Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Book Review: The Love That Dares to Constitute an Evolutionary Mystery

Everybody likes a mystery … except for those who don't. But if you are someone who does, you couldn't do better than to consult some of the conundrums of evolutionary biology, especially when it comes to our own species: e.g., why do people make art, why is religion a cross-cultural universal, why consciousness, why bipedalism, why hairlessness, why, why, why? Science is our best way – I would argue, our only genuine way – of getting answers about the natural world, and indeed, nearly every book about science endeavors to share these answers, even though it is the mysteries, the things we don't know, that really give the pursuit of science its particular thrill (Barash, in press). Among these, one of the most notable involves homosexuality. As Winston Churchill described the Soviet Union in 1939, same-sex erotic preference is a " riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. " Thus, although the precise genetic underpinning of homosexuality remains obscure, there is no doubt that it is real; hence, the conundrum. The problem is that even if many individuals identified as homosexual are in fact bisexual, the reality is that a non-trivial number – in the human population at least – evidently are exclusively homosexual (approximately 3% of men and 2% of women), and in any event, even a tiny difference in fitness should doom the less-fit alternative allele(s). As the great evolutionist J.B.S. Haldane first pointed out (1927), let us imagine two competing alleles, X and Y, with the frequency of X being initially . 1% and that of Y, 99.9%. Imagine, further, that X leads to 101 offspring for every 100 produced by Y; that is, it enjoys a fitness advantage of merely 1%. Despite starting with insignificant abundance, and despite the fact that it does only 1% better than its rival, in just 4,000 generations the situation would have reversed, and allele X would now comprise 99.9% of the population and Y, a mere . 1%. Yet, homosexuality is very much with us, and with many of our animal relatives as well. There have been several serious attempts to examine the biology of homosexuality, of which Poiani's Animal Homosexuality is both the most recent and the most thorough-going. Indeed, anyone interested in unraveling this mystery – for human beings as well as other animals
DEVELOPING A MICRO CLUSTER MODEL FOR SUBURBAN TOURISM: THE CASE OF WEKERLE ESTATE, BUDAPEST

This research shifts the focus to suburban tourism within the context of urban tourism thus making metropolitan areas less congested and showcasing urban authenticity for tourists. It proposes a micro cluster model for suburban tourism and illustrates its applicability in a suburb of Budapest called Wekerle Estate. The suburb was developed at the beginning of the 20th century by adopting the garden city concept and still boasts a lively community. However, it needs a framework to embrace tourism in a sustainable way. The qualitative research uses the ethnographic method to explore what Wekerle Estate offers for tourists and where its weaknesses are in terms of hospitality. Based on the findings a micro cluster model is prepared in this study and it gives recommendations for Wekerle Estate to evolve as an authentic tourist destination. This paper contributes to the research of suburbs from the urban tourism angle that has so far been neglected in the field of tourism.
Evaluasi Karakteristik Fisik dan Uji Permeasi Pada Formula Patch Aspirin Menggunakan Kombinasi Etilselulosa dengan Polivinilpirolidon

Penelitian ini bertujuan mengetahui kombinasi perbandingan polimer etilselulosa dan PVP K-30 yang menghasilkan karakteristik fisik baik dan pengaruhnya terhadap permeasi kulit pada hewan coba. Pengujian yang dilakukan meliputi pengujian fisik yaitu uji organoleptik, kadar air, ketebalan, dan keseragaman bobot, serta uji permeasi kulit pada hewan coba menggunakan membran kulit tikus dan kelinci. Perbandingan formulasi etilselulosa dan PVP K-30 yang digunakan adalah 7:3 (F1), 8:2 (F2) dan 9:1 (F3). Patch dibuat dengan menggunakan metode solvent casting atau dikenal metode cetak tuang. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa kombinasi perbandingan polimer etilselulosa dan PVP K-30 yang menghasilkan karakteristik fisik baik adalah F2 (8:2) dan F3 (9:1). Berdasarkan hasil pengujian terhadap uji permeasi menggunakan membran kulit tikus dan kelinci dapat disimpulkan bahwa formula optimum yaitu F3 (9:1) dengan nilai permeasi tertinggi pada tikus 46,09% dan kelinci 66,30 %.
Structuring Hydrosocial Relations in Urban Water Governance

