Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
New species of Siboglinum (Annelida: Pogonophora) from the Antarctic Ocean

Four new species of the genus Siboglinum Caullery, 1914, obtained from 12 stations at depths of 1265–6070 m in the Atlantic and Indian Ocean Sectors of the Antarctic Ocean are described. The material came from the following regions: Scotia Sea, Weddell Sea, Bransfield Strait, Orkney Trench, Laurie Trench and Davis Sea. The comparative characteristics of the new species are given in a table. Several characters occurring in various of the new species are rare or unique among the congeners: cuticular plaques on the metameric region of the trunk, four separate girdles of chaetae, an extremely long distance (up to 7 mm) between the girdles, occurrence of a transverse row of interannular papillae, a remarkable leftward shift of the tentacle base, and a combination of both main types of arrangement of postannular papillae (in rows and singly) within one species. The new species are assigned to two subgenera, Siboglinum Caullery, 1914 and Ekmanifilum Smirnov, 2014; the diagnostic characters of all Siboglinum subgenera are compared and summarized in a table. Two keys are provided to the Siboglinum subgenera and to the known species of Antarctic pogonophorans.
Analysing the attitude and opinions of a ‘difficult’ year group in a secondary school

ABSTRACT This paper reports a small-scale action research project aimed at helping a school whose teachers were concerned about the behaviour and achievement of their Year 8 group. Two focus group was used to identify any worries or concerns of pupils in Key Stage 3 (Years 7–9; aged 11–14). These concerns were further explored using a ranking exercise completed by all 486 pupils across the three year groups. The same pupils then completed the ‘Psychological Sense of School Membership’ questionnaire. The results of the ranking exercise are reported. The pupils’ scores on the PSSM questionnaire suggests that pupils in Year 8 identified least with the aims of the school. The scores did show that a third (33%) of the pupils in Year 8 scored at a level regarded as ‘of serious concern’on the PSSM questionnaire indicating a negative view of the school. The results of the both exercises were shared with the teachers and a plan drawn up th improve the school's pupil management. Further development of this initiative was bought to a halt by the closure of the school in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Quantum Computational Investigation of (E)-1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-5-methyl-N′-(3-phenoxybenzylidene)-1H-1,2,3-triazole-4-carbohydrazide

The title compound was synthesized and structurally characterized. Theoretical IR, NMR (with the GIAO technique), UV, and nonlinear optical properties (NLO) in four different solvents were calculated for the compound. The calculated HOMO–LUMO energies using time-dependent (TD) DFT revealed that charge transfer occurs within the molecule, and probable transitions in the four solvents were identified. The in silico absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) analysis was performed in order to determine some physicochemical, lipophilicity, water solubility, pharmacokinetics, drug-likeness, and medicinal properties of the molecule. Finally, molecular docking calculation was performed, and the results were evaluated in detail.
Predictive supervised machine learning models for double-slope solar stills

There has been a growing trend to develop predictive solar-desalination models via machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) tools. However, forecasting productivities of solar stills of different designs remains a challenge that can be overcome by establishing regression correlations via built-in and pre-existing ML toolboxes. Herein, the author developed accurate supervised predictive ML models for the productivity predictions in a double-slope still based on literature experimental results. Training datasets were constructed from the earlier observations (inputs/outputs) from various designed passive and/or active solar stills which were used to treat brackish water or wastewater with 45% TDS. A semi-proportional relationship between water-glass temperature (Tw – Tg) and water distillate was established with a minimum statistical error. The relationship proposed that an increase in both Tw – Tg and basin temperature (TB) would result in the maximum distillate at time 14:00. The regression models (FGSVM, EBoT, SEGPR) showed that they had the least achieved root mean square error (RMSE) of <138 indicating their reliability to accurately predict the distillate amounts in double-slope designs. The high accuracy of the SEGPR trained model with (R2 = 1) and the very low RMSE < 8 showed the capability of the model to predict the performance in similar solar-desalination systems. Yet, the FGSVM was found to be more reliable in predicting Tw – Tg whereas that the stepwise linear regression (SLR) better predicted the TB pattern against the water distillate. This work suggests the importance of both the FGSVM and the SLR models for water outputs predictions which can pave the way towards establishing a unified theoretical tuning-parameters model to maximize the performance and the distillate water in double-slope solar stills.
Circuit models of lossy coaxial shielded cables connected to non-linear loads to analyze radiated and conducted susceptibilities

