Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Repeatability but no short‐term plasticity in the web architecture of
 Latrodectus hesperus
 western black widow spiders (Araneae: Theridiidae)

A spider's web is an extended phenotype and a direct product of behavior. Variation in web architecture may be the result of individual differences in genotype, environment, or experience. We analyzed variation in the web architecture of western black widow spiders, Latrodectus hesperus , by testing two hypotheses: (a) intrinsic individual differences and (b) plasticity according to experience of the site of prey capture. We used treatments manipulating the site of prey capture experienced by the spiders: sheet only, gum-footed lines only, and alternating patterns between sheet and gum-footed lines equally. We found considerable consistent individual variation (repeatability of r = .56) in one web component (gum-footed lines) and negligible plasticity in either component. We discuss our results in terms of the potential for the design of these web components to respond to selection, and of potential additional causes of variation in extended phenotypes.
SAFETY ASSESSMENT OF EXTERNAL FLOODING PROTECTION FOR NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

International experience has shown that external hazards can be safety significant contributors to the overall risk in case of nuclear power plants` (NPP) operation due to their potential to reduce simultaneously the level of redundancy by damaging redundant systems or their supporting systems. Methods to systematically analyse existing nuclear facilities regarding the adequacy of their existing protection equipment against external hazards can be of deterministic as well as probabilistic nature. In the case of probabilistic analyses of external hazards, this assessment can be very comprehensively and inadequately. Therefore, it is necessary to locate parts of a NPP where no further analysis is required or to apply graded procedures which take into account plantand site-specific conditions for the respective hazard. An external hazard already addressed in the German Safety Criteria for NPP is external flooding. The German Incident Guidelines require a determination of a sufficient water level as design-basis and appropriate structural protection measures against this hazard in the design of the plants to avoid radiological consequences for the environment. The adequacy of the protection measures have been shown in the past only on a deterministic basis. Only recently, in October 2005, the German regulatory body issued probabilistic safety assessment guidance documents, which had been elaborated for a comprehensive integrated safety review of all NPP in operation. The guidelines imply, that probabilistic considerations regarding external flooding are required. This paper presents a newly developed graded approach for the probabilistic assessment of external flooding. The methods comprise deterministic and probabilistic elements and take into account site-specific topographical, meteorological and hydrological aspects as well as plant-specific permanent and temporary protection features including specified operational shut down instructions based on specified water level offsets below the design-basis water level. Main aspects of external flooding are explained such as the underlying probabilistic considerations and the mathematical procedures for the calculation of exceedance frequencies, which have recently been developed and issued in November 2004 as part of the German Nuclear Safety Standard KTA 2207 “Flood Protection for Nuclear Power Plants”. Exemplarily it has been investigated if extreme events such as tsunami waves could be a hazard for NPP at coastal sites in Germany. Here it could be shown that due to limited source mechanisms and the specific morphological conditions in the North Sea no dedicated measures for protection against tsunamis in the German Bight are necessary. The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers NII-Electronic Library Service Copyright © 2007 by JSME 1 15 International Conference on Nuclear Engineering Nagoya, Japan, April 22-26, 2007
Complexity Theory and the Financial Crisis: A Critical Review

We present a critical review of the impact of complexity theory on the analysis of financial markets, concentrating on the differences between Econophysics and Econobiology. Both approaches show that there are limitations in our current understanding of the banking system, which can lead to regulatory problems, and in turn may have contributed to the inability of most academics and economic agents (including the FED) in predicting the crisis.
Smart Access to a Smart Home

: Smart home security control system has become indispensable in daily life. Since physical presence may not be possible in all cases, remote access of the home environment proves to be vital. In this paper, a smart home lock system is proposed which allows access to known members of the family. In case of the unknown members, their image is forwarded to the admin who then may decide if the visitor must be allowed access to the house. This system makes use of facial recognition algorithm RANSAC implemented using OpenCV, an android application which the admin uses to access the lock remotely and an arduino based locking system that is controlled by the app. The android application is developed using GCM to enable push notifications and further simplify the control process.
The development of a mindfulness-based mobile application to learn emotional self-regulation