This article concentrates on how hydro-social relations are differentially structured across technical experts engaged within diverse and multiple networks of institutional and bureaucratic practice and the implications this has for more inclusive forms of environmental governance and decision-making. I empirically focus on stormwater governance in Chicago and Los Angeles as a means to capture the range of geographical and institutional variations in environmental knowledge. Both cities face considerably different water resource challenges in the United States but are at the forefront of developing comprehensive and progressive urban water governance programs. In the article, I identify four visions of hydrosocial relations: hydro-reformist, hydro-managerial, hydro-rationalist, and hydro-pragmatist. Each of these represents a particular understanding of how hydrosocial relations should proceed. They all align around shared framings of integrated management and the utilization of the best available science and technology to drive decision-making. Consensus, however, masks fundamental differences among the varying groups of expertise. Differences center on the perceived effectiveness of different types of infrastructural interventions, of market and economic incentives, and the role of new institutions and rules to govern stormwater. I argue that each frame looks to structure hydrosocial relations to fit their own vision but consequently offer apolitical strategies that reduce water quality and quantity problems to their technical and hydrological components.
Treatment of Equine Tarsus Long Medial Collateral Ligament Desmitis with Allogenic Synovial Membrane Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells Enhanced by Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cell-Derived Conditioned Medium: Proof of Concept

Simple Summary Musculoskeletal injuries in sport horses are relatively common and quite worrisome. Tendon and ligament injuries in sport horses usually result in a long period of time out of competition. Their healing usually results in tissue fibrosis and concomitant loss of elasticity, which, depending on the severity, might prevent the horse’s recovery to the same performance levels or even to athletic levels. The continuous development of regenerative medicine offers therapeutical promise. Synovial membrane mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (SM-MSCs) and umbilical cord mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (UC-MSC), as well as their growth factors, have been described as having optimal characteristics for tendon and ligament regeneration. Therefore, a therapeutical combination of SM-MSC and a conditioned medium of UC-MSC was developed, produced, and administered on a tarsal long medial collateral ligament desmitis of a show-jumping horse. The production and application of the orthobiologic therapeutical combination as well as the clinical outcome are presented herein. Abstract Horses are high-performance athletes prone to sportive injuries such as tendonitis and desmitis. The formation of fibrous tissue in tendon repair remains a challenge to overcome. This impels regenerative medicine to develop innovative therapies that enhance regeneration, retrieving original tissue properties. Multipotent Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells (MSCs) have been successfully used to develop therapeutic products, as they secrete a variety of bioactive molecules that play a pivotal role in tissue regeneration. These factors are released in culture media for producing a conditioned medium (CM). The aforementioned assumptions led to the formulation of equine synovial membrane MSCs (eSM-MSCs)—the cellular pool that naturally regenerates joint tissue—combined with a medium enriched in immunomodulatory factors (among other bioactive factors) produced by umbilical cord stroma-derived MSCs (eUC-MSCs) that naturally contribute to suppressing the immune rejection in the maternal–fetal barrier. A description of an equine sport horse diagnosed with acute tarsocrural desmitis and treated with this formulation is presented. Ultrasonographic ligament recovery occurred in a reduced time frame, reducing stoppage time and allowing for the horse’s return to unrestricted competition after the completion of a physical rehabilitation program. This study focused on the description of the therapeutic formulation and potential in an equine desmitis treatment using the cells themselves and their secretomes.
Multi Criteria Decision Making Model for Logistics Processes in Particular Enterprise

