Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Making a Point: a Critical Review of the Barbed Point Manufacturing Process Practised at Star Carr

Star Carr, North Yorkshire, has the largest deposition of Mesolithic antler barbed points in the country; in fact it accounts for roughly 97% of all Early Mesolithic barbed points known in Britain. There has been much debate about whether barbed point manufacture occurred at the site or elsewhere within the landscape but the process of manufacturing has never been examined in great detail. This paper presents a new evaluation based on analysis of museum collections, recent excavations and experimental work and concludes that there is evidence to suggest that the full manufacturing process took place at Star Carr. Résumé Star Carr, dans l'est du Yorkshire, a le plus important dépôt de pointes barbelées en andouiller du pays, en fait, il représente en gros 97% de toutes les pointes barbelées du début du mésolithique connues en Grande-Bretagne. On a beaucoup discuté pour savoir si la fabrication de pointes barbelées se déroulait sur le site ou ailleurs dans le paysage mais le procédé de fabrication n'a jamais été examiné très en détails. Cette étude propose une nouvelle évaluation qui repose sur l'analyse des collections des musées, de récentes fouilles et des travaux expérimentaux, elle en conclut qu'il existe des témoignages qui donnent à penser que l'ensemble du procédé de fabrication se déroulait à Star Carr. Résumen Star Carr, en el este de Yorkshire, tiene la deposición más alta de puntas dentadas de cornamenta de ciervo del periodo mesolítico de todo el país, de hecho representa más o menos un 97% de todas las puntas dentadas del primer mesolítico conocidas en Gran Bretaña. Ha habido mucho debate sobre si la fabricación de puntas dentadas ocurrió en el yacimiento o en otra parte dentro del paisaje pero nunca se ha examinado en gran detalle el proceso de su fabricación. Este estudio presenta una nueva evaluación basada en el análisis de las colecciones en museos, de excavaciones recientes y de trabajo experimental, y concluye que hay evidencia que sugiere que el proceso de fabricación completo ocurrió en Star Carr. Zusammenfassung Aus Star Carr, East Yorkshire, stammt die größte Fundmenge mesolithischer Widerhakenspitzen aus Geweih, sie umfasst etwa 97% aller frühmesolithischen Widerhakenspitzen, die aus Großbritannien bekannt sind. Es wurde ausführlich diskutiert, ob diese Geräte vor Ort oder anderswo in der Region hergestellt wurden, jedoch wurde der eigentliche Prozess der Herstellung nie besonders detailliert untersucht. Dieser Beitrag präsentiert eine Neubewertung, die auf Analysen von Museumssammlungen, jüngsten Ausgrabungen sowie experimentellen Untersuchungen basiert. Er kommt zu dem Schluss, dass es Belege gibt, die erkennen lassen, dass der komplette Herstellungsprozess in Star Carr stattfand.
A Study of Factors Influenced Online Shopping Behavior in Malaysia: A Structural Approach

The aim of the article is to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the financial and asset situation of infectious diseases hospitals in Poland after the first year of the pandemic, which began in late 2019. The first significant financial impacts of the pandemic were recorded in the 2020 financial statements. Fulfilling the purpose of the article, the 2020 data were referenced to 2018-2019, i.e., before the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The research was conducted on the basis of financial statements obtained from 79 infectious diseases hospitals. The results of the research, apart from its scientific aspect, constitute a rich knowledge base and directions for action for the managers, supervisors and owners of infectious diseases hospitals in Poland, as well as for the state bodies responsible for the proper functioning of the infectious diseases treatment system, especially in the era of the pandemic, which, according to specialists, the world will be facing for several more years. The article addresses a timely topic of interest to a wide range of stakeholders. It is one of the first surveys to attempt to analyze the impact of coronavirus on the financial and asset situation of infectious diseases hospitals in Poland after the first pandemic period, especially since not all financial statements for 2020 of medical entities have yet been approved by ownership bodies. The research sample covered 89.8% of the general population.
Microstrip Antenna for Microwave Imaging Application

