Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mineralogy, petrology, and oxygen‐isotope compositions of magnetite ± fayalite assemblages in CO3, CV3, and LL3 chondrites

We report on the mineralogy, petrology, and O‐isotope compositions of magnetite and fayalite (Fa90−100) from several metasomatically altered and weakly metamorphosed carbonaceous (Y‐81020 [CO3.05], EET 90043 [CO3.1], MAC 88107 [CO3.1‐like], and Kaba [oxidized Bali‐like CV3.1]) and unequilibrated ordinary chondrites (UOCs; Semarkona [LL3.00], MET 00452 [LL3.05], MET 96503 [LL3.05], EET 910161 [LL3.05], Ngawi [LL3.0−3.6 breccia], and Vicência [LL3.2]). In MAC 88107, EET 90043, and Kaba, nearly pure fayalite (Fa98−100) associates with phyllosilicates, magnetite, Fe,Ni‐sulfides, and hedenbergite (Fs~50Wo~50), and occurs in all chondritic components—chondrules, matrices, and refractory inclusions. In UOCs, nearly pure fayalite (Fa95−98) associates with phyllosilicates and magnetite, and occurs mainly in matrices and fine‐grained chondrule rims. Oxygen‐isotope compositions of fayalite and magnetite in UOCs, COs, CVs, and MAC 88107 are in disequilibrium with those of chondrule olivine and low‐Ca pyroxene phenocrysts, and plot along mass‐dependent fractionation lines with slope of ~0.5, but different Δ17O (~+4.3 ± 1.4‰, −0.2 ± 0.6‰, −1.5 ± 1‰, and −1.8 ± 0.8‰, respectively). Based on the mineralogical observations, thermodynamic analysis, O‐isotope compositions, and recently reported experimental data, we infer that (1) fayalite and magnetite in COs, CVs, MAC 88107, and UOCs resulted from aqueous fluid–rock interaction on the chondrite parent asteroids that occurred at low local water‐to‐rock mass ratios (0.1−0.4) and elevated temperatures (~100−300 °C), and (2) Δ17O of fayalite and magnetite reflects O‐isotope compositions of aqueous fluids on the host meteorite parent bodies. The observed differences in Δ17O of fayalite–magnetite assemblages in UOCs, CVs, COs, and MAC 88107 suggest that water ices that accreted into the ordinary chondrite and carbonaceous chondrite parent asteroids had different Δ17O, implying spatial and/or temporal variations in O‐isotope compositions of water in the protoplanetary disk.
Molecular detection of Mycobacterium bovis in goats from Nagpur region of Maharashtra

Tuberculosis is a zoonotic disease caused by bacteria; Mycobacterium species. It is distributed worldwide and have the economic and public health significance. The present study was carried out to detect and identify the presence of Mycobacterium pathogens using polymerase chain reaction in blood samples from goats. Blood samples from the total of 236 goats suspected of tuberculosis as well as apparently healthy were collected from in and around Nagpur region. The DNA in blood sample was assessed by PCR amplification of IS6110 and RD1, RD4 gene to detect Mycobacteria at genus and species level respectively. The overall positivity of M. bovis among goats was recorded as 10.59% (25/236). The study demands thorough testing of the flocks for continuous monitoring for tuberculosis for preventing its further spread.
Does the nuclear family affect social trust? Longitudinal evidence from Germany

ABSTRACT While research indicates that social trust might benefit societies’ political and economic development, the sources of social trust are subject to debate. This article investigates a less investigated factor in the development of social trust: how far the nuclear family – that is, partnerships and parenthood – affects trust towards other people. The data are from three waves of the German Socio-Economic Panel study collected between 2003 and 2013. Longitudinal estimates indicate that having any number of children increases trust towards others while being partnered has a negative effect on social trust. Both effects are near-linear over the 19-year life course period investigated. The positive effect of parenthood is much stronger than the negative effect of partnership. These results are consistent across genders and ages. They indicate that social trust can change, but that it changes slowly during an adult’s life. The results are discussed in relation to the social roles of adult members of nuclear families, including their activities in various social arenas.
Multi-source strategic interaction in China’s public services: a spatial econometric analysis

