Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Everyday experiences of migrant families with No Recourse to Public Funds

Increasing poverty rates in the UK have been at the forefront of much debate in recent years, particularly as poverty can have long term, negative consequences for those embroiled within it. In order to support people on low income, the UK have a welfare system that provides money to cover basic living expenses, free healthcare and housing support. However, there are families residing in the UK with no access to such support due to the little-known visa stipulation, no recourse to public funds (NRPF), which prevents families who have moved to the UK from outside of the European Union from accessing welfare support. To date, research into the impacts of NRPF is limited. The aim of the current study was therefore to qualitatively investigate the everyday experiences of migrants living in the UK with NRPF. Interviews with 6 black African participants revealed that NRPF is not well understood. It leaves people fearful of accessing support despite facing extreme financial hardship, and they are forced to make challenging lifestyle choices to survive within a strict, changeable system. Findings are discussed in relation to literature on health and wellbeing. Future directions for research are also outlined.
DECISION MAKING UNDER UNCERTAINTY ON RISK-INFORMED DAM SAFETY MANAGEMENT: WHICH ACTION GOES FIRST?

Dams and water reservoirs play a key role providing a range of economic, environmental, and social benefits, including hydroelectric power, irrigation, water supply, flood control, and recreation worldwide. However, their potential failure might produce important economic and social impacts in downstream areas. Therefore, it is of high importance to characterize, analyse and evaluate existing risks and the factors that influence the potential failure of dams (dam aging, deterioration, changes on socio-economic developments, climate change, etc.). A holistic approach is necessary to meet current and future challenges on dam safety governance, supported by comprehensive and quantitative risk analyses. In recent years, different successful cases on the application of quantitative risk analysis to inform dam safety governance can be found and these techniques are now applied worldwide. Examples can be found in United States, Spain, Australia or India. This paper is focused on how quantitative risk results can be useful to inform dam safety management, but also on the importance of analysing uncertainty to provide robust and comprehensive information for decision-making. Quantitative risk results can be used to prioritize investments for risk reduction based on the consideration of risk indicators that help to define the optimal sequence of risk reduction measures. An example of independent analysis of natural and epistemic uncertainty in quantitative risk models for dams is presented, along with the analysis of how epistemic uncertainty may prioritization of investments based on risk outcomes through the use of specific metrics. Conducting uncertainty analyses may support decisions on how to allocate resources for reducing uncertainty, for example through further investigation, tests or surveys.
Improvement in Storage Stability of Pork Fat Using Dietary Soybean Phospholipids

We previously reported that soybean phospholipid administration increased the oxidative stability of fish fillets. In this study, we investigated whether dietary soybean phospholipids inhibit the oxidation of n-3 PUFA-enriched pork. Pigs in the finishing period were divided into 4 groups, and fed a commercial diet, a 1.5 % flax oil-supplemented diet, a 1.5 % flax oiland 1 % soybean phospholipid-supplemented diet, or a 1.5 % flax oiland 1% soybean oil-supplemented diet. The n-3 PUFA content increased in the groups fed flax oil-supplemented diet. On an oxidation test of pork fat, thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) was elevated in the group fed flax oil. In contrast, in the group fed flax oil and soybean phospholipids, TBARS elevation was inhibited to a degree similar to that in conventional pork. These results show that soybean phospholipids increased the oxidative stability of n-3 PUFA-enriched pork.
Atmospheric Aerosol Measurement at the Holme Moss field site, North-West England

Atmospheric aerosols can impact upon the Earth’s climate via a myriad of processes (e.g. IPCC, 2007). Fundamentally, the effect of atmospheric aerosols is determined by their size and chemical composition (e.g. IPCC, 2001). Such properties are determined by many complex formation and subsequent transformation pathways in the atmosphere. In-situ studies provide a means of characterizing the many complex processes governing the transformation of aerosol in the Earth’s lower atmosphere. Furthermore, in-situ studies are required due to the large temporal and spatial variability of atmospheric aerosol (e.g. IPCC, 2001).
OP-NDTJ180220 1..8