A compact microstrip antenna design to be used in breast cancer detection is presented. The antenna consists of a radiating patch mounted on two vertical plates, fed by coaxial cable. A study is carried out on difierent parameters of the antenna. Simulation results show that the antenna possesses a wide bandwidth and this is conflrmed experimentally. In experiments, a homogeneous dielectric box, having similar properties to human tissue is used to study the interaction of the antenna with tissue. Even without added matching medium or lumped loads there is good matching when the antenna is in contact with the tissue. Finally a two-element antenna array is investigated numerically, with promising results.
Reduction of windturbine generated seismic noise with structural measures

Abstract. Reducing wind turbine noise recorded at seismological stations promises to lower the conflict between renewable energy producers and seismologists. Seismic noise generated by the movement of wind turbines has been shown to travel large distances, affecting seismological stations used for seismic monitoring and/or the detection of seismic events. In this study, we use advanced 3D numerical techniques to study the possibility of using structural changes in the ground on the wave-path between the wind turbine and the seismic station in order to reduce or mitigate the noise generated by the wind turbine. Testing a range of structural changes around the foundation of the wind turbine, such as open and filled cavities, we show that we are able to considerably reduce the seismic noise recorded by placing empty circular trenches approx. 10 meters away from the wind turbines. We show the expected effects of filling the trenches with water. In addition, we study how relatively simple topographic elevations influence the propagation of the seismic energy generated by wind turbines and find that topography does help to reduce wind turbine induced seismic noise.
Localization of the Phenotypically Varying P270 Protein on dsRNA Virus-positive and Negative Trichomonas vaginalis Isolates

Trichomonas vaginalis causes trichomonosis, the number one, non-viral STI, with adverse consequences to women’s reproductive health [1,2]. One of the most immunogenic proteins of T. vaginalis is called P270 of ~270-kDa in size. This P270 protein has tandemly repeated immunogenic DREGRD-epitopes that are detected by the monoclonal antibody (MAb) C20A3 [3-7]. It was discovered by indirect immunofluorescence (IF) that some naturally-occurring isolates had subpopulations of parasites that were heterogeneous in the surface expression of P270 [4]. These isolates had both fluorescent and non-fluorescent organisms. Fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) [6] showed that 100 percent fluorescent trichomonads reflecting surface P270 became non-fluorescent. Likewise, sorted non-fluorescent parasites with cytoplasmic P270 reverted to fluorescent organisms with surface P270. It was hypothesized that parasite factors affect P270 synthesis and surface expression. Subsequently it was found that Abstract Trichomonas vaginalis is a flagellated protist and causal agent for trichomonosis, the number one, nonviral sexually transmitted infection (STI). The parasites of all naturally-occurring isolates of T. vaginalis synthesize the immunogenic protein called P270, which is encoded by a single copy gene with numerous tandemly-repeated elements encoding the sequence DREGRD detected by the monoclonal antibody (MAb) C20A3. Isolates have been defined based on the absence (Type I) or presence (Type II) of T. vaginalis dsRNA virus (TVV). Type II TVV+ isolate organisms grown in batch culture have previously been shown to undergo phenotypic variation between surface and non-surface (cytoplasmic) expression of P270 using the MAb C20A3 in immunofluorescence (IF) assays. Type I TVVtrichomonads synthesize lower amounts of P270 that is only found in the cytoplasm. In this study both IF and immunoelectron microscopy (IEM) analysis were performed for the first time to localize P270 on and within both types of trichomonal isolates. IF experiments of Type II TVV+ parasites show whole surface labeling of intact, non-permeabilized organisms and surface and cytoplasmic fluorescence for permeabilized trichomonads. Immunocytochemistry of Type II trichomonads treated with MAb C20A3 presented gold-labeling of P270 throughout the external membrane as well as within peripheral vacuoles. Further, there was no P270 detected within the electron dense hydrogenosome organelles. On the other hand, for Type I TVVpermeabilized organisms, P270 is detected by IF only in the cytoplasm of some parasites, and immunocytochemistry confirmed that no trichomonads had surface P270. These data provide evidence for the first time of compartmentalization and surface localization of P270 among phenotypically varying, Type II TVV+ T. vaginalis compared to the Type I TVVorganisms.
Ventriloquial reflexivity: Exploring the communicative relationality of the ‘I’ and the ‘it’

