Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Predation of livestock by puma (Puma concolor) and culpeo fox (Lycalopex culpaeus): numeric and economic perspectives

Predation on livestock by wild carnivores represent large economic losses worldwide. Livestock predation by puma (Puma concolor) and culpeo fox (Lycalopex culpaeus) represents not only a problem for the Sajama National Park (SNP) management in Bolivian highlands, but also for the conservation efforts of these predators. At SNP we quantified: 1) The frequency of attacks by puma and culpeo fox on domestic livestock. 2) The effect of socio-ecological variables on the predation of livestock by these predators. 3) Estimated the losses of livestock due to other causes and compared these with the losses resulting from predation. We expected that the probability of a carnivore attack on a ranch would increase with higher livestock densities, lower abundance of wild prey, good habitat characteristics for carnivores, and low rates of husbandry and would decrease in smaller ranches and/or in areas near human settlements. We monitored predation and other causes of livestock mortality in 33 ranches for one year and estimated biomass of livestock and wild prey and monetary losses. Predators killed 183 livestock (2.3 ± 0.9 % of the animals/ranch) equivalent to $4,215 USD and averaging 21.8 ± 19.6 % of a family’s annual income. Another 354 domestic animals died of causes unrelated to predation (201 adults and 153 yearlings), averaging 4.3 ± 4.5 % of livestock holdings per ranch. The probability of puma attacks increased with ranch size, livestock biomass and distance to the nearest town but decreased with husbandry during the dry season, while their frequency increased with ranch area. The probability of fox attacks decreased with Bofedal area, livestock biomass and better husbandry during the dry season, whereas their frequency increased when wildlife biomass decreased. Although the losses due to predation were low, the impact on the herders’ economy was important. Stock mortality resulting from malnutrition, diseases, and accidents was twice as high as through predation. To reduce losses due to livestock predation and diseases, we advocate managing livestock by reducing group numbers, providing better veterinary assistance, increasing surveillance of herds during grazing events –especially during the rainy season– and through an adequate management of young animals in corrals.
Nociceptive afferent phenotyping reveals that transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 promotes cold pain through neurogenic inflammation upstream of the neurotrophic factor receptor GFRα3 and the menthol receptor transient receptor potential melastatin 8

The proper detection and behavioral response to painfully cold temperatures is critical for avoiding potentially harmful tissue damage. Cold allodynia and hyperalgesia, pain associated with innocuous cooling and exaggerated pain with noxious cold, respectively, are common in patients with chronic pain. In peripheral somatosensory afferents, the ion channels transient receptor potential melastatin 8 (TRPM8) and transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) are candidate receptors for innocuous and noxious cold temperatures, respectively. However, the role of TRPA1 as a cold sensor has remained controversial, and recent evidence suggests that TRPM8 channels and afferents mediate the detection of both pleasant and painful cold. To determine the role of TRPA1 afferents in cold-induced mouse behaviors in vivo, we used functional phenotyping by targeted nerve conduction block with the cell-impermeant lidocaine derivative QX-314. Surprisingly, we find that injection of QX-314 with TRPA1 agonists reduces cold-induced behaviors in mice, but does so in a TRPM8-dependent manner. Moreover, this effect is sexually dimorphic and requires the glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor receptor GFRα3, as does cold hypersensitivity produced by the activation of TRPA1 channels. Taken together, these results suggest that under conditions of neurogenic inflammation, TRPA1 works upstream of GFRα3 and TRPM8 to produce cold hypersensitivity, providing novel insights into the role of TRPA1 channels in cold pain.
Simple piecewise linearisation in time series for time‐domain inversion to estimate physical parameters of nonlinear structures

