Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modelling the spatio-temporal distribution of age-1 Bay of Biscay anchovy ( Engraulis encrasicolus ) at spawning time

To efficiently manage and maintain fish stock abundance and age structure, it is necessary to understand variability in its spatial distribution. The main objective of this study was to describe the demographic structure of the Bay of Biscay anchovy during the main spawning period based on adult samples from 15 daily egg production method surveys. The proportion of age-1 individuals was modelled using generalized additive models with a binomial distribution and a logit link in relation to geographical and environmental covariates. The possibility of obtaining different models depending on the average age-1 proportion (low or high) was also explored. In general, age-1 individuals were found in shallow waters close to the coast, especially associated with the Gironde and Adour river plumes, whereas older individuals were prevalent on the shelf break and in oceanic waters. However, in years with a high age-1 proportion the younger individuals were also dominant in oceanic waters. These results could be used for management purposes, such as defining protected areas for particular age groups.
Examination of Indoor Mobile Mapping Systems in a Diversified Internal/External Test Field

Nowadays, simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) algorithms support several commercial sensors which have recently been introduced to the market, and, like the more common mobile mapping systems (MMSs), are designed to acquire three-dimensional and high-resolution point clouds. The new systems are said to work both in external and internal environments, and completely avoid the use of targets and control points. The possibility of increasing productivity in three-dimensional digitization projects is fascinating, but data quality needs to be carefully evaluated to define appropriate fields of application. The paper presents the analytical measurement principle of these indoor mobile mapping systems (IMMSs) and the results of some tests performed on three commercial systems. A common test field was defined in order to acquire comparable data. By taking the already available terrestrial laser scan survey as the ground truth, the datasets under examination were compared with the reference and some assessments are presented which consider both quantitative and qualitative aspects. Geometric deformation in the final models was computed using the so-called Multiscale Model to Model Cloud Comparison (M3C2) algorithm. Cross sections and cloud to mesh (C2M) distances were also employed for a more detailed analysis. The real usability assessment is based on the features of recognizability, double surface evidence, and visualization effectiveness. For these evaluations, comparative images and tables are presented.
Maximizing Opportunities and Minimizing Risks for Children Online: The Role of Digital Skills in Emerging Strategies of Parental Mediation

As internet use becomes widespread at home, parents are trying to maximize their children’s online opportunities while also minimizing online risks. We surveyed parents of 6- to 14-year-olds in eight European countries (N=6,400). A factor analysis revealed two strategies. Enabling mediation is associated with increased online opportunities but also risks. This strategy incorporates safety efforts, responds to child agency and is employed when parent or child is relatively digitally skilled, so may not support harm. Restrictive mediation is associated with fewer online risks but at the cost of opportunities, reflecting policy advice that regards media use as primarily problematic. It is favoured when parent or child digital skills are lower, potentially keeping vulnerable children safe yet undermining their digital inclusion.
A Nanog-dependent gene cluster initiates the specification of the pluripotent epiblast

The epiblast (Epi) is the source of embryonic stem (ES) cells and all embryonic tissues. It differentiates alongside the primitive endoderm (PrE) in a randomly distributed “salt and pepper” pattern from the inner cell mass (ICM) during preimplantation of the mammalian embryo. NANOG and GATA6 are key regulators of this binary differentiation event, which is further modulated by heterogeneous FGF signalling. When and how Epi and PrE lineage specification is initiated within the developing embryo is still unclear. Here we generated NANOG and GATA6 double KO (DKO) mouse embryos and performed single-cell expression analyses. We found that the ICM was unable to differentiate in the DKO mice, allowing us to characterize the ICM precursor state. The normally heterogeneous expression of Fgf4 between cells was significantly reduced in DKO ICMs, impairing FGF signalling. In contrast, several pluripotency markers did still display cell-to-cell expression variability in DKO ICMs. This revealed a primary heterogeneity independent of NANOG, GATA6 and FGF signalling that may also be conserved in humans. We found that NANOG is key in the initiation of epiblast specification already between the 16- and 32-cell stages, enabling the cell-clustered expression of many pluripotency genes. Our data uncover previously unknown biology in the early mouse embryo with potential implications for the field of pluripotent stem cells in human and other mammals.
Uma abordagem interdisciplinar do sítio arqueológico Cedro, baixo Amazonas

