Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Toxicity and Bioaccumulation of Monomethylmercury in Freshwater Cyanobacteria: Oscillatoria tenuisa and Microcystis aeruginosa

This study investigated the toxicity and bioaccumulation of monomethylmercury (MMHg) using two freshwater cyanobacteria— Oscillatoria tenuisa and Microcystis aeruginosa—that were isolated from a eutrophic reservoir. Tested concentrations were 1, 10, 50, and 250 μg L−1 of MMHg. The MMHg uptake depended on the phases of growth, period of exposure, and initial concentration of MMHg to which the cyanobacteria were exposed. The growth rate during the logarithmic phase was 0.17 day−1 for O. tenuisa, and 0.05 day−1 for M. aeruginosa in 250 μg L−1 of MMHg. These rates were a factor of 3.5–6 lower than that in the original medium without exposure to MMHg. The accumulation of MMHg by cyanobacteria increased rapidly within 4 weeks from the initial value of 1.2 × 10−4 – 1.6 × 10−4 ng cell−1 on sampling day 2 in the lag phase to 0.92 × 10−3 – 7.5 × 10−2 ng cell−1 on sampling day 28 during the stationary phase. The uptake rate of MMHg in the logarithmic phase cultures greatly exceeded that in the stationary cultures. The accumulation of MMHg by cyanobacteria depended on extracellular organic matter (EOM). Linear correlation analysis indicated a significant and negative correlation between the amount of bioaccumulation of MMHg in cyanobacterial cells and EOM concentration in suspension. Additionally, the effective concentrations (EC) of MMHg for inhibiting the growth of the two cyanobacterial species at 96 h (96 h EC50) were determined to be 340 μg L−1 for M. aeruginosa and 568 μg L−1 for O. tenuisa. The no observed effect concentrations (NOEC) for the two species were 64 μg L−1 and 115 μg L−1, respectively. Preliminary results that were based on SEM-map studies suggest that most of the MMHg accumulated in the cytoplasm (intercellular) of M. aeruginosa.
NOAA Marine Geophysical Data and a GEBCO Grid for the Topographical Analysis of Japanese Archipelago by Means of GRASS GIS and GDAL Library

This article analyzes topographical and geological settings in the Japan Archipelago for comparative raster data processing using GRASS GIS. Data include bathymetric and geological grids in NetCDF format: GEBCO, EMAG2, GlobSed, marine free-air gravity anomaly and EGM96. Data were imported to GRASS by gdalwarp utility of GDAL and projected via PROJ library. Methodology includes data processing (projecting and import), mapping and spatial analysis. Visualization was done by shell scripting using a sequence of GRASS modules: ‘d.shade’ for relief mapping, ‘r.slope. aspect’; for modelling based on DEM, ‘r.contour’ for plotting isolines, ‘r.mapcalc’ for classification, ‘r.category’ for associating labels, and auxiliary modules (d.vect, d.rast, d.grid, d.legend). The results of the geophysical visualization show that marine free-air gravitational anomalies vary in the Sea of Japan (–30 to above 40 mGal) reflecting density inhomogeneities of the tectonic structure, and correlating with the geological structure of the seafloor. Dominating values of geoid model are 30–45 m reflecting West Pacific rise, determined by deep density inhomogeneities associated with the mantle convention. Sediment thickness varies across the sea reflecting its geological development with density of 2 km in its deepest part and thinner in central part (Yamato Rise). The aspect map and reclassified map express gradient of the steepest descent.
Utilizing Breathing Techniques to Maximize Training Performance

