Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The events of metamorphosis in the demosponge Halisarca dujardini Johnston, 1842, studied with immunocytochemical method

The behaviour and metamorphosis of larvae in Halisarca dujardini from the White Sea were studied using immunocytochemical methods. Larvae released from the parent sponge's body and moved actively, demonstrating positive phototaxis. All external cells had flagella immediately after larva released. Before the settlement, posterior flagellated cells lost flagella, while anterior-lateral flagellated cells retain them up to the end of the free-swimming period. Flagellated cells were directly involved in metamorphosis. Just after settlement the narrow monolayer of lateral flagellated cells attached to the substrate was formed around the flattened larva. Their flagella were internalised and surrounded by flagellated cells cytoplasm. Gradually antibodies (AB) S (against the major protein S (68 kDa) of flagellated cells of larva) label spread inward the metamorphosing larva; both AB S and AB T (commercial anti-tubulin antibodies) staining were confined to internal cell mass. In three days post settlement most of the former flagellated cells composed the choanocyte-chambers. AB S labels granules in the cell body, as it did in premetamorphic flagellated cells. Diffusive AB S and AB T staining is visible else in T-shaped dermal pinacocytes on sponge surface. Still, these cells do contain both antigen characteristics of flagellated cells. A newly-formed adult sponge develops a definitive network of the choanocyte chambers within one week after settlement. At that time AB S label is seen in choanocytes but it disappears in the pinacoderm cells (T-shaped pinacocytes). Protein S is concentrated at cells' apical part, exactly in the collars. Amoebocytes - the other cell type visualized in the sections - display no AB S staining. Thus in the development of H. dujardini the larval flagellated cells participate directly in construction of definitive organs such as the choanocyte chambers and the upper pinacoderm.
Social-ecological enabling conditions for payments for ecosystem services

The concept of “enabling conditions” centers on conditions that facilitate approaches to addressing social and ecological challenges. Although multiple fields have independently addressed the concept of enabling conditions, the literature lacks a shared understanding or integration of concepts. We propose a more synthesized understanding of enabling conditions beyond disciplinary boundaries by focusing on the enabling conditions that influence the implementation of a range of environmental policies termed payments for ecosystem services (PES). Through an analysis of key literature from different disciplinary perspectives, we examined how researchers and practitioners refer to and identify enabling conditions within the context of PES. Through our synthesis, we identified 24 distinct enabling conditions organized within 4 broad themes: biophysical, economic, governance, and social-cultural conditions. We found that the literature coalesces around certain enabling conditions, such as strong ecosystem science and existing institutions, regardless of disciplinary background or journal audience. We also observed key differences in how authors perceive the direction of influence for property type, program objectives, and number of actors. Additionally, we noted an emphasis on the importance of the contextual nature of many enabling conditions that may cause certain conditions to have a disproportionate impact on successful implementation in some circumstances. Unraveling the relative importance of specific enabling conditions in diverse contexts remains a research frontier. Ultimately, no single disciplinary perspective is likely to provide all necessary insights for PES creation, and given the intertwined nature of enabling conditions, practitioners need to consider insights from multiple dimensions. Our work suggests opportunities to better connect diverse conversations through integration of concepts, a common vocabulary, and a synthetic framework.
Side-Fire LIDAR Based Vehicle Classification

