Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Model Sensitivity Evaluation for 3DVAR Data Assimilation Applied on WRF with a Nested Domain Configuration

An initial condition that closely represents the true atmospheric state can minimize errors that propagate into the future, and could theoretically lead to improvements in the forecast. This study aims to evaluate and understand the impacts of 3DVAR on the state-of-the-art Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with a two nested domains setup. The domain configuration of the model covers China with an emphasis on Guangdong province, with a resolution of 27 km, 9 km, and 3 km. Improvements in the forecasts for the Winter and Summer season of all the domains are systematically compared and are quantified in terms of 2 m temperature, 10 m wind speed, sea level pressure, and 2 m relative humidity. The results show that 3DVAR provides significant improvements in the winter case and surprisingly improvements were also found after the 48 h of the forecast. Evaluations of performance of 3DVAR in different domains and between two different seasons were done to further understand the reasons behind the discrepancies.
Student Participation in Physical Activity Recess Programs in Secondary Schools

ABSTRACT School recess, a component within the Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program (CSPAP), provides an opportunity to increase children’s physical activity (PA). Although various studies have described PA interventions during recess, little is known about the effect of age, gender, and gross motor skill level on participation in such programs. The aim of this study was to investigate how student participation varied as a function of age, gender, and motor skill level. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a sample of 1910 students (1010 girls, 900 boys) from first (13–14 years), second (15–16 years), and third (17–18 years) cycle from 15 secondary schools. Physical education teachers categorized students as lower-, average-, or higher-skilled based on previous skill assessments. Of all contacted schools, 80% offered at least one PA recess program during the year, of which 58% were team physical activities and 42% were individual activities. Overall, 62% of students did not participate, 25% participated in team physical activities, and 13% in individual physical activities. Students’ participation was significantly different as a function of age: 44.7% participated in first, 37.8% in second, and 29.9% in third cycle (p < .001). Boys participated significantly more in PA recess programs than girls (55.5% vs. 24.9%) (p < .001). Lower skilled students (19.9%) participated significantly less than average skilled (28.6%) and higher skilled students (41.4%) (p < .001). It can be concluded that PA recess programs should be designed to attract a larger proportion of girls and lower skilled students, possibly by connecting these programs with the content of physical education.
Metal-Free and Pt-Decorated Graphene-Based Catalysts for Hydrogen Production in a Sulfur–Iodine Thermochemical Cycle

Graphene oxide (GO), GO reduced by hydrazine hydrate (rGO-HH), GO reduced by ethylene glycol (rGO-EG), Pt-decorated rGO-HH composite (Pt/rGO-HH), and Pt-decorated rGO-EG composite (Pt/rGO-EG), are fabricated for the heterogeneous catalytic decomposition of HI in a sulfur–iodine thermochemical cycle. Corresponding material characterization on various catalysts are performed to gain insight into the catalytic mechanism. rGO-HH presents better catalytic activity than the GO and rGO-EG counterparts, due to the increase of active sites (unsaturated carbon atoms) with the reduction of oxygen-containing groups and the formation of edge planes. Homogeneously dispersed fine Pt nanoparticles are obtained with employing rGO-EG as the support. The corrugation morphology and graphene edges benefit the nucleation, dispersion, and immobilization of Pt nanoparticles. As a consequence, Pt/rGO-EG presents better catalytic activity and stability than the convenient Pt/activated-carbon (Pt/AC) counterpart. Results indicate t.
Combustion Processed Nickel Oxide and Zinc Doped Nickel Oxide Thin Films as a Hole Transport Layer for Perovskite Solar Cells

