Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Age determination and growth rate of a Callista chione population from the southwestern coast of Portugal

The age and growth of the smooth clam Callista chione from the southwestern coast of Portugal were estimated during a 1 yr study period by using both the surface growth rings and internal shell microgrowth lines (by acetate peel method). The von Bertalanffy growth curves obtained by these 2 methods were, respectively: Lt = 91.9(1 - e - 0.18 (t + 0.22) ) and Lt = 98.1(1 - e - 0.15 (t + 0.43) ). Based on these, the counting of surface growth rings is appropriate for a quick age estimation of individuals up to 10 yr old (~75 mm shell length, SL). For older specimens, analysis of the growth lines in the cross section of shells is recommended, because close to the shell border it becomes difficult to distinguish growth rings on the shell surface. Rapid shell growth occurred in spring and summer, whereas slow growth occurred during autumn and winter, with the deposition of an annual growth ring. The over- all growth performance and the phi-prime index were used to compare growth parameters with data from literature about venerid bivalves. These parameters indicated that Callista spp. have a higher growth performance than other venerid bivalves and this is correlated with geographical latitude. The smooth clam achieves sexual maturation at 4 yr of age and reaches the minimum landing size (60 mm SL) after 5 yr.
Production of dissolved organic matter by phytoplankton and its uptake by heterotrophic prokaryotes in large tropical lakes

In pelagic ecosystems, phytoplankton extracellular release can extensively subsidize the heterotrophic prokaryotic carbon demand. Time‐course experiments were carried out to quantify primary production, phytoplankton excretion, and the microbial uptake of freshly released dissolved organic carbon (DOC) derived from phytoplankton extracellular release (DOCp) in four large tropical lakes distributed along a productivity gradient: Kivu, Edward, Albert, and Victoria. The contributions of the major heterotrophic bacterial groups to the uptake of DOCp was also analyzed in Lake Kivu, using microautoradiography coupled to catalyzed reporter deposition fluorescent in situ hybridization. The percentage of extracellular release (PER) varied across the productivity gradient, with higher values at low productivity. Furthermore, PER was significantly related to high light and low phosphate concentrations in the mixed layer and was comparatively higher in oligotrophic tropical lakes than in their temperate counterparts. Both observations suggest that environmental factors play a key role in the control of phytoplankton excretion. Standing stocks of DOCp were small and generally contributed less than 1% to the total DOC because it was rapidly assimilated by prokaryotes. In other words, there was a tight coupling between the production and the heterotrophic consumption of DOCp. None of the major phylogenetic bacterial groups that were investigated differed in their ability to take up DOCp, in contrast with earlier results reported for standard labeled single‐molecule substrates (leucine, glucose, adenosine triphosphate). It supports the idea that the metabolic ability to use DOCp is widespread among heterotrophic prokaryotes. Overall, these results highlight the importance of carbon transfer between phytoplankton and bacterioplankton in large African lakes.
The EPICA Dronning Maud Land deep drilling operation

Abstract We report on the EPICA Dronning Maud Land (East Antarctica) deep drilling operation. Starting with the scientific questions that led to the outline of the EPICA project, we introduce the setting of sister drillings at NorthGRIP and EPICA Dome C within the European ice-coring community. The progress of the drilling operation is described within the context of three parallel, deep-drilling operations, the problems that occurred and the solutions we developed. Modified procedures are described, such as the monitoring of penetration rate via cable weight rather than motor torque, and modifications to the system (e.g. closing the openings at the lower end of the outer barrel to reduce the risk of immersing the drill in highly concentrated chip suspension). Parameters of the drilling (e.g. core-break force, cutter pitch, chips balance, liquid level, core production rate and piece number) are discussed. We also review the operational mode, particularly in the context of achieved core length and piece length, which have to be optimized for drilling efficiency and core quality respectively. We conclude with recommendations addressing the design of the chip-collection openings and strictly limiting the cable-load drop with respect to the load at the start of the run.
A comparative study of characteristics and outcome of patients with acute respiratory failure and acute on chronic respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation

