Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dissolved Inorganic Geogenic Phosphorus Load to a Groundwater-Fed Lake: Implications of Terrestrial Phosphorus Cycling by Groundwater

The general perception has long been that lake eutrophication is driven by anthropogenic sources of phosphorus (P) and that P is immobile in the subsurface and in aquifers. Combined investigation of the current water and P budgets of a 70 ha lake (Nørresø, Fyn, Denmark) in a clayey till-dominated landscape and of the lake’s Holocene trophic history demonstrates a potential significance of geogenic (natural) groundwater-borne P. Nørresø receives water from nine streams, a groundwater-fed spring located on a small island, and precipitation. The lake loses water by evaporation and via a single outlet. Monthly measurements of stream, spring, and outlet discharge, and of tracers in the form of temperature, δ18O and δ2H of water, and water chemistry were conducted. The tracers indicated that the lake receives groundwater from an underlying regional confined glaciofluvial sand aquifer via the spring and one of the streams. In addition, the lake receives a direct groundwater input (estimated as the water balance residual) via the lake bed, as supported by the artesian conditions of underlying strata observed in piezometers installed along the lake shore and in wells tapping the regional confined aquifer. The groundwater in the regional confined aquifer was anoxic, ferrous, and contained 4–5 µmol/L dissolved inorganic orthophosphate (DIP). Altogether, the data indicated that groundwater contributes from 64% of the water-borne external DIP loading to the lake, and up to 90% if the DIP concentration of the spring, as representative for the average DIP of the regional confined aquifer, is assigned to the estimated groundwater input. In support, paleolimnological data retrieved from sediment cores indicated that Nørresø was never P-poor, even before the introduction of agriculture at 6000 years before present. Accordingly, groundwater-borne geogenic phosphorus can have an important influence on the trophic state of recipient surface water ecosystems, and groundwater-borne P can be a potentially important component of the terrestrial P cycle.
MORPHOLOGICAL IDENTIFICATION OF SOME WHEAT VARIETIES AND ITS CROSSES.

The field experiments were conducted out during 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 seasons at the Experimental Station Farm of Agronomy Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Mansoura University, Dakahlia Governorate, Egypt to evaluate the morphological (quantitative and qualitative) characteristics for identifying 5 genotypes of wheat and their F1 single crosses. The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV, 2012 was used to evaluate the genetic purity of wheat genotypes and their F1 single crosses) technique was used to evaluate the genetic purity of wheat genotypes and their F1 single crosses. The aim of these experiments was to evaluate the morphological (quantitative and qualitative) characteristics for identifying 5 genotypes of wheat and their F1 single crosses. The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants The obtained results showed that the five studied wheat genotypes i.e. P1(Gemmiza 7), P2 (Sakha 93), P3 (Giza 168), P4 (Gemmiza 9) and P5 (Sids 13) were significantly differed in flag leaf length, flag leaf area, plant height, stem diameter and the length of the bare region. Spike length, spike weight, number of spikelets/spike, number of grains/spike, grains weight/spike, 1000– grain weight and biological yield/plant Coleoptile coloration with anthocyanin, plant growth habit, spike color, spike density, awns length at tip of spike, glume beak length, grain coloration with phenol and grain color for the five identified wheat genotypes and their F1 crosses were recorded.the aime the studay significantly
Quality of financial reporting under IFRS and corporate governance influence: Evidence from the Greek banking sector during crisis

The financial system consists, without doubt, one of the most important determinants of the world national economies, which undergoes numerous changes and challenges with major impact on the economic growth prospects of a country. A healthy financial system is the steam engine of the economy, a major source for economic growth through which capitals are attracted for investments; hence, it is regarded as a trustee of financial stability. Given the difference in structure and function of the financial sector in various countries, we investigate the extent to which the implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) accompanied by Corporate Governance practices affected the quality of financial and narrative reporting offered within published statements of Greek banks for the period from 2008 to 2011. The originality of the work lies at the fact that it focuses on Greek financial institutions for a period that incorporates both the burst of global financial crisis and the beginning of the Greek sovereign debt crisis making inferences on quality of reporting as a result of IFRS and Corporate Governance practices adoption. Our analysis revealed the positive contribution of both of the above categories of variables to the accuracy and quality of the information offered to stakeholders.
A review of Cox' s model extensions for multiple events