Vehicle classification data are used for numerous transportation applications. Most of the classification data come from permanent in-pavement sensors or temporary sensors mounted on the pavement. Moving out of the right-of-way, this study develops a LIDAR (light detection and ranging) based classification system with the sensors mounted in a side-fire configuration next to the road. The first step is to distinguish between vehicle returns and non-vehicle returns, and then cluster the vehicle returns into individual vehicles. The algorithm examines each vehicle cluster to check if there is any evidence of partial occlusion from another vehicle. Several measurements are taken from each non-occluded cluster to classify the vehicle into one of six classes: motorcycle, passenger vehicle, passenger vehicle pulling a trailer, single-unit truck, single-unit truck pulling a trailer, and multi-unit truck. The algorithm was evaluated at six different locations under various traffic conditions. Compared to concurrent video ground truth data for over 27,000 vehicles on a per-vehicle basis, 11% of the vehicles are suspected of being partially occluded. The algorithm correctly classified over 99.5% of the remaining, non-occluded vehicles. This research also uncovered emerging challenges that likely apply to most classification systems: differentiating commuter cars from motorcycles. Occlusions are inevitable in this proof of concept study since the LIDAR sensors were mounted roughly 6 ft above the road, well below the tops of many vehicles. Ultimately we envision using a combination of a higher vantage point (in future research), and shape information (begun herein) to greatly reduce the impacts of occlusions.
Growth of Octopus vulgaris (Cuvier, 1797) in tanks in the Ebro Delta (NE Spain): effects of temperature, salinity and culture density

To assess the possibility of O. vulgaris ongrowing using tanks or cages in the bays of the Ebro Delta, we performed several growth trials of common octopus held in tanks. Effects of environmental factors (temperature and salinity) and zootechnical aspects (culture density) were studied. The thermal ranges that defined positive growth periods in the bays of the Ebro Delta were 19.5oC to 23oC (spring-summer) and 23.5oC to 12.3oC (autumn-winter), the latter being the most suitable period for ongrowing. Salinity did not affect survival (100%) or growth within the range tested (34-29 psu), though feeding rates (AFR, SFR) were directly related to salinity. On the other hand, after 60 days, final culture density increased three-fold (D1: 12.36 → 44.37 kg m –3 ; D2: 24.13 → 67.76 kg m –3 ), with optimal survival results ( > 90%) for the two densities tested. Growth and feeding rates showed a slight inverse relationship with density. Finally, growth and feeding rates showed a clear dependence on temperature in the two experiments (density and salinity). Our results conclude that industrial production of O. vulgaris in tanks is promising: this system offers an alternative to cages and allows for a more exhaustive control of culture.
Effects of Micro-Credit on Livestock Production among Smallholder Livestock Farmers in Yakurr LGA, Cross River State, Nigeria

The study analysed the effect of micro-credit on livestock production among smallholder livestock farmers in Yakurr Local Government Area of Cross River State in Nigeria. Data for the study were obtained using a 3-stage random sampling procedure and analysed with descriptive statistics and multiple regression. Results showed that 55.3% of the respondents were males; 48.7% were aged between 40-49 years; 52% were married; 46.6% had secondary education; 48.7% had farming experience of between 6-10 years; 74.7% had less than 1ha farm size; 64%, 25.3% and 10.7% reared poultry, goat and swine respectively. The results also showed that 78% obtained micro-credit from informal sources while 48% obtained between ₦61,000.00 and ₦80,000.00. The R2 was 0.73 showing that 73% of the total variations in the dependent variable were explained by the independent variables in the regression model which is a good fit. This result indicated that micro-credit had significant effect on livestock production in the study area. Livestock farmers were constrained by high interest rate charged 33%, few number of financial institutions 23.3% and high cost of feed 20%. Formal financial institutions should extend their services to the area by opening more branches and government should help livestock farmers by subsidizing the cost price of feeds, medication and vaccine.
CCVis: Visual Analytics of Student Online Learning Behaviors Using Course Clickstream Data

As more and more college classrooms utilize online platforms to facilitate teaching and learning activities, analyzing student online behaviors becomes increasingly important for instructors to effectively monitor and manage student progress and performance. In this paper, we present CCVis, a visual analytics tool for analyzing the course clickstream data and exploring student online learning behaviors. Targeting a large college introductory course with over two thousand student enrollments, our goal is to investigate student behavior patterns and discover the possible relationships between student clickstream behaviors and their course performance. We employ higher-order network and structural identity classification to enable visual analytics of behavior patterns from the massive clickstream data. CCVis includes four coordinated views (the behavior pattern, behavior breakdown, clickstream comparative, and grade distribution views) for user interaction and exploration. We demonstrate the effectiveness of CCVis through case studies along with an ad-hoc expert evaluation. Finally, we discuss the limitation and extension of this work.
Re-examining purchasing power parity for East-Asian currencies: 1976–2002

