Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sediment failure of St. Pierre Slope: new insights of failure mechanisms and slope instability due to the 1929 Grand Banks Earthquake

<p>The 1929 Grand Banks submarine landslide was triggered by a M<sub>w</sub> 7.2 strike slip earthquake on the southwestern Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Studies following the event by several decades were the first to recognize that slope failure can cause tsunamis. These studies identified St. Pierre Slope as the main failure area and showed widespread, shallow (<25 m-thick), translational and possibly retrogressive sediment failures occurred predominately in >1700 m water depth (mwd). It seems unlikely this style of failure in deep water generated a tsunami that had >13 m of run-up along the coast of Newfoundland. The objective of this study is to identify possible alternative tsunami source mechanisms and pre-conditioning factors that may have led to sediment instability. These objectives are addressed using a comprehensive data set of multiscale 2D seismic reflection, multibeam swath bathymetry and laboratory geomechanical test data. Results show numerous reflection offsets within the Quaternary section of the slope underneath modern seafloor escarpments (750-2300 mwd). &#160; These offsets appear down to 550 m below seafloor (mbsf) and are interpreted as low angle (~17&#176;), planar-normal faults of <100 m-high vertical and ~330 m of horizontal displacement. The faults are interpreted as part of a massive (~560 km&#179;) complex slump with evidence for multiple d&#233;collements (250 mbsf & 400-550 mbsf) and slumping in at least two directions. Infinite slope stability analysis using peak ground acceleration (PGA) indicates that a combination of earthquake loading and the presence of geomechanical weak layers are needed to explain the slope failure. At St. Pierre Slope, the analysis of sediment cores shows that geomechanical weak layers form as a consequence of underconsolidation in connection with excess pore pressures that are related to: 1) high sedimentation rates, 2) instantaneous deposition of mass transport deposits (MTD&#8217;s) and sandy turbidites, and 3) the presence of gas. The d&#233;collements of the slump are associated with MTD&#8217;s and sediment waves that likely form weak layers. The layers of sediment waves are assumed to consist of sorted silts or fine sands and are therefore likely to be susceptible to excess pore pressure development during earthquake loading. Excess pore pressure development results in reduced effective stress and higher potential for instability. It is interpreted, therefore, that the 1929 earthquake triggered displacement of a 550 m-thick slump with ~100 m of vertical seafloor displacement. This instantaneous displacement of the slump in 750 mwd with a seafloor volume displacement of 70 to 130 km&#178; is likely a more effective source for tsunami generation than the translational, shallow (<25 m) failures in deeper water. </p>
Using differential MNase-seq to dissect nucleosome organization around promoters and enhancers in D.melanogaster

V Usually, job-related acknowledgments are followed by mentioning people important in private life. I consider myself very lucky that I could copy this part from my master thesis. They are still the foundations on which I am building my life, with two significant add-ons. Starting with my family, what can I say about them. They are great, they love me unconditionally and I felt it during all the PhD years. Many people describe the PhD as an emotional roller coaster with many ups and downs. In that regard, in both situations, my family was a terrific moral support with their optimism. It is something I learned not to take it for granted. Especially, I want to thank once again my sister Patrizia that pushed me, with her phone calls and visits, to further open my mind to other thinks that are not lab-related. The 2018 is a special year for her, consequently, for me too. Indeed, I am super happy that I can be called uncle now. I hope that I will be a good one for Jiji. During the PhD, I have learned more and something new about myself. Recently, this path leaded me to Veronica. I want to thank her just for what she is. We love and simply understand each other and I am very lucky to find her by my side every day. I thank Veronica for the patience and understanding demonstrated during the thesis writing period, which can be quite stressful. More in general, I want to thank her for the immense and daily support I received in these last two years. Life is more colorful with friends. Therefore, I have to mention the pezzavillians in Taranto. We share a lot of memories together since childhood. I hope we will have many other possibilities to create new ones. Especially, I send my greetings to Carlo, Titti, Mary and Daniele and I want to thank them for their closeness, even if we are separated by many kilometers. Finally, I would like to mention Andrea again (and with this we are even) for sharing so many moments in the lab and outside of it that I cannot count. We sincerely supported each other over these years. At the end, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to myself. As I wrote for my master thesis, I will pat my shoulder, and, with a grin, I will say “well done, Alessio”.
The Coordination and Jumps along C4 Photosynthesis Evolution in the Genus Flaveria

