Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A New qPCR Assay to Detect Geosmin-Producing Cyanobacteria

A New qPCR Assay to Detect Geosmin-Producing Cyanobacteria Shane Brian Davis Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, BYU Master of Science Taste-and-odor (T&O) compounds are frequently produced by cyanobacterial blooms in bodies of water. Geosmin, perhaps the most common T&O compound produced by these blooms, is not effectively removed by conventional water treatment processes and frequently causes the tap water to have an off flavor. Although geosmin is not harmful when ingested, it damages the consumers’ confidence in the cleanliness of their water. There are treatment options for geosmin removal, but the most common methods are often not implemented until complaints are made by consumers. There has been an increasing amount of research on the use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods that can detect the presence of the geosmin synthase gene which is responsible for the production of geosmin. If the geosmin synthase gene is found to be present in an emerging cyanobacterial bloom, water treatment facilities can prepare in advance to treat for geosmin. In this study, we developed a qPCR (quantitative polymerase chain reaction) assay that can detect the presence of the geosmin synthase gene in several species of cyanobacteria within the Anabaena genus. We tested our assay, as well as PCR assays designed by Giglio et al. (2008) and Suurnäkki et al. (2015) on extracted Anabaena flos-aquae DNA, biosynthesized Anabaena ucrainica DNA and DNA extracted from environmental samples of Deer Creek Reservoir, Strawberry Reservoir, and Utah Lake. It is important to note that the geosmin gene was not confirmed to be present in any of the environmental samples nor in the Anabaena flos-aquae DNA and our assay did not test positive on these samples. Our qPCR assay was very successful when used with the biosynthesized Anabaena ucrainica DNA. We used the results to estimate a DNA standard curve that can be used to estimate the starting concentration of the geosmin synthase gene. Because our assay was not successfully used with any extracted DNA, further testing and calibration may be necessary to produce a DNA standard curve that is representative of DNA that is extracted. Further calibration of the DNA standard curve was not done because there were no geosmin events during the course of the research. Development of PCR-based methods of detecting geosmin-producing cyanobacteria requires genetic sequencing information of the target-organisms. Thus, further development of PCR-based methods requires that the local geosmin-producers be identified and sequenced. Our assay as well as the assay designed by Moore (2019) can assist with the identification of these species by classifying their genus.
The future sea-level contribution of the Greenland ice sheet: a multi-model ensemble study of ISMIP6

Abstract. The Greenland ice sheet is one of the largest contributors to global mean sea-level rise today and is expected to continue to lose mass as the Arctic continues to warm. The two predominant mass loss mechanisms are increased surface meltwater run-off and mass loss associated with the retreat of marine-terminating outlet glaciers. In this paper we use a large ensemble of Greenland ice sheet models forced by output from a representative subset of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) global climate models to project ice sheet changes and sea-level rise contributions over the 21st century. The simulations are part of the Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison Project for CMIP6 (ISMIP6). We estimate the sea-level contribution together with uncertainties due to future climate forcing, ice sheet model formulations and ocean forcing for the two greenhouse gas concentration scenarios RCP8.5 and RCP2.6. The results indicate that the Greenland ice sheet will continue to lose mass in both scenarios until 2100, with contributions of 90±50 and 32±17 mm to sea-level rise for RCP8.5 and RCP2.6, respectively. The largest mass loss is expected from the south-west of Greenland, which is governed by surface mass balance changes, continuing what is already observed today. Because the contributions are calculated against an unforced control experiment, these numbers do not include any committed mass loss, i.e. mass loss that would occur over the coming century if the climate forcing remained constant. Under RCP8.5 forcing, ice sheet model uncertainty explains an ensemble spread of 40 mm, while climate model uncertainty and ocean forcing uncertainty account for a spread of 36 and 19 mm, respectively. Apart from those formally derived uncertainty ranges, the largest gap in our knowledge is about the physical understanding and implementation of the calving process, i.e. the interaction of the ice sheet with the ocean.
Effects of resistance exercise using the elastic band on the pain and function of patients with degenerative knee arthritis

[Purpose] This study examined the effects of resistance exercise using the elastic band on the pain and function of patients with degenerative knee arthritis. [Participants and Methods] Thirty patients with degenerative knee arthritis were classified into an experimental group of 15 patients on whom resistance exercise using the elastic band was applied and a control group of 15 patients on whom conservative physical therapy was applied. Both groups received treatments three times a week for four weeks. Pain was measured by the visual analogue scale and function was evaluated by the Korean Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (K-WOMAC). [Results] The intragroup comparison showed significant decreases in the visual analogue scale and the K-WOMAC in both the experimental and control groups. In the intergroup comparison after treatment, the experimental group showed significantly lower visual analogue scale and K-WOMAC values than the control group. [Conclusion] The results suggest that resistance exercise using the elastic band is an effective intervention for the pain and function of patients with degenerative knee arthritis.
Balancing Competing Objectives with Noisy Data: Score-Based Classifiers for Welfare-Aware Machine Learning

