Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characterization of A New Coronavirus-like Agent Isolated from Parrots

SUMMARY Characterization of a new virus from parrots showed it to be sensitive to lipolytic solvent treatment, and labile to heat and low pH. It passed through a 220-nm but not a 100-nm filter. The particles, in ultrathin sections of cells, resembled coronaviruses in morphology and ranged from 90 to 120 nm. No cytopathic effect was noted in cell cultures. The virus did not agglutinate chicken or human O erythrocytes. The virus was tentatively classified as a coronavirus. No antigenic relationship to infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV), or canine coronavirus (CCV) could be demonstrated. The virus was pathogenic for young chickens and budgerigars but not for Coturnix quail. The lesions were characterized by hemorrhagic necrosis in the liver and spleen. The severity of the lesions varied according to the route of inoculation and the age of the host.
Reproductive allocation in annual and perennial species of the submerged aquatic halophyte Ruppia

(1) The allocation of resources to reproductive and non-reproductive parts was investigated in annual and perennial species of the submerged aquatic halophyte Ruppia. Dry weights were recorded for plants from permanent and ephemeral ecosystems in the south-east of South Australia over 13 months in 1977 and 1978. One perennial species, R. megacarpa, and two annual species R. tuberosa and R. polycarpa, were studied. (2) The proportion of plant dry weight allocated to reproduction, both sexual (seeds, flowers, fruit parts) and asexual (turions) was much greater in all seasons for the two annual species than for the perennial. Seeds and turions of the annuals comprised 100% of live parts (3 g m-2 for R. tuberosa, 2 g m-2 for R. polycarpa) during the 7-8 months when the lakes were dry, in contrast to the maximum allocation to reproduction of 4.5% (seeds, 10.8 g m-2) for the perennial R. megacarpa. When vegetative growth was maximal for the annuals the minimum allocation to reproduction occurred (13%J/o (9.1 g m-2) for R. tuberosa and 5% (4-8 g m-2) for R. polycarpa). (3) Rhizomes alone survived desiccation and formed separate reproductive units in the modified form of dormant turions in the two annual species. (4) Although the two annual species were similar in their total reproductive effort they showed differences in the distribution of this effort between asexual and sexual reproductive units: R. tuberosa had 89% turions and 11% seeds whereas R. polycarpa had 14% turions and 86% seeds in the dry season. (5) These results are consistent with those reported for terrestrial annual and perennial species in other studies. The monocarpic reproductive pattern, rapid development of the plants, early maturity and large amount of energy allocated to the production of a large number of small propagules are characteristic of both annual species. This contrasts markedly with the polycarpic reproductive pattern, slow plant development, late maturing and the smaller amount of energy allocated to producing a small number of large propagules in the perennial.
Potency and use of chia mucilage coating containing propolis liquid extract for improves shelf-life of sea bass fillets.

BACKGROUND In this study the effects of the use of chia mucilage - CM coating in combination with propolis liquid extract - PLE on the physico-chemical (total volatile basic nitrogen - TVB-N, peroxide value - PV, thiobarbituric acid - TBA) and bacteriological (total viable count - TVC, psychrophilic bacteria count -PBC) quality properties of sea bass fillets during storage at 2°C, as well as its potency, were investigated. METHODS The fillets were randomly separated into four lots and subjected to the following treatments by dipping: chia mucilage - CM, chia mucilage + 0.1% PLE, chia mucilage + 0.3% PLE and control (uncoated), then stored at 2°C. RESULTS The results showed that the chia musilage coating containing PLE was effective on TVC and PCA. While the shelf life of the control group was 8 days, the CM + 0.3% PLE group was 20 days. CONCLUSIONS According to these results, it can be said that chia mucilage coating preserves the shelf life and quality of chilled seafood and can be used safely as a coating material.
Global Circulation in an Axially Symmetric Shallow-Water Model, Forced by Off-Equatorial Differential Heating

Solutions of an axially symmetric inviscid shallow-water model (SWM) on the earth forced by equinoctial differential heating are constructedusing numerical integration of the time-dependent equationsand analysis of their steady states. The study also maps the physical initial conditions and parameter values for which the solutions approach steady states at long times, demonstrating strong dependence of the SWM on initial conditions. The model admits states of uniform angular momentum, including superrotation, in the tropics and radiative equilibrium at high latitudes. The asymptotic properties of the subtropical jets and tropical fluxes are explicitly calculated and it is shown that all solutions of the previously studied nearly inviscid theories are particular solutions of the present theory. The model’s results relate the location and intensity of the subtropical jet in the steady states to properties of the SWM on a sphere, such as the conservation of angular momentum. The exact form of the differential heating is secondary in determining these properties and its main role is to transform any initial state to the vicinity of the steady states. When mass is assumed to be supplied to the fluid from an underlying motionless layer (this model is termed the 1Ω-SWM), the angular momentum in the tropics is not uniform (so the local Rossby number is smaller than 1),theheightofthetropopauseisnearlyuniformthere,thesteadystates donotdependon theinitialconditions, and the zonal velocity vanishes on the equator. Accurate and simple estimates that are determined only by the value of a thermal Rossby number are derived in this case for the location and intensity of the subtropical jet.
Nesting density and breeding success of golden eagles in relation to food supply in Scotland

