Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Treatment of Bio-Treated Coking Wastewater by Catalytic Ozonation with Semi-Batch and Continuous Flow Reactors

In this work, the treatment of bio-treated coking wastewater (BCW) by catalytic ozonation was conducted in semi-batch and continuous flow reactors. The kinetics of chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal were analyzed using BCWs from five coking plants. An integral reactor with catalytic ozonation stacked by ozone absorption (IR) was developed, and its efficiency was studied. The catalyst of MnxCe1-xO2/γ-Al2O3 was efficient in the catalytic ozonation process for the treatment of various BCWs. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiencies after 120 min reaction were 64–74%. The overall apparent reaction rate constants were 0.0101–0.0117 min−1, which has no obvious relationship with the initial COD of BCW and pre-treatment biological process. The IR demonstrated the highest efficiency due to the enhancement of mass transfer and the utilization efficiency of ozone. Bypass internal circulation can further improve the reactor efficiency. The optimal results were obtained with the ozone absorption section accounting for 19% of the valid water depth in the reactor and 250% of circulation flow ratio. The long-term and full-scale application of the novel reactor in a continuous mode indicated stable removal of COD and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The results showed that the system of IR is a promising reactor type for tertiary treatment of coking wastewater by catalytic ozonation.
What Leads to a Confirmatory or Disconfirmatory Behavior of Software Testers?

Background: The existing literature in software engineering reports adverse effects of confirmation bias on software testing. Confirmation bias among software testers leads to confirmatory behavior, which is designing or executing relatively more specification consistent test cases (confirmatory behavior) than specification inconsistent test cases (disconfirmatory behavior). Objective: We aim to explore the antecedents to confirmatory and disconfirmatory behavior of software testers. Furthermore, we aim to understand why and how those antecedents lead to (dis)confirmatory behavior. Method: We follow grounded theory method for the analyses of the data collected through semi-structured interviews with twelve software testers. Results: We identified twenty antecedents to (dis)confirmatory behavior, and classified them in nine categories. Experience and Time are the two major categories. Experience is a disconfirmatory category, which also determines which behavior (confirmatory or disconfirmatory) occurs first among software testers, as an effect of other antecedents. Time Pressure is a confirmatory antecedent of the Time category. It also contributes to the confirmatory effects of antecedents of other categories. Conclusion: The disconfirmatory antecedents, especially that belong to the testing process, e.g., test suite reviews by project team members, may help circumvent the deleterious effects of confirmation bias in software testing. If a team’s resources permit, the designing and execution of a test suite could be divided among the test team members, as different perspectives of testers may help to detect more errors. The results of our study are based on a single context where dedicated testing teams focus on higher levels of testing. The study’s scope does not account for the testing performed by developers. Future work includes exploring other contexts to extend our results.
Seasonal and Daily Activity of Two Zoo-Housed Grizzly Bears (Ursus arctos horribilis)

Captive grizzly bears, like their wild counterparts, engage in considerable variability in their seasonal and daily activity. We documented the year-long activity of two grizzly bears located at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Washington. We found that behaviors emerged in relation to month-to-month, seasonal, and time of day (hour-to-hour) observations, and events that occurred on exhibit, such as daily feedings. Seventeen behaviors split into seven classes of behavior were observed during their on-exhibit time over a 13-month period. Inactivity was the most frequent class of responses recorded, with most inactive behaviors occurring during the winter months. Both stereotypic and non-stereotypic activity emerged during the spring and summer months, with stereotypic activity occurring most frequently in the morning and transitioning to non-stereotypic activity in the latter part of the day. Results are discussed with respect to how captive grizzly bear behaviors relate to their natural seasonal and daily activity, as well as how events, such as feeding times and enrichment deliveries, can be used to optimize overall captive bear welfare.
Molecular cloning and induced expression of the plasma membrane intrinsic protein gene and promoter from mulberry (Morus multicaulis)

