Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Financial Impact of Decreased Milk Production Due to Subclinical Mastitis in German Dairy Herds

The mastitis has been identified as the most costly disease in dairy industry. The aim of this study was performed to provide adequate information on the financial loss due to subclinical mastitis in German dairy farms. The data were collected from 12 dairy farms (a total of 7,648 Holstein-Friesian dairy cows) in the Elbe-Elster region, Germany. Their milk composition data were gathered individually once in a month from June 2011 to June 2012. Herde® (Agrosoft GmbH, Germany), a herd management program was used to analyse the data from the economic point of view. The 50,000 somatic cell counts (SCC)/mL of a cut-off value was used to calculate the decrease in milk production emerged in subclinical mastitis. Average figures on an individual basis showed a daily decrease in milk production of 2.98 kg, 5.41 kg and 6.41 kg for cows with 50,001-100,000 SCC/mL, 100,001-250,000 SCC/mL and over 250,000 SCC/mL, respectively. All the reductions in milk yield were statistically significant by using mixed effect ANOVA and Tukey’s multiple comparison method. Based on the average milk price in the survey period, a single cow according to the aforementioned SCC classification showed a loss of Euro (€) 294.85, € 536.80 and € 634.40 per lactation in gross milk receipts, respectively. On an average herd level, which was 637 dairy cows in this study, a total decrease of gross milk receipts was calculated to be almost € 241,000 per year. This findings show that the milk production begins to reduce over 50,000 SCC/mL, therefore the generally accepted cut-off value of 100,000 SCC/mL for subclinical mastitis should be re-evaluated.
A transient search using combined human and machine classifications

Large modern surveys require efficient review of data in order to find transient sources such as supernovae, and to distinguish such sources from artefacts and noise. Much effort has been put into the development of automatic algorithms, but surveys still rely on human review of targets. This paper presents an integrated system for the identification of supernovae in data from Pan-STARRS1, combining classifications from volunteers participating in a citizen science project with those from a convolutional neural network. The unique aspect of this work is the deployment, in combination, of both human and machine classifications for near real-time discovery in an astronomical project. We show that the combination of the two methods outperforms either one used individually. This result has important implications for the future development of transient searches, especially in the era of Large Synoptic Survey Telescope and other large-throughput surveys.
High Performance Management Practices and Sustainability of SMEs. Evidence from Manufacturing and Services-based Industries in Pakistan

Prior research on high performance management practices (HPMP) has primarily examined the relationship between HPMP and firm performance in the context of large organisations. However, this study examines the relationship between HPMP and Sustainability outcomes (firm performance) in small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) and also within a specific cultural background which is under researched. This research study is related to both theory and practice. The main relevance lies in analyzing the relationship between HPMP and sustainability outcomes in SMEs. This research study relates to theory by applying the resource-based view and configurational approaches used in this study. The study employed a quantitative methodology. Data were collected through a self-administered survey questionnaire. The questionnaire was adopted from a previous validated survey measuring HPMP in Australian SMEs. The target population consisted of SMEs operating in the city of Karachi, Pakistan. Stratified random sampling was applied to collect data from two stratums i.e. manufacturing and service-sector SMEs. A total of 703 firms were selected, contacted by phone, and invited to participate in this survey. Of these firms, 357 SMEs (50.78 percent response rate) accepted the invitation to fill out the survey questionnaire. Most of the respondents who agreed requested that the researcher to visit their organizations personally. The data were analyzed by using Structural Equation Modeling techniques including exploratory factor analysis. The findings indicate a positive significant relationship between HPMP and sustainability outcomes. The link between these HPMP and the sustainability of SMEs demonstrates the value and importance of HPMP in achieving sustainability.
Social media use among Czech university students during the travel process

