Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The spatial and temporal behaviour of the lower stratospheric temperature over the Southern Hemisphere: the MSU view. Part I: data, methodology and temporal behaviour

The lower stratosphere monthly temperature anomalies over the Southern Hemisphere derived from soundings made by the Microwave Sounding Unit (MSU) between 1979 and 1997 are analysed. Specifically MSU channel 4 temperature retrievals are considered. Principal component (PC) analysis with the S‐mode approach is used in order to isolate grid points that covary in a similar manner and to determine the main features of their temporal behaviour. The first six PCs explain 81.3% of the variance and represent the different time variability patterns observed over the Southern Hemisphere for the ten area clusters determined by the method. The most important feature is common to all the PC score pattern–time series and corresponds to a negative linear trend present in almost all the Southern Hemisphere except over New Zealand and surrounding areas. The negative trend is largest over Antarctica. The remaining features of the temporal variability are different for each PC score and therefore for each cluster region over the Southern Hemisphere. The first PC score pattern shows the impact of the Chichón and Mt Pinatubo eruptions that each produced a 2‐year warming over the tropical and sub‐tropical lower stratosphere. This variability is orthogonal with the behaviour present over Antarctica. There are different anomalies between 1987 (El Niño) and 1988 (La Niña). This second PC does not show any evidence whatsoever of the volcanic eruptions. The semi‐annual wave is present in the anomaly recurrence at mid to high latitudes. Over very low latitudes, close to the Equator, the Quasi‐Biennial Oscillation (QBO) band of frequency is also present. Copyright © 2001 Royal Meteorological Society
Influence of Rifamycin on Survival in Patients with Concomitant Lung Cancer and Pulmonary Tuberculosis

Background: The coexistence of lung cancer and tuberculosis is not rare. Rifamycin plays a pivotal role in anti-tuberculosis therapy. However, its potential impact on the liver metabolism of oncology drugs raises concerns. We performed this study to explore whether Rifamycin affects the survival of patients with tuberculosis and lung cancer. Methods: Drawing from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, we identified patients diagnosed with concurrent lung cancer and tuberculosis between 2000 and 2014. Patients were categorized based on whether they underwent rifamycin-inclusive or rifamycin-exempt anti-tuberculosis therapy. Subsequently, we paired them at a 1:1 ratio and evaluated the mortality risk over a two-year span. Results: Out of the study participants, 1558 (81.4%) received rifamycin-based anti-tuberculosis therapy, while 356 (18.6%) underwent a rifamycin-free regimen. Analysis revealed no marked variance in the biennial mortality rate between the groups (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.33, 95% confidence interval 0.93–1.90, p = 0.1238). When focusing on the matched sets comprising 127 individuals in each group, the data did not indicate a significant link between rifamycin and a heightened two-year mortality risk (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.00, 95% confidence interval 0.86–1.18, p = 0.9538). Conclusions: For individuals with concomitant lung cancer and tuberculosis, rifamycin’s administration did not adversely influence two-year survival. Thus, rifamycin-containing anti-TB regimens should be prescribed for the indicated patients.
The Effect of Gelatin Source on the Synthesis of Gelatin-Methacryloyl and the Production of Hydrogel Microparticles

Gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) is widely used for the formulation of hydrogels in diverse biotechnological applications. After the derivatization of raw gelatin, the degree of functionalization (DoF) is an attribute of particular interest as the functional residues are necessary for crosslinking. Despite progress in the optimization of the process found in the literature, a comparison of the effect of raw gelatin on the functionalization is challenging as various approaches are employed. In this work, the modification of gelatin was performed at room temperature (RT), and eight different gelatin products were employed. The DoF proved to be affected by the bloom strength and by the species of gelatin at an equal reactant ratio. Furthermore, batch-to-batch variability of the same gelatin source had an effect on the produced GelMA. Moreover, the elasticity of GelMA hydrogels depended on the DoF of the protein as well as on bloom strength and source of the raw material. Additionally, GelMA solutions were used for the microfluidic production of droplets and subsequent crosslinking to hydrogel. This process was developed as a single pipeline at RT using protein concentrations up to 20% (w/v). Droplet size was controlled by the ratio of the continuous to dispersed phase. The swelling behavior of hydrogel particles depended on the GelMA concentration.
Form and stability of step‐pool channels: Research progress