Abstract Relevant indicators and measurement methods should be assessed in order to contribute to optimize management of an enterprise. Business performance can be measured by various indicators and various business results could be assessed. Analyses of value chains should be focused on specification of so called bottle necks which mention those activities that disable to increase business margin. At the same time, these analyses show the inefficiency caused by oversized of some activities regarding to lower level of assurance or safety and lower performance of other business activities. Importance of multi criteria decision-making methods for evaluation of alternatives doesn´t lie in definite increasing of results objectivity although it should lead to that. Priority of this method lies mainly in simplification of manager´s decision making. It allows managers to arrange alternatives according to extensive file of criteria, it describes particular steps of solution and its logical sequence, this methodology also requires from managers to express their understanding of various criteria importance. All this process of solution is transparent, repeatable and there are evident starting assumptions and also how these assumptions, situations, criteria and incidents affect reached results.
Rice growth and nitrogen uptake as influenced by water management

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is grown in Malaysia mainly under flood irrigation. As water becomes increasingly scarce, demand for available water from urban and industrial sectors is likely to receive priority over irrigation. It is, therefore, necessary to adopt rice production practices that reduce water input without any adverse effects on rice growth and yield. A greenhouse study was conducted to evaluate the effects of water management practices on the growth and nitrogen (N) uptake of rice. The three water management practices studied on rice variety MR 84 and Siam were flooded, non flooded (NF)-saturated and NF field capacity. Nitrogen in the form of 15N-labelled urea (2.52% atom excess) was applied at a rate of 100 kg ha-1 in three splits. Tiller production, plant height, root growth and grain yield were adversely affected when rice was grown under NF-field capacity soil condition. Grain yield was 57.6 and 54.4% lower under NF-field capacity than flooded and NF-saturated soil condition , respectively. The lower grain yield from NF-field capacity soil resulted from few panicles, less spikelets per panicle and lower 1000-grain weight. However, maintaining soil at a NF-saturated level did not seriously affect rice growth. Rice growth, grain yield and N uptake from NF- saturated soil were comparable to rice grown under flooded condition. A lower nitrogen uptake and fertilizer N recovery under NF-field capacity were attributed to smaller root system, lower above-ground dry matter yield and greater N losses from alternate wetting and drying soil condition. These results showed that irrigated rice could be grown under reduced water input at saturated soil condition throughout the growth period without affecting growth, N uptake and yield.
Affordable head tracking

Today’s virtual reality systems are relatively expensive. They either require a CAVE (Cave Automatic Virtual Environment) or a head mounted display. Such devices are not avaible for personal use. As computer games continues to get more realistic, Virtual reality could be the next level for realism in computer games. Recently a graduate Ph.D student, Johnny Lee, demonstrated head tracking using the Wii Remote. The Wii Remote is the controller which ships with the Wii game console from Nintendo. When the Wii Remote was introduced it was a revolution in the game industry. Because its new idea of input was so radically different from the typical ways of interacting in a game, thus the Wii became instantly a huge success. What distinquishes the Wii Remote from traditional controllers is that it is equiped with accelerometers. These devices measure the accelaration the Wii Remote makes. Players can now interact by moving the Wii Remote, instead of pressing buttons on a controller. This means they can make natural movements, like the ones made in reality if playing games, like tennis or bowling.
Gestión segura de la batería de EVs utilizando aprendizaje por refuerzo