Background. Precise estimates of the long-term risk of newonset diabetes and its impact on mortality among transplanted children are not known. Methods. We conducted a cohort study comparing children undergoing solid organ (kidney, heart, liver, lung and multiple organ) transplant (n1⁄4 1020) between 1991 and 2014 with healthy non-transplanted children (n1⁄4 7 134 067) using Ontario health administrative data. Outcomes included incidence of diabetes among transplanted and non-transplanted children, the relative hazard of diabetes among solid organ transplant recipients, overall and at specific intervals posttransplant, and mortality among diabetic transplant recipients. Results. During 56 019 824 person-years of follow-up, the incidence rate of diabetes was 17.8 [95% confidence interval (CI) 15–21] and 2.5 (95% CI 2.5–2.5) per 1000 person-years among transplanted and non-transplanted children, respectively. The transplant cohort had a 9-fold [hazard ratio (HR) 8.9; 95% CI 7.5–10.5] higher hazard of diabetes compared with those not transplanted. Risk was highest within the first year after transplant (HR 20.7; 95% CI 15.9–27.1), and remained elevated even at 5 and 10 years of follow-up. Lung and multiple organ recipients had a 5-fold (HR 5.4; 95% CI 3.0–9.8) higher hazard of developing diabetes compared with kidney transplant recipients. Transplant recipients with diabetes had a three times higher hazard of death compared with those who did not develop diabetes (HR 3.3; 95% CI 2.3–4.8). Conclusions. The elevated risk of diabetes in transplant recipients persists even after a decade, highlighting the importance of ongoing surveillance. Diabetes after transplantation increases the risk of mortality among childhood transplant recipients.
Bacterial vaginosis and associated risk factors in pregnant women attending Ante Natal Clinic at Pumwani Maternity Hospital –Kenya

Introduction : Bacterial vaginosis [BV] is a syndrome characterized by a shift in vaginal flora. It is a strong independent risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcomes, found in 9% to 23% of pregnant women. Not many studies on BV have been conducted among the pregnant women attending Pumwani Maternity Hospital in Kenya. This study defined the prevalence and factors for prevalence of BV in pregnant women attending Pumwani Maternity Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. Methods : One hundred and fifty women who attended the Pumwani Maternity Hospital Ante natal clinic formed the basis of the study. This study received ethical approval from the Pumwani Maternity Hospital ante natal department and KEMRI ethics committee. Vaginal swabs were obtained from all the 150 women who consented and detailed demographic, sexual and genital hygiene interviews were collected. BV was tested using both the Amsel and Nugent’s criteria. Results : Of 150 participants, the mean age was 26.02 years, [range 22 [16 – 38] years], 72.7% were aged 21- 30 years. Sixty eight percent were unemployed, 72.6% married, 20.7% reported previous STI including HIV, 74%, the age of sexual debut was less than 16 years; 78% had a regular sexual partner, 87.3% of them were circumcised male partners, 24% reported douching and 47.3% reported genital washing after sex. Twenty point seven percent had BV by Nugent’s criteria. Bacterial vaginosis was associated with having given birth only once [20.3% vs. 19.1%; p=0.03], more than one previous birth [19.2% vs. 19.1%; p=0.026], previous STI [50% vs. 19.4%; p=0.042] and non-circumcised male partners [18.3% vs. 36.8%; p=0.033]. Conclusion : Bacterial vaginosis is prevalent among pregnant women. The factors associated with BV include partners not being circumcised, primiparous and a history of previous STI infections.
WST 49.11-12 B38 CORR

