Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Approach for Stability Measurement of Wood-Based Fast Pyrolysis Bio-Oils

This paper presents a simple stability test method based on changes in carbonyl compounds. Whereas the method of identifying carbonyl groups by means of titration is in itself well-known, its use in determining the stability of fast pyrolysis bio-oils has previously not been established. Pyrolysis oil stability is typically measured as viscosity increase under specified conditions. The increase in viscosity occurs due to an increase in the amount and molecular weight of water insolubles present in the oil. The change in carbonyl compounds is due to reactions of aldehydes and ketones during storage, the reaction products of which end up in the water-insoluble fraction. This paper shows that the carbonyl titration method, based on changes in aldehydes and ketones, correlates with the viscosity increase-based stability test and that, due to this clear correlation, both methods can be used and comparison between the methods is possible.
Off-axis Young’s modulus and off-axis shear modulus of wood measured by flexural vibration tests

Abstract The off-axis Young’s modulus and off-axis shear modulus of wood were obtained by conducting a flexural vibration test under the free-free condition, and performing a subsequent numerical analysis on the test data. The relationship between the off-axis Young’s modulus and the off-axis angle was obtained. In contrast, the relationship between the off-axis shear modulus and the off-axis angle was discrepant from that predicted by the transformation rule based on the conventional hypothesis that Timoshenko’s shear factor is 1.2. When the dependence of the shear factor on the off-axis angle was taken into account, however, the off-axis shear modulus could be obtained properly.
Adaptation of the rapid multiplication method: selecting stem cuttings based on their number of leaves for cassava seedling production

A study was conducted during four growing seasons to investigate the rooting capacity and survival percentage of cassava seedlings from stem cuttings selected based on their number of leaves. The experimental design was a randomized block design with five replications in a factorial scheme (4 × 2 × 2), totalling 16 treatments. Treatments consisted of combinations of growing season (September 22, October 7 and 19, and November 25), stem cuttings smaller (15 to 19.99 mm) and larger (20 to 25 mm) than 20 mm in diameter, and number of leaves on the stem cuttings (3 to 5 and 6 to 8 leaves). The experiment was carried out during the four growing seasons in a Van der Hoeven greenhouse. The greenhouse, as well as the benches on which the treatments were placed, had a north-south orientation. The greenhouse has an automatic mist irrigation system, and the mean temperature was 25 °C. The plant height at planting, number of leaves at planting, and number of leaves at 7 days after planting were measured. The final number of leaves, final plant height, shoot dry matter, root dry matter, and total dry matter were measured after acclimatization. Stem cuttings between 20 and 25 mm in diameter should be used to produce cassava seedlings with the rapid multiplication method. Cuttings with 6 to 8 visible leaves should be collected, and the cuttings should be planted at the end of September.
Coworking Spaces and Start-ups: Empirical Evidence from a Product Market Competition and Life Cycle Perspective

Abstract This paper is an empirical analysis – based on classic buyer–seller relationship theory – of the spatial relationship between coworking spaces and start-ups in an entrepreneurial ecosystem. We examine the relation between product market competition among coworking spaces and the life-cycle stages of their partnering start-ups, both of which influence the level of trust between the partners. In our hand-collected sample of coworking spaces in Germany’s seven largest cities, our findings indicate that mature start-ups are more likely to partner with coworking spaces in regions where product market competition among the latter is high. The relation between the number of nascent start-ups and product market competition among coworking spaces is found to be hump-shaped, indicating that nascent start-ups are more likely to partner with coworking spaces where market competition is neither too low nor too high. Our findings are corroborated by a European study based on WeWork data.
Tahiti Petrel Pseudobulweria rostrata population decline at a nickel-mining site: a critical need for adapted conservation strategies

