Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The ecological effects and legacy of 18 years of irrigation with wastewater effluent in a mixed Oak-Pine forest at Falmouth Wastewater Treatment Plant

The Falmouth Wastewater Treatment Plant forest received large amounts of nitrogen-rich wastewater from 1988 to 2005. During this time increases in soil microbe activity and an increased rate in the succession of the forest were documented. My study will attempt to answer the following questions: In 2013, after eight years without fertigation, can we still detect a difference in productivity and N uptake by the vegetation in the fertigated plots? Can we still detect the effects of the fertigation on soil respiration and nitrogen availability? This was tested by comparing fertigated and control plots in Oak, Pine, and a cleared herbaceous area. In each of these areas total N mineralization, total soil respiration, tree growth rates, and the carbon and nitrogen composition of the wood and soil were measured. This showed that rates of soil activity were not significantly different, while the initial nitrogen pools in the fertigation were much higher. Also, fertigated trees showed a large increase in growth rates of the fertigated time period, and have since recovered to pre-1988 rates. This forest has not reached a tipping point, but the effects of the fertigation are still being felt.
The evolution of miscible gravity currents in horizontal porous layers

Abstract Gravity currents of miscible fluids in porous media are important to understand because they occur in important engineering projects, such as enhanced oil recovery and geologic CO2 sequestration. These flows are often modelled based on two simplifying assumptions: vertical velocities are negligible compared with horizontal velocities, and diffusion is negligible compared with advection. In many cases, however, these assumptions limit the validity of the models to a finite, intermediate time interval during the flow, making prediction of the flow at early and late times difficult. Here, we consider the effects of vertical flow and diffusion to develop a set of models for the entire evolution of a miscible gravity current. To gain physical insight, we study a simple system: lock exchange of equal-viscosity fluids in a horizontal, vertically confined layer of permeable rock. We show that the flow exhibits five regimes: (i) an early diffusion regime, in which the fluids diffuse across the initially sharp fluid–fluid interface; (ii) an S-slumping regime, in which the fluid–fluid interface tilts in an S-shape; (iii) a straight-line slumping regime, in which the fluid–fluid interface tilts as a straight line; (iv) a Taylor-slumping regime, in which Taylor dispersion at the aquifer scale enhances mixing between the fluids and causes the flow to continuously decelerate; and (v) a late diffusion regime, in which the flow becomes so slow that mass transfer again occurs dominantly though diffusion.
Antiphospholipid Syndrome and Multiple lschemic Strokes in a Patient with Myasthenia Gravis

(MG), although antiphospholipid antibodies are detectable in many MG patients. A 47-year-old woman with a 20-year history of generalized MG had an acute onset of right hemiparesis. She had undergone thymectomy 10 years previously and was treated for phlebothrombosis of the lower extremity 3 years previously. Computed tomography (CT) demonstrated an old infarct in the left frontal lobe and a new lesion in the right parietal lobe. Multiple small cortical and subcortical infarcts were demonstrated on fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) images. Thrombocytopenia (5.9 •~10•¬4/ƒÊL), a prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT; 50.2 sec), and an elevation of
Homelessness and HIV Risk Behaviors Among Intravenous Drug Users

This article uses data from an 8-year study of injection drug users to examine whether homelessness independently influenced the likelihood of engaging in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) risk behaviors. Fixed effects regression analyses are used to estimate the associations between four different housing contexts and four different behaviors related to transmitting HIV infections. Results showed that 16% of the study group experienced homelessness at some point during the study, and that homelessness was significantly associated with a higher likelihood of frequenting shooting galleries (odds ratio=2.05), but did not have a significant effect on sharing syringes, sharing other injection drug paraphernalia, or participating in paid sex. These results provide limited support for positing homelessness as independently associated with increased levels of HIV-related risk behavior among injection drug users and highlights the need for more research that examines the housing dynamics among this population.
The effects of initial request size on compliance : More about the that's-not-all technique