Background C4 photosynthesis is a remarkable complex trait, elucidations of the evolutionary trajectory of C4 photosynthesis from its ancestral C3 pathway can help us to better understand the generic principles of complex trait evolution and guide engineering of C3 crops for higher yields. We used the genus Flaveria that contains C3, C3-C4, C4-like and C4 species as a system to study the evolution of C4 photosynthesis. Results We mapped transcript abundance, protein sequence, and morphological features to the phylogenetic tree of the genus Flaveria, and calculated the evolutionary correlation of different features. Besides, we predicted the relative changes of ancestral nodes of those features to illustrate the key stages during the evolution of C4 photosynthesis. Gene expression and protein sequence showed consistent modification pattern along the phylogenetic tree. High correlation coefficients ranging from 0.46 to 0.9 among gene expression, protein sequence and morphology were observed, and the greatest modification of those different features consistently occurred at the transition between C3-C4 species and C4-like species. Conclusions Our data shows highly coordinated changes in gene expression, protein sequence and morphological features. Besides, our results support an obviously evolutionary jump during the evolution of C4 metabolism.
Detection of the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne luci Carneiro et al., 2014 (Tylenchida: Meloidogynidae) in vegetable fields of Samsun Province, Turkey

Turkiye’nin kuzeyindeki Samsun Ili’ndeki seralarda yaygin bulunan kok-ur nematodu Meloidogyne luci Carneiro et al., 2014 (Tylenchida: Meloidogynidae), bu calismadan once acik alanlarda tespit edilmemistir. Ayrica, bu bolgedeki acik alanlarda kok-ur nematodlarinin dagilimi ile ilgili en son calisma, 20 yildan daha uzun sure once yurutulmus ve teshis perineal desenlere gore yapilmistir. Bu yuzden, mevcut calismanin amaci, Samsun ilindeki sebze tarlalarinda Meloidogyne turlerinin dagilimina ait sonuclarin guncellenmesidir. Bu amacla, Temmuz 2017’de 50 sebze tarlasindan toprak ornekleri alinmistir. Test bitkilerinden elde edilen nematod izolatlari, esteraz enzim fenotiplerine gore teshis edilmis ve teshis molekuler teknikler ile teyit edilmistir. Ornekleme yapilan sebze tarlalarinin %20’sinde kok-ur nematodlari tespit edilmistir. Samsun ilinde daha once seralarda belirlenen M. luci, en yaygin tur olarak tespit edilirken, bu turu Meloidogyne arenaria (Neal, 1889) Chitwood, 1949 ve Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid & White, 1919) Chitwood, 1949 takip etmistir. Turkiye’de acik alanlarda M. luci ’ nin varligi ilk defa bu calisma ile bildirilmistir.
Implementasi Metode Fuzzy Time Series untuk Peramalan Jumlah Pengunjung di Benteng Fort Rotterdam

Abstract, Peramalan merupakan kegiatan yang dilakukan untuk memprediksi nilai suatu variable di waktu yang akan datang. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah mengimplementasikan Metode Fuzzy Time Series untuk memprediksi jumlah Pengunjung Benteng Fort Rotterdam. Metode Fuzzy Time Series adalah sebuah metode peramalan yang menggunakan himpunan Fuzzy sebagai dasar dalam Proses prediksi. Tahapan Peramalan dalam penelitian ini adalah mendefinisikan semesta pembicaraan U , menentukan jumlah dan Panjang kelas interval, defuzzifikasi dan mendefenisikan himpunan Fuzzy pada U , melakukan Fuzzifikasi pada data jumlah pengunjung, menentukan Fuzzy logic relationship (FLR), membentuk Fuzzy Logical Relationship Group (FLRG), melakukan defuzzifikasi, dan melakukan perhitungan peramalan. Dalam meramalkan jumlah Pengunjung di Benteng Fort Rotterdam dengan menggunakan Metode Fuzzy Time Series diperoleh hasil peramalan sebanyak 16240,35 atau dibulatkan menjadi 16240 Pengunjung pada bulan selanjutnya, dengan nilai MAPE sebesar 119,93 dan RMSE sebesar 4739,08. Keywords: Fuzzy, Time Series, Peramalan, Fort Rotterdam
Assessment of stomach contents of Oreochromis niloticus from the Lagos Lagoon, Nigeria

