Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of MERIS, MODIS, SeaWiFS-derived particulate organic carbon, and in situ measurements in the South China Sea

ABSTRACT Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS), Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) particulate organic carbon (POC) concentration products for the South China Sea (SCS) were compared with in situ data collected from October 2007 to December 2013. Spectral remote-sensing reflectance (Rrs,λ) was also measured to help understand POC algorithm performance. A strict comparison of the satellite-derived POC and in situ measurements showed that MERIS, MODIS, and SeaWiFS underestimated in situ values by 29.1, 11.7, and 31.5%, respectively. Similar results were obtained with a relaxed matching criterion. Through analysis of the causes of product uncertainty, the results suggested that satellite retrieval of Rrs,λ and the global POC algorithm both have an impact on inversion accuracy. However, the formulation of the POC algorithm seems to be more critical. When a regional algorithm was developed to obtain satellite-derived POC, both the strict and relaxed comparison results showed significant improvement, but for coastal waters, both algorithms had larger errors. Other factors affecting the comparison are also discussed.
Evaluation of Cell Responses of Saccharomyces cerevisiae under Cultivation Using Wheat Bran as a Nutrient Resource by Analyses of Growth Activities and Comprehensive Gene Transcription Levels

Wheat bran has high nutritional values and is also cheaper than yeast nitrogen base as an important component of a medium. Although its use in microbial cultivations is expected, research and development has hardly progressed so far. In this study, with experimental Saccharomyces cerevisiae BY4741, the cell responses to wheat bran as a nutrient were evaluated by analyses of cell growth, ethanol production, and comprehensive gene transcription levels. Comparing wheat bran and yeast nitrogen base, BY4741 showed specific growth rates of 0.277 ± 0.002 and 0.407 ± 0.035 as a significant difference. Additionally, wheat bran could be used as a restricted media component like yeast nitrogen base. However, in 24 h of cultivation with wheat bran and yeast nitrogen base, although conversion ratios of ethanol productions showed no significant difference at 63.0 ± 7.2% and 62.5 ± 8.2%, the ratio of cell production displayed a significant difference at 7.31 ± 0.04% and 4.90 ± 0.16%, indicating a different cell response. In fact, the comprehensive evaluation of transcription levels strongly suggested major changes in glucose metabolism. This study indicated that BY4741 could switch transcription levels efficiently to use wheat bran.
Si3C Monolayer as an Efficient Metal-Free Catalyst for Nitrate Electrochemical Reduction: A Computational Study

Nitrate electroreduction reaction to ammonia (NO3ER) holds great promise for both nitrogen pollution removal and valuable ammonia synthesis, which are still dependent on transition-metal-based catalysts at present. However, metal-free catalysts with multiple advantages for such processes have been rarely reported. Herein, by means of density functional theory (DFT) computations, in which the Perdew–Burke–Ernzerhof (PBE) functional is obtained by considering the possible van der Waals (vdW) interaction using the DFT+D3 method, we explored the potential of several two-dimensional (2D) silicon carbide monolayers as metal-free NO3ER catalysts. Our results revealed that the excellent synergistic effect between the three Si active sites within the Si3C monolayer enables the sufficient activation of NO3− and promotes its further hydrogenation into NO2*, NO*, and NH3, making the Si3C monolayer exhibit high NO3ER activity with a low limiting potential of −0.43 V. In particular, such an electrochemical process is highly dependent on the pH value of the electrolytes, in which acidic conditions are more favorable for NO3ER. Moreover, ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations demonstrated the high stability of the Si3C monolayer. In addition, the Si3C monolayer shows a low formation energy, excellent electronic properties, a superior suppression effect on competing reactions, and high stability, offering significant advantages for its experimental synthesis and practical applications in electrocatalysis. Thus, a Si3C monolayer can perform as a promising NO3ER catalyst, which would open a new avenue to further develop novel metal-free catalysts for NO3ER.
Intrusion Detection Based on Feature Reduction and Model Pruning in Electricity Trading Network