Research on the that's-not-all compliance procedure finds that making a request more attractive before the recipient has an opportunity to respond increases compliance beyond that of recipients who receive only the final version of the request. However, participants in Studies 1 and 2 presented with an improved offer before responding to a request were significantly less likely to agree to the final request than those not exposed to the technique. Studies 3 and 4 demonstrated that this reversal is a function of the size of the initial request. Compared to a control group receiving only the final request, participants presented with an initial request that was substantially larger than the final request were less likely to comply, whereas participants presented with an initial request that was only slightly larger than the final request were more likely to comply. The findings suggest an important limit to the application of the that's-not-all technique.
Estimation of the Overall Treatment Effect in the Presence of Interference in Cluster-Randomized Trials of Infectious Disease Prevention

Abstract An issue that remains challenging in the field of causal inference is how to relax the assumption of no interference between units. Interference occurs when the treatment of one unit can affect the outcome of another, a situation which is likely to arise with outcomes that may depend on social interactions, such as occurrence of infectious disease. Existing methods to accommodate interference largely depend upon an assumption of “partial interference” – interference only within identifiable groups but not among them. There remains a considerable need for development of methods that allow further relaxation of the no-interference assumption. This paper focuses on an estimand that is the difference in the outcome that one would observe if the treatment were provided to all clusters compared to that outcome if treatment were provided to none – referred as the overall treatment effect. In trials of infectious disease prevention, the randomized treatment effect estimate will be attenuated relative to this overall treatment effect if a fraction of the exposures in the treatment clusters come from individuals who are outside these clusters. This source of interference – contacts sufficient for transmission that are with treated clusters – is potentially measurable. In this manuscript, we leverage epidemic models to infer the way in which a given level of interference affects the incidence of infection in clusters. This leads naturally to an estimator of the overall treatment effect that is easily implemented using existing software.
Elastic interactions in nematic elastomers and gels

We investigate elastic interactions in nematic elastomers and gels using a Ginzburg-Landau model for the isotropic-nematic transition. We propose an elastic origin of the "four-leaf clover" pattern observed in depolarised light scattering from polydomain nematic elastomers. We also investigate the director fluctuation in the nematic phase. Aligned nematic states are found to be unstable below a critical elongation.
Koroner arter hastalarında insan trombosit antijen-1 gen polimorfizmi ile klopidogrel direnci ilişkisi

Amaç: İnsan trombosit antijeni-1 (İTA-1) gen polimorfizminin koroner arter hastalığı (KAH) ile ilişkili olduğu ve trombosit fonksiyonlarını etkilediği öne sürülmüştür. Bu çalışmada KAH olan ve olmayan bireylerde İTA-1 gen polimorfizminin dağılımını ve KAH olan bireylerde İTA-1 gen polimorfizminin trombosit kümelenmesiyle ilişkisini incelemeyi amaçladık. Çalışma planı: Çalışmaya perkütan koroner girişim (PKG) uygulanan 94 hasta ve kontrol grubu olarak koroner anjiyografisi normal olan 115 birey alındı. KAH grubunda PKG sonrası beşinci gün impedans agregometre ile trombosit kümelenmesi (KB) ölçüldü. Trombosit kümelenmesinin >490 KB/dakika olması klopidogrel direnci olarak tanımlandı. Tüm katılımcılardan İTA-1 gen polimorfizmini araştırmak için kan örnekleri alındı. Bulgular: Hasta ve kontrol grubu arasında İTA-1 gen polimorfizmi yönünden fark yoktu (A aleli için %78.7 ve %78.1, p=AD; B aleli için %21.3 ve %21.9, p=AD). Klopidogrel direnci olan ve olmayan ABSTRACT
Simultaneous Determination of Three Parabens , Six Perfluoroalkyl Compounds and a Flame Retardant

The study of the calibration of a series of compounds of environmental concern (six perfluoroalkyl compounds (perfluorooctane sulfonic acid and five perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids), three preservatives (methyl-, ethyland propylparabens) and the brominated flame retardant hexabromocyclododecane) by LC-MS/MS has been carries out, with a view to their simultaneous determination in samples of environmental interest. In some cases nonlinear calibration curves are obtained, but restricting the concentration range a linear model may be used to fit the data. Residual analysis has been performed in order to verify which models fit the data better, opting for a compromise decision given the apparent complexity of residuals plots. As Box states there are no perfect models (but models that work better than others).
Provision of Vocational Skills Education to Orphans: Lessons from Orphanage Centres in Dar es Salaam City, Tanzania