The growing interest for mindfulness practices and the development of mobile applications market have ran together during the last decade, resulting in a large number of mindfulness-based applications, emotional help assistants, mood trackers and self-care/self-help mobile applications that have spread on the app stores. If the validity of mindfulness practices has been proved repeatedly in the last decades, there is also an emerging literature about mental health mobile applications’ efficacy. Since smartphones are already everyday life common devices, taking advantage of these tools and implement their usage in clinical practice can be a challenging opportunity for mental health improvement among people. This paper starts with an overview of the state of the art of mental health mobile applications, highlighting some possible guidelines to follow during the design of a mental health app. In the second part of this paper, it is described the design and development process of a mindfulness-based app that could provide helpful features to develop emotional self-regulation, in particular for people who have just concluded a mindfulness-based program (MBSR). In this second part of the paper are so described the emotional regulation theory which the app is based on, an overview of the several indicators of physical and psychological health to which mindfulness practices are significantly related to, and finally the way these concepts and guidelines have shaped the design of this mindfulness-based application.
ANALYZING THE TEMPORAL DEVELOPMENT OF BRAND-RELATED SOCIAL MEDIA PHOTOS A case study from the confectionary industry

A multitude of photos is posted each day on social media. These photos do not only reflect people’s social lives but also their touchpoints with brands, representing a rich source of knowledge for market research. Since most of the early software tools focus on text, this wealth of information has long been neglected. Building on the new advancements in computer vision, this paper presents an automated approach for analyzing the temporal development of brand-related social media photos. The continuous analysis allows to detect consumer trends, to measure the influence of marketing campaigns and to examine the correlation with sales. Thus, marketers are in the position to identify opportunities and risks early on and to take appropriate actions. The approach is illustrated by a case study from the confectionary industry. Keywords— Social media; User-generated photos; Image sharing; Visual eWOM; Computer vision; DCNN
1. Characterization and Evaluation of Various Crude Preparations

Summary. Streptomyces rimosus culture filtrates after oxytetracycline production were shown to contain a number of hydrolytic enzymes in concentrations high enough to indicate their exploatation. Crude enzyme preparations were obtained using precipitation, salting out and spray-drying methods. The presence of acid, neutral, and alkaline protease and their elastolytic, esterolytic and collagenolytic activities were discerned. Substrate specificity, pH and temperature optimum, pH stability and molecular weight were studied. These proteases belonged to the group of serine and metalloenzymes. Carboxyl and thiol proteases were not present.
Gastrointestinal Mucormycosis in Patients With Hematologic Malignancy

AbstractMucormycosis is an emerging infection with a predilection for patients with impaired phagocytic immune function caused by either an underlying disease or its treatment. Although a rising incidence in hematology wards has generated increased interest, the current appreciation of gastrointestinal (GI) mucormycosis is limited. Mortality associated with GI infection remains high, due in part to poor disease recognition by clinicians and subsequent delays in diagnosis and the provision of appropriate antifungal therapy.Through a review of the English language literature, we were able to identify 22 cases of primary GI mucormycosis in patients with hematologic malignancies, in addition to a 23rd case which we report here. The most common presenting symptoms were nonspecific and included fever (70%), abdominal pain (65%), and abdominal distention or ileus (48%), with neutropenia documented in 74% of individuals at the time of symptom onset. Necrotizing enterocolitis was the most common manifestation of GI infection, seen in 78% of individuals, with the ileum and cecum the most frequently affected sites.To our knowledge, this review is the first to focus on the most common signs, symptoms, and image findings in patients with hematologic malignancy developing primary GI mucormycosis. Our findings call into question several widely accepted beliefs within the medical literature, namely that the stomach is the most common site of infection and necrotizing enterocolitis is an unusual presentation in adults.
Comparative performance of Anigen © FMD NSP Ab ELISA (Korea), NSP Priocheck® kit, liquid phase blocking ELISA kits and virus neutralisation tests in the detection of foot and mouth disease virus antibodies in animals sera from Kilifi county, Kenya

Background: Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious viral infection of hoof cloven animals. Performance of serological tests used for FMD is faced with challenges like low test sensitivity, low tests agreement levels, in concise test cut-offs, cost of the tests and numerous FMD serotypes which may lead to misdiagnosis. Objective: To determine the sensitivity of assays Anigen © FMD NSP Ab ELISA –Korea, NSP Priocheck® kits with Liquid Phase Blocking Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay compared with Virus neutralisation test ( the gold standard). Design: A cross-sectional study design. Setting: Kilifi County. Subjects: Four hundred and twenty one cattle. Results: The results showed that both Anigen © FMD NSP Ab ELISA (Korea), NSP Priocheck® Netherlands assays had low sensitivity but high specificity. Liquid Phase Blocking ELI SA had the highest sensitivity 100%. LPBE had a Positive Predictive Value (PPV) =100%, Anigen © FMD NSP Ab ELISA–Korea 94.44% and NSP Priocheck® Netherlands had the lowest 44.74% compared with the VNT 100%. The Cohen's kappa coefficient showed a perfect agreement level of 90%, 93%, 100 and 100% respectively. Conclusion: This study showed no significant difference in sensitivity and both structural and non-structural proteins tests should always be used concurrently.
VI. Identification of esterase D in the two-dimensional gel electrophoresis pattern of cellular proteins

