Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evidence of Nocturnal Migration over Sea and Sex-Specific Migration Distance of Dutch Black-Headed Gulls

Avian migration is recorded over long distances, but some species winter much closer to their breeding sites or do not migrate at all. Specifically, the family of gulls Laridae shows great within and among species variation in migration. However, the migration ecology of many gull species is still unknown, even for abundant and widespread species such as the Black-headed Gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus. Here, we aimed to map the migration of Black-headed Gulls using GPS-tracking data from eight birds from a declining colony at Griend in the Dutch Wadden Sea to study migration routes and timing as well as wintering habitat of these birds. Furthermore, we used this GPS-data and 199 colour-ring resightings of adult birds from the same colony to study their wintering locations and habitat. The GPS-tagged birds migrated away from the Dutch Wadden Sea between mid-September and late November. All migrated in western to south-western directions to wintering areas at 130 to 560 km from the breeding colony. The GPS-tagged individuals wintered in The Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom and migrated towards these wintering sites both diurnally and nocturnally. The data indicate that most movements over the North Sea were nocturnal, whereas most migratory movements over land were during the day. Colour-ring data showed that females wintered significantly further away than males. We found no indications for differences in timing of migration between males and females and also no sex-specific preference for nocturnal or diurnal migration. We argue that the hitherto undocumented prevalence of nocturnal sea crossings calls for a better assessment of the potential risks of offshore wind energy developments in the North Sea. As such, this and new GPS-tracking data of Black-headed Gulls can aid in the conservation of this common and widespread species by providing novel insights in migration behaviour and the connectivity between breeding and wintering grounds.
Hyperaccumulator Stanleya pinnata: In Situ Fitness in Relation to Tissue Selenium Concentration

Earlier studies have shown that Stanleya pinnata benefits from selenium hyperaccumulation through ecological benefits and enhanced growth. However, no investigation has assayed the effects of Se hyperaccumulation on plant fitness in the field. This research aimed to analyze how variation in Se accumulation affects S. pinnata fitness, judged from physiological and biochemical performance parameters and herbivory while growing naturally on two seleniferous sites. Natural variation in Se concentration in vegetative and reproductive tissues was determined, and correlations were explored between Se levels with fitness parameters, herbivory damage, and plant defense compounds. Leaf Se concentration varied between 13- and 55-fold in the two populations, averaging 868 and 2482 mg kg−1 dry weight (DW). Furthermore, 83% and 31% of plants from the two populations showed Se hyperaccumulator levels in leaves (>1000 mg kg−1 DW). In seeds, the Se levels varied 3–4-fold and averaged 3372 and 2267 mg kg−1 DW, well above the hyperaccumulator threshold. Plant size and reproductive parameters were not correlated with Se concentration. There was significant herbivory pressure even on the highest-Se plants, likely from Se-resistant herbivores. We conclude that the variation in Se hyperaccumulation did not appear to enhance or compromise S. pinnata fitness in seleniferous habitats within the observed Se range.
Improving the Vertical Modeling of Tropospheric Delay

Accurate tropospheric delays from Numerical Weather Models (NWM) are an important input to space geodetic techniques, especially for precise real‐time Global Navigation Satellite Systems, which are indispensable to earthquake and tsunami early warning systems as well as weather forecasting. The NWM‐based tropospheric delays are currently provided either site‐specific with a limited spatial coverage, or on two‐dimensional grids close to the Earth surface, which cannot be used for high altitudes. We introduce a new method of representing NWM‐derived tropospheric zenith hydrostatic and wet delays. A large volume of NWM‐derived data is parameterized with surface values and additional two or three coefficients for their vertical scaling to heights up to 14 km. A precision of 1–2 mm is achieved for reconstructing delays to the NWM‐determined delays at any altitudes. The method can efficiently deliver NWM‐derived tropospheric delays to a broader community of space geodetic techniques.
Application of Indigenous Knowledge in Natural Resources and Environment Conservation in Nepal

Diversity, natural resources and indigenous knowledge are the wealth of Nepal. Nepalese indigenous people possesses large varieties in language, culture, traditions, art and literatures which can also be applied as knowledge system and can also be taken as indigenous knowledge. These indigenous knowledge are applicable not only in the continuation of beliefs, customs and traditions but also helpful in conservation of natural resources and environment. This paper aims to uncover the application of indigenous knowledge of some groups of indigenous people of Nepal and has applied descriptive and interpretive methods of study. The nature of data used in the study is qualitative. Most of practices are culturally and religiously important which are directly and indirectly helpful in environmental conservation but there is need of further scientific investigation and verification also.
An Integrated INS/Lidar Odometry/Polarized Camera Pose Estimation via Factor Graph Optimization for Sparse Environment

