Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Leveraging River Network Topology and Regionalization to Expand SWOT-Derived River Discharge Time Series in the Mississippi River Basin

The upcoming Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission will measure rivers wider than 50–100 m using a 21-day orbit, providing river reach derived discharges that can inform applications like flood forecasting and large-scale hydrologic modelling. However, these discharges will not be uniform in time or coincident with those of neighboring reaches. It is often assumed discharge upstream and downstream of a river location are highly correlated in natural conditions and can be transferred using a scaling factor like the drainage area ratio between locations. Here, the applicability of the drainage area ratio method to integrate, in space and time, SWOT-derived discharges throughout the observable river network of the Mississippi River basin is assessed. In some cases, area ratios ranging from 0.01 to 100 can be used, but cumulative urban area and/or the number of dams/reservoirs between locations decrease the method’s applicability. Though the mean number of SWOT observations for a given reach increases by 83% and the number of peak events captured increases by 100%, expanded SWOT sampled time series distributions often underperform compared to the original SWOT sampled time series for significance tests and quantile results. Alternate expansion methods may be more viable for future work.
Improvements to Flood Frequency Analysis on Alluvial Rivers Using Paleoflood Data

Hydrologists and engineers routinely use flood frequency analyses to compute flood probabilities for mitigation, infrastructure planning, and emergency management. Conventional flood frequency analyses—in which annual discharge maxima from a stream gage are fit to a statistical probability distribution—often encounter large uncertainties when estimating extreme flood levels. Most gage records span relatively short periods of time (<100 years), and thus the most extreme and infrequently occurring flood events tend to be poorly represented in instrumental data sets. Here, we demonstrate how a new generation of paleoflood records derived from floodplain sediments can be used to improve the accuracy and precision of extreme flood probability estimates along alluvial rivers. We use a series of simulation experiments to show that incorporating large numbers of paleoflood events in flood frequency analyses can significantly reduce the uncertainty of extreme flood estimates when the paleoflood data are sufficiently accurate and precise. Our results illustrate that robust paleoflood records can improve the shape parameter of flood frequency distributions, which determine the thickness of distribution tails, when as many as 50 paleoflood events are incorporated. We conclude by demonstrating how an alluvial paleoflood data set reduces uncertainty in a flood frequency analysis for a gage on the lower Mississippi River. Finally, we provide recommendations for how to incorporate paleoflood information into flood frequency analysis to improve the accuracy of extreme flood probabilities.
Convergence analysis of new inertial method for the split common null point problem

ABSTRACT In this paper, we propose a new iterative method with alternated inertial step for solving split common null point problem in real Hilbert spaces. We obtain weak convergence of the proposed iterative algorithm. Furthermore, we introduce the notion of bounded linear regularity property for the split common null point problem and obtain the linear convergence property for the new algorithm under some mild assumptions. Finally, we provide some numerical examples to demonstrate the performance and efficiency of the proposed method.
Time-related variability of the mineral content in birch tree sap

Minerals are among the most important substances promoting the beneficial effect of tree sap on a human body. However, the composition of tree saps is characterised by high intraand interspecies variability and it is also known to vary in time even when collected from trees of the same species. The aim of this work was to evaluate the time-related variability of the mineral content in birch tree sap, to prove dependencies between the mineral composition and basic physical parameters of tree saps, and to refer the results obtained in our study to the Polish nutritional standards. Based on the results, it can be concluded that there is no point in time when birch sap invariably achieves superior nutritive values. This is proven by the fact that two of the three tested birch trees had a higher content of minerals at the beginning of sap collection, while the remaining one produced better sap at the end of the experiment. The differences in the mineral composition of tree saps observed during the two-week study raise doubt about the nutritional benefits of their content. For example, one liter of sap collected during two weeks from the three tested birches supplied from 8.49 to 26.34%, 0.9 to 2.80% and 9.17 to 20.23% of the adequate intake of potassium defined in the Nutritional standards for the Polish population (2013). For zinc, the recommended dietary allowance value based on the Nutritional standards for the Polish population (2013) was covered by one liter of sap in the following ranges: from 0 to 2.11%, from 0.85 to 21.50% and from 7.34 to 15.63%. Moreover, it is impossible to estimate the nutritional value of tree saps, understood as the mineral content, from the physical parameters of birch saps. The values of the examined parameters did not correspond reliably to the mineral content. Nonetheless, electrolytic conductivity may reflect more faithfully the nutritional benefits. The higher the EC in the saps from two out of the three birch trees tested, the higher the expected concentration of minerals important for humans, i.e. calcium, zinc and potassium.
Investigating the Gender Effects on The Five Facets of The Need for Closure