Summary. C33k polypeptide, which is a cytosol polypeptide with molecular weight of 33 000 and approximate pI value of 7.5, has three common electrophoretic phenotypes and is an abundant polypeptide in peripheral blood lymphocytes, fibroblasts and red blood cells. Family and population studies indicate that the three phenotypes of C33k polypeptide are determined by two common alleles at a single autosomal locus. The gene frequencies of the two common alleles were 0.642 and 0.358, respectively, in a Japanese population. Since esterase D has a subunit size and gene frequencies similar to those of C33 k polypeptide, the phenotypes of C33k polypeptide and esterase D were compared in 18 families totaling 72 members. Perfect concordance of the phenotypes between C33k polypeptide and esterase D was observed in all 72 members. In addition, a gene dosage effect on the expression of the phenotype of C33k polypeptide was observed in the red blood cell lysate from a patient with partial 13q trisomy who was reported to have two doses ofEsD l and one dose of EsD 2. These data indicate that the polymorphic C33k polypeptide is esterase D, which is assigned to chromosome 13q14. This finding is useful for the detection of proteins coding for by chromosome 13q14linked genes in the studies on human gene mapping using somatic hybrid cell lines and two-D gel electrophoresis.
Effect of nutrition information on feeding first food enriched with orange fleshed sweet potatoes on vitamin A status in 6-12 months children in Morogoro region, Tanzania

EFFECT OF NUTRITION INFORMATION ON FEEDING FIRST FOOD ENRICHED WITH ORANGE FLESHED SWEET POTATOES ON VITAMIN A STATUS IN 6-12 MONTHS CHILDREN IN MOROGORO REGION, TANZANIA. By Glory Seraphim Mhalu Vitamin A deficiency is widespread and has severe consequences for young children in the developing world. Food-based approaches may be an appropriate and sustainable complement to supplementation programs. We assessed the effect of nutrition information on feeding first food enriched with orange fleshed sweet potatoes on vitamin A status of 6-12 months children in Morogoro region of Tanzania. This one month intervention did not improve vitamin A status of the subjects as measured by Retinol Binding Protein: Transthyretin ratio. All subjects were vitamin A deficient at baseline where two subjects had severe vitamin A deficiency. The subjects remained vitamin A deficient post intervention with more subjects having severe VAD than those at baseline (cut off value ≤0.7uM). We observed a significant reduction of RBP:TTR ratio concentration during the intervention (pvalue; 0.001). The subjects gained an average weight of 0.82 + 0.14kg and average growth of 2.07 + 0.27cm. There was no significant difference in total protein and C-reactive protein levels (p-value;0.4,0.37 respectively) between baseline and post intervention periods. However, we did observe a significant reduction in TTR levels (p-value; 0.02) at baseline and post intervention. Although this intervention study did not have a positive effect on vitamin A status of the children; it has shed some light on the fact that it is possible to enrich maize porridge which is the main first food for 6-12mo children in this country with orange fleshed sweet potatoes as other possible food based approach in combating VAD.
The Social Media and Technology Addiction and Its Associated Factors among University Students in Lebanon Using the Media and Technology Usage and Attitudes Scale (MTUAS)

The contemporary developments of Information and Communication Technologies usage have fueled a popular concern. The young people are experiencing technology addiction behavior due to excessive media and technology usage. A valid instrument is required to detect individuals at high risk of social media and technology addiction. Objective: The objectives of this study are to assess prevalence of the technology addiction using the Media and Technology Usage and Attitudes Scale (MTUAS) and to investigate the impacts of online social networking on health and academic performance of young university students in Lebanon. Methods: During the academic year 2017-2018, a cross-sectional study which enrolled 705 young university students was conducted. Data was collected using MTUAS questionnaire. The translation and cultural adaptation of the MTUAS followed a standardized protocol. The psychometric properties were then evaluated. We used multivariate regression analyses to determine which characteristics were associated with the technology addiction among students. Results: 705 filled out the questionnaire aged 17 to 35 years (mean = 20.42; SD = 2.41), 74% of whom were females. The internal consistency was high for all subscales and ranged from 0.54 - 0.87. The MTUAS yielded statistically significant scores for subgroups (known group validity). Males’ students had a higher risk of addiction to social media and technology than females. The use of media was viewed common among the smokers (OR = 1.76; 95% CI = 1.10 - 2.82, p = 0.02) and drinkers of alcohol (OR = 1.80; 95% CI = 1.04 - 3.11, p = 0.04). Students that used e-mailing, smartphone, and TV viewing had a high academic performance level. Females and public university students had negative attitudes toward technology. In conclusion: The technology becomes a big problem on the universities students’ users that has an impact on their life and affects their academic performance. The MTUAS Arabic version has been evaluated as a valid and reliable instrument.
Breastfeeding Among Iraqi Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis: An Observational Descriptive Cross Sectional Study

