Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Freshwater fish conservation in the face of critical water shortages in the southern Murray–Darling Basin, Australia

The lower reaches of the expansive Murray–Darling Basin, Australia, are a hotspot for freshwater biodiversity. The regional ecosystem, however, has been significantly altered by river regulation, including local and catchment-wide water abstraction. Freshwater fishes have suffered from the resultant altered flow regime, together with other threats including habitat degradation and alien species. Impacts reached a critical point (imminent species extinction) during a prolonged drought (1997–2010) that lead to broad-scale habitat loss and drying of refuges during 2007–2010, and urgent conservation measures were subsequently instigated for five threatened small-bodied fish species. A critical response phase included ad hoc interventions that were later incorporated within a broader, coordinated multi-agency program (i.e. the Drought Action Plan and Critical Fish Habitat projects). On-ground actions included local translocation, alien species control, in situ habitat maintenance (e.g. earthworks, environmental water delivery), fish rescues, artificial refuge establishment and captive breeding. Improved river flows signalled an initial phase of recovery in 2011–2012 that included reintroductions. The present paper aims to document the actions undertaken in the Lower Murray, and review successes and lessons from practical examples that will help guide and inform management responses to conserve fish in modified systems subjected to severe water decline.
Endogenous Business Cycles in OLG Economies with Multiple Consumption Goods

We consider an OLG economy with two consumption goods. There are two sectors that produce a pure consumption good and a mixed good which can be either consumed or used as capital. We prove that the existence of Pareto optimal expectations-driven fluctuations is compatible with standard sectoral technologies if the share of the pure consumption good is low enough. Following Reichlin's (1986, Journal of Economic Theory, 40, 89-102) influential conclusion, this result suggests that some fiscal policy rules can prevent the existence of business-cycle fluctuations in the economy by driving it to the optimal steady state as soon as it is announced.
GPU snapshot: checkpoint offloading for GPU-dense systems

Future High-Performance Computing (HPC) systems will likely be composed of accelerator-dense heterogeneous computers because accelerators are able to deliver higher performance at lower costs, socket counts and energy consumption. Such accelerator-dense nodes pose a reliability challenge because preserving a large amount of state within accelerators for checkpointing incurs significant overhead. Checkpointing multiple accelerators at the same time, which is necessary to obtain a consistent coordinated checkpoint, overwhelms the host interconnect, memory and IO band-widths. We propose GPU Snapshot to mitigate this issue by: (1) enabling a fast logical snapshot to be taken, while actual check-pointed state is transferred asynchronously to alleviate bandwidth hot spots; (2) using incremental checkpoints that reduce the volume of data transferred; and (3) checkpoint offloading to limit accelerator complexity and effectively utilize the host. As a concrete example, we describe and evaluate the design tradeoffs of GPU Snapshot in the context of a GPU-dense multi-exascale HPC system. We demonstrate 4--40X checkpoint overhead reductions at the node level, which enables a system with GPU Snapshot to approach the performance of a system with idealized GPU checkpointing.
Nonmarket valuation of water quality in a rural transition economy in Turkey applying an a posteriori bid design

In this paper, we investigate the economic benefits associated with public investments in wastewater treatment in one of the special protected areas along Turkey's touristic Mediterranean coast, the Köyceğiz‐Dalyan watershed. The benefits, measured in terms of boatable, fishable, swimmable and drinkable water quality, are estimated using a public survey format following the contingent valuation (CV) method. The study presented here is the first of its kind in Turkey. The study's main objective is to assess public perception, understanding, and valuation of improved wastewater treatment facilities in the two largest population centers in the watershed, facing the same water pollution problems as a result of lack of appropriate wastewater treatment. We test the validity and reliability of the application of the CV methodology to this specific environmental problem in a rural transition economy and evaluate the transferability of the results within the watershed. In order to facilitate willingness to pay (WTP) value elicitation we apply a novel dichotomous choice procedure where bid design takes place a posteriori instead of a priori. The statistical efficiency of different bid vectors is evaluated in terms of the estimated welfare measures' mean square errors using Monte Carlo simulation. The robustness of bid function specification is analyzed through average WTP and standard deviation estimated using parametric and nonparametric methods.
APPROACHES TO OVERCOME NSAID INDUCED ULCERATION IN ARTHRITIC PAIN MANAGEMENT: PERSPECTIVES AND PROSPECTS

