Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
GROWTH AND ADAPTIVE CAPACITY OF ONE YEAR OLD POPUlUS NIgRA

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of cultivation medium on the growth rate and gas exchange of mature cuttings from one Populus nigra L. clone during the first growing season (June-September). In the first half of the season it produced different stem phenotypes on different variants of cultivating medium. The best growth response was observed in the variant ‘sand:soil_50%’. The mean height difference of P. nigra reached 28.67 cm and 2.27 cm during the first and the second half of growing season, respectively. On the same variant the mean height difference of P. x euroamericana Guardi reached 35.43 cm and 12.77 cm, respectively. The mean stem base diameter increased slowly – with 3.36 cm and 4 cm in P. nigra and P. x euroamericana Guardi, respectively. Net photosynthesis was positively correlated with base stem diameter of P. nigra (R2 = 0.603, Sign.= 0.030). Our findings indicated that cultivation medium can have important effects on growth and assimilation, though there were few effects on the transpiration and water resource conservation (water use efficiency). The obtained results confirm that variation in shoot diameter will have a greater impact on growth performance as a response to cultivating medium.
Application of Second Generation IMO Intact Stability Criteria to Medium – Sized Fishing Vessels

In this work, a sample application of the draft criteria proposed in SLF 55/WP.3 for assessing pure loss of stability, parametric roll and broaching failure modes to medium sized fishing vessels, is presented. The sampled vessels consist of seven ships, including trawlers, longliners and purse – seiners, with lengths between 20 and 70 meters. This sample can be representative of the mid – sized Spanish current fishing fleet, including ships with quite different operative profiles and which are supposed to be safe from the static stability point of view (as they all comply with Torremolinos Protocol Requirements). On them, both loss of stability and parametric roll level 1 and 2 checks and broaching level 1 check have been carried out, analyzing the vulnerability of the different typologies to the three failure modes. Moreover, some comments regarding the applicability of these criteria to these types of ships and their use as a design tool to improve fishing vessels safety are included.
Relationships between deflector faults , collapse dolines and collector channel formation : some examples from Slovenia France

INTRODUCTION Klimchouk and Ford (2000, p.47) wrote: “Speleogenesis can be viewed as the creation and evolution of organized permeability structures in a rock that have developed as the result of dissolutional enlargement of an earlier porosity. ” In the same volume Lauritzen and Lundberg (2000, pp.408-409) added the following, in slightly different order, to the same idea: “In the strict sense (sensu stricto), ‘speleogenesis’ means the creation of a cave from ‘scratch’. ” . “Once speleogensis has established the gross geometry of cave system. ” . “When discussing the shape of caves, it is practical to distinguish between mesoforms, that are similar size to the diameter of the cave passage itself, and microforms, that are smaller than the passage. ” . “Mesoand microforms are controlled by corrosive and erosive processes (active variables) but have lithologic and tectonic constraints (passive variables)1. Geology influences passage form through control of. ” This raises some questions: •What is “the gross geometry of a cave system”, and/or what (perhaps) are macroforms? •What controls the development of the gross geometry of a cave system or, in other words, the structure of the cave system, and how is this achieved? •Does a conduit pattern simply adjust itself to the constraints imposed by passive variables, or does
Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency ( G 6 PD ) ( Favism ) in Dammam , Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia

Background: Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency is an X linked recessive disorder expressed mostly in males. It is the most common enzyme deficiency worldwide, causes a spectrum of disease including neonatal hyperbilirubinemia, acute hemolysis, and chronic hemolysis. The aim of the study was to determine prevalence, risk factors of G6FD deficiency and its symptoms among general population of Dammam, Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted during the period from 1 March 2016 to 30 July 2017. Data was collected from 182 individuals. Systematic random sampling technique was followed. Data was collected by using predesigned online questionnaire. Results: The overall prevalence of favism was 17%, of them, 67.7% were females and 32.3% were males. 15.2% of cases and 26.9% of the total sample had family history of the disease. Among the studied cases, 48.4% complained of pallor, 45.2% headache, 45.2% drowsiness, 12.9% nausea, 32.3% back pain, 64.5% tiredness, 25.8% abdominal pain, 38.7% discoloration of urine, 29% foot pain, 16.1% low grade fever and 19.4% complained of jaundice. Regarding risk factors of favism; 32.3% reported excess beans intake, 12.9% antibiotic intake and only 9.7% reported bacterial or viral infection. Conclusions: Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase deficiency is a common disorder as it affects 17% of the study population of Dammam, Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. It was more common in females than males. Health education sessions and further epidemiological studies are required because early detection and prevention is the key strategy for successful management and control of this genetic disease.
Delivery of suspended sediment and associated phosphorus and heavy metals to small rural Danish streams