The Need for Closure (NFC) is the individual’s desire to seek definite answer and avoid confusion. NFC plays a crucial role in the information processing and decision making. Studies have confirmed that both men and women adopt different ways to process their information. So, this study used a self report measure (Need for Closure Scale, Kruglanski et al., 2013) with adequate reliability (0.761) to tap the gender differences on the five facets: Order, Predictability, Decisiveness, Ambiguity and Close Mindedness of the dispositional need for closure (Webster & Kruglanski, 1994). Data analysis (Independent t-test) of the two groups (Male = 118, Female = 117) revealed that there is significant difference between both men and women on the facets of Order, Predictability, and Ambiguity. Cohen’s d statistics (0.3) further demonstrated that gender has moderate effect on these facets. Higher mean responses of women on Order, Predictability and Ambiguity showed that women compare to men have higher dispositional tendency of structure, preference for secure knowledge and discomfort with uncertainties.
Dietary diversity during infancy and the association with childhood food allergen sensitization

'Dietary diversity' (DD), is defined as the number of different foods or food groups consumed over a given reference period1 . A report from the European Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology found that increased DD may reduce the risk for development of food and aero-allergen sensitization via its effect on the microbiome and increased intake of immune-modulatory nutrients2 .
Inference of plasma parameters from fixed-bias multi-needle Langmuir probes (m-NLP)

New approaches are presented to infer plasma densities and satellite floating potentials from currents collected with fixed-bias multi-needle Langmuir probes (m-NLP). Using synthetic data obtained from kinetic simulations, comparisons are made with inference techniques developed in previous studies and, in each case, model skills are assessed by comparing their predictions with known values in the synthetic data set. The new approaches presented rely on a combination of an approximate analytic scaling law for the current collected as a function of bias voltage, and multivariate regression. Radial basis function regression (RBF) is also applied to Jacobsen et al’s procedure (2010 Meas. Sci. Technol. 21 085902) to infer plasma density, and shown to improve its accuracy. The direct use of RBF to infer plasma density is found to provide the best accuracy, while a combination of analytic scaling laws with RBF is found to give the best predictions of a satellite floating potential. In addition, a proof-of-concept experimental study has been conducted using m-NLP data, collected from the Visions-2 sounding rocket mission, to infer electron densities through a direct application of RBF. It is shown that RBF is not only a viable option to infer electron densities, but has the potential to provide results that are more accurate than current methods, providing a path towards the further use of regression-based techniques to infer space plasma parameters.
vB-Ea-5: a lytic bacteriophage against multi-drug-resistant Enterobacter aerogenes

