Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Residence time distributions in sinuosity‐driven hyporheic zones and their biogeochemical effects

Hyporheic exchange plays a key role in the biogeochemical evolution of water and in ecosystem functioning at the local, reach, and watershed scales. Residence time is a fundamental metric to describe the possible transformation taking place in this exchange zone. With this in mind, we use a simple conceptual model to explore the residence time distributions (RTDs) of sinuosity‐driven hyporheic zones (HZs) and to discriminate the individual effect of sinuosity (σ), valley slope (Jx), hydraulic conductivity (K), aquifer dispersivity (αL), and the biogeochemical timescales (BTSs) that characterize the degradation of dissolved organic carbon in these hydrologic systems. We find that RTDs are characterized by one early mode and a late time power law behavior. For a given aquifer dispersivity, the shape of these distributions is stretched or compressed by changes in Jx, K, and σ, having a strong influence on the net biogeochemical transformations within the HZ. Using BTSs proposed in previous studies and sensitivity analyses, we show the potential of σ, Jx, and K to classify meander HZs as net sinks of nitrates or only modulators of the residence times in the subsurface where nitrate reduction is negligible. These findings can be used as predictive tools to quantify the potential of meanders as biogeochemical reactors at the watershed scale with the aid of remote sensing data and GIS processing techniques. These tools can guide experimental design, suggesting important locations to visit, sample, and/or instrument. Also, hyporheic restoration projects can use them for initial site selection and design of channel modifications.
Assessment of Heavy Metal Loadings of Water and Sediment of River Enumabia in Orokam,
Benue State, Nigeria

Enumabia being the only surviving river in Orokam community gave us the concern to assess the concentration of heavy metals in water and sediment in the river. 20 samples of water and Sediment were taken from four (4) different points 20 meters apart and analysed for heavy metals by the use of AA-700 Dual Atomizer Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer in Energy Research Centre, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. In water, the concentration of Fe ranges from 0.7669 to 0.9214 mg/l, Pb ranges from 1.3300 to 1.7210 mg/l, As ranges from 0.9032 to 2.0120 mg/l, and there was no concentration of Hg, Cr and Al. The concentration of metals in the water samples are at the range of permissible limit set by World Health Organization (WHO) except Pb, and As that are fairly higher than the permissible limit. In sediment, the concentration of Fe ranges from 128.8812 to 113.9563 mg/l, Pb ranges from 0.2500 to 0.9520 mg/l, Cr ranges from 0.1240 to 0.6676 mg/l, Al ranges from 10.0000 to 16.0000 mg/l, As ranges from 0.0000 to 1.1240 mg/l, Cu ranges from 0.2420 to 0.8490 mg/l and there was no concentration of Hg. The concentration of Fe, Pb, Cr and As in the sediment exceeded the standards set by WHO. This presence could be detrimental to plant, human being and aquatic life. Since there is fast accumulation of toxic and carcinogenic metals present in the water and sediment samples collected from Enumabia River in Orokam there is need for a follow up study to determine how the human and aquatic lives have been affected.
South Africa : the political economy of transformation

South Africa - Transition and Transformation, S.J. Stedman Economic Crises and Distributional Imperative, J. Herbst At War With the Future? Black South African Youth in the 1990s, C. Bundy Local Negotiations in South Africa, I.W. Zartman Dislodging the Boulder - South African Women and Democratic Transformation, A. Biehl Race Relations Law in a Reformed South Africa, T.G. Krattenmaker National Reconciliation and a New South African Defence Force, H.M. Howe The Dynamics of Transforming South Africa's Defence Forces, J. Cock Reconstructing Regional Dignity, P. Vale Southern Africa's Transitions - Prospects for Regional Security, G.M. Khadiagala South Africa - The Political Economy of Growth and Democracy, R.M. Price.
Species catalogue of Drymaeus (Mesembrinus) Alberts, 1850 (Gastropoda: Bulimulidae) from Brazil and new data on morphology and distribution of Drymaeus (Mesembrinus) interpunctus (Martens, 1887)

