Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Inhibition of methane production through anaerobic digestion by Preventol Experimental protocol

On the other hand, addition of 1 ml preventol solution resulted in a lag phase for up to eight days. Methane production from the 1 ml preventol test with cellulose showed a two-stage (diauxic) methane production curve with production levelling up on day 11 and commencing again on day 16. This result is in line with findings that microbes in the presence of 2-bromo2-nitropropane-1,3-diol indicate a period of biocide-induced bacteriostasis followed by growth at an inhibited rate [3].
"Start-up costs, taxes and innovative entrepreneurship"

Prior research suggests that start-up costs and taxes negatively influence entry into entrepreneurship. Yet, no distinction is made regarding the type of entrepreneurship, particularly innovative versus non-innovative entrepreneurship. Start-up costs, being one-off costs, may reduce the entry of entrepreneurs whose ideas are not very promising, thus increasing the proportion of innovative entrepreneurs. Taxes, being recurring costs, may reduce the "prize" of innovation and the profit from entrepreneurship, discouraging individuals with innovative business ideas from becoming entrepreneurs. Analyzing a dataset of 632,116 individuals, including 43,223 entrepreneurs from 53 countries, we can confirm our main predictions. Our paper contributes to the discussion on how governmental regulation costs and taxes influence innovative entrepreneurship and technological development.
Knowledge Management Practices and Generic Competitive Strategy in Knowledge-Based SMEs Rohana Ngah

Knowledge is one of the most important resources for any companies to gain a competitive advantage through generic competitive strategy. This paper aims to investigate the knowledge management practices in knowledge-based SMEs in Malaysia and the impact on generic strategy of competitive advantage. Due to its smaller size, SMEs are said to be the best model to practice knowledge management that can help in innovation. A total of 140 questionnaires were collected from SMEs and structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Knowledge management practices showed a strong relationship to competitive advantage which inclined more towards differentiation. However, knowledge storage and knowledge creation didn’t contribute to the competitive advantage. The findings provide an important contribution in the formulation of a model of knowledge management practices and competitive advantage among SMEs. Further discussion and implication were discussed.
Determiner use in Italian Swedish and Italian German children: Do Swedish and German represent the same parameter setting?

In this article we compare the acquisition of determiners in bilingual children acquiring Italian simultaneously with German or Swedish. We are concerned with cross-linguistic differences in the rate of acquisition and we discuss in particular the Nominal Mapping Parameter, a model according to which the syntax-semantics interface is crucial in acquisition and which predicts similar developmental patterns for children acquiring a Germanic language. We show that Swedish determiners are acquired more easily than German determiners, which implies that predictions for developmental patterns should not be based on syntactic factors alone, but must make reference to typological differences in morphology and phonology. Furthermore, we show that the acquisition of Italian determiners is affected positively by the simultaneous acquisition of Swedish but that no such effect arises when Italian is acquired simultaneously with German.
Active tectonics of the South Chilean marine fore arc (35°S–40°S)

The South Chilean marine fore arc (35°S–40°S) is separated into four tectonic segments, Concepción North, Concepción South, Nahuelbuta, and Tolten (from north to south). These are each characterized by their individual tectonic geomorphology and reflect different ways of mechanical and kinematic interaction of the convergent Nazca and South American plates. Splay faults that cut through continental framework rock are seismically imaged in both Concepción segments and the Tolten Segment. Additionally, the Concepción South Segment exhibits prominent upper plate normal faults. Normal faults apparently relate to uplift caused by sediment underthrusting at depth. This has led to oversteepening and gravitational collapse of the marine fore arc. There is also evidence for sediment underthrusting and basal accretion to the overriding plate in the Tolten Segment. There, uplift of the continental slope has created a landward inclined seafloor over a latitudinal distance of 50 km. In the Nahuelbuta Segment transpressive upper plate faults, aligned oblique to the direction of plate motion, control the seafloor morphology. Based on a unique acoustic data set including >90% of bathymetric coverage of the continental slope we are able to reveal an along‐strike heterogeneity of a complexly deformed marine fore arc which had escaped attention in previous studies that only considered the structure along transects normal to the plate margin.
Identification of insulin-like growth factor-I receptor ( IGF-IR ) gene promoter-binding proteins in estrogen receptor ( ER )-positive and ER-depleted breast cancer cells

Introduction: Our previous study has shown that pretreatment of prostate cancer (PCa) cells with a combination of the anticancerogenic vitamin D active metabolite, 1,25(OH)2D3, and sodium valproate (an inhibitor of histone deacetylase enzymes with antitumor activity) effectively potentiates the antitumor effect of ionizing radiation. We have demonstrated that this antitumor effect is mainly due to increased apoptosis and cell-cycle arrest in S phase. The present study aims to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying these phenomena. For this purpose, generation of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), the most serious DNA lesion caused by ionizing radiation, and activation of cell-cycle-checkpoint kinases Chk1 and Chk2 were assessed.
Active Pitch Control of an Oscillating Foil with Biologically-Inspired Boundary Layer Feedback