Research examining the hydraulics, morphology, and stability of step‐pool mountain streams has blossomed in the last decade, resulting in more than a dozen dissertations. These, along with other research projects, have transformed our understanding of step‐pool channels. Contributions have been made toward understanding depositional step formation and destruction, scour downstream of steps, step‐pool hydraulics, and the effect of sediment transport on step stability. We propose that depositional steps exist in a jammed state whereby the boulders are structurally arranged within the channel and thereby stabilize it. Once a step has formed, a scour pool with a characteristic length and depth develops downstream, creating a zone where additional steps are unlikely to occur. Downstream of the scour hole, steps are more likely to occur as the high energy associated with the plunge pool has dissipated. Data suggest that the presence of cobbles or boulders limits pool scour as well as the degree to which well‐defined, channel‐spanning step‐pools form. We propose a state‐space for step‐pools in which conditions for a step to form include (1) the ratio between width and boulder diameter (the jamming ratio), (2) the ratio between applied shear stress and the stress needed to mobilize the bed (relative Shields number), and (3) the ratio between bed material supply and discharge (bed sediment concentration). Available data suggest this model is plausible. Emerging critical research questions are discussed.
ATP/IL-33-Co-Sensing by Mast Cells (MCs) Requires Activated c-Kit to Ensure Effective Cytokine Responses

Mast cells (MCs) are sentinel cells which represent an important part of the first line of defense of the immune system. MCs highly express receptors for danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) such as the IL-33R and P2X7, making MCs to potentially effective sensors for IL-33 and adenosine-triphosphate (ATP), two alarmins which are released upon necrosis-induced cell damage in peripheral tissues. Besides receptors for alarmins, MCs also express the stem cell factor (SCF) receptor c-Kit, which typically mediates MC differentiation, proliferation and survival. By using bone marrow-derived MCs (BMMCs), ELISA and flow cytometry experiments, as well as p65/RelA and NFAT reporter MCs, we aimed to investigate the influence of SCF on alarmin-induced signaling pathways and the resulting cytokine production and degranulation. We found that the presence of SCF boosted the cytokine production but not degranulation in MCs which simultaneously sense ATP and IL-33 (ATP/IL-33 co-sensing). Therefore, we conclude that SCF maintains the functionality of MCs in peripheral tissues to ensure appropriate MC reactions upon cell damage, induced by pathogens or allergens.
Threats to the Conservation of Wetlands in Ghana: The Case of Songor Ramsar Site