The electricity trading network increases network flexibility and lowers trading costs with the aid of 5G and IOT technology. While it has improved trading efficiency and enhanced system intelligence, its security vulnerabilities pose significant challenges. In this study, we propose an intrusion detection method that focuses on feature reduction and model pruning in electricity trading network. The method effectively addresses the imbalance issue of the IDS2017 dataset by employing the SMOTE algorithm, reduces feature size and computational complexity through the application of PCA, autoencoder, and random forest techniques, and develops a lightweight intrusion detection model specifically designed for electricity trading network using model pruning and compression techniques. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model in detecting intrusions. The achieved precision, recall, F1 score, and false positive rate are at least 98.8%, 87.9%, 90.0%, and 0.08%, respectively. Furthermore, we conducted a comparative analysis of different pruning thresholds and determined that reducing the dimensionality to 49 dimensions yields superior model performance, making it particularly suitable for resource-constrained electricity trading network.
Thin Films of a Complex Polymer Compound for the Inhibition of Iron Alloy Corrosion in a H3PO4 Solution

The etching of iron alloy items in a H3PO4 solution is used in various human activities (gas and oil production, metalworking, transport, utilities, etc.). The etching of iron alloys is associated with significant material losses due to their corrosion. It has been found that an efficient way to prevent the corrosion of iron alloys in a H3PO4 solution involves the formation of thin complex compound films consisting of the corrosion inhibitor molecules of a triazole derivative (TrzD) on their surface. It has been shown that the protection of iron alloys with a mixture of TrzD + KNCS in a H3PO4 solution is accompanied by the formation of a thin film of coordination polymer compounds thicker than 4 nm consisting of TrzD molecules, Fe2+ cations and NCS−. The layer of the complex compound immediately adjacent to the iron alloy surface is chemisorbed on it. The efficiency of this composition as an inhibitor of iron alloy corrosion and hydrogen bulk sorption by iron alloys is determined by its ability to form a coordination polymer compound layer, as experimentally confirmed by electrochemical, AFM and XPS data. The efficiency values of inhibitor compositions 5 mM TrzD + 0.5 mM KNCS and 5 mM TrzD + 0.5 mM KNCS + 200 mM C6H12N4 at a temperature of 20 ± 1 °C are 97% and 98%, respectively. The kinetic parameters of the limiting processes of hydrogen evolution and permeation into an iron alloy in a H3PO4 solution were determined. A significant decrease in both the reaction rate of hydrogen evolution and the rate of hydrogen permeation into the iron alloy by the TrzD and its mixtures in question was noted. The inhibitor compositions 5 mM TrzD + 0.5 mM KNCS and 5 mM TrzD + 0.5 mM KNCS + 200 mM C6H12N4 decreased the total hydrogen concentration in the iron alloy up to 9.3- and 11-fold, respectively. The preservation of the iron alloy plasticity in the corrosive environment containing the inhibitor under study was determined by a decrease in the hydrogen content in the alloy bulk.
A refined formula for the allowable soil pressure using shear wave velocities

Based on a variety of case histories of site investigations, including extensive bore hole data, laboratory testing and geophysical prospecting at more than 550 construction sites, an empirical formulation is proposed for the rapid determination of allowable bearing pressure of shallow foundations in soils and rocks. The proposed expression corroborates consistently with the results of the classical theory and is proven to be rapid, and reliable. Plate load tests have been also carried out at three different sites, in order to further confirm the validity of the proposed method. It consists of only two soil parameters, namely, thein situ measured shear wave velocity and the unit weight. The unit weight may be also determined with sufficient accuracy, by means of other empirical expressions proposed, using P or S - wave velocities. It is indicated that once the shear and P-wave velocities are measured in situ by an appropriate geophysical survey, the allowable bearing pressure as well as the coefficient of subgrade reaction and many other elasticity parameters may be determined rapidly and reliably. Key words: Shear wave velocity, shallow foundations, allowable bearing pressure, dynamic technique, soils and rocks.
Sonographic Assessment of Intima-Media Thickness of Carotid Arteries in Hypertensive and Diabetic Volunteers

