Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spatio-temporal study of microbiology in the stratified oxic-hypoxic-euxinic, freshwater-to-hypersaline Ursu Lake.

Ursu Lake is located in the Middle Miocene salt deposit of Central Romania. It is stratified, and the water column has three distinct water masses: an upper, freshwater-to-moderately saline stratum (0-3 m), an intermediate stratum exhibiting a steep halocline (3-3.5 m), and a lower, hypersaline stratum (4 m and below) that is euxinic (i.e. anoxic and sulphidic). Recent studies have characterised the lake's microbial taxonomy, and given rise to intriguing ecological questions. Here, we explore whether the communities are dynamic or stable in relation to taxonomic composition, geochemistry and biophysics, and ecophysiological functions during the annual cycle. We found: (i) seasonally fluctuating, light-dependent communities in the upper layer (≥0.987-0.990 water-activity), a stable but phylogenetically diverse population of heterotrophs in the hypersaline stratum (water activities down to 0.762), and a persistent plate of green sulphur bacteria that connects these two (0.958-0.956 water activity) at 3-3.5 m; (ii) communities which might be be involved in carbon- and sulphur cycling between and within the lake's three main water masses; (iii) uncultured lineages including Acetothermia (OP1), Candidate Phyla Radiation, Cloacimonetes (WWE1), Marinimicrobia (SAR406), Omnitrophicaeota (OP3), Parcubacteria (OD1), and SR1, in the hypersaline stratum (likely involved in the anaerobic steps of carbon- and sulphur cycling); and (iv) that species richness and habitat stability are associated with high redox-potentials. Ursu Lake has a unique and complex ecology, exhibiting both dynamic fluctuations and stability, and can be used as a comparator system for other stratified hypersaline systems and a modern analogue for ancient euxinic water bodies. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Bike sharing systems: a new incentive rebalancing method based on spatial outliers detection

Since its launch, Velib' (the Bike Sharing System – BSS – in Paris) has emerged in the Parisian landscape and has been a model for similar systems in many cities. A major problem with BSS is the stations' heterogeneity caused by the attractivity of some stations located in particular areas. In this paper, we focus on spatial outliers defined as stations having a behaviour significantly different from their neighbouring stations. First, we propose an improved version of Moran scatterplot to exploit the similarity between neighbours, and we test it on a real dataset issued from Velib' system to identify outliers. Then, we design a new method that globally improves the resources' availability in bike stations by adapting the users' trips to the resources' availability. Results show that with a partial collaboration of the users or a limitation to the rush hours, the proposed method enhances significantly the resources' availability in Velib' system.
A Bathymetry Mapping Approach Combining Log-Ratio and Semianalytical Models Using Four-Band Multispectral Imagery Without Ground Data

Four-band multispectral remote sensing imagery is widely used for a variety of purposes and has a long historical data record. However, most of the existing bathymetry inversion methods are either unable to determine the optimal solution through theoretical or semianalytical models due to the limited number of bands, or their application is limited by the difficulty in obtaining in situ data. In this article, a log-ratio model and a semianalytical model are combined to develop a new shallow water depth inversion method (L-S model) using four-band multispectral remote sensing images without the need for supporting truth data. A case study was conducted for Ganquan Island in the South China Sea, using four-band multispectral imagery from the GeoEye-1, WorldView-2 (four bands selected), Sentinel-2 (four bands selected), and Gaofen-1 satellites; a sound range of 30 m was achieved. When compared to LiDAR-measured water depth data, GeoEye-1, WorldView-2, Sentinel-2, and Gaofen-1 data have root-mean-square errors (RMSEs) of 1.33–1.97 m. In addition, compared with the results of the log-ratio model trained using 200 LiDAR-based depth readings, the L-S model results obtained for the four satellite types are similar in the RMSE. These results show that the L-S model can achieve results that are close to those of the log-ratio model without the need for external inputs. This provides a feasible new method for bathymetry inversion in areas without truth data using only four-band imagery.
Effect of local and systemic inflammation on gingival mesenchymal stem cells

Background. The present study was undertaken to determine the effect of local and systemic inflammation on the quantity and localization of gingival mesenchymal stem cells (gMSCs). Methods. Gingival samples were collected from 34 systemically healthy (group 1) and 10 consenting adult patients with type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM) (group 2), who had reported for various dental treatments, requiring excision of gingival tissues as part thereof. The tissue samples were further stratified into three categories: healthy gingiva, gingivitis-affected and periodontitis-affected. Samples mounted on slides were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&amp;E) while CD105 antibody was used for immunohistochemistry staining. Immuno-positive cells were identified as gMSCs. Three gMSCpopulated areas in each sample were selected to determine the density of gMSCs. Results. The density of gMSCs was significantly higher (P<0.05) in sections of gingival tissues affected by gingivitis and periodontitis compared to those of normal gingiva. However, there were no significant differences in the densities of gMSCs in tissues of patients with T2DM and those of healthy subjects. Conclusion. Local inflammatory status appeared to increase the density of gMSCs. In the presence of periodontitis, an added low-grade systemic inflammation (T2DM) did not appear to affect the density of gMSCs.
Resilient Distributed Constraint Optimization in Physical Multi-Agent Systems