Wetlands are important ecosystems internationally recognized, as exemplified by the Ramsar Convention of 1971. They are diverse in terms of habitat, biota, distribution, functions and uses. Many wetlands have lost their pristine quality and have been transformed to modified ecosystems, but their salient role in the ecosystem function cannot be replaced. Over exploitation due to developmental activities and over dependents on their values for livelihood are threatening their existence. Presently, there are five sites with a surface area 178,410 hectares designated as wetlands of international importance, in Ghana. These sites are located in the strategic area of the country which includes the Densu Delta, Muni Lagoon, Anlo-Keta Lagoon Complex, Sakumo Original Research Article Adu-Kumi et al.; JSRR, 6(1): 13-25, 2015; Article no.JSRR. 2015.127 14 Lagoon and the Songor Lagoon. These wetlands are an ecologically valuable resources with diverse fauna including marine turtles, avocets, terns and other migratory or wintering wildlife species. However, overexploitation and dependency as well as developmental activities on their values for livelihood are threatening their existence. The Songor Lagoon Ramsar site inhabits over 87,000 people in its ecological sensitive area putting enormous pressure on the natural resource and therefore endangering the existence of the species and their habitats. Therefore a study to investigate the environmental impact of the socio-economic activities on the wetlands has been deemed necessary in order to recommend sustainable measures for the restoration of such sites. This study used a blend of qualitative and quantitative methodologies to gather both primary and secondary data. Simple random sampling, descriptive and inferential statistics were all employed in data analysis as well as interpretative technique also. The results indicate that about 92% of the respondents heavily depend on Songor wetland for livelihoods. It was also in established that, 52% of the inhabitants are involved in fishing with chemicals whiles 60% also reclaims the land by using sand for construction in the site. Consequently, wetland resources have been overexploited and degraded, leading to frequent flood and storm attacks. In conclusion, access to the wetland by the public to undertake activities has made its management on sustainable basis difficult for the management authority. It is therefore recommended that, awareness should be created about the values of the wetland among the community members, also environmental impact assessment should be done before any project is carried out in the site, and the local authorities should formulate a policy or review existing regulations to provide a legal framework for sustainable utilization of the resource and access to critical areas in the Ramsar site.
Comparative Analysis of the Impact of Oil Price Shocks on Selected Macroeconomic Variables in Angola and Libya

Purpose: This study comparatively examines the impact of oil price shocks on five selected macroeconomic variables in two African oil-producing countries, Angola and Libya, using secondary data from 1983 to 2021. Materials and Methods: We adopted a causal-comparative/Quasi-Experimental research design to infer cause-and-effect relationships. The structural vector error correction model (SVECM) was employed due to the advantage of cointegrated variables in both countries. Findings: The empirical analysis reveals that the response to and significance of oil price shocks are somewhat similar in the two countries, with a significant positive and persistent effect on oil prices and real economic output. However, other macro variables responded insignificantly to oil price shocks, albeit with varying signs. Based on the empirical analysis, we conclude that while oil price shocks have a significant and lasting positive impact on oil prices and real economic output in both countries studied, their influence on other macroeconomic variables is relatively insignificant, though these variables exhibit varying responses. Hence, to mitigate the risks associated with oil price shocks and reduce dependency on oil revenues, we recommend that Angola and Libya diversify their economies by investing in non-oil sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, and renewable energy. Implications to Theory, Practice and Policy: Furthermore, we recommend the implementation of macroeconomic stabilization policies to reduce vulnerability to oil price shocks. Fiscal measures, such as establishing sovereign wealth funds to save excess oil revenues during high oil price periods, can stabilize the economy during low oil price periods. Monetary policies, including interest rate adjustments, can counteract inflationary or deflationary pressures resulting from oil price shocks.
Bio-inspired circular latent spaces to estimate objects' rotations

This paper proposes a neural network model that estimates the rotation angle of unknown objects from RGB images using an approach inspired by biological neural circuits. The proposed model embeds the understanding of rotational transformations into its architecture, in a way inspired by how rotation is represented in the ellipsoid body of Drosophila. To effectively capture the cyclic nature of rotation, the network's latent space is structured in a circular manner. The rotation operator acts as a shift in the circular latent space's units, establishing a direct correspondence between shifts in the latent space and angular rotations of the object in the world space. Our model accurately estimates the difference in rotation between two views of an object, even for categories of objects that it has never seen before. In addition, our model outperforms three state-of-the-art convolutional networks commonly used as the backbone for vision-based models in robotics.
The meaning and form of onomatopoeias in Tjwao

Abstract The present article analyzes the meaning and form of onomatopoeias in Tjwao, a Khoe-Kwadi (Kalahari Khoe) language. Making use of a prototype approach to categorization, a corpus of 113 onomatopoeic lexemes were tested for their compliance with the semantic, phonetic, and morphological features associated with the prototype of onomatopoeias in scholarly literature. The evidence demonstrates that Tjwao onomatopoeias tend to instantiate the prototype fully. This signifies, in turn, that, as far as their phonetics and morphology are concerned, Tjwao onomatopoeias tend to be extra-systematic.
The effect of bone morphogenetic proteins BMP in comparison with A Xenograft in the management of bone defects