This study introduces simple piecewise linearisation in time series (SPLiTS), for time‐domain inversion (TDI) to estimate the physical parameters of nonlinear structures. SPLiTS considers a nonlinear structure to be a set of piecewise linearised structures based on each half‐cycle wave in the displacement response data. For the linearisation, SPLiTS intentionally minimises the effect of the central point shift that damaged structures commonly display. After theoretically introducing SPLiTS to the response data of single‐/multi‐degree‐of‐freedom (SDOF/MDOF) structures, parameter estimations are performed for data obtained from numerical simulations and experiments. The efficiency of consideration of the central‐point shift is demonstrated in parameter estimations for numerical simulations where response data are obtained by a nonlinear SDOF structure having a trilinear hysteretic spring. SPLiTS is then applied to experimental data from shaking table tests, in which a specimen, imitating a one‐storey structure, displayed yielding behaviour. TDI with SPLiTS reasonably estimates physical parameters that show increased damping and decreased stiffness in time series at the inelastic range. Next, SPLiTS is applied to experimental data from shaking table tests conducted for a full‐scale, three‐storey structure at E‐Defense in 2013. The damping coefficient and stiffness of each storey are reasonably estimated for the specimen under different amplitudes. For these experimental data, estimated structural energy absorption calculated by damping in the time series corresponds well with the structural damage of the specimens. Thus, structural energy absorption is proven to be a useful index for indicating structural damage.
Promotion of Thriving Among Hong Kong Chinese Adolescents: Evidence From Eight-Wave Data

Objectives: This study evaluated the longitudinal effect of a positive youth development (PYD) program entitled “Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes” (Project P.A.T.H.S.) on perceived thriving among Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong. Method: Individual growth curve modeling analyses were performed using eight waves of data collected over 5 years from 23 experimental schools (N = 3,607) and 24 control schools (N = 3,574). Results: Adolescent thriving declined faster among control school students relative to experimental school students. While the two groups did not differ at Wave 1 and Wave 2 on the mean thriving levels, experimental school students showed higher thriving levels at Wave 3 to Wave 7 than did the control group students. Such differences between the two groups were more salient among girls than among boys, suggesting a stronger intervention effect for girls. Conclusion: The present findings suggest that PYD programs can promote thriving in Chinese adolescents.
Design of a novel compact modified‐circular printed antenna for high data rate wireless sensor networks

This paper presents a novel compact circular patch Ultrawideband (UWB) antenna for sensor node applications. The microstrip‐fed low‐profile antenna comprises an elliptical ring slot, two crescent‐shaped slots and two dumbbell‐shaped slots in feedline. The antenna miniaturization is achieved by a novel combination of an elliptical ring slot, two crescent‐shaped slots in circular patch. The proposed prototype has been fabricated on inexpensive FR4 substrate and the relative permittivity is (εr = 4.3) with 1.6 mm thickness. The overall size of the proposed miniaturized antenna is about (0.1 λr × 0.15 λr), where λr is the resonating wavelength of the lowest UWB frequency (ie, 3.1 GHz). The measured radiation performances of the proposed antenna are nearly an omnidirectional pattern in H‐plane and bidirectional pattern in E‐plane for all the frequencies in the whole UWB band. The development process of the antenna, radiation properties and group delay is completely analyzed and discussed.
‘I hope like they talk with us like how they talk with Irish’: ‘difference’, discrimination and affective inequality in the lives of young Syrian refugees resettled in Ireland

ABSTRACT Based on findings from qualitative research on the needs of young Syrian refugees resettled in Ireland, this article explores issues around relationships with peers from the receiving community in the context of perceived difference and inequality. Interviews with young people shed light on their hopes, fears and experiences around forming connections as they begin to navigate life in a new country, with further insights provided through interviews with youthwork professionals involved in supporting young refugees in the resettlement process. The findings evidence the eagerness of young refugees to forge relationships with peers in the host society but also what a difficult experience it can be for these young people to develop new friendships. This highlights the need for support for young refugees in navigating issues around difference and discrimination in the affective domain.
Hardware Prototype for Wrist-Worn Simultaneous Monitoring of Environmental, Behavioral, and Physiological Parameters