Summary New Caledonia hosts a large part of the world’s breeding population of the Tahiti Petrel Pseudobulweria rostrata. This rare, cryptic and little-studied seabird nests locally in the mountains up to 1,200 m in altitude, particularly in ultramafic (i.e. nickel-rich) areas where mining activity is a major threat. The considerable development of mining activities in New Caledonia over the past decade raises concerns about its potential impacts on breeding populations through both direct habitat destruction and side effects such as pollution or repeated disturbances. This context calls for a dedicated assessment of the persistence of local populations to guide the design of an adapted conservation strategy and potential restoration programmes. We investigated the impact of mining activities on a Tahiti Petrel population when surveyed pre-mining (2004–2007) and following a period of full mining (2017–2018). The vocal activity was assessed at a total of 114 night-call count stations spread over the Koniambo massif. Areas with ground-originated vocal activity were then searched during daytime for nesting evidence. Finally, georeferenced aerial photos were used to estimate habitat degradation as the percentage of bare soil cover (PBSC) within a 400-m radius around each call count station. Our study revealed a dramatic decline in the Tahiti Petrel vocal activity and a desertion of breeding habitats during the full-mining period compared to the pre-mining period. In light of these results, we recommend designing safe breeding areas and combining restoration methods including social attraction, predation control and artificial burrows at mining sites.
"I Just Like the Stock" versus "Fear and Loathing on Main Street" : The Role of Reddit Sentiment in the GameStop Short Squeeze

This paper investigates the role, if any, played by the social media platform Reddit, in the events around the GameStop short squeeze in early 2021. In particular, we analyse the impact of discussions on the r/WallStreetBets subreddit on the price dynamics of the American online retailer GameStop. We perform textual analysis on 10.8m comments and surface the relationships between the comment sentiments and 1-min GameStop returns. Results indicate that both \textit{tone} and number of comments influence GME intraday returns. Sentiments extracted from longer threads have a greater influence. Fear is the dominant sentiment in all comments, while comments that express a Sad sentiment show the most significant impact. While investors may just like the stock, it appears that fear and loathing also are important.
Cyber-plagiarism as digital support for the submission of academic writing

Access to the Internet and digital technologies has become the primary source of information used in academic papers, and, according to numerous studies, is therefore accountable for the greatest number of cases of cyber-plagiarism. The aim of this study is to determine whether the type of format used by university students for their academic papers (paper/electronic) has an influence on plagiarism or cyber-plagiarism. The research is based on a quantitative methodology, and it is characterized as exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory, using the questionnaire as a tool for data collection. Purposive non-probability convenience sampling provided a sample of 8,943 students from the Autonomous Community of Galicia. The findings show a preference for the use of the electronic format for submitting academic work. Exceptions are made in several cases in which statistically significant differences are observed both in the acts of plagiarism that are initiated and in the main reasons given to justify such acts. A discussion of the findings correlates the findings of the research with the analysis of previous studies in this area, and the conclusions focus on the need to train students in informational skills so as not to commit plagiarism when using the Internet as an academic source. El acceso a Internet y a las tecnologías digitales se ha convertido en la fuente fundamental en la búsqueda de información para la elaboración de trabajos académicos y por ello, de acuerdo con numerosos estudios, es una de las causas con mayor incidencia en la comisión de ciberplagio. En este estudio se pretende verificar si el tipo de soporte (papel/electrónico) empleado por el alumnado universitario para hacer sus trabajos presenta diferencias en cuanto a la comisión de plagio o ciberplagio. Partiendo de una metodología cuantitativa, se caracteriza la investigación como exploratoria, descriptiva y explicativa, utilizando el cuestionario como instrumento para la recogida de la información. La muestra, de carácter no probabilístico, intencional y por conveniencia, se compone de un total de 8.943 estudiantes de la Comunidad Autónoma de Galicia. Los resultados muestran el empleo preferente del formato electrónico. Se exceptúan varios casos en los cuales se aprecian diferencias estadísticamente significativas tanto en las actuaciones de plagio que se ponen en marcha como en cuanto a las principales causas establecidas para justificar dicha comisión. Se realiza una discusión de los resultados relacionando los hallazgos de la investigación con el análisis de estudios precedentes en esta temática y se establecen conclusiones centradas en la necesidad de formar al alumnado en competencias informacionales para no incurrir en plagio a través del empleo de Internet.
Association between maternal dietary quality and gestational diabetes mellitus based on the Diet Balance Index for Pregnancy