While real-world decisions involve many competing objectives, algorithmic decisions are often evaluated with a single objective function. In this paper, we study algorithmic policies which explicitly trade off between a private objective (such as profit) and a public objective (such as social welfare). We analyze a natural class of policies which trace an empirical Pareto frontier based on learned scores, and focus on how such decisions can be made in noisy or data-limited regimes. Our theoretical results characterize the optimal strategies in this class, bound the Pareto errors due to inaccuracies in the scores, and show an equivalence between optimal strategies and a rich class of fairness-constrained profit-maximizing policies. We then present empirical results in two different contexts -- online content recommendation and sustainable abalone fisheries -- to underscore the applicability of our approach to a wide range of practical decisions. Taken together, these results shed light on inherent trade-offs in using machine learning for decisions that impact social welfare.
On the Relationship between Trade Openness and Government Size

Does trade openness systematically imply bigger governments, as proposed by Rodrik (1998)? This paper presents a novel and more refined explanation for when and why international trade may enlarge the public sector. We propose that trade openness is associated with bigger governments if (i) the price volatility of a country’s export basket is substantial and (ii) the country is democratic. The first condition satisfies the prior that open trade barriers indeed introduce uncertainty and external risk – something that is not necessarily the case for all trade. The second condition ensures that the people’s desire for greater economic security can be realized through government spending. Empirical evidence for 143 countries (accounting for approximately 96 percent of world population) from 2000-2016 is consistent with this hypothesis. Exploring areas of public spending, we find intuitive patterns: Consistent with the compensation hypothesis, government spending on economic affairs and housing increases significantly with trade openness, whereas public spending on education, health care, and the military are not immediately concerned. As with our general result, this is only the case in democracies that are subject to high price volatility on the global market.
Do Minorities Misrepresent Their Ethnicity to Avoid Discrimination?

Discrimination against minorities is pervasive in many societies, but little is known about strategies minorities may apply to minimize discrimination. In our trust game with 758 highschool students in the country of Georgia, ethnic Georgian trustors discriminate against the ethnic Armenian minority group. We introduce an initial signaling stage to investigate Armenians’ willingness to hide their ethnicity to avoid expected discrimination. 43 percent of Armenian trustees untruthfully signal that they have a Georgian name. Signaling behavior is driven by expected transfers and non-pecuniary motives. This strategic misrepresentation of ethnicity increases Georgian trustors’ expected back transfers and eliminates their discriminatory behavior.
The Effect of Social Media-Enabled Mentoring on Online Tacit Knowledge Acquisition within Sustainable Organizations: A Moderated Mediation Model

Tacit knowledge is an important strategic resource to the sustainable development of organizations. Although scholars and practitioners have noticed the growing use of social media in transferring tacit knowledge, extant empirical research has been fairly mute about this phenomenon. This study is novel in that it explores when and how social media used for mentoring (i.e., an emerging electronic mentoring) promotes tacit knowledge acquisition in sustainable organizations. This study develops a framework and proposes six hypotheses, which predict how social media-enabled mentoring promotes tacit knowledge acquisition through two mediators. Furthermore, two social media characteristics moderate the two mediating processes. The authors conducted a three-wave longitudinal survey in 45 sustainable companies and obtained 156 valid cases. All of the hypotheses are supported. The findings show that the effects of social media-enabled mentoring on tacit knowledge acquisition are mediated by both an affective learning mechanism (i.e., liking) and cognitive learning mechanism (i.e., shared mental model). Moreover, the two mediation processes are moderated by two capabilities of social media (i.e., social presence and synchronicity). This research bridges extant e-mentoring literature and sustainable TK management literature. It also enlightens managers to effectively integrate social media and mentoring to improve TKA in sustainable organizations.
MICROBIAL CONTROL IN WHITE CACTUS PEAR WITH BIOPOLYMERIC COATING OF CHITOSAN, CANDELILLA WAX AND THYME ESSENTIAL OIL