In longitudinal studies, it is usual that a given subject can experience several failures. To analyse multiple failure-time data, we reviewed some extensions of Cox's regression model, which were proposed by: Prentice, Williams and Peterson (PWP); Andersen and Gill (AG); Wei, Lin e Weissfeld (WLW); and Lee, Wei and Amato (LWA). Our main goal is to underline the differences between these extensions, through a brief but careful description, providing also some guidance on how to choose the proper model for each situation. The guidelines presented in this work revealed to be a useful pointer to easily choose the most suitable model. Secondarily, we used the survsim and the survival R packages to illustrate the practical implementation of these models.
Enzymatic Analysis of Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) from Hordeum vulgare: Its Role in Drought Stress Tolerance

Superoxide dismutases (SODs) are ubiquitous metalloenzymes that constitute the first line of defense against reactive oxygen species. The role of SOD in neutralizing free radical production has already been documented. In the present investigation we have attempt to study kinetic properties of SODs in three drought sensitive and drought resistant varieties of H. vulgare. The results demonstrated that SOD displayed decreased affinities of substrate binding to their corresponding enzymes under drought conditions. The SOD isozymes profile was also analyzed and it was found that under drought conditions the only two SOD isozymes expressed as against three isozymes expressed under control. These data suggest that the decreased substrate binding affinity to SODs as well as decrease in one isozyme band of SOD under drought condition may be responsible for resistance. These findings may be used to develop drought resistance varieties of other crops.
Rationally Used Antidotes in Organophosphorus Poisoning Prevents Suicidal Death

A retrospective study was undertaken in a Block Primary Health Centre to evaluate the utilization of two antidotes, atropine and pralidoxime, in Organophosphorus poisoning (OPP). This study was carried out with data from prescription record sheets of OPP patients. Data was statistically analyzed in respect of demographic profile, signs of atropinization and the health outcome after treatment with antidotes. Demographic profile of obtained 181 OPP cases revealed 100% suicidal tendency, 72.93% female, 70.17% in age group of 15–24 years and 84.53% from rural population. Nausea, vomiting, excessive salivation, sweating, meiosis (82.20%), blurred vision and disturbances of consciousness (7.93%) were the main presenting sign-symptoms. Following stomach wash, 17.12% patients improved; rest 82.88% received antidotes (atropine to all and pralidoxime to 58.66% cases). Cured patients were 41.33% treated with atropine only and 34.66% after pralidoxime addition; rest got referred to the higher centre. Positive responses after atropinization were 83.33% for pupillary size and secretions and 80.66% for pulse rate. Majority of the OPP patients can be cured with atropine only in adequate doses without promoting for costly antidote (pralidoxime). Thus, cost of treatment can be reduced and suicidal death can be prevented.
Symbolic Time Series Analysis for Anomaly Detection in Measure-Invariant Ergodic Systems

