Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A history of asthma may be associated with grandparents’ exposures to stress and cigarette smoking

Introduction: Within human epidemiological studies, associations have been demonstrated between grandparental exposures during childhood and grandchildren’s outcomes. A few studies have assessed whether asthma has ancestral associations with exposure to cigarette smoking, but results have been mixed so far. Material and methods: In this study we used four generations: (F0 great-grandparents, F1 grandparents, F2 parents, F3 study children) of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) to determine whether there is evidence of associations between asthma in generations F2 or F3 and exposures to severe trauma in childhood and/or active cigarette smoking during the adolescence of grandmothers and grandfathers in generations F0 and F1 respectively, or of a history of a F0 or F1 grandmother smoking during pregnancy. Results: We have shown that: a) stress exemplified by the death of a F1 grandparent’s parent during the grandparents’ childhood was associated with increased risk of asthma in generation F3, especially if the grandparent involved was the paternal grandmother; b) if the grandparents of generations F0 or F1 smoked during adolescence (i.e. < 17 years), their grandchildren in generations F2 and F3 were more likely to have a history of asthma; c) paternal F1 grandmother’s smoking in pregnancy was associated with her F3 grandchild’s asthma at age 7; d) There were differences between the results for the grandsons and granddaughters of the paternal grandmother with exposure to smoking in adolescence and with smoking in pregnancy. e) The addition of all of the individual exposure variables to the different analyses often provided a considerable increase in goodness of fit compared with only adding demographic factors associated with asthma at P < 0.10 such as social class; this was particularly true when all four exposure variables were combined in one model, suggesting possible synergistic effects between them. Discussion: We have shown associations between all four types of exposure to the grandparents to be associated with asthma in the grandchildren, such that the results both depended on whether the male or female line was involved, and the sex of the grandchildren. It was notable that the paternal grandmother was particularly involved in many of the associations. We emphasize that these are exploratory analyses, that asthma diagnostic criteria likely changed over time and may not be consistent between generations, and that the results should be tested in other cohorts.
Seasonal Snowpack Microbial Ecology and Biogeochemistry on a High Arctic Ice Cap Reveals Negligible Autotrophic Activity During Spring and Summer Melt

Snowpack ecosystem studies are primarily derived from research on snow‐on‐soil ecosystems. Greater research attention needs to be directed to the study of glacial snow covers as most snow cover lies on glaciers and ice sheets. With rising temperatures, snowpacks are getting wetter, which can potentially give rise to biologically productive snowpacks. The present study set out to determine the linkage between the thermal evolution of a snowpack and the seasonal microbial ecology of snow. We present the first comprehensive study of the seasonal microbial activity and biogeochemistry within a melting glacial snowpack on a High Arctic ice cap, Foxfonna, in Svalbard. Nutrients from winter atmospheric bulk deposition were supplemented by dust fertilization and weathering processes. NH4+ and PO43− resources in the snow therefore reached their highest values during late June and early July, at 22 and 13.9 mg m−2, respectively. However, primary production did not respond to this nutrient resource due to an absence of autotrophs in the snowpack. The average autotrophic abundance on the ice cap throughout the melt season was 0.5 ± 2.7 cells mL−1. Instead, the microbial cell abundance was dominated by bacterial cells that increased from an average of (39 ± 19 cells mL−1) in June to (363 ± 595 cells mL−1) in early July. Thus, the total seasonal biological production on Foxfonna was estimated at 153 mg C m−2, and the glacial snowpack microbial ecosystem was identified as net‐heterotrophic. This work presents a seasonal “album” documenting the bacterial ecology of glacial snowpacks.
Perspective Reformulations of the Two-Level Service Restoration Problem