Resumo A região de Santarém serviu de cenário para o desenvolvimento de uma das maiores sociedades regionais da Amazônia durante o período pré-colonial tardio. Os habitantes desta região, descritos pelas crônicas coloniais como ‘Tapajó’, ocuparam uma vasta área ao sul do sítio Santarém, centro sociopolítico dessa sociedade. No platô de Belterra, estabeleceram ocupações permanentes e autônomas, como o sítio Cedro, localizado a 30 km do sítio Santarém. Por meio do estudo do sítio Cedro, este trabalho visa aprofundar duas das vertentes desenvolvidas pelo paradigma histórico-ecológico: o método interdisciplinar e a perspectiva de longa duração. Através de análises cerâmicas e líticas, geoquímicas e arqueobotânicas, nosso estudo evidencia quatro áreas de atividade usadas pelos moradores do sítio: (1) uma área de preparo de alimentos, que também serviu de oficina cerâmica; (2) uma área de enterramento de vasilhas; (3) um bolsão ritual; e (4) um poço artificial. Ao relacionar o contexto arqueológico com o uso do espaço na longa duração, verifica-se que a presença de terra preta e de poços na área do platô de Belterra, que continuam sendo utilizados, nos permite refletir sobre as possíveis funções desses dois elementos durante a época pré-colonial e sobre a continuação de práticas sociais antigas na atualidade.
Bacterial cellulose and bacterial cellulose/polycaprolactone composite as tissue substitutes in rabbits' cornea

In order to test the performance of bacterial cellulose/polycaprolactone composite (BC/PCL) and pure bacterial cellulose (BC) as tissue substitutes in rabbits' cornea, a superficial ulcer containing 5mm in diameter and 0.2mm deep was made in the right cornea of 36 rabbits, then a interlayer pocket was created from the basis of this ulcer. Twelve rabbits received BC/PCL membrane and 12 were treated with BC membranes, both membranes with 8mm in diameter. The remaining rabbits received no membrane constituting the control group. The animals were clinically followed up for 45 days. Three animals of each group were euthanized at three, seven, 21, and 45 days after implantation for histological examination of the cornea along with the implant. Clinical observation revealed signs of moderate inflammatory process, decreasing from day 20th in the implanted groups. Histology showed absence of epithelium on the membranes, fibroplasia close to the implants, lymph inflammatory infiltrate with giant cells, collagen disorganization, with a predominance of immature collagen fibers in both groups with implants. Although inflammatory response is acceptable, the membranes used does not satisfactorily played the role of tissue substitute for the cornea during the study period.
Management of Culture and Managing through Culture in the Indian Software Outsourcing Industry

The rise of the software and information technology (IT) enabled services industry in India is emblematic of the latest phase in the development of global capitalism, in which services and ‘knowledge’ work are increasingly relocated from the post-industrial economies to low-cost locations in the developing world. The development of enclaves of high-tech offshore production and services (as well as low-end services such as call centres) in industrialising countries such as India raises new questions about globalisation, labour and cultural identity. First, the outsourcing of IT services across national borders, and the organisation of software development projects through multicultural, multi-sited ‘virtual teams’, have oregrounded the question of culture and cultural difference in the corporate workplace. Second, key sites of global capitalism such as Bangalore’s IT industry have produced culturally marked categories of globalised technical workers who are linked into the global economy in novel, technology-mediated ways. The emergence of the figure of the Indian software engineer in the global cultural economy is the outcome of several processes, both discursive and practical. These include theories and techniques of ‘cross-cultural’ or ‘global’ management that have been developed to manage multinational workforces; the specific conditions and modes of organisation that govern outsourced offshore work, such as the ‘virtual team’; and the transnational work experiences of both Indian software engineers and their Western counterparts, which have produced standardised narratives about cultural difference that in turn structure interactions in the workplace and shape the subjectivities of workers.
Employing Bayesian Forecasting of Value-at-Risk to Determine an Appropriate Model for Risk Management