Fish sustainability in an aquatic environment involves continuous and judicious management towards optimum production of resources, for rational utilization and availability for future generation. Stomach composition of Oreochromis niloticus collected from a tropical brackish water environment was investigated to assess food availability towards optimum fish productivity for rational public utilization. Oreochromis niloticus, a fish of high economic importance and a generalize omnivore endemic to fresh and brackish water of Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia, was reviewed to know the food availability status of the Lagos Lagoon, Nigeria. The conditions of stomach contents of O. niloticus samples collected were visually determined and subjected to frequency of occurrence, dominance, numerical, volumetric and relative index methods. Analytical and descriptive statistics were used to show occurrence, prevalence and availability of food organisms, within Lagos Lagoon. Results of the investigation revealed the presence of phytoplankton, dinoflagellates, sand grains, insect parts, plants parts, fish parts and unidentified constituents in O. niloticus stomach contents. O. niloticus revealed herbivorous feeding habit and Bacillariophyceae food item with highest occurrence. Food items satisfy requirements for optimum sustainability. Key words: Stomach contents, tropical, Oreochromis niloticus, Lagos Lagoon, Nigeria.
Google Colaboratory como alternativa para el procesamiento de una red neuronal convolucional

: This study performed an analysis of the performance of Google Collaboratory in training a convolutional neural network for image classification. The tests were carried out with four DataSets, a quantitative approach, an experimental and descriptive investigation was applied. It was shown that there is no significant difference in the training time of the neural network in Google Collaboratory and a personal computer, however, there is less loss and greater accuracy of the model in the classification of images.
Analysis of factors of production in the termination of feedlot lambs to pasture

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to analyze the factors that influence the performance of lambs in pasture confinement, by substituting a concentrate with different levels of the aerial part of cassava in relation to hematocrit indices. The experiment was conducted at the Sheep Technology Center using 56 Pantaneira sheep, of which 28 were male and 28 were female. For female lambs, the globular volume showed a decreasing quadratic effect, with a minimum inclusion of 10.24% PAM in the diet for a hematocrit index of 32.28. A linear effect was observed for the mean crude protein intake in the male lambs based on the diet provided and was estimated to be equivalent to 87.4% of the lambs’ final weight. In conclusion, mean crude protein consumption is most strongly correlated with the final weight of male lambs, and NDF is most strongly correlated with the final weight of female lambs, with the level of cyanide consumption influencing the average daily weight gain in female lambs. The hematocrit level of the male lambs decreased with an increase in the inclusion of the aerial part of cassava in the ration of the animals.
Ring-Resonator Loaded Transmission Line for Crack Detection

In this paper, a transmission line (TL) loaded by a compact ring resonator array is designed for crack monitoring. The ring resonators are interleaved and located on the two sides of TL to generate a uniform field distribution in space. The crack depth/width can be characterized by the resonant frequency. The simulation results show that the proposed sensor can discriminate sub-millimeter cracks, with an averaged depth detection sensitivity of -121.7 MHz/mm2, and an averaged width detection sensitivity of -148.3 MHz/mm2. This paper provides a paradigm for monitoring the health of large but complex metallic structures.
The use of quantitative and qualitative approach to evaluate fat distribution and morphology in white adipose tissue