We present a high-fidelity numerical study of a two-dimensional °apping airfoil, ad- dressing the hypothesis that boundary layer feedback control can enable improved performance in flapping light. To this end, we model a novel biologically-inspired feedback controller which adjusts wing motion in response to the flow-induced bending load experienced by sensory hairs mounted on the wing. Such hairs have been observed on bats, and biological studies suggest that an associated feedback controller may play an important role in enabling bats' well-known mastery of light. The coupled °uid and structural equations of our model are solved numerically by a Discontinuous Galerkin finite element method, combined with an Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) formulation to account for airfoil motion. Feedback control is deed by a simple proportional-derivative (PD) control law relating hair sensor feedback to an applied torque at the pivot point of the wing. We also include a torsional spring at the pivot point to model passive aeroelasticity, following prior work by Israeli [5]. Our results show that hair sensors are well-suited for detecting flow separation, and sensors placed near the leading edge enable better light performance than sensors placed near the trailing edge. We compute a "performance envelope" for a purely passive flapping airfoil, and demonstrate that our active feedback controller enables improvements of up to 5% in propulsive efficiency. We also present gust alleviation experiments, where we find that an optimal PD controller reduces lift deviation by 33% compared to a spring-only airfoil. Mechanisms for these performance improvements are discussed. Our findings suggest that boundary layer feedback control may plausibly contribute to the outstanding °ight abilities of bats, and may also provide valuable clues for designing robust and maneuverable Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs).
The ALHAMBRA survey: Discovery of a faint QSO at z = 5.41

Part of this work was supported by Junta de Andalucia, through grant TIC-114 and the Excellence Project P08-TIC-3531, and by the Spanish Ministry for Science and Innovation through grants AYA2006-1456, AYA2010-15169, and AYA2010-22111-C03-02, and Generalitat Valenciana project Prometeo 2008/132. M.P. acknowledges financial support from the JAE-Doc programme of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), co-funded by the European Social Fund.
Evaluation of loop mediated isothermal amplification for diagnosis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in clinical samples

Islamic Azad University, Science and research branch, Department of Biology, Tehran, Iran. Islamic Azad University, Qods unit, Department of Microbiology, Tehran, Iran. Pasteur Institute of Iran, Department of Mycobacteriology, Tehran, Iran. Islamic Azad University, Qiamdasht branch, Department of Biology,Tehran ,Iran. Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control, Department of bacteriology, Solna, Sweden.
Study of visual evoked potentials in clinical practice in the patients with primary open-angle glaucoma

Odessa (Ukraine) Introduction. It is known that in clinical practice there are no specific neurophysiological tests for diagnosis of glaucoma; however, quite often neurophysiological examination reveals changes which are asymptomatic for a long time before the clinical manifestations, which is especially important for the early diagnosis of glaucoma. Purpose of the study is to make a dynamic analysis of visual evoked potentials in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma at different stages of the disease. Material and Methods: a comprehensive clinical and neurophysiological study of 186 patients (358 eyes) with the diagnosis of primary open-angle glaucoma and in patients whose diagnosis was a subject to confirmation. Results: Based on the analysis of the results of neurophysiological studies, visual evoked potentials in response to pattern and flash, we saw a statistically significant difference between the initial and advanced stages in terms of the latent period P100 (Z = 2.33; p-value = 0.028), the amplitude of peaks P100-N135 (Z = 3.50 p-value = 0.00046), the amplitude of peaks P100-N75 (Z = 2.04; p-value = 0.04); between the advanced and far-advanced stages in terms of the latent period P100 (Z = 3.08; p-value = 0.033). According to the other studied estimates of indicators of visual evoked potentials in response to pattern and flash we did not find any significant differences. Conclusion. Usage of neurophysiological study methods visual evoked potentials in response to pattern is necessary for confirmation of the diagnosis and stage of development of glaucoma during the early diagnosis and the choice of further tactics of treatment.
EVIDENCE OF V-BAND POLARIMETRIC SEPARATION OF CARBON STARS AT HIGH GALACTIC LATITUDE