To allow for a higher degree of flexibility in model parameters, we propose a general and time-varying nonlinear smooth transition (ST) heteroskedastic model with a second-order logistic function of varying speed in the mean and variance. This paper evaluates the performance of Value-at-Risk (VaR) measures in a class of risk models, specially focusing on three distinct ST functions with GARCH structures: first- and second-order logistic functions, and the exponential function. The likelihood function is non-differentiable in terms of the threshold values and delay parameter. We employ Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling methods to update the estimates and quantile forecasts. The proposed methods are illustrated using simulated data and an empirical study. We estimate VaR forecasts for the proposed models alongside some competing asymmetric models with skew and fat-tailed error probability distributions, including realized volatility models. To evaluate the accuracy of VaR estimates, we implement two loss functions and three backtests. The results show that the ST model with a second-order logistic function and skew Student’s t error is a worthy choice at the 1% level, when compared to a range of existing alternatives.
Prey Selection By Tiger ( Panthera Tigris Tigris ) In Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve Nepal

Predator-prey relationship indicates the status of wildlife conservation. Identifying preys and their contribution to the diets of tigers are important for making conservation meaningful. The main objective of this research was to investigate the distribution pattern of tigers and availability of their preys in the Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve (SWR), Far west Nepal. This research mainly focused on distribution and identification of scats, determination of prey species and factors affecting their selection. This study was conducted in SWR of 305 km2 area in Kanchanpur district, lowland, Far west Nepal. It was gazatted as Royal Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve in 1973. Data were collected through direct field observations and Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) method. Relationship between tigers and preys was determined through scats analysis. Data were analyzed with the help of Scatman and vegan through R Software. Prey and habitat selection analysis showed that chital (Axis axis) preferred sal (Shorea robusta) forests while barking (Muntiacus muntjak) and swamp (Rucervus duvauceli) deer were abundant in river sides and fireline/mixed forests respectively. Then, identified eight prey species from 65 scats of which six percent had double preys and 94% single preys. Chital constituted 30% and swamp deer 17% of the total tiger’s diet. The population density of chital was the highest (54.10 animals/km2) followed by common langur (25.27 animals/km2), swamp deer (21.50 animals/km2) and hog deer (16.30 animals/km2). Chital, hog deer and langur were preyed significantly (P ≤ 0) higher by tigers indicating positive selection of these species. Swamp deer was preyed significantly low (P > 0) indicating negative selection probably due to its large size. Tigers prefer medium to slightly large prey species like chital of about 55 kg body weight compared to large sized swamp deer and sambar weighing more than 150 and 210 kg respectively in SWR. Since, both tigers and preys are endangered due to poaching and habitat loss, regular monitoring of them is essential to develop the tiger conservation plan.
Non-parametric identification of higher order sinusoidal output describing functions