This article presents the two-level service restoration problem, which involves finding a reconfigured network suitable for serving the loads while a fault affecting some components is attended to. The first stage minimizes the actual branch overload in the reconfigured network. In contrast, the second stage chooses the network structure that maintains an acceptable voltage profile while preserving the overload level of the first stage. The two-level solution paradigm differs from some real-life implementations of service restoration programs based on the secure flow pattern concept, which employs successive branch openings to minimize a load balancing index. The proposed two-level service restoration problem is solved using a sequence of two mixed-integer conic programs, for which solvers that guarantee global optimality are available. The presented perspective reformulation combines tight relaxations in mixed-integer conic programming with the polyhedral representation to expedite the search for the reconfigured network. Numerical results are reported on networks that have over 900 switchable branches. The results demonstrate that while the secure flow pattern implementation relying on branch opening provides results close to the globally optimal load balancing, much improvement to the actual branch overloads and voltage profile is attained from the proposed two-level service restoration problem.
Innovative Approach in Understanding Quranic Linguistics Miracle Using Methodology of Al-Tawlidiah “ATaWM&Mgg”

This study investigated the application of the ATaWM&Mgg method to the teaching of Arabic linguistics at four universities in Malaysia. It focused on teaching morphology, phonology, lexicology, syntaxes, semantics, and etymology skills to non-native Arabic as foreign language students. A five-Likert-scale questionnaire consisting of 319 items was developed and categorised into five sub-scales based on the ATaHM&Tf method. The sub-scale questionnaire consists of lectures and methods to learning Arabic linguistics (ATaWM&MggALM), Arabic speaking (ATaWM&MggASS), Arabic listening (ATaWM&MggALS), Arabic reading (ATaWM&MggARS), and Arabic writing (ATaWM&MggAWS). A random sampling method was used, where 200 respondents from four public universities in Malaysia were selected. The findings of this study show a positive correlation between the methods of studying Arabic linguistics. The five null hypotheses to examine the differences in the study were rejected as there was a significant association between the universities for each sub-scale. Similarly, five null hypotheses to test the differences in the learning process showed a significant correlation between genders for each sub-scale. This method has been applied in Malaysian universities and international universities such as the Universities of Saudi Arabia, UAE, and university Beirut, Universities in Maroc, and has obtained intellectual property (IP) by USIM.
Survival benefit of neoadjuvant hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy followed by hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma with portal vein tumor thrombus

Background/purpose: The prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT) is generally poor and hepatectomy is optional for these patients. This study aims to explore the survival benefits of neoadjuvant hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) for resectable HCC with PVTT. Methods: This retrospective study included 120 resectable HCC patients with PVTT who underwent hepatectomy, from January 2017 to January 2021 at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center. Of these patients, the overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) of 55 patients who received hepatectomy alone (Surgery group) and 65 patients who received neoadjuvant HAIC followed by hepatectomy (HAIC-Surgery group) were compared. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to develop a model predicting the response to neoadjuvant HAIC. Results: The OS rates for the HAIC-Surgery group at 1, 3, and 5 years were 94.9%, 78%, and 66.4%, respectively, compared with 84.6%, 47.6%, and 37.2% in the Surgery group (p < 0.001). The RFS rates were 88.7%, 56.2%, and 38.6% versus 84.9%, 38.3%, and 22.6% (p = 0.002). The subgroup analysis revealed that the survival benefit of neoadjuvant HAIC was limited to patients who responded to it. The logistic model, consisting of AFP and CRP, that predicted the response to neoadjuvant HAIC performed well, with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.756. Conclusion: Neoadjuvant HAIC followed by hepatectomy is associated with a longer survival outcome than hepatectomy alone for HCC patients with PVTT and the survival benefit is limited to patients who respond to neoadjuvant FOLFOX-HAIC.
Destruction of Wealth in Later Prehistory

Many of the most elaborate artefacts in later prehistory seem to have entered the archaeological record as deliberate deposits. Using the evidence of Bronze Age metalwork in north and north-west Europe, it is argued that the main forms taken by these deposits-grave goods, hoards, 'water finds' and single finds-were actually interrelated as variants of one underlying pattern entailing the voluntary discarding of property. Thus material in all four groups may have been deposited for rather similar reasons. It is suggested that some of these finds were the equivalent of grave goods but were deposited in other locations during periods of social competition and discontinuity. In such cases lavish 'votive offerings' are viewed as one way of building personal prestige, by analogy with Gregory's (I980) interpretation of the potlatch and similar institutions.
Urban Complexity and Spatial Strategies: Towards a Relational Planning for Our Times

