Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Local Communities’ Awareness on Payments for Ecosystem Services for Improved Livelihood and Conservation of Nyando Wetland, Kenya

Nyando wetland provides several ecosystem goods and services, i.e., provisioning, cultural, supporting and regulating which are essential for human well-being for making life possible and worth living. Payment for Ecosystem Services presents one key question in current literature on whether local communities are aware of ecosystem services provided by wetlands. This paper contributes to the understanding of the local community’s level of awareness of the ecosystem services provided by Nyando wetland in Kenya as a strategy to improve protection of wetlands. The study is significant as it proposes policy options that can assist conservation authorities and local communities in management of wetlands. A stratified random sampling based on two administrative sub-counties, namely Nyando and Nyakach was employed to collect quantitative data from 394 households using a structured questionnaire. The quantitative data was subjected to descriptive statistics and Chi-square test which were performed in SPSS version 20. The results confirmed that the local community is more conversant with the provisioning ecosystem services (37.7%) compared to the other classes of ecosystem services. Despite the locals being involved in community based natural resource conservation initiatives, majority of the respondents (69%) were not familiar with the concept of Payment for Ecosystem Services. Therefore, there is need to create awareness and capacity building to local communities on the importance of both the wetland ecosystem services and Payment for Ecosystem Services in conservation of wetlands for enhanced community livelihoods. Keywords: Payment for ecosystem services; wetland; conservation; community; livelihood; awareness
Life-history traits and the first demographic data of Iranian population of the West Asian Lemon-Yellow Tree Frog, Hyla savignyi (Audouin, 1827)

The life-history of an organism consists of its lifetime pattern of growth, development, storage, age, and reproduction. In this study, some life-history traits of Hyla savignyi were studied in populations from different parts of Iran. The microscopic and macroscopic analysis showed that testicular activity in H. savignyi is potentially continuous, reaching its peak level in April. Metamorphosis was completed in approximately 102 days after egg deposition, and body size at metamorphosis was 10 mm. Significant sexual size dimorphism was present in all populations, and a larger female asymptotic body size was observed (43.07 mm for females vs 41.16 mm for males). The adult survival rate (S) and life expectancy (ESP) were the same for both sexes (S = 0.73 and ESP = 4.2 years). Age and body size were positively correlated with each other for both females and males. Maximum longevity was recorded to be six years in both females and males, and ages of sexual maturity were estimated to be two or three years in breeding individuals. The adult sample age ranged from two to six years (mean age of females: 4.40±0.68 years; males: 3.63±0.13 years). Our data confirm the general patterns of body size variation and mean age in anurans and show that females are larger than males and live longer.
Embedding grammar to N-gram Language Model Based on Weighted Finite-State Transducer

Building a language model usually requires massive training corpus, which labor-consuming and time-costing. And it is impractical to construct a language model that covers all the spoken language, especially for some special domains. In this paper, we combine the class-based and word-based language model based on weighted ﬁnite-state transducer using our grammar embedding method, and the combination is controlled by a merge weight. The class we used in our work is a type of named entity, such as address name, person name etc. We test our method on a domain-speciﬁc test set and our approach can dramatically improve the recognition rate of the low-frequency or unseen words. In addition, we explore the relation between the optimal merge weight and the experiment settings.
The Role of Interleukin in Ectopic Pregnancy: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND: Ectopic pregnancy (EP) is the implantation of an embryo outside the eutopic cavity with the most location of EP is in the fallopian tube (FT), known as tubal EP (TEP). The FT of TEP expresses higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-6, and IL-8. AIM: The study aimed to look systematically into the current literature and carefully analyze the results to explore the role of IL in EP. METHODS: Three independent reviewers conducted the literature search through some electronic databases searching for articles fulfilling inclusion and exclusion criteria. The lead author independently assessed the risk of bias of each of the 313 articles identified in database searching, 12 articles met the criteria for this review. CONCLUSION: IL-6 and IL-8 have diagnostic significance in predicting EP with the cutoff levels of IL-6 and IL-8 which were 26.48 and 40 pg/mL. Further, research is needed for the role of other interleukins in EP.
Precise Structure of Acidic Polysaccharide Present in Salvia Hydrogels

