Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Persistent Plethodontid Themes: Species, Phylogenies, and Biogeography

Abstract From the time of Cope's first analysis of plethodontid systematics through Dunn's era of consolidation and integration to the present time, there have been persistent themes. Criteria for recognition of species continue to evolve as methods of data acquisition have progressed and new methods of analysis of data have been developed. Species descriptions continue, often based on new discoveries, even in well-studied areas, but taxon subdivision is more common. What do we, as a community, want our species to be? Understanding of phylogenetic relationships has advanced with voluminous new molecular data; for example, we know that desmognathines are not the sister-group of all other plethodontids and that the two great clades, plethodonines and hemidactyliines, are well supported. As we have added more data, however, resolution within Hemidactyliinae has dramatically improved while, ironically, resolution within Plethodontinae has decayed. Historical biogeographical thinking has changed dramatically; “Out of Appalachia! ” has been replaced with “Into Appalachia? ” Biogeography of tropical salamanders has advanced, and we recognize Mesoamerica as a major evolutionary arena. The dominant biogeographic mystery is, why are there so few Old World plethodontids, given that they have been there for so long and occur at opposite ends of Eurasia? Abundant challenges persist for students of plethodontids, offering opportunities for discovery and further research.
Laser hemorrhoidoplasty versus circumferential stapler hemorrhoidopexy: The early and mid- term results

Background: Laser hemorrhoidoplasty (LHP) is a minimally-invasive, less, or nearly no pain treatment for symptomatic hemorrhoids with short operative time and hospitalization. The purpose of this study was to compare this procedure with Circumferential Stapler Hemorrhoidopexy (CSH). Methods: Patients with symptomatic hemorrhoids in grade II to grade IV were selected according to the ANALYSIS 24(104), July August, 2020 Medical Science ISSN 2321–7359 EISSN 2321–7367
Fabrication of Heterostructure InN/photo-electrochemical

We report on the structural and optical characteristics of heterostructure InN/PSi/n-type Si(110) grown by radio frequency (RF) sputtering at room temperature. Photo-electrochemical etched Si (PSi) layers were synthesized on n-type silicon (110) wafer. PSi is used as an intermediate layer between silicon and InN and it presents a a groove structure based on SEM results. The blue shift in the PL and Raman peaks after etching is consequent of the quantum confinement effect and defect states of surface Si nanocrystallites complexes and hydrogen atoms of the Photo electrochemical etched Si (110) samples. X-ray diffraction measurement confirms that the deposited InN film has (101) preferred growth orientation and wurtzite structure. Two Raman and infrared active modes of A1(LO) and E1(TO) of the wurtzite InN are obviously observed. These results leading to conclude that the wurtzite InN thin film with (101) preferred growth orientation was successfully grown on Photo-electrochemical etched Si.
RAPID TOOLING Additive manufacturing of blow molds for rapid prototyping of cosmetic bottles

Prototyping is one of the most costly and time consuming processes in developing novel packaging ideas and concepts. Rapid prototyping of cosmetic bottles via 3D printing of prototype blow molds is investigated. The lead time of new prototypes needs to be reduced to a time span of 5-7 days while maintaining or preferably reducing prototype cost. Different 3D printing methods and materials are considered. Currently, the most widely applied process is the polyjet machine using green digital ABS provided by stratasys. It is shown that this process and material might be more expensive and time consuming than DLP or CLIP with a cheaper and less qualitative material. A concept for a mold design is developed. There are two options. One is to use standard steel frame containing cooling channels and fixation points in which only a printed bottle form is printed. The other is to print the entire mold and only use steel plates to fix the mold in the blow molding machine. Currently, printing the entire frame seems to be more advantageous because it can be used in any blow molding machine.
NUTRIENT COMPOSITION IN LEAVES OF CULTIVATED AND WILD CAMELLIA NITIDISSIMA

Camellia nitidissima is widely used to make tea in south China. The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of cultivation on the nutrients of C. nitidissima. In this paper, we make comparative analyses of the nutrient content in leaves in cultivated and wild C. nitidissima. The results indicate that both cultivated and wild C. nitidissima had a full complement of amino acids with rich contents and a variety of mineral nutrients. There were no significant differences between cultivated and wild C. nitidissima in terms of water, vitamin C, gross sugar, protein, fat, nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, magnesium or zinc content, but cultivated C. nitidissima had significantly higher contents of essential amino acids (26.05% ) and total amino acids (33.27%) than that of wild C. nitidissima.
Transcription of Human Endogenous Retroviruses During the Menstrual Cycle Suggests Coordinated Hormonal Regulation