ABSTRACT This study explores the form and sources of strategic interaction in China’s public services among local governments. The results indicate the existence of positive strategic interaction in provincial public services, with multiple sources of interaction, ranging from a direct mechanism, such as the spillover effect of yardstick competition among local governments, to an indirect mechanism, such as the resource flow effect under population mobility and market integration. Nevertheless, the obstacle of economic catch-up and hukou system reduces the interaction intensity. Furthermore, strategic interaction causes provincial public services to converge to a consistent level, indicating an equalization trend.
The Log Exponential-Power Distribution: Properties, Estimations and Quantile Regression Model

Recently, bounded distributions have attracted attention. These distributions are frequently used in modeling rate and proportion data sets. In this study, a new alternative model is proposed for modeling bounded data sets. Parameter estimations of the proposed distribution are obtained via maximum likelihood method. In addition, a new regression model is defined under the proposed distribution and its residual analysis is examined. As a result of the empirical studies on real data sets, it is observed that the proposed regression model gives better results than the unit-Weibull and Kumaraswamy regression models.
Discovery of Polyvalent Myovirus (vB_STM-2) Phage as a Natural Antimicrobial System to Lysis and Biofilm Removal of Salmonella Typhimurium Isolates from Various Food Sources

New and natural antimicrobials as an alternative control system are now an urgent need to overcome stubborn bacterial infections. Salmonella Typhimurium has become the most frequent serovar responsible for salmonellosis in humans around the world. The high antimicrobial resistance and biofilm production make this pathogen more dangerous. We aimed to isolate a broad lytic phage to prevent Salmonella infection and reduce its biofilms. Using Salmonella Typhimurium (ST-4) as a host, seven phages were isolated, and only three phages showed clear lytic plaques, two members of the Siphoviridae family (vB_STS-1 and vB_STS-3) and one of the Myoviridae family (vB_STM-2). The vB_STM-2 phage was the most potent broad lytic phage, infecting 100% of tested Salmonella Typhimurium serovars and non-Salmonella strains. Additionally, the vB_STM-2 phage was thermostable at −20 to 55 °C up to 24 h, while at 65 and 75 °C, a significant (p < 0.05) titer reduction was observed after 7 days. Moreover, the phage seemed to be stable at different pHs (4–11) after one to twelve hours (hrs), while increasing the time made the phage more sensitive to the alkaline medium rather than the acidic medium. Interestingly, the vB_STM-2 phage had the capacity to diminish or eradicate the biofilms of tested Salmonella Typhimurium, e.g., ST-4, ST-19, ST-30, ST-37, ST-45 and ST-49 by 81.2%, 76.4%, 43.6%, 41%, 39.8% and 93.4%, respectively, at a titer concentration of 106 PFU/mL. Eventually, the vB_STM-2 phage showed significant (p < 0.05) efficacy in the elimination of Salmonella Typhimurium (ST-4) from contaminated chicken breasts at both storage periods with high titer stability. The Salmonella count showed a severe decline from 7.00 ± 0.63 log10 CFU/cm2 to 0.88 ± 0.17 log10 CFU/cm2 on the seventh day of the short-term storage, and from 5.13 ± 0.44 log10 CFU/cm2 to 1.10 ± 0.12 log10 CFU/cm2 on day 27 of the long-term assay. In both periods, the phage titers remained stable, with insignificant (p < 0.05) loss. Therefore, this phage is considered a prime candidate to combat multi-drug-resistant Salmonella Typhimurium and its biofilms.
Integrated Geospatial Analysis and Hydrological Modeling for Peak Flow and Volume Simulation in Rwanda