Background and Aims: Patients with respiratory failure requiring assisted ventilation form a large diagnostic group among critically ill patients. The outcome of patients with acute respiratory failure (ARF) as compared to those with acute on chronic respiratory failure (ACRF), may be different. The present study was designed to evaluate the clinical and acid base profile at presentation, hospital course and outcome in patients with ARF and ACRF requiring ventilatory support and to define factors that influence the outcome of these two groups of patients. Materials and Methods : Fifty patients with respiratory failure {ACRF (n=27) and ARF (n=23)} who required invasive mechanical ventilation, were included in a prospective fashion. Clinical data including APACHE II score, blood gas analysis and renal and liver functions were recorded at presentation and for the next three days. Survival to hospital discharge was the primary outcome measure. Various parameters were compared between ARF and ACRF, as well as between survivors and non-survivors to define predictors of mortality. Results: Patients with ARF were significantly younger (41.5 versus 64.4 years, P P P =0.009). For the whole study group, APACHE II score and serum creatinine, 48 hrs after admission, were independent predictors of mortality. Conclusions: Although patients with ARF and ACRF may appear equally ill at presentation, mortality is higher for patients with ARF. A higher incidence of complications such as development of non-pulmonary organ failure during the hospital course in patients with ARF, seems to be responsible for this increased mortality.
Rashba and Dresselhaus spin splittings in semiconductor quantum wells measured by spin photocurrents

The spin-galvanic effect and the circular photogalvanic effect induced by terahertz radiation are applied to determine the relative strengths of Rashba and Dresselhaus band spin splitting in 001-grown GaAs and InAs based two dimensional electron systems. We observed that shifting the -doping plane from one side of the quantum well to the other results in a change of sign of the photocurrent caused by Rashba spin splitting while the sign of the Dresselhaus term induced photocurrent remains. The measurements give the necessary feedback for technologists looking for structures with equal Rashba and Dresselhaus spin splittings or perfectly symmetric structures with zero Rashba constant.
Study on Bragg and Non-Bragg Scattering Mechanism and Frequency Shifts From Time-Varying Periodic Water Wave

In this paper, Bragg and non-Bragg scattering mechanisms and frequency shifts from time-varying periodic water wave are studied from three aspects: wave tank measurements with an ultrahigh frequency radar, numerical simulation using the method of moments, and theoretical derivation applying the small perturbation method. The scattering field, radar cross section (RCS), and frequency shifts are discussed in both horizontal and vertical polarizations. The wave tank observations show that backscattering enhancement occurs when water wavelength is an integer multiple of Bragg wavelength, and there are several Doppler harmonics with frequency shifts of water-wave frequency and its integer multiples. Numerical simulations indicate that these Doppler harmonics except the one associated with the water-wave phase velocity are caused by the water surface edge effect. Moreover, theoretical analyses, numerical simulations, and wave tank experiments all show a clear exponential relationship between backscattering RCS and wave height. In addition, we further analyze the bistatic scattering and find that the scattering field is composed of plane waves propagating in the directions determined by water wavelength and radio wavelength, the bistatic frequency shift is the harmonic frequency of water wave, and the bistatic RCS also has an exponential relation with water-wave height.
Does mhGAP training of primary health care providers improve the identification of child- and adolescent mental, neurological or substance use disorders? Results from a randomized controlled trial in Uganda