Scattered among human and animal genomes are a class of repetitive genetic elements called endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), which are generally considered remnants of ancient viral infections. Because humans and chimpanzees share ERVs at similar genomic positions, evolutionists use these elements as another argument for common ancestry. From a creationist perspective, ERVs may have been created in strategic locations of the genome to perform essential functions, such as synchronized regulation of interspersed genetic elements. Since some human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) contain putative steroid hormone-response elements, it would be reasonable that expression of such HERVs would be controlled by sex hormones, and might even demonstrate temporal patterns during the female menstrual cycle. Accordingly, we quantified the transcription dynamics of multiple HERV elements in peripheral blood leukocytes using SYBR Green-based RT-PCR in male and female human subjects. Preliminary data indicated that expression of HERVs indeed followed a temporal pattern in females. Moreover, transcription activity of ERV genes was strongly correlated with blood levels of progesterone. The same pattern was demonstrated for HERV-K elements and the syncytin-1 gene encoded by ERVWE1. These results suggest coordinated regulation of some ERV elements by progesterone in the female.
ENHANCED IN-PLANE FRACTURE BEHAVIOUR OF NOTCHED CFRP REINFORCED WITH “KILOMETRE-LONG” CARBON NANOTUBE FIBRES

Although CNT fibres are theoretically known to have superior properties, research into their application in fibre-reinforced composites have largely been confined to providing additional interlaminar toughness. In this study, we introduced thin interlayers of continuous unidirectional CNT fibres for additional in-plane reinforcement and toughening of conventional autoclave-cured carbon fibre composites. Double notched specimens with and without CNT fibre reinforcing layers were tested to failure in tension. The results show that the introduction of relatively thin interlayers of continuous CNT fibres at local regions close to the notch tip increased the failure load and stress by 9%, and the failure strain by 15%.
A Practicum Learning Management Model for Productive Materials Based on the Needs of Industry 4.0 in Vocational School

The purpose of this study is to assess the implementation of a practicum learning management model for productive material based on the needs of industry 4.0. This study employed research and development. From the results of the study, development was carried out to produce a practicum learning management model called MOMANTIKPROIN 4.0. Suggestions were conveyed to the heads of vocational schools to strengthen the partnership of vocational schools and industry, especially to conduct analysis of workforce competency requirements according to needs of industry 4.0.
Revisiting the functional properties of NPF6.3/NRT1.1/CHL1 in xenopus oocytes

Within the Arabidopsis NPF proteins, most of the characterized nitrate transporters are low-affinity transporters, whereas the functional characterization of NPF6.3/NRT1.1 has revealed interesting transport properties: the transport of nitrate and auxin, the eletrogenicity of the nitrate transport and a dual-affinity transport behavior for nitrate depending on external nitrate concentration. However, some of these properties remained controversial and were challenged here. We functionally express WT NPF6.3/NRT1.1 and some of its mutant in Xenopus oocytes and used a combination of uptake experiments using 15N-labelled nitrate and two-electrode voltage-clamp. In our experimental conditions in xenopus oocytes, in the presence or in the absence of external chloride, NPF6.3/NRT1.1 behaves as a non-electrogenic and pure low-affinity transporter. Moreover, further functional characterization of a NPF6.3/NRT1.1 point mutant, P492L, allowed us to hypothesize that NPF6.3/NRT1.1 is regulated by internal nitrate concentration and that the internal perception site involves the P492 residue.
Removal of Orange G dye from real water using halloysite nanoclay-supported ZnO nanoparticles

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) supported over halloysite nanoclay (ZnO/HS) were investigated for the removal of Orange G (OG) dye in simulated water and real water samples. This study aimed to synthesize ZnO NPs/HS to photo-catalytically degrade OG dye in the aforementioned water samples. In addition to establishing the kinetics and thermodynamics of the reaction. Surface and physicochemical characterizations affirmed the ZnO NPs/HS were mesoporous (61.0 m2 g–1) with the rod-shaped nanoparticles homogeneously dispersed over the surface of HS. Employment of ZnO/HS at a mass ratio of 3:47 (w/w) degraded the highest quantity of the dye, amounting to a mass loss of >100 mg in just 2 h (pH < 12). The UV-irradiated and direct sunlight-activated photodegradation of aqueous OG dye by ZnO/HS followed a first-order kinetic model with the latter exhibiting a higher rate constant (4.87 × 10–3 min–1). Meanwhile, values of ΔG (−4.60 kJ mol–1), ΔH (+42.8 kJ mol–1), and ΔS (+159 J mol–1 K–1) indicated that the ZnO/HS-UVirradiated photodegradation process was entropically driven. The ZnO NPs/HS photocatalyst efficiently degraded OG dyes (49.78%−94.36%) dissolved in various real water samples, thus envisaging its applicability for convenient in situ photocatalytic treatment of contaminated water bodies.
STEM Education in Malaysia towards Developing a Human Capital through Motivating Science Subject