White cactus pear (Opuntia albicarpa L.) undergoes decay by pathogens in postharvest, which limits its shelf life. The objective of this study was to evaluate coatings based on chitosan (Q), candelilla (Euphorbia antisyphilitica Zucc.) wax (Cw) and thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) essential oil (Eo) to reduce microbial development on the cactus pear and increase shelf life. Emulsions based on Q, Eo, and Q+Eo were applied on freshly harvested cactus pear fruits, which were stored for 18 days at 22 ºC. Treatments with Q also incorporated Cw. Controls were uncoated fruits (Ct). Microbial inhibition was assessed through bacterial counting in culture plate, in addition to the appearance of the fruit on a visual scale 1 to 5, where 1 corresponded to appalling and 5 to excellent. Fruits with the Q+Eo treatment had an appearance close to 4 at the end of the storage, followed by those with Q, Eo, and T, which obtained a score of 1. The lowest weight loss occurred when Cw was used. With a coating of Q (2 %), Eo (2000 ppm) and Cw (5 %) microbial growth was reduced by 98.4 %, allowing a shelf life of at least 18 days at 22 ºC, with good appearance and low weight loss in fruits.
Pharmacies for the Pharmacists—Ukrainian Fears and Polish Experiences

In 2017, a regulation referred to as “pharmacies for the pharmacists” was implemented in Poland, and Ukraine is going to implement a similar act of law. The study was to collect Ukrainian pharmacists’ opinions about the upcoming market regulation and to compare their views with opinions obtained from Polish pharmacists collected two years following the amendment of this legislation. The study was conducted in Poland and Ukraine using a self-designed questionnaire. Of 2162 questionnaires received, 2043 were included in the study (1623 from Ukraine and 420 from Poland). Ukrainian pharmacists (76.8%) feared that medicine prices would increase. Moreover, they presented concerns related to poorer access to pharmaceuticals and reduced turnovers of pharmacies. Two years after the market regulation, 55.23% of Polish pharmacists pointed out that none of the fears reported in Ukraine were observed in Poland. However, 33.10% revealed that market regulation led to “a reduction in the number of pharmacies”. Ukrainian pharmacists are afraid of community pharmacies’ regulation. Polish pharmacists, however, have not observed such problems during the two years following the market regulation. The only noticeable market change in Poland was the reduced number of pharmacies.
Legal Consciousness and Cultural Capital

In this article, we use a Bourdieusian framework to theorize the relationship between cultural capital and legal consciousness, and in turn to consider how variation in legal consciousness contributes to the creation and maintenance of legal hegemony. We investigate how cultural capital shapes the ways people navigate situations that force them to mediate between state-conferred rights, on one hand, and requests from state authority, on the other. Specifically, we analyze open-ended responses to a series of vignettes about consti- tutional rights in the criminal procedure context. We find that high cultural capital gives rise to a greater sense of self-efficacy in police-citizen interactions. This finding parallels the literature on the influence of cultural capital in the education context and may point to a more general pattern of self- advocacy within the juridical field. People with high cultural capital also evince a more salient sense of entitlement, understanding their own needs and desires as paramount. The social processes we identify may make people with limited cultural capital more vulnerable to investigative authority, and thus more susceptible to arrest and prosecution. Even if knowledge of a right and the opportunity to assert that right are equally distributed, meaningful access to that right remains inequitable.
GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS ON TAX AUDIT AND GOVERNMENT TAX REVENUE IN NIGERIA

Government regulations have evolved into a major research topic in economic psychology. The issue has been approached from various view points shedding light on different aspects of tax payer’s behaviour. Attitudes were measured, prevailing social norms and lay theories explored, which people have made where fulfill their annual tax declarations. The main objectives of this study is to establish empirically the moderating effect of government regulation on tax audit and government tax revenue generation specially, the moderating effect of government regulation on tax audit and government tax revenue generation. Data were collected through primary and secondary source and the data collected was analyzed using descriptive analysis, using Pearson product moment of coefficient of correlation, ordinary least square regression analysis and partial correlation with the aid of SPSS version 22. With an r value of . 835, 0.594, 0.613, and 0.500, 0.218 and . 677 the study evidences that government regulation have moderating significant effect on tax audit and government tax revenue generation in Nigeria. Based on this, the study recommends that government should try as much as possible to engage tax auditors and other tax staff of high and proven integrity in tax matters. Such tax officers should be well trained and motivated staff so as not to compromise their stand. It is clear that governments all over the world wish to increase tax audit and government tax revenue. Government policy should take the significance of government regulations. The considered topic demonstrate that, despite the many improvements and fascinating insights, much future research can be done for better understanding of government regulations in Nigeria.
Autonomous Cars and Dynamic Bottleneck Congestion Revisited: How In-Vehicle Activities Determine Aggregate Travel Patterns

