Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differences, links, and roles of microbial and stoichiometric factors in microplastic distribution: A case study of five typical rice cropping regions in China

Microplastics (MPs), as new pollutants in agroecosystems, have already attracted widespread attention from scientists. However, our understanding of MP geographic distribution and its influencing factors across spatial scales remains poor. Here, a regional-scale field investigation was conducted to assess the distribution characteristic of MPs in five major rice-growing regions of China, and we explored the roles of biological and abiotic factors, especially stoichiometry and microbial influences on MP distribution. MPs were observed in all sampling sites, averaging 6,390 ± 2,031 items⋅kg–1. Sizes less than 0.5 mm and black and transparent MPs dominated. Fiber, classified as one of the MP shapes, occurred most frequently. MP community analysis, firstly used in paddy soil, revealed more black MPs abundance in Henan (HE), more rayon, blue, and other colors MPs in Hunan (HN), more transparent MPs in Tianjing (TJ), and more PE MPs in Heilongjiang (DB). Higher MP community diversity was found in most south paddy soils of this study, due to a broader range of sources. C/N showed a positive relationship with pellet-shaped MP abundance and MPs of size between 2 and 5 mm (P < 0.05). Chao1 index of soil microbial communities was positively correlated with the MP abundance, MPs of size less than 0.5 mm, and fiber abundance. The minimum temperature was positively correlated with MP abundance (P < 0.05), implying the potential effects of the freeze-thaw process might exist. The regression analysis highlighted the important role of population quantity in determining MP abundance (R = 0.421, P = 0.02). This study confirmed the wide distribution of MPs in different soil depths of paddy lands in China and demonstrated that its distribution was influenced by population quantity and environmental variables, such as microbiology. These findings could provide a basis for the toxicological behavior of MPs and the potential risk to human health.
Ecología microbiana de minas de cobre de seis diferentes regiones geográficas

El objetivo del trabajo fue comparar la estructura de las comunidades microbianas de minas de cobre de diferentes regiones geográficas con la finalidad de encontrar patrones en la composición de las comunidades y dilucidar su potencial metabólico. Los amplicones de las minas localizadas en Brasil, Canadá, China, Portugal, Reino Unido y Bulgaria se obtuvieron del Sequence Read Archive (SRA) del sitio web del National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). El estudio bioinformático para la repartición taxonómica se realizó con la plataforma Qiime2. Se determinaron la abundancia relativa, la diversidad y su correlación con parámetros físicos y químicos usando R Studio. Posteriormente, se realizó la predicción funcional con PICRUSt2. Los resultados muestran que la mina de Reino Unido es donde se presenta el mayor número de clases y la mina de Bulgaria es la menos diversa. Gammaproteobacteria, Actinobacteria y Alphaproteobacteria son las clases más abundantes en todas las minas y cuentan con géneros que poseen características metabólicas relacionadas con la oxidación o reducción de metales. Las predicciones funcionales sugieren la presencia de genes relacionados con la reducción de metales pesados como cobre y mercurio. Las minas de cobre de diferentes regiones presentan un patrón similar de clases encontradas a pesar de que existen diferencias puntuales de clases bacterianas que atribuimos a la presión de las condiciones físicas y químicas.
Explorando Conceitos e Mecanismos de Memória Compartilhada Distribuída em Entrada/Saída Paralela

Parallel applications from several areas, such as scientific computing and commercial databases, require high-performance input/output (I/O) systems. This paper proposes the exploitation of software-based distributed shared-memory (software DSM) concepts and mechanisms to optimize disk caching and, as a result, substantially improve the I/O performance of parallel systems. More specifically, the main contribution of the paper is a set of mechanisms that allow us: (a) to move the coherence of disk data to the main memory level; (b) to utilize a relaxed consistency model for the disk data accesses; and (c) to save disk cache space. In order to evaluate our ideas, we are currently implementing the DSMIO system for a prototype parallel database manager using the IBM-SP multicomputer system. Our preliminary results show that the database benchmarks that benefit the most from oursystem can achieve 99% reductions in execution time. We conclude that the exploitation of software DSM concepts and mechanisms indeed significantly improve the I/O performance of parallel database applications.
A whole building life-cycle assessment methodology and its application for carbon footprint analysis of U.S. commercial buildings