Background: The aim of this study is to compare the effect of Bone Morphogenetic Proteins (rhBMP), carried on a gelatin sponge scaffold in comparison with the Xenograft BioOss® in the management of bone defects. Case presentation: The case is a one-year-old rabbit that had 4 identical holes 5*5 mm within the femur bone, BMP2 was placed within the first hole with a gelatin sponge, and the second defect was left empty. A gelatin sponge was placed alone within the third hole, and a BioOss® graft was placed within the last defect. The radiographic evaluation was conducted (1 and 2) months after the surgical work, and the histological assessment was conducted two months after the surgical work. Results: The results of the radiographic evaluation found that healing the BMP2 hole was better than healing in the empty and the gelatin sponge group holes. There was no big difference between the healing in the holes filled with rhBMP2 with gelatin sponge and the healing in the holes filled with BioOss®. Conclusion: The use of a gelatin sponge impregnated with Bone Morphogenetic Proteins improves and accelerates the healing of bone defects and is comparable to the effectiveness of using a BioOss® graft.
Morphological and physiological responses to burial depth and sediment type in the wetland macrophyte Miscanthus sacchariflorus

The aim of this study is to elucidate how the wetland macrophyte Miscanthus sacchariflorus acclimatizes to sedimentation by investigating growth, morphology and nutrient content in a five month greenhouse experiment under five treatments: no burial, 6 cm sand, 6 cm clay, 12 cm sand and 12 cm clay (using one time burial). Compared to no burial treatment, biomass accumulation decreased only in the 12 cm sand burial treatment (9.5 versus 13.7 g plant). As depth of burial increased under both the sand and clay treatments, stem and leaf mass ratios, root diameter and P content in stems increased but root mass ratio and root length decreased. At 6 cm deep root mass ratio, mean root length and specific root length (SRL) were higher, while leaf and stem mass ratios, root diameter, P content in stems and N content in roots and leaves were lower in the sand than in the clay burial treatments. At 12 cm deep, only root mass ratio was higher, while stem mass ratio, N and P contents in roots were lower in the sand than in the clay burial treatments. This data indicates that the growth of M. sacchariflorus is not influenced by shallow burial through adjustments of biomass allocation and root morphology, and that clay facilitates M. sacchariflorus in acclimatizing to deep burial due to sufficient nutrient supply.
Geographical and life-history traits associated with low and high species richness across angiosperm families

Introduction The phenomenal expansion of angiosperms has prompted many investigations into the factors driving their diversification, but there remain significant gaps in our understanding of flowering plant species diversity. Methods Using the crown age of families from five studies, we used a maximum likelihood approach to classify families as having poor, predicted or high species richness (SR) using strict consensus criteria. Using these categories, we looked for associations between family SR and i) the presence of an inferred familial ancestral polyploidization event, ii) 23 life history and floral traits compiled from previously published datasets and papers, and iii) sexual system (dioecy) or genetically determined self-incompatibility (SI) mating system using an updated version of our own database and iv) geographic distribution using a new database describing the global distribution of plant species/families across realms and biomes and inferred range. Results We find that more than a third of angiosperm families (65%) had predicted SR, a large proportion (30.2%) were species poor, while few (4.8%) had high SR. Families with poor SR were less likely to have undergone an ancestral polyploidization event, exhibited deficits in diverse traits, and were more likely to have unknown breeding systems and to be found in only one or few biomes and realms, especially the Afrotropics or Australasia. On the other hand, families with high SR were more likely to have animal mediated pollination or dispersal, are enriched for epiphytes and taxa with an annual life history, and were more likely to harbour sporophytic SI systems. Mapping the global distribution of georeferenced taxa by their family DR, we find evidence of regions dominated by taxa from lineages with high vs low SR. Discussion These results are discussed within the context of the literature describing “depauperons” and the factors contributing to low and high biodiversity in angiosperm clades.
SOYBEAN GRAIN YIELD IS IMPACTED BY THE SOWING DEPTH AND THE TYPE OF SOIL COVER

