. The density matrix is used because the pure state only appear theoreticaly. In the real experiment, It always exibits a mixed state. The samples of tomography measurements consist of linear state, cicular state and the IR 808nm. In this study, state tomography is shown by 2x2 density matrix. This experiment also provides the fidelities of experiment result. And it shows the good agreement. From this experiment, the state of IR 808nm has been detected. The laser that examined is showing a vertical state with fidelity F=97,34%.
Activation of Bacillus spp. Spores by Hydrostatic Pressure

圧力による芽胞の活性化を目的として, Bacillus属芽胞に加圧処理を施し,その活性化効果を検討した. 得られた主要な結果は以下の通りである. (1) B. subtilis ATCC 6633を用いて牛乳中での加圧による活性化を検討したところ,加熱を用いた場合よりも良好な活性化効果が得られた. この効果は加圧温度の上昇及び加圧時間の延長とともに増大したが, 50MPaから200MPaまでの圧力変化に対しては顕著な差は見られなかった. (2) 加圧処理によって活性化されたB. subtilisの芽胞は大部分が保持中1時間以内に発芽し,耐熱性を失った. また,活性化されなかった芽胞は6時間の保持によっても発芽しない. 非常に休眠性の高いものであった. (3) 加圧処理によって活性化されたB. subtilis芽胞の発育曲線は保持開始から緩やかな増加を示すが,対数増殖期の開始に要する時間については通常の発育曲線の場合と著しい違いはなかった. (4) 加熱による活性化が困難であったB. Polpmyxa NIAH-474及びB. licheniformis IAM-1l054の芽胞に対しても圧力による活性化効果が認められた.
1 Board Diversity and Firm Performance Volatility *

Diverse directors may have diverse preferences over firms’ policies or even objectives. As shown by Arrow (1951), diverse individual preferences may fail to univocally aggregate in collective preferences and may consequently lead to arbitrary and volatile decisions. Using the board of directors as a laboratory, we test whether diversity leads to higher performance volatility. We show that firms with more diverse boards have greater stock return and fundamental volatility suggesting that board diversity indeed makes decision-making more erratic. Also, firms with diverse boards have less persistent strategies and analysts make larger forecast errors in predicting their performance supporting the conjecture that board members’ diverse preferences lead to arbitrary and hard to predict decisions. Consistent with the presence of conflicts in the boardroom, we find that executive and director turnovers are higher in firms with diverse boards. These firms also have more board meetings. We find no evidence that our results may be driven by firm risk-taking or complexity.
Bacterial association in urinary tract infection and their drug resistance among patients in Rajshahi, Bangladesh

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is an infection in any part of the urinary systems such as kidney, ureters, bladder, and urethra. It can be classified as the upper tract infection or the infection of the kidneys (pyelonephritis) and lower tract infection or the infection of the bladder (cystitis), but the infection of the urethra and prostate are also considered as the lower UTIs. This infection can be asymptomatic, acute, chronic, and complicated, or uncomplicated according to how they occur along the urinary tract.
Preparation and Characterization of An Alkaline Composite PVA-PEO Electrolyte

An alkaline composite poly(vinyl alcohol)(PVA)-poly(ethylene oxide)(PEO) electrolyte membrane was prepared by a solution-casting method.PEO was added to improve the ionic conductivity of the electrolyte.X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectrum(FT-IR) results show that the addition of PEO reduces the crystallinity of PVA.The membrane shows an amorphous phase.Scanning electron microscope (SEM) reveals that the membrane forms a three-dimension network structure with many small pores.Electrochemical impedance spectra results show that when the weight ratio mPEO/m(PVA+PEO) is equal to 0.2,the electrolyte's ionic conductivity exhibits the highest value,which is 2.78×10-2 S/cm at room temperature.The result of cyclic voltammetry indicates that the polymer electrolyte membrane has promising electrochemical stability.
AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON THIRD-BODY PARTICLE TRANSPORT IN SLIDING CONTACT