We designed a low-cost wrist-worn prototype for simultaneously measuring environmental, behavioral, and physiological domains of influencing factors in healthcare. Our prototype continuously monitors ambient elements (sound level, toxic gases, ultraviolet radiation, air pressure, temperature, and humidity), personal activity (motion tracking and body positioning using gyroscope, magnetometer, and accelerometer), and vital signs (skin temperature and heart rate). An innovative three-dimensional hardware, based on the multi-physical-layer approach is introduced. Using board-to-board connectors, several physical hardware layers are stacked on top of each other. All of these layers consist of integrated and/or add-on sensors to measure certain domain (environmental, behavioral, or physiological). The prototype includes centralized data processing, transmission, and visualization. Bi-directional communication is based on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and can connect to smartphones as well as smart cars and smart homes for data analytic and adverse-event alerts. This study aims to develop a prototype for simultaneous monitoring of the all three areas for monitoring of workplaces and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients with a concentration on technical development and validation rather than clinical investigation. We have implemented 6 prototypes which have been tested by 5 volunteers. We have asked the subjects to test the prototype in a daily routine in both indoor (workplaces and laboratories) and outdoor. We have not imposed any specific conditions for the tests. All presented data in this work are from the same prototype. Eleven sensors measure fifteen parameters from three domains. The prototype delivers the resolutions of 0.1 part per million (PPM) for air quality parameters, 1 dB, 1 index, and 1 °C for sound pressure level, UV, and skin temperature, respectively. The battery operates for 12.5 h under the maximum sampling rates of sensors without recharging. The final expense does not exceed 133€. We validated all layers and tested the entire device with a 75 min recording. The results show the appropriate functionalities of the prototype for further development and investigations.
Nitrogen Removal for Liquid-Ammonia Mercerization Wastewater via Partial Nitritation/Anammox Based on Zeolite Sequencing Batch Reactor

Liquid-ammonia mercerization is commonly used to enhance the quality of cotton fabric in the textile industry, resulting in a large amount of liquid-ammonia mercerization wastewater (LMWW) containing high concentration of ammonia to be disposed of. This study proposes a partial nitritation/anammox (PN/A) process based on stable nitritation by a zeolite sequencing batch reactor (ZSBR) for the nitrogen removal of LMWW. The ZSBR could quickly achieve stably full nitritation with a nitrite accumulation ratio higher than 97% and an ammonia removal rate of 0.86 kg N·m−3·d−1 for the raw LMWW with an ammonia level of 1490 mg/L. In order to avoid anammox inhibition by free nitrous acid, the ZSBR was successfully changed to PN operation with diluted LMWW for effluent meeting anammox requirements. The next anammox reactor (an up-flow blanket filter (UBF)) realized a total nitrogen removal efficiency of 70.0% with a NLR (nitrogen loading rate) of 0.82 kg N·m−3·d−1 for LMWW. High-throughput sequencing analysis results indicated that Nitrosomonas and Candidatus Kuenenia were the dominant bacteria in ZSBR and UBF, respectively. All results revealed that the PN/A process based on ZSBR as the PN pretreatment process was feasible for LMWW, facilitating cost-effective and low-carbon nitrogen removal for LMWW treatment in the textile industry in the future.
Complete mitochondrial genome and phylogenetic analysis of chilin fish (Varicorhinus macrolepis)

Abstract In the study, the complete mitogenome sequence of the Chilin fish (Varicorhinus macrolepis) has been sequenced. The mitochondrial DNA is 16,594 nucleotides and contains two ribosomal RNA genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, 13 protein-coding genes, and one control region, along with gene order and organization, being similar to most of the other related fish mitogenome of the databases. The phylogenetic analysis showed V. macrolepis is close to genus Poropuntius and Spinibarbus. The results can provide a basic database for the evolutionary analysis for the V. macrolepis.
Can we crowdsource Tacton similarity perception and metaphor ratings?