This paper utilises data from a study that investigated the efficacy of vocational skills training provided to orphans from three orphanages in Temeke District, Dar es Salaam. The three orphanage centres that were studied are Kurasini National Children Home, Saudia and Don Bosco Vocational Centre. The sample comprised of 45 orphans, an official from the Department of Social Welfare in Temeke District, and two officials from the orphanage centres. Data were collected through interviews, documentary reviews and observations. The type of actors involved in providing vocational skills training to orphans, type of vocational skills training provided and the effectiveness of vocational skills training were explored. Vocational skills training that are offered at the orphanages centres are tailoring, carpentry, masonry, driving, welding and fine and performing arts. However, despite the fact that many orphans in the selected orphanages had attended the vocational skills training, it was revealed that the knowledge acquired was of no immediate use. Most of the orphans could not use the acquired skills to assess jobs or to self employ themselves. The major bottlenecks that tend to affect the quality of vocational skills offered are: limited capacities of the orphanage centres in terms of qualified personnel, inadequate equipment and funds. The little funds available seem to compete with other day to day priorities of managing the centres for example, providing food, medicals and the like.
Fiscal Federalism in Germany: Stabilization and Redistribution Before and after Unification

We provide estimates of the risk-sharing and redistributive properties of the German federal fiscal system based on data from 1970 to 2006, with special attention to the effects of German unification. Tax revenue sharing between the states and the federal government and the fiscal equalization mechanism (Landerfinanzausgleich) together reduce differences in per-capita state incomes by almost 40 percent. The federal fiscal system offsets 47 percent of an asymmetric shock to state per-capita incomes. This effect has significantly decreased after the inclusion of the East German states in 1995. Furthermore, we find that the German fiscal system provides almost perfect insurance for state government budgets against asymmetric revenue shocks; also, its redistributive effect with regard to the tax resources available to state governments is very strong.
Review of the Terms of Trade in Selected Countries and Iran

Nowadays the terms of trade have great importance for developing countries compared to developed countries. Because worsening terms of trade, that all other conditions are constant, reduces economic welfare. It is believed that the decline in the terms of trade of developing countries to developed countries causes the transfer of income from developing countries to developed countries and increases the income gap between these two groups of countries. This paper aims to examine the Prebisch-Singer hypothesis in different countries. The study examines the relationship between net terms of trade and income terms of trade between oil -exporting developing countries, agricultural commodities exporting developing countries and developed countries exporter of manufactured goods as well as the terms of trade of Iran in 1980-2010. Prebisch-Singer hypothesis states about changes in net terms of trade that this variable, changes to the detriment of developing countries and primary commodities exporter (other than oil and agricultural commodities) and to the benefit of developed countries exporter of manufactured goods.
Active faults and historical earthquakes in the Messina Straits area (Ionian Sea)

Abstract. The Calabrian Arc (CA) subduction complex is located at the toe of the Eurasian Plate in the Ionian Sea, where sediments resting on the lower plate have been scraped off and piled up in the accretionary wedge due to the African/Eurasian plate convergence and back arc extension. The CA has been struck repeatedly by destructive historical earthquakes, but knowledge of active faults and source parameters is relatively poor, particularly for seismogenic structures extending offshore. We analysed the fine structure of major tectonic features likely to have been sources of past earthquakes: (i) the NNW–SSE trending Malta STEP (Slab Transfer Edge Propagator) fault system, representing a lateral tear of the subduction system; (ii) the out-of-sequence thrusts (splay faults) at the rear of the salt-bearing Messinian accretionary wedge; and (iii) the Messina Straits fault system, part of the wide deformation zone separating the western and eastern lobes of the accretionary wedge. Our findings have implications for seismic hazard in southern Italy, as we compile an inventory of first order active faults that may have produced past seismic events such as the 1908, 1693 and 1169 earthquakes. These faults are likely to be source regions for future large magnitude events as they are long, deep and bound sectors of the margin characterized by different deformation and coupling rates on the plate interface.
Auditory Evoked Potentials in Northern Elephant Seals ( Mirounga angustirostris )

Auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) were investigated in northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) to characterize the responses elicited by different acoustic stimulus types, examine temporal resolving capabilities, and evaluate the potential for using evoked responses to estimate hearing sensitivity. Clicks and tone pips were presented to individual seals to characterize evoked responses to broadand narrowband stimuli. Tone pip trains and sinusoidally amplitude-modulated (SAM) tones were used to determine modulation rate transfer functions (MRTF) of the auditory system and to determine if the magnitude of the envelope-following response (EFR) relative to the stimulus level can be used to estimate hearing thresholds. Click evoked responses were characterized by three early positive peaks (~2.6, 4.4, and 6.1 ms) and a dominant negative peak at 7.2 ms and had average amplitudes of 264 nV (peak-to-peak [pk-pk]) for a corresponding stimulus level of 126 dB re 20 μPa (pk-pk). The use of dissociative drugs for the immobilization of the seals showed no demonstrable effect on the latencies or amplitudes of the click evoked response. Both the rate following response (RFR) and EFR amplitudes were maximal when the stimulus repetition rate or the amplitude modulation rate, respectively, were < 100 Hz. EFR amplitudes at the rate of amplitude modulation tracked near linearly with stimulus level. Thresholds for a 4-kHz SAM tone were estimated to be 45 dB re 20 μPa. Thus, the recording of AEPs is a viable means of studying auditory processes in the northern elephant seal.
Effect of nano zeolite and potassium permanganate on shelf life and quality of cut apple

In the present study the extended storage life of cut apples (Red Delicious) examined using nano zeolite particles and potassium permanganate. Titratable acidity, total soluble solids, pH and weight loss was measured . Visual observations of fruits during storage were investigated. The results showed that pH, soluble solids and fruit weight loss has increased during storage. The acidity of fruits stored with nano zeolite was less decreased as compared with potassium permanganate. The growth of moulds on preserved fruit with nano zeolite was much less after 10 days of storage as compared with potassium permanganate. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.3126/ijls.v9i2. 12050 International Journal of Life Sciences 9 (2) : 2015; 55-60
STUDIES OF SULFUR-BASED CATHODE MATERIALS FOR RECHARGEABLE LITHIUM BATTERIES

Wu, Min. M.S.M.E. , Purdue University, May 2016. Studies of Sulfur-based Cathode Materials for Rechargeable Lithium Batteries. Major Professor: Yongzhu Fu. Developing alternative cathodes with high capacity is critical for the next generation rechargeable batteries to meet the ever-increasing desires of global energy storage market. This thesis is focused on two sulfur-based cathode materials ranging from inorganic lithium sulfide to organotrisulfide. For lithium sulfide cathode, we developed a nano-Li2S/MWCNT paper electrode through solution filtration method, which involved a low temperature of 100 ◦C. The Li2S nanocrystals with a size less than 10 nm were formed uniformly in the pores of carbon paper network. These electrodes show an unprecedented low overpotential (0.1 V) in the first charges, also show high discharge capacities, good rate capability, and excellent cycling performance. This superior electrochemical performance makes them promising for use with lithium metal-free anodes in rechargeable Li-S batteries for practical applications. For organotrisulfide cathode, we use a small organotrisulfide compound, e.g. dimethyl trisulfide, to be a high capacity and high specific energy organosulfide cathode material for rechargeable lithium batteries. Based on XRD, XPS, SEM, and GC-MS analysis, we investigated the cell reaction mechanism. The redox reaction of DMTS is a 4e− process and the major discharge products are LiSCH3 and Li2S. The following cell reaction becomes quite complicated, apart from the major product DMTS, the high order organic polysulfide dimethyl tetrasulfide (DMTtS) and low order organic polysulfide dimethyl disulfide (DMDS) are also formed and charged/discharged in the following cycles. With a LiNO3 containing ether-based electrolyte, DMTS cell delivers an initial discharge capacity of 720 mAh g−1 and retains 74% of the initial
Hauser 1 Controls on Greenhouse Gas Fluxes from Soils : Effects of Nitrogen Fertilizers

