Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
G2DC-PL+: a gridded 2 km daily climate dataset for the union of the Polish territory and the Vistula and Odra basins

Abstract. G2DC-PL+, a gridded 2 km daily climate dataset for the union of the Polish territory and the Vistula and Odra basins, is an update and extension of the CHASE-PL Forcing Data – Gridded Daily Precipitation and Temperature Dataset – 5 km (CPLFD-GDPT5). The latter was the first publicly available, high-resolution climate forcing dataset in Poland, used for a range of purposes including hydrological modelling and bias correction of climate projections. While the spatial coverage of the new dataset remained the same, it has undergone several major changes: (1) the time coverage was increased from 1951–2013 to 1951–2019; (2) its spatial resolution increased from 5 to 2 km; (3) the number of stations used for interpolation of temperature and precipitation approximately doubled; and (4) in addition to precipitation and temperature, the dataset consists of relative humidity and wind speed data. The main purpose for developing this product was the need for long-term areal climate data for earth-system modelling, and particularly hydrological modelling. Geostatistical methods (kriging) were used for interpolation of the studied climate variables. The kriging cross-validation revealed improved performance for precipitation compared to the original dataset expressed by the median of the root mean squared errors standardized by standard deviation of observations (0.59 vs. 0.79). Kriging errors were negatively correlated with station density only for the period 1951–1970. Values of the root mean squared error normalized to the standard deviation (RMSEsd) were equal to 0.52 and 0.4 for minimum and maximum temperature, respectively, suggesting a small to moderate improvement over the original dataset. Relative humidity and wind speed exhibited lower performance, with median RMSEsd equal to 0.82 and 0.87, respectively. The dataset is openly available from the 4TU Centre for Research Data at https://doi.org/10.4121/uuid:a3bed3b8-e22a-4b68-8d75-7b87109c9feb (Piniewski et al., 2020).
A Power Hardware-in-the-Loop Based Method for FAPR Compliance Testing of the Wind Turbine Converters Control

A task for new power generation technologies, interfaced to the electrical grid by power electronic converters, is to stiffen the rate of change of frequency (RoCoF) at the initial few milliseconds (ms) after any variation of active power balance. This task is defined in this article as fast active power regulation (FAPR), a generic definition of the FAPR is also proposed in this study. Converters equipped with FAPR controls should be tested in laboratory conditions before employment in the actual power system. This paper presents a power hardware-in-the-loop (PHIL) based method for FAPR compliance testing of the wind turbine converter controls. The presented PHIL setup is a generic test setup for the testing of all kinds of control strategies of the grid-connected power electronic converters. Firstly, a generic PHIL testing methodology is presented. Later on, a combined droop- anFd derivative-based FAPR control has been implemented and tested on the proposed PHIL setup for FAPR compliance criteria of the wind turbine converters. The compliance criteria for the FAPR of the wind turbine converter controls have been framed based on the literature survey. Improvement in the RoCoF and and maximum underfrequency deviation (NADIR) has been observed if the wind turbine converter controls abide by the FAPR compliance criteria.
Simulating forest resilience: A review

Abstract Aim Simulation models are important tools for quantifying the resilience (i.e., persistence under changed environmental conditions) of forest ecosystems to global change. We synthesized the modelling literature on forest resilience, summarizing common models and applications in resilience research, and scrutinizing the implementation of important resilience mechanisms in these models. Models applied to assess resilience are highly diverse, and our goal was to assess how well they account for important resilience mechanisms identified in experimental and empirical research. Location Global. Time period 1994 to 2019. Major taxa studied Trees. Methods We reviewed the forest resilience literature using online databases, selecting 119 simulation modelling studies for further analysis. We identified a set of resilience mechanisms from the general resilience literature and analysed models for their representation of these mechanisms. Analyses were grouped by investigated drivers (resilience to what) and responses (resilience of what), as well as by the type of model being used. Results Models used to study forest resilience varied widely, from analytical approaches to complex landscape simulators. The most commonly addressed questions were associated with resilience of forest cover to fire. Important resilience mechanisms pertaining to regeneration, soil processes, and disturbance legacies were explicitly simulated in only 34 to 46% of the model applications. Main conclusions We found a large gap between processes identified as underpinning forest resilience in the theoretical and empirical literature, and those represented in models used to assess forest resilience. Contemporary forest models developed for other goals may be poorly suited for studying forest resilience during an era of accelerating change. Our results highlight the need for a new wave of model development to enhance understanding of and management for resilient forests.
Thermal Stability of Encapsulated Listeria Bacteriophage and Its Efficacy Against Listeria monocytogenes in Ready-To-Eat Meats

