Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Edinburgh Research Explorer On the variability of CO2 feed flows into CCS transportation and storage networks

The ﬂ exible operation of CO 2 injection wells presents signi ﬁ cant challenges. To avoid premature degradation of wells or loss of integrity it is imperative to understand the feed ﬂ ow patterns that future CO 2 transportation and storage networks will face. We use a unit commitment economic dispatch (UCED) model to study CCS operating regimes in low carbon energy systems scenarios that are characterised by high shares of weather dependent renewable power generation. Using the case study of Great Britain, we determine the extent to which ﬂ exible operation of CCS plants is required, resulting in variable CO 2 ﬂ ows that need to be accommodated by future CO 2 transportation and storage networks. We ﬁ nd that around 21% and 12% of the net ﬂ ow rate changes over 6h- periods in the core scenario have greater amplitudes than 30% and 50% of nominal ﬂ ow, respectively. When changes are averaged over two consecutive blocks of 6h, representing the smoothing e ﬀ ect achievable via line- packing over a pipeline of reasonable length and diameter, around 9% of the net changes have greater amplitudes than 40% of nominal ﬂ ow. Given the high and frequent ﬂ uctuations in feed ﬂ ows across all considered scenarios, further research is urgently required on the capability of transportation and storage networks to accommodate variable CO 2 ﬂ ow rates.
Chapter 4 Group Recommender Applications

In this chapter, we present an overview of different group recommender applications. We organize this overview into the application domains of music, movies and TV programs, travel destinations and events, news and web pages, healthy living, software engineering, and domain-independent recommenders. Each application is analyzed with regard to the characteristics of group recommenders as introduced in Chapter 2.
The Soret Effect: A Review of Recent Experimental Results

In the first part of the paper, we recall what the Soret effect is, together with its applications in science and industry. We emphasize the need to have a reliable data base for the Soret coefficient. Next we review the different techniques to measure the Soret coefficient (elementary Soret cell, beam deflection technique, thermal diffusion forced Rayleigh scattering technique, convective coupling and, in particular, the onset of convection in horizontal layers and the thermogravitational method). Results are provided for several systems, with both negative and positive Soret coefficients, and comparison between several laboratories are made for the same systems. We end with “benchmark” values of the Soret coefficient for some organic liquid mixtures of interest in the oil industry and to which all future new techniques should refer before gaining confidence. We conclude that correct values of the Soret coefficient can be obtained in earth conditions and we deny the need to go to microgravity. DOI: 10.1115/1.1992517
Validation metric based on relative error

Engineers and scientists are often faced with the problem of objectively comparing time histories of measured and/or simulated data. This article presents a reliable and intuitive validation metric for use in the validation process. The proposed validation metric is able to quantify the agreement/disagreement between deterministic system response quantities of interest obtained from measurements on a physical system and predictions from a mathematical model. The validation metric is based on the relative error, and the challenges concerning the use of the relative error on periodic signals are addressed. The validation metric is compared to similar metrics and their advantages and limitations are discussed. The results show that the proposed validation metric gives a comprehensive error that is able to quantify the agreement between two periodic signals and is easily interpretable.
Professional Self-Efficacy Scale for Information and Computer Technology Teachers: Validity and Reliability Study

Abstract This study aims at developing a valid and reliable scale to measure information and communication technology (ICT) teachers’ self-efficacy related to the Turkish national framework of ICT competencies. For statistical procedures, data were respectively analyzed with exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Furthermore, test-retest procedure was carried out to confirm the time invariance of the scale. EFA results revealed that the scale’s seven-factor structure accounts for 65.90 percent of total variance. CFA results produced an acceptable statistical support for model-data fit between the observed item scores and the seven-dimension scale structure (X2/df= 1.98, RMSEA= .073, CFI= .86). The standardized regression weights between the latent and observed variables ranged from . 57 to . 89 and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the scale subdimensions ranged from . 80 to . 88. Besides, the item-scale correlations varied between values of . 53 and . 79. As a result, the developed scale is a likert questionnaire and composed of 33 five-point items with seven sub-dimensions.
Carbon nanomaterials for fl exible lithium ion batteries

With the rapid progress of wearable electronics, it is highly desirable to develop flexible power supplies, and significant progress has been thus made in making a variety of flexible batteries. Here the recent advances of flexible lithium ion batteries based on carbon nanomaterials have been carefully discussed from the viewpoint of material synthesis, structure design and property optimization. The remaining challenges and promising directions are highlighted to provide the clues for the future study in this booming field at end. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Modelling the effect of temperature on height increment of Scots pine at high latitudes