1. The Project of Strategic Planning for Urban Areas 2. Urban 'Regions' and Their Governance 3. The Strategic Shaping of Urban Development in Amsterdam 4. The Struggle for Strategic Flexibility in Urban Planning in Milan 5. The Transformation of Identity in the Cambridge Sub-Region 6. Strategy-Making in a Relational World 7. Spatial Imaginations and Urban 'Region' Strategies 8. Getting to Know an Urban 'Region' 9. Relational Complexity and Urban Governance
Predator‐induced defences under tropicalisation: A biogeographic approach

The biogeography of predator‐induced defences is an understudied area of predator–prey dynamics. Range overlap with predators that induce the response and local demographics (e.g., prey abundances) are likely to be important factors for determining the biogeographic distribution of induced defences within species. However, with climate warming, range‐expanding warm‐water predators are increasingly preying upon temperate species. This is a consequence of a wider phenomenon known as tropicalisation. We aim to determine: (i) if individuals of a temperate barnacle with induced defences (‘bent morphs’) are primarily present where they co‐occur with range‐expanding warm‐water predators (muricid snails) and, (ii) if bent morphs are size‐structured within populations.
Prediction of Target Acquisition Performance of Aerial Observers and Photointerpreters with and without Stereoscopic Aids.

Abstract : Forty-eight individuals were screened for their visual acuity, stereopsis, phorias and color perception. After brief training, their target acquisition performance on a Sonne SC-2 display, of 1:3000 scale reconnaissance imagery in near-real-time, was measured. The effects of image chromaticity and display stereoscopy were investigated. Stereoscopic skill in the Sonne viewer was measured with achromatic and chromatic transparencies of regular and irregular terrain versions of the Critical Limen Stereo Test (CLST), displayed statically and dynamically. Observer performance was correlated across tests. Large individual differences in stereoscopic skill with chromatic and achromatic imagery were found. Chromostereopsis appeared to be a factor contributing to these differences and its measurement was necessary in maximizing predictions with chromatic imagery. (Modified author abstract)
A comparative analysis of the innovation index between western balkan countries, under a quality management approach

My goal in conducting this study was to evidence and show the importance of the innovation concept and the relations of this concept to quality and quality management, in a comparative analysis between Balkan countries under a worldwide perspective approach.Collecting data and information about innovation index worldwide, Balkan countries included, describing the newly introduced ISO family of standards for innovation, handling a descriptive statistic for innovation index, making a comparative analysis of this index between Balkan countries, as well as a comparison of Balkan countries with the rest of the world on this issue, wasthe methodology of this research. Application of ISO standards generally and the application of the ISO family of standards forinnovation helps companies to strengthen their commitment to their clients, improving innovative activities, processes and procedures, and economies of Balkan countries to achieve a competitive advantage, as a response to Crisis and Post-Crisis Period, was the main recommendations of the research.
Gestión del aprendizaje de asignaturas de química empleando Moodle

RESUMEN (ABSTRACT) En este articulo de investigacion docente se describe el desarrollo y aplicacion de la plataforma de aprendizaje on-line Moodle como herramienta en el proceso de docencia y evaluacion de tres asignaturas impartidas en diferentes titulaciones de la Universidad de Alicante y la Universidad Metropolitana de Manchester. El objetivo principal de esta experiencia es emplear la plataforma de formacion academica Moodle como instrumento para adecuar el proceso de ensenanza-aprendizaje de estas asignaturas al Espacio Europeo de Educacion Superior (EEES), asi como estudiar y comparar los resultados obtenidos en todas ellas. Asi, se describen las estrategias docentes y de evaluacion empleadas a lo largo de diferentes cursos academicos con el objetivo de determinar el nivel de adaptacion de los estudiantes en el nuevo marco de ensenanza-aprendizaje. Por ultimo, se valoraran las opiniones de los estudiantes sobre el empleo de esta herramienta durante el desarrollo de las asignaturas, opiniones obtenidas mediante diferentes encuestas docentes.
Enhanced Water Absorbency and Water Retention Rate for Superabsorbent Polymer via Porous Calcium Carbonate Crosslinking