Can an exploration of managers’ real-time organizational talk make way for a profoundly revised theory of reflexivity? Indeed, our analysis of the reflexivity literature reveals four significant points of contestation – the subject/object distinction, temporality, representation and agency – all of which revolve around the interplay of an ‘I’ (at least one reflexive agent) and an ‘it’ (something to be reflexive about). The focus of this inquiry lies in how the ‘I’ and the ‘it’ are constituted communicatively and what generates, sustains and animates them in interaction. Such interactions are sourced from a post-experience master programme for practising managers, thus providing naturally occurring data amendable to a ventriloquial analysis. We identify and demonstrate three types of reflexive moments: conflating, bifurcating and animating. We subsequently theorize these as instances of ventriloquial reflexivity, using the terms conflating, bifurcating and animating to express the different moments in which speakers co-orient to the communicative constitution of the ‘I’ and the ‘it’. Ventriloquial reflexivity allows us to explore reflexivity as an interactional and situated accomplishment, thus further pointing to how reflexive practices can be understood and enhanced.
Prediction of micropitting life in spur gears operating under mixed-lubrication regime using load-sharing concept

Micropitting is a surface fatigue failure of the gear tooth that occurs due to repeated loading and unloading of the tooth surface in a manner that the contact stresses exceed the surface fatigue strength of the material. The micropitting process in essence is a fatigue problem and thus it occurs during millions of cycles of operation. Micropitting can lead to problems such as wearing of the gear tooth, vibrations, noise, and misalignment. Therefore, micropitting life prediction is necessary for design, performance, and reliability improvements. The present study predicts the coefficient of friction for each point along the line of action of the pinion and gear using the load-sharing concept. The subsurface stresses are then calculated and the Von Mises stresses at each point are obtained. Then, the pitting life is predicted by employing a model which was developed by Zaretsky. The predicted pitting lives are compared with the experimental data from the literature. A parametric study on the effect of applied load, speed, and surface roughness on the micropitting life of a pair of spur gears is conducted. It is shown that increasing the applied load results in the decrease in the micropitting life of the gear. Increase in the speed, on the other hand, results in formation of a better lubricant film and therefore the micropitting life increases. An increase in the surface roughness leads to a decrease in the micropitting life.
Mathematical model of porous solid impregnation based on multichannel representation of the pore system

In this work, based on the development of previously constructed concepts of modeling the process of impregnation of porous media with an unknown pore structure, a mathematical model was developed for calculation the change in water absorption of a body immersed in a liquid. The model is based on considering a porous structure in the form of a system of unconnected channels of three different radii. Using a theoretical model and experimental data approximations, the corresponding curves characterizing the truncated radial distribution of porous channels were obtained. Satisfactory agreement with experimental data was obtained for various porous materials. The presented calculations showed that, despite the roughness of the assumptions in the theory of fluid motion through pore channels and the pore system itself, the idea of multichannel is quite justified. It is possible that the variety of channels and their sizes determine mainly the fractal properties of the impregnated samples. The accepted scheme of pore channels shows somewhat underestimated values of the diameters of the middle channels. This indicates the need to include in the structure at least one more parameter, for example, tortuosity, in order to approximate the real characteristics of porous materials.
Spatial assessment of air pollution due to mining and industrial activities: a case study of Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine

Air pollution has remained a primary concern over the last decades. Respirable particulate matters (PM) PM2.5 and PM10 are the main atmospheric pollutants that have an adverse effect on human health. This study aimed to examine the air quality of Kryvyi Rih region through the spatial assessment by means of Ordinary Kriging. The study region has a major iron ore basin with several open cast mining operations and industrial activities, which are mainly contribute to the environmental issues. For the study, 10 monitoring stations were chosen located around the main residential and industrial areas of the city. The results showed that industrial plants were the largest sources of PM emissions. The average Air Quality Index (AQI) of PM2.5 and PM10 for the observed period obtained from the station located in close vicinity to the industrial plants were 170 and 89 respectively. Additionally, the 48 hours of PM dynamics were graphically analysed. It was found that PM reaches a peak primary between 12 AM and 12 PM before falling a little between 12 PM and 12 AM.
A major shift in U.S. land development avoids significant losses in forest and agricultural land