This paper presents a holistic building life-cycle assessment methodology that estimates the embodied and operational global warming potentials (GWPs) of a building covering the envelope, mechanical and lighting systems. The methodology relies on EnergyPlus to generate the use-phase energy consumption for any given building and incorporates a streamlined procedure to extract construction materials, which are used for building envelope GWP analysis. Embodied GWP accounting was performed for a representative packaged electric cooling and gas heating system and three types of lighting technologies, i.e., incandescent, compact fluorescent (CFL) and light-emitting diode (LED). The methodology was applied for carbon footprint analysis of five U.S. Department of Energy commercial building prototypes across seven climate locations. The results show that the operation phase has a dominant contribution (more than 74%) on the overall building environmental impact. LED and CFL lighting result in 45% whole-building energy consumption and 35% GWP reductions compared to incandescent lights.
Nickel on Oxidatively Modified Carbon as a Promising Cost-Efficient Catalyst for Reduction of P-Nitrophenol

The reduction of p-nitrophenol to p-aminophenol has become a benchmark reaction for testing the efficiency of new catalytic systems. In this study, we use oxidatively modified carbon (OMC) as a structural support to develop a new cost-efficient nickel-based catalytic system. The newly developed material comprises single nickel ions, chemically bound to the oxygen functional groups on the OMC surface. The highly oxidized character of OMC ensures the high lateral density of nickel ions on its surface at relatively low nickel content. We demonstrate excellent catalytic properties of the new material by using it as a stationary phase in a prototype of a continuous flow reactor: the reagent fed into the reactor is p-nitrophenol, and the product, exiting the reactor, is the fully converted p-aminophenol. The catalytic properties of the new catalyst are associated with its specific morphology, and with high lateral density of active sites on the surface. The reaction can be considered as an example of single-atom catalysis. The resulting material can be used as an inexpensive but efficient catalyst for industrial wastewater treatment. The study opens the doors for the synthesis of a new series of catalytic systems comprising transition metal atoms on the OMC structural support.
Role of Lipids in Phosphine Resistant Stored-Grain Insect Pests Tribolium castaneum and Rhyzopertha dominica

Simple Summary The red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum, and lesser grain borer, Rhyzopertha dominica, cause significant damage to stored commodities, including grains. The most widely used fumigant to control stored-product insects is phosphine. However, resistance to this fumigant is worldwide problem. In this study, we examined the lipid content of phosphine resistant and susceptible strains of T. castaneum and R. dominica. The results showed that the resistant strains of both species contained more lipids than the susceptible strains. The finding will contribute to the understanding of the mechanisms of phosphine resistance and provide additional information for developing strategies for managing the resistance problem. Abstract Insects rely on lipids as an energy source to perform various activities, such as growth, flight, diapause, and metamorphosis. This study evaluated the role of lipids in phosphine resistance by stored-grain insects. Phosphine resistant and susceptible strains of the two main stored-grain insects, Tribolium castaneum and Rhyzopertha dominica, were analyzed using liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy (LC-MS) to determine their lipid contents. Phosphine resistant strains of both species had a higher amount of lipids than susceptible stains. Significant variance ratios between the resistant and susceptible strains of T. castaneum were observed for glycerolipids (1.13- to 53.10-fold) and phospholipids (1.05- to 20.00-fold). Significant variance ratios between the resistant and susceptible strains of R. dominica for glycerolipids were 1.04- to 31.50-fold and for phospholipids were 1.04- to 10.10-fold. Glycerolipids are reservoirs to face the long-term energy shortage. Phospholipids act as a barrier to isolate the cells from the surrounding environment and allow each cell to perform its specific function. Thus, lipids offer a consistent energy source for the resistant insect to survive under the stress of phosphine fumigation and provide a suitable environment to protect the mitochondria from phosphine. Hence, it was proposed through this study that the lipid content of phosphine-resistant and phosphine-susceptible strains of T. castaneum and R. dominica could play an important role in the resistance of phosphine.
Discriminatory and Orthogonal Feature Learning for Noise Robust Keyword Spotting

