Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Small mammals in the big city: Behavioural adjustments of non‐commensal rodents to urban environments

A fundamental focus of current ecological and evolutionary research is to illuminate the drivers of animals’ success in coping with human‐induced rapid environmental change (HIREC). Behavioural adaptations are likely to play a major role in coping with HIREC because behaviour largely determines how individuals interact with their surroundings. A substantial body of research reports behavioural modifications in urban dwellers compared to rural conspecifics. However, it is often unknown whether the observed phenotypic divergence is due to phenotypic plasticity or the product of genetic adaptations. Here, we aimed at investigating (a) whether behavioural differences arise also between rural and urban populations of non‐commensal rodents; and (b) whether these differences result from behavioural flexibility or from intrinsic behavioural characteristics, such as genetic or maternal effects. We captured and kept under common environment conditions 42 rural and 52 urban adult common voles (Microtus arvalis) from seven subpopulations along a rural–urban gradient. We investigated individual variation in behavioural responses associated with risk‐taking and exploration, in situ at the time of capture in the field and ex situ after 3 months in captivity. Urban dwellers were bolder and more explorative than rural conspecifics at the time of capture in their respective sites (in situ). However, when tested under common environmental conditions ex situ, rural individuals showed little change in their behavioural responses whereas urban individuals altered their behaviour considerably and were consistently shyer and less explorative than when tested in situ. The combination of elevated risk‐taking and exploration with high behavioural flexibility might allow urban populations to successfully cope with the challenges of HIREC. Investigating whether the observed differences in behavioural flexibility are adaptive and how they are shaped by additive and interactive effects of genetic make‐up and past environmental conditions will help illuminate eco‐evolutionary dynamics under HIREC and predict persistence of populations under urban conditions.
In Defense of Octonions

Various authors have observed that the unit of the imaginary numbers, i, has a special significance as a quantity whose existence predates our discovery of it. It gives us the ability to treat degrees of freedom in the same way mathematically that we treat degrees of fixity. Thus; we can go beyond the Real number system to create or describe Complex numbers, which have a real part and an imaginary part. This allows us to simultaneously represent quantities like tension and stiffness with real numbers and aspects of vibration or variation with imaginary numbers, and thus to model something like a vibrating guitar string or other oscillatory systems. But if we take away the constraint of commutativity, this allows us to add more degrees of freedom, and to construct Quaternions, and if we remove the constraint of associativity, what results are called Octonions. We might have called them super-Complex and hyper-Complex numbers. But we can go no further, to envision a yet more complicated numbering system without losing essential algebraic properties. A recent Scientific American article by John Baez and John Huerta suggests that Octonions provide a basis for the extra dimensions required by String Theory and are generally useful for Physics, but others disagree. We examine this matter.
Inhibition of PIKfyve kinase prevents infection by Zaire ebolavirus and SARS-CoV-2

Significance The membrane fusion proteins of viral pathogens as diverse in their replication strategies as coronaviruses and filoviruses depend, for their functional activity, on proteolytic processing during cell entry. Endosomal cathepsins carry out the cleavages. We have constructed chimeric forms of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) bearing the fusion proteins of Zaire ebolavirus (ZEBOV) or SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and shown that two small-molecule inhibitors of an endosomal lipid kinase (PIKfyve) inhibit viral infection by preventing release of the viral contents from endosomes. Both inhibitory compounds cause distension of Rab5 and Rab7 subcompartments into small vacuoles. One of them (Apilimod) also inhibits infection of cells by authentic SARS-CoV-2. The results point to possibilities for host targets of antiviral drugs. Virus entry is a multistep process. It initiates when the virus attaches to the host cell and ends when the viral contents reach the cytosol. Genetically unrelated viruses can subvert analogous subcellular mechanisms and use similar trafficking pathways for successful entry. Antiviral strategies targeting early steps of infection are therefore appealing, particularly when the probability for successful interference through a common step is highest. We describe here potent inhibitory effects on content release and infection by chimeric vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) containing the envelope proteins of Zaire ebolavirus (VSV-ZEBOV) or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (VSV-SARS-CoV-2) elicited by Apilimod and Vacuolin-1, small-molecule inhibitors of the main endosomal phosphatidylinositol-3-phosphate/phosphatidylinositol 5-kinase, PIKfyve. We also describe potent inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 strain 2019-nCoV/USA-WA1/2020 by Apilimod. These results define tools for studying the intracellular trafficking of pathogens elicited by inhibition of PIKfyve kinase and suggest the potential for targeting this kinase in developing small-molecule antivirals against SARS-CoV-2.
Frequency-selective substrate integrated waveguide front-end system for tracking applications