We investigate the behaviour of real exchange rates of six East-Asian countries in relation to their two major trading partners–the United States and Japan. These countries, except, Singapore were affected by the financial crisis of the fall 1997. Using monthly frequency data from 1976 to 2002 and the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) cointegration procedure we test for the long-run purchasing power parity (PPP) hypothesis. We find no evidence for the weak form of PPP in the pre-crisis period, but strong evidence in the post-crisis period. For the post-crisis period, we also find very small persistence of PPP deviations as indicated by very small half-lives (<7 months) and narrow confidence intervals with an upper bound of 1 year or less in most countries. Our findings reveal that the East Asian countries are returning to some form of PPP-oriented rule as a basis for their exchange rate policies.
The relationship of DNA repair gene XPD , XRCC 1 , OGG 1 , APE 1 , and WRN polymorphism with the risk of age-related cataract in Hani people from Mojiang region in Yunnan

Age-related cataract (ARC) is the leading cause of blindness in the elderly. This study investigated DNA repair genes, XPD, XRCC1, OGG1, APE1, and WRN single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), to clarify their relationship with ARC in Hani patients from Mojiang region in Yunnan. Polymerase chain reaction-ligase detection reaction (PCR-LDR) was used to perform genotype analysis in ARC patients and healthy control. The genotype frequency distribution of XPD, XRCC1, OGG1, APE1, and WRN SNP in Hani accorded with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium principle. OGG1 genotype analysis: the frequency of allele G was significantly higher than the control (P = 0.008; OR: 1.468; 95% CI: 1.106-1.949); the risk of allele G was 1.468 times of allele A; CC genotype may be associated with ARC (OR: 1.716; 95% CI: 1.460-2.018); the risk of this genotype was 1.716 times of CG and GG genotypes. GG genotype may have protective effect on ARC (OR: 0.684; 95% CI: 0.568-0.823). XRCC1 genotype analysis: AG genotype may be associated with ARC (OR: 1.464; 95% CI: 1.108-1.934); AG genotype frequency was higher than control (P = 0.007); the risk of this genotype was 1.464 times of GG and AA genotypes; Alleles A frequency was significantly higher than the control (P = 0.010; OR: 1.329; 95% CI: 1.131-1.561); Allele A risk was 1.329 times of allele G. XPD, APE1, and WRN genotypes showed no relationship with ARC risk. OGG1 and XRCC1 gene polymorphisms were associated with ARC risk in Hani from Mojiang region in Yunnan.
Survival of Surfactant Protein-A1 and SP-A2 Transgenic Mice After Klebsiella pneumoniae Infection, Exhibits Sex-, Gene-, and Variant Specific Differences; Treatment With Surfactant Protein Improves Survival