Polarization is an important indicator of stellar evolution, especially for stars evolving from red giant stage to planetary nebulae. However, not much is known about the polarimetric properties of the carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP) stars, although they have been well studied in terms of photometric as well as low- and high-resolution spectroscopy. We report here first-ever estimates of V-band polarimetry of a group of CEMP stars. V-band polarimetry was planned, as the V band is known to show maximum polarization among BVRI polarimetry for any scattering of light caused due to dust. Based on these estimates the program stars show a distinct classification into two: one with p% < 0.4 and the other with p% > 1. Stars with circumstellar material exhibit a certain amount of polarization that may be caused by scattering of starlight due to circumstellar dust distribution into non-spherically symmetric envelopes. The degree of polarization increases with asymmetries present in the geometry of the circumstellar dust distribution. Our results reflect upon these properties. While the sample size is relatively small, the polarimetric separation of the two groups (p% < 0.4 and p% > 1) is very distinct; this finding, therefore, opens up an avenue of exploration with regard to CEMP stars.
The importance of studying the biodurability of carbon nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes (CNT) display many unique and valuable properties – mechanical (such as high strength to weight ratio), electrical and thermal and are therefore of widespread interest for industrial and commercial applications. These include composite materials, field emission displays, electronic circuits, sensors and medical tools for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. As some of these applications have now been successfully launched onto the marketplace, the requirement to establish an appropriate assessment of potential hazard and risk is paramount.
Dataset for Modelling Reaction Mechanisms Using Density Functional Theory: Mechanism of ortho-Hydroxylation by High-Valent Iron-Oxo Species

Modelling reaction mechanisms using density functional theory is one of the popular routes to underpin the course of a chemical reaction. Although numerous publications have come out in this area, the pitfall of modelling such reactions and explicitly publishing the entire data set (structures, energies, coordinates, spin densities, etc.) which lead to the conclusions are scarce. Here we have attempted to set a trend wherein all the computed data to underpin the reaction mechanism of ortho-hydroxylation of aromatic compounds by high-valent iron-oxo complexes (–OOH, =O, and =O) are collected. Since the structure, energetics and other details of the calculations can be employed in future to probe/understand the reactivity pattern of such species, establishing the data set is justified. Here by analysing the presented results we also discuss in brief the presented results.
Heterogeneous welfare dynamics and structural transformation

Whether for the purpose of national policy setting or for localized targeting, understanding the welfare dynamics of a population is essential for the efficient allocation of limited resources as well as to avert unintended consequences. However, the literature on welfare dynamics largely focuses on population means and two-technology economies, either by conducting analyses in single-asset economies or by relying on theoretical models and simulations with a number of restrictive assumptions. Likewise, the literature on the structural transformation generally imposes an agricultural/non-agricultural dichotomy on the data. These approaches may overlook the plights or prospects of heterogeneous subgroups in developing economies. Using a theoretically grounded, data driven approach to identifying a livelihood strategy choice set in a flexible manner, I estimate livelihood and migration conditioned returns to assets and associated welfare dynamics using a long panel dataset from Kagera, Tanzania. I find that, between 1991 and 2004, a subset of households moves from the dominant, farm-based, livelihood to a livelihood that allocates more assets to off-farm wage and entrepreneurial activities. In estimating marginal returns to assets across livelihoods, I find significant differences in returns to business, labor, and human capital assets by livelihood strategy, suggesting that households might realize locally increasing returns if they could switch livelihoods. Analysis of welfare dynamics across livelihoods suggests conditional convergence and uncovers heterogeneous welfare dynamics that would be masked in an analysis of population mean dynamics alone. Although beginning with a flexible framework and employing a data driven strategy, the analysis applied here confirms many of the stylized facts of the structural transformation literature, in particular the emergence of two sectors, sector-differentiated returns to labor and other factors, and catch up in the low return sector.
Preconditioning Algorithms for the Computation of Multi-Phase Mixture Flows

Preconditioned time-marching algorithms are developed for a class of isothermal compressible multi-phase mixture flows, relevant to the modeling of sheetand super-cavitating flows in hydrodynamic applications. Using the volume fraction and mass fraction forms of the multi-phase governing equations, three closely related but distinct preconditioning forms are derived. The resulting algorithm is incorporated within an existing multi-phase code and several representative solutions are obtained to demonstrate the capabilities of the method. Comparisons with measurement data suggest that the compressible formulation provides an improved description of the cavitation dynamics compared with previous incompressible computations.
A finite-volume-based two-dimensional wall-flow diesel particulate filter regeneration model

Abstract Many existing diesel particulate filter (DPF) models do not sufficiently describe the actual physiochemical processes that occur during the regeneration process. This is due to the various assumptions made in the models. To overcome this shortcoming, a detailed two-dimensional DPF regeneration model with a multistep chemical reaction scheme is presented. The model solves the variable density, multicomponent conservation equations by the pressure implicit with splitting of operators (PISO) scheme for inlet and outlet channels as well as the porous soot layer and filter wall. It includes a non-thermal equilibrium (NTE) model for the energy equation for porous media. In addition, for the first time, experiments on the DPF were conducted to determine the interstitial heat transfer coefficient inside the DPF porous wall. The results compare well with an in-house one-dimensional model and subsequently this was used in the new two-dimensional model. By using this detailed two-dimensional model, some interesting observations of the DPF regeneration process were revealed. These included flow reversals and asymmetry in the filter channels.
Searching for a Weapon of Mass Production in Rural Africa: Unconvincing Arguments for Land Reform