This paper focuses on the motivational factor in learning science encompassing the elements of self-efficacy, self-determination, intrinsic, grade, and career. These factors identified from previous research have a direct influence on the conception of careers related to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) among students. This study is a quantitative study using two surveys: Motivational Science Questionnaire (MSQ II) and career interest in STEM from the STEM Student Questionnaire (S-STEM). The questionnaire was modified and tailored to the purpose of this investigation. The objective of this research is to determine motivation as the main factor in science to develop students’ interest in a STEM career among secondary students in Malaysia. A total of 419 Form Four students were the respondents of this study. The results show that motivation of indirect science learning can influence the development of Form 4 students’ interest in STEM careers. The data were analyzed using the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) method which is in line with the self-determination theory to determine the strong influence of motivation on students’ career. The result shows a very high influence of motivation towards science with a significantly high variance of 51% on the development of interest in STEM-related careers among Malaysian students. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19. 5.25
Extreme debris discs around nearby stars with Herschel

The excellent sensitivity and high resolution of PACS on theHerschel Space Observatory has opened up the possibility of detecting direct analogues to the Solar System’s Edgeworth-Kuiper belt around nearby stars. We present an overview of the results from the H rschel/DUNES Open Time Key Program, highlighting the extreme diversity of observed debris discs, covering both newly discovered and newly resolved systems that are amongst the largest, faintest and coldest discs yet known around Sun-like stars.
Inference on Consensus Ranking of Distributions

Instead of testing for unanimous agreement, I propose learning how broad of a consensus favors one distribution over another (of income, productivity, asset returns, test scores, etc.). Specifically, I propose statistical inference methods to learn about the set of utility functions for which one distribution has higher expected utility than another. With high probability, an “inner” confidence set is contained within this true set, while an “outer” confidence set contains the true set. Such confidence sets can be formed by inverting a proposed multiple testing procedure that controls the familywise error rate. Theoretical justification comes from empirical process results, given that very large classes of utility functions are generally Donsker (subject to finite moments). The theory additionally justifies a uniform (over utility functions) confidence band of expected utility differences, as well as tests with a utility-based “restricted stochastic dominance” as either the null or alternative hypothesis. Simulated and empirical examples illustrate the methodology. JEL classification: C29
Assessment of the determinants of accessibility of sport facilities and equipment: the case of Dessie city administration

The purpose of the study was to assess the Determinants of accessibility of Sport facilities and equipment the Case of Dessie City administration. The data was collected through questionnaire, interview and observation method from the list of sampling frame, a total of 3939 respondents participated as the source of data by using simple random sampling and purposive sampling methods. The design of the study was descriptive survey research. The data collected were organized, analyzed and interpreted by using descriptive statics. The findings indicated that budget, low efforts, role and capability of sport administrators to mobilize the community, problem of sport facilities ownership and unable to the surrounding opportunities and less protection of the community for sport facilities resources are the determinants of availability of sport facilities and equipments. Consequently, it was concluded that less annual sport facilities budget, less capability of sport administrators to mobilize the surrounding community in generating income, sport facilities ownership issues and surrounding opportunities are limiting factor of the availability of sport facilities and equipments in Dessie city administration. Thus, it was recommended that an appropriate budget has to be allocated for the availability of sport facilities and equipments in accordance with the annual activity plan of the sub cities, the concerned bodies have to build the capacity of the sport administrators to work with surrounding community in generating income for the development of sport activities and sport facilities fulfilments, the concerned body has to give a due attention for the protection of sport facilities and the community itself will protect the resources there.
Nitrogen Metabolism and Composition of Fish Hindgut Symbiotic Communities