Purpose – The paper aims to determine how students, ranking among one of the important tourism market segments, use social media during the overall travel process, as well as to explore the possible impact of cultural differences on the use of social media during the students’ travel process. Design, methodology, approach – A structured questionnaire was employed for the quantitative research focusing on the use of social media during the three different phases of the travel process—pre-travel, on-travel, and post-travel. The data were collected by means of an online survey via Google Drive, and descriptive statistics was used to interpret the acquired data. Findings – The research offers an important insight into the use of social media among students. It shows what drives Czech students to use social media during the three phases of the travel process, and what the main reason is for social media use. Interestingly, 54% of students make use of social media during the travel process, because they want to get other people ́s opinions. Research has shown that the most popular social media site among traveling students was Facebook (82%), followed by Instagram (56%) and YouTube (35%). The research also showed that despite the abundant use of social media by students, conventional sources of information were still important, too. Contrary to theoretical assumptions, the research did not prove that cultural differences fundamentally influenced the use of social media among Czech and Croatian students. Originality of the research – The results are useful for marketing professionals as the research yields highly valuable data on social media use by a particular group of Czech students. At the same time, the results are an important extension of the current theory on the use of social media during the travel process.
Impact of Climatic Fluctuation on Dengue Virus Etiology

Aedes mosquito-body is the favored habitat for the member of Flaiviridae, the most famous member of the family, formerly known as Dengue virus (DENV). Dengue virus infection induces high fever in human and responsible for associated symptoms like skin rashes. In literature, it has been noted that the onset of dengue fever usually occurs in monsoon and winter seasons, which gradually declines with onset of summer. This season-coordinated trend has suggested positive association towards the climate and proliferation of Dengue virus. To investigate this hypothesis, this study has been proposed. In this study, the date-wise data for Dengue positive cases were obtained from the Government hospitals across Gujarat region. The data were further correlated with the climatic parameters for that date. The investigation suggests the strong correlation between climatic fluctuations. The correlation analysis of obtain data suggests the fluctuations in relative humidity, temperature and pressure during day and night has strong impact. We proposed Poisson regression model and Negative Binomial model for prediction.
Interhemispheric transit time distributions and path‐dependent lifetimes constrained by measurements of SF6, CFCs, and CFC replacements

We constrain tropospheric transport from Northern Hemisphere midlatitudes to the Southern Hemisphere (SH) surface using measurements of SF6, CFCs, and CFC replacement gases and a novel maximum‐entropy‐based inversion approach. We provide the first estimate of the width Δ of the tropospheric interhemispheric transit time distribution (TTD). We find that Δ has a value of ∼1.3 years that varies little with SH latitude, compared to the mean transit time Γ that increases from ∼1.1 years in the SH tropics to ∼1.4 years at the South Pole. The TTD shape parameter Δ/Γ is thus larger in the SH tropics than at middle and high SH latitudes. Our analysis introduces a simple path‐dependent lifetime that parameterizes chemical losses. The path‐dependent lifetimes are estimated for CFC replacements, and systematic differences between path‐dependent and global lifetimes are interpreted. The path‐dependent lifetimes have the potential to provide new observational constraints on tropospheric and stratospheric loss processes.
Over-confidence and Low-cost Heuristics: An Experimental Investigation of Choice Behavior

Abstract This paper extends choice theory by allowing for the interaction between cognitive costs and imitative dynamics. The authors experimentally investigate the role of imitation when participants face a task which is costly in cognitive terms. In order to disentangle different choice dynamics, they devise a laboratory experiment with a novel experimental task in which they model the choice of different alternatives through high or low cognitive costs and feedback information provided to subjects. Their results provide evidence for imitative behavior driven by under-confidence about own skills and by the beliefs regarding others’ performance. They also find a temporal pattern in the distribution of choices, both in the highcost and low-cost cognitive conditions, that may represent another cognitive shortcut.
The response of tropical tropospheric ozone to ENSO

