Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improving spate flow diversions in spate irrigation intake structures

ABSTRACT This study evaluated alternatives to the main intake designs of spate irrigation structures. Relevant data were collected from a field and offices. Four scenarios were developed based on current problems. The Delft3D model was employed to simulate hydrodynamic and morphodynamic flow characteristics around the main intake. The study showed that increasing the deflection angle from 120° to 150° for a 3-m-wide intake can improve the irrigation water abstraction by 21%. Changing the width from 3 to 5 m at 120° can improve the irrigation water abstraction by 81%. In addition to changing the width, increasing the deflection angle to 150° can improve the spate irrigation water abstraction by 101%. These interventions did not reduce the sediment deposition at the intake. However, the enhanced supply of water through main spate flow gates may convince farmers not to block scour sluice gates. Based on the pure design, an intake width of 5 m and a deflection angle of 150° can be recommended.
Dupilumab Treatment in Two Patients with Cutaneous T-cell Lymphomas

Society for Publication of Acta Dermato-Venereologica Dupilumab is an interleukin 4/13 blocker approved for the treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD), asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (1). In AD, dupilumab treatment significantly improves pruritus (2). Treatment with dupilumab has been associated with transient improvement followed by disease progression in 7 patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphomas (CTCL) (3). We report here 2 patients with epidermotropic CTCL who were treated with dupilumab for refractory pruritus.
The palaeoenvironment of humans and marine birds of the Aleutian Islands: three millennia of change

A unique window into the biological history of the Aleutian Islands is provided by the zooarchaeology of early human sites. We focus on the palaeoavifauna hunted by early Aleuts who inhabited Amchitka and Buldir islands (central Aleutians), and Shemya Island (western Aleutians) from c. 3500 yr ago to the present. Most of the seabird species recovered from these early sites varied widely in distribution and abundance through time and space. Pelagic procellariids such as short-tailed albatrosses and short-tailed shearwaters were present and abundant at most sites and at most times. During periods of increased temperatures and precipitation (e.g. 650–1100 yr bp), nearshore foragers such as cormorants and parakeet auklets increased in abundance, but during periods of cooling (e.g. 1800–2100 yr bp), piscivorous birds feeding offshore, such as murres and kittiwakes, predominated. Over three millennia, we found that marine bird populations were negatively correlated with temperature and positively correlated with precipitation. We detected hunter-related depletions of populations breeding in accessible colonies at small scales of space and time, but we did not observe widespread or long-term effects. We conclude that local oceanography and regional changes in prey bases caused by environmental and climate change in the past had a significant impact on the distribution and abundance of Aleutian marine birds.
Could plant‐feeding nematodes affect the competition between grass species during succession in grasslands under restoration management?

1 We examined the effects of plant‐feeding nematodes on competition between Holcus lanatus and Anthoxanthum odoratum. In the Drentse A nature reserve, the Netherlands, a relatively productive grassland, represented by H. lanatus, has gradually been replaced by a less‐productive community, represented by A. odoratum, after the application of fertiliser was stopped. Stressed plants are generally considered to be more sensitive to herbivory. 2 We hypothesized that plant‐feeding nematodes would exacerbate the competitive disadvantage of H. lanatus resulting from nutrient limitation. We compared performance in an adjusted De Wit replacement series with monocultures, grown in soil that was either treated or untreated with nematicides at both low and high nutrient supply. 3 The biomass production of both plant species was negatively affected by intra‐ and interspecific competition. Although H. lanatus was a stronger competitor than A. odoratum in mixed cultures, it was more sensitive to plant‐feeding nematodes and nutrient limitation. Nematodes and nutrient stress therefore reduced the competitive suppression of A. odoratum by H. lanatus. Low nutrient availability did not enhance the effect of plant‐feeding nematodes on plant growth and competition, indicating additive rather than synergistic effects on plant performance. 4 We conclude that plant‐feeding nematodes may contribute to species replacements in grasslands after fertilization has been stopped, albeit to a lesser extent than reduced nutrient availability. Plant species‐specific differences in tolerance to plant‐feeding nematodes in general, rather than host specificity of nematodes, are responsible for any effects.
Experimental Investigation on Vortex-Induced Vibration of a Flexible Pipe under Higher Mode in an Oscillatory Flow