Rheumatoid arthritis is an auto-immune joint disorder involving pain and inflammation. Various approaches are used for pain management and relief from arthritis with single and multiple dose therapy. In single dose therapy, use of non-steroidal anti- inflammatory drugs like diclofenac aceclofenac, celicoxib etc. reported many side effects mainly leading to decrease in production of prostaglandin and holding the ulcer. High dosing frequency of these drugs is also a major factor of risk. Recently developed novel formulations are especially suitable for achieving controlled and delayed release profile with low risk of dose dumping. These systems have received great attention of pharmaceutical industry as they deliver accurate amount of drug at the right time and location thus increasing patient compliance and economic feasibility and avoiding drug associated side effects. Present review mainly deals with the problem of ulceration in pain management, various approaches to overcome this and specifically explore the possibilities to apply novel drug delivery systems for this purpose.
The quality of the learning experience: a comparative study between open distance and conventional education

The text that follows aims at pointing out and analyzing the quality of the process and practice of learning, emanating from the learning experiences of two different groups of postgraduate students studying open and distance education through the "Studies in Education" course of the Faculty of Human Studies of the Hellenic Open University and through the Pedagogic Department of Primary Education of the University of Athens, Greece. As noted by Figueroa (1993), relevant research references have been made in the past in which the point of reference lies more in the quality of the learning experience and in the value of understanding "how" the students learn more effectively, than in to what degree do they accomplish and achieve their objectives (Marton and Salif, 1976a; Thomas and Harri – Augstein, 1985; Thomas and Fransella, 1988). The new forms of education, whether they are following models of distance education using printed material, or education aided by technology and other alternative forms of learning material, are still very young and have not received the recognition they ought to have received. This research has the ambition to cast its own stone to the new building of educational principles emerging.
NUMERICAL MODELING OF PLASMA MULTI-ACTUATOR SYSTEM

The spatially periodic system of dielectric barrier discharge actuators intended for laminar flow control on a swept wing is simulated numerically. Novel scheme of the actuator system ensuring the discharge formation only near one edge of every exposed electrode is proposed. The mathematical model of dielectric barrier discharge in air is formulated in the drift-diffusion approximation without convective transfer with taking into consideration the following volumetric reactions: the ionization of nitrogen and oxygen by electron impact, the electron attachment to oxygen, the electron detachment from negative ions of oxygen, the ion- ion recombination, the electron-ion recombination. Two types of boundary conditions on dielectric surface are considered for comparison: the model of instantaneous recombination and the model of finite rates of recombination and electron desorption. Numerical simulation of both conventional and novel schemes of plasma actuators is carried out for one set of problem parameters. Enhanced energy efficiency of the proposed scheme is demonstrated.
Social Capital and Wages: An Econometric Evaluation of Social Networking's Effects

The goal of this paper is to get an econometric evaluation of the effects of the social network's mobilization, as a job search strategy, on wages. We make use of switching regression models to deal simultaneously with an endogenous selection issue in the network's choice and the existence of two different regimes of wage determination. Econometric estimates provide evidence for the existence of a selection effect on the choice of network but, after correcting the selection bias on the wage equations, the effect of social network on wages is negative.
Is SS 433 a misaligned ultraluminous X-ray source? Constraints from its reflected signal in the Galactic plane