We have successfully reproduced the Ozone ENSO Index (OEI) in the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) chemistry‐climate model (CCM) forced by observed sea surface temperatures over a 25‐year period. The vertical ozone response to ENSO is consistent with changes in the Walker circulation. We derive the sensitivity of simulated ozone to ENSO variations using linear regression analysis. The western Pacific and Indian Ocean region shows similar positive ozone sensitivities from the surface to the upper troposphere, in response to positive anomalies in the Niño 3.4 Index. The eastern and central Pacific region shows negative sensitivities with the largest sensitivity in the upper troposphere. This vertical response compares well with that derived from SHADOZ ozonesondes in each region. The OEI reveals a response of tropospheric ozone to circulation change that is nearly independent of changes in emissions and thus it is potentially useful in chemistry‐climate model evaluation.
Retest Reliability of Mesopic and Dark-Adapted Microperimetry in Patients With Intermediate Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Age-Matched Controls.

Purpose To determine the intrasession test-retest reliability of mesopic and dark-adapted fundus-controlled perimetry in patients with intermediate age-related macular degeneration (iAMD). Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study with 23 iAMD patients (67.3 ± 8.2 years; range, 50-85; 78% female) and 24 healthy controls (61.3 ± 5.2 years; range, 50-71; 50% female) using a modified MAIA microperimeter. All patients underwent duplicate mesopic (achromatic stimuli, 400-800 nm) and dark-adapted (red stimuli, 627 nm) microperimetry, using a grid of 33 stimuli over 14° of the central retina. Main outcome measure was the intrasession test-retest reliability for pointwise sensitivity (PWS). Results PWS test-retest reliability was good among mesopic and dark-adapted testing in both patients and controls (coefficient of repeatability of 4.4, 4.52, 3.96, and 4.56 dB, respectively). Mean mesopic sensitivity in patients was 2.62 dB lower than in controls (P < 0.01); mean dark-adapted sensitivity was 2.49 dB lower than in controls (P < 0.01). Conclusions The modified MAIA device allows for reliable mesopic and dark-adapted microperimetry in iAMD patients. We found that iAMD is associated with both reduced mesopic and dark-adapted retinal sensitivity.
Finding Communities in Credit Networks

Abstract In this paper the authors focus on credit connections as a potential source of systemic risk. In particular, they seek to answer the following question: how do we find densely connected subsets of nodes within a credit network? The question is relevant for policy, since these subsets are likely to channel any shock affecting the network. As it turns out, a reliable answer can be obtained with the aid of complex network theory. In particular, the authors show how it is possible to take advantage of the ‘‘community detection’‘ network literature. The proposed answer entails two subsequent steps. Firstly, the authors verify the hypothesis that the network under study truly has communities. Secondly, they devise a reliable algorithm to find those communities. In order to be sure that a given algorithm works, they test it over a sample of random benchmark networks with known communities. To overcome the limitation of existing benchmarks, the authors introduce a new model and test alternative algorithms, obtaining very good results with an adapted spectral decomposition method. To illustrate this method they provide a community description of the Japanese bank-firm credit network, getting evidence of a strengthening of communities over time and finding support for the well-known Japanese main ‘‘bank’‘ system. Thus, the authors find comfort both from simulations and from real data on the possibility to apply community detection methods to credit markets. They believe that this method can fruitfully complement the study of contagious defaults. Since network risk depends crucially on community structure, their results suggest that policy maker should identify systemically important communities, i.e. those able extend the initial shock to the entire system.
Evolutionary Correlates of Microphagy in Alkaloid-Containing Frogs ( Amphibia : Anura )