For the outdoor scenes with sparse features, the performance of inertial navigation system (INS)/Lidar odometry (LO)-based simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) pose estimation is drastically affected by the accumulated drift error and sparse features. A polarized camera (Polcam) that can obtain the absolute yaw angle from the polarized skylight is introduced to compensate for the accumulated drift error. A yaw measurement model based on the polarized camera is derived, and it will not suffer from the sparse and GNSS-denied environment. Moreover, it is integrated with INS/LO to construct a factor graph. The factor graph that consists of INS factor, polarized camera factor, lidar odometer factor, and motion model factor is optimized by nonlinear least squares. For the sparse environmental features, a robust and effective method named correntropy-based bidirectional generalized ICP (CoBigICP) has been adopted to register the sparse point cloud data. A loosely coupled INS/LO/Polcam integration based on factor graph optimization for sparse scenes is proposed, and it is tested and validated by an open dataset and experiment in the real-world environment, respectively. Different integration modes with different register methods are compared both in the simulation and experiment. The results show that the INS/LO integration with Polcam via factor graph optimization can realize better pose estimation accuracy than without in a sparse environment.
Continuously Tunable 3-D Printed Helical Resonators and Bandpass Filters Using Actuated Liquid Metals

This letter reports on a new class of agile helical resonators and bandpass filters (BPFs) with continuously-tunable center frequency. RF tuning is achieved by altering the liquid metal (LM) volume within an additively-manufactured plastic tube that has the shape of a helix and forms the inner conductor of the helical resonator. A low-cost and versatile integration scheme using 3-D printing and pneumatically-actuated Galinstan is proposed. For proof-of-concept validation purposes, a helical resonator with center frequency tuning between 1 and 1.5 GHz, and unloaded quality factor between 131 and 145 was manufactured and measured. Two BPF porotypes namely: 1) two-pole BPF with center frequency tuning between 1.16 and 1.49 GHz and insertion loss (IL) < 2 dB and 2) three-pole BPF with center frequency tuning between 1.18 and 1.49 GHz, and IL < 2.1 dB, were manufactured and tested at $L$ -band.
Chip-scale gyroscope using silicon-nitride waveguide resonator with a Q factor of 100 million

Recent breakthroughs in silicon photonics technology may soon lead to mass-producible chip-scale tactical-grade (or better) gyroscopes by using a CMOS-compatible fabrication process to print highly integrated high-sensitivity optical gyroscopes. This paper reports our progress on designing and building an optical gyro out of an SiN racetrack resonator of 37-mm perimeter with 1270 finesse (108 intrinsic quality factor) using off-the-shelf fiber components (circulators, splitters, and modulators) and a semiconductor laser to achieve an angular random walk (ARW) of 80 deg/h/Hz, or 1.3 deg/h. To our knowledge, it is a record by a factor of 2 for the ARW per footprint area of a Sagnac-effect-based gyroscope on a chip. A balanced-detection scheme is employed to cancel 18 dB of gyroscope noise caused by laser phase noise converted into amplitude noise by residual backscatterers in the resonator. The backscattering coefficient was found to be very sensitive to wavelength, and therefore to the resonance used to probe the resonator. The lowest backscattering coefficient was measured to be more than 1,000 times lower than the mean. The use of this resonance, as well as an asymmetric phase-modulation scheme, greatly reduced the gyroscope’s backscattering noise. Achieving this gyro’s theoretical minimum ARW of 16 deg/h/Hz will likely require a lower backscattering coefficient or better means of cancelling backscattering noise. Further improvements to tactical-grade performance (and better) will likely require a larger resonator area, further reduction of backscattering, and/or a laser with reduced frequency noise.
Free Convective Flow Past a Vertical Cone with Magnetohydrodynamics / Heat Generation / Absorption with Variable Heat Flux

Received: 11 May 2021 Accepted: 12 January 2022 The outcome of heat sink/source on natural convection movement with temperature and Magnetohydrodynamics transport from a vertical cone with variable surface heat flux is discussed. The leading boundary layer equation are obtained to dimensionless equation of the movement are explained by an absolutely stable finite difference system of Crank-Nicholson kind. This scheme transforms the non-dimensional equation into a system of tri-diagonal equation and which are worked out by using well known Thomas algorithm. The numerical solutions are presented in terms of fluid velocity, thermal, local as well as average shear stress and heat transfer rate for values of Prandtl number, magnetic parameter, heat sink/source constraint and the exponent in power law variant in surface thermal n has been analyzed both tabular and graphical forms. The current fallout is comparing with existing outcome in literature as well as be found to be outstanding concurrence.
What's in an ALT Tag? Exploring Caption Content Priorities through Collaborative Captioning