This paper studies the variation effects of incident plane wave on shielded coaxial cables, using Branin's method, which is called the method of characteristics. That model can be directly used for the time- and frequency-domain analyses. Moreover, it had the advantage of being used without the need of setting the preconditions of the charges applied to its ends. This makes it easy to insert in circuit simulators, such as SPICE, SABER, and ESACAP. The results obtained under ESACAP were remarkably similar to other results, which reinforce the validity of the model. Finally, we will discuss the effects of the variation of the incident plane wave.
Optical Methods to Determine the Gas Atmosphere in Various Modified Atmosphere Packages: Applications and Correlation in Meat Spoilage

: The use of non-invasive optical measurement systems for the quality evaluation of packed food is becoming more important for the reduction of food waste and quality improvement. In this study, the gas atmosphere of packed poultry was monitored using optical measurement systems based on ﬂuorescence quenching for oxygen determination and mid-infrared (MIR) laser spectroscopy for the detection of carbon dioxide. The gas atmosphere was evaluated continuously over ﬁfteen days of storage, the total viable count was obtained, and optical and olfactory sensory evaluations were simultaneously performed by a trained sensory panel. The results revealed that irregular storage conditions could be detected and that microbiological growth under regular conditions does not lead to a signiﬁcant change in the headspace atmosphere.
Cognitive Radar Waveform Design and Prototype for Coexistence With Communications

The need for cognitive radar systems that automatically adapt their transmit waveform and receive processing to the environment is growing along with the desire for integrating with communications. Indeed, the radio frequency spectrum will continue to become more crowded, and in this context, the new generation of radar systems will require to sense the frequency band and avoid making interference for other systems, like communications. In this paper, we present a spectrum-sharing prototype that demonstrates the application of waveform optimization for a scenario of coexistence between communications and cognitive radar systems. To this end, we define a bi-objective optimization problem for waveform design that provides both spectrum compatibility and small cross-correlation for the waveform set. The optimization problem is non-convex and NP-Hard, where we solve it iteratively using the Coordinate Descent (CD) framework. By sensing the environment in real-time and sequentially optimizing radar transmit waveform, the applicability of the proposed optimization algorithm is illustrated in a custom-built prototype, and its performance is validated and evaluated through SNR measurement for the radar system and throughput calculation for a realistic LTE downlink communication.
Crowdsourcing and Living Labs in Support of Smart Cities' Development

The concept of ‘smart cities' has quite recently stimulated an alternative way of approaching urban sustainability through the extensive adoption of ICTs, harmoniously combined with human capital and city's potential in order new patterns of urban development to be generated. Crowdsourcing and living labs serve the goal of being ‘smart' by promoting the establishment of broad cooperative schemes for prototypical ideas generation and innovation production. The present paper focuses on exploring the contribution of crowdsourcing and living labs to smart cities' development. In the first part, the backbone of a smart city is presented; in the second part, a methodological approach integrating smart cities' development with crowdsourcing and living labs is elaborated; in the third part, the role of crowdsourcing in generating prototypical ideas is described; in the fourth part, the potential evaluation and implementation of such ideas in a living lab environment is examined; and finally, some conclusions are drawn.
Digital divide across the European Union and labour market resilience

ABSTRACT Using a regional evolutionary perspective and a cross-regional data panel for 278 European Union regions, this study investigates the relationship between regional digital development and labour market resilience. To address a fundamental concern of regional studies, it proposes an analytical framework that assesses digital disparities in the spatial context and provides a nuanced understanding of digital dimensions impacting labour market resilience. The primary labour market outcome, the employment rate, was evaluated to investigate the regional resilience in the Great Recession. A gradient boosting method was used to identify the digital predictors in different resilience stages and to articulate policy-relevant conclusions.
Hidden Relationships between N-Glycosylation and Disulfide Bonds in Individual Proteins

N-Glycosylation (NG) and disulfide bonds (DBs) are two prevalent co/post-translational modifications (PTMs) that are often conserved and coexist in membrane and secreted proteins involved in a large number of diseases. Both in the past and in recent times, the enzymes and chaperones regulating these PTMs have been constantly discovered to directly interact with each other or colocalize in the ER. However, beyond a few model proteins, how such cooperation affects N-glycan modification and disulfide bonding at selective sites in individual proteins is largely unknown. Here, we reviewed the literature to discover the current status in understanding the relationships between NG and DBs in individual proteins. Our results showed that more than 2700 human proteins carry both PTMs, and fewer than 2% of them have been investigated in the associations between NG and DBs. We summarized both these proteins with the reported relationships in the two PTMs and the tools used to discover the relationships. We hope that, by exposing this largely understudied field, more investigations can be encouraged to unveil the hidden relationships of NG and DBs in the majority of membranes and secreted proteins for pathophysiological understanding and biotherapeutic development.
Retrospective Study from a Single Center to Evaluate the Association Between Sex and Serum Uric Acid Levels in 950 Patients with Atrial Fibrillation