High-fidelity vibration actuators in recent mobile phones allow designers to crowdsource user evaluation of vibrotactile (VT) Tactons. Yet, little work has examined whether online crowdsourcing platforms can provide comparable results to lab studies. To address this question, we conducted two studies with iOS devices in the lab and crowdsourced settings. In Study I, 40 users provided pairwise similarity ratings for 12 VT Tactons that varied in their parameters (e.g., duration). In Study II, 40 new users rated pairwise similarities for 14 Tactons representing different metaphors (e.g., heartbeat). They also rated the Tactons’ match to the metaphors. In both studies, the resulting similarities and perceptual spaces strongly correlated in the lab and crowdsourced settings. Furthermore, 60% of the metaphor ratings were statistically equivalent in the two settings. We discuss the results and outline directions for future work on haptic crowdsourcing.
Performance Evaluation of a Subseasonal to Seasonal Model in Predicting Rainfall Onset Over West Africa

The present study evaluates the performance of a Subseasonal to Seasonal (S2S) model (called The China Meteorological Administration) in simulating rainfall onset dates (RODs) over West Africa. Using two ROD definitions, we compared the model's ROD at six lead‐time forecasts (10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 days) with the observed ROD from satellite data sets, statistically quantified the model's capability to reproduce the interannual variability of RODs over the climatological zones in the subcontinent, and investigated how well the model links RODs with the dynamics of monsoon system over the subregion. The results show that the mean RODs follow a latitudinal progression and the dates increases northward from the coast. The performance of the S2S model in reproducing RODs largely depends on the definition used. For instance, the ability of the model to replicate the observed spatial pattern of RODs and all the essential features over the three zones in West Africa is stronger with DEF1 than DEF2. Regardless of the ROD definition used, the 20‐ to 60‐day forecasts produced more realistic simulation than the 10‐day forecast. We also found that the performance of the model in reproducing the interannual variability of RODs depends on the zones (Guinea, Savanna, and Sahel). Moreover, the model could reproduce the three main phases of the West African Monsoon (the onset, the peak, and the southward retreat of rainfall) and other dynamics. The results of the study have application in improving S2S forecasting over West Africa.
Stable tellurium isotope variability in ore-forming systems: A theoretical and experimental approach

Variability in the “light” (e.g., H, C, O, N, S) stable isotope composition of minerals has long been used to elucidate geochemical processes. The development of multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) techniques has led to the study of isotope variability in increasingly heavy elements due to the increase in precision and ionization potential compared to older isotope analytical techniques. Despite the increasing use of stable isotopes as geochemical tracers, those of the element tellurium have been relatively understudied. The three studies presented here provide the first analyses of tellurium isotope variability in tellurides and native tellurium, as well as tellurates and tellurites. The first study presents a methodology for the extraction and purification of Te from such minerals, as well as for their analysis using MC-ICP-MS. Importantly, this study established that processing and analytical techniques do not induce isotopic fractionation. Furthermore, with a δ 130/125 Te range of 1.6 ‰, the preliminary isotope data from the methods development process suggested appreciable fractionation of Te, even at elevated temperatures. The second study presents data for 82 Te-rich minerals of various oxidation states and compares those empirical data to experimental data from thermodynamic calculations. The samples were unlocated beyond the general area of their collection. The overall range of fractionation for Te is 2.85‰ and seems to be dominated by mass-dependent processes. Redox reactions do not seem to induce large fractionations, which contradicts
Women’s work–life balance strategies in academia

ABSTRACT Although work–life balance in academia is a widely represented topic in the academic discourse, there is still no structural solution to this phenomenon. The main aim of this article is to analyse how the intersection of gender, class and ethnicity effects and shapes the strategies of female academics of two ethnic groups at in two Serbian universities developed to rationalize and explain their actions and decisions on work–life balance. The qualitative research was based on twenty semi-structured interviews. The findings show that when explaining their attitudes and decisions women used certain rhetoric and life strategies. The intersectional analysis conveyed that there is a difference between the strategy’s women used in order to cope with family and career obligations when it comes to different ethnic backgrounds. There is a class difference as well, which is intersecting with gender and ethnicity, thereby resulting in a new inequality among women in academia. The challenge of finding work–life balance is great for women, who decide to deal with it on a micro level, in their own family and in their own way not questioning the organizational structures upon which work in the academic social context is based.
Prey abundance drives habitat occupancy by jaguars in Amazonian floodplain river islands