Surfactant protein A (SP-A) is involved in lung innate host defense and surfactant-related functions. The human SFTPA1 and SFTPA2 genes encode SP-A1 and SP-2 proteins, and each gene has been identified with numerous genetic variants. SP-A1 and SP-A2 differentially enhance bacterial phagocytosis. Sex differences have been observed in pulmonary disease and in survival of wild type and SP-A knockout (KO) mice. The impact of human SP-A variants on survival after infection is unknown. In this study, we determined whether SP-A variants differentially affect survival of male and female mice infected with Klebsiella pneumoniae. Transgenic (TG) mice, where each carries a different human (h) SP-A1 (6A2, 6A4), SP-A2 (1A0, 1A3) variant or both variants SP-A1/SP-A2 (6A2/1A0, co-ex), and SP-A- KO, were utilized. The hTG and KO mice were infected intratracheally with K. pneumoniae bacteria, and groups of KO mice were treated with SP-A1 or SP-A2 either prior to and/or at the time of infection and survival for both experimental groups was monitored over 14 days. The binding of purified SP-A1 and SP-A2 proteins to phagocytic and non-phagocytic cells and expression of cell surface proteins in alveolar macrophages (AM) from SP-A1 and SP-A2 mice was examined. We observed gene-, variant-, and sex-specific (except for co-ex) differences with females showing better survival: (a) Gene-specific differences: co-ex = SP-A2 > SP-A1 > KO (both sexes); (b) Variant-specific survival co-ex (6A2/1A0) = 1A0 > 1A3 = 6A2 > 6A4 (both sexes); (c) KO mice treated with SPs (SP-A1 or SP-A2) proteins exhibit significantly (p < 0.05) better survival; (d) SP-A1 and SP-A2 differentially bind to phagocytic, but not to non-phagocytic cells, and AM from SP-A1 and SP-A2 hTG mice exhibit differential expression of cell surface proteins. Our results indicate that sex and SP-A genetics differentially affect survival after infection and that exogenous SP-A1/SP-A2 treatment significantly improves survival. We postulate that the differential SP-A1/SP-A2 binding to the phagocytic cells and the differential expression of cell surface proteins that bind SP-A by AM from SP-A1 and SP-A2 mice play a role in this process. These findings provide insight into the importance of sex and innate immunity genetics in survival following infection.
Small Scale Enterprise Finance Sources and Constraints in Ethiopia, Case Study of Addis Ababa

The main objective of the study is to identify the finance source and constraints of small firms in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Both primary and secondary data is employed . To address the basic research objectives mainly primary data is collected using structured questionnaires from 250 small business owner-managers that are selected using stratified random sampling techniques. The collected data is analyzed using descriptive data analysis. The result of descriptive data analysis reveals that, own personal saving is most frequently used sources to raise startup capital for sample small business enterprises in Ethiopia. Borrowing from microfinance institution which is the second frequently used sources of finance to raise startup capital to sample small enterprises. Borrowings from friends, relatives and families are the third frequently used sources to raise start-up capitals to small scale enterprise in Ethiopia. Iquib and Idir are traditional informal financing options in Ethiopia and also used as means sources of startup capital. Borrowing from formal banks is least frequently used source of finance to raise start-up capital. The majority sample small firms are experiencing the difficulty of access to credit facilities due to various reasons such as underdeveloped financial institutions, high collateral to secure the bank loans, high interest on borrowed sum of money and complicated and tedious banks and other financial institution loan application procedures.
Vibration-based SHM System: Application to Wind Turbine Blades

This study presents an vibration-based system designed for structural health monitoring of wind turbine blades. Mechanical energy is introduced by means of an electromechanical actuator mounted inside the blade. The actuator's plunger periodically hits the blade structure; the induced vibrations propagate along the blade and are measured by an array of accelerometers. Unsupervised learning is applied to the data: the vibration patterns corresponding to the undamaged blade are used to create a statistical model of the reference state. During the detection stage, the current vibration pattern is compared with the reference state, and the novelties can be associated with damage. The vibration pattern is described by the covariance matrix between the accelerometer signals. The mid-range frequencies are used: this range is above the frequencies excited by blade-wind interaction, thus ensuring a good signal-to-noise ratio. Simultaneously, the frequencies are low enough to be able to propagate the entire blade length, so good results can be obtained even using only one actuator. The system is demonstrated on a real 34m blade mounted on a test rig. Using the suggested approach, the system enables detection of, e.g., a 20cm long trailing edge opening under realistic noise conditions. It is also demonstrated that the system provides rough information about damage location. Progression of damage, if any, can also be detected.
ITERATION METHODS FOR NONLINEAR PROBLEMS