Background The association between patients’ serum uric acid (SUA) levels and sex in atrial fibrillation (AF) remains controversial. This retrospective study from a single center in China aimed to evaluate the association between sex and SUA levels in 950 patients with AF. Material/Methods We retrospectively analyzed clinical information of 1913 consecutive hospitalized patients (male/female: 949/964, 68.26±11.02 years). The sample of 950 patients with AF served as the AF group and 963 age- and sex-matched patients without AF with sinus rhythm served as controls. The uricase method was used to determine SUA levels. The analysis of variance, t test, and chi-squared test were performed to analyze clinical baseline data. Pearson correlation analysis was performed to identify interrelationships and multivariate regression analysis was performed to determine the independent risk factor for AF. Results SUA levels in the AF group were significantly higher in both sexes (P<0.05), especially for permanent AF. In patients with AF, SUA levels were positively correlated with serum creatinine (r=0.235, P<0.05) and prealbumin (r=0.129, P<0.05) and were negatively correlated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (r=−0.207, P<0.05) and apolipoprotein A1 (r=−0.167, P<0.05). SUA was independently associated with AF after adjusting for confounding factors (OR=1.244, 95% CI: 1.133–1.365, P<0.05). Conclusions In both sexes, increased SUA was significantly associated with AF. These findings supported the importance of monitoring SUA levels in patients with AF and other cardiac diseases.
Self-Efficacy in Learning Mathematics Online

Online learning has been a need for worldwide education systems due to Covid-19. It is essential to study the students' self-efficacy to determine online learning success. Research suggests that self-efficacy can boost student achievement, foster emotional health and well-being, and be a valid predictor of motivation and learning. The purpose of this paper is to examine the students' self-efficacy in Mathematics online learning using a reliable instrument adapted from the "Learning Self-Efficacy Scale (OLSES)" developed by Zimmerman and Kulikowich in 2016. The respondents consisted of 343 undergraduate students in Sarawak, Malaysia. This study's quantitative data analysis methods include descriptive and inferential statistics. The analysis reported that most of the respondents had moderate to high levels of self-efficacy, whereas most of them were comfortable with Mathematics online learning. Specifically, there was a significant relationship between students' self-efficacy and the domains, namely learning in an online environment, time management, and technology use. This study also found no significant difference in the mean scores of students' self-efficacy concerning gender, academic performance, and online learning prior experience. However, there was a significant difference in mean scores for students' self-efficacy across their online learning comfort levels. Further analysis indicated that students who were notably comfortable projected a significantly higher self-efficacy than those with an average or low comfort level. Although the students in this study mostly had moderate to high levels of self-efficacy, there is still room to improve and strengthen their self-efficacy, especially in their abilities and readiness to engage in online learning and thus in achieving good academic performance.
Diagnostic Value of IP-10 Level in Plasma and Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid in Children with Tuberculosis and Other Lung Diseases

Objectives: IP-10 has been proposed as a new diagnostic biomarker for Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection (MTBI). However, data on IP-10 concentration in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) for pediatric tuberculosis are lacking. Aim: To determine IP-10 levels in unstimulated BALF and plasma in children with and without MTBI. Methods: IP-10 concentrations in BALF and plasma were measured in children hospitalized with suspected tuberculosis or other respiratory disease and scheduled for bronchoscopy. Thirty-five children were enrolled: 13 with suspected tuberculosis and 22 controls. The association between IP-10 and age was examined. Results: The IP-10 expression was increased in BALF compared to plasma (p = 0.008). We noticed higher BALF IP-10 levels in children with asthma, interstitial lung disease, and lung anomaly than in children with MTBI and other respiratory tract infections, but the differences were statistically insignificant. There was a moderate correlation between plasma and BALF IP-10 concentrations (rs = 0.46, p = 0.018). No correlation between IP-10 level and age was detected. Conclusions: IP-10 is detectable in unstimulated BALF in children with respiratory diseases, reaches higher concentrations in unstimulated BALF vs plasma, and does not correlate with age. However, it could not discriminate MTBI from other respiratory diseases.
Effects of Urban Built Environment on Mental Health: A Review

This paper presents a systematic review of how prior research on the influence of the built environment on mental health has progressed. The study utilised open-access journals to cover environmental, public health, landscape, and urban planning databases from 2000 to 2021, focusing on specific keywords. Five major themes emerged from the research. Most studies from the early 2000s to 2014 focused on the negative consequences of a poorly constructed built environment on mental health. Since 2015, the focus has shifted to a broader context, primarily the urban environment, its relationship with mental health and how it contributes to positive mental health. Finally, evidence of changes in the context and circumstances may shed light on the research's future trajectory.
Beyond the ABCs—Discovery of Three New Plasmid Types in Rhodobacterales (RepQ, RepY, RepW)