The aim of this study is to examine delivery pathways for suspended sediment, and particulate phosphorus (P) and heavy metals from open rural areas to small Danish streams. A further aim is to quantify the contribution from different pathways and source areas. Such studies are useful as a basis for considering measures to reduce diffuse pollution of the aquatic environment.
The Effects of a Backward Bifurcation on a Continuous Time Markov Chain Model for the Transmission Dynamics of Single Strain Dengue Virus

Global incidence of dengue, a vector-borne tropical disease, has seen a dramatic increase with several major outbreaks in the past few decades. We formulate and analyze a stochastic epidemic model for the transmission dynamics of a single strain of dengue virus. The stochastic model is constructed using a continuous time Markov chain (CTMC) and is based on an existing deterministic model that suggests the existence of a backward bifurcation for some values of the model parameters. The dynamics of the stochastic model are explored through numerical simulations in this region of bistability. The mean of each random variable is numerically estimated and these are compared to the dynamics of the deterministic model. It is observed that the stochastic model also predicts the co-existence of a locally asymptotically stable disease-free equilibrium along with a locally stable endemic equilibrium. This co-existence of equilibria is important from a public health perspective because it implies that dengue can persist in populations even if the value of the basic reproduction number is less than unity.
Sediment yield estimation of a hydrological basin using measurements of reservoir deposits : A case study for the Kremasta reservoir , Western Greece

Sediment discharge measurements in streams are quite rare even in technologically advanced countries, whilst comprehensive physically based models are generally unable to reliably estimate sediment yield of large-scale hydrological basins. A more realistic and reliable alternative method for sediment yield estimation, suitable for watersheds with a dam at the outlet, is the hydrographic surveying of the reservoir’s invert and comparison with the one prior to the dam construction resulting to the computation of sediment deposits’ volume and mass. This method has been applied to the Acheloos River basin with the hydrographic surveying of Kremasta, a large reservoir with net storage capacity exceeding 3 cubic kilometers. The sediment yield has been estimated not only for the total watershed but also for each of the three tributaries (Acheloos R., Agrafiotis R. and Megdobas R.). Besides, the soil erosion of the watershed has been estimated using an implementation of the Universal Soil Loss Equation on a geographical information system. The sediment delivery ratios have been finally computed combining the sediment yield and soil erosion estimates.
Leptin expression in stromal cells of endometrial carcinomas is associated with advanced stage and disease recurrence

This study investigates the relation between leptin expression and the clinicopathological parameters in endometrial carcinomas. Seventy-one cases of previously diagnosed endometrial carcinoma (including 59 endometrioid adenocarcinomas, 9 serous carcinomas, 1 clear cell adenocarcinoma, and 2 malignant mixed Mullerian tumors) and 30 tissue samples of non-cancerous endometrium (including 16 proliferative endometrium, 10 secretory endometrium and 4 endometrial polyps) were employed for leptin detection using tissue microarrays and immunostaining. A total number of 48 (67.6%) cases were positive for leptin immunostaining. Brown granular cytoplasmic expression of leptin was detected in almost 68% of endometrioid adenocarcinomas, 66.7% serous carcinomas. Twenty-one (70%) control cases showed granular cytoplasmic expression. Positive leptin immunostaining was found more frequent in transformed epithelial cells and stromal cells of endometrioid adenocarcinomas and serous carcinomas respectively, showing significant statistical association (P-value = 0.005). Tumor stage is also significantly associated with cell type leptin immunoreactivity (P-value = 0.007), a considerable fraction of stage II is associated with leptin immunostaining of transformed epithelium whereas leptin immunoreactivity in endometrial stromal cells is more frequent in stage III. Disease recurrence rate is significantly higher in patients whom endometrial stromal cells are positive for leptin immunostaining (P-value = 0.000). Poor survival status (death) is also significantly associated with a group of patients whom endometrial stromal cells showed positive leptin immunoreactivity (P-value = 0.000). Our results confirm the diagnostic and prognostic values of leptin in supporting the diagnosis and prognosis of endometrial carcinomas. These preliminary findings recommend that leptin may be a valuable marker for predicting histotype, stage, recurrence and poor prognosis in endometrial carcinoma.
Salinity effect on nutrient absorption in dwarf apple rootstocks ( M . pomila )