Several important advances have been made in the study of biofilm microbial populations relating to their spatial structure (or architecture), their community structure, and their dependence on physicochemical parameters. With the knowledge that hydrodynamic forces influence biofilm architecture came the realization that metabolic processes may be enhanced if certain spatial structures can be forced. An example is the extent of plasmid-mediated horizontal gene transfer in biofilms. Recent in situ work in defined model systems has shown that the biofilm architecture plays a role for genetic transfer by bacterial conjugation in determining how far the donor cells can penetrate the biofilm. Open channels and pores allow for more efficient donor transport and hence more frequent cell collisions leading to rapid spread of the genes by horizontal gene transfer. Such insight into the physical environment of biofilms can be utilized for bioenhancement of catabolic processes by introduction of mobile genetic elements into an existing microbial community. If the donor organisms themselves persist, bioaugmentation can lead to successful establishment of newly introduced species and may be a more successful strategy than biostimulation (the addition of nutrients or specific carbon sources to stimulate the authochthonous population) as shown for an enrichment culture of nitrifying bacteria added to rotating disk biofilm reactors using fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) and microelectrode measurements of NH4 +, NO2 –, NO3 –, and O2. However, few studies have been carried out on full-scale systems. Bioaugmentation and bioenhancement are most successful if a constant selective pressure can be maintained favoring the promulgation of the added enrichment culture. Overall, knowledge gain about microbial community interactions in biofilms continues to be driven by the availability of methods for the rapid analysis of microbial communities and their activities. Molecular tools can be grouped into those suitable for ex situ and in situ community analysis. Non-spatial community analysis, in the sense of assessing changes in microbial populations as a function of time or environmental conditions, relies on general fingerprinting methods, like DGGE and T-RFLP, performed on nucleic acids extracted from biofilm. These approaches have been most useful when combined with gene amplification, cloning and sequencing to assemble a phylogenetic inventory of microbial species. It is expected that the use of oligonucleotide microarrays will greatly facilitate the analysis of microbial communities and their activities in biofilms. Structure-activity relationships can be explored using incorporation of 13C-labeled substrates into microbial DNA and RNA to identify metabolically active community members. Finally, based on the DNA sequences in a biofilm, FISH probes can be designed to verify the abundance and spatial location of microbial community members. This in turn allows for in situ structure/function analysis when FISH is combined with microsensors, microautoradiography, and confocal laser scanning microscopy with advanced image analysis.
Altered trafficking of abnormal prion protein in atypical scrapie

Understanding the relationship between genetic variants and traits of economic importance in aquaculture species is pertinent to selective breeding programmes. High-throughput sequencing technologies have enabled the discovery of large numbers of SNPs in Atlantic salmon, and high density SNP arrays now exist. A previous genome-wide association study (GWAS) using a high density SNP array (132K SNPs) has revealed the polygenic nature of early growth traits in salmon, but has also identified candidate SNPs showing suggestive associations with these traits. The aim of this study was to test the association of the candidate growth-associated SNPs in a separate population of farmed Atlantic salmon to verify their effects. Identifying SNP-trait associations in two populations provides evidence that the associations are true and robust. Using a large cohort (N = 1152), we successfully genotyped eight candidate SNPs from the previous GWAS, two of which were significantly associated with several growth and fillet traits measured at harvest. The genes proximal to these SNPs were identified by alignment to the salmon reference genome and are discussed in the context of their potential role in underpinning genetic variation in salmon growth.
Effects of Elevated Temperature and Ozone in Brassica juncea L.: Growth, Physiology, and ROS Accumulation