1. Nesting density and breeding success of golden eagles Aquila chrysaetos were measured in six areas across Scotland in 1982-85 and in three additional test areas in 1985. 2. An index of food abundance was obtained from prey recorded on line transects in all study areas in most years. 3. In the original six areas, nesting density ranged from 14.7 to 26.1 pairs per 1000 km 2 and breeding success from 0.19 to 1.00 chicks fIedged per pair per year. 4. Nesting density was positively correlated with the amount of carrion (dead sheep and deer) detected on line transects, and breeding success was positively correlated with the amount of live prey (grouse, hares and rabbits)
Optimal control theory for systems governed by partial differential equations

In this section, we will review part of the existing theory for the optimal control of partial differential systems. This is such a broad subject and there have been so many contributions in this field over the last 30 years that we have to limit considerably the scope of this chapter. We will only analyze a few questions concerning elliptic (stationary) partial differential equations. In fact, we shall focus on the Laplace and the stationary Navier-Stokes equations. This is done to avoid a presentation unnecessarily lengthy, since our goal is to present some of the main problems, methods and results one finds in this field. Of course , the existing theory allows to handle much more complex situations both, in what concerns the nature of the systems and the controllers under consideration. We shall not consider here evolution problems. The optimal control of evolutionary (parabolic and hyperbolic) partial differential systems was addressed in [1]. Much work has also been made in this field. For more details, we refer the reader to [2], [3] and the bibliography therein.
The Atlantic's freshwater budget under climate change in the Community Earth System Model with strongly eddying oceans

Abstract. We investigate the freshwater budget of the Atlantic and Arctic oceans in coupled climate change simulations with the Community Earth System Model and compare a strongly eddying setup with 0.1∘ ocean grid spacing to a non-eddying 1∘ configuration typical of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6 (CMIP6) models. Details of this budget are important to understand the evolution of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) under climate change. We find that the slowdown of the AMOC in the year 2100 under the increasing CO2 concentrations of the Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 (RCP8.5) scenario is almost identical between both simulations. Also, the surface freshwater fluxes are similar in their mean and trend under climate change in both simulations. While the basin-scale total freshwater transport is similar between the simulations, significant local differences exist. The high-ocean-resolution simulation exhibits significantly reduced ocean state biases, notably in the salt distribution, due to an improved circulation. Mesoscale eddies contribute considerably to the freshwater and salt transport, in particular at the boundaries of the subtropical and subpolar gyres. Both simulations start in the single equilibrium AMOC regime according to a commonly used AMOC stability indicator and evolve towards the multiple equilibrium regime under climate change, but only the high-resolution simulation enters it due to the reduced biases in the freshwater budget.
Evaluation of Hardness of Ground Drinking Water in Vehari, Pakistan

Ground water contamination has become a major concern in recent years. Hard water is considered aprimary cause of many health-relating issues due to its unsuitability for drinking, domestic, industrial and agriculturalpurposes. Current studies were performed to explore the degree of hardness in drinking water of the selected areas ofVehari city, Pakistan. For this purpose, ten water samples were collected and analyzed. This research involves presentpractices and easy approaches to evaluate the quality of drinking water. The tested samples have shown pH 7.3-7.7,temperature 27-320C and TDS value of 545-1155 mg/L. The hardness of tested water samples was found in the rangeof 110-530 mg/L by titration method. The soap solution method demonstrated the degree of hardness (dᵒTH) in therange of 19.8-35.41. The obtained results were compared with the national and international standards worldwide. Thedrinking water of investigated areas was found hard, contaminated and unsuitable.
The pattern of crisis calls to a suicide telephone helpline service in Nigeria