Precise structures of acidic s-(1,4)-xylan in the hydrogels from three species of Salvia (S . miltiorrhiza (SM), S. sclarea (SS) and S. viridis (SV)) were characterized. SS and SV contained two different acidic residues (4- O -methylglucuronic acid (MeGlcA) and glucuronic acid (GlcA)) substituted at O -2 of s-(1,4)-linked xylopyranose residues, whereas MeGlcA is absent in SM. Molar ratios of xylose to uronic acid are 2.0 : 1.0 (SM), 1.7 : 1.0 (SS), 1.4 : 1.0 (SV). Distribution of acidic residues in the s-(1,4)-xylan chains was analyzed by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization (MALDI)/Time of Flight (TOF) mass spectroscopy after reduction and partial hydrolysis. The results showed that many series of ions appeared as sodium adducts [M+Na] + , indicating that uronic acid residues are randomly and mixed distributed in xylo-oligosaccharide chains in the SS and SV xylans. All species showed presence of oligosaccharides in ranges of m/z 833.3~2561.2 (SM), 657.2~1655.5 (SS) and 731.2~1421.5 (SV). Acidic residues in SS and SV are distributed in shorter xylo-oligosaccharides than those in SM, although complicated substituted profiles with MeGlcA and GlcA were similarly detected in SS and SV. Presence of long free xylan chains in the SM oligosaccharides supported lower number of substituent in its xylan backbone.
Stocking Density, Growth and Survival Rate of Post-Settled Juveniles of Holothuria scabra (Jaeger 1833) Reared in an Ocean-Based Floating Hapa

Ocean-based nursery system using floating hapa have proved to be the best option for raising early sandfish juveniles. However, the nursery system can be further improved by providing key information that will support their application. The present study provides information on the effect of stocking density on growth and survival of sandfish juveniles reared in floating hapa (1 x 0.5 x 1 m). Three densities were tested, 100, 200 and 400 early juveniles (5 mm; 0.093 g) per hapa net in a randomized set-up. Initial density of 100 and 200 showed significant higher growth rate and final size (0.082–0.074 g/day; 3.76–3.42 g) compared to 400 (0.045 ± 0.002 g/day; 2.11 ± 0.07 g). Moreover, at 100 and 200 densities, > 95% of all juveniles attained release size (2 g) and only 74% for 400 density after 45 days of rearing. Sandfish juveniles showed negative allometric growth and their survival did not display any pattern (100 = 91%; 200 = 35%; 400 = 51.3%). The coefficient of variation for weight of juveniles showed strong positive relationship with initial density (R2 = 0.99, p = 0.039) with CV values of (100 = 48.6%; 200 = 49.8%; 400 = 50.1%). It is therefore concluded that, 100 stocking density should be opted for optimum results, however, 200 can also be considered provided that, the survival is improved. Keywords: Sea cucumber; Ocean-based Nursery; Stocking density; Survival rate; Growth rate
Computational Screening of Phytochemicals against Munc13-1, a Promising target to treat Alcoholism

In silico analysis and characterization has revolutionized target and drug discovery significantly. Alcohol abuse is a big threat to society, economy and wellbeing of people. It has increased the overall disease and injury burden, globally. Recently, a study revealed a brain protein, Munc13-1 C1 domain to play a significant role in development of alcohol tolerance, by binding to alcohol molecules, eventually leading to Alcohol Use Disorder. The aim of this study was to discover a phytochemical that would attach to our target protein, Munc13-1 C1 domain so that it cannot bind with the alcohol molecules. Munc13-1 3D structure obtained from PDB was docked against a library of compounds by MOE software. Ten phytochemicals based on their binding affinity with the target protein were shortlisted i.e. Tannic Acid, Anemone blue anthocyanin 1, Oolonghomobisflavan B, Diosmin, Oolonghomobisflavan A, Neodiosmin, Blepharocalyxin B, 8-Hydroxyhesperetin, Eupatorin and Monotesone A. However, only 8-Hydroxyhesperetin, Eupatorin and Monotesone A followed Lipinski rules. They were non-toxic and non-carcinogenic according to SwissADME. Moreover, have a good drug-like model score as analysed by Molsoft. Further, in-vivo and invitro examinations are required to inspect their role in reducing alcohol tolerance.
Pulmonary function parameters among marble industry workers in Lahore, Pakistan

