Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Determinants of selective mortality during the early life history of Spratelloides delicatulus in the northern Great Barrier Reef

Early life stages of small clupeids are characterized by high mortality rates, mainly driven by predation and starvation. This mortality is thought to be selective for traits such as size, growth and body condition. It has been demonstrated that larvae with slow growth and reduced body condition do not have sufficient energy reserves to cope with suboptimal environments and will undergo environmental stress. Environmental stress can affect larval performance, increasing their susceptibility to mortality through predation and starvation. Thus, environmental conditions underlie selective mortality of fish by hindering growth rates during the vulnerable early stages. In fish larvae, otoliths are a good tool to explore the effects of the environment on survival as a daily record of growth is imprinted within them. In addition, otolith shape asymmetry (Fluctuating Asymmetry – FA) can give an insight of environmental stress, as the latter has a direct influence on metabolic rates, which regulate otolith accretion. In this thesis, selective mortality and the effect of the environment on larval growth, size and body condition were studied in cohorts of the tropical sprat, Spratelloides delicatulus, sampled during their larval and juvenile stages at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Otolith microstructure analysis allowed back-calculation of size-at-age and daily growth rates. In addition, data of three environmental factors, temperature, Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) and wind-induced turbulence was collected, allowing the examination of relationships between growth and the environment, and FA and body condition. The first part of this thesis explores size and growth selection and the influence of the environment on those traits. The results demonstrate that S. delicatulus underwent positive size-selective mortality. However, smaller individuals exhibited faster growth rates which could have had increased survival through enhanced anti-predatory response. Additionally, a 3 cohort of larvae that experienced warmer waters were larger and grew faster than the cohort that hatched earlier in the year, suggesting that temperature could be one of the main factors driving growth rates during early life history. The second part of the thesis investigates the influence of environmental stress on growth and body condition, and the link of the latter with fluctuating otolith asymmetry. It was found that slow-growing larvae were more dependent on the environment than those with higher growth rates. As a result, slow growers exhibited poor body condition and higher otolith FA, which was maintained through ontogeny, suggesting that individuals with insufficient energy reserves were not able to compensate for otolith asymmetry. The findings highlight the importance of environmental conditions during early life stages of S. delicatulus and the link between slow growth, poor body condition and high otolith asymmetry as drivers of selective mortality.
Approaches to Improving Teaching

This paper discusses a few issues related to teaching improvement that are commonly found in tertiary education, such as curriculum development, student engagement, and ethical considerations. Scholars research on resolving these issues are investigated. Corresponding approaches to improving teaching of a year one information technology unit are proposed and experience is shared. The importance of teaching scholarship is also emphasized at the end of this paper.
Effects of Apple Supplement and Unsupervised Home-based Brisk Walking on Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol

Elevated levels of cholesterol present in Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL) are directly associated with atherosclerosis. Therefore, the present study was an attempt to analyze the effect of apple supplement, restricted dietary fat and unsupervised home-based brisk walking program on the level of LDL-Cholesterol (LDL-C). Fourteen participants (11 males and 3 females) recruited voluntarily from Punjabi University, Patiala, constituted the study group. They were further subdivided into 2 groups. Whereas Group I consisted of participants with body mass index > 25 kg/m2 and LDL-C> 110 mg/dl, Group II consisted of members with body mass index between 20-25 kg/m2 and LDL-C<110 mg/dl. Members in Group I (n = 7) were given apple fruit (Pyrus Malus) twice a day free of charge and were advised unsupervised home-based walking activity for three weeks. Members in Group II (n = 7) were given apple fruit alone. During the period of the study all participants were advised dietary fat restriction and their fasting serum lipid profiles were estimated at 0 and 3 weeks. After 3 weeks of the study period, Group II lowered LDL-C by 18.57 mg/dl (95% confidence interval = 9.05-28.09, p=0.03), so did group I by 38.33 mg/dl (95% confidence interval = 25.62-51.04, p=0.01). Apple supplement combined with dietary advice to reduce fat intake and unsupervised home-based brisk walking program may result in significant reduction in LDL-C level in sedentary individuals. Keywords: apple, brisk walking, dietary restriction, home-based, LDL-C, low-fat, Physical activity, sedentary, unsupervised
Dark energy or modified gravity? An effective field theory approach

We take an Effective Field Theory (EFT) approach to unifying existing proposals for the origin of cosmic acceleration and its connection to cosmological observations. Building on earlier work where EFT methods were used with observations to constrain the background evolution, we extend this program to the level of the EFT of the cosmological perturbations — following the example from the EFT of Inflation. Within this framework, we construct the general theory around an assumed background which will typically be chosen to mimic ΛCDM, and identify the parameters of interest for constraining dark energy and modified gravity models with observations. We discuss the similarities to the EFT of Inflation, but we also identify a number of subtleties including the relationship between the scalar perturbations and the Goldstone boson of the spontaneously broken time translations. We present formulae that relate the parameters of the fundamental Lagrangian to the speed of sound, anisotropic shear stress, effective Newtonian constant, and Caldwell's parameter, emphasizing the connection to observations. It is anticipated that this framework will be of use in constraining individual models, as well as for placing model-independent constraints on dark energy and modified gravity model building.
Externalities and foreign capital in aquaculture production in developing countries