Microbial transformation of reactive nitrogen in agricultural fertilizers through nitrification and denitrification is responsible for emissions of greenhouse gases like N2O, NO, and CO2. This study investigates the relationship between the form of nitrogen in fertilizer, the transformations that nitrogen undergoes in the soil, and the corresponding release of N2O and CO2, with the ultimate goal of determining which nitrogen fertilizers contribute the most greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. I applied ammonium, nitrate, and organic nitrogen fertilizers to a cornfield in South Deerfield, MA and measured the N2O and CO2 flux from those fields. In addition, I tested the soils from fertilized plots for nitrate and ammonium content. To further clarify the relationship between nitrate and ammonium fertilizers and greenhouse gas emissions, I also measured the N2O and CO2 flux from soils fertilized and incubated in a lab. In South Deerfield soils, ammonium fertilizer application correlated with high rates of nitrification and high N2O fluxes. This result indicates that in Massachusetts soils and similar soil types, nitrification is the dominant process that produces N2O, and ammonium-based fertilizers contribute more N2O to the atmosphere on a sub-daily scale. In the field, results of CO2 flux tests were inconclusive, but in the lab nitrogen fertilization suppressed CO2 emissions. Further testing would help establish the long-term effects of nitrogen fertilizers on greenhouse gas emissions and the effects in different soil types.
Creating space plasma from the ground

We have performed an experiment to compare as directly as realizable the ionization production rate by HF radio wave energy versus by solar EUV. We take advantage of the commonality that ionization production by both ground‐based high‐power HF radio waves and by solar EUV is driven by primary and secondary suprathermal electrons near and above ~20 eV. Incoherent scatter radar (ISR) plasma‐line amplitudes are used as a measure of suprathermal electron fluxes for ISR wavelengths near those for 430 MHz and are indeed a clean measure of such for those fluxes sufficiently weak to have negligible self‐damping. We present data from an HF heating experiment on November 2015 at Arecibo, which even more directly confirm the only prior midlatitude estimate, of order 10% efficiency for conversion of HF energy to ionospheric ionization. We note the theoretical maximum possible is ~1/3, while ~1% or less reduces the question to near practical irrelevance. Our measurements explicitly confirm the prediction that radio‐frequency production of artificial ionospheres can be practicable, even at midlatitudes. Furthermore, that this midlatitude efficiency is comparable to efficiencies measured at high latitudes (which include enhancements unique to high latitudes including magnetic zenith effect, gyrofrequency multiples, and double resonances) requires reexamination of current theoretical thinking about soft‐electron acceleration processes in weakly magnetized plasmas. The implications are that electron acceleration by any of a variety of processes may be a fundamental underpinning to energy redistribution in space plasmas.
Climatology of plasmaspheric total electron content obtained from Jason 1 satellite

We used more than 40 million total electron content (TEC) measurements obtained from the GPS TurboRogue Space Receiver receiver on board the Jason 1 satellite in order to investigate the global morphology of the plasmaspheric TEC (pTEC) including the variations with local time, latitude, longitude, season, solar cycle, and geomagnetic activity. The pTEC corresponds to the total electron content between Jason 1 (1336 km) and GPS (20,200 km) satellite altitudes. The pTEC data were collected during the 7 year period from January 2002 to December 2008. It was found that pTEC increases by about 10–30% from low to high solar flux conditions with the largest variations occurring at low latitudes for equinox. During low solar flux condition, pTEC is largely independent of geomagnetic activity. However, it slightly decreases with increasing geomagnetic activity at low latitudes during high solar flux. The seasonal variations such as the annual and semiannual anomalies in the ionosphere also exist in the low‐latitude plasmasphere. In particular, the American sector (around 300°E) shows strong annual asymmetry in the plasmaspheric density, being larger in December than in June solstice.