Background. Integrating child and adolescent mental health (CAMH) into primary health care (PHC) using the WHO mental health gap action program (mhGAP) is recommended for closing a mental health treatment gap in low- and middle-income countries, but PHC providers have limited ability to detect CAMH disorders. We aimed to evaluate the effect of PHC provider mhGAP training on CAMH disorder identification in Eastern Uganda. Methods. Thirty-six PHC clinics participated in a randomized controlled trial which compared the proportion of intervention (n = 18) to control (n = 18) clinics with a non-epilepsy CAMH diagnosis over 3 consecutive months following mhGAP-oriented CAMH training. Fisher's exact test and logistic regression based on intention to treat principles were applied. (clinicaltrials.gov registration NCT02552056). Results. Nearly two thirds (63.8%, 23/36) of all clinics identified and recorded at least one non-epilepsy CAMH diagnosis from 40 692 clinic visits of patients aged 1–18 recorded over 4 months. The proportion of clinics with a non-epilepsy CAMH diagnosis prior to training was 27.7% (10/36, similar between study arms). Training did not significantly improve intervention clinics’ non-epilepsy CAMH diagnosis (13/18, 72.2%) relative to the control (7/18, 38.9%) arm, p = 0.092. The odds of identifying and recording a non-epilepsy CAMH diagnosis were 2.5 times higher in the intervention than control arms at the end of 3 months of follow-up [adj.OR 2.48; 95% CI (1.31–4.68); p = 0.005]. Conclusion. In this setting, mhGAP CAMH training of PHC providers increases PHC clinics’ identification and reporting of non-epilepsy CAMH cases but this increase did not reach statistical significance.
BIOCONTROL OF CERTAIN SOILBORNE DISEASES AND PROMOTION OF GROWTH OF CAPSICUM ANNUUM USING BIOFUNGICIDES

Colored pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) has great economic importance as a food vegetable crop in Egypt and all over the world. This crop is prone to infection with soilborne fungal pathogens such as Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium solani and Macrophomina phaseolina. These mycopathogens were isolated from diseased pepper seedlings, identified; their virulence was confirmed in the greenhouse. Eight bacterial isolates mainly; (Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas fluorescens), and many fungal isolates mainly, (Trichoderma harzianum and T. viride), were isolated from the rhizosphere soil of pepper. They caused appreciable In vitro inhibition of the radial growth of the 3 pathogens in dual culture technique, in percentages ranging from (71-79%) and (80-87%), respectively. On infestation of pepper soil with these bioagents and the 3 pathogens separately in the greenhouse, they caused In vivo reduction of disease symptoms of pepper compared with the pathogens infested and non-infested control soils. In addition, they caused significant improvement of pepper growth compared with the control soil, however, promotion exerted by B. subtilis and T. harzianum was more than that of P. fluorescens and T. viride. These promoting activities could be attributed to the production of metabolites such as growth hormones; solubilization of phosphates and improvement of nutrient uptake. This is the first record of promoting the growth of pepper in greenhouse by B. subtilis and T. harzianum in Egypt. Thus these bioagents could be formulated then applied in the future in pepper fields of this country as safe, effective, ecofriendly biofungicides to control soilborne pathogens and also could be used as biofertilizers to promote the growth and productivity of this crop.
Aberrant NPM Expression during Nf1Loss and Its Role in Promoting Proliferation

Abstract : Nf1 encodes a novel tumor suppressor protein named neurofibromin that acts to inhibit the Ras oncogene. A recent study demonstrated that the nucleolar proto-oncogene nucleophosmin (NPM) was highly expressed in Nf1deficient astrocytes along with numerous other ribosomal biosynthesis proteins. NPM senses abnormal growth signals within the astrocyte and responds by increasing protein synthesis rates. We are hypothesizing that these increased rates are partly responsible for the aberrant growth of Nf1-deficient astrocytes. Thus, the goal of this work will be t0 determine the contribution of elevated NPM levels to astrocyte proliferation. We believe that the insights gained from this study will greatly improve our understanding of the mechanism (s) by which neurofibromin loss promotes cell growth and proliferation. This work could be translated into any number of cell systems implicated in NF1 due to its mechanistic and evolutionary conservation. In addition, our results will open up a new generation of targets aimed at disrupting aberrant protein translation networks that appear to go awry during Neurofibromatosis.
TO DELEGATE OR NOT TO DELEGATE