Abstract Most developing countries are increasingly depending on freshwater based aquaculture to supplement the declining catch from capture fisheries. Yet the competition between capture fisheries and cage culture for space, pollution generated by cage culture, and fish markets interaction effects are hardly conceptualized in a bioeconomic framework. Furthermore, the economic viability of cage culture depends on substantial investment thresholds, engendering foreign direct investment in the industry in developing countries. This paper develops a conceptual model for fresh-water-based aquaculture that accounts for these effects. We found that a Pigouvian tax (optimum ad valorem tax) that corrects the externalities depends on economic and biological parameters in both fisheries. Correcting for the externalities results in a reduction in aquaculture production but not optimum wild catch. Furthermore, with foreign capital in aquaculture, the Pigouvian tax equals the ratio of net to total benefit from aquaculture. Numerical values are used to illustrate the results.
Effusion in Children with Cleft Lip and Palate

The condition of cleft lip/palate (CLP) in children is psychologically stressful for family members and debilitating for the patients themselves. These children must undergo a series of major invasive surgeries following birth, including cleft lip repair surgery, cleft palate repair surgery, bone grafting surgery, and dental implant surgery. Unfortunately, the clinical significance of otitis media with effusion (OME), a complication associated with CLP, is often overlooked, and very few studies have explored this condition in depth. This chapter reviews pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, consequences, exami‐ nation, and diagnosis related to OME in children with CLP. Controversies surrounding the treatment of OME in CLP children are also discussed. We also provide a flowchart for management guidance in OME in children with CLP.
Cross-shelf gradients in phytoplankton community structure, nutrient utilization, and growth rate in the coastal Gulf of Alaska

The coastal Gulf of Alaska (CGOA) supports high abundances of invertebrates, fishes, and marine mammals. While variable from year to year, multi-decade fish production trends have been correlated with climate regimes such as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Winds, massive fresh- water inputs, and complex topography in the CGOA create high-energy physical features on multiple time and space scales. This suggests that climate might be linked to higher trophic level production through the regulation of resources for primary producers. Data from spring and summer 2001 revealed seasonal and spatial variability in the factors regulating CGOA primary production. Some of the highest growth rates (>1.0 d -1 , as estimated with the seawater dilution technique) were measured in April diatom blooms. Nitrogen limitation of growth rates was evident as early as late April and appeared to follow closely the onset of spring stratification. The summer phytoplankton community was dominated by small (<5 µm) cells exhibiting varying degrees of nitrogen limitation depending on cross-shelf location. However, we observed an intense mid-summer diatom bloom in the Alaska Coastal Current, perhaps a response to a series of upwelling events. Strong cross-shelf gradients governed every aspect of phytoplankton community structure and function, including overall biomass, cell size, species composition, nutrient utilization, growth rate, and degree of macronutrient limitation. These gradients were consistent with a cross-shelf gradient in dissolved iron availability. Because the type of resource limitation and the taxonomic composition of the phyto- plankton community varied across the shelf, a stepwise regression of whole-shelf phytoplankton growth rates versus resource availability had little predictive power. The effect of climate-driven resource variation on primary production in the CGOA has to be understood in the context of different community types, their production potential, and the environmental conditions that dictate their extent and stability.
Parameterization of Surface Roughness Based on ICESat/GLAS Full Waveforms: A Case Study on the Tibetan Plateau

Glaciers in the Tibetan mountains are expected to be sensitive to turbulent sensible and latent heat fluxes. One of the most significant factors of the energy exchange between the atmospheric boundary layer and the glacier is the roughness of the glacier surface. However, methods to parameterize this roughness for glacier surfaces in remote regions are not well known. In this paper, the authors use the data acquired by Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat)/Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) laser altimetry from February 2003 to November 2004 along several tracks over glaciers of the Nyainqentanglha range in central Tibet. The authors make a study of the waveforms measured by the ICESat/GLAS laser system over mountainous and glacial areas. The surface characteristics are evaluated within laser footprints over the glacier outlines based on the glaciological inventory of the Tibetan Plateau constructed by the Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute (CAREERI), Chinese Academy of Sciences. For this purpose, the authors extract waveform parameters: the waveform width, the number of modes, and the RMS width of the waveform. These parameters are compared with surface slope and roughness obtained from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radar (ASTER) Global Digital Elevation Model (GDEM). Through this analysis, the impact of morphology on the returned laser waveform is shown for the Nyainq^entanglha range. The roughness and the slope of the surface can be quite significant and may contribute from several meters to tens of meters to the pulse extent. The waveform analysis results indicate that the received waveforms are capable representations of surface relief within the GLAS footprints.
Prevalência de conjuntivite adenoviral em clínica oftalmológica no município de Viçosa (MG)