We evaluate the emission that must arise due to reflection of the putative collimated X-ray radiation of SS 433 by atomic gas and molecular clouds in the Galactic plane and compare the predicted signal with existing RXTE and ASCA data for the region of interest. Assuming that the intrinsic X-ray spectrum of SS 433 is similar to that of ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs), we obtain an upper limit of $\sim 2\times 10^{39}$ erg s$^{-1}$ on its total (angular-integrated) luminosity in the 2--10 keV energy band, which is only weakly dependent on the half-opening angle, $\Theta_r$, of the emission cone. In contrast, the upper limit on the apparent luminosity of SS 433 (that would be perceived by an observer looking at its supercritical accretion disk face-on) decreases with increasing $\Theta_r$ and is $\sim 3\times 10^{40}$ erg s$^{-1}$ for $\Theta_r\gtrsim\Theta_p=21\deg$, where $\Theta_p$ is the precession angle of the baryonic jets (assuming that the emission cones precess in the same manner as the jets). This leaves open the possibility that SS 433 is a misaligned ULX. Further investigation of the reflection signal from the molecular clouds using higher angular resolution observations could improve these constraints with the potential to break the degeneracy between $ \Theta_r $ and the apparent luminosity.
The motion of a non-isolated vortex on the beta-plane

The trajectory of a non-isolated monopole on the beta-plane is calculated as an asymptotic expansion in the ratio of the strength of the vortex to the beta-effect. The method of matched asymptotic expansions is used to solve the equations of motion in two regions of the flow: a near field where the beta-effect enters as a first-order forcing in relative vorticity, and a wave field in which the dominant balance is a linear one between the beta-effect and the rate of change of relative vorticity. The resulting trajectory is computed for Gaussian and Rankine vortices.
Microleakage of Class V Cavities Restored with Flowable Composite Materials

Introduction. Increasing requirements for durable fillings and marginal integrity have influenced the development of new materials and restorative techniques. Contemporary demands for esthetic restorations have encouraged the development of new composite material “self-etch flowable composite”. The aim of this study was to test the marginal seal in small Class V cavities after restoration with self etch flowable composite material Vertise Flow and flowable composite Tetric Flow, both polymerised using conventional light-curing technique. Material and Methods. The study was conducted on 40 extracted human teeth (20 intact, 20 carious). Each group included 10 premolars and 10 molars. In all teeth two cavities class V of diameter 3×2×2 mm were prepared (buccal and lingual surface). On the buccal surface the cavities were filled with self etch flowable composite Vertise Flow (Kerr Dental Products), and on the lingual surface with flowable composite Tetric Flow (Ivoclar Vivadent) using appropriate adhesive system. Polymerisation was performed using LED lamp (Ivoclar Vivadent). Microleakage was tested with silver nitrate solution. Using stereoloupe with micrometer scale and six times magnification dye penetration was measured. Results. Mean dye penetration in intact molars restored with Vertise Flow was 3.41 μm, while in intact molars restored with Tetric Flow it was 4.23 μm. In intact premolars restored with Vertise Flow, the average dye penetration was 1.14 μm and in intact premolars restored with Tetric Flow it was 3.90 μm. Dye penetration in carious molars restored with Vertise Flow and polymerised using conventional polymerization technique was 3.66 μm, while using Tetric Flow it was 7.94 μm. In carious premolars restored with Vertise Flow dye penetration was 3.97 μm, while with Tetric Flow it was 7.12 μm. The total dye penetration was lower in intact compared to carious teeth. Greater dye penetration was found in molars compared to premolars. Conclusion. Vertise Flow showed better quality of bond with hard dental tissue than Tetric Flow when classical polymerization technique was used.
Intertemporal Substitution in Consumption

One of the important determinants of the response of saving and consumption to the real interest rate is the elasticity of intertemporal substitution. That elasticity can be measured by the response of the rate of change of consumption to changes in the expected real interest rated. A detailed study of data for the twentieth-century United States shows no strong evidence that the elasticity of intertemporal substitution is positive. Earlier findings of substantially positive elasticities are reversed when appropriate estimation methods are used.
Development of Novel In Vitro-Cultivation Techniques for Derivation of Epithelial Cell Progenitors from Human Cornea and Oral Mucosa for Therapy of Limbal Stem Cells Deficiency