In this paper the concept of the Higher Order Sinusoidal Output Describing Functions (HOSODF) is presented. HOSODF can be defined for the class of causal, stable, time invariant non-linear systems which give a sinusoidal response to a specific harmonic excitation. The HOSODF relate the magnitude and phase of the individual harmonics, which together compose that specific input signal, to the sinusoidal output signal of such a system. HOSODF are the dual of the Higher Order Sinusoidal Input Describing Functions (HOSIDF). Like the HOSIDF, the HOSODF are the results of an extension of linear techniques towards non-linear systems analysis. Using the HOSODF, the non-linear systems under investigation can be modeled as a cascade of the HOSODF and a Virtual Harmonics Compressor (VHC). The VHC is defined as a non-linear component which transforms a harmonic input signal y(t) into a sinusoidal output signal y(t) with frequency ω, amplitude â and phase φ. This input signal y(t) consists of an infinite amount of harmonics of the output signal y(t) with frequency nω, amplitude â and phase nω with n = 0, 1, . ∞. Special attention is paid to the non-parametric identification of the HOSODF. The identification requires control of the frequency and amplitude of the sinusoidal output of the system within its domain of possible sinusoidal output signals. This specific state of these non-linear systems can be reached by incorporating the system under test in a feedback loop. In this loop the desired sinusoidal output is defined as the control objective of a dedicated repetitive controller consisting of a memory loop with positive feedback. The design of the learning filter required for stability is also addressed. As a spinoff of the identification technique, the authors see opportunities for advanced non-linear control of shaker systems aimed at sinusoidal excitation of non-linear systems.
Spectral classification of worldwide locations using SMR indexes

Spectral variation of solar irradiance can be analyzed by the means of component cells, being useful for multi junction (MJ) and concentrator photovoltaics (CPV) characterization by the use of component cells derived spectral indexes, namely, spectral matching ratios (SMRs). When enough spectral data is available, a location can be also characterized and a MJ solar cell can be locally tuned. The AERONET network of ground-based sun photometers is employed to obtain the atmosphere parameters for 34 sites worldwide. To conclude, the SMR indexes are obtained for every location, and a comparative analysis is completed for four architectures of MJ solar cells technologies (two lattice match and two metamorphic). Based on this information, some cluster of locations that share similar spectral features arise.
SEQUIN Multiscale Imaging of Mammalian Central Synapses Reveals Loss of Synaptic Connectivity Resulting from Diffuse Traumatic Brain Injury

The complex microconnectivity of the mammalian brain underlies its computational abilities, and its vulnerability to injury and disease. It has been challenging to illuminate the features of this synaptic network due in part to the small size and exceptionally dense packing of its elements. Here we describe a rapid and accessible super-resolution imaging and image analysis workflow—SEQUIN—that identifies, quantifies, and characterizes central synapses in animal models and in humans, enabling automated volumetric imaging of mesoscale synaptic networks without the laborious production of large histological arrays. Using SEQUIN, we identify delayed cortical synapse loss resulting from diffuse traumatic brain injury. Similar synapse loss is observed in an Alzheimer disease model, where SEQUIN mesoscale mapping of excitatory synapses across the hippocampus identifies region-specific synaptic vulnerability to neurodegeneration. These results establish a novel, easily implemented and robust nano-to-mesoscale synapse quantification and molecular characterization method. They furthermore identify a mechanistic link—synaptopathy—between Alzheimer neurodegeneration and its best-established epigenetic risk factor, brain trauma.
Problem bólu kręgosłupa wśród pielęgniarek oddziałów neurologii i neurochirurgii

Introduction . In the occupational medicine back pain is treated as a paraoccupational disease, mainly related to specific professional groups. They include those employed in the sector of health care, who are at the highest risk of developing back pain, nurses in particular. Aim . Assessment of back pain occurrence among nurses and determining the factors affecting this condition. Material and Methods . The study group consisted of 76 nurses working in neurology and neurosurgery wards/clinics. The research methodology applied consisted of diagnostic survey method, and as the technique, a survey of our own design was used. The VAS Pain Scale was used. Statistical analysis was prepared in the program SPSS20. The statistical significance of differences was determined at a confidence level of p<0.05. Results . 98.7% of the surveyed nurses complain about back pain. The biggest group consisted of those with very severe pain (47.4%). At the same time in 80.26% of cases the pain was located in the lumbosacral section. Multiple comparisons showed that the level of pain intensity was higher in those working on the contract than in the personnel working on the basis of a contract of employment (p=0.045). The analysis showed no statistically significant differences in the level of pain intensity between respondents in different workplaces: Chi2 (2)=3.69; p=0.158. Conclusions . The vast majority of nurses complain about back pain, in most cases it is a very strong pain. This pain is determined by seniority, form of employment (contract) as well as by additional activities apart from of work in the ward. (JNNN 2016;5(3):84–91)
The overall effectiveness of a peer mediation program at Millville Senior High School and the development of a peer mediation/advisory program for a middle school