Abstract: To isolate the plasma membrane intrinsic protein 2 (PIP2) gene and its promoter from mulberry (Morus multicaulis), and to analyse its expression under stress conditions using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis, the mulberry MmPIP2 gene was cloned and sequenced. The putative MmPIP2 protein was 282 amino acids long and contained Asn–Pro–Ala signature motifs. Phylogenetic analysis showed that MmPIP2 is highly conserved, exhibiting strong homology with other plant PIP2s. The 5′ flanking sequence was cloned by genome walking and numerous transcription factor binding sites were identified. qRT-PCR revealed that the expression levels of MmPIP2 differed with changes in abiotic stress, indicating that PIP2 is a multifunctional molecule in mulberry. Studying the molecular mechanisms behind adaptations to stress and strengthening stress tolerance in plants are of fundamental importance to mulberry production.
SteroidRadioimmunoassay-Effect of Shortened Incubation TimeonSpecificity

Use of a briefer incubation interval in several steroid radioimmunoassays markedly increases cross reactions with some closely related steroids. The dissociation rates of the various steroid/antibody complexes play a critical role in determining the specificity of the antiserum, and the maximum specificity of an antiserum will be exploited only if it is incubated to equilibrium. The commonly used method for estimating the time required to reach equilibrium-i.e., the time required for the %(B0/ T) value to “plateau”grossly underestimates the true interval required, and we suggest that the minimum incubation period for steroid radioimmunoassay should be based on a knowledge of both the dissociation and the association rate.
Solar irradiance as the proximate cue for flowering in a tropical moist forest

We compared flowering times predicted by six possible proximate cues involving seasonal changes in rainfall and irradiance and flowering times observed over 30 years of weekly censuses for 19 tree and liana species from Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Panama. Hypotheses concerning variation in the timing and intensity of rainfall failed to predict flowering times in any species. In contrast, 10 to 12 weeks of consistent high levels of irradiance predicted flowering times well for eight species, and six or seven weeks of rapidly increasing levels of irradiance predicted flowering times well for two species. None of the six possible proximate cues predicted flowering times adequately for the nine remaining species. We conclude that high and increasing levels of irradiance are the proximate cues for flowering in many BCI species. The seasonal movements of the Intertropical Convergence Zone cause strong seasonal changes in cloud cover, atmospheric transmissivity, and irradiance reaching the BCI forest. Inter‐annual variation in the timing of movements of the Intertropical Convergence Zone is the most likely cause of inter‐annual variation in the timing of flowering in these species. Much work remains to be done as the physiological mechanisms linking flowering and irradiance are unknown and the proximate cues for flowering remain to be identified for many other BCI species.
Genetic Differentiation among Commercial Lines of Laying-type Japanese Quail

Recently in Japan, approximately six million quails were primarily being reared for commercial egg production. It is believed that almost all commercial quails in the country became extinct during World War II, and that the present commercial gene pool was restored from the limited number of surviving birds. The present study evaluates the genetic diversity within and differentiation between 12 laying-type Japanese quail lines on the basis of 45 microsatellite genotypes. The mean number of alleles per locus and the expected heterozygosity within a quail line were 5.22–5.69 and 0.601–0.618, respectively. These results showed that laying-type quail lines in the present study exhibited a higher degree of genetic diversity than experimental quail lines in a previous study. Pairwise genetic differentiations (FST) between lines were significant but weak (FST=0.0028–0.0254; 57.6%), and no significant differentiations were found between the remainder. This was also confirmed by genetic clustering analyses, in which individuals did not form independent clusters consistent with their line origins. The results of the present study indicate relatively high genetic diversity within and no clear genetic differentiation between laying-type quail lines. Absence of genetic differentiation may reflect the breeding history of laying-type quails.
Defining a High Throughput Sequencing identification framework for freshwater ecosystem biomonitoring