Novel techniques for in vitro-cultivation and incubation of limbal and oral epithelial stem cells were developed. All cells were characterized on the basis of their morphological characteristics: shape, appearance, presence of mitotic figures, as well as confluence and adherence of substrate. The isolated from human cadaver limbus tissue explants were subsequently cultivated in Petri-dishes, containing glass cover-slips, over-laid with stretched vitelline membranes from fresh hen’s eggs. During the period of in vitro-cultivation, formation of non-adherent cell sheets, as well as of adherent to the membrane cell layers, composed by differentiated corneal epithelial cells, were noticed. Chemically-modified by treatment with gelatine-glutharaldehyde vitelline membrane indicated characteristics as a suitable substrate, able to maintain the growth of epithelial stem cells with limbal origin, which proved the abilities about its application in construction of implants from “cell-membrane” type for the needs of reparative ophthalmology. In contrast, the nonmodified vitelline membrane didn’t show these properties. Epithelial stem cells and tissue explants from human oral mucosa were in vitro-cultivated and incubated in similar laboratory conditions, because they were also proved to induce expression of limbal epithelial stem cell markers. Techniques for substrate adhesion of the isolated tissue explants from human oral mucosa on glass and plastic lamella, previously treated with poly-L-Lysine, with gelatine and with FCS, respectively, were tested. Formation of both adherent and non-adherent cell sheets, consisting of cells with different morphology and maturation degree, was observed. On the other hand, in application of cold trypsinization laboratory technique, primary cultures of human oral mucosa epithelial stem cells were derived, which showed signs of early cell differentiation. Future experiments in this direction are necessary, which should be connected mainly with proof of limbal stem cell markers in the so cultivated cells and tissue explants, as well as cultivation of oral mucosa tissue explants, and epithelial cells on a membrane in its role of biological substrate and in vivo-test with experimental animals for final confirmation of the eventual therapeutic success.
WCCV: improving the vectorization of IF-statements with warp-coherent conditions

When vectorizing programs for modern processors with SIMD extensions, IF-statements pose a challenge: existing vectorization approaches often introduce redundant computations or they resort to inefficient masked instructions. In this paper, we introduce a new notion of warp-coherence for conditions that exhibit coherent run-time behavior on different lanes of a vector register. We demonstrate that warp-coherent conditions appear frequently in practice. We present Warp-Coherent Condition Vectorization (WCCV) - an approach to detecting and optimizing IF-statements with warp-coherent conditions - to efficiently vectorize programs with IF-statements while avoiding the overhead of existing methods. WCCV detects warp-coherent conditions via the affine analysis of conditional boolean expressions and branch predication of IF-statements; the runtime code generated by WCCV avoids redundant computations and masked instructions. We employ auto-tuning to find the optimal benefit-overhead ratio for WCCV. We implement WCCV on top of Region Vectorizer (RV) - an LLVM-based vectorizing compiler, and we conduct experiments on the Rodinia benchmark suite, achieving a mean speedup of 1.14× over the original vectorized and optimized code, and speedup between 0.98× and 7.02× over the scalar code on Skylake with AVX512.
Analysis of Resource Use Efficiency in Smallholder Mixed Crop-Livestock Agricultural Systems: Empirical Evidence from the Central Highlands of Ethiopia

The study uses data generated through a survey from rural households in Ethiopian central highland districts to assess farm-level resource use efficiency in the production of major crops including teff , wheat and chickpea in the mixed crop-livestock agricultural systems of Ethiopia, under conditions of diminishing land resource and environmental constraints. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) results show that smallholder farmers are resource use inefficient in the production of major crops with mean technical, allocative and economic efficiency levels of 0.74, 0.68 and 0.50, respectively. A Tobit model regression results on the determinants of inefficiency reveal that livestock ownership and participation in off-farm activities are associated with reduced level of resource use inefficiency. Furthermore, large family size and membership to associations contribute to higher level of resource use inefficiency. The findings suggest that resource use efficiency would be significantly improved through a better integrated livestock and crop production systems; expansion and promotion of off-farm activities; and reform of farmer’s associations. Keywords : Data Envelopment Analysis; Tobit; Resource use efficiency; mixed crop-livestock agriculture; Ethiopia
Oral immunizationof BALB/cmice by intragastricdeliveryof Streptococcusgordonii -expressingGiardia cystwall protein2 decreases cyst shedding in challengedmice