This paper presents a novel framework of symbolic time series analysis (STSA) for anomaly detection in dynamical systems. The core concept is built upon a property of measure-preserving transformation (MPT) sequence, acting on a probability space with ergodic measure, that the eigenfunctions of these transformations would be time-invariant. As a result, unlike a standard STSA that is required to generate time-homogeneous Markov chains, the proposed MPT-based STSA is allowed to have time-inhomogeneous Markov chains, where the (possibly time-varying) state transition probability matrices have time-invariant eigenvectors. Such a time-invariance facilitates analysis of the dynamical system by using short-length time series of measurements. This is particularly important in applications, where the underlying dynamics and process anomalies need fast monitoring and control actions in order to mitigate any potential structural damage and/or to avoid catastrophic failures. The MPT-based STSA has been applied for low-delay detection of fatigue damage, which is a common source of failures in mechanical structures and which is known to have uncertain dynamical characteristics. The underlying algorithm has been validated with experimental data generated from a laboratory apparatus that uses ultrasonic sensors to detect fatigue damage in polycrystalline–alloy specimens. The performance of the proposed MPT-based STSA is evaluated by comparison with those of a standard STSA and a hidden Markov model (HMM) on the same experimental data. The results consistently show superior performance of the MPT-based STSA.
Aerosol composition and variability in the Baltimore–Washington, DC region

The authors present a nice study summarizing airborne measurements of aerosol properties during DISCOVER-AQ ﬂights around the Baltimore-Washington DC area. They take advantage of the sampling design in this ﬁeld project which was to repeat identical ﬂight paths multiple times to gather statistics to make meaningful claims about spatial scales of variability and relationships between aerosol loading, composition, op-tical properties, and meteorology. In addition to reporting useful data for this populated region, the broader conclusion reached is of importance for efforts to relate AOD to PM2.5, and this conclusion is that extinction is mainly driven by total aerosol load-ings and other factors play secondary roles such as humidity-driven hydration effects. This does not preclude day-to-day changes where hygroscopicity can become more important than other days, but with knowledge of this parameter on a given day, it is feasible to use the data for AOD-PM2.5 conversions for a very broad area in the region amounting to ∼ 1400 km2. paper
Decentralization of Fully Probabilistic Control Design using Variational Bayes Approximation

We are concerned with design of decentralization control strategy for stochastic systems with global performance measure. Such a strategy is required e.g. for creation of a distributed control systems for traffic light signalization [1]. The technique of Fully Probabilistic Control Design (FPD) [2, 3] is capable of solving the task for centralized control strategy via Kullback-Leibler divergence (KLD) minimization. In this contribution, we propose a way for decentralization of FPD using the Variational Bayes (VB) approximation. This approximation is a well known technique of Bayesian estimation [4, 5] and it is based on approximation of the true posterior density by a product of conditionally independent densities, VB-marginals. The fundamental principle is again minimization of the KLD between a product of conditionally independent densities and the true posterior. Typically, the solution is found in the form of a set of implicit equations. Solution of the set can be found by an iterative algorithm in which evaluation of shaping parameters of each VB-marginal requires evaluation of moments from the remaining densities. We design imperfect decision makers for control of the distributed system by imposing a conditional independence restriction on the control strategy. The resulting optimum is found to be equivalent to application of the VB approximation on the result of the FPD. The resulting strategy is thus computed iteratively. Each decision-maker computes its own strategy using moments from its neighbors that are obtained by means of communication. The original algorithm operates on the decision horizon that is common to all decision makers. At each time step of the horizon, the decision makers iterate the resulting strategy using VB approximation. When a consensus is reached they proceed backwards as is typical for FPD. The communication load under this scheme is however rather high. Therefore, we propose to use an alternative way of solution of the implied set of implicit equations. Specifically, the decision makers design their own strategy for the whole decision horizon with respect to moments obtained from the other decision makers. The VB iterations are run on moments of the joint densities on the whole horizon. We apply this methodology to distributed control of a linear Gaussian system with two inputs and three outputs with quadratic loss function. Each input is controlled by one decision maker. We study convergence of the terminal loss of the decentralized algorithms to the terminal loss obtained by the centralized FPD solution. The first algorithm is found to be faster in convergence, however, the number of sent messages is much higher then that of the second algorithm.
University of Southern Denmark Children's white blood cell counts in relation to developmental exposures to methylmercury and persistent organic pollutants Oulhote,