The effect of temperature and precipitation on the height increment of Pinus sylvestris (L.) was modelled using data gathered from a total of 49 felled sample trees from five stands of Scots pine located along a latitudinal transect from the Arctic Circle up to the northern timberline in Finland. A multilevel mixed effects model and cross-correlation analysis of prewhitened time series was used to analyse the dependence between height increment and monthly meteorological observations. The effect of the mean July temperature of the previous year on height increment proved to be very strong at high latitudes (r > 0.7). The mean November temperature of the year before the previous affected statistically significantly on height increment in the three northernmost stands. There was no correlation between height increment and precipitation in any of the sites. The final height increment model based on all stands included tree age, long-term mean temperature sum of site, and the mean July temperature of the previous year as independent variables. According to the model, one degree’s change in July temperature results on average in 1.8 cm change in the next year’s height increment. There was a modest but significant polynomial age-effect. The proportion of explained variance (at the year level) was 74%. The July temperature dependence on height increment was shown to be very strong, suggesting a high value of height increment in climate modelling at the tree line.
Characteristic Analysis of Compact Spectrometer Based on Off-Axis Meta-Lens

Ultra-compact spectrometers with high-resolution and/or broadband features have long been pursued for their wide application prospects. The off-axis meta-lens, a new species of planar optical instruments, provides a unique and feasible way to realize these goals. Here we give a detailed investigation of the influences of structural parameters of meta-lens-based spectrometers on the effective spectral range and the spectral resolution using both wave optics and geometrical optics methods. Aimed for different usages, two types of meta-lens based spectrometers are numerically proposed: one is a wideband spectrometer working at 800–1800 nm wavelengths with the spectral resolution of 2–5 nm and the other is a narrowband one working at the 780–920 nm band but with a much higher spectral resolution of 0.15–0.6 nm. The tolerance for fabrication errors is also discussed in the end. These provides a prominent way to design and integrate planar film-based spectrometers for various instrumental applications.
La Economía del Bien Común en el ámbito local

Este trabajo presenta la Economia del Bien Comun en el ambito municipal. Para ello se describe que es un Municipio del Bien Comun y las cinco estrategias propuestas para alcanzarlo: creacion de asambleas democraticas, aplicacion del Balance del Bien Comun Municipal, promocion de la Economia del Bien Comun en las organizaciones, creacion del Indice del Bien Comun Municipal y participacion en la creacion de una Region del Bien Comun. El modelo tiene una vocacion de transformacion real de todo el sistema economico, fundamentando su construccion en la democracia y a partir de una red desde el ambito local. La Economia del Bien Comun trata de crear los incentivos para que la actividad economica este orientada hacia el Bien Comun, entendido como la promocion de los valores humanos de la dignidad humana, solidaridad, sostenibilidad, justicia social y la democracia y transparencia. Para lograrlo plantea su medicion mediante el balance del bien comun y las modificaciones legales para que las empresas, y otras organizaciones cooperen para la generacion de bien comun, en lugar de competir por la maximizacion del beneficio. Por ello, este trabajo sostiene que la Economia del Bien Comun concebida a escala municipal, proporciona un marco completo y coherente de analisis desde donde abordar el desarrollo local. La presentacion del marco teorico de la Economia del Bien Comun en el ambito municipal pretende crear un aporte de sintesis util a profesionales de la investigacion y los profesionales del ambito municipal.
Egg and larval amino acid composition as indicators of niche resource partitioning in pelagic fish species

We analysed the amino acid composition (AA) of eggs and larvae of the pelagic fish spe- cies Sardina pilchardus (sardine), Scomber scombrus (mackerel), Trachurus trachurus (horse mack- erel) and Micromesistius poutasou (blue whiting) collected along the west Atlantic coast of Spain and from the Cantabrian Sea during March to April 2000. A discriminant analysis showed that it was pos- sible to distinguish each fish species according to the egg and larval AA. Moreover, egg and larval AA varied among different areas within each fish species. From the data of larval abundance obtained from 5 cruises carried out along the northern Spanish coast from 1995 to 2000 (Mph-1995, Sefos-1995, Careva-1998, Jureva-1998 and Seamar-2000), the temporal and spatial overlap among fish species was estimated. There was a significant relationship between larval AA similarity and lar- val spatial-temporal overlap among fish species, which means that those larval species that had greater spatial and temporal overlap, had a similar larval AA. On this basis, the differences in egg and larval AA within each fish species among different areas seem to be due to differences in habi- tat conditions; mainly temperature, salinity, and food quality and quantity. We concluded that egg and larval AA could be used as indicators of niche resource partitioning (food resources and spatial allocation) among pelagic fish species.
Chemical Composition and Anti-Trypanosoma cruzi Effect of Thymus vulgaris L . ( Thyme ) Essential Oil and Its Main Component , Thymol , in Mice