A K-band frequency-selective front-end system for monopulse tracking applications is presented on a single layer of a substrate-integrated waveguide (SIW). The circuit comprises an antenna array of two Vivaldi antennas, a frequency-selective power combiner, and two frequency-selective SIW crossovers, which eliminate the need for subsequent filtering. Its performance is demonstrated in terms of sum and difference patterns, gain, and scattering parameters. In order to validate the design procedure, the monopulse tracking front end is fabricated and measured. It has a bandwidth of 540 MHz with an operating frequency range of 23.63-24.17 GHz. The sum and difference patterns are provided by in-phase and out-of-phase electric fields. The maximum achievable gain is 6.2 dB at the mid-band frequency, and a 30-degree field of view is obtained. The measurements are found to be in good agreement with simulations.
Molecular dynamic simulation of water vapor interaction with various types of pores using hybrid computing structures

Theoretical and experimental investigations of water vapor interaction with porous materials are very needful for various fields of science and technology. Not only studies of the interaction of water vapor and porous material as a continuous medium, but also the study of the interaction of water vapor with individual pore is very important in these researches. Mathematical modelling occupies an important place in these investigations. In this work, a study of efficiency of various implementations algorithms for MD simulation of water vapor interaction with individual pore is carried out. A great disadvantage of MD is its requirement of a relatively large computational effort and long time in simulations. These problems can be drastically reduced by parallel calculations. In this work we investigate dependence of time required for simulations on different parameters, like number of particles in the system, shape of pores, and so on. The results of parallel calculations are compared with the results obtained by serial calculations.
Positive Effects of Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation Stretching on Sports Performance: A Review

The role of flexibility on athletic performance is going on to be studied both acutely and how it affects the performance in the long-term. It is important to understand the effects of various stretching types and define the most appropriate form in order to maximize the human movement and performance. Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching techniques are commonly used at athletic and clinic settings with the aim of optimizing motor performance and rehabilitation in order to increase range of motion. Yet, new research results put forth that the relation between performance and stretching is not as its thought and come up to this belief with suspicion. The aim of this review is to focus on the positive effects of PNF stretching on performance and to provide the reader with the latest researches on athletic performance. The researches reveal that PNF stretching can increase athletic performance in the long-term. Besides, it is more possible to obtain and maintain the benefits of PNF techniques if they are performed accurately and consistently.
A POSTERIORI ERROR ESTIMATES FOR WEAK GALERKIN FINITE ELEMENT METHODS FOR SECOND ORDER ELLIPTIC PROBLEMS

A residual type a posteriori error estimator is presented and analyzed for Weak Galerkin finite element methods for second order elliptic problems. The error estimator is proved to be efficient and reliable through two estimates, one from below and the other from above, in terms of an H1-equivalent norm for the exact error. Two numerical experiments are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of adaptive mesh refinement guided by this estimator.
Reaction to diagnosis and subsequent health in mothers of children with ASD

The current study assessed whether reactions to diagnosis are associated with health status for mothers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) at the time of diagnosis, and whether such diagnostic-reaction resolution status is associated with changes in health status over time. 84 mothers of children newly-diagnosed with ASD, with stable reactions to diagnosis over a year, participated. Their perceptions of their physical and psychological functioning, and quality of life, were taken at the time of diagnosis and one year later. The mothers were also given the reaction to diagnosis interview. Mothers who had an unresolved reaction to diagnosis had a worse health status in terms of their perception of the physical symptoms at the time of the diagnosis, and showed worsening levels of health over the period of a year, relative to mothers who had a resolved diagnostic status. These relationships were independent of other potential predictors of ill health in this sample. The findings point to the potential of the diagnostic process to negatively impact parental health. Given that this can have negative consequences for child prognosis, as well as parental health, there is a need to develop better understanding of the impacts of diagnostic practices.
Reverse and Simulate your Enemy Botnet C & C Mapping