Objective: To assess prevalence of breastfeeding in a sample of Iraqi patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Patients and methods: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted on 150 female patients diagnosed with RA according to 2010 ACR /EULAR criteria. Age, weight, height, body mass index (BMI), breast feeding status, smoking history, and using of oral contraceptive pills were recorded. Result: Prevalence of patients with breast feeding history was 116 (77 %) and those not breastfed was 34(23%). There was no significant association between breast feeding and the activity of RA (p>0.05). However, we found a dose response relationship between an increasing duration of breast feeding and higher risk of having active RA (adjusted odds ratio [OR 2.0], 95% confidence interval 0.9 – 4.5). There was no significant association between breast feeding and other variable except for parity (p<0.005). Conclusion: Prevalence of breast fed women in RA was high (77%). There was positive association between duration of breast feeding and activity of RA patients and increase the odd of having active RA, but it was statistically not significant. There was positive significant association between parity and breast fed women.
ESD improvement in P-i-N diode through introducing a lighter and deeper anode junction

Continuous and aggressive miniaturization in the electronic gadget size poses a challenge in solving Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) reliability performance. For diode devices, the shrinkage of the size leads to severe electrical field crowding effect which can cause a total device failure under high ESD surge. Therefore, in this paper, we present a better ESD performance characteristic which can be achieved by optimizing the profile of the P+ anode junction of P-i-N diode. The characteristics profile can be altered by lowering the dopant concentration and increasing the depth of the P-i-N diode junction. In this work, comprehensive device simulations, followed by simulation result validation at the wafer level were performed. The ESD surge test was performed and results showed that the changes of the P+ anode junction profile on the P-i-N power switching diode can achieve the sustainability of 1 kV ESD surge in the Human Body Model (HBM) and more than 400 V ESD surge in the Machine Model (MM).
University of Groningen RRGbank: a Role and Reference Grammar Corpus of Syntactic Structures Extracted from the Penn Treebank Bladier,

This paper presents RRGbank, a corpus of syntactic trees from the Penn Treebank automatically converted to syntactic structures following Role and Reference Grammar (RRG). RRGbank is the first large linguistic resource in the RRG community and can be used in data-driven and data-oriented downstream linguistic applications. We show challenges encountered while converting PTB trees to RRG structures, introduce our annotation tool, and evaluate the automatic conversion process.
Contested Spaces, Political Practices, and Hindutva: Spatial Upheaval and Authoritarian Populism in Noida, India

Contemporary India is showing increasing signs of ‘competitive’ authoritarian populism (Levitsky and Way, 2010). The mainstream political discourse in the country is dominated by the sectarian religious forces of Hindu nationalism or Hindutva, serving as the agency of a development narrative that promises to return India to its ‘greatness of yore’. In this paper, we examine the case of Noida, an upcoming satellite township adjacent to the capital New Delhi, to describe a process of spatial upheaval that is leading to continuous practices of ‘othering’. These processes are enabling the Hindutva forces to take root locally. In effect, we argue that local space-making has an intrinsic relationship with authoritarian populism, and it therefore needs to be at the analytical forefront.
PAY AS A DeteRMInAte oF VoLUntARY tURnoVeR AMonG U.S. oFFSHoRe CoMMeRCIAL MARIneRS

Due to intense competition for employees with maritime expertise across multiple transportation-related industries, efforts to retain qualified seafarers in positions that require long-term travel at sea are a primary strategic concern for unions, shipping firms, and crewing service agencies. Pay represents the largest investment that these stakeholders make in their efforts at retention. Yet the relationship between pay and voluntary turnover is not well understood. Research in the maritime industry is sparse. Research across the management literature provides ambiguous or conflicting findings and their transferability to the maritime industry is questionable. In this paper, the authors attempt to better understand the relationship between pay and turnover in the maritime industry. The authors take a unique approach by surveying mariners who have actually left the industry. Findings of the study do not suggest a strong link between pay and turnover. Results indicate that other components like the employee’s benefits package, or factors relating to job satisfaction other than pay may play a larger role in offshore mariners’ decision to quit or stay.