There have been significant advances in technology that will eventually see us viewing the use of autonomous cars as a common occurence. Various systems are already on the market that provide the driver with different levels of decision support. This paper highlights the key human factors issues associated with the interaction between the user and an autonomous system, ranging from assistive decision support and the delegation of authority to the automobile. The level of support offered to the driver can range from traditional automated assistance, to system generated guidance that offers advice for the driver to act upon, and even more direct action as initiated by the system itself. In many of these instances the role of the driver is slowly moving towards one where they are acting as a supervisor of a complex system rather than taking direct control of the vehicle. Different paradigms of interaction are considered and focus is placed on the partnership that takes place between the driver and the vehicle. There is a wealth of knowledge in the aviation literature that examines such technology partnership and this paper will draw on relevant comparisons to assist the community to better understand the underlying issues that have already been witnessed in the cockpit between the human and their interaction with complex systems.
Are operator algebras Banach algebras ?

We discuss some aspects of the current state of the study of algebras of operators on a Hilbert space, from the Banach algebraic perspective. The advent of operator space theory has given a recent impetus to the general theory of such operator algebras. To illustrate the situation, we focus on some recent results mainly obtained by the author and Le Merdy, and present several 'test questions', which point out the interactions between the Banach algebraic and the operator space structures involved.
The use of pseudo-defects in validation of ultrasonic structural-health-monitoring technologies

When new ultrasonic techniques for non-destructive testing are introduced, diverse validation tests are required. Signals obtained from samples with well-characterised natural defects (cracks, flaws) or artificial defects (notches, boreholes) are compared with signals obtained from undamaged samples, and so the NDT technique can be assessed towards reliability and accuracy. That concept finally leads to calibration procedures for ultrasonic systems. Distance/Gain/Size (DGS) diagrams e.g. give an indication on the size of defects for flaw detectors, and dedicated test blocks are e.g. used to calibrate the ultrasonic thicknesses gauges for different kinds of material [1]. The traditional procedures are however only applicable if relatively simple samples are present. If the complexity of the investigated parts concerning shape and material composition is increasing, also the efforts for NDT validation tests increase. This is especially the case when structural health monitoring (SHM) systems for structural aircraft parts have to be validated.
Three-dimensional Floquet stability analysis of the wake of a circular cylinder

Results are reported from a highly accurate, global numerical stability analysis of the periodic wake of a circular cylinder for Reynolds numbers between 140 and 300. The analysis shows that the two-dimensional wake becomes (absolutely) linearly unstable to three-dimensional perturbations at a critical Reynolds number of 188.5±1.0. The critical spanwise wavelength is 3.96 ± 0.02 diameters and the critical Floquet mode corresponds to a ‘Mode A’ instability. At Reynolds number 259 the two-dimensional wake becomes linearly unstable to a second branch of modes with wavelength 0.822 diameters at onset. Stability spectra and corresponding neutral stability curves are presented for Reynolds numbers up to 300.
Bacteria associated with contamination of ready-to-eat (RTE) cooked rice in Lagos-Nigeria

The bacteria associated with contamination of ready-to-eat (RTE) cooked rice in Lagos, Nigeria were studied using standard microbiological methods. The objective of this study was to investigate the distribution of pathogenic bacteria recovered from RTE cooked rice in Lagos, assess bacteria load in the contaminated RTE cooked rice and evaluate their microbial quality. The microbial load of the RTE cooked rice ranged from 1.5 ± 0.29x 10 4 - 4.8 ± 0.46x 10 6 cfu/g for three markets. A further test revealed that the average bacteria counts at Ketu was significantly different from those at Yaba and Odogunyan. However it was found that counts at Yaba and Odogunyan were not significantly different. Based on the specification by the International Microbiological Standard limits for Foods (IMSF), the levels of contamination of the total samples that were above and below microbiological acceptable limit were 91.7% and 8.3% respectively. The predominant pathogenic bacteria associated with contamination of the RTE cooked rice samples were identified as Staphylococcus aureus , Brahamella sp, E nterobacter aerogenes and Salmonella typhi . Out of a total of 36 RTE cooked rice samples analyzed, Enterobacter aerogenes 36 (100%) had the highest occurrence followed in descending order by Staphylococcus aureus 33 (91.7%), Brahamella sp. 29 (80.6%) and Salmonella sp. 25(69%). The results indicated that most of the RTE cooked rice samples examined in this study did not meet bacteriological quality standards. These findings suggest that the presence of food pathogens in RTE rice hawked in our local markets may pose serious potential health risks to the consumers in the public. © 2015 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved. Keywords: Contamination, pathogenic, bacteria, ready-to-eat (RTE), cooked rice
The stability of elliptical vortices in an external straining flow