An experiment is designed to study the third-body particle transport in a rough contact. To study the influence of particles in a pure form, it is assured that the first bodies have no contact and the sliding is very slow, so that the process can be considered as quasistatic. An example of sliding contact of a 3D printed “rough body” on small spheres artificially located on a rubber layer is presented. The trajectory of particles during the sliding is captured for studying their movement and the correlation to the fluctuation of normal and tangential force.
EVALUATION OF PHYTOCHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND ANTI-CANCER POTENTIAL IN ROOT EXTRACTS OF MORINGA PEREGRINA (FORSSK.) FIORI

Natural products provide many bioactive lead molecules for the discovery of new medicines. Naturally, derived phytochemicals have exhibited tremendous biological activities including anticancer activity. More than 60% of antitumor medicines are closely associated with natural products. In the present study, hexane, chloroform, acetone and methanol extracts from roots of Moringa peregrina were screened for phytochemical analysis and anticancer activity. Phytochemical analysis was performed by Gas Chromatography and Mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The anticancer potential of the extracts was done on the human breast cancer cell line (MCF-7) and cell viability was measured using WST-1 Cell Proliferation Assay Kit. The cell line was treated with different concentrations (10, 20, 40, 80, 160 and 320 μg/ml) of plant extracts and the results were compared with the standard drug Doxorubicin. The results of GC-MS analysis of different extracts revealed the presence various compounds. The anticancer studies revealed that the chloroform extract of M. peregrina have good activity against the human breast cancer cell line with the IC50 value of 127.38 μg/ml. The IC50 values of hexane, acetone and methanol extracts were 315.0, 284.8 and 353.10 μg/ml respectively. Whereas the IC50 value of the standard drug, Doxorubicin was 25.88 μg/ml. Based on these results, further study is warranted for the isolation of anticancer molecule from chloroform extract of M. peregrina root tubers.
Comparing the Effects of Mindfulness-Based Therapy, Logo therapy, and Behavioral Activation Therapy on Sleep Quality in Depressed Female Students

Author Address 1. Student Ph.D. in General Psychology, Psychology Department, Borujerd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Borujerd, Iran; 2. Professor of Department of Psychology, Borujerd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Borujerd, Iran; 3. Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Payam Noor University, Tehran, Iran; 4. Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Qom Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qom, Iran. *Corresponding author’s email: drhamid00@gmail.com
Trimethylamine Borane: A New Single-Source Precursor for Monolayer h-BN Single Crystals and h-BCN Thin Films

Due to their exceptional chemical and thermal stabilities as well as electrically insulating property, atomically thin hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) films have been identified as a promising class of dielectric substrate and encapsulation material for high-performance two-dimensional (2D) heterostructure devices. Herein, we report a facile chemical vapor deposition synthesis of large-area atomically thin h-BN including monolayer single crystals and C-doped h-BN (h-BCN) films utilizing a relatively low-cost, commercially available trimethylamine borane (TMAB) as a single-source precursor. Importantly, pristine 2D h-BN films with a wide band gap of ∼6.1 eV can be achieved by limiting the sublimation temperature of TMAB at 40 °C, while C dopants are introduced to the h-BN films when the sublimation temperature is further increased. The h-BCN thin films displayed band gap narrowing effects as identified by an additional shoulder at 205 nm observed in their absorbance spectra. Presence of N–C bonds in the h-B.
Microbes and the groundwater amphipod Crangonyx islandicus in spring sources in Iceland

Crangonyx islandicus is a groundwater amphipod endemic to Iceland. Genetic analysis suggests that the species has been diverging in Iceland for at least 4.8 Myrs indicating it has survived in a subglacial refugia as Iceland was repeatedly covered by glaciers during that time period. The species has probably been inhabiting Iceland since before the island was formed, when the land bridge to Greenland collapsed into the ocean approximately 15 Mys ago. Currently, their habitat is in the subsurface of spring sources within the lava fields along the tectonic plate boundary. These spring sources act as a window into the groundwater, but they are also a complex ecotone where groundwater mixes with surface water and the terrestrial ecosystem. In this thesis, the microbial community composition associated with the amphipods and their habitat was examined both to inspect if more taxa could be found in this unique habitat and to elucidate which processes are likely to shape the community composition of microbial species in the habitat. The results showed that the amphipods are accompanied by a few ciliate and bacteria taxa that are unique to these amphipods but can only be marginally detected in the spring source. Both stochastic and deterministic processes were found to shape the bacteria and ciliate communities in the spring source. Variables such as pH, temperature, presence of fish and geographical location were found to shape the bacterial community while temperature and dispersal was shaping the ciliate communities. The bacterial community in the water from spring sources and in the biofilms harbored chemolithoautotrophic taxa, indicating primary production in the groundwater system, thus, providing a possible explanation for the subglacial survival of the amphipods during Ice age.
The dispersion of mark-ups in an open economy