s Accepted Cater, P.C. , Sertic, J.V. L. , Davis, D.W. , Barrios, B. , Carrier, B. , Salatto, R.W. , Montes, J., Bodell, N.G. , Manning, J.W. , DeBeliso, M. , Navalta, J.W. Evaluating the Validity of Heart Rate Measured by the Rhythm During Trail Running. Annual Meeting of the Southwest American College of Sports Medicine, Newport Beach, CA, 2019. Sertic, J.V. L. , Cater, P.C. , Davis, D.W. , Barrios, B. , Carrier, B. , Salatto, R.W. , Montes, J., Bodell, N.G. , Manning, J.W. , DeBeliso, M. , Navalta, J.W. Validating the Heart Rate Feature of the Motiv Ring on Outside Graded Terrain. Annual Meeting of the Southwest American College of Sports Medicine, Newport Beach, CA, 2019. Davis, D.W. , Barrios, B. , Carrier, B. , Salatto, R.W. , Sertic, J.V. L. , Cater, P.C. , Montes, J., Bodell, N.G. , Manning, J.W. , DeBeliso, M. , Navalta, J.W. Evaluating the Validity of Heart Rate Measured by the Garmin Fenix 5 During Trail Running. Annual Meeting of the Southwest American College of Sports Medicine, Newport Beach, CA, 2019. Navalta, J.W. , Salatto, R.W. , Montes, J., Bodell, N.G. , Carrier, B. , Sertic, J.V. L. , Barrios, B. , Cater, P.C. , Davis, D.W. , Manning, J.W. , DeBeliso, M. Wearable Device Price is Correlated with the Limits of Agreement Range as a Measure of Heart Rate Validity during Trail Running. Annual Meeting of the Southwest American College of Sports Medicine, Newport Beach, CA, 2019. Salatto, R.W. , Navalta, J.W. , Montes, J., Bodell, N.G. , Carrier, B. , Sertic, J.V. L. , Barrios, B. , Cater, P.C. , Davis, D.W. , Manning, J.W. , DeBeliso, M. Evaluating the Validity of Heart Rate Measured by the Suunto Spartan Sport Watch During Trail Running. Annual Meeting of the Southwest American College of Sports Medicine, Newport Beach, CA, 2019. Under Review Sertic, J. V. L. , Carrier, B. , Cater, P. C. , Barrios, B. , Salatto, R. W. , Navalta, J. W. , Validation of Two Wearable Chest Straps for Heart Rate Monitoring During Mountain Biking. American College of Sports Medicine, May 2020, San Francisco, CA.
Dimensional Analysis to Ozone Generation by Pulsed Streamer Discharge in Dry Air

The generation of ozone is efficient by using short high-voltage combined with a dielectric layer placed adjacent to the outer electrode in dry air. Ozone concontration depend on the peak pulsed voltage, pulse repetition rate, gas flow rate, reactor length and so on. For ozone generation by pulsed streamer discharge in dry air, a mathematical model, which describes the relation between ozone concentration and these parameters that are of importance in its design, is developed according to dimensional analysis theory. The presence of nitrogen on ozone formation in dry air cannot only consume high energy electron but also form nitrogen oxides (NOx) in discharge plasma. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) play an important role in the process of ozone generation in air discharge, where the catalytic cycle for ozone destruction takes place. So the nitrogen influencing factor should be considered. Formula is derived for predicting the characteristics of the ozone generation, within the corona inception voltage to the gap breakdown voltage. The predicted results are shown to be in good agreement with experimental findings.
Interdiffusion of polymers at short times

The short-time interdiffusion between bilayers of protonated and deuterated polystyrene was measured using neutron reflectivity. The moments of the segment density profiles were used as a model- independent means of characterizing the interdiffusion. It is shown that for diffusion times between the Rouse relaxation time and the reptation time of a single chain, the concentration profile at the polymer/ polymer interface can be described by a sharp gradient at the interface with a relatively long range decay away from it. With increasing molecular weight, the decay length increased substantially as expected for reptating chains. Furthermore, the effective diffusion coefficient is shown to decrease for all times less than the estimated reptation time and reduce to the bulk value at longer times. Critical slowing down effects of isotropic origin at the interface are shown to be of no consequences in these studies.
Behavior of Ag Admixtures in Sb2Te3and Bi2Te3Single Crystals