Global warming and ozone (O3) pose serious threats to crop yield and ecosystem health. Although neither of these factors will act individually in reality, most studies have focused on the responses of plants to air pollution or climate change. Interactive effects of these remain poorly studied. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the effects of optimal (22/20 °C day/night) and elevated temperature (27/25 °C) and/or ambient (10 ± 10 nL L−1) and elevated O3 concentrations (100 ± 10 nL L−1) on the growth, physiology, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation of leaf mustard (Brassica juncea L.). The aim was to examine whether elevated temperature increase the O3 damage due to increasing stomatal conductance, and thus, O3 flux into the leaf. Significant reductions in photosynthetic rates occurred under O (elevated O3 with optimal temperatures) and OT (elevated O3 and temperature) conditions compared to C (controls). Stomatal conductance was significantly higher under T than in the C at 7 DAE. Under OT conditions, O3 flux significantly increased compared to that in O conditions at 7 days after exposure (DAE). Significant reductions in total fresh and dry weight were observed under OT conditions compared to those under O. Furthermore, significant reductions in levels of carotenoids and ascorbic acid were observed under OT conditions compared to O. Lipid peroxidation and accumulation of ROS such as hydroxyl radical, hydrogen peroxide, and superoxide radical were higher under O and OT conditions than in C conditions at 7 and 14 DAE. As a result of O3 stress, the results of the present study indicated that the plant injury index significantly increased under OT compared to O conditions. This result suggested that elevated temperature (+5 °C) may enhance O3 damage to B. juncea by increasing stomatal conductance and O3 flux into leaves.
Trajectory Optimization For Hybrid Walking-Driving Motions On Wheeled Quadrupedal Robots

Wheeled-legged (hybrid) robots have the potential for highly agile and versatile locomotion in any real-world application requiring rapid, long-distance mobility skills on challenging terrain. The ability to walk and drive simultaneously is an attractive feature of these hybrid systems, but is unexplored in literature. This thesis work presents an online trajectory optimization framework for high-dimensional wheeled-legged quadrupedal robots where the feet and base trajectories are generated in a model predictive control fashion for robustness against disturbances. Our feet optimization employs a unique parameterization that captures the velocity constraints of the wheels’ rolling and our base optimization uses a ZMP-based balance criterion. Our approach is verified on a torque-controlled quadrupedal robot with nonsteerable wheels. The robot performs hybrid locomotion with different gait sequences on flat and rough terrain. Moreover, our optimization framework generates base trajectories at a rate of about 100 Hz and feet trajectories at 1000 Hz or higher. In addition, we validated the robotic platform at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Subterranean Challenge, where the robot rapidly maps, navigates, and explores dynamic underground environments.
The Role of Customer Responsiveness in Improving the External Performance of an Agile Supply Chain

The supply chain agility has emerged as one of the key areas of supply chain research. Therefore, the main purpose of the current study is to examine the role of agile supply chain management in enhancing the external supply chain. In addition to that, the current study is also interested in examining the moderating role of customer responsiveness in the relationship between agile supply chain and external supply chain performance of Indonesian firms. The SEM-PLS is used to analyze the data collected by mean of an adopted questionnaire from operation managers of Indonesian firms. The findings of the study have provided support to the theoretical foundation of the currents study. The direct and indirect relation through structural equation modeling appears significant and positive. In author knowledge this is among the pioneering study on this issue and will provide the policy guideline for policy makers and future research endeavors on the issues related to agile supply chain, customer response and external supply chain performance.
Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria enhance oil content and physiological status of Thymus daenensis Celak. under drought stress

Background & Aim:Currently, the use of beneficial microorganisms with the hope to reduce the adverse effects of drought has been the focus of attention. In present study, the effects of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and drought stress on essential oil (EO) and physiological status of Thymus daenensis Celak, were investigated. Experimental: The experiment was arranged as a factorial pattern in a randomized complete design with three replications. Factors were four irrigation regimes included: well-watered (A: absence of stress), irrigation after depletion of 20-25% of field capacity (L: low stress), irrigation after depletion of the 35-40% of field capacity (M: mild stress) and irrigation after depletion of the 55-60% of field capacity (S: severe stress). Also, two PGPR treatments, non-inoculation (C: control) and inoculation with PGPR were conducted. Results:The results showed that drought stress reduced root and shoot dry weight, relative water content, photosynthetic pigments and gas change parameters but PGPR inoculation improved all of them. Proline, malondialdehyde, electrolyte leakage and stomatal resistance increased with increasing water stress, but PGPR inoculation ameliorate these increases in corresponding treatments. PGPR inoculation increased essential oil production although this increase was not statistically significant but water stress decreased it.Recommended applications/industries:The results suggest that PGPR inoculation could be an excellent strategy to alleviate adverse effects of water stress in Thymus daenensis cultivation in drought stress conditions. Therefore, farmers in semiarid regions could produce T. daenensis by using of PGPR at low water stress for the highest economic amount of extracted essential oil.
The mediating role of operational performance and internal integration of supply chain in the relationship between interplant coordination and external integration