Different from the previous studies of the vortex-induced vibration (VIV) dominated by first mode of flexible pipe in an oscillatory flow, the features of a higher mode dominated are experimentally investigated in the ocean basin. The flexible pipe is forced to harmonically oscillate with different combinations of a period and amplitude. The design dominant mode consists of first and second modes under the maximum reduced velocity (VR) of approximately 5.5 with a KC number ranging from 22 to 165. The VIV responses between only the excited first mode and the excited higher mode are compared and studied using displacement reconstruction and wavelet transform methods. The discrepancies of spatial and temporal response between smaller and larger KC numbers (KC = 56 and 121) are first observed. The strong alternate mode dominance and lock-in phenomena occur in the case of larger KC numbers, while they cannot be observed in the case of smaller KC numbers under higher modes. The VIV dominant frequency in the in-line (IL) direction is found to be always triple the oscillatory flow frequency and not twice that in the cross flow (CF) direction. The dominant frequency in the CF direction can be predicted by the Strouhal law, and the Strouhal number is approximately 0.18 under VR = 5.5, which is not affected by the excited mode. Moreover, differences of response motion trajectory are also revealed in this paper. The present work improves the basic understanding of vessel motion induced VIV and provides helpful references for developing prediction methods of VIV in an oscillatory flow.
Two genetically distinct populations of Varroa jacobsoni with contrasting reproductive abilities on Apis mellifera

SUMMARYThis paper demonstrates the presence of two genetically distinct populations of Varroa jacobsoni that show contrasting abilities to reproduce on Apis mellifera and can be identified easily using simple molecular techniques. When Australian-reared A. mellifera sister queens were transported to Germany and Papua New Guinea and established in varroa-infested colonies, the female V. jacobsoni in Germany readily reproduced on their brood whereas in Papua New Guinea they did not. These observations indicate that the cause of the reported inability of female V. jacobsoni to reproduce on A. mellifera in Papua New Guinea does not rest with the resident A mellifera population. DNA sequences of a 454 base-pair region of the cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) gene obtained from reproducing V. jacobsoni collected from A. mellifera colonies in Germany differed by 6.8% from similar sequences obtained from non-reproducing V. jacobsoni from A. mellifera colonies in Papua New Guinea. The presence of a Xho I restrict.
Molecular data indicate a cryptic species in Neotoma albigula (Cricetidae: Neotominae) from northwestern México

DNA sequences from the mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene were obtained from 41 specimens of Neotoma albigula from the southwestern United States and northwestern México. Phylogenetic analyses depicted that samples of N. a. melanura from southern Sonora and northern Sinaloa formed a clade separate from representatives of the other sampled subspecies of N. albigula (albigula, laplataensis, mearnsi, seri, sheldoni, and venusta). Genetic distances detected between these clades (7.41%) approached divergence levels reported for other sister species of woodrats and indicated that N. a. melanura is presumably a cryptic and genetically differentiated species relative to N. albigula. Analyses of DNA sequences from a nuclear gene (intron 2 of the alcohol dehydrogenase gene, Adh 1-I2) indicated that samples of N. a. melanura formed a separate, monophyletic clade relative to the remainder of N. albigula. Further, habitat, geographic distinctions, and morphological differences were apparent between members of the 2 clades. Together, those data support the elevation of N. a. melanura to species status.
Solution of Non-Autonomous Schrödinger Equation for Quantized de Sitter Klein-Gordon Oscillator Modes Undergoing Attraction-Repulsion Transition