Background: Maternal diet is critical to the development of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), but sparse studies have applied the Chinese Dietary Balance Index for Pregnancy (DBI-P) to assess the maternal dietary quality and its relationship with GDM. We aimed to examine the maternal dietary quality and its relationship with GDM risk using the newly developed DBI-P. Methods: We included 1122 pregnant women from the Tongji Birth Cohort (TJBC) in Wuhan, China. The semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was used to obtain the dietary information during pregnancy. The newly developed DBI-P, including DBI-P components and DBI-P dietary patterns, was applied to comprehensively evaluate the maternal dietary quality. GDM was diagnosed by the 75-g, 2-h oral glucose tolerance test at 24-28 weeks gestation. We used a generalized linear regression model to examine the relationship between DBI-P components and blood glucose levels, and a logistic regression model to examine the relationship between dietary patterns and GDM. Results: A total of 179 participants (16.0%) were diagnosed with GDM. There is a widespread phenomenon of dietary imbalance among pregnant women in Wuhan. With per score increase in nuts and eggs, fasting blood glucose increase by 0.03 mmol/l (95% CI: 0.01, 0.05) and 0.01 mmol/l (95 %CI: 0.01, 0.03), respectively, while per score increase in fruits, 1-h post-load blood glucose decreased by 0.05 mmol/l (95% CI: -0.10, -0.01). Besides, compared with pattern E characterized by higher intake of total energy, total fat, fruits, and cooking oil, pattern B (OR: 0.51, 95% CI: 0.26, 0.99) and pattern C (OR: 0.27, 95% CI: 0.09, 0.81) were associated with a lower GDM risk. The associations between dietary patterns and GDM risk may be partly attributed to the intakes of dietary total fat, carbohydrate, cholesterol, eggs, and cooking oil. Conclusions: Unfavorable dietary quality during pregnancy is associated with a higher risk of GDM. The newly established DBI-P can provide an easy-to-implement tool to assess maternal dietary quality. These findings will provide new insights for the exploration of preferable dietary evaluation methods and prevention and control of GDM.
Towards kilometer-scale ocean-atmosphere-wave coupled forecast: a case study on a Mediterranean heavy precipitation event

Abstract. The Western Mediterranean Sea area is frequently affected in autumn by heavy precipitation events (HPEs). These severe meteorological episodes, characterized by strong offshore low-level winds and heavy rain in a short period of time, can lead to severe flooding and wave-submersion events. This study aims to progress towards integrated short-range forecast system via coupled modelling for a better representation of the processes at the air–sea interface. In order to identify and quantify the coupling impacts, coupled ocean–atmosphere–wave simulations were performed for a HPE that occurred between October 12 and 14, 2016 in the South of France, using the coupled AROME-NEMO-WaveWatchIII system and notably compared to atmosphere only, coupled atmosphere–wave and ocean–atmosphere simulations. The results showed that the HPE fine-scale forecast is sensitive to both couplings: The interactive coupling with the ocean leads to significant changes in the heat and moisture supply of the HPE that intensify the convective systems, while coupling with a wave model mainly leads to changes in the low-level dynamics, affecting the location of the convergence that triggers convection over sea. Even if this first case study with the AROME-NEMO-WaveWatchIII system does not clearly show major changes in the forecasts with coupling and highlights some attention points to follow (ocean initialisation notably), it illustrates the higher realism and potential benefits of kilometer-scale coupled numerical weather prediction systems, in particular in case of severe weather events over sea and/or in coastal areas, and shows their affordability to confidently progress towards operational coupled forecasts.
Budyko‐Based Long‐Term Water and Energy Balance Closure in Global Watersheds From Earth Observations