Las baterías de iones de litio son el dispositivo de alimentación estándar de los vehículos eléctricos (EVs) como alternativa de elección para reducir las emisiones de CO2. Pero antes de convertirse en una tecnología fiable, las baterías de iones de litio deben hacer frente a dos grandes retos: las reacciones electroquímicas indeseables debidas a tasas de carga excesivas y el tiempo considerable que tarda un EV en cargarse. Por tanto, es necesario emplear perfiles de corriente equilibrados que eviten tanto los graves efectos de degradación de la batería como las molestias a los usuarios finales. En este trabajo, los autores proponen un enfoque de aprendizaje profundo por refuerzo de exploración segura (SDRL) para determinar los perfiles de carga óptimos en condiciones de funcionamiento variables. Una de las principales ventajas de las técnicas de RL es que pueden aprender de la interacción con el sistema simulado o real incorporando la no linealidad y la incertidumbre derivadas de las condiciones ambientales fluctuantes. Sin embargo, como las técnicas RL tienen que explorar estados indeseables antes de obtener una política óptima, no ofrecen garantías de seguridad. El enfoque propuesto pretende mantener cero violaciones de las restricciones a lo largo de todo el proceso de aprendizaje incorporando una capa de seguridad que corrige la acción si es probable que se viole una restricción. El método propuesto se prueba en el circuito equivalente de una batería de iones de litio considerando condiciones de variabilidad. Los primeros resultados muestran que SDRL es capaz de encontrar políticas de carga optimizadas y seguras teniendo en cuenta un compromiso entre la velocidad de carga y la vida útil de la batería.
Lossy Ferrite Core-Dielectric Shell Structure for Miniature GHz Axial-Mode Helical Antenna

A lossy ferrite core/dielectric shell structure effectively miniaturizes an axial-mode helical antenna (AM-HA) without sacrificing the antenna gain in the range of 2.85–3.45 GHz. Co2Z hexaferrite-glass composite was used as an inner core and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene as an outer shell. The volume of the AM-HA was reduced by 29% while maintaining realized gain of 9.0 dBic, compared to air-core AM-HA. The simulation also confirmed that further miniaturization of the AM-HA up to 43% is achievable with a slight decrease in realized gain from 9 to 8.7 dBic. The designed magnetic core/dielectric shell structure offers a vast selection of lossy ferrite for miniaturization of the AM-HA.
Developments in Synchrotron X-Ray Microtomography with Applications to Flow in Porous Media

High resolution computed microtomography (CMT) using synchrotron X-ray sources provides the ability to obtain three-dimensional images of specimens with a spatial resolution on the order of micrometers. Microimaging capabilities at Brookhaven National Laboratory`s National Synchrotron Light Source have been enhanced to provide larger and higher resolution 3-D renderings of pore networks in reservoir rocks at a fraction of the time required in previous first generation scanning methods. Such data are used to model single and multiphase flow properties in digital images of real porous media. Pore networks are analyzed for tortuosity and connectivity measures, which have been elusive parameters in transport property models. We present examples of porosimetry simulation via network modeling to produce initial water saturation and residual oil distributions in a water-wet pore system. Furthermore, pore networks can provide the boundary condition framework for more rigorous simulations of displacement, such as in the lattice Boltzmann simulated waterflood example provided. Direct comparison between simulation and experiment is also possible. CMT images of a 6 mm subsection of a one inch diameter reservoir core sample were obtained prior and subsequent to flooding to residual oil. The fluid distributions from CMT, lattice Boltzmann waterflood simulation, and percolation-based network modeling were foundmore » to be highly correlated. Advances in 3-D visualization, implemented in Brookhaven National Laboratory`s 3-D theater, will allow even greater digestion and interpretation of phenomena dependent upon pore interconnectivity and multipore interactions. « less
The Relation Between Arterial Hypertension and Cognitive Impairment: A Literature Review

The global increase in dementia cases, driven by improved life expectancy and reduced elderly mortality rates, presents a significant public health challenge. Dementia, characterized by a gradual and irreversible decline in cognitive abilities, affects individuals aged 65 and older, disrupting lives and straining healthcare systems. Hypertension significantly influences dementia development. Research consistently links midlife hypertension to cognitive decline, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and dementia, but findings in older adults vary. While some studies suggest that late-life hypertension accelerates cognitive decline and dementia risk, others propose a protective effect. The impact of hypertension on cognition varies across age groups, spanning from childhood to late life. High blood pressure during midlife and earlier life stages consistently predicts poorer cognitive outcomes. Executive function, attention, and motor speed are the cognitive domains most affected by hypertension, particularly in subcortical diseases. Memory impairments in hypertension-related dementias are complex, often overlapping with other causes. Understanding the inconsistent findings in older adults regarding hypertension, cognitive decline, and dementia risk requires comprehensive exploration of methodological and biological factors. Addressing hypertension and its management may hold the key to reducing the risk of cognitive decline and dementia, especially in midlife and earlier life stages.
Screening practices for paediatric asymptomatic adrenal suppression in Canada: Are we addressing this important risk?