For a scalar field in an exponentially expanding universe, constituent modes of elementary excitation become unstable consecutively at shorter wavelength. After canonical quantization, a Bogoliubov transformation reduces the minimally coupled scalar field to independent 1D modes of two inequivalent types, leading eventually to a cosmological partitioning of energy. Due to accelerated expansion of the coupled space-time, each underlying mode transits from an attractive oscillator with discrete energy spectrum to a repulsive unit with continuous unbounded energy spectrum. The underlying non-autonomous Schrödinger equation is solved here as the wave function evolves through the attraction-repulsion transition and ceases to oscillate.
Ecofriendly production of silver nanoparticles from the seeds of Carica papaya and its larvicidal and antibacterial efficacy against some selected bacterial pathogens

Carica papaya seed extract (CPE) was used in the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in this study. For the characterization of biosynthesized particles, UV-vis spectroscopy, FTIR, FESEM and EDX were used. Antimicrobial and larvicidal efficacies of the synthesized AgNPs were assessed in the fight against certain pathogens and the Aedes aegypti 4th instar larvae. The absorption spectrum of AgNPs peaked at 433 nm with a broad peak of 3000 to 3800 cm−1 for different functional groups as presented in the FTIR analysis. A FESEM evaluation revealed a number of spherical particle structures with an average of 20-69 nm. With zones of inhibition between 10-24 mm, the AgNPs synthesized inhibited selected microorganisms. After 12 h of exposure, the nanoparticles had LC50 and LC90 lethal concentration on the Aedes aegypti larva at 14.56 and 33.89 μg/ml respectively. This study demonstrates possibility of using Carica papaya seeds in AgNPs synthesis.
High-latitude-area composition of humpback whale competitive groups in Samana Bay : Further evidence for panmixis in the North Atlantic population

Competitive groups of humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae, were observed in Samana Bay, Dominican Republic, West Indies. Photographs of ventral fluke patterns were used to identify individuals, and skin biopsies were taken for molecular determination of sex. Nine groups contained two or more whales previously identified from different high-latitude areas. In seven groups, males from different feeding grounds were observed to compete with each other, and in six cases the group's female was from a different area than at least one of her male escorts. These results provide further support for the hypothesis that the western North Atlantic population of this species can be considered a single panmictic unit.
Culicoides Latreille (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) da vila de Alter do Chão, Santarém, Pará, Brasil

Insect Vectors; Ecosystem; Demography. Insectos Vectores; Ecosistema; Demografía. The aim of this work was to survey Culicoides Latreille fauna and to record their seasonal abundance in a beach area from the village of Alter do Chão (Municipality of Santarém, Pará State, Brazil). Collections were made monthly between May 2006 and April 2007 using CDC light trap and human attraction. A total of 58 specimens were collected belonging to five species: C. crucifer Clastrier, C. insinuatus Ortiz & Leon, and C. fusipalpis Wirth & Blanton species were collected while biting humans; C. insignis Lutz was collected by CDC light trap. C. ruizi Forattini midges were collected utilizing both methods. The most abundant human-biting species collected was C. crucifer, while C. insignis was the predominant species collected using CDC light traps. The greatest incidence of Culicoides occurred in October 2006. During the survey, no correlation between climatic factors and the number of Culicoides collected each month was observed using the Spearman coefficient.
Identification and characterisation of main allergic proteins in Vitis vinifera vitis

Background. Vitis vinifera vitis (grape) cultivar Sultana is a causative agent of oral allergy syndrome (OAS) in Iran. In this study, the IgE-reactive proteins of this cultivar were characterised. Methods. IgE-reactivity of sera from patients with history of OAS to grape and positive skin prick test (SPT) were evaluated. Grape immunoreactive components were also purified and characterised. Results. The purified 10 kDa allergen showed the highest immunoreactivity in component-resolved ELISA and the results were in correlation with SPT results. The patients' sera were mostly reactive with 10, 28 and 60 kDa allergens; meanwhile, a 16 kDa protein can be considered as a novel marker for OAS to grape. The 24, 28 and 30 kDa allergens were identified as thaumatin-like protein, class IV chitinase and beta-1,3-glucanase, respectively. Conclusion. The Sultana cultivar showed a rather similar pattern of IgE reactivity with other cultivars. Several allergens play role in OAS to grapes, however, the 10 kD protein is the main allergen.
Induction of chronic marginal periodontitis in an experimental sheep model: clinical, radiological and histological evaluation