The jaguar (Panthera onca) is widely distributed across a broad range of habitat types, where its feeding habits and habitat use patterns vary significantly. The jaguar and its main arboreal prey – the brown-throated sloth (Bradypus variegatus) and the red howler monkey (Alouatta juara) – are widespread in the Amazonian floodplain forests of the Mamirauá Reserve. These forest-dwelling species are the most common mammal species both in the continuous forest and the forest patches surrounded by a river matrix – the fluvial islands – of the Solimões and Japurá rivers. We used sign surveys along line-transects to assess the pattern of habitat occupancy by jaguars in Amazonian floodplain forests. Specifically, we (i) tested whether habitat occupancy by jaguars differs between river islands and continuous forest; and (ii) evaluated whether and how the local abundance of sloths and howler monkeys influence the probability of site occupancy by jaguars. We built an occupancy model and used Bayesian inference to reach these goals. The proportion of sites estimated to be used by jaguars was ψ = 0.75 (HPD95: 0.36–1.00), and it did not differ between islands and continuous forest. The abundance of both prey species had a direct influence on jaguar’s habitat use, whereas the aquatic matrix seems to have a negligible effect on the use of islands by jaguars. We conclude that the isolation of the river islands within the aquatic matrix does not hamper jaguars to use them. We also conclude that prey search modulates jaguars’ habitat occupancy patterns with both prey species having a similar effect. This finding is compatible with the previously reported importance of sloths to the diet of jaguars in the study region despite its lower abundance than howlers. Finally, we suggest that sign surveys are an alternative method to assess the pattern of jaguar habitat occupancy in floodplain forests.
Ulvan, a Polysaccharide from Macroalga Ulva sp.: A Review of Chemistry, Biological Activities and Potential for Food and Biomedical Applications

The species of green macroalga belonging to the genus Ulva (family: Ulvaceae) are utilized in various fields, from food supplements to biomedical applications. Ulvan, a polysaccharide obtained from various Ulva species, has shown various biological activities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antibacterial, and antiviral activities. To obtain the polysaccharide ulvan that can be utilized in various fields, it is necessary to understand the critical points that affect its physicochemical nature, the extraction procedures, and the mechanism of action for biological activities. This article discusses the physicochemical properties, extraction, isolation and characterization procedures and benefits in food and biomedical applications of ulvan. In conclusion, ulvan from Ulva sp. has the potential to be used as a therapeutic agent and also as an additional ingredient in the development of tissue engineering procedures.
Cyber Security in IoT communication (Internet of Things) on Smart Home

The Internet of Things (IoT) that are currently applied with the combination of smart devices that connect with each other devices over the Internet from smartphone to other household devices that are assembled in a smart home-based concept. Smart Home is one of the concepts of implementing IoT technology, which is the implementation of Software Engineering. However, in document requirements in its engineering process development, often the requirements for cyber security aspect is neglected because it is considered as a secondary requirement. Therefore, it will be done analysis process requirements on the system by specializing in the cyber security aspect. In this paper, it will be analyzed about cyber security requirements of smart home IoT communication using methodology of Security Quality Requirements Engineering (SQUARE). The methodology of cyber security requirements analysis use SQUARE methodology consisting of 9 stages consist of agreement, identification, development, and analysis. The identification and analysis that has been done also has resulted in security requirement along with the implementation required for a secure smart home system. The analysis result consists of four types of requirements such as Elicit Security Requirement, Categorize Requirement, Prioritize Requirement, and Requirement Inspection. It is very helpful in analyzing while providing recommendations to the security requirements of the system which are used to keep the availibility and continuity of the software as well as the integrity of the smart home systems that are being developed.