The present study’s aim was to determine the chemical composition of the Thymus vulgaris essential oil, and evaluate both activity: the oil and thymol, against Trypanosoma cruzi in mice. We used albino mice that were randomly assigned to the following groups (n = 15): infected and untreated (G1); infected and treated with Thymus vulgaris essential oil 200 mg/kg (G2); infected and treated with thymol 200 mg/kg (G3); infected and treated with benznidazole 100 mg/kg (G4); untreated and non-infected (G5); and not infected and treated with 200 mg/kg of Thymus vulgaris (G6). The treatment was carried out from the 8 post infection day (PID). The parasitaemia was individually verified each 2 days by direct microscopy, counting the parasites in 5 μL of blood. On 14, 21 and 28 PID, five mice from each group were sacrificed, and hearts were quickly removed and processed for histopathological analysis. Thymus vulgaris essential oil and thymol in doses of 200 mg/kg/day by intragastric way produced a significant reduction in parasitaemia in the 22 PID, from 57.60 ± 16.97 to 30.10 ± 15,18 trypomastigotes/mL (p< 0.05), and up to 10.90 ± 3.67 trypomastigotes/mL (p < 0.001), respectively. The number of amastigotes and inflammatory infiltrates in heart tissue were also reduced at the end of the experiment. These results suggest that the Thymus vulgaris essential oil and thymol have an anti-Trypanosoma cruzi effect in vivo on infected mice.
Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression system in banana immature fruits

Transient expression assays are useful for saving time in studies of gene function, particularly ones expressed in fruit. Transient expression system of a reporter gene in immature fruit of banana was developed. Agrobacterium tumefaciens , whose plasmid contains an intron-containing Agrobacterium tumefaciens , whose plasmid contains an intron-containing Agrobacterium tumefaciens , whose plasmid contains an intron-containing  -glucuronidase ( gusA ) gene under regulatory control of the CaMV 35S promoter, was vacuum-infiltrated into sliced fruits and co-cultured. GUS histochemical assay was performed three days after co-cultivation, and a high level of GUS expression was observed. This transient expression system is useful for routine transient assays to validate genes expressed in banana fruit.
The effects of supplementing diets fed to pregnant and lactating ewes with Saccharomyces cerevisiae dried yeast

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of supplementing diets fed to ewes (in late pregnancy and during lactation or only during lactation) with Saccharomyces cerevisiae dried brewer’s yeast on the yield and chemical composition of milk and on selected parameters of humoral and cellular immunity. The investigated indicators were analyzed on days 28 and 70 of lactation. The addition of dried yeast contributed to a significant increase in milk yield, and the obtained milk was characterized by a lower somatic cell count, suggesting improved mammary gland health. Diet supplementation had a beneficial influence on the health status of ewes, leading to increased nonspecific humoral and cellular immune responses in ewes, including gamma globulin concentrations, lysozyme and ceruloplasmin activity levels, respiratory burst activity and potential killing activity of phagocytes, and the proliferative response of mitogen-stimulated T cells and B cells.
Downscaling of species distribution models:  a hierarchical approach

Reliable methods to downscale species distributions from coarse to fine grain (equivalent to resolution or support) hold great potential benefit for ecology and conservation. Existing methods have been based on partially unrealistic assumptions and yield mixed results. Here, we introduce a novel and simple approach for downscaling species distribution models based on a hierarchical Bayesian modelling (HBM) framework. Our approach treats putative (unknown) fine‐grain presences/absences as latent variables, which are modelled as a function of observed fine‐grain environmental variables and constrained by observed coarse‐grain presences/absences using logistic regression. The aim is to produce downscaled fine‐grain probabilities of species occurrence that (1) closely resemble the probabilities produced by a logistic model parameterized with the observed fine‐grain data (the ‘reference model’) and (2) are improvements over conventional downscaling methods. We additionally test how fine‐grain occupancy based on power‐law scale‐area relationships modifies the downscaling results. We test our approach on 127 bird species from the San Diego breeding atlas data surveyed at 5 km grain. The HBM approach provides unbiased fine‐grain probabilities of occurrence whilst the conventional methods (direct approach, point sampling) consistently over‐predict occurrence probabilities. Incorporation of the downscaled occupancy further improves reliability of the models, but only in cases when the fine‐grain occupancy is estimated accurately. Summing predictions across grid cells and species, HBMs provide better estimates of fine‐grain species richness than conventional methods. They also provide better estimates of fine‐grain occupancy (prevalence). The presented HBM‐based downscaling approach offers improved predictions of fine‐grain presence and absence compared with existing methods. The combination of the Bayesian approach with key macroecological relationships (specifically, the scale‐area relationship) offers a promising general basis for downscaling distributions that may be extended, for example, using generalized linear or additive models. These approaches enable integrative predictions of spatial biodiversity patterns at fine grains.
THERAPEUTIC EFFECTS OF HIGHLY PURIFIED DE-GLYCOSYLATED GCMAF IN THE IMMUNOTHERAPY OF PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC DISEASES