Objective. Many factors can induce the periodontal disease, including inadequate dietary intake, irritating factors of the marginal periodontium, and contamination with periodontal pathogens. Standardization of experimental animal models allows a rapid evaluation of therapeutic approaches. Methods and results. The study included five sheep aged five years, receiving food intake with a high content of fats, oxalic and phytic acids. Local induction of periodontal disease consisted of a surgical procedure based on sectioning of superficial periodontal ligaments, instillation of periodontal exudate collected from human patients, and tooth neck ligation. Periodontitis was successfully induced in all the sheep included in the study. The comparisons between clinical and radiological indices (gingival recession, bleeding on probing, periodontal probing depth, demineralization of interdental septa) were highly statistically significant (p˂˂0.01). The histopathological aspects of periodontal disease were characterized: tooth bone resorption and destruction of periodontal ligaments, presence of bacterial plaque and calculus, inflammatory reaction with multifocal distribution, as well as gingival epithelial hyperplasia. Conclusions. The natural increase in tooth mobility and predisposition of sheep to periodontal disease, induce a greater resemblance of this experimental model to the human condition and allows a more extensive study of therapeutic methods.
A Consensus Approach for Estimating Tropical Cyclone Intensity from Meteorological Satellites: SATCON

A consensus-based algorithm for estimating the current intensity of global tropical cyclones (TCs) from meteorological satellites is described. The method objectively combines intensity estimates from infrared and microwave-based techniques to produce a consensus TC intensity estimate, which is more skillful than the individual members. The method, called Satellite Consensus (SATCON), can be run in near–real time and employs information sharing between member algorithms and a weighting strategy that relies on the situational precision of each member. An evaluation of the consensus algorithm’s performance in comparison with its individual members and other available operational estimates of TC intensity is presented. It is shown that SATCON can provide valuable objective intensity estimates for poststorm assessments, especially in the absence of other data such as provided by reconnaissance aircraft. It can also serve as a near-real-time estimator of TC intensity for forecasters, with the ability to quickly reconcile differences in objective intensity methods and thus decrease the uncertainty and amount of time spent on the intensity analysis. Near-real-time SATCON estimates are being provided to global operational TC forecast centers.
Mathematical modelling approach to determine flow time of asphalt mixtures modified with styrene butadiene styrene and polyphosphoric acid

ABSTRACT This research recommends a mathematical modelling approach to determine flow time (FT). The scope of the work includes the collection and analysis of the static creep test data for asphalt mixtures produced using two different nominal maximum aggregate size (NMAS) values and two base binder grades. Modifiers of styrene butadiene styrene (SBS), polyphosphoric acid (PPA) and combination of them are selected to consider a wide range of testing times from 120 to 30,000 s. The FTs of the mixtures are determined using three techniques: the method developed in national cooperative highway research programme (NCHRP) Report 465, the Francken model, and the proposed mathematical model which is based on the ordinary tangent function. The results show that the NCHRP method is sensitive to the user-selected size of logarithmic scale unit of time, causing difficulties in the FT computation. It is also shown that the Francken model, often used to fit the dynamic creep curves, cannot completely fit the static creep test data, and so is not capable of estimating FT, properly. However, based on the limited data available in this study, the proposed tangent model performs very well in characterising all the three stages of the static creep curve and estimates the accurate value of FT in a reasonable time. Because of the simplicity, computational speed and accuracy of the proposed tangent model, it can be considered as an alternative to the NCHRP method to determine FT.
Political Activity of Kwiek ‘Dynasty’ in the Second Polish Republic in the Years 1935–1939