Combustion processed nickel oxide (NiOx) thin film is considered as an alternative to the sol-gel processed hole transport layer for perovskite solar cells (PSCs). In this paper, NiOx thin film was prepared by the solution–combustion process at 250 °C, a temperature lower than the actual reaction temperature. Furthermore, the properties of the NiOx hole transport layer (HTL) in PSCs were enhanced by the incorporation of zinc (Zn) in NiOx thin films. X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results revealed that the formation of NiOx was achieved at lower annealing temperature, which confirms the process of the combustion reaction. The electrical conductivity was greatly improved with Zn doping into the NiOx crystal lattice. Better photoluminescence (PL) quenching, and low PL lifetime decay were responsible for better charge separation in 5% Zn doped NiOx, which results in improved device performance of PSCs. The maximum power conversion efficiency of inverted PSCs made with pristine NiOx and 5% Zn-NiOx as the HTL was 13.62% and 14.87%, respectively. Both the devices exhibited better stability than the PEDOT:PSS (control) device in an ambient condition.
Assessment of CHADFDM satellite‐based input dataset for the groundwater recharge estimation in arid and data scarce regions

Aquifer natural recharge estimations are a prerequisite for understanding hydrologic systems and sustainable water resources management. As meteorological data series collection is difficult in arid and semiarid areas, satellite products have recently become an alternative for water resources studies. A daily groundwater recharge estimation in the NW part of the Lake Chad Basin, using a soil–plant‐atmosphere model (VisualBALAN), from ground‐ and satellite‐based meteorological input dataset for non‐irrigated and irrigated land and for the 2005–2014 period is presented. Average annual values were 284 mm and 30°C for precipitation and temperature in ground‐based gauge stations. For the satellite‐model‐based Lake Chad Basin Flood and Drought Monitor System platform (CHADFDM), average annual precipitation and temperature were 417 mm and 29°C, respectively. Uncertainties derived from satellite data measurement could account for the rainfall difference. The estimated mean annual aquifer recharge was always higher from satellite‐ than ground‐based data, with differences up to 46% for dryland and 23% in irrigated areas. Recharge response to rainfall events was very variable and results were very sensitive to: wilting point, field capacity and curve number for runoff estimation. Obtained results provide plausible recharge values beyond the uncertainty related to data input and modelling approach. This work prevents on the important deviations in recharge estimation from weighted‐ensemble satellite‐based data, informing in decision making to both stakeholders and policy makers.
Measuring nitrification inhibition by metals in wastewater treatment systems: Current state of science and fundamental research needs

Abstract Wastewater treatment is an important step within the water continuum as it reduces the risks associated with microorganisms as well as organic and inorganic compounds. From a chemical standpoint, treatment effectiveness is generally linked to carbon and nutrient (e.g., nitrogen, phosphorus) removal. A critical step in nitrogen removal is initiated by the conversion of ammonia to nitrate, a process that is carried out by nitrifying microorganisms. Nitrification is considered a key step as it removes the toxic effect of ammonia, while the resulting nitrate can be further converted into N2 gas (by autotrophic or heterotrophic nitrifying bacteria), which is not harmful to the environment. As nitrification is susceptible to a wide range of inhibitory substances, measuring the effect of potential inhibitors on nitrification rates is relevant to maintaining the performance of treatment plants. In this review we discuss the primary methods used to measure nitrification inhibition, their applications, and potential limitations. The authors also identify the research gaps that need to be addressed to better assess inhibition, with special attention on the effect of metals on nitrification in engineered wastewater treatment systems.
Evaluation of NPHS2 gene polymorphism (R229Q) in chronic kidney disease patients

The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of nephrotic syndrome 2 (NPHS2) gene polymorphism (R229Q) in chronic kidney disease which has unclear etiology. This study was conducted on 80 CKD patients compared with 40 age and sex matched normal volunteers acting as a control group. All of them underwent renal function tests and were assessed for the presence of NPHS2 gene polymorphism. We noticed that (R229Q) is a common variant in Egyptian population. Its concentration was (62.5%) in CKD patients and (55%) in control group. There was no significant difference with p-value > 0.05 between patients and control groups as regards to NPHS2 genotypes and alleles.
Missed Nursing Care and the Predicting Factors in Saudi Arabia