The de-Glycosylated vitamin D binding protein is a powerful Macrophage Activating Factor (GcMAF) that shows multiple biological effects that could be exploited in the immunotherapy of tumours, viral infections and autism. Here we report the observation of a series of clinical cases describing the results obtained administering highly purified GcMAF to patients with diverse types of chronic diseases. These are heterogeneous and refer to patients with different types of diseases at different stages. In some cases, patients underwent other complementary treatments such as stem cell infusion or administration of supplements. In patients harbouring tumours, GcMAF treatment was initiated at late stages of tumour progression. Therefore, since this is an open-label, non-controlled, retrospective analysis, caution must be employed when ascribing cause and effect to any treatment outcome. However, the response to GcMAF was robust and certain trends emerge evident. In all cases (n = 7), GcMAF subcutaneous injections were associated with improvement of clinical conditions. No adverse side effects were reported. The observation reported here confirm and extend the results previously presented by several Authors and open the way to further trials aimed at assessing the precise role and indications for GcMAF in the immunotherapy of chronic diseases.
Recent progress toward precise genome editing in animals

The ability to edit a specific locus in a genome based on targeted DNA nucleases will greatly facilitate our understanding of the function of a gene in biological research, and have many practical uses in animal biotechnology and biomedicine. Recent advances, including clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9), have substantially increased the efficiency of precise genome editing in a targeted manner. Therefore, this system has been successfully adopted for highly efficient genetic modification in diverse organisms, including animals, plants and humans, and is applicable to the efficient production of transgenic animals and model animals, as well as to breeding and research involving therapeutic potential. In addition, a base editing system has been recently developed and utilized for precise base conversion. It is composed of catalytically dead Cas9 (dCas9) and cytidine deaminase that enables both highly targeted single-base changes and local sequence diversification without double-stranded DNA cleavage. In this review, we introduce the development of genome editing technologies based on targeted DNA nucleases and the recently developed base editing system, and highlight successful research achievements indicating the potential use of programmable genome editing tools in fields of animal biotechnology.
Remote sensing of groundwater storage changes in Illinois using the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE)

Regional groundwater storage changes in Illinois are estimated from monthly GRACE total water storage change (TWSC) data and in situ measurements of soil moisture for the period 2002–2005. Groundwater storage change estimates are compared to those derived from the soil moisture and available well level data. The seasonal pattern and amplitude of GRACE‐estimated groundwater storage changes track those of the in situ measurements reasonably well, although substantial differences exist in month‐to‐month variations. The seasonal cycle of GRACE TWSC agrees well with observations (correlation coefficient = 0.83), while the seasonal cycle of GRACE‐based estimates of groundwater storage changes beneath 2 m depth agrees with observations with a correlation coefficient of 0.63. We conclude that the GRACE‐based method of estimating monthly to seasonal groundwater storage changes performs reasonably well at the 200,000 km2 scale of Illinois.
Factors influencing thrombin generation measured as thrombin-antithrombin complex and calibrated automated thrombogram method in patients with advanced coronary artery disease

Introduction. Haemostatic factors play an important role in atherothrombosis. Thrombin generation is a crucial stage of blood coagulation. Objectives. Comparison of different thrombin generation markers: thrombin-antithrombin complex (TAT) generation and calibrated automated thrombogram method (CAT). Identification of factors influencing thrombin generation in patients with stable angina (SA) enrolled to the coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery. Analysis of traditional (age, gender, hypertension and diabetes) and novel (fibrinogen and C-reactive protein (CRP)) risk factors and the antiplatelet therapy (aspirin 75-150 mg/d) in relation to coagulation. Patients and methods. In 135 SA patients with left main coronary artery stenosis (>50%) or major epicardial artery stenosis (>70%), plasma TAT levels, maximal thrombin concentration (C max ) and endogenous thrombin potential (ETP) were determined. A marker of the platelet activation (β-thromboglobulin) was also measured. Results. No correlations among TAT, C max , ETP, risk factors and β-thromboglobulin were observed. Linear regression model showed that independent predictors of TAT levels were age (β = 0.5; p = <0.0001), male gender and diabetes (β = 0.36; p = 0.02). CRP independently predicted TAT and ETP (β = -0.24 and β = 0.22; p <0.05, respectively), while fibrinogen predicted C max (β = 0.21; p <0.05). Independent predictors of β-thromboglobulin were a male gender and aspirin use cessation (β = 0.46; p = 0.01). Aspirin treatment had no effect on thrombin generation. Conclusions. Age, higher fibrinogen, CRP, diabetes and male gender influence thrombin generation and/or coagulation activation in SA patients. Plasma levels of thrombin-antithrombin complexes do not correlate with the parameters obtained using the calibrated automated thrombogram method (C max , ETP).