Objective: Diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension are among the most common causes of arteriosclerotic diseases. Intima-media thickness is usually increased with arterial diseases and an increase in carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) is associated with the presence and extent of coronary artery disease (CAD). This study was designed to sonographically compare the cIMT in hypertensive and DM patient volunteers. Materials and Methods: A case-control stratified study was conducted at Lahore imaging center. Patients were invited to the study had to more than 30 years of age, DM, and hypertension. Individuals from the same age group without hypertension and DM were invited as study controls. Patients with an endarterectomy, or other arterial interventional procedure, as well as a previous history of cardiovascular disease and stroke, were excluded. Results: The mean cIMT, within the right carotid artery was 0.53 mm for the control group, 0.69 mm for the DM group, 0.67 mm for the hypertensive group, and 0.98 mm for the DM and hypertensive patients. The mean cIMT of the left carotid artery was 0.56 mm for the control group, 0.7 mm for DM group, 0.68 mm for hypertensive group, and 1.01 mm for the DM and hypertensive patients. Conclusion: There was a significant difference between the mean cIMT among DM and non-DM individuals. The control group and the DM or hypertension group also differed significantly. However, a more significant difference was found in the mean cIMT within the common carotid artery of control group as well as those with both DM and hypertension.
Revolutionizing Diabetes Diagnosis: Machine Learning Techniques Unleashed

The intricate and multifaceted nature of diabetes disrupts the body’s crucial glucose processing mechanism, which serves as a fundamental energy source for the cells. This research aims to predict the occurrence of diabetes in individuals by harnessing the power of machine learning algorithms, utilizing the PIMA diabetes dataset. The selected algorithms employed in this study encompass Decision Tree, K-Nearest Neighbor, Random Forest, Logistic Regression, and Support Vector Machine. To execute the experiments, two software tools, namely Waikato Environment for Knowledge Analysis (WEKA) version 3.8. 1 and Python version 3.10, were utilized. To evaluate the performance of the algorithms, several metrics were employed, including true positive rate, false positive rate, precision, recall, F-measure, Matthew’s correlation coefficient, receiver operating characteristic area, and precision–recall curves area. Furthermore, various errors such as Mean Absolute Error, Root Mean Squared Error, Relative Absolute Error, and Root Relative Squared Error were examined to assess the accuracy of the models. Upon conducting the experiments, it was observed that Logistic Regression outperformed the other techniques, exhibiting the highest precision of 81 percent using Python and 80.43 percent using WEKA. These findings shed light on the efficacy of machine learning in predicting diabetes and highlight the potential of Logistic Regression as a valuable tool in this domain.
Settling Velocity of Fine Suspended Sediment in the Changjiang Estuary

Vertical profiles of fine suspension concentration were measured by using an acoustic suspended sediment monitor at the North Passage of the Changjiang Estuary. Vertical profiles of fine suspension concentration at high slack tide (1100 h) were fit by the Rouse equation in order to calculate the settling velocities of fine suspended sediments. The calculated settling velocities range from 3.0 to 4.0 mm/s.
The Effect of Faculty of Sports Sciences Students' Unemployment Concerns on Academic Self-Efficiency

Among the concerns experienced by the youth today, anxiety about the future and unemployment have reached remarkable dimensions. This research was carried out to examine the effect of unemployment anxiety on the academic self-efficacy of the students of the faculty of sports sciences. The unemployment anxiety scale and academic self-efficacy scale were used as data collection tools. The sample group for the study consists of 417 university students studying at the faculties of sports sciences at six universities in Turkey. Data were collected via Google Form, and the SPSS 21 package was used in the analysis of the data obtained. According to the findings, the unemployment anxiety of the students of the faculty of sports sciences; academic achievement differs according to grade point average, coaching certificate, and work experience. Academic self-efficacy levels differ significantly according to gender, department average, and work experience.As a result, there is a positive and significant relationship between "personal pessimism and lack of confidence", "lack of qualitative knowledge and skills," and "cognitive practices and academic self-efficacy" among the unemployment concerns of sports science students. It was determined that, as the unemployment anxiety of the students increased, their academic self-efficacy scores also increased.Keywords: Academic Self-Efficacy, Faculty of Sports Science Students, Unemployment Anxiety
Carbetocin Inhibits Behavioral Sensitization to Ethanol in Male and Female Mice, Independent of Corticosterone Levels