Background Herein, we attempted to obtain detailed data on the distribution of the species of Drymaeus (Mesembrinus) in Brazil, using biodiversity databases, malacological collections and literature as sources of occurrence records. We provided a catalogue of species, along with distribution maps. We also estimated the suitable distribution of Drymaeus (Mesembrinus) interpunctus using the maximum entropy approach. A detailed description of the anatomy of the soft parts of this species was provided, with new data on the pallial system. Materials and Methods For each species we provided information on the compiled data associated with museum collections and the literature. Distribution maps including geographic boundaries, Brazilian biomes and altitude were made with QGIS software 3.16. 10 Hannover. For niche modelling, nineteen bioclimatic variables and a topographic variable were used as predictors. The models were performed with MaxEnt version 3.3. 3k. Results Most of the species are represented by scarce material in malacological collections; for some species, these records correspond to type material, indicating that they have not been recollected. Most of the species were represented by shells making anatomical comparison and DNA analysis difficult, limiting our ability to provide new criteria for species delimitation. Our results allowed us to expand the known distribution area for three species, Drymaeus dutaillyi, D. gereti and D. oreades, with new occurrence records in Brazil. The MaxEnt model showed a thin area of high suitability to D. (M.) interpunctus in the Southeastern Brazil, corresponding to the Atlantic Forest. Minimum temperature of the coldest month and mean temperature of coldest quarter were the variables that most influenced the development of the model. Discussion Drymaeus interpunctus was described based on specimens collected in Brazil without mention to the exact localities. Herein the new records from databases allowed to expand the known geographic distribution for this species and to infer its potential distribution. Although the type locality of D. interpunctus is in Brazil, the anatomy of the soft parts of specimens from this country was not previously described. The anatomy of the reproductive system of the specimens analyzed herein mostly corresponds to a previous description for specimens from Paraguay, except for the absence of penial sheath and the relative length of the bursa copulatrix duct. The results of niche modeling showed a thin area of high suitability for D. interpunctus and a vast area of moderate suitability, indicating that this species present a niche breadth that favors its occurrence in a range of different biomes, including less suitable areas. Conclusion The small number of records obtained for most of the species and their restricted ranges associated with habitat destruction may indicate that they are of conservation concern.
Rich Perceptual Consciousness and Illusion-based Interpretation

: Phenomenal overﬂow has garnered signiﬁcant attention in the ﬁeld of consciousness research due to its potential to shed light on the relationship between phenomenal consciousness and access consciousness, it postulates that the phenomenal consciousness of individuals may exceed their differential access consciousness, because of a phenomenon observed in certain sci-entiﬁc psychological experiments where subjects claim to perceive all that is presented to them but are only able to report part of it. This phenomenon has been challenged by critics who argue that the apparent perceptual richness is merely an illusion. However, upon a reexamination of relevant experimental data, it is evident that the illusory interpretation is at least partially unrea-sonable, as it is facing similar issues to those of overﬂow, and the debate goes on and on.
Relationship between Intellectual Capital, Firm Performance and Leverage with Firm Values: Empirical Evident from Indonesia

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between the Value Added Intellectual Capital (VAIC) components, Firm Performance and leverage on Firm Value. The validity of Firm Value measurements will be tested using Tobin's Q, Price Earnings per Share (PER), and Price to Book Value (PBV) with Assets as a control variable. The research design is explanatory research through hypothesis formulation, using panel regression. The research population is 122 manufacturing industries are listed on the Indonesian capital market, with a sample N valid of 277, observation period 2018-2020. Based on the robustness test, the model fits when the firm value uses Tobins'Q and PBV. Research findings show that Capital Employee Efficiency (CEE) and Return on Equity (ROE) positively influence Tobin'sQ. On the other hand, Firm Performance (ROA) positively influences firm value (PBV), Net Profit Margin (NPM) and leverage (DAR) negatively influence PBV. The inconsistency in research results on the influence of IC, Firm Performance, and Leverage on firm value is more caused by different measurement models. Therefore, in interpreting the relationship patterns of IC, Firm Performance and Leverage on Firm Value, must carefully based on the measurement characteristics and underlying concepts. IC, Firm Performance and Leverage substantially influence firm value, supporting previous research.
Geophysical and geological characterization of the active structures and of the nature of the basement in the Eurasia-Africa plate boundary (SW Iberian Margin): Implications for regional geodynamics and seismic hazard assessment