Background and Objectives: Multi-drug-resistant Enterobacter aerogenes is associated with various infectious diseases that cannot be easily treated by antibiotics. However, bacteriophages have potential therapeutic applications in the control of multi-drug-resistant bacteria. In this study, we aimed to isolate and characterize of a lytic bacteriophage that can lyse specifically the multi-drug-resistant (MDR) E. aerogenes. Materials and Methods: Lytic bacteriophage was isolated from Qaem hospital wastewater and characterized morphologically and genetically. Next-generation sequencing was used to complete genome analysis of the isolated bacteriophage. Results: Based on the transmission electron microscopy feature, the isolated bacteriophage (vB-Ea-5) belongs to the family Myoviridae. vB-Ea-5 had a latent period of 25 minutes, a burst size of 13 PFU/ml, and a burst time of 40 min. Genome sequencing revealed that vB-Ea-5 has a 135324 bp genome with 41.41% GC content. The vB-Ea-5 genome codes 212 ORFs 90 of which were categorized into several functional classes such as DNA replication and modification, transcriptional regulation, packaging, structural proteins, and a host lysis protein (Holin). No antibiotic resistance and toxin genes were detected in the genome. SDS-PAGE of vB-Ea-5 proteins exhibited three major and four minor bands with a molecular weight ranging from 18 to 50 kD. Conclusion: Our study suggests vB-Ea-5 as a potential candidate for phage therapy against MDR E. aerogenes infections.
Effects of aqueous extract of Allium cepa (red onion) on ovalbumininduced allergic asthma in wistar rats

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of airways that involves inflammatory cells and mediators to elicit inflammatory response. Allium cepa is a common plant used as condiment and has anti–inflammatory, antifungal and antibacterial properties. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of aqueous extract of Allium cepa (EAC) on leucocytes infiltration and lung histology in Ovalbumin-induced allergic asthma in Wistar rats. Allergic asthma was induced in rats by systemic sensitization with ovalbumin (OVA) via intraperitoneal (i.p.) injections followed by intranasal (i.n.) challenge. Extract of Allium cepa at doses of 150mg/kg and 300mg/kg b.w. ; and dexamethasone (1mg/kg) were given to the treated groups. The asthmatic group showed a significant (p<0.05) increase in number of eosinophil and lymphocyte in the Blood and bronchoalveolar fluid (BALF), which was significantly (p<0.05) decreased in Allium cepa treated groups. Histological assessment of the lung tissue showed various degrees of inflammation in all OVA-induced animals, but a decreased inflammation was observed in those treated with Allium cepa and dexamethasone. It is therefore, concluded that aqueous extract of Allium cepa reduced cellular infiltration and lung inflammation of allergic asthmatic Wistar rats. Key words : Asthma, Ovalbumin, Allium cepa , Leucocytes, Rat
Thermoset Blends of an Epoxy Resin and Polydicyclopentadiene

The mechanical properties of two chemically distinct and complementary thermoset polymers were manipulated through development of thermoset blends. The thermoset blend system was composed of an anhydride-cured diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA)-based epoxy resin, contributing high tensile strength and modulus, and polydicyclopentadiene (PDCPD), which has a higher toughness and impact strength as compared to other thermoset polymers. Ultra-small-angle and small-angle X-ray scattering analysis explored the morphology of concurrently cured thermoset blends, revealing a macroscopically phase separated system with a surface fractal structure across blended systems of varying composition. The epoxy resin rich and PDCPD rich phases exhibited distinct glass transitions (Tg’s): the Tg observed at higher temperature was associated with the epoxy resin rich phase and was largely unaffected by the presence of PDCPD, whereas the PDCPD rich phase Tg systematically decreased with increasing epoxy resin content due .
Thirlwall's law is not a tautology, but some empirical tests of it nearly are

This article examines the charge that Thirlwall's law is a theoretical tautology. It shows that a certain approach to empirical testing of that law can sometimes – under conditions analysed here – result in econometric estimates that reflect an approximate identity or ‘near-tautology’. Nevertheless, other methods of empirically testing the law are not subject to the near-tautology critique, and hence the theory itself is not a tautology. Econometric estimates for the US and Mexico reveal that the near-tautology critique applies to data for the former but not the latter; the difference in these results is explained by exactly the reasons discussed here. The article offers an alternative interpretation of Thirlwall's law as implying a benchmark for analysing whether national income, rather than relative prices, is the main adjusting factor in response to current-account imbalances in the long run.
InGaN Micro‐LED Array Enabled Advanced Underwater Wireless Optical Communication and Underwater Charging