Oxytocin (OXT), a pro-social peptide, is increasingly recognized as a potential protective substance against drug addiction. In the context of ethanol, previous research has shown OXT’s properties in reducing self-administration, alleviating motor impairment in rodents, and reducing craving in humans. However, its role in behavioral sensitization, a neuroadaptive response resulting from repeated drug exposure linked to an increased drug incentive, remains unexplored. OXT is recognized for its role in regulating the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, in which corticosterone is acknowledged as a significant factor in the development of behavioral sensitization. This study aimed to investigate the effects of carbetocin (CBT), an analogue of OXT, on the expression of behavioral sensitization to ethanol and the concurrent alterations in plasma corticosterone levels in male and female Swiss mice. We also aimed to confirm previous studies on OXT’s impact on ethanol consumption in male mice, but with a focus on CBT, using the two-bottle choice model and the drinking in the dark (DID) methodology. For the sensitization study, the mice received either ethanol (1.8 g/kg, i.p.) or saline treatments daily for 15 consecutive days, followed by treatment with carbetocin (0.64 mg/kg, i.p.) or a vehicle for 6 days. Subsequently, on day 22, all the animals underwent an ethanol challenge to assess the expression of behavioral sensitization. The plasma corticosterone levels were measured on days 21 and 22. The CBT effectively prevented the expression of ethanol-induced behavioral sensitization in both male and female subjects, with no alterations having been detected in their corticosterone levels. In the ethanol consumption study, following an initial phase of ethanol acquisition, the male mice underwent a 6-day treatment with CBT i.p. or saline before being re-exposed to ethanol. We also found a reduction in their ethanol consumption due to the CBT treatment. In conclusion, carbetocin emerges as a promising and effective intervention for mitigating ethanol-induced behavioral sensitization and reducing ethanol intake, highlighting its potential significance in alcohol addiction treatment.
The complete chloroplast genome of Torenia violacea (Azaola) Pennell 1943 (Linderniaceae)

Abstract Torenia violacea (Azaola) Pennell 1943 as a traditional Chinese medicine plant, has been used to treat multiple diseases. In this study, we sequenced, assembled, and characterized the complete plastome of T. violacea. The plastome (OQ167784) exhibited a typical quadripartite structure, with a total length of 154,007 bp, comprising a pair of inverted repeats (IRs; 24,809 bp) separated by a large single-copy (LSC) region (85,559 bp) and a small single-copy (SSC) region (18,830 bp). Through genome annotation, we identified 133 genes, including 87 protein-coding genes, eight rRNA genes, and 38 tRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a close relationship between T. violacea and T. fournieri. The research results provide basic genetic resources for the development of species identification and investigation of phylogenetic relationships in the Torenia genus.
The Effect of Friendship on Loneliness in Post-Pandemic Overseas Students

Loneliness is a common problem among overseas students. Loneliness can occur due to the low level of the intimacy of friendship. Thus, this study aimed to determine the effect of friendship on the loneliness of respondents. The research used comparative causal type quantitative methods. The study involved 385 respondents who were overseas students at Malang State University class of 2020 and 2021 who started friendships online and continued offline. They were selected using a purposive sampling technique. The study used the University of California, Los Angeles Loneliness Scale Version 3 (UCLA LS) scale, which was adapted into Indonesian by Putri (2019) and modified by researchers, had 14 items with a reliability of 0.884, and the Intimacy of Friendship Scale by Rizal’s (2020) and modified by researchers, had 41 items with a reliability of 0.942. Data analysis in this study used simple regression analysis. The results showed that intimacy of friendship contributed 32.7% to loneliness with a negative influence (ρ = 0.000). Keywords: Intimacy of friendship; Loneliness; Overseas students; Post-pandemic
Estimating evapotranspiration for annual crops in Cyprus using remote sensing

Diofantos G. Hadjimitsis (Supervisor), Leonidas Toulios (Committee Member), Silas Michaelides (Committee Member), Ahanasios Loukas (Examining Member-Chairperson), Evaggelos Akylas (Examing Committee Member),
An Equatorial–Extratropical Dipole Structure of the Atlantic Niño