Earth observations offer potential pathways for accurately closing the water and energy balance of watersheds, a fundamental challenge in hydrology. However, previous attempts based on purely satellite‐based estimates have focused on closing the water and energy balances separately. They are hindered by the lack of estimates of key components, such as runoff. Here, we posit a novel approach based on Budyko’s water and energy balance constraints. The approach is applied to quantify the degree of long‐term closure at the watershed scale, as well as its associated uncertainties, using an ensemble of global satellite data sets. We find large spatial variability across aridity, elevation, and other environmental gradients. Specifically, we find a positive correlation between elevation and closure uncertainty, as derived from the Budyko approach. In mountainous watersheds the uncertainty in closure is 3.9 ± 0.7 (dimensionless). Our results show that uncertainties in terrestrial evaporation contribute twice as much as precipitation uncertainties to errors in the closure of water and energy balance. Moreover, our results highlight the need for improving satellite‐based precipitation and evaporation data in humid temperate forests, where the closure error in the Budyko space is as high as 1.1 ± 0.3, compared to only 0.2 ± 0.03 in tropical forests. Comparing the results with land surface model‐based data sets driven by in situ precipitation, we find that Earth observation‐based data sets perform better in regions where precipitation gauges are sparse. These findings have implications for improving the understanding of global hydrology and regional water management and can guide the development of satellite remote sensing‐based data sets and Earth system models.
High dose aerosol challenge with Mycobacterium tuberculosis fails to overcome BCG vaccination-induced protection in cynomolgus macaques of Chinese origin: implications of natural resistance for TB vaccine evaluation.

This study describes the use of cynomolgus macaques of Chinese origin (CCM) to evaluate the efficacy and immunogenicity of the BCG vaccine against high dose aerosol Mycobacterium tuberculosis challenge. Progressive disease developed in three of the unvaccinated animals within ten weeks of challenge, whereas all six vaccinated animals controlled disease for 26 weeks. Three unvaccinated animals limited disease progression, highlighting the intrinsic ability of this macaque species to control disease in comparison to macaques of other species and genotypes. Low levels of IFNγ were induced by BCG vaccination in CCM suggesting that IFNγ alone does not provide a sufficiently sensitive biomarker of vaccination in this model. An early response after challenge, together with the natural bias towards terminal effector memory T-cell populations and the contribution of monocytes appears to enhance the ability of CCM to naturally control infection. The high dose aerosol challenge model of CCM has value for examination of the host immune system to characterise control of infection which would influence future vaccine design. Although it may not be the preferred platform for the assessment of prophylactic vaccine candidates, the model could be well suited for testing post-exposure vaccination strategies and drug evaluation studies.
Beyond government size: Types of government intervention and corruption

Evidence on the relationship between government size and corruption is mixed, and might be misleading, as government size is usually measured by fiscal size. The core hypothesis in this research is that the type of government intervention in the economy –rather than the size of government– is a key explanatory factor for corruption. The empirical analysis disentangles the effects of the two main government tools for intervention: fiscal and regulatory. The main result is that fiscal burden does not present any significant relationship with corruption. In contrast, a consistent and significant positive association is found between regulatory quality and corruption. Furthermore, legal origins and democratic experience contribute to explaining differences in corruption.
Supra-Annular Sizing for Prediction of THV Expansion in Bicuspid Aortic Valves: A MSCT Study