Giardia lamblia (Giardia duodenalis or Giardia intestinalis) is a protozoan parasite of vertebrates with broad host specificity. Specific antibodies directed against cyst antigens can interfere with the cyst wall-building process. In this study, we engineered Streptococcus gordonii to express a 26 kDa fragment of cyst wall protein 2 (CWP2), containing a relevant B cell epitope, on the cell surface. This is the first report of S. gordonii expressing a protein of parasite origin. As S. gordonii was intended for intestinal delivery of CWP2, it was determined that this oral commensal bacterium is able to persist in the murine intestine for 30 days. Immunization with recombinant streptococci expressing the 26 kDa fragment resulted in higher antibody levels. Specific anti-CWP2 IgA antibodies were detected in fecal samples and anti-CWP2 IgG antibodies were detected in serum demonstrating the efficacy of S. gordonii for intragastric antigen delivery. In a pilot challenge experiment, immunized mice demonstrated a significant 70% reduction in cyst output.
Community of protozoans and metazoans parasitizing Auchenipterus nuchalis (Auchenipteridae), a catfish from the Brazilian Amazon

This paper describes the first study on parasite diversity in Auchenipterus nuchalis Spix & Agassiz, 1829 (Auchenipteridae). In 31 fish caught in a tributary of the Amazon River, 10,708 parasites were collected, such as Ichthyophthirius multifiliis , Piscinoodinium pilullare , Cosmetocleithrum striatuli , metacercariae of Posthodiplostomum sp, and larvae and adults of Procamallanus ( Spirocamallanus ) inopinatus . These parasite species showed aggregated dispersion, except for C. striatuli , which had a uniform dispersion. The component community of parasites showed a low Brillouin diversity (0.67 ± 0.27), low species richness (3.5 ± 0.8) and low evenness (0.43 ± 0.17), and it was characterized by the presence of species with high prevalence and abundance. Protozoan species were the prevalent parasites, which may be a consequence of the host’s mode of life, while the low presence of endoparasites in A. nuchalis suggests that this fish may occupy an intermediate trophic level in the food web. These data represent the first record of such parasite species for this host.
Effects of starvation on swimming performance and body condition of pre-settlement Sparus aurata larvae

Body condition in larval fishes is an important determinant of survival in the natural environment. However, few studies correlate body condition with behavioural traits critical for sur- vival, such as swimming performance. In the present study, we compared normally fed larvae of gilt- head seabream Sparus aurata Linnaeus, 1758, at various intervals post-hatch with larvae which were starved for 1 to 3 d (for Ucrit) or 2 d (for swimming endurance). Feeding treatment (fed and or unfed) had no effect on the relationship between Ucrit and larval size. However, in the endurance experi- ment, fed individuals swam twice as far as unfed larvae (19.7 km for fed larvae and 9.5 km for unfed larvae). The RNA/DNA ratio was higher in fed larvae in the Ucrit experiment, but significant effects were only detectable after a 3 d period of starvation. Fulton's condition factor was significantly higher in fed larvae in the endurance trial, which suggests that growth (in weight) of starved larvae was affected by long-term swimming. Taken together, these results suggest that for aging and orientation behaviours (activities in which critical speeds might be involved) are not affected by reduced feeding over a few days, but that sub-lethal effects of starvation may affect dispersal potential (for which endurance swimming is critical) and therefore compromise subsequent recruitment to the adult population.