Background: Occupational contact with dust particles is a well-known phenomenon, particularly in developing countries of the world. Crystalline silica present in marble dust is the main etiology of a rising prevalence of obstructive lung diseases in marble stone workers, who are in direct contact with marble dust in the surrounding environment during their regular work. The purpose of this study was to compare the pulmonary function parameters of workers in marble workshops and age matched healthy individuals in the Lahore District of Pakistan. Methods: The study included 164 male individuals, 82 individuals working in marble workshops and 82 healthy individuals from the same community. Data were collected through in-person interviews using a structured questionnaire after obtaining written consent. A Spiro Lab spirometry for pulmonary function tests was used to identify any change in the lung function parameters. FVC% (forced vital capacity), FEV 1 (forced expiratory volume in first second) and FEV1 / FVC ratio were evaluated. Results: Mean age in the exposed group (marble workers) and non-exposed group (healthy individuals) were 29.92 ± 6.19 and 30.58 ± 6.37 years, respectively. The mean years of work experience of the exposed group was 11.92 ± 5.67 years. A statistically insignificant difference was observed between marble exposed workers & healthy individuals from the demographic variables. Lung function parameters in marble workers exhibited a highly significant (P < 0.001) decrease in FVC%, FEV 1 & FEV 1 / FVC ratio when compared to healthy individuals. Seventy-one percent of marble workers had abnormal pulmonary parameters whereas 34% of workers had restrictive pulmonary impairment. Marble workers who had worked for more than 15 years had a highly significant risk of developing abnormal pulmonary function (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Continuous exposure to marble dust deteriorates the lung function of marble workers.
Advances in the Theory of Planar Curve Cognates

Cognate linkages provide the useful property in mechanism design of having the same motion. This paper describes an approach for determining all coupler curve cognates for planar linkages with rotational joints. Although a prior compilation of six-bar cognates due to Dijksman purported to be a complete list, that analysis assumed, without proof, that cognates only arise by permuting link rotations. Our approach eliminates that assumption using arguments concerning the singular foci of the coupler curve to constrain a cognate search and then completing the analysis by solving a precision point problem. This analysis confirms that Dijksman's list for six-bars is comprehensive. As we further demonstrate on an eight-bar and a ten-bar example, the method greatly constrains the set of permutations of link rotations that can possibly lead to cognates, thereby facilitating the discovery of all cognates that arise in that manner. However, for these higher order linkages, the further step of using a precision point test to eliminate the possibility of any other cognates is still beyond our computational capabilities.
Exploration of Materials and Devices for Beyond CMOS Technology for Computing

An analysis of research in quantum materials for beyond CMOS devices (nanoelectronic and/or nanomag-netic) is presented. Some device proposals and demonstrations are reviewed and trends in this field are identified. Considerations guiding development of competitive computing technologies are described. Results of beyond-CMOS circuit benchmarking are reviewed
The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy from Diplazium esculentum and Rivina humilis analysis to reveals the existence of necessary components in oil palm plantations of Ganoderma boninense control

Abstract. Saragih WS, Purba E, Lisnawita, Basyuni M. 2021. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy from Diplazium esculentum and Rivina humilis analysis reveals necessary components in oil palm plantations of Ganoderma boninense control. Biodiversitas 22: 3645-3651. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) has been widely utilized for biological samples and biomolecular characterization. We aim to identify Ganoderma boninense through FTIR and obtain a functional group that can facilitate early basal stem rot detection. Here, positive control (KP) was not inoculated with G. boninense and negative control (KN) was inoculated with G. boninense. However, the treatment samples, Diplazium esculentum leaf extract, Rivina humilis leaf extract, and fungicide treatment, were not inoculated with G. boninense. The positive control oil-palm leaf samples exhibited spectral bands similar to those in the D. esculentum extract, R. humilis extract, and fungicide treatment. Strong bonds were observed at wavelengths 3379 cm-1, 2927 cm-1, 1639 cm-1, and 1056 cm-1. Others were moderate to weak, except the negative control samples with strong bonds at 2044 cm-1. This indicates amine N-H functional groups, alkane functional group C-H, functional group alkene C=C, C-O, functional group ester, and functional group isothiocyanate N=C=S (C4H5NS or CH2 = CHCH2N=C=S). The FTIR plot result denotes G. boninense through N=C=S Isothiocyanate functional group presence at 2140-1990 cm-1. This unique structure is only found in infected oil-palm leaf tissues of G. boninense. Our study suggests that FTIR spectroscopy is more beneficial than conventional methods in early detection of G. boninense infection in oil palm.
Local Porters in Nepal: Acute Mountain Sickness and Load Weight of Cargo Carrying