The focus of this research is on networked plant. The study has analysed the relation between supply chain integration, operational performance, and inter-plant coordination. The study has differentiated internal integration and inter-plant coordination. The extension of internal integration is internal-plant coordination as it involves eliminations of the functional silos in the internal integration are extended to span across the networked plants. This is distinct from the external integration as well. The external integration is based on individual firms and it does not deal in the firm’s collaboration with external partners. The relation between supply chain integration and inter-plant coordination has been tested, which is the first contribution, as it was not done previously. The positive impact of internal integration created on the inter-plant coordination has been evidenced by this study. This research has tested a novel theoretical model about the role of external integration as a mediator on the relation of interplant coordination and performance. The previous studies have been complimented by this research through analysing the way in which operational performance is influenced by inter-plant coordination in a networked plant. The study has used SEM-PLS and data is collected from the sports manufacturing firms of Thailand. coordination through external integration. Keeping in view the relation of internal integration with the operational performance, external integration mediates the influence of inter-plant coordination on operational performance.
PHOSPHORUS FORMS IN SOILS OF OBAN HILLS, AKAMKPA, CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA

Oban Hills is located at Akamkpa in the Southern Senatorial District of Cross River, State, Nigeria. Phosphorus (P)rich soil from the Hills is expected to have an effect on retention and distribution in the highly acidic soils surrounding the area inundated for several years. Phosphorus forms in the soils of the Hills varied with the year of deposition with the highest fraction being Ca-P. The low soil pH in the Oban Hills soils suggests that Ca-P may exist in a partially dissolved form and will be the primary source of P for vegetations around the area. The cation exchange capacity and pH of surface material from the Hills suggest a dominance of primary minerals. Based on the amount of P available it seems that the Hills soils play a role in the overall P availability to the surrounding vegetation. A significant (P<O.05) decrease in HCI soluble P with depth was observed in the OB2 soil site, where the greatest amount of HCI-soluble P was found in the 0-15cm soil depth. The bicarbonate P varied with sites (OBI, OB2 and 0B3), and depth, but the OB3 had the highest value.
Studying the functional morphology of the middle ear by visualizing bone and soft tissue structures with microCT

Aims The middle ear is a complex biomechanical system positioned between the outer and inner ear, and transfers sound energy from air to fluid by impedance matching. It forms an essential part of the ear and consists of three small bones and the eardrum. Understanding its working principles has been a quest for many researchers, and its exact functioning is still not fully understood. High realism finite-element modeling is becoming a widespread used technique in middle ear research, but highly accurate morphological input data are needed.
University of Groningen Addressing GPU On-Chip Shared Memory Bank Conflicts Using Elastic Pipeline Gou,

One of the major problems with the GPU on-chip shared memory is bank conflicts. We analyze that the throughput of the GPU processor core is often constrained neither by the shared memory bandwidth, nor by the shared memory latency (as long as it stays constant), but is rather due to the varied latencies caused by memory bank conflicts. This results in conflicts at the writeback stage of the in-order pipeline and causes pipeline stalls, thus degrading system throughput. Based on this observation, we investigate and propose a novel Elastic Pipeline design that minimizes the negative impact of on-chip memory bank conflicts on system throughput, by decoupling bank conflicts from pipeline stalls. Simulation results show that our proposed Elastic Pipeline together with the co-designed bank-conflict aware warp scheduling reduces the pipeline stalls by up to 64.0 % (with 42.3 % on average) and improves the overall performance by up to 20.7 % (on average 13.3 %) for representative benchmarks, at trivial hardware overhead.