Background—To explore possible markers of developmental immunotoxicity, we prospectively examined 56 children to determine associations between exposures to methylmercury and persistent organic pollutants since birth and the comprehensive differential counts of white blood cells (WBC) at age 5 years. Materials and methods—Extended differential count included: neutrophils, eosinophils, basophils, lymphocytes (including T cells, NK cells, and B cells), and monocytes. Organochlorine compounds (OCs) including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and pesticides, five perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), and total mercury (Hg) were measured in maternal (n=56) and children’s blood at 18 months (n=42) and 5 years (n=56). We constructed latent functions for exposures at three different ages using factor analyses and applied structural equation models adjusted for covariates. Results—Prenatal mercury exposure was associated with depleted total WBC, especially for lymphocytes, where a one standard deviation (SD) increase in the exposure was associated with a decrease by 23% SD (95% CI: −43, −4) in the cell count. Prenatal exposure to OCs was Corresponding author. Address: Department of Environmental Medicine, J.B. Winslowsvej 17A, 5000 Odense C, Denmark. pgrand@sdu.dk. Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. HHS Public Access Author manuscript Reprod Toxicol. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2018 March 01. Published in final edited form as: Reprod Toxicol. 2017 March ; 68: 207–214. doi:10.1016/j.reprotox. 2016.08. 001. A uhor M anscript
PRELIMINARY SENSITIVITY STUDY OF AEROSOL LAYER HEIGHT FROM SYNTHETIC MULTIANGLE POLARIMETRIC REMOTE SENSING MEASUREMENTS

Abstract. Many previous studies have shown that multiangle, multispectral polarimetric remote sensing can provide valuable information on aerosol microphysical and optical properties, in which the aerosol layer height (ALH) is an important parameter but with less studies, especially in the near-ultraviolet (near-UV) and visible (VIS) wavelength bands. Based on the optimal estimation (OE) theory and information content analysis method, we focus on the sensitivity study of ALH with the synthetic data in the near-UV and VIS wavelength in the range of 410–865 nm, and further to assess the capability of multiangle intensity and polarization measurements for the retrieval of ALH. Unified Linearized Vector Radiative Transfer Model (UNL-VRTM) has been used as the forward model to simulate the intensity and polarized radiance at the top of atmosphere (TOA), as well as the Jacobians of TOA results with respective to corresponding parameters. The degree of freedom for signal (DFS) and a posteriori error are introduced to quantity the information content of ALH from the intensity and polarization measurements, respectively. By assuming the surface type, aerosol model, aerosol loads, prior errors and observation geometries, the sensitivity of ALH has been preliminarily investigated. The sensitivity study results show that the near-UV and polarization measurements are the important source of information content for the aerosol height retrieval in satellite remote sensing.
Hepato & nephro protective effects of naringenin-loaded tpgs polymeric nanosuspension against cisplatin-induced toxicity

Cisplatin (Cis-Diammineplatinum (II) dichloride/CIS) is one of the most potent chemotherapeutic agents widely used in treatment of various cancers. Naringenin (NAR), a natural flavonoid, protect against CIS-induced injury in rats without hampering CIS beneficial cytotoxic activity. Even though NAR exhibits therapeutic potency, clinical evolution of the molecule is embarrassed because of very less aqueous solubility which corresponds to low availability at the site of the tumor. In our former analysis, nanosuspension of naringenin (NARNS) was developed by the method of high-pressure homogenization. The study had been continued to evaluate the protective role of D-α-Tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate (TPGS) coated NARNS, against oxidative stress-induced hepato and nephrotoxicity in male Wistar rats upon CIS treatment. Induction of acute hepato and neprotoxicity was done by intraperitoneal injection (i.p) injection of CIS (7 mg/kg of body weight) and administration of NAR and NARNS. Administration of NARNS virtually suppressed CIS-induced and liver injury evidenced by a reduction of lipid peroxidation level, blood urea nitrogen, serum uric acid, creatinine and elevated enzymatic antioxidant activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase in rats liver tissue. Histological studies substantiated the biochemical parameters. The study suggests that NARNS has strong hepato and nephroprotective effect compared to NAR.
Relationships between biodiversity and carbon stocks in forest ecosystems: a systematic literature review