In this paper, the underwater applications of micro‐LED (light‐emitting diode) in light emission, optical detection, and solar cell are demonstrated. Based on a high‐bandwidth and low‐power micro‐LED array, duplex underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC) and underwater charging are realized. Using the non‐return‐to‐zero on‐off‐keying modulation scheme, the maximum modulation bandwidth and data rate of a micro‐LED transmitter in the 2.3 m duplex UWOC system are 251.3 MHz and 660 Mbps, respectively. In addition, the micro‐LED‐based photodetector can achieve maximum data rates of 52.5 and 60 Mbps at 0 and −5 V in the same UWOC system, respectively. Furthermore, while achieving the communication function, the micro‐LED is used to realize the collection of external light energy, which is successfully employed to drive a 660 nm laser diode, proving the photovoltaic power generation of micro‐LED. This experiment has made a breakthrough in the duplex UWOC system based on an InGaN micro‐LED array, and verifies significant potential of micro‐LED application in the field of duplex UWOC and underwater charging.
Trade and Tourism in Democratic Republic of Congo: Key Business for Sustainable Financing

Purpose: This study examines Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) trade and tourism as the country’s key business for sustainable financing and growth. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses a panel dataset of DRC’s trade and tourism flows from 165 countries over two years (2014-2015). An empirical analysis based on the gravity model is conducted. Findings: The empirical results are basically consistent with the general prediction of the gravity model that both size and distance matter, but, this stereotype result seems to fade away when the consumer price index (CPI) and region dummy are added. Research limitations/implications: Based on the results, it is recommended that DRC to take appropriate measures and cooperate with its neighboring African countries to attract more tourists, strengthen existing trade agreements, and implement policies to minimize real exchange volatility and strengthen misalignment to create maximize economic benefits. Originality/value: An empirical paper for DRC, particularly for both trade and tourism is rare. This study is expected to give a guideline for this country’s sustainable growth.
Effect of grape pomace on some biological assays of experimental rat

This study is carried out to reduce the environmental impact of grape proceeding wastes through study the effect of the grape pomace (GP) utilization on some biological parameters which reflect the health status of rats fed on high fat diets. It was carried out via an experimental biological study, where adult healthy male albino rats, weighing 1855g, were fed on high-fat diets supplemented with 5, 10, and 15% of GP. The proceeding results showed that the protein amount in GP was up to 8.75%, lipids content was 7.38% and the total dietary fiber was 46.63%. K, Mg, Ca, Na, P and S were found in higher concentrations. The lipids of GP contained 85.75% unsaturated fatty acids (19.14% monounsaturated and 66.60% polyunsaturated fatty acid). The predominant fatty acid was linoleic acid (65.29%). Total phenolic (TP) compounds (expressed as mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE) per g sample) were about 50.35mg GAE/g, total flavonoids (expressed as mg rutin equivalent (RE) per g sample) were 22.25 mg RE/g and the DPPH radical scavenging activity was 51.92%. Gallic acid was the most abundant polyphenols, (9.76 mg/100g). Catechin was the most abundant flavonoid compound (52.5 mg/100g). Resveratrol as stilbenes content was 14.11 mg/100g. Supplementation of the highfat diet with GP resulted in a significant reduction in cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-C and vLDL-C levels of the tested rat groups. Treated rats had higher mean values of HDL-C than that fed on HFD only. The best result for estimation of specific studied parameters (AST, ALT, urea, uric acid and creatinine) revealed that the rat groups fed on the high fat diet containing 15% GP was the healthiest. It was found that a non-significant alteration in the levels of AST, ALT, uric acid and creatinine, compared with the negative control rat group was detected. Consequently, it could be concluded that GP could be considered as a source of healthy compounds that could be applied in animal feed, pharmaceutical, cosmetic or food industries.
Rice farmers’ adaptation practices to climate change: a case of Konda subdistrict in Southeast Sulawesi