We investigate the impacts of in-vehicle activities of commuters in the autonomous car on aggregate travel patterns. We allow for an autonomous car to affect the utility difference between being at home and being in the vehicle differently than the utility difference between being at work and being in the vehicle, compared to the differences experienced with a normal car. This affects the relative importance of values of travel delays, schedule delays early, and schedule delays late. Hence multiple possible changes in travel patterns may occur when autonomous cars become available. Switching to an autonomous vehicle may impose a net negative or positive externality, by raising the marginal external cost of autonomous cars themselves while lowering that of normal cars. We examine three provision regimes: marginal cost pricing, second-best pricing and profit-maximizing pricing by a private monopoly. The second-best mark-up (over marginal cost) rises with the price sensitivity, due to the increasing marginal external cost. Surprisingly, for the monopoly, mark-up may rise or fall with the price sensitivity, depending on the relative strength of the externality and of market power, where the former tends to raise it, and the latter tends to reduce it. Furthermore, the difference of the mark-up between private monopoly and second-best public provision falls as the demand becomes more price-sensitive.
A formal semantics for Grafcet specifications

This paper shows how the behavior of a model described in the specification language proposed by the IEC 60848 standard can be represented, without semantics loss, in a formal manner, by a finite state machine (FSM) with logic inputs and outputs. This contribution is illustrated on a nontrivial example; this case study points out that the duration of the construction of the equivalent FSM complies with the requirements of designers of automation systems.
From Biodata to Somadata

Biosensing technologies are increasingly available as off-the-shelf products, yet for many designers, artists and non-engineers, these technologies remain difficult to design with. Through a soma design stance, we devised a novel approach for exploring qualities in biodata. Our explorative process culminated in the design of three artefacts, coupling biosignals to tangible actuation formats. By making biodata perceivable as sound, in tangible form or directly on the skin, it became possible to link qualities of the measurements to our own somatics - our felt experience of our bodily bioprocesses - as they dynamically unfold, spurring somatically-grounded design discoveries of novel possible interactions. We show that making biodata attainable for a felt experience - or as we frame it: turning biodata into somadata - enables not only first-person encounters, but also supports collaborative design processes as the somadata can be shared and experienced dynamically, right at the moment when we explore design ideas.
Investigation of the Relationships between Individual Innovation and Sustainable Education Beliefs

The concept of sustainable education has seven main features: being holistic and interdisciplinary, focusing on values, directing to critical thinking and problem solving, requiring the use of multiple teaching methods, encouraging participatory decision-making, highlighting applicability and locality. The knowledge and beliefs of the people, who will start teaching as a vocation, have an important role for both teachers and students in terms of being in an innovative understanding and attitude. Describing the attitudes of prospective teachers with the potential to raise future generations is important for reviewing teacher training policies. For this purpose, two scales were used in the study. The first one, “The Beliefs for Sustainable Development Education Scale”, consists of 32 items and three sub-factors. The other is the “Individual Innovation Scale”; this 20-item 5-point Likert scale has five sub-dimensions as Innovative, Pioneer, Questioner, Sceptic, and Traditionalist. The data obtained were subjected to correlation and regression statistics and discussed in the light of literature. All in all, it can be seen that there are significant relationships between personal innovativeness and the dimensions of sustainable development education. According to findings, it was observed that as long as the willingness and openness-to-experience of teacher candidates’ taking risk increases in the context of personal innovativeness, their beliefs regarding sustainable development increase concordantly. Teacher candidates can resist change with the concern over whether the current knowledge and efforts will be valuable in the new situation afterwards.
Effect of Nursery Production Method, Irrigation, and Inoculation with Mycorrhizae-Forming Fungi on Establishment of Quercus Virginiana

Live oak (Quercus virgpiiana) trees were grown to about a 2.5 in. (6 cm) caliper in various container and field production systems, then transplanted to a landscape with and without mycorrhizae-forming spores under two irrigation regimes. Trees grew at nearly the same rate in the nurseries, regardless of production method. However, root distribution was altered. Low-profile, air root-pruning containers had less roots on the outside surface of the root ball than did traditional plastic containers. Application of mycorrhizae- forming fungi to the backfill soil at planting in a landscape had no impact on live oak the first 30 months after planting. However, nursery production method and irrigation frequency following planting had a huge influence on tree survival. Irrigating 2.5 in. (6 cm) caliper live oak for only 6 weeks after planting in spring in a slightly drier than normal year resulted in 43% tree death rate. Irrigating twice each week through the first summer after planting in spring kept all trees alive. Under limited irrigation conditions, trees from containers died sooner and more trees died than field-grown, B&B trees. Root-pruned, field-grown, B&B trees survived better than all others following transplanting. Trees planted from all nursery production methods survived and grew similarly, provided they were irrigated regularly through the first growing season. Under limited irrigation, landscape managers would obtain the most live trees by planting root-pruned, fieldgrown, B&B nursery stock.