Freshwater ecosystems are currently amongst the most threatened habitats due to high levels of anthropogenic stress and increasing efforts are required to monitor their status and assess aquatic biodiversity. Biomonitoring, which is the systematic measurement of the responses of aquatic biota to environmental stressors, is used to evaluate ecosystem status. Macroinvertebrates are commonly used organisms for ecosystem assessment, due to their numerous biomonitoring qualities, which qualify them as ecological indicators. Traditional taxonomy-based monitoring is labour intensive, which limits the throughput, and is often inefficient in providing species level identification, which limits the accuracy of detections. The introduction of molecular based methods for biomonitoring, especially when coupled with High Throughput Sequencing (HTS) applications, offers a step change in ecosystem monitoring. Here I tested the utility of DNA based applications for increasing the efficiency of freshwater ecosystem biomonitoring, using benthic macroinvertebrates as a target group. For the first part of this work, I used DNA barcoding of the Cytochrome Oxidase Subunit I (COI), from individual specimens, to populate a barcode reference library for 94 species of Trichoptera, Gastropoda and Chironomidae from the UK. Then, I used High Throughput Sequencing (HTS) methods to characterise diversity from complex environmental samples. First, I used metabarcoding of aqueous environmental DNA (eDNA) and community invertebrate samples (Chironomidae pupal exuviae), collected on regular intervals throughout a year, to identify diversity levels and temporal patterns of community variation on ecosystem-wide and group specific scales. Finally, I used a structured design of mock macroinvertebrate communities, of known biomass content, to perform a comparison between PCR-based metabarcoding of the COI gene and PCR-free shotgun sequencing of mitochondrial genomes (mito-metagenomics), and evaluate their efficiency for accurate characterisation of biomass content of bulk samples. Overall, HTS has demonstrated great potential for advancing biomonitoring efforts, allowing ecosystem scale diversity detection from non-invasive types of samples, such as eDNA, whilst moving into mito-metagenomic work could improve the field even further by improving quantitative abundance results on the community composition level.
You change, I change: an empirical investigation of users' supported incremental technological change in mobile social media

PurposeThe intense competitive and dynamic environment in mobile social-media market forces service providers to introduce incremental technological changes to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. The purpose of this paper is to investigate what and how the user attitude to change influences members' behavioral support for incremental technological change in mobile social media service.Design/methodology/approachUsing the tripartite model of attitude, this study examines the influence of the cognitive aspect (empowerment with change), affective aspect (arousal with change) and behavioral aspect (habit to change) of attitude toward change on members' behavioral support for incremental technological change. Drawing on the commitment to change theory, we assessed the underlying mechanism by which attitudes toward change influences behavioral support for incremental technological change through the two components of commitment to change (i.e. affective and normative commitment to change). We tested the model using structural equation modeling on the data collected from the popular mobile social media services in China.FindingsOur results indicate that the effect of empowerment with change, arousal with change and habit to change varies with different dimensions of commitment to change and significant influence of commitment to change on members' behavioral support for incremental technological change.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study contribute to better insights for services providers for implementing incremental technological change strategies.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the theory of incremental technological changes by empirical examination of the impacts of users' attitudes toward change on members' behavioral support for incremental technological change in mobile social media. The paper extends the commitment to change theory with the discussion of the mediating effect of commitment to change in the continuing members' behavioral support for incremental technological change in mobile social media.
Kin-State Politics: Causes and Consequences

Abstract This article situates the development of the kin-state politics literature within the context of post-Cold War scholarship on ethnicity, nationalism, and conflict. It outlines how an increasingly mature literature emerged around the domestic political and foreign policy drivers of kin-state politics as scholars drew from a number of perspectives, from the literature on irredentism to that on diaspora politics and transborder nationalism. The article then evaluates scholarship on the drivers and impacts of kin-state politics, with a focus on the consequences of kin-state politics for the cultural and political landscape of external kin communities and the impact on regional security and stability. While a rich and nuanced literature has helped to contextualize the tensions and complexities of the former, I argue that the latter needs to be developed further. Careful work needs to be done to more precisely establish the conditions under which kin-state politics constitute a security threat. Future scholarship should bring together a more ground level perspective of how kin-state policies are perceived, utilized, and/or instrumentalized by their intended subjects with a critical understanding of how the “game” of kin-state politics is played within the home state and the kin-state.
Changes in Electroencephalography by Modulation of Interferential Current Stimulation