Analogous methods have been used in practice, with apparent success, on nonlinear problems as well. For the most part, these have not been justified mathematically and this work is an attempt to fill this gap. In particular it is shown that the relaxation methods yield solutions to problems arising from the minimization of certain convex functions. In practice, these functions are obtained by approximating multiple integrals in a calculus of variations problem. It is shown that an approximate Plateau problem may be solved by a successive displacements method, or a method analogous to Liebmann's method. We at the same time obtain an extension of a free steering theorem for positive definite symmetric matrices given as Theorem 4 of [3], and results of Ostrowski [2].
Study on the Needs, Accommodation and Satisfaction toward the Nursing Practice Programs of the Nurses in Small to Medium sized Hospitals

This study was to examine the conditions of nursing practice programs at small and medium-sized hospitals as well as the needs and levels of satisfaction among nurses. The subjects of study were 136 nurses working at the small and medium-sized hospitals in G Metropolitan City of J Province. The data collection period was one month in November 2010. There were subjects who thought that the nursing practice programs contribute to the provision of quality nursing, utilizing specific skills, developing expertise and supplementing education. There were significant differences in the responses of the subjects. In terms of general attributes, accommodation of and satisfaction levels regarding nursing practice programs were of an adequate level and nurses were overall satisfied with their current position in their careers. The total time elapsed since embarking on their nursing careers was under 1 year, and this seemed to have significant effects on the subjects in that they responded by saying that they could grow as the professionals due to being satisfied with their careers in nursing. Satisfaction levels regarding accommodation and content of nursing practice programs appeared to correlate with quantity.
Treating socio-technical systems as engineering systems: some conceptual problems

Systems engineering has been plagued by the problem of how to separate a system from its environment or context, in particular from its social context. We propose to include anything in the system that is necessary for performing its intended function and that may be the object of design. For certain engineering systems, such as civil aviation systems, this implies that human agents and social institutions have to be taken as integral parts of these systems. These ‘socio-technical’ systems are of a hybrid nature because they are constituted by different kinds of elements, intentional and nonintentional: social institutions, human agents and technical artefacts. This paper analyses two different roles that human agents, as elements of socio-technical systems, may play with regard to technical artefacts. Furthermore, it discusses some conceptual problems concerning the modelling of socio-technical systems that are due to the hybrid nature of these systems.
D The Prevalence of Micro albuminuria in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients

984 Received 1 June 2014 Accepted 2 September 2014 Abstract This study is performed to assessment of the long term glycaemic hemoglobin (HbA1c) to determine the prevalence of microalbuminuria and to find the risk factors for developing microalbuminuria and consequence nephropathy in patients with type 2 diabetes. The prevalence of microalbuminuria in our study is high (70%) and the risk factors that accompanied microalbuminuria are high blood pressure, elevated fasting blood glucose and poor glycemic hemoglobin.
The Monetary Policy Decision-Making Process and the Term Structure of Interest Rates

This paper presents a theoretical model of the term structure of interest rates based on the monetary policy decision-making process at modern central banks. Evaluations of explicit expressions for the spot and forward rate curve render several important results: (i) Spot and forward rates are explicit functions of the number of policy meetings during the time to maturity rather than the time to maturity itself. Consequently, the forward rate curve is step-shaped. (ii) In addition, there are calendar time effects, i.e. the position within the policy cycle is also of importance, especially for short term interest rates. (iii) The forward rate curve exhibits hump-shaped responses to economic shocks and a modified version of the Nelson-Siegel model can be obtained as a special case.
A Literature Review on Methods for Supplier Selection Akin to Awarding on Value

The following paper examines the presence of Awarding on Value (AoV) in the literature and if there exist comparable approaches to AoV. This is a price correction mechanism for bid evaluation in a Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT) perspective. Results are based on a literature review for which scientific articles have been found via the search engines Scopus and Science Direct by using the search terms “Awarding on Value”, “Most Economically Advantageous Tender”, and “multi-criteria decision-making”. The final sample of reviewed articles contains 55 articles. The literature review identified no awarding method akin to AoV, however adaptions of AoV were found. Furthermore, it became clear that there is a demand for AoV in the literature (e.g. Procurement Guidelines of the World Bank) and beyond authors are positive about the method. The added value of this paper is that is shows up linkages of AoV and helps to increase the awareness of the approach.