Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nitrogen mineralization and immobilization in sediments of the East China Sea: Spatiotemporal variations and environmental implications

Nitrogen (N) mineralization and immobilization are important processes of N biogeochemical cycle in marine sediments. This study investigated gross N mineralization (GNM) and NH4+ immobilization (GAI) in the sediments from the East China Sea (ESC), using 15N stable isotope dilution technique. Results show that measured rates of GNM and GAI ranged from 0.04 to 6.1 µg N g−1 d−1 and from undetectable to 9.82 µg N g−1 d−1, respectively. In general, both GNM and GAI rates were significantly greater in summer as compared to winter, and the high rates occurred mainly in the muddy area and increased gradually from the Yangtze Estuary to Zhe‐Min Coastal muddy areas. The GNM and GAI processes were related closely to sediment temperature, pH, ammonium (NH4+), nitrate (NO3−), total organic carbon (TOC), and total nitrogen (TN) contents in the muddy area, while they were associated tightly with sediment temperature, pH, NH4+, TOC, TN, sulfide, and Fe(III) concentrations in the sandy area. In addition, the total mineralized and immobilized N in the East China Sea (ECS) were estimated to be approximately 2.1 × 106 t N yr−1 and 2.7 × 106 t N yr−1, respectively. Overall, these results highlight the importance of N mineralization and immobilization in controlling the N budget in the ECS and improve the understanding of both processes and associated controlling mechanisms in the coastal marine ecosystem.
Nanga Parbat Revisited: Evolution and Dynamics of Sociohydrological Interactions in the Northwestern Himalaya

Regular availability of glacier and snow meltwater is essential for irrigated crop cultivation in the northwestern Himalaya. Based on a case study from the Nanga Parbat region in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, general patterns and site-specific particularities of irrigation networks in semiarid high mountain regions are conceptualized as continuously evolving sociohydrological interactions. These interactions are shaped by an interplay of glacio-fluvial runoff, water distribution, socioeconomic setting, institutional arrangements, external development interventions, and historical trajectories. Building on the paradigm of sociohydrology that changes in water availability coevolve with socioeconomic and land use transitions, this article explores glacier fluctuations and associated developments in meltwater-dependent crop cultivation in the Rupal Valley. The evolution of irrigation networks is analyzed using multitemporal high-resolution satellite imagery, repeat photography, and primary socioeconomic data collected in successive field surveys. Changes are historically contextualized with the help of archival material such as colonial reports and cadastral maps. This integrative study discovered the extension of cultivated areas, an increase in individual field numbers, and a reduction in average field size against the background of population increase and glacier retreat. Despite socioeconomic and environmental changes, the strong coupling of the human–water system remains intact, demonstrating a high degree of persistence of sociohydrological features over time. Adaptive strategies, however, often fail in the face of unpredictable natural processes.
Demographic Factors, Financial Self-Efficacy, And Financial Independence of Young Adults in Surabaya

Purpose : One of the key characteristics that can indicate a person's maturity is financial independence. Unfortunately, not many young adults in Indonesia are successful to become financially independent. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the variables that may have an impact on young adults’ financial independence. Design/methodology/approach : 118 Surabaya-based young adults served as the study's respondents. Distribution of questionnaires was used to collect data, which was then processed using logistic regression. Findings : The findings of this study demonstrate that age, education, marital status, and self-efficacy all have an impact on young adults' financial independence. It is expected that the findings of this study will help those involved in the attempt to increase financial independence among Indonesian young adults. Furthermore, it is expected that this research will contribute to ongoing studies on financial independence. Paper type : research paper
Ascorbic Acid Protects Bone Marrow from Oxidative Stress and Transient Elevation of Corticosterone Caused by X-ray Exposure in Akr1a-Knockout Mice

Bone marrow cells are the most sensitive to exposure to X-rays in the body and are selectively damaged even by doses that are generally considered permissive in other organs. Ascorbic acid (Asc) is a potent antioxidant that is reported to alleviate damages caused by X-ray exposure. However, rodents can synthesize Asc, which creates difficulties in rigorously assessing its effects in such laboratory animals. To address this issue, we employed mice with defects in their ability to synthesize Asc due to a genetic ablation of aldehyde reductase (Akr1a-KO). In this study, concentrations of white blood cells (WBCs) were decreased 3 days after exposure to X-rays at 2 Gy and then gradually recovered. At approximately one month, the recovery rate of WBCs was delayed in the Akr1a-KO mouse group, which was reversed via supplementation with Asc. Following exposure to X-rays, Asc levels decreased in plasma, bone marrow cells, and the liver during an early period, and then started to increase. X-ray exposure stimulated the pituitary gland to release adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), which stimulated corticosterone secretion. Asc released from the liver, which was also stimulated by ACTH, appeared to be recruited to the bone marrow. Since corticosterone in high doses is injurious, these collective results imply that Asc protects bone marrow via its antioxidant capacity against ROS produced via exposure to X-rays and the cytotoxic action of transiently elevated corticosterone.
HPLC and LC–MS/MS-Based Quantitative Characterization of Related Substances Associated with Sotalol Hydrochloride