We introduce heterogeneous mark-ups through Bertrand competition in a two-country model with endogenous firms’ entry and tradability `a la Ghironi and Melitz (2005). Bertrand competition generates a distribution of mark-ups according to which firms that are larger and more productive charge lower prices, attract larger market shares and extract larger mark-ups. First, we characterize first-best allocations and their implementation. We find that they are independent from the degree of mark-ups’ heterogeneity, suppress the dispersion of mark-ups and imply zero distortions on labor as well as substantial subsidies to preserve firm’s incentives to enter. Second, second-best alternative policies with a restricted number of instruments and a balanced budget significantly reduce the potential welfare gains from fiscal policies. Third, the total welfare losses from passive policies are lower under heterogeneous mark-ups than under homogeneous mark-ups: while the dispersion of mark-ups has negative effects on the intensive margin, output per firm, it also raises expected profits for potential entrants and raises the extensive margin, the number of firms in both domestic and export markets, pushing them closer to their efficient levels. Fourth, we also investigate the dynamic properties of allocations under passive and optimal policies considering aggregate productivity shocks and trade liberalization experiments.
Depressive symptoms as a risk factor for memory decline in older adults: a longitudinal study using the dual change score model

Background: the direction of the longitudinal association between depression and memory remains a topic of intense debate. A unidirectional association where depression impacts the change in memory (or vice-versa) and a bidirectional association where the trajectories of both dimensions affect each other lead to different clinical implications. Method: This study aimed to investigate the directionality of the depression-memory association in a sample of 2,057 older adults aged between 60 to 99 years old from the Virginia Cognitive Aging Project (VCAP). We used the bivariate dual change score model to investigate the directionality of the association between episodic memory and three dimensions of depression (somatic, depressed affect, and positive affect) throughout ten years (five measurement points), controlling for age, education, and gender. Results: slight decline is observed for memory and stability for depression over the ages of 60 – 99. All depression scales at a given time-point predicted the subsequent change in memory with a negative association, meaning that higher depression is linked with a steeper decline in memory by the next time-point (γDep = 1.768; SE = 0.566; p < 0.05). The opposite model in which memory predicted depression and the bidirectional model were both much weaker than the depression predicting memory model. Conclusions: Our findings support a unidirectional association with depression preceding an accelerated decline in memory in older adults. We discuss the clinical implications for depression as a risk factor for a subsequent memory decline.
Glass transition changes during osmotic dehydration

The changes in Ataulfo mangoes (Mangifera índica L.) osmotically dehydrated were evaluated through Modulated Temperature Differential Scanning Calorimetry (MTDSC) in order to determine their thermodynamic behavior due to water loss (WL) and solid gain (SG) during the process. These values were related with the effective diffusion coefficients for water (Dew) and solids (Des) into the fruit. The samples were analyzed under frozen conditions. The glass transition temperature (Tg) corresponding to sucrose in concentrated solution, and the value referred as Tg ́ for freeze sucrose solutions were founded. Mango Tg variation was in increasing with the WL decrement, and the melting enthalpy increase with the soluble solids increment into the fruit. As moisture content decrease by dehydration, the food matrix became more viscous and the water and solids transfer are delayed; these changes were reflected in the decrease of effective diffusion coefficients, Dew and Des, while Tg in mango samples increase. All these results show the useful with the MTDSC analysis to follow the osmotic dehydration inside the product. © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of ICEF11 Executive Committee Members