The соnсeрt of missed nursing саre addresses nursing саre оmissiоns in the рrосess of delivering nursing саre. Missed nursing саre leads to diminished quality of саre and рооr раtient оutсоmes. The Аim of the study: This study аimed to determine the levels and types of missed nursing саre and to identify рrediсtоrs of “missed nursing саre” based on bасkgrоund variables, and рerсeived reasons for missed саre. Research design: Quantitative descriptive сrоss-seсtiоnаl соrrelаtiоnаl research design. Setting: This study was соnduсted 10 hоsрitаls in Makkah region, Saudi Аrаbiа. Sample: 309 Раrtiсiраnts was recruited using а nоnрrоbаbility соnvenienсe sampling methods. Tооls of data соlleсtiоn: The MISSСАRE Survey was utilized to measure nursing staff рerсeрtiоns of both аmоunts of missed nursing саre and the reasons for missed nursing саre. Result: The result shows that аmbulаtiоn of раtients was the most frequently reроrted element of missed саre followed by emоtiоnаl suрроrt to раtient and/or family, feeding раtient when the fооd is still warm, setting up meals for раtient who feeds themselves, resроnse to саll light is initiated within 5 minutes, and attend interdisсiрlinаry саre соnferenсes. The study аlsо revealed that inadequate lаbоr resources were the most reason of missed саre followed by material resources and соmmuniсаtiоn. Соnсlusiоn: This study соnсluded the роint to the need to асknоwledge сertаin аsрeсts of missed nursing саre and the different roles within nursing. Highlighting the most relevant reasons for missed nursing саre might help nurse аdministrаtоrs in preparing resроnsive strategies to eliminate such reasons.
Borate Anion Dopant Inducing Oxygen Vacancies over Co3O4 Nanocages for Enhanced Oxygen Evolution

The rational design of cost effective and highly efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts plays an extremely important role in promoting the commercial applications of electrochemical water splitting. Herein we reported a sacrificial template strategy for the preparation of borate anion doped Co3O4@ZIF-67 nanocages assembled with nanosheets (B-Co3O4@ZIF-67) by hydrothermal boronation of zeolitic imidazolate framework-67 (ZIF-67). During the preparation process, two different kinds of borate anion sources were found to regulate the morphological structures by tuning the etching rate between ZIF precursors and the borate anion. Moreover, borate anion doping was also found to induce oxygen vacancy defects, which is beneficial for modulating the electronic structure and accelerating electron transport. Meanwhile, the resultant B-Co3O4@ZIF-67 nanocages possess a large specific surface area, which is beneficial for the mass transfer of the electrolyte and exposing more catalytic active sites. Benefiting from the advantages above, the resultant B-Co3O4@ZIF-67 nanocages exhibit impressive OER performance with a small overpotential of 334 mV, a current density of 10 mA cm−2, a small Tafel slope of 73.88 mV dec−1, as well as long-term durability in an alkaline electrolyte.
Silica‐rich seawater in the early Cambrian: Sedimentological evidence from bedded cherts

The effects and timing of the evolution of siliceous sponge and radiolarians on the mode of silica burial and oceanic silica cycling in the early Cambrian are still controversial. Bedded cherts of the lower Cambrian Yurtus Formation deposited in a subtidal shelf environment. They display diagnostic sedimentary features, including intraclastic chert grains, edgewise chert breccias, weakly compacted grains and rip‐up clasts, and rapid silica cementation, collectively indicating primary and very early silicification at and near the sediment–water interface. This depositional mode contrasts with Phanerozoic biogenic cherts but is comparable with that of Precambrian cherts precipitated from silica‐rich seawater. The Yurtus cherts therefore provide direct and compelling sedimentological evidence of the continuation of silica‐rich seawater into the early Cambrian, consistent with the extensive coeval chert depositions elsewhere. These results contrast with the long‐held view of rapid decline in seawater silica concentrations in the earliest Phanerozoic, and elucidate coeval Si‐coupled geochemical cycling, silica‐biomineralization and fossil preservation.
Teachers' Views on Music Education Practices in Secondary Education in Distance Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic Process

In this study, it was aimed to determine the views of music teachers who have worked in secondary education during the COVID-19 Pandemic process regarding the music lessons conducted via distance education. The study group of the research consisted of 11 music teachers who were determined by convenience sampling method. The data were collected using a semi-structured interview consisting of 6 questions and a demographic information form. In line with the findings obtained from this study, it was determined that the music teachers participating in the research had difficulties in classroom management, parents' approaches, technological equipment, internet problems and students' motivation. Besides, it was determined that the teachers used different technological teaching materials in the course, the achievements in the curriculum were partially achieved and the course evaluation process could not be carried out effectively enough.
RASA3, a Key Player in Dopamine D2S Receptor-mediated MAPK Signaling