Introduction: White adipose tissue (WAT) is the main responsible for the development of obesity and a diverse number of morphological techniques can be applied in its studies. Material and Methods: The present work was approved by an Ethics Committee (CEUA-827). Male C57BL/6 mice (12-wk-old) were fed a standard chow (CON) or high-fat diet (FAT) for 12 weeks. Body mass (BM) was assessed at the beginning and end of experiment period. After sacrifice and tissue extraction, fat distribution and adiposity index were measured. Plasmatic analyses were performed for cholesterol and triacylglycerol. Formalin-fixed epididymal adipose tissue was prepared for morphometric estimation of adipocytes diameter and stereological estimation of adipocytes density and cross-sectional area. Results: FAT group presented increased final BM, cholesterol, triacylglycerol and adiposity index when compared to CON group. Fat distribution revealed an increased amount of retroperitoneal, epididymal and inguinal fat pads in FAT in comparison to CON group. Qualitative histological analyses showed crown-like structures in FAT group. Morphometric and stereological analyses revealed adipocytes hypertrophy with increased diameter and sectional area in FAT group when compared to CON. FAT group also presented decreased numerical density of adipocytes in comparison to CON. Conclusion: The methods used to analyze WAT in this study act as important tools to elucidate morphological differences in this tissue induced by high fat diet in an obesity model.
Current Approaches and Future Perspectives for Nanobodies in Stroke Diagnostic and Therapy

Antibody-based biologics are the corner stone of modern immunomodulatory therapy. Though highly effective in dampening systemic inflammatory processes, their large size and Fc-fragment mediated effects hamper crossing of the blood brain barrier (BBB). Nanobodies (Nbs) are single domain antibodies derived from llama or shark heavy-chain antibodies and represent a new generation of biologics. Due to their small size, they display excellent tissue penetration capacities and can be easily modified to adjust their vivo half-life for short-term diagnostic or long-term therapeutic purposes or to facilitate crossing of the BBB. Furthermore, owing to their characteristic binding mode, they are capable of antagonizing receptors involved in immune signaling and of neutralizing proinflammatory mediators, such as cytokines. These qualities combined make Nbs well-suited for down-modulating neuroinflammatory processes that occur in the context of brain ischemia. In this review, we summarize recent findings on Nbs in preclinical stroke models and how they can be used as diagnostic and therapeutic reagents. We further provide a perspective on the design of innovative Nb-based treatment protocols to complement and improve stroke therapy.
Calcium and iron as key drivers of brown moss composition through differential effects on phosphorus availability

Brown moss-dominated rich fens are characterized by minerotrophic conditions, in which calcium (Ca) and iron (Fe) concentrations show large variations. We examined the relative importance of Ca and Fe in relation to the occurrence of three typical brown moss species: Scorpidium scorpioides, Scorpidium cossonii, and Hamatocaulis vernicosus. Peat chemistry was examined in 24 stands of brown moss-dominated rich fens: 12 in the Netherlands and 12 in central Sweden. Ca and Fe turned out to be important drivers of brown moss composition. Fens dominated by Scorpidium scorpioides or Scorpidium cossonii were characterized by high pore water Ca-concentrations and total soil Ca-contents, but low P-availability. In these Ca-rich, but Fe-poor fens, foliar N:P ratios of vascular vegetation exceeded 20 g g−1, indicating phosphorus (P)-limitation due to Ca-P precipitation or low P-sorption capacity due to low Fe-levels. In contrast, fens dominated by Hamatocaulis vernicosus were characterized by high pore water Fe-concentrations and total soil Fe-contents, but also relatively high P-availability. N:P ratios in these fens were below 13.5 g g−1, indicating potential nitrogen (N)-limitation. We conclude that the relative roles of Ca and Fe, as related to the geohydrological conditions present, strongly determine the brown moss composition in rich fens through their differential effects on plant P-availability.
Landscape Genetics and Genetic Conservation of Two Keystone Species from Ombrophilous Dense Forest: Euterpe edulis and Ocotea catharinensis