A systematic literature review was conducted to explore the relationships between multiple measures of biodiversity (e.g. species diversity, functional divergence and dominance) and carbon (C) stocks (both aboveground and soil organic) in different forest ecosystems. A total of 47 studies, searched in Web of Science or Knowledge, were selected based on different biodiversity indices, strength of the datasets and particularly focusing on C stocks. The majority of relationships between species diversity or richness and C stocks were positive, while only few were negative. The niche complementarity and the mass ratio hypotheses are the two major hypotheses for explaining the effect of functional diversity on C stocks. These two hypotheses did not contradict each other but reflect the two different sides of functional trait attribute i.e., dominance and divergence. The majority of studies suggested that strong dominance by tall and conservative species, rather than a set of coexisting species with diverse heights and acquisitive role, results in more C stocks in various forest ecosystems. Thus, most of the studies supported mass ratio hypothesis instead of the niche complementarity hypothesis in terms of increasing C stocks in forest ecosystems. We concluded that experimental works in other forest ecosystems have shown that each measure of biodiversity often increases C stocks, although the extent to which direct causal relationships exist between biodiversity and C stocks in subtropical forests are still uncertain. Thus, a little is understood how multiple measures of biodiversity affect C stocks, when also considering the effects of biotic and abiotic components of an ecosystem.
EFFECT OF VARIOUS PARAMETERS ON DYNAMIC PROPERTIES OF BABOLSAR SAND BY CYCLIC SIMPLE SHEAR DEVICE

In this investigation, dynamic properties especially shear modulus and damping ratio of Babolsar sand that is identified as the standard soil for investigation in Iran was estimated. In order to determine these parameters, a series of cyclic simple shear tests using NGI type cyclic simple shear device under cyclic shear strain between 0.1% and 20.0%, were carried out. The tests were conducted under constant-volume method equivalent to undrained cycle condition. The specimens tested in the device were cylindrical, 7cm in diameter and 2.3cm high. The tests were strain-controlled with an approximately sinusoidal shape of cyclic loading. The effect of cyclic strain amplitude (γ), vertical effective consolidation stress (σ'vc) and relative density (Dr) on the shear modulus (G) and damping ratio (D) were investigated. Maximum shear modulus (Gmax) was estimated from current method and normalized shear modulus approximated from the tests were compared to those estimated by Seed (1986). The values of damping ratio estimated from the tests were also compared whit those estimated by Seed (1986). The results show that, for a given γ, G increases with σ'vc and Dr but it decreases with γ. However, D decreases with σ'vc and Dr but it increases with γ. The effect of γ become smaller if σ'vc and Dr increase.
In Vitro Selection of linum callus Tolerant to High Temperatures and Plant Regeneration Using Tissue Culture Technique

This study aimed to micropropagate linum hypocotyls (7day old seedlings) using tissue culture technique. Hypocotyls were cultured on agar solidified media. The media were supplemented with various concentrations and combinations of auxins and cytokinins. The study was extended to investigate possible means to increase plant tolerance to heat stress using salicylic acid.In addition, some physiological and biochemical responses were studied with comparing it with plants that have been directly grown from the grains and treated with salicylic acid. Moreover, the variations of protein pattern was studied and separated using gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl polyacrylamide. The study showed the presence of a marked change in the construction of some of the many peptides in studied plant indicate that hardening treatments may modulate the expression of gene or genes that encoding some adaptive or defensive proteins and thus raise the plant's resistance against heat stress. [S.A. Shehata, H.M. Mandururah & A.A. Alayafi. In Vitro Selection of linum callus Tolerant to High Temperatures and Plant Regeneration Using Tissue Culture Technique. Life Sci J 2014;11(9s):1-8]. (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite. com. 1