Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Urbanization and Political Development of the World System

Section 1 of this article presents a mathematical analysis of the long­term global urbanization dynamics and demonstrates that it could be described as a series of phase transitions between attraction basins. This makes it possible to suggest new approaches to the analysis of global social macroevolution. Section 2 presents a three­stage model of the macroevolution of the World System statehood (early – developed – mature state) that, we believe, describes the main features of political macroevolution better than the two­stage model proposed by Claessen and Skalnik (early – mature state). This model has been used as a basis for the analysis of changes in the development of political structures from the pre­state polities and the most primitive early states (and their analogues) till the modern supercomplex states. In this section we also analyze the relationship between the growth of the territory controlled by the World System states and the growth of the statehood complexity. Finally, Section 3 attempts at the detection of the correlation between the global evolution of political structures and global urbanization processes. This study confirms the presence of a system of attraction basins and phase transitions within the World System macroevolutionary development field, as well as the presence of mathematically interpretable correlations and interrelations between the analyzed global processes – political, urbanizing, demographic, technological, and sociostructural.
Management of potato virus Y (PVY) in potato by some biocontrol agents under field conditions

The study was conducted to test the activity of Pseudomonas fluorescens, Rhodotorula sp and fermented neem extract to protect potato plants against potato virusY disease development under field conditions. Infected potato tubers were soaked in P. fluorescens, Rhodotorula sp suspensions and in fermented neem extracts separately and sown in the field in completely randomized block design. The development of virus symptoms and the accumulation of virus in the plant based on Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) were followed. The results obtained showed that the treatment of potato tubers with the three agents have significantly accelerated plant emergence, 5-6 days early than non treated ones, and improved plant growth, the plant dry weights ranged from 120-177 g/plant compared to 42 g/plant in non treated plants. The enhancement of plant growth was found associated with reduction in disease severity based on symptoms development and restriction of virus concentration as proved by ELISA absorbance of 405 nm, 0.14-0.23 compared with 2.50 in non treated plants. The results indicated that the use of bioagent to induce systemic resistance provide an efficient tool, as insecticide alternative to manage potato virus Y in potato.
An Improvement over AODV Routing Protocol by Limiting Visited Hop Count

The AODV protocol is based on the minimum delay path as its route selection criteria, regardless of the paths load. This issue leads to unbalanced load dissemination in the network and the energy of the nodes on the shortest path deplete earlier than others. We proposed an improved AODV protocol with limited TTL (Time to Live) of RREP packet in which the route reply (RREP) packet of AODV is modified to limite TTL information of nodes. Experiments have been carried out using network simulator software (NS2). Simulation results show that our proposed routing protocol outperforms regular AODV in terms of packet delivery rate, good put, throughput, and jitter.
How to Evaluate the Performance of the Taiwan Biotech and Biopharmaceutical Corporations

Modern biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, the most developmental mainstream, has been generally acknowledged in the 21 st century. The approach of this study surmounted the traditional DEA and SFA, combining with modified Delphi approach, ISM, FANP and performance evaluation table to build evaluation mode of operating performance precisely and completely in Taiwan biotech and pharmaceutical corporations. Considering 4 criteria and 18 sub-criteria complied to evaluate the operating performance in the enterprise. The analyzed result appeared, the significance of criteria is “Product and technology R&D”, “Financial performance”, “Production and quality management” and “Organization characteristics and operation management” in sequence. The top 5 key sub-criteria influence the evaluation of operating performance in Taiwan biotech and pharmaceutical corporations are “Profitability”, “Efficiency of production and cost”, “Innovative products and R&D strategies”, “Quality management and cost control” and “Operation strategy and business mode”. The last 5 key sub-criteria are “Human resources management”, “Project management”, “Innovation of process technology”, “Competence of financial operation” and “Market share”. Finally, the top 10 of conglomerate revenue in listed companies taken as the sample of empirical research on this study. According to the experts’ evaluation, the total point of weighted average is 58.9020 of whole sample in complete period in all enterprises, which fell at the grade of ‘Slightly good’ as a whole. The related results accord with the real situation in the industry. The result of this study is able to be a significant basis as the policies drawn up by government, operating performance evaluated by the enterprise and investment target measured by the investors.
Efficiency of letrozole loaded PLGA nanoparticles on sex reversal of Poecilia reticulata (Peters, 1859)