Background Children with adrenal suppression (AS), a potential side effect of glucocorticoids (GCs) may be asymptomatic, present with nonspecific signs and symptoms or with adrenal crisis. Asymptomatic AS (AAS) can only be diagnosed through screening. Identifying and treating asymptomatic patients before symptoms develop may reduce morbidity. Screening guidelines for AS are lacking. Consequently, screening practices are highly variable. Objective To assess (1) the screening practices for and recognition of paediatric AAS among clinicians in Canada and (2) the educational impact of a 2-year surveillance program of symptomatic AS cases. Methods Before and after a 2-year Canadian Paediatric Surveillance Program (CPSP) study of symptomatic AS, participants were surveyed through the CPSP. The prestudy survey was sent to 2,548 participants in March 2010 and the poststudy survey was sent to 2,465 participants in April 2013. Results Response rates were 32% for the prestudy survey and 21% for the poststudy survey. Between the pre- and poststudy surveys, the percentage of physicians who reported routinely screening patients on GCs for AS increased from 10% to 21% and the percentage who reported having a screening policy in their office/centre increased from 6% to 11%. There was no significant change in the percentage of physicians who had diagnosed a child/youth with AAS in the preceding year. Conclusion Frequency of screening for AAS increased following the 2-year study but remains low. Development of a clinical practice guideline should increase both awareness of asymptomatic AS among Canadian paediatricians and the identification of AAS, before symptoms develop.
Prospective Mental Images: A Transdiagnostic Approach to Negative Affectivity and Mood Dysregulation among Borderline Personality Disorder and Depression

There is initial evidence that patients diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) experience intrusive prospective mental images about non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). These images, in turn, are associated with the conduct of NSSI. As the negative emotional valence of intrusive images has been established across clinical disorders, negative affectivity might play a key role linking mental imagery and psychopathology. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the possible mediating role of symptoms of depression as a proxy for negative affectivity linking intrusive prospective imagery to psychopathology in patients diagnosed with BPD. A total of 233 participants (84 diagnosed with MDD, 66 diagnosed with BPD, 83 healthy controls) completed questionnaires on negative affectivity (BDI-II) and prospective intrusive imagery (IFES-S). Before controlling for negative affectivity, there was a positive correlation between group and intrusive prospective imagery, indicating that healthy participants displayed lower amounts of intrusive prospective images in comparison to patients diagnosed with MDD or BPD. After entering negative affectivity as a mediator, the variable group was no longer associated with intrusive prospective images; however, negative affectivity showed a strong and positive relationship with the group on one side, and intrusive prospective imagery on the other, indicating that negative affectivity mediates the association between intrusive prospective images and clinical disorders. The presented findings point towards a mediating role of negative affectivity in the manifestation of intrusive prospective imagery, not only within BPD, but also in patients with MDD. The possibility of intrusive images acting as a transdiagnostic feature, where negative affectivity and mood dysregulation are at the core of the clinical disorder, are being discussed.
Design and Control of a Photovoltaic Distribution System Based on Modular Buck-Boost Converters

The main contribution of this research is the design of a series hybrid topology for a photovoltaic distribution system using Buck-Boost converter modules. This design incorporates a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm based on the perturb and observe method, linear PI controllers, and an energy management algorithm. The controllers' design is validated through simulation using PSIM and SISOTOOL/MATLAB. This work aims to achieve active power-sharing in the AC grid through a control loop implemented with a three-phase inverter. The validation of the topology and controller design demonstrates tracking and robustness in four test scenarios for the state variables in microgrids: constant and variable irradiance conditions, auxiliary storage device (ASD) protection and control loops, and power-sharing with the AC grid, while considering the DC system dynamics.