Evaluating the quality of accessible image captions with human raters is difficult, as it may be difficult for a visually impaired user to know how comprehensive a caption is, whereas a sighted assistant may not know what information a user will need from a caption. To explore how image captioners and caption consumers assess caption content, we conducted a series of collaborative captioning sessions in which six pairs, consisting of a blind person and their sighted partner, worked together to discuss, create, and evaluate image captions. By making captioning a collaborative task, we were able to observe captioning strategies, to elicit questions and answers about image captions, and to explore blind users’ caption preferences. Our findings provide insight about the process of creating good captions and serve as a case study for cross-ability collaboration between blind and sighted people.
Biomarkers of the Endocannabinoid System in Substance Use Disorders

Despite substance use disorders (SUD) being one of the leading causes of disability and mortality globally, available therapeutic approaches remain ineffective. The difficulty in accurately characterizing the neurobiological mechanisms involved with a purely qualitative diagnosis is an obstacle to improving the classification and treatment of SUD. In this regard, identifying central and peripheral biomarkers is essential to diagnosing the severity of drug dependence, monitoring therapeutic efficacy, predicting treatment response, and enhancing the development of safer and more effective pharmacological tools. In recent years, the crucial role that the endocannabinoid system (ECS) plays in regulating the reinforcing and motivational properties of drugs of abuse has been described. This has led to studies characterizing ECS alterations after exposure to various substances to identify biomarkers with potential diagnostic, prognostic, or therapeutic utility. This review aims to compile the primary evidence available from rodent and clinical studies on how the ECS components are modified in the context of different substance-related disorders, gathering data from genetic, molecular, functional, and neuroimaging experimental approaches. Finally, this report concludes that additional translational research is needed to further characterize the modifications of the ECS in the context of SUD, and their potential usefulness in the necessary search for biomarkers.
New ways of analyzing complementizer drop in Montréal French: Exploration of cognitive factors

Abstract In this paper, we return to the well-studied yet still puzzling phenomenon of complementizer omission in a large spoken corpus of Quebec French, with the help of modern computational methods for annotation and mixed effects logistic regression models. Supporting previous work, our study reveals that complementizer que omission is conditioned by social factors and grammatical factors; however, we also find that que omission is conditioned by cognitive factors such as information density. Our paper thus illustrates an important way in which older variationist corpora can continue to be valuable resources for studying fine-grained patterns of variation, particularly in their cognitive aspects.
In Silico De Novo Synthesis, Screening, and ADME/T Profiling of DNA-pA104R Inhibitors as Potential African Swine Fever Therapeutics

African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV) is a dsDNA virus causative of the African Swine Fever (ASF) in wild and domestic hogs. ASF is characterized by hemorrhagic fever, high mortality, and transmissibility. The binding of the DNA to the pA104R protein mediates viral replication and genome packaging. In the present study, we generated nine (9) reference compounds that exhibited high docking affinities through de novo computeraided drug design (CADD). These compounds were then used as query molecules to find commercially available drug-like compounds using ligand-based virtual screening (VS). We were able to retrieve 900 hit compounds that exhibited the same pharmacophoric activities. Then, these hit compounds were subjected to drug-likeness filtration to identify the most likely to be developed as commercial drugs based on established parameters. We identified sixty-two (62) drug-like molecules. Molecular docking was then performed to determine the top five compounds with the highest binding affinities against the target protein. ADME/T profiling was done on these compounds to assess their pharmacokinetic properties. Compound 8.45 performed best based on our devised scoring system. This paper shall serve as a good reference in the discovery and development of anti-ASFV therapeutics.
Alternative Hapten Design for Zearalenone Immunoreagent Generation

Appropriate hapten design and synthesis have been identified as critical steps to generate high-performance immunoreagents and to develop sensitive and selective immunoanalytical methods. Antibodies and immunoassays for the major mycotoxin zearalenone have been reported and marketed. However, zearalenone haptens have mostly been prepared by the oxime active ester technique, and hapten characterization has generally been poor or non-existent. In the present study, novel haptens of zearalenone with longer linkers and with alternative tethering sites have been designed for immunizing and assay conjugate preparation. All of these molecules were purified and spectroscopically verified, and a structure-activity relationship evaluation was carried out. This approach revealed that the hapten with the linker at the carbonyl group generated antibodies with a higher affinity than the hapten functionalized at the phenyl moiety. Antibodies produced with the latter hapten, on the other hand, showed lower cross-reactivity values to the major zearalenone metabolites. Finally, similar immunoassay sensitivity was achieved with all of the antibodies when heterologous haptens were employed. Furthermore, by altering the structure of the competing antigen, the immunoassay selectivity was modified. These results demonstrate that immunochemical methods for zearalenone rapid analysis can still be improved in terms of sensitivity and selectivity.
Assessing the Accuracy of Leg Mounted Sensors for Recording Dairy Cow Behavioural Activity at Pasture, in Cubicle Housing and a Straw Yard