Abstract Single crystals of Sb 2 Te 3 doped with Ag ( c Ag =(0–9)×10 19 cm −3 ) were prepared from the melt Sb 2− x Ag x Te 3 (denoted by a) or the melt Sb 2 Ag x Te 3 (denoted by b). The reflectivity in the IR region, electrical conductivity, and Hall coefficient were determined for these crystals. From the reflection spectra values of the high-frequency dielectric constant, optical relaxation time, and plasma resonance frequency were obtained for crystals with various Ag contents. The dependencies of the real ( e 1 ) and imaginary ( e 2 ) parts of the dielectric function and the imaginary part of the energy loss function (Im(−1/ e )) on the wavenumber were also determined. From the e 2 ( ν ) dependence at room temperature, it was concluded that in Sb 2 Te 3 (Ag) crystals the scattering mechanism of free carriers on the acoustical phonons prevails, but the participation of scattering on ionized impurities is also probable. The a- and b-type crystals of Sb 2 Te 3 (Ag) manifested practically the same values of transport coefficients and optical properties in the IR region. The determined values of the Hall coefficient showed that Ag atoms doping the Sb 2 Te 3 crystal structure behave as acceptors. The incorporation of 1Ag atom into the crystals prepared from Sb 2− x Ag x Te 3 and Sb 2 Ag x Te 3 melts increases the hole concentration by about 1.7 holes. This result is interpreted as the incorporation of Ag atoms into the crystal structure in the form of substitutional defects of Ag″ Sb with two negative charges. Part of the Ag atoms can form defects of the type [Ag″ Sb +h · ], i.e., Ag′ Sb , or be incorporated in the four-layer lamellae [Te–Ag 0.5 Sb 0.5 –Te–Sb 0.5 Ag 0.5 ] as uncharged defects. The Ag atoms incorporated into the Bi 2 Te 3 structure always behave as donors. The formation of Ag i interstitials is proposed as well. The different behavior of Ag atoms in Sb 2 Te 3 and Bi 2 Te 3 crystals is probably associated with different parameters of the chemical bonds in these crystals, which is supported by the results of a semiempirical calculation.
Prediction of Melt State Poly(α-olefin) Rheological Properties: The Unsuspected Role of the Average Molecular Weight per Backbone Bond

It has previously been shown that the entanglement molecular weight (Me) and the plateau modulus ( ) of flexible polymers can be correlated to the unperturbed chain dimension, 〈R2〉0/M, chain density (ρ) via the use of the packing length (p), which is defined as the volume of a chain divided by its mean square end to end distance. For polyolefins and co-polyolefins where 〈R2〉0/M remains unmeasured a method is presented herein where knowledge of the average molecular weight per backbone bond (mb) allows and thus Meto be estimated. This is particularly valuable for the case of polyolefin copolymers where the melt chain dimensions (and thus the packing length) are unknown.
Speciation Analysis for Iodine in Groundwater Using High Performance Liquid Chromatography‐Inductively Coupled Plasma‐Mass Spectrometry (HPLC‐ICP‐MS)

Methods based on high performance liquid chromatography coupled with inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometry (HPLC‐ICP‐MS) for iodine speciation analysis are described. Experiments were performed relating to iodine species, preservative medium and time. The concentration and pH of the buffer are also discussed in relation to separation efficiency. The developed methods allowed the fast and sensitive determination of iodine species with detection limits of 0.025 μg l−1 (as 1) for both iodide and iodate with < 5% relative standard deviation (RSD) for 50 nmol l−1. Attempts were made to quantify total organo‐iodine by size‐exclusion chromatography (SEC). By way of example, a number of groundwater samples were analysed by these methods, revealing that iodide is the main iodine species in the sampled waters, but that high concentrations of organo‐iodine compounds were observed in some samples as well. In summary, the total concentration and the dominant species of iodine in aquatic freshwater environments is easily and accurately measured using this new method.
cGAIL: Conditional Generative Adversarial Imitation Learning—An Application in Taxi Drivers’ Strategy Learning

Smart passenger-seeking strategies employed by taxi drivers contribute not only to drivers’ incomes, but also higher quality of service passengers received. Therefore, understanding taxi drivers’ behaviors and learning the good passenger-seeking strategies are crucial to boost taxi drivers’ well-being and public transportation quality of service. However, we observe that drivers’ preferences of choosing which area to find the next passenger are diverse and dynamic across locations and drivers. It is hard to learn the location-dependent preferences given the partial data (i.e., an individual driver’s trajectory may not cover all locations). In this article, we make the first attempt to develop conditional generative adversarial imitation learning (cGAIL) model, as a unifying collective inverse reinforcement learning framework that learns the driver’s decision-making preferences and policies by transferring knowledge across taxi driver agents and across locations. Our evaluation results on three months of taxi GPS trajectory data in Shenzhen, China, demonstrate that the driver’s preferences and policies learned from cGAIL are on average 36.2 percent more accurate than those learned from other state-of-the-art baseline approaches.
Communities of Practice for Independent Learning Practitioners at Capable NZ, Otago Polytechnic