Males of Poecilia reticulata showed extreme diversity in color, particularly of their fins, while the females lack the bright colors and are largely whitish. Such extreme variability of color and finnage lead to demand of males in the markets. The aim of present work was to develop a new Letrozole (LTZ)-loaded PLGA nanoparticles for effective delivery of the masculinization drug, letrozole, as an alternative to commercially available masculinization agents. The LTZ-loaded PLGA NPs were prepared by solvent displacement technique. The particle size of LTZ-loaded PLGA NPs was analyzed using LICOMP particle size analyzer and was found to be in the range of 72 nm to 520 nm with average size of 221. 5Â±63.3 nm. Zeta potential was estimated to be about 21.35 mV with loading efficiency of 43. 63Â±4.63 %. In the present study, a series of experiments were carried out to induce masculinization using LTZ-loaded PLGA nanoparticles during the sex differentiation period. Guppy (P. reticulate) fry were treated with LTZ-loaded PLGA nanoparticles at dosages 5, 25, 50 and 100 ppm/kg diet for 10, 15 and 30 days. The gonopodium index and GSI showed increasing order in male and female respectively with dose of LTZ-loaded nanoparticles. The results indicated an increase in the proportion of males with dosage and duration of treatment. This has been done for the first time using nanotechnology efficiently which has shown an increase in the male population of Poecilia reticulata with lesser dose of nano-encapsulated Letrozole (LTZ)-loaded PLGA nanoparticles drug as compared with naked control Letrozole (LTZ) drug delivery.
Resilience of Energy and CO 2 Exchangeto a Summer Heatwave in an Alpine HumidGrassland on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Summer heatwaves are expected to be much more frequent and severe with negative effects on terrestrial ecosystem water and carbon budgets, while the impacts on alpine grasslands remain poorly understood. Here we analyzed eddy flux and meteorological dataset of a seven-day (July 26 to August 1) summer heatwave in an alpine humid grassland in northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau in 2015. Compared with pre-heatwave, only diurnal ecosystem respiration (RES) increased by 30.7%, evidently (P < 0.001) during the heatwave. Diurnal sensible heat fluxes (H) and latent heat fluxes (LET) increased by 18.1% (P = 0.08) and 27.5% (P = 0.02) from 9:00 to 16:00. The heatwave did not lead to substantial increments of daily H and daily LET, while daily Bowen ratio (H/LET) decreased a little (P = 0.07). Daily net ecosystem CO2 exchange increased by 76.7% (P = 0.03), mainly resulting from remarkable growth in daily RES (P<0.001) and undetectable fluctuation in daily gross primary production (GPP) (P = 0.13). Daily ecosystem water use efficiency (GPP/evapotranspiration) decreased by 20.8%. The little difference of energy and CO2 fluxes between pre-heatwave and post-heatwave indicated strong resilience to the summer heatwave in the alpine humid grassland. Our results revealed that the present-day summer heatwave exerted a limited influence on energy exchange and vegetation photosynthetic activity but did stimulate ecosystem respiration, which would provide a positive feedback to climate warming with more carbon efflux from alpine grassland.
Clarifying Research Synthesis on Inclusion: Using the Inclusion Definition Instrument (IDI)

Synthesizing research on inclusive education is essential to developing a wide-scoped view of knowledge that has been gathered from previous studies. There are key components central to the practice of inclusive education that need to be revealed to fully understand the context of inclusive classrooms. This article distinguishes the need for contextually defining inclusion and introduces the Inclusion Definition Instrument (IDI) that can assist researchers to better identify specific characteristics of the context of their studies on inclusion.
Petrology and geochemistry of gabbroic and related rocks from site 894, Hess Deep

The petrogenesis of gabbroic rocks and associated basaltic dikes recovered at Ocean Drilling Program Site 894 has been evaluated using petrography, mineral chemistry, and bulk-rock chemistry as well as Nd isotope analyses. The igneous lithologies recovered at Site 894 include gabbronorite, gabbro, olivine gabbro, olivine gabbronorite, and basalt. The gabbroic rocks and the crosscutting dikes show similar isotope and trace elements signatures, and they are therefore suggested to be cogenetic. The trace element data indicate that the rocks formed from a highly depleted parental magma. Isotopic compositions of Site 894 rocks are within the range of mid-ocean-ridge basalt, and similar to gabbroic rocks recovered from Site 895. The gabbroic rocks show no systematic variation in mineral compositions downhole, but exhibit large variations on a local scale. Plagioclase compositions, for example, vary by up to 25 mole percent An in a single thin section. The rare earth element contents vary by 1 order of magnitude, which is close to the total range seen in the crustal section of many ophiolite complexes. There is, however, no systematic, large-scale variation in bulk-rock compositions downhole. The downhole variations are characterized by abrupt (meter scale) variations in compatible and incompatible trace element contents. There appears to be a decoupling in the behavior of incompatible and compatible trace elements in the gabbroic rocks. Cr shows a well-defined trend when plotted against Ca# whereas TiO2 and Zr do not. The lack of any correlation between TiO2 and Zr with Ca numbers suggests that the abundance of oxides and incompatible element-bearing phases such as zircon and apatite (which is present in the rocks) is unrelated to the composition of the silicate matrix. The local enrichments of incompatible elements in rocks that are relatively rich in compatible elements indicate that the geochemistry of the Site 894 gabbros is not controlled by mineral crystallization and fractionation alone. We suggest that the Site 894 rocks formed along the roof of the magma reservoir where a sequence of mesocumulates and basaltic gabbros developed owing to limited buoyancy-driven migration of interstitial melts. Late magmatic liquids migrated locally into the almost-crystallized matrix. These late magmatic liquids enriched the rocks in incompatible elements but had little influence on the distribution of compatible trace elements and major elements in the rocks. The trace element geochemistry of the rocks may be understood in terms of fractional crystallization and various mixing processes.
Case study on risk evaluation of silver nanoparticle exposure from antibacterial sprays containing silver nanoparticles