Have you ever been staring at binary or hexadecimal data flows extracted from an USB channel ? Don't you remember yourself searching for some patterns and other similarities in this fuc***g mess of zeros and ones grabbed from a binary configuration file ? Did you know you were not a alone and that others including Rob Savoye [Sav09] and Drew Fisher [Fis10] have already described the main difficulties of the RE1 operations. Both of them have called for the creation of a tool which would help the expert in its process. For about these last 2 years, we've been working to respond to this call to create this kind of tool. Hence, this article will describe a new semi-automated RE process based on Netzob2. This tool simplifies the manipulation of binary flows, finds relations, deduce data formats, infer grammatical definition and other few little things ;)
Contrasting practices and opinions of UK-based veterinary surgeons around neutering cats at four months old

Background Many cats in the UK are not neutered before reaching potential breeding age. The purpose of this investigation was to understand the prevalence of veterinarians’ behaviours around neutering cats at four months of age and to identify any needs of the veterinary profession on this. Methods A sample of 483 veterinarians that completed a cross-sectional online questionnaire were included in quantitative and qualitative analyses. Results Almost 70 per cent of veterinarians indicated they were comfortable carrying out neutering on cats of four months of age, and approximately half of veterinarians indicated they would recommend neutering client-owned cats at four months of age if practice policy permitted. There was no association found between these practices and geographic risk factors. Instead, neutering at four months was associated with the gender of the veterinarian, their practice policy and whether they routinely neuter unowned cats. Veterinarians have contrasting beliefs on similar themes, depending on whether they neuter kittens at four months or not, including differing opinions on general anaesthetic, surgery risks, owner compliance and their perceptions of neutering practices within the wider profession. Conclusion Familiarity and experience with the procedure, alongside perceived norms, are central to beliefs. We also highlight informational and learning barriers.
Hydride vapor phase epitaxial growth of a high quality GaN film using a ZnO buffer layer

In hydride vapor phase epitaxial (HVPE) growth of GaN, the sputtered ZnO layer has been found to be one of the best buffer layers because of the fact that physical properties of ZnO are nearly analogous with those of GaN. With a ZnO buffer layer, the reproducibility of growing GaN single crystal by HVPE has been greatly improved. The GaN films grown by this method show excellent crystalline, electrical, and optical properties. In particular, the Hall mobility of 1920 cm2 V−1 s−1 at 120 K is the highest value that has ever been reported by HVPE.
Allegations of misuse of African DNA in the UK: Will data protection legislation in South Africa be sufficient to prevent a recurrence?

Concerns have been raised around the alleged commercialisation of South African genetic material by various research institutes nationally and abroad. We consider whether the Protection of Personal Information Act in South Africa will conflict with or complement existing protections in health law and research ethics. The Act is not applicable to de-identified samples that cannot be re-identified but we question whether genetic samples can ever be truly de-identified. The research participants in this matter provided consent for use of their samples for research but did not consent to commercialisation by global research institutions, and neither did the researchers. We suggest that consent models incorporating broad consent as an option should include explicit discussions around benefit-sharing and commercialisation. Mistrust between researchers and participants impedes scientific research and can harm relationships built up over the years between South African researchers and local communities.
Crystal structure of copper(ii) citrate monohydrate solved from a mixture powder X-ray diffraction pattern

The crystal structure of copper(ii) citrate monohydrate (C6H4O7Cu2·H2O) has been solved from a mixture powder diffraction pattern. Approach to indexing, structure solution and Rietveld refinement of multiphase diffraction patterns is discussed. Rietveld refinement is carried out employing free-atom refinement and rigid body refinement.
Fighting Consumer Price Inflation in Africa. What Do Dynamics in Money, Credit, Efficiency and Size Tell Us?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of policy options in financial dynamics (of money, credit, efficiency and size) on consumer prices. Soaring food prices have marked the geopolitical landscape of African countries in the past decade. Design/Methodology/Approach – We limit our sample to a panel of African countries for which inflation is non-stationary. VAR models from both error correction and Granger causality perspectives are applied. Analyses of dynamic shocks and responses are also covered. Six batteries of robustness checks are applied to ensure consistency in the results. Findings – (1) There are significant long-run equilibriums between inflation and each financial dynamic. (2) When there is a disequilibrium, while only financial depth and financial size could be significantly used to exert deflationary pressures, inflation is significant in adjusting all financial dynamics. In other words, financial depth and financial size are more significant instruments in fighting inflation than financial efficiency and activity. (3) The financial intermediary dynamic of size appears to be more instrumental in exerting a deflationary tendency than financial intermediary depth. (4) The deflationary tendency from money supply is double that based on liquid liabilities. Practical Implications – Monetary policy aimed at fighting inflation only based on bank deposits may not be very effective until other informal and semi-formal financial sectors are taken into account. It could be inferred that, tight monetary policy targeting the ability of banks to grant credit (in relation to central bank credits) is more effective in tackling consumer price inflation than that, targeting the ability of banks to receive deposits. In the same vein, adjusting the lending rate could be more effective than adjusting the deposit rate. The insignificance of financial allocation efficiency and financial activity as policy tools in the battle against inflation could be explained by the (well documented) surplus liquidity issues experienced by the African banking sector. Social Implications – This paper helps in providing monetary policy options in the fight against soaring consumer prices. By keeping inflationary pressures on food prices in check, sustained campaigns involving strikes, demonstrations, marches, rallies and political crises that seriously disrupt economic performance could be mitigated.
IMPROVED HMAC PLANT BINDER AGING SIMULATION REPORT OF PRELIMINARY FINDINGS AND INTENDED PROJECT DIRECTION