Frogs of the genus Mantella (Ranidae) are characterized by several derived characters, among them microphagy and presence of skin alkaloids. A comparison with other alkaloid-containing frogs (belonging to the Dendrobatidae, Myobatrachidae and Bufonidae) showed that, beside the alkaloids, these share several of the apomorphies typical for Mantella. Since most of the derived characters can be explained by microphagous and myrmecophagous specialization, we postulate the existence of an evolutionary etho-morphological character complex involving microphagy, alkaloid accumulation from ant prey, aposematic colouration, diurnal activity, modification of prey catching behaviour, modification of tongue shape, reduction of teeth, and modification of several osteological skull characters related with the jaw opening mechanism. The existence of such a complex reduces the value of skin alkaloids and aposematic colouration for the assessment of phylogenetic relationships between Mantella and dendrobatids, so that a sister group relationship of these groups is unlikely. We present a flow diagram which gives a possible explanation of a convergent loss of strong mating amplexus and evolution of complex mating behaviour in both groups. Further we discuss the status of the smallsized dendrobatid genus Minyobates, whose characteristic alkaloid profile and small size may be correlated with feeding specialization on mites; and we conclude that data support the hypothesis of a small-sized microphagous ancestor of the bufonid clade.
Now you see it, now you don't: a case study of ephemeral snowpacks and soil moisture response in the Great Basin, USA

Abstract. Ephemeral snowpacks, or those that persist for < 60 continuous days, are challenging to observe and model because snow accumulation and ablation occur during the same season. This has left ephemeral snow understudied, despite its widespread extent. Using 328 site years from the Great Basin, we show that ephemeral snowmelt causes a 70-days-earlier soil moisture response than seasonal snowmelt. In addition, deep soil moisture response was more variable in areas with seasonal snowmelt. To understand Great Basin snow distribution, we used MODIS and Snow Data Assimilation System (SNODAS) data to map snow extent. Estimates of maximum continuous snow cover duration from SNODAS consistently overestimated MODIS observations by >25 days in the lowest (<1500 m) and highest (>2500 m) elevations. During this time period snowpack was highly variable. The maximum seasonal snow cover during water years 2005–2014 was 64 % in 2010 and at a minimum of 24 % in 2014. We found that elevation had a strong control on snow ephemerality, and nearly all snowpacks over 2500 m were seasonal except those on south-facing slopes. Additionally, we used SNODAS-derived estimates of solid and liquid precipitation, melt, sublimation, and blowing snow sublimation to define snow ephemerality mechanisms. In warm years, the Great Basin shifts to ephemerally dominant as the rain–snow transition increases in elevation. Given that snow ephemerality is expected to increase as a consequence of climate change, physics-based modeling is needed that can account for the complex energetics of shallow snowpacks in complex terrain. These modeling efforts will need to be supported by field observations of mass and energy and linked to finer remote sensing snow products in order to track ephemeral snow dynamics.
Aspects of plant behaviour under anoxia and post-anoxia

All plants are able to survive anoxic periods, but the degree of tolerance shows large variation. The main injuries related to anoxia are eventually due to changes in energy metabolism. Low energy charge values indicate a cessation of many ATP consuming processes. Sugar starvation, lactic acid fermentation and proton release from leaky vacuoles are responsible for cell death. Long-term anoxia tolerance is dependent on storage products in the vicinity of sinks, on an adequate control of glycolysis, synthesis of essential proteins, and stability of membranes and organelles. However, no fundamental differences between the metabolic pathways of tolerant and non-tolerant tissues are known. It is rather a question of minor changes and the regulation of anaerobic metabolism. Re-exposure of anoxic tissues to air may even be more detrimental than anoxia itself. These injuries are mainly due to enhanced radical generation. Lipid peroxidation processes lead to membrane damage, disintegration, and leakage of solutes. Under natural conditions plants are equipped with radical-detoxifying systems (SOD, peroxidases and antioxidants). Natural detoxifying systems can be reduced in non-adapted plants under anoxia and they become more sensitive to post-anoxic damage. In addition, the rapid conversion of ethanol to extremely toxic acetaldehyde seems to be a cause of tissue injury and death.
Psychology of Learning Spaces: Impact on Teaching and Learning.