We model the notion of k -resilient distribution of computation graphs supporting agent decisions, over dynamic physical multi-agent systems (e.g. IoT systems). We devise a self-organizing repair method, namely DRPM[DMCM], based on distributed optimization to repair the distribution as to ensure the system still performs collective decisions and remains resilient to upcoming changes. Resilience is based on the concept of replicas of computations so that those hosted by disappearing agents can activate on other agents. We focus on a particular type of reasoning process to repair: distributed constraint optimization (DCOP), where computations are decision variables and constraints distributed over a set of agents. We provide a full stack of mechanisms to install resilience in operating stateless DCOP algorithms, which results in an robust approach using MGM-2 to repair any stateless DCOP algorithm at runtime. We experimentally evaluate the performances of our methods on different topologies (uniform or problem-dependent) operating DCOP algorithms (A-MaxSum and A-DSA) to solve classical benchmarks (random graph, graph coloring) while agents are disappearing.
Impacto de intervenções na qualidade dos serviços de uma biblioteca universitária

Os servicos prestados por uma biblioteca precisam ser geridos ao longo do tempo considerando a multidimensionalidade da qualidade em servicos. Este estudo longitudinal investiga o impacto das intervencoes realizadas entre 2013 e 2017 em uma biblioteca universitaria sobre as dimensoes da qualidade em servicos. A metodologia do estudo compreende a aplicacao do instrumento SERVQUAL em uma biblioteca universitaria publica em 2013 (T1), n=355 usuarios, e 2017 (T2), n=184 usuarios, sendo que em 2017 foi conduzido um estudo de caso para o levantamento das intervencoes realizadas e que foram classificadas em quatro categorias: Infraestrutura, Equipamentos, Processos/Sistemas e Pessoas. Como resultados, tem-se que as lacunas de todas as dimensoes da qualidade em servicos foram negativas para os dois periodos avaliados. Conclui-se que as intervencoes impactaram reduzindo as lacunas negativas das dimensoes da qualidade dos servicos da biblioteca em estudo.
Multifunctional Effect of p‐Doping, Antireflection, and Encapsulation by Polymeric Acid for High Efficiency and Stable Carbon Nanotube‐Based Silicon Solar Cells

Silicon solar cells among different types of solar energy harvesters have entered the commercial market owing to their high power conversion efficiency and stability. By replacing the electrode and the p‐type layer by a single layer of carbon nanotubes, the device can be further simplified. This greatly augments the attractiveness of silicon solar cells in the light of raw material shortages and the solar payback period, as well as lowering the fabrication costs. However, carbon nanotube‐based silicon solar cells still lack device efficiency and stability. These can be improved by chemical doping, antireflection coating, and encapsulation. In this work, the multifunctional effects of p‐doping, antireflection, and encapsulation are observed simultaneously, by applying a polymeric acid. This method increases the power conversion efficiency of single‐walled carbon nanotube‐based silicon solar cells from 9.5% to 14.4% and leads to unprecedented device stability of more than 120 d under severe conditions. In addition, the polymeric acid‐applied carbon nanotube‐based silicon solar cells show excellent chemical and mechanical robustness. The obtained stable efficiency stands the highest among the reported carbon nanotube‐based silicon solar cells.
Sequencing and analysis of the complete mitochondrial genome of Habrobracon hebetor (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

Abstract We determined the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Habrobracon hebetor (Say). The complete mitogenome sequence of H. hebetor was observed to be a circular molecule 15,708 bp long and consists of 13 protein-coding genes (PCG), 2 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, and 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes (GenBank accession no. MN842279). This nucleotide composition is biased toward adenine and thymine (85.2% A + T). The A + T-rich region is found between trnM and trnQ, and this entire region was 864 bp long.
Regionalization of health surveillance: a performance evaluation proposal in a health region in Brazil