Land development, which typically results from the conversion of lands previously in agricultural and forest uses, is one of the most fundamental ways in which humans impact the natural environment. We study the remarkable decline in land development rates across the conterminous United States over the period 2000–2015, which occurred after development rates had grown rapidly over the last two decades of the 20th century. Despite relatively constant population growth since 1980, we find that the current annual rate of land development has declined consistently across several stratifications of the U.S. land base and amounts to less than 25% of the peak rate observed in the mid-late 1990s, implying that the developed land base of the U.S. has become increasingly dense in recent years. We show that the widespread shift in land development rates resulted in 7 million acres of avoided land development, roughly half of which would have come from conversions of forested lands. Panel data econometric estimation indicates that growth in development over the last two decades of the 20th century was driven by falling gas prices (an important component of commuting costs) and, to a lesser extent, rising incomes. Since 2000, however, income growth has been stagnant while gas prices have risen sharply, and we find that the latter has played a larger role in shaping the recent shift towards denser development. Results illustrate an often overlooked effect of how rising gas prices can indirectly avoid losses in forest and agricultural land by reducing developed land-use change.
A Laboratory-driven Multiscale Investigation of X-Ray Induced Mass Loss and Photochemical Evolution in Cosmic Carbon and Silicate Dust

We present the results of an integrated laboratory and modeling investigation into the impact of stellar X-rays on cosmic dust. Carbonaceous grains were prepared in a cooled (<200 K) supersonic expansion from aromatic molecular precursors, and were later irradiated with 970 eV X-rays. Silicate (enstatite) grains were prepared via laser ablation, thermally annealed, and later irradiated with 500 eV X-rays. Infrared spectra of the 3.4 μm band of the carbon sample prepared with benzene revealed 84% ± 5% band area loss for an X-ray dose of 5.2 ×1023 eV.cm−2. Infrared spectra of the 8–12 μm Si–O band of the silicate sample revealed band area loss up to 63% ± 5% for doses of 2.3 × 1023 eV.cm−2. A hybrid Monte Carlo particle trajectory approach was used to model the impact of X-rays and ensuing photoelectrons, Auger and collisionally ionized electrons through the bulk. As a result of X-ray ionization and ensuing Coulomb explosions on surface molecules, the calculated mass loss is 60% for the carbonaceous sample and 46% for the silicate sample, within a factor of 2 of the IR band loss, supporting an X-ray induced mass-loss mechanism. We apply the laboratory X-ray destruction rates to estimate the lifetimes of dust grains in protoplanetary disks surrounding 1 M ⊙ and 0.1 M ⊙ G and M stars. In both cases, X-ray destruction timescales are short (a few million years) at the disk surface, but are found to be much longer than typical disk lifetimes (≳10 Myr) over the disk bulk.
Noise-induced transition in the Zeldovich–Semenov model with local and global bifurcations

The noise-induced transition of the Zeldovich–Semenov model in a continuous stirred tank reactor is investigated under small random perturbations. The deterministic model will exhibit mono- and bistable characteristics via local and global bifurcations. In the bistable zone, based on the Freidlin–Wentzell large deviation theory, the stochastic preference is explained by analyzing the required action of the fluctuational path. For the case of monostability, in the weak noise limit, the emergence of the switching line gives rise to the sudden switch of the optimal path and the sliding cycle will appear via the sliding bifurcation, which is verified by numerical methods. In addition, when there is no saddle in phase space, stochastic excitation with large-amplitude spikes is studied. On the quasi-threshold manifold, the point with the minimum quasi-potential plays the same role as the saddle, which means that the optimal path will undergo a large excursion by crossing this special point. These phenomena are verified by employing stochastic simulations.
An Experimental Test of the Conservation of Raw Material in Flintknapping Skill Acquisition