Subject to uniform strain, an elliptical patch of vorticity in an in viscid, incompressible, two-dimensional fluid generally rotates or nutates and extends or compresses while retaining a precisely elliptical shape (the Kida solutions). This result is of interest because the uniform strain idealizes the leading-order distortional influence of distant vortices in a flow with many vortices. Because of the unsteady motion of the distant vortices, both the strain rate and the rotation rate of the strain axes typically vary with time. In the special case that the strain rate and rotation rate are steady, and when the strain rate is not too large, periodic motion of an elliptical vortex is possible. Larger strain rates lead to indefinite extension of the vortex. Uniform strain, however, only approximately mimics the effect of distant vortices. The local variations- in the strain field around a vortex disturb the vortex, preventing it from retaining a simple, elliptical shape. These disturbances may amplify because of instabilities. In this paper, we examine the stability of periodic elliptical motion to small boundary disturbances, for the case of steady, uniform strain and rotation rate, first by linear Floquet theory and then by direct, high-resolution, nonlinear numerical integrations. It is discovered that a significant portion of the periodic solutions are linearly unstable. Instability can occur even when the strain rate is arbitrarily small and the basic motion arbitrarily close to circular. Extended nonlinear calculations exhibit recurrence, in some cases, and attrition of the vortex by repeated wave amplification, steepening, and breaking in others.
NECST: Neural Joint Source-Channel Coding

For reliable transmission across a noisy communication channel, classical results from information theory show that it is asymptotically optimal to separate out the source and channel coding processes. However, this decomposition can fall short in the finite bit-length regime, as it requires non-trivial tuning of hand-crafted codes and assumes infinite computational power for decoding. In this work, we propose Neural Error Correcting and Source Trimming (\modelname) codes to jointly learn the encoding and decoding processes in an end-to-end fashion. By adding noise into the latent codes to simulate the channel during training, we learn to both compress and error-correct given a fixed bit-length and computational budget. We obtain codes that are not only competitive against several capacity-approaching channel codes, but also learn useful robust representations of the data for downstream tasks such as classification. Finally, we learn an extremely fast neural decoder, yielding almost an order of magnitude in speedup compared to standard decoding methods based on iterative belief propagation.
Short‐ and long‐run estimates of the local effects of retirement on health

We explore the existence of short‐ and long‐term effects of retirement on health. Short‐term effects are estimated with a regression discontinuity design which is robust to weak instruments and where the underlying assumptions of continuity of potential outcomes are uncontroversial. To identify the long‐term effects we propose a parametric model which, under strong assumptions, can separate normal deterioration of health from the causal effects of retirement. We apply our framework to the British Household Panel Survey and find that retirement has little effect on health. However, our estimates suggest that retirement opens the gate to a sedentary life with an impoverished social component and this is a channel through which retirement could indirectly affect health in the long run.
Choosy Search and the Mismatch of Talents

This paper proposes a multi-sector matching model where workers have (symmetric) sector-specific skills and the search market is segmented by sector. Workers choose the range of markets they are willing to participate in. I identify a composition externality: workers do not take into account the impact of their choice on sector-specific mean productivity among the pools of job-seekers. Consequently, workers prospect too many market segments, and there is room for public policy even when the so-called Hosios condition holds.