In this study, we broadly characterized the genetic diversity of two endangered tree species, Euterpe edulis and Ocotea catharinensis . These species represent different ecological characteristics and different landscape situations, and they were selected within a wide sampling network in the State of Santa Catarina, Brazil, aiming to elucidate the conservation status of both species and suggest conservation strategies. To accomplish this, we used isoenzyme markers to genotype 20 and 19 reproductive populations and 9 and 12 seedling populations for E. edulis and O. catharinensis , respectively. We also estimated metrics of the sampled fragments and constrained the variation of genetic diversity indexes to these metrics through redundancy analysis. High levels of genetic diversity were found for both species/cohorts. These levels and their fluctuations within species’ cohorts were not significantly affected by the fragments metrics, suggesting that ecological characteristics may have greater importance in this context. This study shows that limitations to the gene flow and maintenance of allelic exchanges are crucial to define conservation efforts, even though fragmentation and exploitation can significantly impact the loss of diversity. As further conservation strategies, we suggest the use of E. edulis fruits and actions to increase population sizes for O. catharinensis .
Modified marshall mix design method for asphalt roads in hot and arid climate

Rheological properties of asphalt mix materials, prevailing temperatures, level and rate of loading time have substantial effects on the performance of asphalt concrete pavements. Thus, they must be given appropriate consideration during asphalt mix design. Most of all developing countries rely on the empirical Marshall mix design (MMD) method to obtain homogeneous mixtures for asphalt roads. However, the MMD method does not take into account the climatic conditions, the level of compaction, and the asphalt binder properties required for hot and arid climates. The migration to more appropriate asphalt mix design methods such as the Superpave method, requires the purchase of expensive equipment, training of operators, and excludes all the laboratories, and the equipment currently used in these countries for asphalt mix design. The solution proposed in this thesis is to resort to a hybrid approach whereby the traditional MMD method is enhanced to also consider the environmental conditions of these regions. This approach is based on the integration of the characteristics of new asphalt binders (performance grade or modified asphalt) and the compaction test performed with the gyratory compactor as associated to the Superpave mix design (SMD) method. This proposed Modified Marshall Method (3M) is cost-effective because it does not require expensive equipment and tools (except the gyratory compactor), is relatively easy-to-use, and does not require substantial training for operators and engineers. The results of the laboratory investigations conducted as part of this thesis show substantial improvement of the properties of asphalt mixtures and an equally substantial increase in performance, indicative of extended pavement life in hot and arid (HA) climates with minimal additional equipment as proposed in modified Marshall method.
Complete mitochondrial genome of the Salangid icefish Neosalanx taihuensis (Actinopterygii: Osmeriformes: Salangidae)

Abstract The complete mitochondrial DNA genome of the Salangid icefish (Neosalanx taihuensis) was sequenced by the primer walking sequence method. The entire mitochondrial genome of this species is 17,035 bp in length, making it the longest among the reported mitochondrial genomes of Osmeriformes. It contains 13 protein-coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, and one control region (CR). The gene arrangement, nucleotide composition, and codon usage pattern of the mitochondrial genome are similar to those of other teleosts except for two long tandem repeats in the CR. A 486 bp tandem repeat fragment was identified that comprises 2 copies of 243 bp motif and accounts approximately 35.5% of the CR. The 243 bp tandem repeat motif can be folded into a stem-loop secondary structure. Phylogenetic analysis based on 12 concatenated protein-coding genes of the heavy strand shows the genus Neosalanx diverged most recently and clustered with Protosalanx hyalocranius as a clade.
Characterization of different microalgae cultivated in open ponds

Microalga is one of the main sources of biomasses for the production of biofuels in the 21st century. Many labs and industries around the world are seeking for more productive strains and better cultivation models. The aim of this work was to evaluate the growth and kinetic parameters of six microalgae, and the moisture and lipid contents and fatty acids profiles of the biomasses harvested at the end of each cultivation. The microalgae were isolated in the Mid-Western Region of Brazil cultivated in open pond systems. It was observed that among the six microalgae used in this work, Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata presented the higher maximum specific growth rate (μmax) (0.12 day-1). The microalgae Coelastrum sp. and P. subcapitata were the ones with the highest lipid contents, with approximately 20% of dry mass. The main fatty acid accumulated in these conditions was palmitic acid, with percentages of 59 to 69% for all microalgae evaluated. Other factors that had influenced results from cultivations in open ponds were discussed here.
Succession of ruminal bacterial species and fermentation characteristics in preweaned Brangus calves1

© The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society of Animal Science. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oup.com. Transl. Anim. Sci. 2018.2:S48–S52 doi: 10.1093/tas/txy043