Background: Suicide is the deliberate killing of oneself. Although it is preventable, suicide accounts for over 800,000 global deaths annually. There is the need to scale-up prevention strategies, and one of these strategies is the provision of suicide telephone helplines. Objectives: To describe the pattern of calls received by a suicide telephone helpline and the types of intervention provided in a Nigerian facility. Methods: This was a descriptive study of the first 100 completed calls received on a 24-hour suicide telephone helpline service by trained responders. Results: All the calls emanated from 14 states of the federation, with the majority (83.0%) from the Southern parts of the country. The reasons for the telephone calls varied from crisis situations (47.0%) to telephone number-verification (27.0%), mental health information (20.0%), and others (6.0%). The mean age of the crisis -situation callers was 25.8 years, with a slight female preponderance (53.2%); most were single in marital status (68.1%) and unemployed (70.2%). A majority (72.3%) of the callers had an underlying mental condition, 68.1% had suicidal ideation while 12.8% had previously attempted suicide. All the crisis callers were offered interventions ranging from phone counselling to linkage to the nearest mental health services. Conclusion: A majority of the crisis callers were offered mental health services, raising the possibility that the availability of telephone helplines may play a role in suicide prevention in Nigeria.
A meteorological–hydrological regional ensemble forecast for an early-warning system over small Apennine catchments in Central Italy

Abstract. The weather forecasts for precipitation have considerably improved in recent years thanks to the increase of computational power. This allows for the use of both a higher spatial resolution and the parameterization schemes specifically developed for representing sub-grid scale physical processes at high resolution. However, precipitation estimation is still affected by errors that can impact the response of hydrological models. To the aim of improving the hydrological forecast and the characterization of related uncertainties, a regional-scale meteorological–hydrological ensemble is presented. The uncertainties in the precipitation forecast and how they propagate in the hydrological model are also investigated. A meteorological–hydrological offline coupled ensemble is built to forecast events in a complex-orography terrain where catchments of different sizes are present. The Best Discharge-based Drainage (BDD; both deterministic and probabilistic) index, is defined with the aim of forecasting hydrological-stress conditions and related uncertainty. In this context, the meteorological–hydrological ensemble forecast is implemented and tested for a severe hydrological event which occurred over Central Italy on 15 November 2017, when a flood hit the Abruzzo region with precipitation reaching 200 mm (24 h) −1 and producing damages with a high impact on social and economic activities. The newly developed meteorological–hydrological ensemble is compared with a high-resolution deterministic forecast and with the observations (rain gauges and radar data) over the same area. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) statistical indicator shows how skilful the ensemble precipitation forecast is with respect to both rain-gauge- and radar-retrieved precipitation. Moreover, both the deterministic and probabilistic configurations of the BDD index are compared with the alert map issued by Civil Protection Department for the event showing a very good agreement. Finally, the meteorological–hydrological ensemble allows for an estimation of both the predictability of the event a few days in advance and the uncertainty of the flood. Although the modelling framework is implemented on the basins of the Abruzzo region, it is portable and applicable to other areas.
Opportunities and Challenges for Adding Speech to Dialogues with a Council of Coaches

With the ageing of the population, more (chronic) diseases arise, putting ressure on the healthcare system. This requires a shift from treatment towards prevention of age related diseases by enabling the aging generation to stimulate them to take care of their own health and condition. The Council of Coaches project is developing a team of virtual coaches that can help older adults to achieve their health goals. Each coach offers insights and advice based on their expertise. The Council of Coaches enables multiparty interaction between multiple coaches and the users by leading user-coach, but also coach-coach conversations. Currently the Council of Coaches interacts with the coaches by selecting one of several predefined multiple choice options. Although this a robust method to capture user input, it is not ideal for elderly for several reasons, such as physical function loss. Spoken dialogues can offer a better user experience, but also come with many complexities. In this research topics, the state-of-art in this topic is investigated by answering multiple research (sub) questions. An extensive literature research has been conducted to gain knowledge about: Conversational Interfaces, Speech Recognizers, Virtual Coaching Systems and the Council of Coaches. This research topics serves as an approach for my thesis that attempts to answer the main question: To what extent can spoken interaction offer a valuable addition to the multiparty virtual Council of Coaches application? All gained background knowledge will help with the adaption of the Council of Coach system to support spoken interactions.
The Effects of Misalignment and the Pursuit of a Counter-Partisan Agenda: How National Politics Conditions State Policymaking♦

Does the partisan control of national government influence the behavior of state governments? With little power at the national level, one alternative for the minority party is to focus their policy efforts on the state capitals where they do maintain majorities, and thus, can find legislative success. We argue that the misalignment in partisan control between national and state government influences the behavior of state legislatures, leading them to pass more ideological policies. We examine the systematic variation of policies passed in the states from 1980 to 2014, a period during which the national government began shifting between unified and divided government. Our results show that while Republican-controlled states have consistently pushed policy in a more conservative direction, Democratic-controlled states have been more reactive to national politics, pushing liberal policies more aggressively when Republicans have unified control in Washington. This is particularly the case in the Northeast and Western regions of the country where the Democratic Party enjoys its deepest bases of support. These findings demonstrate that states do not create policy in a vacuum; they often respond to the national political climate by taking advantage of regional and local (state) environments.
Static and Dynamic Properties of Elemental Liquid Pd: An Orbital Free Molecular Dynamic Study