Simple Summary Sensors attached to the legs of cows are used to record behaviours such as lying times and step count. It is important that the information recorded by sensors is accurate, as changes to behaviour could indicate to the farmer that a cow is sick or in heat. Therefore, this study compared the behaviours recorded by IceQube sensors to those visually observed by humans, when the cows where housed at pasture, in a straw yard and in cubicle housing. The results showed that lying and standing times, the number of times the cows stood up and laid down and the number of steps recorded by the sensors and human observers was similar. Sensors accurately recording cow activity could potentially be worn by cows throughout their lives and could be used to predict and detect sick cows. This could allow the farmer to respond quicker and treat sick cows sooner, increasing animal welfare. Abstract The accuracy of CowAlert IceQube sensors (IceRobotics Ltd., Edinburgh, UK) for recording lying duration, standing and lying transitions and number of steps when dairy cows where at pasture, in cubicle housing and in a straw yard, was investigated. Holstein Friesian cows at Harper Adams University, UK were fitted with IceQube sensors; one on the back left (BL) leg and one on the front left (FL) leg. Cows at pasture (n = 48), in cubicle housing (n = 46) and in a straw yard (n = 45) were visually observed. Data were analysed in two stages: (1) an initial exploratory phase determined the correlation level between sensor measurements andvisual observations. Subsequently, (2) a mixed effects modelling framework was used to check whether sensors provide significantly different measures of cow’s activities compared to the observations. Results indicate that lying and standing times are similar between the observed and recorded times, in all three locations. In terms of sensor placement, significant differences were found between the number of steps recorded between BL and FL on straw and pasture, but all other activities were similar, in each location. The accuracy of CowAlert IceQube sensors on the BL leg gives them the potential to be used as lifelong sensors.
Verification of a single-shot high speed aerial chromatic confocal metrology sensor

Purposefully induced axial chromatic aberration is the core of the chromatic confocal metrology technique. Through the resulting generation of separated focal planes for each wavelength of a broadband light source a measurement volume is created and a three-dimensional reconstruction of the topography of technical and biomedical surfaces and layers can be performed. Based on the chromatic confocal metrology technique various metrology sensors and measurement systems have been developed, with high axial and lateral resolution, accuracy and precision. For a significant increase in measurement points, that can be measured simultaneously and the resulting reduction in measurement time, a chromatic confocal method utilizing a micro-lens array in combination with a improved spectral peak detection, has been developed. Through a single image acquisition, the object topography can be measured for multiple points simultaneously and therefore mitigating the need for axial as well as lateral scanning of the object. For this reason in-situ applications have become a viable domain. First preliminary results of testing a laboratory setup of the proposed system design are presented.
Characteristics and Risk Factors for Mortality by Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic Waves in Fulton County, Georgia: A Cohort Study March 2020–February 2021

Abstract Background We examined differences in mortality among coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the first, second, and third waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A retrospective cohort study of COVID-19 cases in Fulton County, Georgia, USA, reported to a public health surveillance from March 2020 through February 2021. We estimated case-fatality rates (CFR) by wave and used Cox proportional hazards random-effects models in each wave, with random effects at individual and long-term-care-facility level, to determine risk factors associated with rates of mortality. Results Of 75 289 confirmed cases, 4490 (6%) were diagnosed in wave 1 (CFR 31 deaths/100 000 person days [pd]), 24 293 (32%) in wave 2 (CFR 7 deaths/100 000 pd), and 46 506 (62%) in wave 3 (CFR 9 deaths/100 000 pd). Compared with females, males were more likely to die in each wave: wave 1 (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.2–1.8), wave 2 (aHR 1.5, 95% CI, 1.2–1.8), and wave 3 (aHR 1.7, 95% CI, 1.5–2.0). Compared with non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks were more likely to die in each wave: wave 1 (aHR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.1–1.8), wave 2 (aHR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.2–1.9), and wave 3 (aHR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.4–2.0). Cases with any disability, chronic renal disease, and cardiovascular disease were more likely to die in each wave compared with those without these comorbidities. Conclusions Our study found gender and racial/ethnic disparities in COVID-19 mortality and certain comorbidities associated with COVID-19 mortality. These factors have persisted throughout the COVID-19 pandemic waves, despite improvements in diagnosis and treatment.