Local porters who haul burdens for trekkers are understudied and underappreciated for the labour they do in Nepal. Their susceptibility to Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) along with the weight of the loads they haul and carry in return for meagres payment, contribute to the difficulties of their very austere and under-resourced employment. They are frequently underpaid for their efforts. Acknowledgement by government organizations and trekking business owners could make their employment more viable by giving them a higher wage in spite of their occupation struggles. Data was gathered from 31 porters completing instruction at a Nepali Porters’ training establishment, based in Kathmandu, Nepal. The research used semi-structured in-depth interviews. Participants participated in a 45-60-minute interview, which was recorded at the field site. All the interviews were documented and then transcribed into English by a bilingual Nepali PhD student. The data was coded using a hierarchical, thematic coding structure approach. Findings showed that porters knew about and had experienced AMS, and that their work of carrying heavy cargoes for trekkers and trekking companies were often not compliant with prescribed kilogram load limits.
Electoral Uncertainty and Corporate Investment: Evidence from European Countries

The aim of the paper is to identify whether electoral uncertainty affects corporate investment, which may cause cyclical fluctuations in European countries. More specifically, the paper focuses on the development of a net fixed-asset investment from 2006 to 2015. Electoral uncertainty is associated with the parliamentary election term since this is the most common election type. The paper is focused on 268,000 firms within the secondary sector (NACE Rev. 2 Sections C – F; Amadeus database). The results suggest that electoral uncertainty may have a negative impact on investment in the secondary sector. Comparing individual industries shows that the negative impact may occur in the construction industry, whereas the effect is statistically inconclusive in the case of manufacturing. Considering the size of the enterprises, electoral uncertainty has a greater impact on SMEs, generally in the secondary sector and, more specifically, in construction. Extending the topic of the economic consequences of the political cycle, including the impact of electoral uncertainty on corporate investment across sectors and business sizes, can be considered as the main contribution of the article.
xDeepInt: a hybrid architecture for modeling the vector-wise and bit-wise feature interactions

Learning feature interactions is the key to success for the large-scale CTR prediction and recommendation. In practice, handcrafted feature engineering usually requires exhaustive searching. In order to reduce the high cost of human efforts in feature engineering, researchers propose several deep neural networks (DNN)-based approaches to learn the feature interactions in an end-to-end fashion. However, existing methods either do not learn both vector-wise interactions and bit-wise interactions simultaneously, or fail to combine them in a controllable manner. In this paper, we propose a new model, xDeepInt, based on a novel network architecture called polynomial interaction network (PIN) which learns higher-order vector-wise interactions recursively. By integrating subspace-crossing mechanism, we enable xDeepInt to balance the mixture of vector-wise and bit-wise feature interactions at a bounded order. Based on the network architecture, we customize a combined optimization strategy to conduct feature selection and interaction selection. We implement the proposed model and evaluate the model performance on three real-world datasets. Our experiment results demonstrate the efficacy and effectiveness of xDeepInt over state-of-the-art models. We open-source the TensorFlow implementation of xDeepInt: https://github.com/yanyachen/xDeepInt.
A Nomogram for Predicting Severe Exacerbations in Stable COPD Patients