To improve the water absorbency and water-retention rate of superabsorbent materials, a porous calcium carbonate composite superabsorbent polymer (PCC/PAA) was prepared by copolymerization of acrylic acid and porous calcium carbonate prepared from ground calcium carbonate. The results showed that the binding energies of C–O and C=O in the O 1s profile of PCC/PAA had 0.2 eV and 0.1–0.7 eV redshifts, respectively, and the bonding of –COO− groups on the surface of the porous calcium carbonate led to an increase in the binding energy of O 1s. Furthermore, the porous calcium carbonate chelates with the –COO− group in acrylic acid through the surface Ca2+ site to form multidirectional crosslinking points, which would increase the flexibility of the crosslinking network and promote the formation of pores inside the PCC/PAA to improve the water storage space. The water absorbency of PCC/PAA with 2 wt% porous calcium carbonate in deionized water and 0.9 wt% NaCl water solution increased from 540 g/g and 60 g/g to 935 g/g and 80 g/g, respectively. In addition, since the chemical crosslinker N,N′-methylene bisacrylamide is used in the polymerization process of PCC/PAA, N,N′-methylene bisacrylamide and porous calcium carbonate enhance the stability of the PCC/PAA crosslinking network by double-crosslinking with a polyacrylic acid chain, resulting in the crosslinking network of PCC/PAA not being destroyed after water absorption saturation. Therefore, PCC/PAA with 2 wt% porous calcium carbonate improved the water-retention rate by 244% after 5 h at 60 °C, and the compressive strength was approximately five-times that of the superabsorbent without porous calcium carbonate.
Harvesting and site preparation treatments to develop and maintain open canopy conditions in Douglas-fir forests: The Isobel Project

An apparatus for collecting airborne particles and microorganisms by injecting them into a swirling air flow from where they are removed onto a dry surface, a surface coated with an adhesive material or a surface wetted by a liquid that is swirled onto that surface from a liquid reservoir below. The swirling air motion and the aerosol injection into it are achieved by pushing or drawing the airborne particles and microorganisms through one or more nozzles that are directed at an angle towards the collection surface. Each entire nozzle or only its exit section are aligned along the axis of aerosol flow injection into the swirling air flow. The apparatus consists of one piece or of three main components that are assembled to form one unit and are comprised of one inlet section, one nozzle section, and one collection vessel.
Urban Sprawl in Western Europe and the United States

Contents: Introduction, Chang-Hee Christine Bae and Harry W. Richardson. Part I: The United Kingdom: Sustainable settlements and jobs-housing balance, Michael Breheny Reducing sprawl and delivering an urban renaissance in England: are these aims possible given current attitudes to urban living? , Katie Williams Push-pull forces in the spatial organization of Greater London and South East England, Terence Bendixson Knowledge, decisions and urban form: implications from the socialist calculation debate, Mark Pennington The thirty-year's experiment with British greenbelt policy in Korea: a convergent path to sustainable development, Sang-Chuel Choe. Part II: France and Continental Western Europe: Urban sprawl in Rennes and 77 urban areas in France, 1982-1999 Remy Prud'homme and Bernard-Henri Nicot Urban sprawl in France 1990-1999, Alain Sallez and Julien Birgi Urban sprawl: is there a French case? , Denise Pumain Concentration and dispersal of employment in French cities, Jean-Marie Huriot Location patterns of producer services: between centralization and urban sprawl French and Swiss case studies, Antoine Bailly Urbanization and the social origins of national policies toward sprawl, Jefferey Sellers. Part III: The United States of America: US population and employment trends and sprawl issues, Harry W. Richardson and Peter Gordon Urban containment American style: a preliminary assessment, Arthur C. Nelson Local innovations in controlling sprawl: experiences with several approaches in the Seattle urban region, Donald Miller Immigration and densities: a contribution to the compact cities and sprawl debates, Chang-Hee Christine Bae Transit and density: Atlanta, the United States and Western Europe, Alain Bertaud and Harry W. Richardson Traffic and sprawl: evidence from US commuting, 1985 to 1997, Randall Crane and Daniel G. Chatman Index.
Hardware Implementation of Electric Spring Converter in a PV and Wind based Smart grid for Power Quality Improvement