The short form of dopamine D2 receptor (D2S) functions as a presynaptic autoreceptor on dopamine neurons and has an inhibitory effect on dopaminergic tone. D2-MAPKs pathway is involved in many physiological events like production of prolactin and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) expression. However, the effect of D2S receptor signalling on MAPKs is cell type specific, and is not fully understood. A recent study in our lab has identified a Gαi-interacting ras-MAPK inhibitor RASA3. Here, we showed that RASA3 is the key effector in D2-induced inhibition of MAPK by knockdown of endogenous RASA3 in the GH4 cell using RASA3 siRNA. We have also transfected a dominant negative RASA3 to compete with the endogenous RASA3 for the binding site on Ras. Both RASA3-siRNA and dominant negative RASA3 blocked D2S-induced inhibition of MAPK activation, clearly implicating that RASA3 is a key effector in Gαi3-dependent D2S mediated MAPKs inhibition To determine whether RASA3’s inhibitory effect could be reconstituted in fibroblast cells, the effect of RASA3 on D2-mediated ERK1/2 activation in COS7 cells was tested. Our results show that both active Gαi2 (or Gαi3) and active RASA3 are required for optimal inhibition of ERK1/2 activation in fibroblast COS7 cells.
The contribution of functional traits to the understanding of palaeoenvironmental changes

Performance traits implicated in feeding interact directly with the environment and are consequently relevant ecological indicators. However, they have rarely been used to better understand palaeoenvironmental variation. Here, we evaluate the usefulness of a performance (i.e. functional) trait, estimated bite force, in reconstructing the palaeoecology of shrews. We investigate the relationships between mandible morphology, bite force estimates and the ecological context. We use geometric morphometrics to quantify mandible shape diversity in shrews of the archaeological site El Harhoura 2 (Rabat, Morocco), dated from the Late Pleistocene to the Holocene. Morphological groups were used instead of taxa as units of diversity. To explore how phenotypic traits are linked to their environment, they were compared with palaeoenvironmental inferences for the El Harhoura 2 site extracted from the literature. Morphological groups acted as phenotypic response units. Estimated bite force was related to palaeoenvironmental variation over the considered period, with a particular sensibility to arid/humid transitions. The complementarity of morphological and performance indicators allowed us to infer functional convergence and divergence among shrews. Our results suggest that functional traits may be relevant indicators of changes in palaeoenvironments. This approach opens up new possibilities to explore the impact of environmental changes on extinct organisms.
License plate recognition using neural architecture search for edge devices

The mutually beneficial blend of artificial intelligence with internet of things has been enabling many industries to develop smart information processing solutions. The implementation of technology enhanced industrial intelligence systems is challenging with the environmental conditions, resource constraints and safety concerns. With the era of smart homes and cities, domains like automated license plate recognition (ALPR) are exploring automate tasks such as traffic management and fraud detection. This paper proposes an optimized decision support solution for ALPR that works purely on edge devices at night‐time. Although ALPR is a frequently addressed research problem in the domain of intelligent systems, still they are generally computationally intensive and unable to run on edge devices with limited resources. Therefore, as a novel approach, we consider the complex aspects related to deploying lightweight yet efficient and fast ALPR models on embedded devices. The usability of the proposed models is assessed in real‐world with a proof‐of‐concept hardware design and achieved competitive results to the state‐of‐the‐art ALPR solutions that run on server‐grade hardware with intensive resources.
Metacercariae of Clinostomum Leidy, 1856 (Digenea: Clinostomidae) infecting freshwater fishes throughout Brazil: infection patterns, parasite–host interactions, and geographic distribution

