Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Use of Microorganisms in the Bioleaching of Soils Polluted with Heavy Metals

This paper shows researches in order to extract Cr, Cu and Ni from the polluted soils. Research is based on preliminary studies regarding the usage of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans bacterium (9K medium) for bioleaching of soil polluted with heavy metal (Cu, Cr and Ni). The microorganisms (Thiobacillus ferooxidans) selected directly from polluted soil samples were used in this experimental work. Soil samples used in the experimental research were taken from an area polluted with heavy metals from Romania. The soil samples are subjected to the cleaning process using the 9K medium solution (20 mL and 40 mL, respectively), stirred 200 rpm for 20 hours at a controlled temperature (30 ̊C). During the experiment (0, 2, 4, 8 and 20 h), liquid samples have been extracted and analyzed using the Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer AA-6800 (AAS) in order to determine the Cr, Cu and Ni concentration. Experiments led to the conclusion that these soils can be depolluted by bioleaching, being a biological treatment method involving the use of microorganisms to favor the extraction of Cr, Cu and Ni from polluted soils. Keywords—Bioleaching, extraction, microorganisms, polluted soil, Thiobacillus ferooxidans.
Non-hormonal strategies for managing menopausal symptoms in cancer survivors: an update

Vasomotor symptoms, particularly hot flushes (HFs), are the most frequently reported symptom by menopausal women. In particular, for young women diagnosed with breast cancer, who experience premature ovarian failure due to cancer treatments, severe HFs are an unsolved problem that strongly impacts on quality of life. The optimal management of HFs requires a personalised approach to identify the treatment with the best benefit/risk profile for each woman. Hormonal replacement therapy (HRT) is effective in managing HFs but it is contraindicated in women with previous hormone-dependent cancer. Moreover, many healthy women are reluctant to take HRT and prefer to manage symptoms with non-hormonal strategies. In this narrative review, we provide an update on the current available non-oestrogenic strategies for HFs management for women who cannot, or do not wish to, take oestrogens. Since isoflavones have oestrogenic properties and it is not known if they can be safely consumed by women with previous hormone-dependent cancer, they were excluded. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors/selective serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, as well as other neuroactive agents, some herbal remedies and behavioural strategies are considered.
KGB, a collaborative benchmarking exercise for estimating the permeability of the Grimsel granodiorite – Part 1: measurements, pressure dependence and pore-fluid effects

23 A benchmarking exercise involving 24 laboratories was organized for measuring the 24 permeability of a single low permeability material, the Grimsel granodiorite, at a common 25 effective confining pressure (5 MPa). In total 39 measurements were collected that allowed us to 26 discuss the influence of (i) pore-fluid, (ii) measurement method, (iii) sample size and (iv) 27 pressure sensitivity. Discarding some outliers from the bulk data set (4 out of 39) an average 28 permeability of 1.11 10 m2 with a standard deviation of 0.57 10 m2 was obtained. The most 29 striking result was the large difference in permeability for gas measurements compared to liquid 30 measurements. Regardless of the method used, gas permeability was higher than liquid 31 permeability by a factor ~2 (kgas=1.28 10 m2 compared to kliquid=0.65 10 m2). Possible 32 explanations are that (i) liquid permeability was underestimated due to fluid-rock interactions (ii) 33 gas permeability was overestimated due to insufficient correction for gas slippage and/or (iii) 34 gases and liquids do not probe exactly the same porous networks. The analysis of Knudsen 35 numbers shows that the gas permeability measurements were performed in conditions for which 36 the Klinkenberg correction is sufficient. Smaller samples had a larger scatter of permeability 37 values, suggesting that their volume were below the REV. The pressure dependence of 38 permeability was studied by some of the participating teams in the range 1 to 30 MPa and could 39 be fitted to an exponential law k=ko.exp(-γPeff) with γ=0.093 MPa. Good practice rules for 40 measuring permeability in tight materials are also provided. 41
Sound waves in the intracluster medium

We present an analysis of the behaviour of a perturbed radio cocoon. Comparisons with observations of sound waves detected in the Perseus and Virgo clusters suggest the separations of observed ripples correspond to the natural oscillation frequency of the cocoon. An energy injection rate consistent with active galactic nucleus power is required to offset the strong acoustic damping of cocoon oscillations, suggesting the sources are in equilibrium with the intracluster medium (ICM), and the oscillations are effectively undamped. Viscous dissipation of sound waves provides ICM heating that can quench cooling flows on time-scales greatly exceeding the oscillation time-scale. Thermal conductivity is likely to be heavily suppressed.
Emotional Intelligence is Associated with Blood Level Glucose: A Brief Report