This study evaluated the risk of silver nanoparticle (AgNP) exposure from antibacterial sprays containing AgNPs. Using an exposure simulation chamber as the setting for the experiment, various instruments, including a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS), condensation particle counter (CPC), dust monitor, and mixed cellulose esters (MCE) filters, are connected to the chamber to measure the exposure levels of AgNPs when using the sprays. To assess potential risks to consumers, margin of exposure (MOE) approach was used to assess risk in which a calculated MOE was compared with a target MOE. When evaluating the risk of antibacterial sprays to inhalation exposure using the MOE, spraying a whole can and spraying an air conditioner both resulted in a high-risk concern level with a MOE ranging from 59 to 146 that was much lower than the no-risk concern level of 1000, while some spray showed a MOE 2049 with no-risk concern level. The dermal exposure levels with a single layer of clothing were estimated at 2-50 µg/kg/day with a MOE ranging from 20,000 to 500,000. Therefore, the current results showed the possibility of high-risk inhalation exposure to AgNPs released when using antibacterial sprays.
A highly accurate DFT-based parameter estimator for complex exponentials

Abstract— A highly accurate DFT-based complex exponential parameter estimation algorithm is presented in this paper. It will be shown that for large number of samples and high signal to noise ratio (SNR), the phase estimation error variance performance is only 0.0475 dB above the Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB) for phase estimation with unknown frequency and phase. The amplitude estimation error variance performance was found to lay on the CRLB for amplitude estimation. Exact phase and amplitude estimation can be achieved in the noiseless case with this algorithm. The algorithm has low implementation computational complexity and is suitable for numerous real time digital signal processing applications.
Surveillance of spatial patterns - Change of interaction in the Ising model

Surveillance to detect changes of spatial patterns is of interest in many areas such as environmental control and regional analysis. Here the interaction parameter of the Ising model, is considered. A minimal sufficient statistic and its asymptotic distribution are used. It is demonstrated that earlier results on surveillance of a normally distributed random variable can be used for interesting cases. Properties such as expected delay and false alarm are examined for some examples. AMS 1991 Mathematics Subject Classification: 60K35, 62M30, 62N10.
Particle Dark Matter constraints: the effect of Galactic uncertainties

Collider, space, and Earth based experiments are now able to probe several extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics which provide viable dark matter candidates. Direct and indirect dark matter searches rely on inputs of astrophysical nature, such as the local dark matter density or the shape of the dark matter density profile in the target in object. The determination of these quantities is highly affected by astrophysical uncertainties. The latter, especially those for our own Galaxy, are ill-known, and often not fully accounted for when analyzing the phenomenology of particle physics models. In this paper we present a systematic, quantitative estimate of how astrophysical uncertainties on Galactic quantities (such as the local galactocentric distance, circular velocity, or the morphology of the stellar disk and bulge) propagate to the determination of the phenomenology of particle physics models, thus eventually affecting the determination of new physics parameters. We present results in the context of two specific extensions of the Standard Model (the Singlet Scalar and the Inert Doublet) that we adopt as case studies for their simplicity in illustrating the magnitude and impact of such uncertainties on the parameter space of the particle physics model itself. Our findings point toward very relevant effects of current Galactic uncertainties on the determination of particle physics parameters, and urge a systematic estimate of such uncertainties in more complex scenarios, in order to achieve constraints on the determination of new physics that realistically include all known uncertainties.
Calcium carbonates: induced biomineralization with controlled macromorphology

Abstract. Biomineralization of (magnesium) calcite and vaterite by bacterial isolates has been known for quite some time. However, the extracellular precipitation has hardly ever been linked to different morphologies of the minerals that are observed. Here, isolates from limestone-associated groundwater, rock and soil were shown to form calcite, magnesium calcite or vaterite. More than 92 % of isolates were indeed able to form carbonates, while abiotic controls failed to form minerals. The crystal morphologies varied, including rhombohedra, prisms and pyramid-like macromorphologies. Different conditions like varying temperature, pH or media components, but also cocultivation to test for collaborative effects of sympatric bacteria, were used to differentiate between mechanisms of calcium carbonate formation. Single crystallites were cemented with bacterial cells; these may have served as nucleation sites by providing a basic pH at short distance from the cells. A calculation of potential calcite formation of up to 2 g L−1 of solution made it possible to link the microbial activity to geological processes.
Facultative catadromy of the eel, Anguilla japonica, between freshwater and seawater habitats