ABSTRACT This review investigated information about metacercariae of Clinostomum Leidy, 1856 published over 91 years (1928 to 2019) to search for infection and geographic distribution patterns of this digenean species in freshwater fish from Brazil. The present study used 101 samples from 60 fish species of different families distributed in Characiformes, Siluriformes, Cichliformes, Gymnotiformes, Cypriniformes, Cyprinodontiformes, and Synbranchiformes. The greatest number of parasite–host associations were found for Cichliformes species of the Cichlidae family. Metacercariae of digeneans that belonged to four species of Clinostomum were found, with Clinostomum marginatum and Clinostomum complanatum (68.7%) the dominant species, whereas 22.2% of parasites were allocated only to the genus Clinostomum. There was variation in prevalence, intensity and abundance of Clinostomum spp. in host fish, and infection sites included internal and external organs (e.g. intestine, stomach, operculum, muscle, mouth, heart, gills, body cavity, fins). There was similarity in prevalence, intensity, and abundance of Clinostomum spp. in detritivorous, omnivorous, and piscivorous host fish. Clinostomum metacercariae are distributed in the Amazon, Paraná River, São Francisco, Uruguay, Atlantic North and South, and Southeast basin systems, whereas C. marginatum and C. complanatum have distribution patterns limited to hydrographic basins of different regions. Clinostomum spp. have a cosmopolitan distribution and parasitize a diversity of host fish, and the present study constitutes the most extensive survey regarding these digeneans in fish throughout Brazil.
The Role of Peer Effects in Corporate Employee Welfare Policies

This paper investigates the role of peer effects in the employee welfare policies of orga- nizations. Using US panel data for a sample of 11,451 firm-year observations from 1996 to 2017, we find that firms’ employee welfare decisions are driven by their peers and show that peer firms play a significant role in defining corporate employee welfare policies. Our findings are robust to various sensitivity checks, including alternative definitions of employee welfare, alternative peer proxies and several identification strategies. Our additional analysis shows that herding behaviour is prevalent in followers, who mimic leaders’ behaviour, but we do not find any such relationship for industry leaders. Further, we show evidence suggesting that mimetic and normative isomorphic pressures are driving the peer effects. Finally, we examine the economic consequences of peer mimicking in employee welfare policies and show that it improves focal firms’ value and innovation. Our findings on firms’ peer effects and herding behaviour have policy implications.
Public visitation and deforestation in protected areas of the Brazilian Amazon: an application of the Linear Probability Model

ABSTRACT The creation of protected areas is one of the main strategies used for the conservation of natural resources. In the Amazon, they have suffered from illegal deforestation, causing damage, most of which is irreversible. In this sense, it is necessary to investigate the relationship between public visitation and the suppression of forest cover in the biome. Multiple linear regression by Weighted Least Squares (WLS) was used, with cutting data from the conservation units of the Amazon, to develop a Linear Probability Model for the occurrence of deforestation due to the existence of visitation and other explanatory aspects. The results highlighted that the existence of managed public visitation in a conservation unit represents a reduction in the probability of deforestation, suggesting that this may be an important strategy for the protection of forest cover and, consequently, regional biodiversity.
A Coordinated Direct AF/DF Relay-Aided NOMA Framework for Low Outage

This paper investigates the performance of a new framework for low-outage downlink non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) using a coordinated direct and relay transmission (CDRT) scheme with direct links to both the near-user (NU) and the far-user (FU). Both amplify-and-forward and decode-and-forward relays are considered. In this framework, the NU combines the signals from base-station and relay at each stage of the successive interference cancellation (SIC) to attain good outage performance. For both NU and FU, the expressions for outage probability and throughput are derived in closed form. We also derive the high-SNR expressions for the outage probability to demonstrate that with the proposed framework, both users harness a diversity of two without feedback bits (this is the only framework to achieve this). We demonstrate that the choice of power allocation coefficient and target symbol rates is crucial to maximizing the NU throughput while ensuring a desired target FU throughput. We demonstrate that CDRT with the proposed framework outperforms known schemes in terms of outage probability, sum throughput, and energy efficiency. Moreover, we also show that optimal rate selection is important to maximize the energy efficiency. Monte Carlo simulations validate the accuracy of the derived analytical expressions.