Preliminary evidence associate aspects of emotion regulation and effective management of emotion-driven behavior with health outcomes in general and diabetic outcomes in particular. This study examined this association in a sample of 90 adult type 1 diabetic patients from an outpatient clinic in Israel. They provided non identifying demographic data and took 2 measures of emotional intelligence (test and self-report format) while also reporting their mean blood level glucose from their glucometers. The results support the hypothesized association: Both measures of EI showed unique negative associations with mean blood glucose levels. The results are briefly discussed and possible implications are pointed out.
The Caucasian and North African French Faces (CaNAFF): A Face Database

In France, when studying intergroup relations between ethnicities, one usually contrasts Caucasian and North African individuals. Despite the presence of a large number of face databases in the literature, none of them contains Caucasian and North African faces similar to faces we can find in a usual French environment. To overcome this problem, we propose a new database: the Caucasian and North African French Faces (CaNAFF). One hundred and forty-seven individuals, scattered on prototypicality across the Caucasian/North African continuum, have been photographed. These individuals displayed a neutral emotional expression and photos were taken under three eye gaze directions (right, frontal, and left), resulting in a total of 441 photos. Subsequently, in order to validate our database, 25 participants evaluated the photos on emotional neutrality and 30 participants evaluated faces on ethnic prototypicality, attractiveness, and willingness to approach/avoid faces. We make available to researchers this database as well as the result of the validation as a support for studying relations between Caucasian and North African individuals in France. The procedure for requesting access to the CaNAFF database as well as the validation file are available on this following link: https://osf.io/274ry/ .
Inculcating Positive Thinking in the Self-Concept of Children with Learning Difficulties.

Inculcating positive thinking can act as a valuable tool in enhancing the overall self-concept of children with learning disabilities. The value of positive psychology is recognized as the basis for recent research conducted in the field of strength development. Positive psychology is centered on the view that individual lives can be improved by simply teaching them how to focus and expand on their strengths. The primary aim of this study is to measure the effectiveness of positive psychology interventions in relation to the self-concept of children with learning disabilities. This approach has been developed specifically for children between the age of 12 and 14 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Notably, the sample population comprised 40 children. Each participant was randomly assigned to either the control or experimental group. The intervention group underwent a five-week long intervention course on positive psychology. The Values in Action (VIA) Inventory of Character Strengths' Survey-earlier carried out among youth-was also completed in an effort to establish each child's individual strengths. Furthermore, the group was evaluated using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) both prior to and following the intervention initiative. The current research revealed that, the adoption of the VIA Survey along with three class lectures on positive psychology led to improved post-test self-concept scores in comparison with pre-test scores among the intermediate school children.
A Hybrid Approach of Grammar-based Genetic Programming and Differential Evolution for Symbolic Regression

Genetic Programming (GP) is used for solving many real world problems. From data classification to building phylogenetic trees, the technique can be applied to almost any problem. One way to improve GP performance is by using a formal grammar. We propose here the use of grammar-based genetic programming (GGP) with Differential Evolution (DE). DE is incorporated to GGP in order to improve the quality of solutions obtained by GGP by finding numerical coefficients when solving symbolic regression problems. In this proposal, the coefficients of the best individuals generated by GGP during the search are adjusted by DE. Also, this technique incorporates these values to the grammar; thus, the grammar is adapted during the search. The proposed method is applied to 24 symbolic regression problems and it is compared to a standard GGP. The results indicate that GGP hybridized with DE obtained better models, specially when one expects real-valued coefficients in the model.
Spatial and Seasonal Variations of Standardized Photosynthetic Parameters under Different Environmental Conditions for Young Planted Larix olgensis