This paper explores a range of face-to-face and online communities of practice (CoP) that are used to support groups of learners or mentors at degree and diploma levels using Independent Learning Programmes at Otago Polytechnic’s Capable NZ. The six writers each create a narrative linking the purpose of specific CoPs to their observable outcomes. The narratives demonstrate such CoP features as mutual engagement, joint enterprise and shared repertoire. The value of the CoPs, over and above uniting colleagues in times of disruption, is outlined in each narrative of practice.
Challenges in tourist destination branding in Serbia: The case of Prolom Banja

Competition among tourist destinations is becoming more prevalent as many destinations offer the same or similar attractions, which is why destination branding is becoming one of the primary goals of destination management and marketing. A brand has also become an important factor because it gives added value and commits to providing potential tourists with experience of something special in a specific destination. Therefore, it is important to create a perception of distinctiveness of a destination in the minds of tourists. Branding allows a tourist destination to achieve numerous economic effects, primarily reflected in the increase in the number of tourists, development of business, as well as in attracting new investments. Previous research conducted in our country has not sufficiently addressed tourist destination branding, which directed this research paper toward the challenges of branding tourist destinations in Serbia, with special reference to Prolom Banja - one of the destinations specializing in health tourism. This research aims to determine tourist perception of Prolom Banja, as well as to identify key elements that can influence the branding of Prolom Banja as a destination specializing in health tourism. The study was conducted in February 2019 using the survey method - questionnaire technique. The study sample consisted of 195 respondents. Using optimal statistical methods, the collected data were analyzed and the results of the research were presented. The findings show that tourists have a positive perception of Prolom Banja, while the healing Prolom water, employees, undisturbed natural beauty, wellness, and treatment center offer have been identified as significant elements that can influence the branding of Prolom Banja. Implications, research limitations and suggestions for future research were also presented.
Progress of Cancer Precision Medical by Approval of Medical Insurance of Cancer Gene Panel Test

Public medical insurance is applied to the genetic testing system of "Cancer genomic medicine", which chooses the most appropriate drug from the result of examining the gene mutation of the patient's cancer cell. The curtain of cancer genomic medicine era was opened. Healthcare professionals want to understand the possibilities and limitations of testing and to steadily develop this medical technology. The testing equipment are the "OncoGuideTM NCC oncopanel system" developed by the National Cancer Research Center and the "Foundation One CDx" produced by Chugai Pharmaceutical Company. In each case, more than 100 types of cancer-related gene mutations can be examined at one time. The number of patients eligible for genome medical treatment is estimated to be approximately 26,000 for patients with solid and rare cancers without standard treatment. Until now, it cost several hundred thousand yen for the patient. Patients who are said to have "no cure" are tested to a small degree, are looking for anti-cancer drugs that could be used. With public health insurance, a series of tests cost 560,000 yen, for people under the age of 70 with average income, medical expenses are about 80,000 yen. It will be able to receive examinations widely at less than 200 medical institutions nationwide. This new cancer treatment gives new hope to patients with cancer. However, patients with cancer should not have excessive expectations. It is necessary to keep in mind that there is a limit to clinical cancer treatment.
Protection and Prevention Against Adolescent Substance Abuse: An Evaluation of Interventions and Parenting Strategies

The abuse of drugs and substances is a key health concern that affects a huge population across the world. The inception and prevalence of substance abuse is highly recognized among adolescents, thereby making it a relevant area of investigation. The purpose of this review is to study the impact of parenting style on the behaviour of adolescents towards substance abuse. It is found that authoritative parenting style has a most positive influence on adolescents, and on the other hand, neglected parenting style leads to higher incidence of substance abuse among youth. The study provides valuable information on different prevention and intervention strategies against adolescent substance abuse and addiction.
Analysis of sorbitan ester surfactants. Part I: High performance liquid chromatography