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of Adenovirus as a etiologic agent of conjunctivitis on a ophthalmic clinic in Vicosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Methods: Samples of conjunctival secretion from 91 patients clinically diagnosed with conjunctivitis were subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using degenerate primers targeted to the gene encoding the structural protein II. Positive samples were subsequently subjected to sequencing and genotyping. Results: PCR results showed 36.3% prevalence of Adenovirus. No differences between the sexes and was found to be higher in the age group 26-65 years with 60.60% of the positive cases. Sequencing of positive cases showed the presence of Adenovirus serotypes 3, 4, 7, 8, and 34 circulating in the region. Conclusion: In Vicosa two in five cases of conjunctivitis has Adenovirus as etiologic agent.
UNDERSTANDING THE DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT REQUIREMENTS OF EUCALYPTUS AQUATICA A highly restricted, threatened, swamp dependent eucalypt, found in Penrose State Forest, NSW, Australia

The Temperate Highland Peat Swamps on Sandstone and the Montane Peatlands and Swamps of the New England Tableland are present throughout Penrose State Forest in the NSW Southern Highlands. These environments are currently the only known habitat to support the highly vulnerable species Eucalyptus Aquatica, which is restricted to these swampy environments. In this study, an extensive field survey covering 63 hectares was conducted across three swamps in Penrose State Forest (Hanging Rock Swamp, Stingray Swamp, Webbers Creek Swamp) in order to map the distribution of Eucalyptus aquatica, to determine its habitat requirements, and to estimate the species population abundance. Eucalyptus aquatica appears to have a clumped distribution across the swamps, which tends to cluster in the centre of the swamp and progressively declines towards the swamp margins. This distributional pattern appears to be associated with peat depth, with a significant relationship being found between increasing peat depth, and the probability of Eucalyptus aquatica being present. Stingray Swamp was found to support the largest proportion of the population with an estimated population abundance of 32, 411, whereas Hanging Rock Swamp and Webbers Creek Swamp had an estimated population abundance of 9, 643 and 222 respectively. The findings of this study provide a whole new breadth of data that has not been previously available for this species, and sets a new starting point for future research and improved conservation and management of Eucalyptus aquatica.
WOUND HEALING POTENTIAL OF NAUCLEA LATIFOLIA AND MANIHOT ESCULENTA LEAF EXTRACTS IN TYPE 1 DIABETIC RATS Ebenezer Idowu

Background: This study was designed to ascertain this claim and to investigate the possible mechanism of action in relation to their phytochemical contents, using crude extracts of N. latifolia and M. esculenta leaves on topical wound in a rat model of Type 1 diabetes. Methods and Materials: The leaves were air-dried under shade and subjected to cold extraction in 95% ethanol. Normoglycaemic male Wistar rats were subjected to 2-month high-energy diet/ fat emulsion manipulation and injected with alloxan (150 mg/kg BW/day, i. p.). Fasting plasma glucose was determined after 7 days and rats with values exceeding 200 mg/dl were selected. 16 diabetic rats (120 – 180 g) were randomly assigned to four groups of four animals each. Wound was inflicted on the back of each rat by excision method. The crude extracts were topically applied over a period of 21 days. The scar tissues were removed at 7 days interval for collagen quantification and wound margin reduction was also monitored using tracing paper. Results: The crude extracts showed efficient wound healing activity as revealed by increased collagen content (scar tissues versus fresh wound tissues ab initio). Percentage wound closure also progressed significantly (p< 0.05) upon topical application of the extracts. Conclusion: The crude extract of N. latifolia leaves has proven to be more potent than that of M. esculenta in wound healing in Type I diabetic rats. It stimulated wound contraction and collagen formation, making it a promising natural product for further screening in search of new chemical entities that can be useful in diabetic wound management.
Interactive comment on “New insights into the climatic signal from firn cores at the northern Antarctic Peninsula” by Francisco Fernandoy et al

OBS.1. There is a need to be more explicit about what datasets were used and exactly how. I would also like to see a better justification of their inclusion over perhaps more suitable datasets. This relates to observations (e.g., why use Bellingshausen station observations over the more proximal O’Higgins? ) and the gridded datasets (why use HadISST versus a higher resolution observed SST dataset, and why not use the sea ice data from this same gridded dataset as opposed to using the NSIDC sea ice extent index). Also, how sea ice extent was measured is not explained in the manuscript.
Only Human: Scientists, Systems, and Suspect Statistics