Copiotrophic marine bacteria of the Roseobacter group (Rhodobacterales, Alphaproteobacteria) are characterized by a multipartite genome organization. We sequenced the genomes of Sulfitobacter indolifex DSM 14862T and four related plasmid-rich isolates in order to investigate the composition, distribution, and evolution of their extrachromosomal replicons (ECRs). A combination of long-read PacBio and short-read Illumina sequencing was required to establish complete closed genomes that comprised up to twelve ECRs. The ECRs were differentiated in stably evolving chromids and genuine plasmids. Among the chromids, a diagnostic RepABC-8 replicon was detected in four Sulfitobacter species that likely reflects an evolutionary innovation that originated in their common ancestor. Classification of the ECRs showed that the most abundant plasmid system is RepABC, followed by RepA, DnaA-like, and RepB. However, the strains also contained three novel plasmid types that were designated RepQ, RepY, and RepW. We confirmed the functionality of their replicases, investigated the genetic inventory of the mostly cryptic plasmids, and retraced their evolutionary origin. Remarkably, the RepY plasmid of S. pontiacus DSM 110277 is the first high copy-number plasmid discovered in Rhodobacterales.
Capital Structure and Performance of Non-Financial Firms in Sub-Sahara Africa

The study examines the impact of capital structure on return-on-assets (ROA) performance of non-financial firms in Sub-Sahara Africa for a period of nine (9) years (2012-2020). A total of forty (40) non-financial firms were studied using their capital structure variables of long term debt to equity (LTDQ), total debt (TD), total debt to equity (TDQ), and total debt to total assets (TDTA) as well as their ROA performance. The panel data analysis technique was employed. It was found that LTDQ, TD and TDQ have positive impact on ROA performance; while TDTA has a negative impact on ROA performance, and all variables were significant at 1 percent level. The study recommends that, since long term debt to equity strongly explain corporate performance in the Sub-Saharan African Countries, management should sustain their current policies and should also be very sensitive in determining the appropriate amount of long term debt that ought to be included in their capital structure build up.
Preparation of Hollow Niobium Oxide Nanospheres with Enhanced Catalytic Activity for Oxidative Desulfurization

Hollow niobium oxide nanospheres were successfully synthesized by using prepared three-dimensional (3D) mesoporous carbon as the hard template. The 3D mesoporous carbon materials were prepared by using histidine as the carbon source and silica microspheres as the hard template. The samples were characterized by XRD, BET, SEM, TEM and other methods. The results show that the prepared niobium oxide nanospheres have a hollow spherical structure with an outer diameter of about 45 nm and possess a high specific surface area of 134.3 m2·g−1. Furthermore, the 3D mesoporous carbon materials have a typical porous structure with a high specific surface area of 893 m2·g−1. The hollow niobium oxide nanospheres exhibit high catalytic activity in oxidative desulfurization. Under optimal reaction conditions, the DBT conversion rate of the simulated oil is as high as 98.5%. Finally, a possible reaction mechanism is proposed.
Metazoans and Intrinsic Apoptosis: An Evolutionary Analysis of the Bcl-2 Family

The B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) family is a group of genes regulating intrinsic apoptosis, a process controlling events such as development, homeostasis and the innate and adaptive immune responses in metazoans. In higher organisms, Bcl-2 proteins coordinate intrinsic apoptosis through their regulation of the integrity of the mitochondrial outer membrane; this function appears to have originated in the basal metazoans. Bcl-2 genes predate the cnidarian-bilaterian split and have been identified in porifera, placozoans and cnidarians but not ctenophores and some nematodes. The Bcl-2 family is composed of two groups of proteins, one with an α-helical Bcl-2 fold that has been identified in porifera, placozoans, cnidarians, and almost all higher bilaterians. The second group of proteins, the BH3-only group, has little sequence conservation and less well-defined structures and is found in cnidarians and most bilaterians, but not porifera or placozoans. Here we examine the evolutionary relationships between Bcl-2 proteins. We show that the structures of the Bcl-2-fold proteins are highly conserved over evolutionary time. Some metazoans such as the urochordate Oikopleura dioica have lost all Bcl-2 family members. This gene loss indicates that Bcl-2 regulated apoptosis is not an absolute requirement in metazoans, a finding mirrored in recent gene deletion studies in mice. Sequence analysis suggests that at least some Bcl-2 proteins lack the ability to bind BH3-only antagonists and therefore potentially have other non-apoptotic functions. By examining the foundations of the Bcl-2 regulated apoptosis, functional relationships may be clarified that allow us to understand the role of specific Bcl-2 proteins in evolution and disease.