New research is emerging that focuses on the role the physical classroom space plays in the teaching-learning dynamic. The purpose of this exploratory research is to describe the students’ and instructors’ perspectives of how the classroom space and environment impact teaching and learning. Focus groups were utilized with data points coming from the transcribed interactions of the participants. There were four focus groups: two groups of college students (N=15), and two groups of college faculty (N=9). Results yielded three main themes: 1) the Conditions theme, which represented all the issues in the rooms such as space, temperature, and light, 2) the Outcomes theme, which entails all the consequences of the rooms, such as concentration, engagement, and student grades, and 3) the Values theme, which exemplifies the extent classrooms impact teaching and learning
Timescales for the stratospheric circulation derived from tracers

A class of atmospheric constituents used as tracers of stratospheric flow are chemically long-lived in comparison with timescales of interest and exhibit gradients due primarily to time-dependent mixing ratios at the tropopause. In general, the stratospheric transport properties derived from such tracers depend on the nature of their time variation. To explore the relationship between timescales associated with the propagation of tracer mixing ratio signals and bulk transport properties, we have used two three-dimensional chemical transport models to simulate the age spectrum (the distribution of transit times of mass present in air parcels) of the stratosphere. From the age spectrum the stratospheric response to any time-varying tropospheric forcing may be deduced. The modeled age spectra are broad, indicating a range of transit times present in air parcels, and asymmetric, so that the mean transit time, called the mean age, is much larger than the modal transit time. Furthermore, the phase lag time of an oscillating signal (e.g., the annual CO2 cycle and lower stratospheric H2O) and the mean age are not timescales characterizing the same transport property. Periodic signal phase lags do not represent “mean transit times” and, in general, cannot be readily related to bulk transport properties. However, if the age spectrum is peaked enough, as it appears to be in the lower tropical stratosphere, periodic signal phase lags approximate the modal time.
The shape and motion of gas bubbles in a liquid flowing through a thin annulus

We study the shape and motion of gas bubbles in a liquid flowing through a horizontal or slightly inclined thin annulus. Experimental data show that in the horizontal annulus, bubbles develop a unique ‘tadpole-like’ shape with a semi-circular cap and a highly stretched tail. As the annulus is inclined, the bubble tail tends to vanish, resulting in a significant decrease of bubble length. To model the bubble evolution, the thin annulus is conceptualised as a ‘Hele-Shaw’ cell in a curvilinear space. The three-dimensional flow within the cell is represented by a gap-averaged, two-dimensional model, which achieved a close match to the experimental data. The numerical model is further used to investigate the effects of gap thickness and pipe diameter on the bubble behaviour. The mechanism for the semi-circular cap formation is interpreted based on an analogous irrotational flow field around a circular cylinder, based on which a theoretical solution to the bubble velocity is derived. The bubble motion and cap geometry is mainly controlled by the gravitational component perpendicular to the flow direction. The bubble elongation in the horizontal annulus is caused by the buoyancy that moves the bubble to the top of the annulus. However, as the annulus is inclined, the gravitational component parallel to the flow direction becomes important, causing bubble separation at the tail and reduction in bubble length.
An Analysis of Innovate Training with Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

The National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland conducted a training program in 2014 to develop a gestural command for their dolphins called “innovate”. This training paradigm was developed to resemble the seminal research by Pryor, Haag and O’Reilly (1969), as well as more recent efforts of Braslau-Schneck (1993) and Kuczaj and Eskelinen (2014) of training dolphins to offer “creative” behaviors not developed through conventional methods of behavioral modification, such as shaping. The goal of the present study was to observe records taken during the National Aquarium’s training procedure as well as data collected ~3 years after said training in order to analyze and observe training practices and resulting learning of the task among the trainers and dolphins. All subjects developed an understanding of the task “do something different” and exhibited patterns in the learning process similar to those reported by Pryor, Haag and O’Reilly (1969), as well as strategies used to complete this task similar to those reported by Kuczaj and Eskelinen (2014).