Many recent arguments for land reform share a central proposition concerning the relative efficiency of small farm production. This article argues that the theoretical reasoning underlying this proposition is not coherent, and furthermore the empirical support for this size–efficiency relationship in Africa is astonishingly weak. Given the evidence, the continued focus on the efficient, egalitarian family farm can only be ideologically driven. The poorest rural people are unlikely to benefit and will probably be harmed by the policies based on these arguments for land reform. To illustrate this point, the article considers data from land redistribution programmes, particularly in South Africa, that suggest not only that the poorest did not acquire land, but also that they suffered declines in rural wage earning opportunities that are crucial for their survival.
Beta Matrix and Common Factors in Stock Returns

Many variables have been proposed as common risk factors driving asset returns, which we refer to as “empirical factors” to distinguish them from true latent factors. We examine how many true latent factors are correlated with the empirical factors by estimating the rank of the beta matrix corresponding to the empirical factors. To obtain more comprehensive empirical results, we analyze data with large numbers of portfolios and individual stock returns. While many rank estimators are available in the literature, most of them are designed for data with a relatively small number of asset returns. Thus, we develop and use a new rank estimator that is consistent regardless of the number of response variables. Analyzing twenty-six empirical factors, we find that they capture at most five different latent risk factors. Additionally, most of the multifactor asset pricing models we consider are found to have very limited power to identify risk premiums.
Right external iliac artery thrombus following the use of resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta for placenta accreta

Abstract A 33-year-old female, 32 weeks and 1 day gestation, with known placenta accreta who presented to the emergency department with 2 h of severe abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. She became hypotensive and underwent emergency cesarean section. Emergency general surgery was consulted for placement of a resuscitative endovascular balloon for aortic occlusion (REBOA). After successful delivery, the balloon was inflated in zone 3 and systolic blood pressure rose from 70 to 170 mmHg. The patient underwent hysterectomy for ongoing hemorrhage. The patient was taken to the surgical intensive care unit. The patient was noted to have pulses following removal of the sheath. Arterial brachial indices and arterial duplex was performed 48 h after sheath removal. The patient was found to have complete occlusion of the right external iliac artery. Vascular surgery was consulted and cut-down performed with thrombus removal via fogarty catheter. The patient was discharged 2 days later without further complication.
Distributed Obstacle and Multi-Robot Collision Avoidance in Uncertain Environments

This paper tackles the distributed leader-follower (L-F) control problem for heterogeneous mobile robots in unknown environments requiring obstacle avoidance, inter-robot collision avoidance, and reliable robot communications. To prevent an inter-robot collision, we employ a virtual propulsive force between robots. For obstacle avoidance, we present a novel distributed Negative-Imaginary (NI) variant formation tracking control approach and a dynamic network topology methodology which allows the formation to change its shape and the robot to switch their roles. In the case of communication or sensor loss, a UAV, controlled by a Strictly-Negative-Imaginary (SNI) controller with good wind resistance characteristics, is utilized to track the position of the UGV formation using its camera. Simulations and indoor experiments have been conducted to validate the proposed methods.
Automatic Relation Extraction for Building Smart City Ecosystems using Dependency Parsing

Understanding and analysing rapidly changing and growing business ecosystems, like smart city and mobility ecosystems, becomes increasingly difficult. However, the understanding of these ecosystems is the key to being successful for all involved parties, like companies and public institutions. Modern Natural Language Processing technologies can help to automatically identify and extract relevant information from sources like online news and blog articles and hence support the analysis of complex ecosystems. In this paper, we present an approach to automatically extract directed relations between entities within business ecosystems from online news and blog articles by using dependency parsing.
Neural Predictive Belief Representations

Unsupervised representation learning has succeeded with excellent results in many applications. It is an especially powerful tool to learn a good representation of environments with partial or noisy observations. In partially observable domains it is important for the representation to encode a belief state, a sufficient statistic of the observations seen so far. In this paper, we investigate whether it is possible to learn such a belief representation using modern neural architectures. Specifically, we focus on one-step frame prediction and two variants of contrastive predictive coding (CPC) as the objective functions to learn the representations. To evaluate these learned representations, we test how well they can predict various pieces of information about the underlying state of the environment, e.g., position of the agent in a 3D maze. We show that all three methods are able to learn belief representations of the environment, they encode not only the state information, but also its uncertainty, a crucial aspect of belief states. We also find that for CPC multi-step predictions and action-conditioning are critical for accurate belief representations in visually complex environments. The ability of neural representations to capture the belief information has the potential to spur new advances for learning and planning in partially observable domains, where leveraging uncertainty is essential for optimal decision making.