The ability to adequately and continually assess the hydrological catchment response to extreme rainfall events in a timely manner is a prerequisite component in flood-forecasting and mitigation initiatives. Owing to the scarcity of data, this particular subject has captured less attention in Rwanda. However, semi-distributed hydrological models have become standard tools used to investigate hydrological processes in data-scarce regions. Thus, this study aimed to develop a hydrological modeling system for the Nyabarongo River catchment in Rwanda, and assess its hydrological response to rainfall events through discharged flow and volume simulation. Initially, the terrain Digital Elevation Model (DEM) was pre-processed using a geospatial tool (HEC-GeoHMS) for catchment delineation and the generation of input physiographic parameters was applied for hydrological modeling system (HEC-HMS) setup. The model was then calibrated and validated at the outlet using sixteen events extracted from daily hydro-meteorological data (rainfall and flow) for the rainy seasons of the country. More than in other events, the 15th, 9th, 13th and 5th events showed high peak flows with simulated values of 177.7 m3s−1, 171.7 m3s−1, 169.9 m3s−1, and 166.9 m3s−1, respectively. The flow fluctuations exhibited a notable relation to rainfall variations following long and short rainy seasons. Comparing the observed and simulated hydrographs, the findings also unveiled the ability of the model to simulate the discharged flow and volume of the Nyabarongo catchment very well. The evaluated model’s performance exposed a high mean Nash Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) of 81.4% and 84.6%, with correlation coefficients (R2) of 88.4% and 89.8% in calibration and validation, respectively. The relative errors for the peak flow (5.5% and 7.7%) and volume (3.8% and 4.6%) were within the acceptable range for calibration and validation, respectively. Generally, HEC-HMS findings provided a satisfactory computing proficiency and necessitated fewer data inputs for hydrological simulation under changing rainfall patterns in the Nyabarongo River catchment. This study provides an understanding and deepening of the knowledge of river flow mechanisms, which can assist in establishing systems for river monitoring and early flood warning in Rwanda.
GM101 in Combination with Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor Enhances Anti-Tumor Effects in Desmoplastic Microenvironment

Oncolytic adenoviruses (oAds) have been evaluated in numerous clinical trials due to their promising attributes as cancer therapeutics. However, the therapeutic efficacy of oAds was limited due to variable coxsackie and adenovirus receptor (CAR) expression levels and the dense extracellular matrix (ECM) of heterogenic clinical tumors. To overcome these limitations, our present report investigated the therapeutic efficacy of combining GM101, an oAd with excellent tumor ECM degrading properties, and histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi). Four different HDACi (suberohydroxamic acid (SBHA), MS-275, trichostatin A (TSA), and valproic acid) candidates in combination with replication-incompetent and GFP-expressing Ad (dAd/GFP) revealed that SBHA and MS-275 exerted more potent enhancement in Ad transduction efficacy than TSA or valproic acid. Further characterization revealed that SBHA and MS-275 effectively upregulated CAR expression in cancer cells, improved the binding of Ad with cancer cell membranes, and led to dynamin 2- and clathrin-mediated endocytosis of Ad. The combination of GM101 with HDACi induced superior cancer cell killing effects compared to any of the monotherapies, without any additional cytotoxicity in normal cell lines. Further, GM101+SBHA and GM101+MS-275 induced more potent antitumor efficacy than any monotherapy in U343 xenograft tumor model. Potent antitumor efficacy was achieved via the combination of GM101 with HDACi, inducing necrotic and apoptotic cancer cell death, inhibiting cancer cell proliferation, degrading ECM in tumor tissue, and thus exerting the highest level of virus dispersion and accumulation. Collectively, these data demonstrate that the combination of GM101 and HDACi can enhance intratumoral dispersion and accumulation of oAd through multifaced mechanisms, making it a promising strategy to address the challenges toward successful clinical development of oAd.
Interacting Controls of Pyrolysis Temperature and Plant Taxa on the Degradability of PyOM in Fire-Prone Northern Temperate Forest Soil