Thermal stability of encapsulated Listeria bacteriophage and its efficacy against Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat meats Hanie Ahmadi Advisor: Dr. Loong-Tak Lim Co-Advisor: Dr. S. Balamurugan University of Guelph, 2017 This research explored the potential application of encapsulated lytic Listeria phages as an additive in ready-to-eat meats prior to cooking to control L. monocytogenes. The objectives of this research were to: (a) evaluate the thermal stability of Listeria phage; (b) encapsulate Listeria phage to increase its thermal stability during thermal treatment; (c) investigate methods to apply phages in cooked meat product to control L. monocytogenes. The thermal stability of Listeria phages P100 and A511 at temperatures simulating typical preparation of RTE meats was evaluated. Substantial differences were found in thermal stability of the phages, with A511 showed a higher thermal stability than P100. However, P100 exhibited a greater ability to reconstitute during the cooling stage after the thermal treatment (80 °C) compared to A511. Heat treatment was accompanied by morphological changes to phage particles as revealed by transmission electron microscopy. Next, the bacteriophage was encapsulated in food-grade biopolymer matrices and their thermal stability evaluated. Through response surface analysis, the optimal polymer concentrations for achieving maximal thermal stability at 71 °C(30 s) was determined to be 2.91% (w/w) sodium alginate, 1.28% (w/w) gum Arabic, and 1.13% (w/w) gelatin. Encapsulating the phage with this formulation significantly (P<0.05) improved thermal stability of A511, showing the potential of this matrix to be used for protecting the phage during thermal processing. The efficacy of A511 bacteriophage added to cooked meat slurries was examined during refrigerated storage. Cooked meat slurries with phage A511 and L. monocytogenes inside or on the surface of the slurries were prepared. Phage A511 dispersed inside the meat together with L. monocytogenes did not significantly (P>0.05) affected pathogen counts. Conversely, applying the phages on the surface inactivated surface-inoculated L. monocytogenes. Overall, this study shows that significant (P<0.05) differences in thermal stability exist between P100 and A511 Listeria phages. Encapsulation of phages can significantly (P<0.05) enhance their thermal stability. Adding the bacteriophage as an additive into RTE meat products is not effective in inhibiting the growth of L. monocytogenes cells present within the meat matrices. However, phages applied to the surface are potent against the pathogens present on the surface of the product.
The evolution of Enterprise Architecture in scopes of digital transformation

Nowadays the business has to develop in a rapidly changing environment. Globalization, digitalization and emerging information technologies affect not only the business processes of organizations, but they change the enterprise architecture in a complex way. The purpose of this research is to consider standard existing approaches to the Enterprise Architecture description and modeling. Moreover, the aim of this paper is to point out modern modeling frameworks that display such technologies as the Internet of Things, the Industrial Internet of Things and others, for a complete description of the enterprise model within the framework of Industry 4.0 and digital transformation.
Context‐dependent variability in the population prevalence and individual fitness effects of plant–fungal symbiosis

Heritable symbionts are often observed at intermediate prevalence within host populations, despite expectations that positive fitness feedbacks should drive beneficial symbionts to fixation. Intermediate prevalence may reflect neutral dynamics of symbionts with weak fitness effects, transient dynamics of symbionts trending towards fixation (or elimination), or a stable intermediate outcome determined by the balance of fitness effects and failed symbiont transmission. Theory suggests that these outcomes should depend on symbiont‐conferred demographic effects and vertical transmission efficiency, which may both depend on environmental context. We established experimental populations of winter bent grass Agrostis hyemalis across a range of prevalence of the heritable fungal endophyte Epichloë amarillans. Using irrigation, we elevated the precipitation for half of the populations, which we hypothesized would weaken the benefits of symbiosis. Across two annual transitions, we assayed 5,485 individuals to determine prevalence and censused 954 individuals for demographic (survival, flowering, reproduction and recruitment) and vertical transmission data. We used hierarchical Bayesian models to infer long‐run equilibria from short‐term changes in symbiont prevalence and estimated demographic vital rates to link individual‐level effects to population‐level outcomes. We found evidence for all three proposed mechanisms for intermediate symbiont prevalence, but the outcome differed qualitatively across years and precipitation treatments. In the first year, symbionts trended towards fixation under drought conditions but drifted neutrally under elevated precipitation. Fixation likely arose from symbiont‐conferred recruitment benefits outweighing reproductive costs under the drought conditions, while elevated precipitation tempered these effects. In the second transition year, we inferred stable intermediate prevalence across both precipitation treatments, which indicated a balance between symbiont conferred recruitment benefits that allowed low‐prevalence populations to increase and imperfect transmission that caused high‐prevalence populations to decrease. Synthesis. We find support for neutral, transient and stable mechanisms underlying symbiont prevalence, indicating that symbiont prevalence is often pushed and pulled in different directions by the composite outcome of symbiont effects on demographic rates and transmission efficiency, and the way in which these processes respond to environmental context.
Pre‐operative diabetes mellitus does not worsen survival and post‐operative outcomes in Chinese patients undergoing resection for pancreatic adenocarcinoma