Kyriakos M. Evrenoglou The Overall Effectiveness of a Peer Mediation Program at Millville Senior High School and the Development of a Peer Mediation Program for a Middle School. 1999 Dr. Ronald Capasso School Administration The first purpose of the study was conducted in order to describe and evaluate the effectiveness of a peer mediation student assistance program. The means to accomplish the purpose of the study was to investigate the overall attendance, verbal, and physical interpersonal conflict among tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grade students at Millville Senior High School during the 1995-1996 and 1997-1998 school calendar years. A quantitative ex post facto design was employed. In addition, a subcommittee of stakeholders was developed to collaboratively develop a plan that would extend the goals and potential benefits associated with peer mediation programs in the future Lakeside Middle School in Millville, New Jersey. In response to the data and information acquired during the investigation, peer mediation seemed to lessen the number of nonviolent interpersonal conflicts. Violent interpersonal conflicts did not differ in incidences. A peer mediation subcommittee developed a series of products and approaches based on stakeholders and staff feedback. The subcommittee and stakeholders agreed to the following with respect to a peer mediation program at the middle school level: (a) goals, (b) effectiveness, (c) coordinator's responsibilities, (d) type of program, (e) the implementation phases, (f) parent brochure, and (g) Peer Mediation Teacher Handbook.
Integral method for the two-dimensional Stokes problem for multiply-connected domains applied to viscous sintering

An integral method is developed to solve the two-dimensional Stokes problem with Neumann boundary conditions for multiply connected domains. The obtained integral equation is constructed by employing the fundamental solution obtained from a point force in the ek-direction in combination with the fundamental solutions derived from arbitrary source points in the interior of the holes of the considered multiply connected domain. This integral formulation is applied to solve viscous sintering problems: the process in which a granular compact is heated to a temperature at which the viscosity of the material becomes low enough for surface tension to cause the particles to deform and coalesce. In the case of sintering glasses, this material transport can be modelled as a viscous incompressible Newtonian volume flow. To the knowledge of the author no numerical simulations for arbitrary multiply connected sintering problems have been reported in literature thus far. The numerical simulation is carried out by successively solving the Stokes problem for the considered domain and performing a time step to predict the next level geometry. A Boundary Element Method is applied to solve the involving integral equations and the time integration is carried out by a variable step, variable order Backward Differences Formulae method. The derived numerical algorithm is demonstrated for several arbitrary shaped multiply connected sintering domains. 1 65R99, 76D07 sintering, viscosity, boundary element method, moving boundaries. A.M.S. Classifications: Keywords
Do high redshift quasars have powerful jets

Double-lobed radio galaxies a few 100s of kpc in extent, like Cygnus A, are common at redshifts of 1 to 2, arising from some 10 per cent of the most powerful Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). At higher redshifts they are rare, with none larger than a few 10s of kpc known above redshift z ∼ 4. Recent studies of the redshift evolution of powerful-jet ted objects indicate that they may constitute a larger fraction of the AGN population above redshift 2 than appears from a simple consideration of detected GHz radio sources. The radio band is misleading as the dramatic (1+ z) 4 boost in the energy density of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) causes inverse Compton scattering to dominate the energy losses of relativistic electrons in the extended lobes produced by jets, making them strong X-ray, rather than radio, sources. Here we investigate limits to X-ray lobes around two distant quasars, ULAS J112001.48+064124.3 at z= 7.1 and SDSS J1030+0524 at z= 6.3, and find that powerful jets could be operating yet be currently undetectable. Jets may be instrumental in the rapid build-up of billion M⊙ black hole at a rate that violates the Eddington limit.