Understanding the spatial and seasonal variations in leaf physiology is critical for accurately modeling the carbon uptake, physiological processes and growth of entire canopies and stands. For a 17-year-old Larix olgensis Henry plantation, vertical whorl-by-whorl sampling and analyses of seasonally repeated measurements of major photosynthetic parameters were conducted, and the correlations between photosynthetic parameters and environmental conditions, leaf morphological traits and spatial position within the crown were analyzed. According to the correlations, the photosynthetic parameters were standardized based on the environmental conditions to avoid the influence of the changing environment on the patterns of spatial and seasonal variations of photosynthetic parameters. The results showed that the standardized light-saturated net photosynthetic rate (SPmax), standardized dark respiration (SRd) and standardized stomatal conductance under saturated light (Sgs-sat) were all negatively related to the relative depth into the crown (RDINC) throughout the growing season. However, their vertical patterns were different during the development of the phenological phase. In addition, different gradients of environmental conditions also influenced the values and the range of the vertical variation in photosynthesis. High temperature and low humidity usually resulted in smaller values and weaker vertical variations of SPmax and Sgs-sat, but larger values and more obvious vertical variations in SRd. SPmax and Sgs-sat usually exhibited a parabolic seasonal pattern in different vertical positions within the crown; however, SRd generally followed a concave pattern. These seasonal patterns were all weaker with increasing RDINC. Different environments also exhibited a significant influence on the seasonal patterns of photosynthesis. We suggested that standardization is necessary before analyzing spatial and seasonal variations. A single environmental condition could not represent the spatial and seasonal patterns under all gradients of the environment. Spatial and seasonal variations should be simultaneously analyzed because they are related to each other.
The effects of parental alcoholism on children

Abstract Research has examined the effects of parental alcoholism on children and adolescents. This paper will address the different ways teens are affected by parental alcoholism, identifying medical, emotional, and social dangers, while also trying to link specific aspects of parental alcoholism with each harmful effect. In looking at the negative effects that parental alcoholism has on the parents and children, this paper will also examine whether children become victims and suffer, or become resilient and persevere. This paper will also look at physical, social, emotional, behavioral and family structure concerns as they relate to children with alcoholic parents.
Evaluation of Hybrid III thoracic injury criteria in impacts with a simulated truck steering wheel – suggestions for modifications in instrumentation and reference values

Unbelted drivers of heavy commercial vehicles are likely to suffer chest injuries from steering wheel rim contact in frontal impacts. The aim of the present study was to investigate to what extent the current regulatory dummy, the Hybrid III, is capable of assessing the chest deflection in this load case. A Finite Element model of the dummy and its default sensors were evaluated together with chest injury criteria. The THUMS was used as a reference representing the human body. Suggestions on instrumentation and correction factors for injury criteria are proposed for use with the Hybrid III.
Brand and consumer characteristics as drivers of behaviour towards global and local brands

The main purpose of this research is to determine influence of brand and consumer characteristics on consumers` behaviour regarding purchase of global and local brands. Starting from Theory of planned behaviour and Theory of social identity several antecedents of consumers` attitudes were researched in proposed modelquality of brands, prestige, ethnocentrism and materialism. For this purpose, sample comprising of 329 respondents was collected. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the validity of the model and structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to determine relationships between variables. Empirical research has shown that the factors of quality of local brands and ethnocentrism have a positive and statistically significant effect on the consumers` attitudes towards the local brands. On the other side, brand quality, prestige and materialism have a positive effect on the attitudes of consumers towards global brands, whereas ethnocentrism has a negative effect on attitudes towards this type of brands. In addition, research has shown that the attitudes have positive influence on consumers` behavioural intentions regarding purchase of both local and global brands and that consumers` intentions have positive effect on actual purchase of both types of brands. The main finding of the paper implies that the characteristics of consumers and brands influence consumer behaviour in terms of purchasing aforementioned types of brands. The conducted research has a scientific and practical contribution in terms of obtaining information about the factors that influence the consumers` decisions regarding the purchase of both local and global brands.
3-D tomographic limb sounder retrieval techniques: irregular grids and Laplacian regularisation

Abstract. Multiple limb sounder measurements of the same atmospheric region taken from different directions can be combined in a 3-D tomographic retrieval. Mathematically, this is a computationally expensive inverse modelling problem. It typically requires an introduction of some general knowledge of the atmosphere (regularisation) due to its underdetermined nature. This paper introduces a consistent, physically motivated (no ad-hoc parameters) variant of the Tikhonov regularisation scheme based on spatial derivatives of the first-order and Laplacian. As shown by a case study with synthetic data, this scheme, combined with irregular grid retrieval methods employing Delaunay triangulation, improves both upon the quality and the computational cost of 3-D tomography. It also eliminates grid dependence and the need to tune parameters for each use case. The few physical parameters required can be derived from in situ measurements and model data. Tests show that a 82 % reduction in the number of grid points and 50 % reduction in total computation time, compared to previous methods, could be achieved without compromising results. An efficient Monte Carlo technique was also adopted for accuracy estimation of the new retrievals.
Insect Festivals in North America: Patterns and Purposes