In total, three related substances (RS) associated with sotalol hydrochloride (STHCl) were herein identified with a novel gradient high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) protocol. Further characterization of these substances was then performed via liquid chromatography–mass spectroscopy (LC–MS/MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) approaches. For these analyses, commercial STHCl samples were used for quantitative HPLC studies and the degradation of STHCl under acidic (1M HCl), alkaline (1M NaOH), oxidative (30% H2O2), photolytic (4500 Lx), and thermal stress conditions (100 °C) was assessed. This approach revealed this drug to be resistant to acidic, alkaline, and high-temperature conditions, whereas it was susceptible to light and oxidation as confirmed through long-term experiments. The putative mechanisms governing RS formation were also explored, revealing that RS3 was derived from the manufacturing process, whereas RS2 was generated via oxidation and RS1 was generated in response to light exposure. The cytotoxicity of these RS compounds was then assessed using MTT assays and acute toxicity test. Overall, this study provides details regarding the characterization, isolation, quantification, and toxicological evaluation of STHCl and associated RS compounds together with details regarding the precise, specific, and reliable novel HPLC technique, thus providing the requisite information necessary to ensure STHCl purity and safety.
Serotype and genotyping of Salmonella sp. isolated from street foods in N’Djaména, Chad

Group foodborne illness infections with Salmonella are often caused by the simultaneous consumption by several people of heavily contaminated food. The objective of this work was to determine the phylogenetic relationships between dietary strains of Salmonella sp. isolated from our samples and confirmed clinical strains. A total of 447 samples were collected and analyzed using standard food microbiology methods. Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus-Polymerase chain Reaction (ERIC-PCR) technique allowed confirmation that all our strains belong to the genus Salmonella. From ten (10) strains characterized, eight (8) different genotype profiles were identified. The different DNA fragments of the isolates were generated by ERIC-PCR and then revealed on the agarose gel and had bands ranging from 2 to 6 bands with sizes between 150 and 1500 bp. The two food strains of S. Mbadaka (1 and 2) presented identical profiles. However, it is noted that two (2) strains of S. Anatum had different ERIC-PCR profiles. There is also a very high resemblance between the strain of S. Anatum (strain 5) and the confirmed clinical strains (H5: Salmonella Typhi). The presence of risky germs in the food analyzed poses a public health problem and should call on the competent authorities and prompt the taking of corrective measures.
Data-Driven Analysis of Patients’ Body Language in Healthcare: A Comprehensive Review

Body language refers to the unspoken communication conveyed through human body actions like body movements and postures, limb gestures, and facial and other bodily expressions. It acts as a transparent medium, exposing an individual’s emotions, attitudes, true thoughts, intentions, and physical and mental health states. A person may express pain using hand movements or other bodily cues, their facial expressions potentially offering insights into the intensity of the pain. Additionally, various diseases and pains can induce abnormalities in body movements, postures, and expressions, signaling distress or discomfort. Therefore, investigating the cause-effect relationships between diseases/pains and patients’ abnormal body language holds significant relevance, promising to enhance our understanding and management of these conditions. This importance has been reflected in numerous healthcare and artificial intelligence (AI) research articles. AI studies investigate this and related topics by detecting, recognizing, and analyzing patients’ abnormal activities and body actions using machine-learning techniques. However, most AI studies do not consider comprehensive domain knowledge that describes a complete and accurate list of patients’ abnormal actions caused by a disease or pain. Though these results appear consistent and stable from an AI outlook, they fall short when viewed through the prism of healthcare, primarily because the limited domain knowledge incorporated in the AI studies makes the findings partially incomplete. To overcome these drawbacks, this paper comprehensively reviews healthcare and medical studies centered on patients’ body language from an AI outlook. It presents a thorough descriptive and exploratory analysis of the findings, yielding a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of the causational connections between diseases and abnormal body actions and the strength of the evidence supporting these connections. The analysis enables us to define “disease-to-abnormality” and “abnormality-to-disease” mappings that result in building exhaustive and accurate lists of abnormal body actions induced by diseases and pains as well as lists of diseases and pains causing particular abnormal body actions. The generation of these lists is assisted by the concepts of “correlation strength index” and “strongly correlated selection” defined in this paper. The paper’s results have significant implications for developing machine learning systems that can more accurately analyze patients’ physical and mental health states, correctly identify external signs and symptoms of diseases, and effectively monitor health conditions.
Cancer Screening in Angolan Individuals Using Tumor Marker Tests at MEDIAG, Luanda-Angola