ABSTRACT Background Multislice computed tomography (MSCT) is the most common sizing method for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in the bicuspid aortic valve (BAV). It is unclear whether annular and supra-annular dimensions could predict final prosthesis diameter and expansion. This study aimed to identify baseline MSCT measurement that could predict the geometry of the transcatheter heart valve (THV) in BAV patients undergoing TAVI for symptomatic aortic stenosis (AS). Methods One hundred and two BAV patients undergoing TAVI for AS were included in this observational, retrospective, single-center study. Pre- and post-TAVI MSCT were compared. On pre and post MSCT, means of perimeter-derived diameter (PdD) and ellipticity indexes were measured at the annular plane and 4 mm and 8 mm above, and intercommissural distance (ICD) at 4 and 8 mm. Results Comparison of pre- and post-TAVI PdDs at 3 levels showed that pre-TAVI PdD at +4 mm was comparable to post-TAVI PdD at annulus (24.2 ± 2.6 mm vs. 24.0 ± 2.7 mm; p = 0.87; mean difference: 0.04; SD: 2.54; 95% CI: −0.46; 0.54) and at +4 mm (24.2 ± 2.6 mm vs. 23.7 ± 2.5 mm; p = 0.16; mean difference: 0.36; SD: 2.60; 95% CI: −0.15; 0.87). All other comparisons showed significant difference between pre and post dimensions, with reduction in post-TAVI THV dimensions, as compared to baseline measurements, suggesting underexpansion. Pre- and post-TAVI ellipticity indexes comparison showed significant reduction in post-TAVI ellipticity indexes at 3 levels, suggesting a more circular THV geometry. Conclusion In BAV, supra-annular PdD at 4 mm was comparable to post-TAVI THV PdDs. THV underexpansion and anatomical reshaping occurred after TAVI in BAV. Abbreviations AS, aortic stenosis; BAV, bicuspid aortic valve; ICD, intercommissural distance; MSCT, multislice computed tomography; PdD, perimeter-derived diameter; STS, Society of Thoracic Surgeons score; TAVI, transcatheter aortic valve implantation; THV, transcatheter heart valve.
Study on the Mobile PHS Method for Soil Moisture Monitoring Based on Thermal Effect

Moisture content is an important index that affects the physical and mechanical properties of geotechnical materials. Rapid and accurate monitoring of soil moisture distribution is of great significance for guiding engineering practice. At present, the heat source method for moisture monitoring requires high stability of heat source intensity. To reduce the requirement of heating power, a point heat source (PHS) method for soil moisture monitoring was proposed. This method uses the correlation between the thermal conductivity of soil and the moisture content, and indirectly identifies the moisture content by monitoring the cooling law of the PHS in soil, which can eliminate the influence of heat source intensity. Based on this idea, a mobile PHS system for soil moisture monitoring composed of a sensing-heating system and a monitoring tube was designed, which can solve the spatial resolution problem of fiber Bragg grating measurement system. Firstly, the system was used to carry out calibration tests on two different graded soil specimens with uniform moisture content. According to the cooling law of the heat source in porous medium, the discriminant index <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\eta $ </tex-math></inline-formula> of moisture content was defined, and then the relationship between the volumetric water content <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\theta $ </tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\eta $ </tex-math></inline-formula> was established. Then the tests were carried out in the soil specimens with non-uniform moisture content, and a calibration relation established by the calibration tests was used to invert <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\theta $ </tex-math></inline-formula>. The results were compared with those measured by drying method, thus verifying the feasibility of the proposed method.
Disturbance Effects on Spatial Autocorrelation in Biodiversity: An Overview and a Call for Study

The spatially autocorrelated patterns of biodiversity can be an important determinant of ecological processes, functions and delivery of services across spatial scales. Therefore, understanding disturbance effects on spatial autocorrelation in biodiversity is crucial for conservation and restoration planning but remains unclear. In a survey of disturbance versus spatial patterns of biodiversity literature from forests, grasslands and savannah ecosystems, we found that habitat disturbances generally reduce the spatial autocorrelation in species diversity on average by 15.5% and reduce its range (the distance up to which autocorrelation prevails) by 21.4%, in part, due to disturbance-driven changes in environmental conditions, dispersal, species interactions, or a combination of these processes. The observed effect of disturbance, however, varied markedly among the scale of disturbance (patch-scale versus habitat-scale). Surprisingly, few studies have examined disturbance effects on the spatial patterns of functional diversity, and the overall effect was non-significant. Despite major knowledge gaps in certain areas, our analysis offers a much-needed initial insights into the disturbance-driven changes in the spatial patterns of biodiversity, thereby setting the ground for informed discussion on conservation and promotion of spatial heterogeneity in managing natural systems under a changing world.