Human desire to interact with and learn about wildlife extends beyond charismatic megafauna. In the past two decades, insects have carved out a niche in the ecotourism sector. Entomotourism has emerged as a growing mainstream attraction for many tourists and insect enthusiasts alike (Lemelin 2015). This subsector of ecotourism encompasses a wide range of insect-related recreational activities, such as collection, educational or multimedia entertainment, and insect encounters in controlled environments, such as butterfly pavilions or insectariums (Lemelin 2013). Tourists all over the world may engage in activities such as photography, observation, entomophagy, and other forms of direct interaction with various types of insects. There are many explanations for this attention, including new technology (e.g., on-line chat groups and identification), the availability of digital images, and accessibility of new resources (e.g., field guides and insect organizations). Tourists are interested in insects for many reasons (Lemelin 2009). Some people love to see insects’ amazing color, behaviors, and unique features. Others like to see and photograph the spectacles of large congregations of insects. Some want to see rare species or to learn new things about insects. Still others want to learn about how insects can improve or maintain human well-being through pollination, food, and cultural heritage (Guiney and Oberhauser 2008, Durst et al. 2010, Yi et al. 2010). Many people like to learn about how indigenous peoples gained knowledge about or used insects (Hogue 1987, Huntly et al. 2005). Some people are even intrigued by the undesirable aspects of insects, such as crop consumption and biting humans (Kellert …
APOE epsilon 4, rs405509, and rs440446 promoter and intron-1 polymorphisms and dementia risk in a cohort of elderly Finns-Helsinki Birth Cohort Study

We tested if the ε4 major isoform of the APOE gene and rs405509 and rs440446 promoter and intron-1 polymorphisms predicted risk of any dementia or Alzheimer’s disease with diagnoses derived from the Hospital Discharge and Causes of Death Registers in 1453 participants of the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study. We used Cox proportional hazard models adjusted for sex, year of birth, maximum lifetime occupational status and education, and diagnoses of stroke, coronary heart disease, mood disorders, and depressive symptoms. APOE ε4 predicted higher risk of any dementia (hazard ratios >3.68; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.76, 7.70) across all statistical models, and when adjusted for rs405509 and rs440446. The number of minor alleles in rs405509 or rs440446 was not associated with dementia risk (hazard ratios<1.43; 95% CI 0.87, 2.36). As rs405509 or rs440446 has been associated with nonpathological cognitive aging in this and other cohorts independent of the APOE major isoforms, these findings lend credence that APOE locus may be linked with dementia risk and nonpathological cognitive aging via separate mechanisms. 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Classification trees for species identification of fish-school echotraces

Fernandes, P. G. 2009. Classification trees for species identification of fish-school echotraces. - ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 1073-1080.Acoustic surveys provide valuable information on the abundance and distribution of many fish species, but are particularly effective for schooling pelagic fish of commercial importance. However, despite recent advances in multifrequency processing, the technique still requires some subjective judgement when allocating the acoustic data, fish-school echotraces, to particular species—the so-called “scrutiny process”. This is assisted by “ground truth” trawling and operator experience of relating trawl data to echotraces of particular fish schools. In this paper, a method to identify species based on “classification trees” is applied to data from a component of the International North Sea Herring Acoustic Survey. Classification trees may be considered as a variant of decision trees, and have properties that are intuitive to biologists, because they are similar to the keys used for the biological identification of species. The method described here incorporates a multifrequency fish-school filter, image analysis to isolate fish-school echotraces, and finally, a classification-tree system using the multifrequency information from the ground-truthed echotraces that can be translated into a processing tool for objective species allocation. The classification-tree system is compared with the traditional method of expert-based scrutiny. Unlike the latter, however, a measure of uncertainty is attributed to the classification-tree approach and this could be propagated through the acoustic-survey estimation procedure as a component of the total uncertainty in the abundance estimate.
Using the Pragmatics of Child Development in Teacher Education to Support Cultural Competence and Learning in Diverse U.S. Urban Classrooms

In this article, I explore the vignette interpretations of two early childhood teachers who are white and work with children of color from low-income families. Their interpretations reveal a silence of culture, race and language and the presence of culturally responsive teaching approaches, demonstrating their growing cultural competence (Hammond, 2015; Gay, 2010). This suggests the need for teacher preparation programs to provide a more robust and integrated approach to support teacher candidates’ capacity to work effectively across all identity boundaries in culturally-inclusive learning environments with a dynamic use of the pragmatics of child development to support culturally responsive teaching practices (Cardwell, 2016). In this way, teacher candidates can adjust their teaching approaches and academic content to make learning personally meaningful and culturally relevant for every child, leading to increased learning and equity in culturally inclusive urban classrooms (Cardwell, 2016; Young, 2011; Horowitz, Darling-Hammond & Branford, 2005; Harvey, 1999).