Tumor biomarkers have great potential in screening and their role could extend further from general population risk assessment to treatment response estimation and recurrence monitoring. Different molecular and cellular elements in blood, which give information about the status of an individual, make it a perfect compartment to develop noninvasive diagnostics approaches for cancer. The present study aimed to screen the most frequent tumor markers in the Angolan population according to age and gender. A whole blood sample was collected for each patient. Serum levels were measured using the electrochemiluminescence method, using the automated Cobas e411 equipment (Roche®) according to the manufacturer's instructions. The results of our study elucidated the relevance of tumor biomarkers in screening for different types of cancer. These results also highlight the robustness of the mean in suspected cases, which is 15 to 17 times higher in some markers than in non-suspected cases. More research is needed to elucidate the relevance of these biomarkers in the Angolan population.
The commercial control of spawning in temperate abalone

Wild-caught blacklip (Haliotis rubra) and greenlip (H. laevigata) abalone fed a formulated feed were held from spent to gravid condition at 14oC or 18oC. Half the gravid animals were induced to spawn (using UV-irradiated seawater) and the remainder left untreated. All animals were then sacrificed and samples of foot, digestive gland (DG) and gonad analyzed for lipid and fatty acid (FA) composition, as was the feed. The feed contained 5% lipid, of which the major FA were 18:2n-6 (27%), 18:1n-9 (20%) and 16:0 (16%). The lipid content of each tissue was similar for both species, ranging from 4–6%, 8–9%, 14–15%, and 30– 32% in the foot, testis, DG and ovary, respectively. Each tissue had a different FA signature, with the foot, testis and ovary characterized by elevated levels of 20:4n-6 (arachidonic acid – ARA), 20:5n-3 (eicosapentaenoic acid – EPA) and 18:2n-6 (linoleic acid – LA), respectively. The proportion of LA and EPA in the DG were intermediate between those of the testis and ovary. Differences in the proportion of ARA between the foot, DG and gonad were possibly due to the conversion of ARA to prostaglandins in the latter tissues. There was no change in the lipid or fatty acid composition of blacklip or greenlip tissues in response to the two culture temperatures. Likewise, these compositions did not appear to differ between tissues from spent and gravid individuals. Tissue FA profiles from abalone fed a formulated feed are compared to those from macroalgal feeding trials to determine if the formulated feed can be further improved.
Evaluation of an Oral Fluid Collection Device and a Solid-Phase Extraction Method for the Determination of Coca Leaf Alkaloids by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry.

Some South American countries have ancient traditions that may pose legal problems, such as the consumption of coca leaves, as this can provide positive results for cocaine use after the analysis of biological samples. For this reason, it is necessary to find specific markers that help differentiate legal from illegal consumption, such as tropacocaine, cinnamoylcocaine, and especially hygrine and cuscohygrine. In this work, two techniques for collecting biological samples are compared: the Quantisal® Oral Fluid collection device and passive drooling. Once the samples were collected, they were subjected to solid-phase extraction for subsequent injection into GC-MS. Different validation parameters included in international guides have been studied to evaluate whether the proposed method is valid for the defined purpose, placing special emphasis on the study of the matrix effect and little value on GC-MS analyses. With respect to this parameter, an increase in the signal was found for CUS and t-CIN, but it was not significant for the rest of the substances studied. The recoveries have varied significantly depending on the way of working, being higher when working with standardized areas. After carrying out work with the oral fluid samples collected from laboratory volunteers, the method was applied to two real samples. The results obtained support the need for further research to overcome certain limitations presented by the device.
Assessment of Secondary Sulfate Aqueous-Phase Formation Pathways in the Tropical Island City of Haikou: A Chemical Kinetic Perspective