Diabetes mellitus (DM) has been noted as a risk factor for worse post‐operative outcomes in many operations. The correlation between pre‐operative DM and adverse outcomes after resection for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) was uncertain. A retrospective study was thus conducted in a tertiary center in Hong Kong.
A Note on the Solutions for a Higher-Order Convective Cahn–Hilliard-Type Equation

The higher-order convective Cahn-Hilliard equation describes the evolution of crystal surfaces faceting through surface electromigration, the growing surface faceting, and the evolution of dynamics of phase transitions in ternary oil-water-surfactant systems. In this paper, we study the H3 solutions of the Cauchy problem and prove, under different assumptions on the constants appearing in the equation and on the mean of the initial datum, that they are well-posed.
Knowledge of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Among Special Educators

Research on stakeholders in mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) management in the schools has shown that several school personnel (e.g., nurses, athletic trainers, principals, speech-language pathologists) all contribute unique knowledge to a school-based mTBI management team. Special educators (SPEs) may be another stakeholder group that could provide additional knowledge and expertise in working with children in the schools following mTBI. We examined SPEs knowledge and perceptions of ability to support students with mTBI through an online survey. Results suggested that SPEs may provide unique, valuable knowledge that warrants their involvement on an mTBI management team. Similar to other school personnel, data from SPEs revealed specific areas of knowledge, as well as specific areas where knowledge was lacking. With additional focused continuing education and more clearly defined roles, SPEs may be an integral member of mTBI management teams.
Les Eumolpinae (Col. Chrysomelidae) des Apocynaceae et des Asclepiadaceae (Gentianales)

Certains Eumolpines nord-americains, euro-asiatiques et africains ont developpe une selection pour les Asclepiadacees et les Apocynacees, mais cette selection generale du groupe est souvent plus restreinte au niveau specifique. La monophagie d'une espece d'Eumolpine est souvent stabilisee envers un genre vegetal donne (monophagie du troisieme degre), voire meme a certains genres des deux familles des plantes precitees.
Assessment of potential sources of protozoan contamination between two avian feeding guilds in a conservation area

Occasional screening of food and water quality available to organisms in protected areas could be beneficial to their successful conservation. This is important for areas receiving regular human visitors and exhibiting activities that may be detrimental to ecosystem health. This study determined the intestinal protozoan species harboured by insectivorous and granivorous birds within the Jos Wildlife Park, Nigeria and whether the two avian feeding guilds are more susceptible to protozoan infection through water or food (grass seeds and insects). Special boxes were used to collect faecal samples from trapped birds. Samples were later analysed in the laboratory for protozoans. Both food and water utilised by the birds in the area were microscopically screened. The composition and abundance of intestinal protozoans between the two feeding guilds did not show significant differences. However, considering parasite species individually, the degree of infection by protozoans such as Giardia lamblia was highly related to the range of infection sources that a feeding guild was exposed to. The composition of parasites observed in the two feeding guilds was strongly linked to both water bodies and avian diet obtainable in the Park. These observations showed that birds in the Park are orally susceptible to infection with protozoans, some of which have been reported to cause health implications in birds. Thus, any measure to curtail environmental contamination by the parasites may improve ecosystem health and survival of avian species in the Park.
Genomic and ecosystem evidence demonstrate the importance of selenium for the harmful alga, Aureococcus anophagefferens

Author(s): Gobler, Christopher J; Lobanov, Alexei V; Tang, Ying-Zhong; Turanov, Anton A; Zhang, Yan; Doblin, Martina; Taylor, Gordon T; Sanudo-Wilhelmy, Sergio A; Grigoriev, Igor V; Gladyshev, Vadim N | Abstract: The trace element selenium (Se) is required for the biosynthesis of selenocysteine (Sec), the 21st amino acid in the genetic code, but its role in the ecology of harmful algal blooms (HABs) is unknown. Here, we examined the role of Se in the biology and ecology of the harmful pelagophyte, Aureococcus anophagefferens, through cell culture, genomic analyses, and ecosystem studies. This organism has the largest and the most diverse selenoproteome identified to date that consists of at least 59 selenoproteins, including known eukaryotic selenoproteins, selenoproteins previously only detected in bacteria, and novel selenoproteins. The A. anophagefferens selenoproteome was dominated by the thioredoxin fold proteins and oxidoreductase functions were assigned to the majority of detected selenoproteins. Insertion of Sec in these proteins was supported by a unique Sec insertion sequence. Se was required for the growth of A. anophagefferens as cultures grew maximally at nanomolar Se concentrations. In a coastal ecosystem, dissolved Se concentrations were elevated before and after A. anophagefferens blooms, but were reduced by g95percent during the peak of blooms to 0.05 nM. Consistent with this pattern, enrichment of seawater with selenite before and after a bloom did not affect the growth of A. anophagefferens, but enrichment during the peak of the bloom significantly increased population growth rates. These findings demonstrate that Se inventories, which can be anthropogenically enriched, can support proliferation of HABs, such as A. anophagefferens through its synthesis of a large arsenal of Se-dependent oxidoreductases that fine-tune cellular redox homeostasis.
Investigation of fatigue in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis

ABSTRACT Background Fatigue is an important symptom that negatively affects the quality of life of patients with many chronic diseases. Although it is reported to be one of the most impactful symptoms, fatigue is often overlooked or ignored by clinicians. Aims The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of fatigue and to determine its correlations with socio-demographic and health-related issues in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP). Material and methods 138 CRSwNP patients and 102 healthy control subjects filled out the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI), the Sino-Nasal Outcome Test-22 (SNOT-22), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). All subjects underwent a full ENT examination. Results Fatigue reportedly affected 53% of the patients with CRSwNP. A high percentage (37%) of patients with severe fatigue was noted. Among the three dimensions of fatigue which were assessed, physical fatigue was the most frequently reported. Patients with severe fatigue were significantly less physically active and had a greater symptom burden on the SNOT-22 (p < 0.05), but they did not differ in regard to the advancement of sinus disease. The BDI and SNOT-22 scores were also significant predictors of fatigue in CRSwNP patients (p < 0.001). Conclusion Fatigue is common in patients with CRSwNP, with a particularly high percentage suffering from severe fatigue. Special attention should be paid to CRSwNP patients with higher SNOT-22 scores.
Streamflow Variability Indicated by False Rings in Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich.)

Despite growing in wet lowland and riparian settings, Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich. (bald cypress) has a strong response to hydroclimate variability, and tree ring chronologies derived from bald cypress have been used extensively to reconstruct drought, precipitation and streamflow. Previous studies have also demonstrated that false rings in bald cypress appear to be the result of variations in water availability during the growing season. In this study 28 trees from two sites located adjacent to the Choctawhatchee River in Northwestern Florida, USA were used to develop a false ring record extending from 1881 to 2014. Twenty false ring events were recorded during the available instrumental era (1931–2014). This record was compared with daily and monthly streamflow data from a nearby gage. All 20 of the false-ring events recorded during the instrumental period occurred during years in which greatly increased streamflow occurred late in the growing season. Many of these wet events appear to be the result of rainfall resulting from landfalling tropical cyclones. We also found that the intra-annual position of false rings within growth rings reflects streamflow variability and combining the false-ring record with tree ring width chronologies improves the estimation of overall summer streamflow by 14%. Future work using these and other quantitative approaches for the identification and measurement of false ring variables in tree rings may improve tree-ring reconstructions of streamflow and potentially the record of tropical cyclone rainfall events.
Controle biológico de nematóides gastrintestinais de ovinos, ovos de Trichuris trichiura, Trichuris vulpis e de Anoplocephala perfoliata por fungos nematófagos

33 Introduction.34 Material and methods . 34 Results and discussion . 36 References . 38 (II) CAPÍTULO 3 Comparative analysis of destruction of the infective forms of Trichuris trichiura and Haemonchus contortus by nematophagous fungi Pochonia chlamydosporia, Duddingtonia flagrans and Monacrosporium thaumasium by scanning electron microscopy.44 Abstract . 45 Introduction.46
Increased Micronutrient Requirements during Physiologically Demanding Situations: Review of the Current Evidence

Every day, the human body is exposed to physical and psychological challenges that upset its internal equilibrium. Strenuous activities, daily defense against pathogens or the response to infection, seasonal changes, and recurring natural biological processes (e.g., the menstrual cycle) can all disturb homeostasis. The body brings its internal environment back into balance by the constant interaction of its many regulatory processes, allowing it to adapt to the ever-changing environment. This ability to adapt and respond (referred to as ‘phenotypic flexibility) is fundamental to maintaining good health. Micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) have key roles in numerous homeostatic processes, enabling the body to produce enzymes, hormones and other substances that are essential for energy production, cell maintenance and repair, immune function and recovery from illness, blood formation, and maintenance of vital organs. Micronutrients are thus crucial to facilitate adequate responses to stressors that may challenge the body’s homeostasis. Micronutrients are generally not produced by the human body, necessitating an adequate daily intake at levels that have been recommended by various governing bodies. However, micronutrient requirements to optimally support homeostasis during daily demanding situations have not been clearly established. This review examines the roles of micronutrients during some of these demanding situations, to help determine whether there may be a rationale for increasing micronutrient intake during these periods to address any increased needs and potentially aid recovery.