To confirm the occurrence of marine residents of the Japanese eel, Anguilla japonica, which have never entered freshwater ('sea eels'), we measured Sr and Ca concentrations by X-ray electron microprobe analysis of the otoliths of 69 yellow and silver eels, collected from 10 localities in seawater and freshwater habitats around Japan, and classified their migratory histories. Two-dimen- sional images of the Sr concentration in the otoliths showed that all specimens generally had a high Sr core at the center of their otolith, which corresponded to a period of their leptocephalus and early glass eel stages in the ocean, but there were a variety of different patterns of Sr concentration and concentric rings outside the central core. Line analysis of Sr/Ca ratios along the radius of each otolith showed peaks (ca 15 × 10 -3 ) between the core and out to about 150 µm (elver mark). The pattern change of the Sr/Ca ratio outside of 150 µm indicated 3 general categories of migratory history: 'river eels', 'estuarine eels' and 'sea eels'. These 3 categories corresponded to mean values of Sr/Ca ratios of ≥ 6.0 × 10 -3 for sea eels, which spent most of their life in the sea and did not enter freshwater, of 2.5 to 6.0 × 10 -3 for estuarine eels, which inhabited estuaries or switched between different habitats, and of <2.5 × 10 -3 for river eels, which entered and remained in freshwater river habitats after arrival in the estuary. The occurrence of sea eels was 20% of all specimens examined and that of river eels, 23%, while estuarine eels were the most prevalent (57%). The occurrence of sea eels was confirmed at 4 localities in Japanese coastal waters, including offshore islands, a small bay and an estuary. The finding of estuarine eels as an intermediate type, which appear to frequently move between different habitats, and their presence at almost all localities, suggested that A. japonica has a flexible pattern of migration, with an ability to adapt to various habitats and salinities. Thus, anguillid eel migrations into freshwater are clearly not an obligatory migratory pathway, and this form of diadromy should be defined as facultative catadromy, with the sea eel as one of several ecophenotypes. Furthermore, this study indicates that eels which utilize the marine environment to various degrees during their juve- nile growth phase may make a substantial contribution to the spawning stock each year.
Pre-mating mechanisms favouring or precluding speciation in a species complex: chemical recognition and sexual selection between types in the lizard Podarcis hispanica

Question: Do chemical recognition mechanisms and sexual selection processes contribute to reproductive isolation between closely related taxa? Organism: The lacertid Iberian wall lizard (Podarcis hispanica). Background: Recent molecular studies have suggested that this lizard forms a species complex with ongoing speciation processes. Two of the monophyletic types of this lizard are mainly allopatric. However, they live close together in the Guadarrama Mountains (Central Spain) and are not geographically isolated. Methods: We measured tongue-flick rates to chemical stimuli from males and females, and staged intra-sexual agonistic encounters and inter-sexual courtships between lizards of both types. Conclusions: Males discriminated between males of different types based on chemical cues alone, and there were differences in the aggressiveness and outcome of agonistic encounters depending on the types of interacting males. However, males did not discriminate chemically between female types, and females did not discriminate between male types. Inter-sexual courtships suggested that matings may occur between lizards of the two types. Therefore, in spite of differences between male types, behaviourally mediated reproductive isolation may not be entirely effective at this moment.
Cluster survey of the mid-altitude cusp - Part 2: Large-scale morphology

In this second part of our statistical study of the mid-altitude cusp, we compare the cusp morphology, as seen in the Cluster ion spectrometer (CIS), to the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) orientation. We first recall the method we have used a) to define the cusp properties, b) to sort IMF conditions or behaviour in classes, c) to determine the proper time delay between the solar wind monitors and Cluster. Then, we define a few morphological features of the cusp and we relate these to the prevailing IMF. Our results reveal, among other things, that the occurrence of clearly dispersed ion structures in the cusp is 48%. From these dispersions, we infer the distance to reconnection site, which we relate to external conditions. In all other cases, the cusp exhibits a more disturbed behaviour in terms of ion structures and fall in our "discontinuous" or "irregular" categories. Among these, a few interesting cases of discontinuous cusps occurring under stable IMF conditions have been identified. They all occur when the IMF is dominated by its Y-component, which plays in principle in favour of anti-parallel reconnection but their wide MLT and latitudinal distributions is a priori incompatible with the anti-parallel reconnection hypothesis solely.