AbstractEquatorial Atlantic variability is dominated by the Atlantic Nino peaking during the boreal summer. Studies have shown robust links of the Atlantic Nino to fluctuations of the St. Helena subtropical anticyclone and Benguela Nino events. Furthermore, the occurrence of opposite sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the eastern equatorial and southwestern extratropical South Atlantic Ocean (SAO), also peaking in boreal summer, has recently been identified and termed the SAO dipole (SAOD). However, the extent to which and how the Atlantic Nino and SAOD are related remain unclear. Here, an analysis of historical observations reveals the Atlantic Nino as a possible intrinsic equatorial arm of the SAOD. Specifically, the observed sporadic equatorial warming characteristic of the Atlantic Nino (~0.4 K) is consistently linked to southwestern cooling (~−0.4 K) of the Atlantic Ocean during the boreal summer. Heat budget calculations show that the SAOD is largely driven by the surface net heat flux anoma.
Statistical and realistic numerical model investigations of anthropogenic and climatic factors that influence hypoxic area variability in the Gulf of Mexico

Statistical and Realistic Numerical Model Investigations of Anthropogenic and Climatic Factors that Influence Hypoxic Area Variability in the Gulf of Mexico. (May 2012) Yang Feng, B. S. , Ocean University of China; M.S., Ocean University of China Co–Chairs of Advisory Committee: Dr. Steven DiMarco Dr. George A. Jackson The hypoxic area in the Gulf of Mexico is the second largest in the world, which has received extensive scientific study and management interest. Previous modeling studies have concluded that the increased hypoxic area in the Gulf of Mexico was caused by the increased anthropogenic nitrogen loading of the Mississippi River; however, the nitrogen-area relationship is complicated by many other factors, such as wind, river discharge, and the ratio of Mississippi to Atchafalaya River flow. These factors are related to large-scale climate variability, and thus will not be affected by regional nitrogen reduction efforts. In the research presented here, both statistical (regression) and numerical models are used to study the influence of anthropogenic and climate factors on the hypoxic area variability in the Gulf of Mexico. The numerical model is a three-dimensional, coupled hydrological-biogeochemical model (ROMS-Fennel). Results include: (1) the west wind duration during the summer explain 55% of the hypoxic area variability since 1993. Combined wind duration and nitrogen loading explain over 70% of the variability, and combined wind duration and river discharge explain over 85% of the variability. (2) The numerical model captures the temporal variability, but overestimates the bottom oxygen concentrations. The model shows that the simulated
Reducing time-scale uncertainty for the Devonian by integrating astrochronology and Bayesian statistics

Dealing with uncertainties is inherent to the scientific process. In the process of building geologic time scales, the reported uncertainties are at least as important as the estimates of the numerical ages. Currently all time scales for the Devonian are based on conventional age-depth models, constructed by linear or cubic interpolation between different dated positions. Unfortunately, such models tend to produce overoptimistic confidence intervals. In this study we apply Bayesian statistics to the Devonian time scale to better incorporate stratigraphic and radioisotopic uncertainty. This approach yields a Devonian time scale characterized by increasing uncertainty with growing stratigraphic distance from a radioisotopically dated sample. This feature is absent from The Geologic Time Scale 2012 ; therefore, that time scale is overoptimistic. We further constrain the obtained time scale by incorporating astrochronological duration estimates for the Givetian and Frasnian stages. The combination of radioisotopic dating and astrochronology results in a reduction of the uncertainty on the numerical age of the stage boundaries concerned by several million years. For example, we estimate the age of the Frasnian- Famennian boundary at 373.9 ± 1.4 Ma.
Biodynamic Modeling and Analysis of Human-Exoskeleton Interactions During Assisted Manual Handling

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of a back exoskeleton on joint kinematics and kinetics during assisted manual handling tasks using subject-specific musculoskeletal biodynamic models and model-based analyses. We constructed these musculoskeletal models using OpenSim (Delp et al., 2007), incorporating optical motion capture, ground reaction forces (GRFs) measurements, and humanexoskeleton interactive force input. Our long-term goal is to enable digital modeling and simulation that can aid in the design and development of more effective exoskeletons and safer manual handling practices.