In this paper, an electric Spring based Converter is proposed for the improvement of power quality in a PV and wind based smart grid. Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator is used for conversion of wind energy into electrical energy. An electric Spring has the characteristic feature of fast recovery of the performance of the electrical system. It modulates the Voltage, frequency, THD of voltage and current. It improves the power factor during abnormal conditions of wind and solar energies. An effective control scheme has been developed with the Back-to-Back inverter to obtain stability in difficult weather conditions also. The prototype of the proposed converter is developed and its performance is verified with the results obtained from the simulation. The result shows that the Electric Spring Back-to-Back converter effectively stabilizes voltage and frequency and the reactive power is compensated.
Time Series Modeling and Forecasting Using Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average and Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average Models

Time series analysis is pivotal in discerning temporospatial data patterns and facilitating precise forecasts. This study scrutinizes the cardinal challenges associated with time series modeling, namely stationarity, parsimony, and overfitting, focusing on the application of Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) and Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) models. An examination of six datasets reveals that these models adeptly encapsulate underlying data trends, enabling reliable predictions and yielding insightful conclusions. Relative to baseline methods, the proposed models demonstrate superior performance, as indicated by five evaluation metrics: Mean Squared Error (MSE), Frantic, Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE), Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE), and Theil's U-statistics. The most parsimonious ARIMA or SARIMA model was selected for each dataset, with the resultant forecast summary graphically demonstrating the proximity between original and predicted observations. This study aims to contribute to the discourse on the validity and applicability of ARIMA and SARIMA models in time series analysis and forecasting.
A new approach to Central Omani prehistory

The Central Oman Palaeolithic Survey (COPS), initiated by the Institute for Prehistory and Archaeological Science (IPAS), University of Basel (Switzerland), and carried out in the Huqf – Al Haushi area (Central Oman) in 2007 and 2008 focused on the earliest human occupation in the Southern Arabian Peninsula. 1’445 locations were surveyed and 816 archaeological sites recorded. Amongst them 609 held flint artefacts showing ample evidence of a significant and diversified prehistoric legacy. Today, it can be stated that the rich cultural history known from the Levant during the Pleistocene shows no evident exchange with its southern neighbours. This is in sharp contrast with paleozoological observations, demonstrating a steady replacement across the Arabian subcontinent from the south to the north and vice versa, during the same times. Plaeoclimatic data from Oman clearly show the presence of several periods with increased rainfall during the last 400’000 years, easing the passage for animals and humans across the Arabian Peninsula. Against expectations, people obviously did not follow these migrations. The COPS survey demonstrated a strong cultural boundary, separating southern and northern Arabia, over a long period. This separation cannot be explained by natural constraints. At least during the later Pleistocene, Southern Arabia witnessed an independent cultural history, with no evident influence from outside. Several techno-cultural lithic entities with characteristic tool-sets endemic to the southern part of the subcontinent were observed by the COPS survey. Comparable traditions in stone tool technology are at that time completely unknown from the Levant. Furthermore, the COPS fieldwork revealed an important settlement activity in the southern part of the Huqf during the late prehistory (i.e. the Bronze- and Iron Age), a surprising discovery, as they date from a period of deteriorating climate, with increased aridity, when humans withdrew to presently inhabited areas.