It is becoming increasingly clear that science has sailed into troubled waters. Recent revelations about cases of serious research fraud and widespread ‘questionable research practices’ have initiated a period of critical self-reflection in the scientific community and there is growing concern that several common research practices fall far short of the principles of robust scientific inquiry. At a recent symposium, ‘Improving Scientific Practice: Dealing with the Human Factors’ held at The University of Amsterdam, the notion of the objective, infallible, and dispassionate scientist was firmly challenged. The symposium was guided by the acknowledgement that scientists are only human, and thus subject to the desires, needs, biases, and limitations inherent to the human condition. In this article, five post-graduate students from University College London describe the issues addressed at the symposium and evaluate proposed solutions to the scientific integrity crisis.
CFD Modelling of Goaf Gas Migration to Improve the Control of Spontaneous Combustion in Longwalls

This paper provides an overview of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling capability developed by CSIRO with the aim of improving the knowledge of flow migration dynamics within longwall goaf areas. The CFD models can be used to study the ingress of oxygen into the goaf in different ventilation scenarios and goaf drainage arrangements. This approach not only helps the design of effective gas control strategies but also the management of spontaneous combustion risk in the goaf. Innovative goaf inertisation strategies have been developed and implemented during longwall sealing operations. Work is continuing to develop general guidelines of proactive goaf inertisation strategies to suppress the development of spontaneous heating behind active longwall faces.
Modeling Dependencies in Finance Using Copulae

In this paper we provide a review of copula theory with applications to finance. We illustrate the idea on the bivariate framework and discuss the simple, elliptical and Archimedean classes of copulae. Since the cop- ulae model the dependency structure between random variables, next we explain the link between the copulae and common dependency measures, such as Kendall's tau and Spearman's rho. In the next section the copulae are generalized to the multivariate case. In this general setup we discuss and provide an intensive literature review of estimation and simulation techniques. Separate section is devoted to the goodness-of-fit tests. The importance of copulae in finance we illustrate on the example of asset allocation problems, Value-at-Risk and time series models. The paper is complemented with an extensive simulation study and an application to financial data.
MHSubLex: Using Metaheuristic Methods for Subjectivity Classification of Microblogs

In Web 2.0, people are free to share their experiences, views, and opinions. One of the problems that arises in web 2.0 is the sentiment analysis of texts produced by users in outlets such as Twitter. One of main the tasks of sentiment analysis is subjectivity classification. Our aim is to classify the subjectivity of Tweets. To this end, we create subjectivity lexicons in which the words into objective and subjective words. To create these lexicons, we make use of three metaheuristic methods. We extract two meta-level features, which show the count of objective and subjective words in tweets according to the lexicons. We then classify the tweets based on these two features. Our method outperforms the baselines in terms of accuracy and f-measure. In the three metaheuristics, it is observed that genetic algorithm performs better than simulated annealing and asexual reproduction optimization, and it also outperforms all the baselines in terms of accuracy in two of the three assessed datasets. The created lexicons also give insight about the objectivity and subjectivity of words.
Full Replacement of Fine Aggregate in Concrete with Crushed Ceramic Waste

The study investigated properties of concrete made using crushed ceramic waste as fine aggregate. The study strived to determine whether crushed ceramics can be used in structural concrete and achieve strengths that can be equalled to that of river sand concrete. Rapid population growth has increased rate of depletion of natural resources and increased dump sites. Waste materials generated during construction and demolition of structures can cause serious problems due to costs associated with disposal and environmental pollution. The rate of environmental degradation can be reduced by diversifying materials and sources of aggregates for convectional aggregates extracted from quarrying. Materials such as ceramic waste are a usable substitute for conventional aggregate. The study was conducted through experimental research approach whereby laboratory experiments were conducted before coming up with a feasible conclusion and recommendation. Class 25 control specimen using river sand as fine aggregate was prepared and compared to specimen that used crushed ceramic waste as fine aggregate. Properties of aggregates, fresh and hardened concrete were obtained through observation and data analysis of the results through tables and graphs. The study established that compressive, tensile and flexural strengths slightly reduced in crushed ceramic concrete. Concrete produced with crushed ceramic waste as fine aggregate for class 25 did not meet the required strength at 28 days. Slump test for ceramic fine aggregate reduced in class 25 concrete. Crushed ceramic fine aggregate had higher water absorption of 16.92% compared to 5% for river sand. Ceramics’ high water absorption resulted to a lower workability. Ceramic fine aggregate had a lower specific gravity of 2.53 compared to 2.62 for river sand. Specific gravity affects density thus concrete produced and the density of ceramic concrete was expected to reduce. The study concluded that crushed ceramic waste cannot replace river sand as a fine aggregate as the engineering properties of the concrete are inferior to that of the designed concrete. Class 25 concrete with ceramic waste as fine aggregate which is structural concrete cannot be used as it did not meet the required strength at 28 days.