Climate change can have an adverse impact on rice farming, so farmers might have to apply adaptation practices to address the impact. This research aimed to determine rice farmers’ adaptation practices in response to their perceived changes in climate. The study was conducted in Cialam Jaya Village, Konda Sub-district, South Konawe District, Southeast Sulawesi. Data were collected using questionnaire-based interviews and Focus Group Discussions. Respondents consisted of sixty-seven rice farmers who were selected using simple random sampling method. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data and information. Study results showed that most of the farmers had implemented adaptation practices as a response to climate change. Farmers have implemented adaptation methods in planting date, rice planting, improved seed varieties, fertilizer application, water management, crop diversification, livestock raising, and off-farm activities. The study recommended that suitable adaptation strategies need to be identified and the new ones need to be developed, and farmers should be assisted in their implementation to improve rice farming’s productivity and competitiveness.
Environmental and behavioural factors associated with Mycobacterium ulcerans infection in the district of Lalo in Benin: A case-control study

The mode of transmission of Buruli ulcer (BU) is not yet well understood. This study aimed to identify risk factors for BU in the district of Lalo in Benin. This is a case-control study taking into account all cases of BU detected from 2013 to 2018 and treated at the Buruli’s ulcer Screening and Treatment Center (CDTUB) of Lalo. For each case, two controls were matched according to age and sex. Conditional logistic regression was used to compare risk factors in cases and controls. A total of 59 BU cases and 118 controls were enrolled. After adjustment for potential confounding factors, illiteracy (adjusted odd ratio [aOR] = 18.19; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.50-219.45), unawareness of BU risk factors (aOR = 48.21; 95% CI = 4.67-497.15), bathing in rivers or ponds (aOR = 23.66; 95% CI= 2.82-198.52), field activities in mud (aOR = 60.58; 95% CI = 7.44 – 493.09) and not wearing protective clothing during field activities (aOR = 42.78; 95% CI = 2.05 – 892.33) were associated with BU. It is necessary to mitigate risk factors by implementing actions in the field of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and by insisting on the wearing of protective equipment during agricultural activities and/or contact with surface water. Key words: Buruli ulcer, Mycobacterium ulcerans, risk factors, case-control study, Lalo.
Exploring the Regional Dynamics of U.S. Irrigated Agriculture from 2002 to 2017

The United States has a geographically mature and stable land use and land cover system including land used as irrigated cropland; however, changes in irrigation land use frequently occur related to various drivers. We applied a consistent methodology at a 250 m spatial resolution across the lower 48 states to map and estimate irrigation dynamics for four map eras (2002, 2007, 2012, and 2017) and over four 5-year mapping intervals. The resulting geospatial maps (called the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Irrigated Agriculture Dataset or MIrAD-US) involved inputs from county-level irrigated statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, agricultural land cover from the U.S. Geological Survey National Land Cover Database, and an annual peak vegetation index derived from expedited MODIS satellite imagery. This study investigated regional and periodic patterns in the amount of change in irrigated agriculture and linked gains and losses to proximal causes and consequences. While there was a 7% overall increase in irrigated area from 2002 to 2017, we found surprising variability by region and by 5-year map interval. Irrigation land use dynamics affect the environment, water use, and crop yields. Regionally, we found that the watersheds with the largest irrigation gains (based on percent of area) included the Missouri, Upper Mississippi, and Lower Mississippi watersheds. Conversely, the California and the Texas–Gulf watersheds experienced fairly consistent irrigation losses during these mapping intervals. Various drivers for irrigation dynamics included regional climate fluctuations and drought events, demand for certain crops, government land or water policies, and economic incentives like crop pricing and land values. The MIrAD-US (Version 4) was assessed for accuracy using a variety of existing regionally based reference data. Accuracy ranged between 70% and 95%, depending on the region.