Tree taxa and pyrolysis temperature are the major controllers of the physicochemical properties of the resultant pyrogenic organic matter (PyOM) produced in fire-prone forests. However, we know little about how these controls determine the residence time of PyOM once introduced to soil. In this study, we tracked the fate of 13C-enriched red maple (RM) or jack pine (JP) wood and PyOM, produced over a range of temperatures (200, 300, 450, or 600 °C) added to soil from a northern temperate forest in Michigan, USA. Pyrolysis temperature was the main controller of PyOM-C mineralization rates, with mean residence times (MRT) ranging from ~4 to 450 years for both taxa. The PyOM-C mineralization rates for both taxa and the pyrolysis temperature correlated positively with PyOMw (leachable C content); however, the potential PyOMw contribution to net PyOM-C mineralization was lower for JP (14–65%) than RM (24–84%). The correlation between PyOMw and mineralization rate was strongest where carbonization and the thermochemical conversion of carbohydrates and non-lignin phenols was most pronounced during pyrolysis for each taxa (300 °C for JP and 450 °C for RM). Contrary to expectations, the addition of a labile C source, sucrose, to the soil did not enhance the decomposition of PyOM, indicating that soil microbes were not energy limited in the soil-PyOM system studied (regardless of pyrolysis temperature). Our results showed that while the first-order control on PyOM decomposition in this soil is pyrolysis temperature, wood taxa did affect PyOM-C MRT, likely in part due to differences in the amount of reactive water-soluble C present in PyOM.
Information Flow between Global Equities and Cryptocurrencies: A VMD-Based Entropy Evaluating Shocks from COVID-19 Pandemic

The world has witnessed the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, it is expected that information transmission between equities and digital assets has been altered due to the hostile impact of the pandemic outbreak on financial markets. As a result, the ensuing perverse risk among markets is presumed to rise during severe uncertainties occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic. The impetus of this study is to examine the degree of asymmetry and nonlinear directional causality between global equities and cryptocurrencies in the frequency domain. Hence, we employ both the variational mode decomposition (VMD) and the Rényi effective transfer entropy techniques. Analyses of the study are presented for three sample periods; these are the full sample period, the pre-COVID-19 period, and the COVID-19 pandemic period. We gauge a mixture of asymmetric and nonlinear bidirectional and unidirectional causality between global equities and cryptocurrencies for the sample periods. However, the COVID-19 pandemic period appears to be driving the estimates for the full sample period, which indicates a negative flow. Thus, the direction and significance of the information flow between the markets for the full sample correspond to the one observed during the COVID-19 pandemic period. We, consequently, establish a significant directional, dynamical, and scale-dependent information flow between global equities and cryptocurrencies. Notwithstanding, throughout the study samples, we mainly find a negative significant information flow from global equities to cryptocurrencies. We detect that most cryptocurrencies exhibit similar behaviour of information flow to global equities for each of the sample periods. The outcome provides pertinent signals to investors with diverse investment horizons who would want to diversify, hedge, or employ cryptocurrencies as a safe haven for global equities during uncertainties, specifically the COVID-19 pandemic.
Study of the Performance of Deep Learning-Based Channel Equalization for Indoor Visible Light Communication Systems

The inherent impairments of visible light communication (VLC) in terms of nonlinearity of light-emitting diode (LED) and the optical multipath restrict bit error rate (BER) performance. In this paper, a model-driven deep learning (DL) equalization scheme is proposed to deal with the severe channel impairments. By imitating the block-by-block signal processing block in orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) communication, the proposed scheme employs two subnets to replace the signal demodulation module in traditional system for learning the channel nonlinearity and the symbol de-mapping relationship from the training data. In addition, the conventional solution and algorithm are also incorporated into the system architecture to accelerate the convergence speed. After an efficient training, the distorted symbols can be implicitly equalized into the binary bits directly. The results demonstrate that the proposed scheme can address the overall channel impairments efficiently and can recover the original symbols with better BER performance. Moreover, it can still work robustly when the system is complicated by serious distortions and interference, which demonstrates the superiority and validity of the proposed scheme in channel equalization.
Performance Assessment of a Commercial Continuous-Wave Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Tissue Oximeter for Suitability for Use in an International, Multi-Center Clinical Trial