Objectives: To evaluate the performance of the regionalization of the Vigilância em Saúde (VS) (Health Surveillance) in a region in Sao Paulo State. Methods: a quantitative cross-sectional study was carried out at the V Diretoria Regional de Saúde da Secretaria de Saúde do Estado de São Paulo (V Board of the Regional Health Secretary of São Paulo State Health Department). A structured questionnaire was developed from the three dimensions of the research (Policy, Structure and Organization). The escore médio (EM) (average score) was used as the central tendency and for each dimension and attributes, the synthetic indices were constructed. Three cutoff points for assessing the performance were assigned: values equal to or below 4.99 were considered unsatisfactory; between 5.00 and 6.99, intermediaries; and equal to or above 7.00, satisfactory. Results: The performance of the regionalization of the VS was considered satisfactory, with emphasis on the 'Policy' (EM 8.51) and 'Organization' (EM 8.18) dimensions. The ‘Structure’ obtained intermediate performance (EM 6.78). The proposed methodology demonstrated to be appropriate to evaluate the performance of the regionalization of VS, because its strengths and weaknesses were allowed to be identified. Conclusions: despite of the regionalization is an ongoing process, it is necessary for the establishment of a political project that will take up effectively as a strategy for the reorganization of the healthcare in Brazil.
Service quality in education at Addis Ababa University: the case of the faculty of business and economics extension program

Despite the fact that tertiary level education has been immensely operational, maintaining quality education has become a challenge in Ethiopia. This paper is trying to find out the problem related to service quality in education at Faculty of Business and Economics of Addis Ababa University (Accounting, Economics, Management, Public Administration and Informatics), specific to the extension program. The servqual model is used as an instrument methodology to measure the service quality vis-a-vis Tangibles, Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance, and Empathy. Primary data pertaining to the research was collected from randomly selected students’ drawn from the five departments’ under Faculty of Business and Economics. The findings of the study show that except for responsiveness, all the remaining parameters exhibited positive responses from the students. The responsiveness of the Faculty of Business and Economics for evening students is low. But, the students’ replied that the faculty is reliable, shows good empathy, good service assurance and tangible. However, some of these items in construct show negative responses. The faculty has to use its resources to improve the problems identified in certain items in the constructs of this research. The study is limited to measure the service quality of the Faculty of Business and Economics extension program. The finding of the study however, may not represent the entire performance of the University. The recommendations and suggestions of this research would serve as a foundation to reinforce the relevance and crucial role that the service quality plays towards the performance of the University. Keywords: Responsiveness, Reliability, Empathy, Assurance and Tangibles
Dispersion of an SH-Guided Wave in Weld Seam Based on Peridynamics Theory

The dispersion characteristics of shear horizontal- (SH-) guided waves in a weld seam are critical to identifying defects. By considering the force on the virtual boundary layer near the weld surface, a dispersion equation for the SH-guided wave in the weld seam was established here based on the peridynamics method. The wave dispersion equation is similar to the traditional theory. The SH wave in the infinite peridynamics medium has dispersion characteristics, and the group velocity of the SH-guided wave in the weld seam is slightly slower than that in the conventional theory. In the welded structure, the group velocity of the SH-guided wave is unevenly distributed in different regions due to the differences in material parameters between the weld seam and the steel plate and residual weld height on the weld seam. The distance from the different sensors to the defect can be precisely calculated via the group velocity distribution; thus, the defect can be accurately located. By compared with the finite element method and experiments under the same conditions, the reliability of the peridynamics method is verified. We used the group velocity of the SH-guided wave in the weld seam and peridynamics theory to better reflect the experimental conditions versus finite element simulations.
Development and characterization of controlled released polyphenol rich micro‐encapsulate of
 Murraya koenigii
 bark extract

Electrostatic extrusion‐based microencapsulation technique is recognized for improving delivery, stability, and bioavailability of polyphenols. In the present study, extracts of Murraya koenigii (L.) Spreng. , bark, fruit pulp, fruit seed, and leaves were analyzed for polyphenolic content. Bark extract exhibited maximum phenolics (98.96 ± 0.95 µg GAE/mg), flavonoids (24.05 ± 1.52 µg RU/mg), and antioxidant activity, and thereby, utilized for microencapsulation. Chitosan and calcium chloride (Ca⁺) concentrations and microencapsulator parameters; frequency, electrode potential, and nozzle size were also optimized. Maximum sphericity and structural stability were observed in three alginate‐chitosan systems S₁; 5% of alginate, 10% of CaCl₂, 1.25% of chitosan, 2.5% of ascorbic acid S₂; 5% of alginate, 10% of CaCl₂, 0.5% of chitosan, 2.0% of ascorbic acid, and S₃; 5% of alginate, 5% of CaCl₂, 0.5% of chitosan, 2.0% of ascorbic acid. Study revealed the maximum encapsulation efficiency (88.92%) and controlled release in S₁ system beads and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed lesser irregularity in shape after lyophilization. Ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) analysis revealed the stable delivery of myricetin (1.75 µg/mg) and cinnamic acid (2.07 µg/mg) in simulated intestinal phase during in vitro conditions. While, particle size distribution and rheological properties also supported the higher polyphenolic encapsulation in S₁ system beads. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: In the current scenario, food and health industries are widely utilizing the dietary polyphenols for delaying the cellular oxidation and preventing diseases. However, molecular stability of polyphenols is affected by various factors, like pH, temperature, light, moisture, and some processing techniques. Encapsulation can therefore, act as a delivering agent for controlled release of these polyphenols. Hence, in the present study, a stable sodium alginate‐chitosan gel beads were prepared by optimizing various extrusion parameter. In vitro gastrointestinal studies showed a good stability and controlled release of major polyphenols of Murraya koenigii bark extract. While, characterization using rheology, dynamic light scattering (DLS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of phenolic enriched beads also proved the relation between morphological dependency of phenolic binding and release. Current finding will help the food industries to enrich the dietary polyphenol extracts in gel‐based food products.
Volumetric Demand and Set Size Variation