The aim of this work was to test the hypothesis that gut microbial symbionts of herbivorous reef fish fix atmospheric nitrogen. This process represents a possible mechanism by which these microbes could contribute to their hosts’ protein supply. Fish were sampled from the temperate reefs of New Zealand and tropical Great Barrier Reef of Australia. The hypothesis was tested in an iterative fashion via three steps. First, the gene coding the dinitrogenase reductase component of the nitrogenase enzyme complex (nifH) was identified in the genomic DNA of the fish gut microbial communities. This was accomplished by amplification by PCR followed by the establishment of a phylogenetic context for the cloned and sequenced genes by comparison with nifH sequences from known diazotrophs. nifH sequences obtained were most similar to those of Firmicutes such as Cellulosilyticum lentocellum and Desulfovibrio salexigens. Next, expression of the nifH genes in the gut communities were investigated by RT-Q-PCR. Thirdly, the activity of nitrogen fixation occurring in the fish guts was investigated using both Acetylene Reduction (AR) and N2 incorporation methods. Rates of nitrogen fixation determined by AR in the most distal section of the herbivorous fish guts of the Great Barrier Reef were comparable with those measured in the termite species Neotermes koshunensis when fed on wood. Finally, surveys of the gut microbial communities of the four temperate and seven tropical reef fish were conducted by sequencing of 16S rDNA amplicons by high-throughput sequencing. The study revealed a highly conserved phylum-level composition across species, gut segments, host feeding preferences, and latitudinal range. This result is significant given the phylogenetic disparity of the host species. The work presented in this thesis shows that in addition to their role in providing energy, microbial communities of marine herbivorous fishes may provide a de novo source of protein for the host, via nitrogen fixation. Given that gastrointestinal nitrogen fixation has not been previously demonstrated in vertebrates, the herbivorous fish gut systems studied here appear to be highly novel.
Parameter Estimation on Molecular Models of Complex Fluids by Stochastic Optimization Techniques

With the rising of the study of some ionic liquids, many mathematical problems have appeared, as, for example, complex roots of nonlinear systems and the best parameters for fitting experimental data. This work presents a schematic way to solve these problems, but based on a thermodynamic model wich has all of the mentioned obstacles. The scheme uses stochastic techniques as a central tools. The results, by using these techniques, allow to obtain good parameters that can predict some facts in the interaction of the ionic liquid with low concentrations of water. Another important fact of the present work is that by thense of this scheme, it is possible to save computational time and obtain results in a matter of hours.
Performance Optimisation of Object-Relational Database Applications in Client-Server Environments

—The optimisation of object-relational database applications implemented as a mixture of object-oriented and non-procedural code, requires accurate balancing of the data-processing load between the client side and the server side. When there are large amounts of procedural code and less efﬁcient and overly simple algorithms, the majority of the data processing takes place on the client side. As a consequence it usually increases the amounts of data transmitted to the client side and also, the amounts of time needed to process data on the client side. This paper shows how object-relational database applications can be optimised through a better balancing of the data processing load between the client and the server sides. A collection of transformation rules is developed, which replaces the typical iterative structures of procedural code with the equivalent structures of non-procedural code. The software patterns proposed in the paper allow for the automatic optimisation of object-relational applications.
Oljato-Monument Valley, Utah, United States

The main objective of this paper is to examine through 2D and 3D numerical analyses the effect of several important factors on the behaviour of NC clayey soils, reinforced with stone columns. In order to estimate the improvement degree as the settlement reduction factor, β, extensive analyses were performed for a wide range of the parameters involved. Apart from some well known factors, as the replacement ratio and the gravel pile deformability and strength, the effect of other parameters as the loading conditions, the intensity and the undrained shear strength of the clay as well, are investigated. The F.E. programs ABAQUS and PLAXIS (2D and 3D) are used for the examination of typical gravel pile groups, under varying loading level. From the comparison of the results from three dimensional analyses with those of the widely used simple unit cell model, under axisymmetric conditions, useful practical conclusions may be drawn.
Spatial landscape differentiation of the coastal geostructure of the Shkota Island, Sea of Japan

Existing plans for the development of the continental coast and the islands of the Peter the Great Bay suggest establishing of large economic clusters. The most important condition for achieving sustainable development of the emerging natural-economic system is to implement spatial planning of coastal zones. The work is based on the information about the natural complexes of the territory and water area, obtained through landscape approach. The territory of the Shkota Island and its submarine slopes were used as a key area for the study of the features of the spatial organization of landscapes of coastal geostructures. We used a complex of physiographic, geoecological, cartographic and statistical research methods. For terrestrial landscapes, 49 observation points are described and 4 profiles are laid; for underwater landscapes 64 observation points are described and 18 profiles are laid. As a result, a unified structural-genetic classification of land and underwater landscapes is established, the landscapes are mapped, and zones of interaction between aerial and aquatic natural complexes are identified. The results obtained are the basis for identifying priority types of coastal-marine environmental management, functional zoning and spatial planning.