The coronation of King Janusz Kwiek, which took place in 1937, was meant to integrate the Romani elite in the interwar sociopolitical life of Poland. Unfortunately, the creation of a homogeneous and centralized Romani representation through the royal institution ended in a fiasco. Firstly, the centralized model of power was in conflict with the Romani nomadic system in Poland, which was based on a multitude of leaders, including women whose power resulted from hierarchical dependence. Secondly, it quickly became clear that from the mid-1920s onward, when the presence of Polish Romani in mainstream social life crystallized, there has been no bottom–up social initiatives promoting King Janusz Kwiek’s attempts towards sociopolitical reform. Therefore, the Romani population was not prepared for changes and no effective state coercive measures were created to enforce the introduction of the postulated changes. Thus, although the activities of both actors—the Kwieks and the Polish authorities—often had a facade character, consisting in more or less weak ‘governance’ of the Romani minority, their joint activity favored the political maturation of the Romani elite and its comprehensive development. This was despite of the many shortcomings of the close relationship between the Romani people and the Polish administration, as a result from the dictatorial rule in Poland at the time.
Soils in a hemlock-hardwood ecosystem mosaic in the Southern Lake Superior Uplands

One of the hypotheses explaining the complex mosaic of forest cover types in the Southern Superior Uplands is soil diversity. However, the distribution of soil taxa was comparable in 37 old-growth and managed northern hardwood and hemlock (Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carrire) stands. Moreover, analysis of variance revealed no significant differences in basal area, effective rooting depth, forest floor mass, and diagnostic soil horizon thicknesses between the two cover types. However, the amounts of exchangeable Ca, Mg, K, and the sum of bases were significantly greater in the upper 40 cm of mineral soil beneath hemlock than beneath northern hardwoods. These differences were accompanied by a greater amount of base cations, particularly Ca, in aboveground biomass of old-growth northern hardwoods than old-growth hemlock. A large pool of base cations exists in the lower sequum of bisequal soils composing about half of the soils of the region, but tree roots may be unable to exploit these nutrients because of a dense fragipan. There were no significant differences in soil nutrient pools in old-growth and managed stands of northern hardwoods. Resume : La diversitO du sol est une des hypothses qui permet diexpliquer la mosa que complexe des types de couvert forestier sur les plateaux mOridionaux du Lac SupOrieur. Toutefois, la distribution des taxons Odaphiques est comparable dans 37 vieux peuplements et peuplements amOnagOs de feuillus nordiques ou de pruche (Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carrire). De plus, lianalyse de variance rOvle quiil niy a pas de diffOrences significatives dans la surface terrire, la profondeur effective dienracinement, la masse de la couverture morte et liOpaisseur des horizons diagnostics du sol entre les deux types de couvert. Toutefois, les quantitOs de Ca, Mg et K Ochangeables et la somme des bases sont significativement plus OlevOes dans les premiers 40 cm du sol minOral sous la pruche que sous les feuillus nordiques. Ces diffOrences sont accompagnOes diune plus grande quantitO de cations basiques, particulirement Ca, dans la biomasse OpigOe des vieilles forŒts de feuillus nordiques que dans les vieilles forŒts de pruche. Un important rOservoir de cations basiques existe dans la partie infOrieure du profil bisOquum de sol dans ‡ peu prs la moitiO des sols de la rOgion mais les racines des arbres sont peut-Œtre incapables diexploiter ces nutriments ‡ cause diun fragipan dense. Il niy a pas de diffOrences significatives dans les rOservoirs de nutriments entre les vieux peuplements et les peuplements amOnagOs de feuillus nordiques. (Traduit par la ROdaction)
Pharmacological Actions of Magnoflorine and Aristolochic Acid-1 Isolated from the Seeds of Aristolochia bracteata

AbstractMagnoflorine and aristolochic acid-1 were isolated from Aristolochia bracteata and their pharmacologic actions studied. Magnoflorine decreased arterial blood pressure in rabbits and induced hypothermia in mice. Both compounds induced contractions in the isolated pregnant rat uterus and stimulated the isolated guinea pig ileum. Experiments with standard agents in these models suggest action on muscarinic and serotonergic systems, cither directly or indirectly.Ripe fruits of Aristolochia bracteata were collected in the Khartoum area (Sudan). The fruits were