Element Excess salt in the soil solution may adversely affect plant growth either through osmotic inhibition of water uptake by roots or specific ion effects. Specific ion effects may cause direct toxicity or alternatively, the insolubility or competitive absorption of ions may affect the plants nutritional balance (Greenway and Munns, 1980). Salinity was shown to increase the uptake of Na or decrease the uptake of Ca and K (Neel et al., 2002). Apple is one of the nonhalophite plants and susceptible to salinity stress. Therefore under salinity stress probably is reaches important damage to the plant metabolism and plant growth. In order to study the effects of salinity stress on elements absorption an experiment was conducted in west Azerbaijan agriculture research center of Iran in 2010. This experiment was arranged in a factorial using a randomized completely designs with three replications. The main factor was salinity treatment that included 4 levels: o, 2, 4 and 6 dsm-1 (ds/m) and the minor factor was seedling treatment of apple dwarf rootstocks that included 4 levels: Gami almasi, Azayesh, Malling number 9 and Malling Merton number 106. Results showed that apple dwarf rootstocks had different response to salinity stress in point of view nutrients absorption.The results of this work indicate that increasing salt concentration in the plants leads to: (a) a decline in the K, N and Cu concentration in leaves of plants (b) the increasing of Na and Cl concentration in leaves of all rootstocks (c) the reduction of P, Fe, B, Zn and Mn concentration in leaves of some rootstocks and the increasing concentration of these elements in some rootstocks. With increase of salinity amount of Na, Cl and Na/K ratio in leaves gradually were increased and K gradually was decreased, but with the most increase of salinity, amount of Na and Cl severely were increased and amount of K severely was decreased. Increasing level of salinity stress had negative effect on absorption of some element. © 2013 PSCI Publisher All rights reserved.
Prevention of Solidification Cracking in Very Low Carbon Steel Welds

Contrary to the common belief that weld solidification cracking occurs in a higher carbon content region, it was found that solidification cracking is more likely to occur as the carbon content in the weld metal decreases. Under the pipe girth-welding conditions with SMAW (cellulosic electrode) and GMAW (100% C02), the occurrence of this type of cracking is influenced by the following factors: 1. Carbon and nickel content of the weld metal (cracking is prevented with an increase in their amount). 2. Morphology of the solidified dendritic structure of the weld metal. 3. Travel speed (cracking never occurs at the speed less than the critical level). 4. Joint restraint (the higher it is, the more likely cracking occurs). The main cause of this type of solidification cracking is presumably 5-phase solidification. It stems from the experimental facts that: 1. Higher carbon and nickel contents are beneficial to prevent cracking, and 2. Weld shrinkage, which is one of factors of cracking, is raised by b-y transformation of 5-phase solidified weld metal. Based on the experimental results, engineering charts were developed for finding suitable welding conditions and welding materials to avoid low-carbon solidification cracking in weld metal.
Evaluation of two commercial kits for the detection of genotypic drug resistance on a panel of HIV type 1 subtypes A through J.

We compared the two commercially available sequencing kits for HIV-1 drug resistance testing, the ViroSeq Genotyping System (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA, U.S.A.) and the TRUGENE HIV-1 Genotyping Kit (Visible Genetics, Inc., Toronto, Ontario, Canada), with our in-house genotyping system. Fifteen viral isolates from African patients (6 treated and 9 untreated) covering a panel of HIV-1 subtypes A through J and 7 plasma samples from Belgian and African patients (2 treated and 5 untreated) were tested. All the samples could be amplified and sequenced by the three systems; however, for all systems, alternative amplification/sequencing primers had to be used for some samples belonging to subtype B as well as to other subtypes. The consensus sequence was partially derived from only one strand for the in-house system and for the ViroSeq Genotyping System. The TRUGENE HIV-1 Genotyping Kit scored the highest number of ambiguities, followed by the ViroSeq Genotyping System and the in-house system. For 11 samples, these differences in reporting mixtures affected 14 resistance-related positions, which altered the interpretation toward protease inhibitors for 2 samples when using version 1.2 RetroGram software (Virology Networks, Utrecht, The Netherlands). All three systems were able to sequence diluted samples with a viral load down to 10 3 or 10 4 RNA copies/ml. Our data therefore suggest that the performance of amplification and sequencing primers must be improved to allow fast and reliable resistance testing for all HIV-1 subtypes.
Internally consistent solution models for Fe-Mg-Mn-Ti oxides : Fe-Ti oxides

A model for coexisting ilmenite". -magnetite". based on new and existing experimental data for the Fe-Ti oxides is developed using linear programming that is also internally consistent with the available data for Fe-Mg exchange for olivine*-ilmenite". and olivine""magnetite," and Fe-Mn exchange for ilmenite". -garnet"". The model for ilmenite". is based on a multicomponent Margules-type solution. For magnetite"", two models are developed: one based on an assumed Akimoto-type distribution for the cations and the other based on the available cation-distribution data for the binaries. Both spinel models are adequate in describing the macroscopic solution properties of magnetite-ulviispinel solid solutions, and both predict an asymmetric miscibility gap below 500 "C.
Defects Classification of Laser Metal Deposition Using Acoustic Emission Sensor