We have studied the static and dynamic properties of liquid metal, namely Pd at thermodynamic state T=1853K within the scope of the orbital free ab-initio molecular dynamics (OF-AIMD) simulation technique. In this simulation process, electronic energy is calculated by using the Hohenberg-Kohn version of DFT. Here the electron-ion interaction energy functional is approximated by a local pseudopotential prescribed by Bhuiyan et al. The local density approximation is used to describe the exchange-correlation energy functional. The static structure factor, S(q), pair distribution function, g(r), coordination number, Nc, and isothermal compressibility, T, are studied which are familiar as static properties. The single particle and collective dynamics namely diffusion coefficient, dynamic structure factor, velocity of sound, shear viscosity etc. are also studied. The results of calculation agree well with experimental as well as other theoretical values.
Nitrogen and Phosphorus Fertilization of Bluestem Range

Range fertilization has proven profitable in some cases while in others native range responds only slightly, if at all, to the application of commercial fertilizer. Huffine and Elder (1960) found that fertilization increased weeds but not grass yields. Increases in yield of bluestem range due to fertilization have been reported by Elder and Murphy (1958) and by Williams (1953). In this experiment, Flint Hills ordinary upland bluestem range was fertilized with nitrogen and phosphorus in a study of the effect on yield of range forage and on crude protein content of the most prevalent grass, big bluestem (Andropogon gerardi Vitman). There had been two previous fertilization programs on the plots used in this study. In trials from 1928 to 1943, 16 pounds of nitrogen per acre did not increase the yield of forage, but 32 pounds increased it an average of 665 pounds per acre. It was concluded that bluestem range fertilization was not profitable (Anderson, 1943). Mader (1956) fertilized these plots from 1951 to 1954 with 50 and 100 pounds of nitrogen, 44 pounds of phosphorus, and 42 pounds of potassium per acre in all possible combinations. Yield increases and significant increases in crude protein were obtained from nitrogen. Large amounts of Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) invaded all plots that received nitrogen, lowering range productivity.
VITAMIN D AND HIV INFECTION: THE CORRELATION & NEED FOR EVALUATION

Background: India is the country with the third highest HIV disease burden globally. One of the most common long-term complications of HIV infection is bone diseases. There is prevalence of reduced bone mineral density (BMD) and thus higher risk of fragility fractures among PLHIV. Further, many HIV-positive cohorts suggest Vitamin-D hypovitaminosis exposing to osteopenia/osteoporosis in this population. This detailed review would provide an insight on correlation of Vitamin-D hypovitaminosis and HIV infection. Material & Methods: A thorough review of published research studies and literature work was conducted. These studies were selected on the basis of data available on HIV seropositive population and Vitamin D in peer reviewed indexed journals. Both prospective and retrospective studies with or without control groups and randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) reporting baseline vitamin D status in HIV seropositive patients were included. Results: We reviewed the association of vitamin D deficiency with HIV progression, mortality, and AIDS events, increased incidence and severity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Low bone mineral density (BMD) is a challenging metabolic condition in PLHIV. Further, the impact of antiretroviral drugs on vitamin D metabolism was studied. The effect of body index mass and non- and nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors effects with hypovitaminosis D was further reviewed along with supplementation therapy of the vitamin and its effect in HIV positive population. Conclusion: The optimal levels of 1,25(OH)Vitamin D is necessary for regulation of calcium and phosphorus balance for bone mineralization and remodelling. Without its adequate level in bloodstream; dietary calcium cannot be absorbed and thus causes a low BMD.
Adaptive significance of sexual dimorphism in weasels

Field data on Mustela erminea L. were used to examine the adaptive basis for the sexual dimorphism in weasels. Two hypotheses were considered: one proposed by Brown and Lasiewski, and which regards the dimorphism as a result of intersexual selection favouring different food exploitation by males and females; both sexes possibly exploiting and defending an area in common. An alternative hypothesis is suggested in this paper and considers the dimorphism primarily as an adaptation for different roles of males and females in reproduction; small females being selected for on bioenergetic grounds and large males in connection with competitive mating. Intersexual selection favouring different food exploitation has given further advantage to small females and large males and might have increased the dimorphism. Field data showed no long-lasting pair bonds between males and females; movements and behaviour of males during the breeding season indicated a polygynous or promiscuous mating system with the females alone rearing the young. The two sexes exploited different average size of prey and used different hunting techniques (females hunted more in small rodent tunnels). Food of males and females greatly overlapped in autumn and winter when both sexes exploited small rodent populations in the same habitat. In spring and early summer males partly switched to alternative prey, associated with different habitat selection and extensive movements at mating time. Scarcity of basic food small rodents and increased availability of alternative prey tended to encourage habitat and food segregation. The data support the author's hypothesis.