Sorbitan ester surfactants are very complicated mixtures. An improved and simple reversed phase high performance liquid chroma tographic (HPLC) method employing a C18 column has been developed for the rapid separation of sorbitan ester surfactants and the quantitative determination of the distribution of sorbitan mono-, di-, tri-, and tetraester fractions. The sorbitan ester distribution of the six Span and Arlacel surfactants studied was calculated using relative response factors obtained from analysis of pure glycerides of fatty acids. The effects of mobile phase composition on the accuracy and reliability of the distribution values calculated for the sorbitan esters were investigated.
Interorganizational Process Execution Beyond Ethereum: Road to a Special Purpose Ecosystem

Process automation facilitates a computer-aided distribution of work items to respective participants according to a predeﬁned process model. The automation of interorganizational processes crossing enterprise boundaries requires a consideration of additional issues like the lack of trust among them. Current solutions implement the decentralized control workﬂow interoperability and rely on the Ethereum protocol for establishing a trusted layer during process execution. In this paper, we specify trust concerns explicitly w.r. t. process perspectives and IT security aspects, dismantle the Ethereum protocol and discuss how the iden-tiﬁed components can successfully address the trust issues. An analysis of these components w.r. t. non-functional requirements shows discrepancies between the BPM world and Ethereum and highlights the necessity for tailored designed solutions.
The Socioeconomic Patterns of COVID Outside Advanced Economies: The Case of Bogotá

Using Bogota’s system of socioeconomic division, the “strata”, we show that falling ill with a serious case of COVID has been over eight times more likely for an individual in the lowest stratum, where the poorer population concentrates, compared to one in the highest. Other pieces of evidence are consistent with this being driven by more exposure to contagion, at least partly driven by people in the lower strata being: 1) Less likely to be in occupations fit for telework; 2) Not only more vulnerable ex ante but also disproportionately hit by the economic effects of the crisis, and therefore pushed to go to work; 3) Subject to more crowding at home; 4) Less likely to recognize a high risk of contagion. The mechanisms that we quantify will imply a widening of the socioeconomic gaps resulting from the pandemic, in one of the world’s most unequal societies.
Antibiofilm Activity of Silver Nanoparticles AgainstAcinetobacterbaumannii Isolated from Different Clinical Specimen

Six hundred samples were collected during the period from October 2018 to February 2019 from AlHilla Teaching Hospital and Medical city of Mirjan in Babylon Province. The clinical specimens included burn, blood, wound and urine. The samples were mainly grown onto blood, Chrom agar and MacConkey agar plates for isolation and incubated for 24-48 hr at 37 o C. The bacterial isolates were obtained as a pure and predominant growth from clinical samples and identified using morphological properties and biochemical tests in addition to Vitek2 system . The results showed that 12 of 20 tested isolates (60%) were strong (+++) for biofilm formation whereas 5of 20 tested isolates (25%) were moderate (++) for biofilm whereas 3of 20 tested isolates (15%) were weak (+) for biofilm formation. This study aimed to investigate antibiofilm activity of silver nanoparticles against Acinetobacter baumannii, isolates.
Rooibos Tea and Health: A Systematic Review of the Evidence from the Last Two Decades

An expanse of research has investigated the effects of black and green teas in relation to aspects of health. Rooibos tea, also known as Red bush is derived from the South African Cape fynbos plant, Aspalathus linearis, and is caffeine free, naturally sweet and abundant in polyphenols. Evidence related to the health aspects of drinking Rooibos tea is advancing, but does not appear to have been collated. Therefore, we aimed to examine the health effects of Rooibos tea through a systematic review of the literature. A PUBMED search was undertaken (2000 up to June 2020) for human and laboratory studies investigating the efficacy of Rooibos in relation to health. Seven human studies and 49 laboratory studies were identified. Overall Rooibos tea consumption seems to benefit the lipid and redox profiles of those at risk of cardiovascular disease. It also appears to possess other promising ‘general’ effects on glycaemic control, bone, liver, cognitive and respiratory health. Ongoing research using standardised interventions is now needed to help formulate congruent conclusions that are relevant to public health.