Implementing a crop such as a soybean requires favorable sowing conditions so that uniform and healthy seedlings emerge. This study aimed to evaluate the yield of soybeans crop concerning the type of soil cover and sowing depth. The experiment was conducted at the State University of Mato Grosso do Sul - University Unit of Cassilândia. A Completely randomized design with four replications in a 3x5 factorial scheme was used. Three cropping systems (without soil cover, millet straw, and brachiaria straw) and five sowing depths (2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 cm) were evaluated. The emergence speed index, plant height, stem diameter, first pod insertion height, number of branches, number of pods per plant, number of grains per pod, and grain yield per plant were assessed. The highest yield per plant was obtained with millet straw and a sowing depth of 6 cm. It can be concluded that the sowing depth and type of straw influence the soybean grain yield.
III.—Trilobites from the Upper Stinchar Limestone (Ordovician) of the Girvan District, Ayrshire

Synopsis One new genus and nineteen new species of trilobites from the platy upper Stinchar Limestone of the Girvan District are described. Sixteen of the twenty-nine genera recorded occur in the stratigraphically earlier confinis Flags; the strong North American stamp provided by many of these forms is greatly strengthened by the appearance of such genera as Dimeropyge, Mesotaphraspis, Heliomera and Pliomerella. Hypodicranotus has hitherto been recorded only from strata of Trenton Limestone age in North America and Baffin Island.
An End-to-End Performance Comparison of Seven Permissioned Blockchain Systems

The emergence of numerous blockchain solutions, offering innovative approaches to optimise performance, scalability, privacy, and governance, complicates performance analysis. Reasons for the difficulty of benchmarking blockchains include, for example, the high number of system parameters to configure and the effort to deploy a blockchain network. In addition, performance data, which mostly comes from system vendors, is often opaque. We provide a reproducible evaluation of the performance of seven permissioned blockchain systems across different parameter settings. We employ an end-to-end approach, where the clients sending the transactions are fully involved in the data collection approach. Our results underscore the unique characteristics and limitations of the systems we examined. Due to the insights given, our work forms the basis for continued research to optimise the performance of blockchain systems.
Variations of the Last Glacial Warm Pool: Sea surface temperature contrasts between the open western Pacific and South China Sea

[1] High-resolution paleoceanographic records from the southern South China Sea (SCS) and the tropical open western Pacific reveal multicentennial- to millennial-scale variations of the Western Pacific Warm Pool (WPWP) over the last 40 kyr. During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), in marine isotope stage (MIS) 2, planktonic Globigerinoides sacculifer dO-18 in core NS93-5 from the southern SCS and in core WP92-5 from the central WPWP registered a similar average value of about - 1.5P. However, the average dO-18 value was about 0.5P more negative in the SCS than in the central WPWP, as was their difference before and after the LGM in the later part of MIS 3 and early portion of MIS 1. These results indicate weaker monsoonal and fluvial effects on the southern SCS during the last glacial than during pleniglacial and postglacial periods owing to different oceanic circulation modes and regional topography. The calculated seasonal temperature differences of summer and winter sea surface temperatures (SSTs) between the open WPWP and the southern SCS were up to 3 - 4.5 D C during the LGM but only slightly over 3 D C in the southern SCS and less than 2 D C in the open WPWP during other periods. From about 29 to 25 ka the MIS 2/3 transition was marked by a sudden SST increase in the southern SCS but a decrease in the open WPWP. Over this 4 kyr period the average annual SST appeared to be only 28 D C in the central WPWP but more than 28 D C in the southern SCS, indicating a shift of the central WPWP toward the far west during that time. Furthermore, our results imply a period of nearly 6 kyr from 22.5 to 16.5 ka without an apparent warm pool of 28 D C in the western Pacific.