Despite the wide range of clinical and research applications, the reliability of the absolute oxygenation measurements of continuous wave near-infrared spectroscopy sensors is often questioned, partially due to issues of standardization. In this study, we have compared the performances of 13 units of a continuous wave near-infrared spectroscopy device (PortaMon, Artinis Medical Systems, NL) to test their suitability for being used in the HEMOCOVID-19 clinical trial in 10 medical centers around the world. Detailed phantom and in vivo tests were employed to measure the precision and reproducibility of measurements of local blood oxygen saturation and total hemoglobin concentration under different conditions: for different devices used, different operators, for probe repositioning over the same location, and over time (hours/days/months). We have detected systematic differences between devices when measuring phantoms (inter-device variability, <4%), which were larger than the intra-device variability (<1%). This intrinsic variability is in addition to the variability during in vivo measurements on the forearm muscle resulting from errors in probe positioning and intrinsic physiological noise (<9%), which was also larger than the inter-device differences (<3%) during the same test. Lastly, we have tested the reproducibility of the protocol of the HEMOCOVID-19 clinical trial; that is, forearm muscle oxygenation monitoring during vascular occlusion tests over days. Overall, our conclusion is that these devices can be used in multi-center trials but care must be taken to characterize, follow-up, and statistically account for inter-device variability.
Modeling of a CO2-Based Integrated Refrigeration System for Supermarkets

An integrated energy system that consists of a centralized refrigeration unit can deliver the entire HVAC&R (heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration) demand for a supermarket. CO2 (R744) is a natural refrigerant that is becoming increasingly popular for these centralized units due to significant energy and cost savings, while also being sustainable, safe, and non-toxic. This study focuses on the fully integrated CO2 refrigeration system configuration for a supermarket in Porto de Mos, Portugal, which was equipped and fully monitored through the EU-funded project MultiPACK. A dynamic system model was developed in Modelica and validated against measurement data from the site recorded for one week. The model is used to provide additional ejector performance data supporting the obtained measurement data and to evaluate the system configuration at equivalent boundary conditions. The simulation results show that the installation of a vapor ejector (high-pressure lift) is sufficient to improve the efficiency of the unit compared to an ejector-less (high-pressure valve) system. However, more notable enhancements are achieved by including additional flooded evaporation with liquid ejectors and smart regulation of the receiver pressure, adding up to a global efficiency increase of 15% if compared to the high-pressure valve system during the validation week.
Comparison of transfer shock and graduation rates across engineering transfer student populations

Increasing the persistence of engineering transfer students can help meet the US national priority of increasing the number of engineering graduates. Many transfer students experience a decrease in their grade point average (GPA) at their receiving institution, known as transfer shock, which can lead to them leaving the institution. This GPA decrease is found to be more prevalent in engineering transfer students.
Resveratrol alleviates sepsis-induced acute kidney injury by deactivating the lncRNA MALAT1/MiR-205 axis

Introduction Resveratrol plays a protective role against sepsis development, and the long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) MALAT1 is an inflammation-relevant biomarker. This investigation attempted to reveal whether resveratrol attenuated inflammation of sepsis-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) by regulating MALAT1. Material and methods In total 120 rats were divided into a control group (n = 20), a Sham group (n = 20), a sepsis group (n = 40) and a resveratrol group (n = 40), and serum levels of inflammatory cytokines and AKI biomarkers were determined. An equal number of rats under identical treatments were, additionally, tracked for their survival, and the serum level of lncRNA MALAT1 was measured by RT-PCR. Moreover, septic cell models were constructed by treating HK-2 cells with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 levels released by the cells were determined with ELISA. Results Resveratrol treatment significantly brought down serum levels of inflammatory cytokines (i.e. TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6), kidney function indicators (i.e. Scr, blood urea nitrogen [BUN] and Scys C), AKI biomarkers (i.e. NGAL and KIM-1) and MALAT1 in cecal ligation and puncture (CLP)-induced septic model rats (all p < 0.05), and the life span of septic rats was elongated by resveratrol treatment (p < 0.05). Viability and cytokine release of LPS-treated HK2 cells were rescued by resveratrol (p < 0.05), which was accompanied by a marked fall of MALAT1 expression (p < 0.05). In addition, si-MALAT1 diminished viability and suppressed cytokine release of HK2 cells, while pcDNA3.1-MALAT1 hindered the impact of resveratrol on the inflammatory response of HK2 cells (p < 0.05). Ultimately, miR-205, a protective molecule in sepsis-relevant AKI, was down-regulated by resveratrol and si-MALAT1 (p < 0.05). Conclusions Resveratrol relieved sepsis-induced AKI by restraining the lncRNA MALAT1/miR-205 axis.