Memoria de tesis doctoral presentada por Sara Martinez Loriente para optar al grado de Doctora por la Universitat de Barcelona (UB), realizada bajo la direccion de la Dra. Eulalia Gracia Mont y del Dr. Valenti Sallares Casas del Institut de Ciencies del Mar (ICM-CSIC). -- 334 pages
Preoperative Haematologic Markers for the Differentiation of Endometrial Cancer from Benign Endometrial Lesions in Postmenopausal Patients with Endometrial Masses

Purpose The diagnostic value of preoperative hematological changes in endometrial cancer (EC) remains unclear. This study aimed to assess the role of preoperative hematologic parameters in differentiating EC from benign endometrial lesions in postmenopausal women with endometrial masses. Methods Preoperative laboratory variables were retrospectively reviewed in patients with malignant or benign endometrial lesions, and the significance of intergroup differences was assessed. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to analyze the optimal cut-off values for each variable. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the variables predicting the presence of endometrial malignancy. Results Preoperative laboratory variables of 176 patients (84 EC and 92 benign lesions) with endometrial masses were analyzed. Significant differences were observed between malignant and benign lesions in terms of WBC count, ANC, MCV, MPV, PDW, CA125, NLR, PMR, LMR, and SII (P < 0.05). Multivariate analyses showed that a high WBC count, high ANC, low MCV, low MPV, low PDW, high CA125, high NLR, high PMR, high LMR, and high SII independently predicted the presence of endometrial malignancy. Conclusion The combination markers, MPV+PDW+NLR, had good discriminatory power for the presence of malignancy (AUC 0.797). Our results suggest that hematologic markers could be useful for the differentiation of malignant and benign endometrial lesions.
miRNA in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas: promising but still distant future of personalized oncology

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is one of the most common and fatal cancers worldwide. Lack of appropriate preventive screening tests, late detection, and high heterogeneity of these tumors are the main reasons for the unsatisfactory effects of therapy and, consequently, unfavorable outcomes for patients. An opportunity to improve the quality of diagnostics and treatment of this group of cancers are microRNAs (miRNAs) — molecules with a great potential both as biomarkers and therapeutic targets. This review aims to present the characteristics of these short non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) and summarize the current reports on their use in oncology focused on medical strategies tailored to patients’ needs.
Scales and variability of the sea surface temperature distribution in the Adriatic Sea

[1] Scales and variability of the Adriatic sea surface temperature (SST) distribution in the period January 1991 to December 2000 are studied by means of 8-day composite, 4-km resolution, SST data. Scales of the SST are defined as scales of the SST autocorrelation function. Assuming an exponential correlation model, scales of the SST are quantified as e-folding times and distances of the SST autocorrelation function. Variability in the SST is analyzed through empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis. From summer to winter, spatial scales of the SST in the along-basin direction remain unchanged while in the across-basin direction they decrease, resulting in scales that are slightly shorter (10–15%) in winter than in summer. The spatial distribution of temporal scales displays two patterns: the first, characterized by low values, is located in the northern part of the basin and along the Italian coast, and the second, characterized by high values, covers the rest of the basin. The SST variability is dominated by the annual signal, which explains 45% of the overall variance. The main structures of the Adriatic circulation leave their signature on the first three EOFs, whose spatial variability occurs on wavelengths longer than 200 km in the along-basin direction and, in the across-basin direction, in the band 25–50 km and at 80 and 100 km. EOF coefficients are characterized by oscillating components with periods of 20 days to 6 months.
Characteristics of aerosol size distributions and new particle formation in the summer in Beijing