Abstract Many lithic assemblages from around the world reveal little Variation that can be attributed to significant differences in skill among their makers. One possibility far the lack of skill variability could have resulted from a method of novice flintknapper instruction that embedded the learning process in the normal production of chipped stone tools. If skilled knappers allowed less-skilled individuals to participate in only the reduction stages they could successfully execute, then this learning process may be nearly invisible in the archaeological record. An embedded learning strategy could be extremely conservative of valuable raw material. This project experimentally compares an embedded learning strategy to a teaching method utilized by most modern knapping instructors far the pressure-flaking of small arrowpoints. The results not only show the successful learning and raw material conservation of the embedded strategy, but also suggest that young children may have been specifically excluded from knapping activities when raw material was highly valued.
A retrospective cohort study of major adverse cardiac events in children affected by Kawasaki disease with coronary artery aneurysms in Thailand

Kawasaki disease (KD) is a common form of vasculitis in children that can be complicated by coronary artery aneurysms (CAAs). Data of long-term outcomes and major adverse cardiac events (MACE) in children with CAAs following KD in developing country are limited. Our aims were to determine the rates of MACE and identify risk factors associated with MACE in children with KD and CAAs in Thailand. We performed a retrospective analysis of data from 170 children diagnosed with KD and CAAs in two tertiary hospitals between 1994 and 2019. During a median (range) follow-up of 5.4 years (22 days to 23 years), 19 patients (11.2%) experienced MACE, that included 12 coronary artery bypass grafting, 2 percutaneous coronary intervention and 5 children with evidence of myocardial ischemia and coronary occlusion. Coronary interventions were performed at a median time of 4 years (0.01 to 9.5 years) after KD diagnosis. Forty-nine patients (28.8%) had giant CAAs. No MACE was reported in children with small CAAs. Independent risks of MACE were from the absence of intravenous immunoglobulin treatment (HR 7.22; 95% CI 2.21 to 23.59; p = 0.001), the presence of giant aneurysms (HR 13.59; 95% CI 2.43 to 76.09; p = 0.003), and CAAs that involved bilateral branches of coronary arteries (HR 6.19; 95% CI 1.24 to 30.92; p = 0.026). Among children with giant CAAs, the intervention-free rate was 93.8%, 78.7% and 52.2%, at 1, 5 and 10 years, respectively. Of note, 81% of the small CAAs regressed to a normal size, and for medium CAAs, 50% regressed to normal size. Overall, ~10% of children with CAAs following KD experienced MACE in this cohort. Timely IVIG treatment in children with KD following symptom onset will reduce the risk of MACE. Cautious surveillance to identify cardiac complications should be recommended for children once medium or giant CAAs develop. Trial registration: TCTR20190125004.
Experimental determination of Escherichia coli biomass composition for constraint-based metabolic modeling

Genome-scale metabolic models (GEMs) are mathematical representations of metabolism that allow for in silico simulation of metabolic phenotypes and capabilities. A prerequisite for these predictions is an accurate representation of the biomolecular composition of the cell necessary for replication and growth, implemented in GEMs as the so-called biomass objective function (BOF). The BOF contains the metabolic precursors required for synthesis of the cellular macro- and micromolecular constituents (e.g. protein, RNA, DNA), and its composition is highly dependent on the particular organism, strain, and growth condition. Despite its critical role, the BOF is rarely constructed using specific measurements of the modeled organism, drawing the validity of this approach into question. Thus, there is a need to establish robust and reliable protocols for experimental condition-specific biomass determination. Here, we address this challenge by presenting a general pipeline for biomass quantification, evaluating its performance on Escherichia coli K-12 MG1655 sampled during balanced exponential growth under controlled conditions in a batch-fermentor set-up. We significantly improve both the coverage and molecular resolution compared to previously published workflows, quantifying 91.6% of the biomass. Our measurements display great correspondence with previously reported measurements, and we were also able to detect subtle characteristics specific to the particular E. coli strain. Using the modified E. coli GEM iML1515a, we compare the feasible flux ranges of our experimentally determined BOF with the original BOF, finding that the changes in BOF coefficients considerably affect the attainable fluxes at the genome-scale.