Sulfate (SO42−) is an essential chemical species in atmospheric aerosols and plays an influential role in their physical–chemical characteristics. The mechanisms of secondary SO42− aerosol have been intensively studied in air-polluted cities. However, few studies have focused on cities with good air quality. One-year PM2.5 samples were collected in the tropical island city of Haikou, and water-soluble inorganic ions, as well as water-soluble Fe and Mn, were analyzed. The results showed that non-sea-salt SO42− (nss-SO42−) was the dominant species of water-soluble inorganic ions, accounting for 40–57% of the total water-soluble inorganic ions in PM2.5 in Haikou. The S(IV)+H2O2 pathway was the main formation pathway for secondary SO42− in wintertime in Haikou, contributing to 57% of secondary SO42− formation. By contrast, 54% of secondary SO42− was produced by the S(IV)+Fe×Mn pathway in summer. In spring and autumn, the S(IV)+H2O2, S(IV)+Fe×Mn, and S(IV)+NO2 pathways contributed equally to secondary SO42− formation. The ionic strength was the controlling parameter for the S(IV)+NO2 pathway, while pH was identified as a key factor that mediates the S(IV)+H2O2 and S(IV)+Fe×Mn pathways to produce secondary SO42−. This study contributes to our understanding of secondary SO42− production under low PM2.5 concentrations but high SO42− percentages.
Inuit Methods of Identifying Polar Bear Characteristics: Potential for Inuit Inclusion in Polar Bear Surveys + Supplementary Appendix Tables S1 to S5 (See Article Tools)

As a result of their close proximity to and frequent interactions with polar bears, Inuit hunters are aware of changes in polar bear population ecology and characteristics. This valuable information could contribute to any polar bear research or monitoring program. Understanding how Inuit gather ecological information on polar bears and how this knowledge is shaped by individual experiences can also overcome any barriers to Inuit inclusion in bear monitoring and management. On the basis of interviews in four Nunavut communities, we report Inuit hunting experiences and methods of identifying polar bear sex, age, body size, and health status. Across communities, Inuit share techniques in identifying and distinguishing bear characteristics that overlap with scientific methods, suggesting that Inuit could provide immediate and inexpensive information to polar bear research programs. Hunting preferences are shaped by individual experiences with polar bears (e.g., through hunting or bear encounters), as well as familiarity with polar bear research and management. Identifying and incorporating community perspectives in management will be necessary to sustain local support for programs that affect Inuit knowledge formation and persistence.
Right Ventricular Function in Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy: Potential Value of Strain Echocardiography

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy is an inherited cardiomyopathy, characterized by abnormal cell adhesions, disrupted intercellular signaling, and fibrofatty replacement of the myocardium. These changes serve as a substrate for ventricular arrhythmias, placing patients at risk of sudden cardiac death, even in the early stages of the disease. Current echocardiographic criteria for diagnosing arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy lack sensitivity, but novel markers of cardiac deformation are not subject to the same technical limitations as current guideline-recommended measures. Measuring cardiac deformation using speckle tracking allows for meticulous quantification of global systolic function, regional function, and dyssynchronous contraction. Consequently, speckle tracking to quantify myocardial strain could potentially be useful in the diagnostic process for the determination of disease progression and to assist risk stratification for ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. This narrative review provides an overview of the potential use of different myocardial right ventricular strain measures for characterizing right ventricular dysfunction in arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy and its utility in assessing the risk of ventricular arrhythmias.
A review of the taxonomy and systematics of aigialosaurs

Abstract Aigialosaurs have been recognised as a group of semi-aquatic marine reptiles for over one hundred years. While the taxonomic status of aigialosaurs has changed little in the past century, the interfamilial relationships have been modified considerably making the phylogenetic relationships between aigialosaurs, mosasaurs, dolichosaurs, coniasaurs, varanids and other squamates a topic of much debate. The monophyly of the family Aigialosauridae has been contested by recent studies and remains highly questionable. The higher-level relationships of mosasauroids within Squamata remain problematic with studies placing mosasauroids outside of Varanidae, Varanoidea and even Anguimorpha. These findings conflict with earlier views that aigialosaurs (and by association mosasaurs) were closely related to Varanus. This study concludes that further descriptions of aigialosaur taxa are needed, and several key flaws need to be addressed in the data matrices that have been used in previous studies. This should facilitate the clarification of aigialosaur systematic relationships both within Mosasauroidea and Squamata.
Risk perception of interaction with dolphin in Bunbury, West Australia

This research aims to analyze the risk perception of tourists in Dolphin Discovery Center (DDC) Bunbury, West Australia and serves for the destination a management and marketing. Factor analysis, K-Means cluster analysis and variance analysis were combined to examine the extent of risk perception for DDC and demographic differences. The main conclusions were as following: three factors that tourism experience quality, physical safety, and amenity were extracted based on the exploring factor analysis; according to the extent of risk perception, wildlife tourists had been divided into three categories: weak risk awareness, medium risk perception, and strong risk perception. Wildlife tourists perceived experience quality risk as the strongest factor and physical safety as the weakest factor, and amenity risk was in an intermediate position. Independent-sample t test and variance analysis were used to examine the demographic difference in risk perception and the results showed that different age, income and family status all had significant difference in risk perception except gender; tourism experience, travelling companion, expenditure and staying time and other tourism behavior all had significant difference in risk perception as well as satisfaction and willingness to revisit, except for information source.