[1] The Campaigns of Air Quality Research in Beijing and Surrounding Region 2006 (CAREBeijing-2006) were mainly focused on the influence of the regional aerosol on the air pollution in Beijing. The urban aerosol was characterized in detail. The particle size distributions were also compared to those measured at a regional site (Yufa) approximately 50 km south of the urban site at Peking University (PKU). At PKU, total particle number and volume concentrations were (1.8 ± 0.8) × 104 cm−3 and 83.5 ± 57.9 μm3 cm−3, respectively. Days in three consecutive summers of 2004, 2005, and 2006 were classified as polluted days with PM10 over 150 μg m−3 and nonpolluted days with lower PM10. On nonpolluted days, particle number size distributions showed a maximum at about 60 nm with Aitken mode particles dominating number concentration. On polluted days, the contribution of accumulation mode particles increased, shifting the maximum of the number size distribution to over 80 nm. On polluted days with stagnant meteorological conditions, secondary aerosol dominated, with SO42−, NO3−, and NH4+ accounting for over 60% of accumulation mode particle mass. Particle number size distributions at both sites were similar. Number and volume concentrations of total particles at Yufa were 6% and 12% lower, respectively; those of accumulation mode particles were 2% and 15% lower. This means that air pollution in Beijing is mainly a regional problem. The regional accumulation mode particles are a metric for assessing the air quality since they influence most the visibility and total mass concentration. Their number and volume concentrations on polluted days were 5 × 103 cm−3 and 30 μm3 cm−3, respectively. Five new particle formation (NPF) events with continuous smooth growth were observed at both PKU and Yufa during CAREBeijing-2006. These NPF events are regional or semiregional. Growth rates at PKU ranged from 1.2 to 5.6 nm h−1, and formation rates ranged from 1.1 to 22.4 cm−3 s−1. SO42−, NH4+, and oxalate might be important contributors to NPF events.
A Late Holocene Paleoecological Record from Torrey Pines State Reserve, California

Abstract Paleoenvironments of the Torrey Pines State Reserve were reconstructed from a 3600-yr core from Los Peñasquitos Lagoon using fossil pollen, spores, charcoal, chemical stratigraphy, particle size, and magnetic susceptibility. Late Holocene sediments were radiocarbon dated, while the historical sediments were dated using sediment chemistry, fossil pollen, and historical records. At 3600 yr B.P., the estuary was a brackish-water lagoon. By 2800 yr B.P., Poaceae (grass) pollen increased to high levels, suggesting that the rising level of the core site led to its colonization by Spartina foliosa (cord-grass), the lowest-elevation plant type within regional estuaries. An increase in pollen and spores of moisture-dependent species suggests a climate with more available moisture after 2600 yr B.P. This change is similar to that found 280 km to the north at 3250 yr B.P., implying that regional climate changes were time-transgressive from north to south. Increased postsettlement sediment input resulted from nineteenth-century land disturbances caused by grazing and fire. Sedimentation rates increased further in the twentieth century due to closure of the estuarine mouth. The endemic Pinus torreyana (Torrey pine) was present at the site throughout this 3600-yr interval but was less numerous prior to 2100 yr B.P. This history may have contributed to the low genetic diversity of this species.
Airborne observations of dry particle absorption and scattering properties over the northern Indian Ocean

[1] Airborne measurements of the absorption and scattering coefficients of dry aerosols, at 525 and 545 nm, respectively, were performed over the northern Indian Ocean during the Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX). In the marine boundary layer the dry absorption coefficient decreased from about 25 Mm−1 close the Indian subcontinent to 2 Mm−1 close to the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), which reflects the removal and dilution of anthropogenically produced aerosols during their transport over the Indian Ocean. The dry scattering coefficient initially decreased with distance from the Indian subcontinent, from 70 Mm−1 at 8°N to 10 Mm−1 at 2°N, resulting in a dry single scattering albedo between 0.6 and 0.8 (0.7–0.9 at ambient relative humidity). At further distance from the Indian subcontinent the scattering coefficient and single scattering albedo increased, indicating the increasing importance of aerosols of natural origin. Using Mie theory, the refractive index of the anthropogenically produced aerosols has been estimated to be 1.50–0.06i.
Application of optimized CNN algorithm in landslide boundary detection