Objective: To develop a practicable nomogram aimed at predicting the risk of severe exacerbations in COPD patients at three and ﬁ ve years. Methods: COPD patients with prospective follow-up data were extracted from Subpopulations and Intermediate Outcome Measures in COPD Study (SPIROMICS) obtained from National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Biologic Specimen and Data Repository Information Coordinating Center. We comprehensively considered the demographic characteristics, clinical data and in ﬂ ammation marker of disease severity. Cox proportional hazard regression was performed to identify the best combination of predictors on the basis of the smallest Akaike Information Criterion. A nomogram was developed and evaluated on discrimination, calibration, and clinical ef ﬁ cacy by the concordance index (C-index), calibration plot and decision curve analysis, respectively. Internal validation of the nomogram was assessed by the calibration plot with 1000 bootstrapped resamples. Results: Among 1711 COPD patients, 523 (30.6%) suffered from at least one severe exacerbation during follow-up. After stepwise regression analysis, six variables were determined including BMI, severe exacerbations in the prior year, comorbidity index, post-bronchodilator FEV 1 % predicted, and white blood cells. Nomogram to estimate patients ’ likelihood of severe exacerbations at three and ﬁ ve years was established. The C-index of the nomogram was 0.74 (95%CI: 0.71 – 0.76), outperforming ADO, BODE and DOSE risk score. Besides, the calibration plot of three and ﬁ ve years showed great agreement between nomogram predicted possibility and actual risk. Decision curve analysis indicated that implementation of the nomogram in clinical practice would be bene ﬁ cial and better than aforementioned risk scores. Conclusion: Our new nomogram was a useful tool to assess the probability of severe exacerbations at three and ﬁ ve years for COPD patients and could facilitate clinicians in stratifying patients and providing optimal therapies.
Analysis of Cargo Airline Services Quality in Cargo Delivery In Nigeria

This study analysed cargo airline services and cargo delivery in Nigeria. The focus was on identifying the disparity between expected and perceived airline service quality on cargo delivery. This study was carried out in Lagos State, Nigeria. Random sampling technique was used to select 239 freight forwarders agents that operate in the Cargo Terminal of Muritatal Muhammed International Airport, Lagos State. SERVQUAL model and t-test were used to analyse the disparity between expectations and perceptions of airline service quality. SERVQUAL model average gap score is -0.126 which implies that customers are not satisfied with cargo airline service quality. Moreover, the findings revealed that there is a negative disparity between customer expectations and perceptions of airline service quality on air cargo delivery with Reliability having the lowest negative t-value of (-34.409), followed by Tangibles with a t-value of (-23.300), Responsiveness has a t-value of (-12.910), Assurance followed with t-value of (-13.572) while Empathy has a t-value of (-10.165). Conclusion is drawn that cargo airline customers' expectations about their service quality are more than they really perceived. Recommendation was made that cargo airline should make an assessment of service quality dimensions (Tangibles, Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance and Empathy) and provide a means to improve upon them.
Structural, Morphological, and Magnetic Properties of Nickel Substituted Cobalt Zinc Nanoferrites at Different Sintering Temperature

Co-precipitation was used for the preparation of Co0.5-xNixZn0.5Fe2O4 (x = 0 to 0.3) nanoferrites. The inverse spinel structure of the samples was clearly shown by the structural analysis of X-ray Diffractometer (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy. We have studied the effect of sintering temperature (500oC) on the lattice constant and particle size using XRD. The average lattice parameters for the non-sintered and sintered samples were 8.377 Å and 8.354 Å respectively. For the non-sintered sample, the nickel concentration decreases the lattice parameter from 8.354 Å to 8.310 Å due to its smaller ionic radii than that of cobalt. While for a sintered sample at 500oC, the lattice parameter increases for concentration x=0.3 due to the thermal effect. The particle size calculated by Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) agrees well with that of XRD. The morphological and compositional analysis was done with the help of Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and the attached Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) Analyzer. The increasing percentage of nickel with decreasing percentage of cobalt shows that the cobalt is substituted by Nickel. The magnetic properties were studied by Vibrational Spectrometer (VSM). The value of saturation magnetization is higher for x=0.1 but lower for x=0.2 and 0.3 due to their particle size. The hysteresis loop of the samples their superparamagnetic behavior at room temperature.