Brand managers in packaged goods categories need to understand drivers of both primary and secondary demand (i.e., overall category and brand-specific demand) in order to improve product and pricing decisions. In the presence of variety seeking, primary demand may depend on the composition and size of an assortment (or choice set). Since choice-set size varies between stores, shopping trips and choice contexts, developing models that consider the effect of choice-set size on demand is important for categories with simultaneous demand for varieties (e.g., packaged goods). Larger choice sets not only increase the chance of finding an attractive product, but they also allow consumers to better satisfy their demand for variety. Therefore, we generally expect larger choice sets to result in (at least marginally) higher levels of primary demand. However, the relationship between assortment size and primary demand may heterogenous.Our proposed model builds on volumetric demand models and allows for flexible relationships between choice-set size and primary demand by introducing a location adjustment to the marginal utility of the outside good. The model yields better fit and predictions in the presence of choice-set size variation. Variation in choice set-size is particularly large when rand managers need to predict marketplace demand using choice experiments. While choice experiments involve choices from relatively small choice sets with 2-10 choice alternatives, marketplace offerings typically comprise 100 or more unique products or stock-keeping units. In our empirical application in the chocolate bar category, we find that our model significantly improves predictions of marketplace demand quantities. Our choice experiment comprised tasks with 8 and 18 choice alternatives, while the marketplace scenario consists of over 100 choice alternatives. While our model results in realistic market-level predictions, extant volumetric demand models overpredict demand by a factor of almost two.
Characterising and detection of botnet in P2P network for UDP protocol

Developments in computer networking have raised concerns of the associated Botnets threat to the Internet security. Botnet is an inter-connected computers or nodes that infected with malicious software and being controlled as a group without any permission of the computer’s owner. This paper explores how network traffic characterising can be used for identification of botnet at local networks. To analyse the characteristic, behaviour or pattern of the botnet in the network traffic, a proper network analysing tools is needed. Several network analysis tools available today are used for the analysis process of the network traffic. In the analysis phase, the botnet detection strategy based on the signature and DNS anomaly approach are selected to identify the behaviour and the characteristic of the botnet. In anomaly approach most of the behavioural and characteristic identification of the botnet is done by comparing between the normal and anomalous traffic. The main focus of the network analysis is studied on UDP protocol network traffic. Based on the analysis of the network traffic, the following anomalies are identified, anomalous DNS packet request, the NetBIOS attack, anomalous DNS MX query, DNS amplification attack and UDP flood attack. This study, identify significant Botnet characteristic in local network traffic for UDP network as additional approach for Botnet detection mechanism.
Characterization and Performance Improvement of Cooperative Wireless Networks With Nonlinear Power Amplifier at Relay

In this paper, the performance of the cooperative cognitive radio network with the amplify-and-forward protocol is studied when the relay uses a nonlinear power amplifier (NLPA). Furthermore, taking the pulse shaping filter for the data signal into account, the power of the adjacent channel interference (ACI) to the primary users (PUs) caused by the spectral regrowth of the relay output signal is analytically calculated. Moreover, two compensation techniques are proposed which are implemented at the destination receiver to deal with the in-band nonlinear interference. The first technique is based on the calculation of the distorted signal constellation to enhance the performance of the demodulator. The second technique is feedforward compensation at the receiver. The bit error rate (BER) expressions for both techniques are presented. The ACI resulting from the spectral regrowth due to the relay NLPA is investigated by the simulation and numerical studies, and then, the BER performance degradation at the destination node and the performance improvement resulting from the proposed compensation methods are evaluated. Since the ACI confines the transmit power due to the interference power constraint of the PU, the achievable BER of the secondary user (SU) is studied. The simulation results show that the feedforward compensation technique has better BER performance than the modified constellation based approach.