Landslide, as a natural geological phenomenon with great harm, seriously threatens human social activities and life safety. It has a variety of latent and immeasurable destructiveness, which has a significant impact on the economic losses in rural areas. Therefore, it is urgent to take measures to accurately identify landslides to reduce their negative impacts. However, traditional manual visual interpretation has been unable to meet the current needs for emergency rescue of landslides, so computer intelligent methods have been paid attention to. This study proposes a new recognition network to address the problem of low accuracy of intelligent landslide boundary recognition methods. Firstly, the experiment incorporated boundary structure information into the Full Convolutional Network (FCN) for optimization, and constructed an Improved Full Convolutional Network (IFCN) model to better achieve image reconstruction. After that, Attention Mechanism (AM) is further introduced to achieve accurate detection of landslide boundaries in images, namely the IFCN-AM model. The attention mechanism introduced include spatial attention mechanism and multi-channel attention mechanism. Both are responsible for enhancing the language representation ability of the model and aggregating the interrelated features between different channels. The experimental results show that IFCN-AM has a 3 % to 7 % improvement in accuracy, recall, F1 value, and MIoU value.
Unmasking the Underlying Causes: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Mortality From Intentional and Unintentional Injuries in the United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has experienced substantial development in infrastructure and transportation in the last few decades. Although available evidence suggests that the incidence of injuries has considerably increased in the previous few years, there is a scarcity of literature that comprehensively analyzed the mortality due to different types of injuries in the UAE. Therefore, the current study was designed to report mortality due to various intentional and unintentional injuries in the UAE. Secondary data was obtained from the World Health Organization (WHO) mortality database. We targeted injuries-specific mortality datasets. We applied a filter (UAE) to retrieve mortality data from unintentional and intentional injuries in the UAE. The latest data in the WHO mortality database was for 2020-21. A total of 10,357 death records from the UAE were present in the WHO mortality database. The percentage of injury-specific deaths out of total deaths was 8.69% (n=900). Injury-specific mortality rate per 100,000 population was 9.09. The percentage of injury-specific deaths was higher for males (87.3%, n=786) and the age group 25-34 years (n=323, 35.9%). Of the 900 injury-specific deaths, 449 (49.9%) were due to unintentional injuries, 216 (24.0%) were due to unintentional injuries, while the remaining (26.1%, n=235) deaths occurred due to Ill-defined injuries. More than half (53.7%, n=241) of unintentional injuries were because of road traffic injuries (RTIs) followed by fall (14.7%, n=66), exposure to mechanical forces (6.5%, n=29), drowning (6.0%, n=27) fire (1.1%, n=5), poisonings (1.1%, n=5), natural disasters (n=1, 0.2%) and other unintentional injuries (16.7%, n=75). More than three-quarters (83.3%, n=180) of intentional injuries were because of self-inflicted injuries while the remaining (16.7%, n=36) intentional injuries-specific deaths occurred due to violence. Many deaths in the UAE occur due to unintentional and intentional injuries. RTIs and falls are the leading causes of unintentional injury-specific deaths, while self-inflicted injuries and violence are the leading causes of intentional injury-specific deaths.
Designing New Sport Supplements Based on Aronia melanocarpa and Bee Pollen to Enhance Antioxidant Capacity and Nutritional Value

With a high number of athletes using sport supplements targeting different results, the need for complex, natural and effective formulations represents an actual reality, while nutrition dosing regimens aiming to sustain the health and performance of athletes are always challenging. In this context, the main goal of this study was to elaborate a novel and complex nutraceutical supplement based on multiple bioactive compounds extracted from Aronia melanocarpa and bee pollen, aiming to support physiological adaptations and to minimize the stress generated by intense physical activity in the case of professional or amateur athletes. Our proposed formulations are based on different combinations of Aronia and bee pollen (A1:P1, A1:P2 and A2:P1), offering personalized supplements designed to fulfill the individual requirements of different categories of athletes. The approximate composition, fatty acid profile, identification and quantification of individual polyphenols, along with the antioxidant capacity of raw biological materials and different formulations, was performed using spectrophotometric methods, GS-MS and HPLC-DAD-MS-ESI+. In terms of antioxidant capacity, our formulations based on different ratios of bee pollen and Aronia were able to act as complex and powerful antioxidant products, highlighted by the synergic or additional effect of the combinations. Overall, the most powerful synergism was obtained for the A1:P2 formulation.