Laser metal deposition (LMD) is an advanced additive manufacturing (AM) process used to build or repair metal parts layer by layer for a range of different applications. Any presence of deposition defects in the part produced causes change in the mechanical properties and might cause failure to the part. In this work, defects monitoring system was proposed to detect and classify defects in real time using an acoustic emission (AE) sensor and an unsupervised pattern recognition analysis. Time domain and frequency domain, and relevant descriptors were used in the classification process to improve the characterization and the discrimination of the defects sources. The methodology was found to be efficient in distinguishing two types of signals that represent two kinds of defects. A cluster analysis of AE data is achieved and the resulting clusters correlated with the defects sources during laser metal deposition.
Altered white matter microstructural connectivity in cluster headaches: A longitudinal diffusion tensor imaging study

Background Functional and structural disruptions to the pain matrix, which may involve changes in white matter (WM) pathways connecting the pain-processing system and hypothalamus, have been implicated in the pathophysiology of cluster headache (CH). However, previous studies have obtained inconclusive results regarding WM changes in CH, and WM variations between “in-bout” and “out-of-bout” periods of CH remain to be determined. Methods Multiple diffusivity indices obtained by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and post-hoc probabilistic tractography were used to elucidate CH pathophysiology. Results Compared to healthy participants, in-bout CH patients showed regionally higher absolute (radial and mean) diffusivities in the left medial frontal gyrus and frontal sub-gyrus and lower absolute (axial, radial and mean) diffusivities in the right parahippocampal gyrus of the limbic lobe. These changes during the in-bout period generally persisted in the out-of-bout period, except for the left cerebellar tonsil. Post-hoc probabilistic tractography showed highly consistent anatomical connections between these altered areas and the hypothalamus across participants. Conclusions Distinct WM changes were observed in episodic CH. Connections between the pain-modulation areas and hypothalamus may be involved in CH pathophysiology.
NDC Pension Schemes in Middle-and Low-Income Countries

digm shift to address fiscal, equity, and incentive problems with state pension regimes— mostly financed on a current disbursement or pay-as-you-go (PAYG) basis. Much of the policy discussion so far has been concerned with high-income countries such as Sweden and Italy. Little attention has been given to the question of whether NDC arrangements are desirable and viable in the case of middleor even lower-income countries that are characterized by less stable macroeconomic environments, a narrow and volatile contributory base, and a more uneven income distribution; and often are in the midst of a demographic transition. This despite the fact that countries such as Brazil, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Latvia, Mongolia, Poland, and Russia have introduced variants of the NDC concept. This chapter discusses the potential benefits of the NDC concept mostly in the context of middleand low-income countries as well as the major constraints for implementation. Our scope, therefore, is what might loosely be called “non-OECD” countries. Clearly, the analysis of the costs and benefits of an NDC scheme should and will be very country specific. Here we focus on the general macroeconomic, demographic, and institutional variables that can affect the application and performance of the NDC concept. The reminder of the chapter is organized in seven sections. The next section sets out a framework for subsequent discussions by introducing the NDC concept, outlining a typology of NDC variants and discussing differences and similarities with pure defined contributions (DC) and pure defined benefit (DB) schemes. In the following two sections, we discuss the potential primary benefits of the NDC concept in middleand low-income countries in terms of reducing economic distortions (the third section) and improving financial sustainability of PAYG pension schemes (the fourth section). We identify key factors of design and initial conditions that are likely to influence the realization of these benefits. The rest of the chapter is concerned with implementation issues that need to receive particular attention in any country, including middleand low-income countries: transi-
Knowledge, attitude and practices regarding mosquito borne diseases among adults in Udupi District, Karnataka

Context: The mosquito-borne diseases result in avoidable ill-health and death which has been emphasized in Sustainable Development Goals. Despite sincere integrated vector management programs, the incidence of mosquito borne diseases is still increasing, part of which can be attributed to lack of community participation. Hence this study was carried out to understand the level of knowledge of the community, their attitude and practices regarding prevention of mosquito borne diseases.Materials and Method: Across-sectional study was conducted amongurban, rural, slum and tribal areas in Udupi district,Karnataka. A pre designed questionnaire was used to collect the data on socio-demographic characteristics and details regarding knowledge, attitude and practices. The presence of any mosquito larvae and breeding sites were observed and noted. Data was entered and analyzed by using SPSS version 16.Results: A total of 451 families were surveyed. Majority (84%) knew stagnant water is major breeding site for mosquitoes.Nearly half of the population (47.2%) preferred to use mosquito coils and mats to control mosquitoes followed by liquid vaporizer (40.4%). Approximately 60% of the houses did not have stagnant water in the surroundings and 40% of the houses had routine mosquito control activity undertaken by the government or municipality.Conclusion: The knowledge regarding mosquito borne diseases was inadequate and there is a need to conduct awareness programs regarding the diseases spread by mosquitoes, mainly in the slum and tribal areas and to enhance the community participation in implementing preventive measures for the same.