Two procedures to simulate hot mix asphalt concrete (HMAC) plant aging are currently used. These are the rolling thin film oven test (RTFOT) and the thin film oven test (TFOT). When used for unmodified asphalts these methods are essentially identical in simulating asphalt short-term aging. However, when applied to modified binders, practitioners have encountered a number of problems with both RTFOT and TFOT procedures. Modified asphalts tend to form surface films that reduce oxygen diffusion and cause uneven aging. Many modified materials are too viscous to form good films in RTFOT bottles and are also difficult to remove after the test is completed. The objective of this research is to develop an improved test procedure and a new apparatus to address the shortcomings of the existing aging techniques. The procedure should meet the following requirements: non-prohibitive cost, similar testing time and aging effect to the RTFOT, capable of producing up to 200 g of aged material per test, no prolonged handling of hot equipment or materials, and simplified cleanup. Preliminary results show that an air blowing technique in an agitated vessel allows duplication of the RTFOT aging effect and therefore can serve as a procedure to simulate HMAC aging. Constant agitation of material by the mixer prevents film formation and enhances air diffusion through the bulk of the asphalt. The time required to achieve the same aging is the same or even shorter than specified by the RTFOT. In addition to these advantages, the ability to control sample temperature, to collect volatile compounds and to use a single, easy to clean reusable container, as well as potentially lower equipment costs and decreased handling of hot equipment should be noted.
Competence Set Expansion Decision-making Analysis Based on Important Degree Coefficient

The talented person competence is cultivated and expanded to the actual requisite competence set that has many competence subsets，then carrying on the arrangement of these many competences subset according to its important degree coefficient for providing powerful basis to get the optimal expansion process of expanding from the obtained competence set Sk(E) to the actual requisite competence set Tr(E)．This article uses the fuzzy thought to get various competences subset important degree coefficient in the actual requisite competence set Tr(E)． Key words: Expansion of competence set, Important degree coefficient, Decision analysis Resume: La competence douee de personne est cultivee et etendue a l’ensemble requis reel de competence qui comprend beaucoup de sous-ensembles. On procede ensuite a la gestion de ces sous-ensembles de competence selon leur coefficient de degre important pour fournir la base puissante, dans le but d’obtenir le processus d’expansion optimal de l’ensemble obtenu de competence Sk(E) a l’ensemble requis reel de competence Tr(E). Le present article utilise des pensees brouillees pour obtenir le coefficient de degre important de l’ensemble de competences variees dans l’ensemble requis reel de competence Tr(E). Mots-Cles: expansion de l’ensemble de competence, coefficient de degre important, analyse de decision
Women Leaders’ Transformational Leadership Characters: a Case Study at An Islamic University

The study aimed at revealing the tendency of transformational leadership characters performed or owned by women leaders at an Islamic University of Sunan Ampel Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia. The study used a qualitative approach within case study design. The data of the study were collected through observation and interview. The study showed that firstly, there were seven characters of transformational leadership consisting of being everlasting learners, being brave, being agents of change, having capacity to think of complexity, uncertainty, and ambiguity, being value performer, trusting other people, and performing visionary behavior. Secondly, there were also the supporting factors of the growth of those characters such as academic status or achievements, communication competence, social interaction capacity, negotiation ability, and analysis skill. In short, there was a tendency of being the value performer character which was supported by the social interaction capacity owned by the women leaders at the university. This was affected by the existence of the religious values developed by mostly women leaders in leading the Islamic university. Keywords—Transformational leadership, women leaders,