Interferential current (IFC) stimulation can alter pain perception. This study aimed to investigate the effects of IFC stimulation on motor cortex signals and observe how electroencephalography changes depend on IFC stimulation parameters. Forty-five healthy adults were divided into high frequency (HF)–low intensity (LI), HF–high intensity (HI), and low frequency (LF)–HI groups to compare their electroencephalography before, immediately after, and 30 min after current stimulation. The changes in relative beta power according to the intervention time showed significant differences between the HF–LI and HF–HI, as well as the LF–HI and HF–HI, groups in the C3 and P3 regions immediately after IFC stimulation. Similarly, the gamma band showed significant differences according to the intervention time between the LF–HI and HF–HI groups in the P3 region immediately following IFC intervention. For relative theta power, the interaction between group and time was significantly different in the Fp2, F3, F4, C3, C4, and P4 regions. Based on these results, we were able to map the activation in cerebral cortex regions according to the stimulation level, confirming changes in electroencephalogram activation through peripheral nerve stimulation. This study provides a foundation for future applications for selectively controlling feedback at a proper stimulation level in young adults.
Perceived threats of infanticide reduce maternal allocation during lactation and lead to elevated oxidative damage in offspring

1. Maternal investment is costly to the mother but essential to offspring survival in altrical species. Infanticide by novel males results in loss of maternal investment, and maternal strategies have evolved to mitigate these losses. One such maternal strategy, the Bruce effect, involves spontaneous abortion by females of some mammal species when exposed to a novel male during pregnancy. 2. In mice, the Bruce effect only occurs during early pregnancy, but we have previously found that female mice exposed to a novel male’s scent in late pregnancy weaned smaller offspring. Here, we replicate that manipulation to resolve the cause of the reduced weaning weight and subsequent effects on offspring fitness. Females exposed time during suggesting that reduced maternal allocation contributes to slower offspring growth. The offspring a weaning weight catch-up growth reached a normal weight at adulthood. These offspring, however, were found to oxidative damage adulthood, long-term effects on offspring condition. We conclude alter the of infanticide, that in long-term fitness costs to their offspring. account for measures of zero deposits and normalise the data. determined at p ≤ 0.05.
Applied Chemical Ecology to Enhance Insect Parasitoid Efficacy in the Biological Control of Crop Pests

The field application of semiochemicals, used by parasitoids to find mates and to locate their hosts, is a promising environmentally sustainable and highly specific pest control strategy and an attractive alternative to the use of pesticides. In this chapter, we first examine research progress dealing with the effect of semiochemical cues on parasitoid foraging strategy. In the second part, we review the possible field applications of these chemical cues to enhance pest control strategies, either through direct pest control or by manipulating parasitoid behaviour. We then consider novel approaches, such as the “attract and reward” strategy, combining semiochemical application and habitat management to improve the success of pest management. Even if semiochemical-based tactics are promising in pest control, they still are developing and may face several constraints leading to different challenges. Therefore, in the last part of this chapter, we draw attention to the potential CHAPTER
Extent of Employee Turnover in Humanitarian Logistics: An Interpretive Structural Modelling Approach

Following a disaster, humanitarian logistics service providers (HLSP) noted that besides their challenging job they are also facing high employee turnover. The main purpose of this article is to extend a precise assessment platform and provide a theoretical basis for increasing the understanding of the turnover of staff in humanitarian logistics (HL). Based on the identified variables leading to turnover of employee, this paper analyzes these variables affecting turnover of an employee in HL, using interpretive structural modeling (ISM) approach to evolve a model of hierarchy and categorized the interrelationships among these variables. In line with research conducted previously, the study identified and updated 16imperativeemployee turnover variables out of 24 as a key performance evaluation of HL. These variables can be categorized into eight levels, which denote the driving power from higher to lower. The study findings indicate that not all variables to employee turnover in HL require the same level of concentration. Out of 16 variables, there is a group of eight variables that have high driving control and low reliance, these variables are of strategic importance and require maximum attention. Also, another group contains six variables they have a low driving power but high reliance, whereas the one variable is in the linkage category between lower and upper-level variables. This categorization will help relief agencies to distinguish between dependent and independent variables that are imperative for improving the issue of employee turnover in HL. This article is the first to discuss employee turnover using ISM in the context of HL. The developed framework herein provides a precise guideline for HL to enhance their performance, as well as to promote the efficient application of resources through employee retention. Key Words: Humanitarian logistics, Employee turnover, interpretive structural modeling