Keyword Spotting (KWS) is an essential component in a smart device for alerting the system when a user prompts it with a command. As these devices are typically constrained by computational and energy resources, the KWS model should be designed with a small footprint. In our previous work, we developed lightweight dynamic filters which extract a robust feature map within a noisy environment. The learning variables of the dynamic filter are jointly optimized with KWS weights by using Cross-Entropy (CE) loss. CE loss alone, however, is not sufficient for high performance when the SNR is low. In order to train the network for more robust performance in noisy environments, we introduce the LOw Variant Orthogonal (LOVO) loss. The LOVO loss is composed of a triplet loss applied on the output of the dynamic filter, a spectral norm-based orthogonal loss, and an inner class distance loss applied in the KWS model. These losses are particularly useful in encouraging the network to extract discriminatory features in unseen noise environments.
Non‐Local Eddy‐Mean Kinetic Energy Transfers in Submesoscale‐Permitting Ensemble Simulations

Understanding processes associated with eddy‐mean flow interactions helps our interpretation of ocean energetics, and guides the development of parameterizations. Here, we focus on the non‐local nature of Kinetic Energy (KE) transfers between mean and turbulent reservoirs. Transfers are interpreted as non‐local when the energy extracted from the mean flow does not locally sustain an growth of energy in the turbulent flow, or vice versa. The novelty of our approach is to use ensemble statistics to define the mean and the turbulent flow. Based on KE budget considerations, we first rationalize the eddy‐mean separation in the ensemble framework, and discuss the interpretation of a mean flow u $\left\langle \mathbf{u}\right\rangle $ driven by the prescribed (surface and boundary) forcing and a turbulent flow u′ driven by non‐linear dynamics sensitive to initial conditions. We then analyze 120‐day long, 20‐member ensemble simulations of the Western Mediterranean basin run at 160° ${\frac{1}{60}}^{{}^{\circ}}$ resolution. Our main contribution is to recognize the prominent contribution of the cross energy term uh⋅uh′ $\left\langle {\mathbf{u}}_{h}\right\rangle \cdot {\mathbf{u}}_{h}^{\prime }$ to explain non‐local energy transfers, which provides a strong constraint on the horizontal organization of eddy‐mean flow KE transfers since the cross energy term vanishes identically for perturbations uh′ $\left({\mathbf{u}}_{h}^{\prime }\right)$ orthogonal to the mean flow uh $\left(\left\langle {\mathbf{u}}_{h}\right\rangle \right)$ . We also highlight the prominent contribution of vertical turbulent fluxes for energy transfers within the surface mixed layer. Analyzing the scale dependence of non‐local energy transfers supports the local approximation usually made in the development of meso‐scale, energy‐aware parameterizations for non‐eddying models, but points out to the necessity of accounting for non‐local dynamics in the meso‐to‐submeso scale range.
Optimalisasi Self Care Management pada Penderita Hipertensi di Wilayah Kerja Puskesmas Tanjungbinga Kabupaten Belitung

Penyakit Hipertensi sering disebut sebagai silent killer atau tanpa gejala yang jelas pada tahap awal penyakit. Efek negatif dari hipertensi berupa berkurangnya daya kognitif, afektif, dan psikomotor. Kabupaten Belitung merupakan kabupaten yang juga memiliki permasalahan dalam pengendalian penyakit hipertensi. Usaha untuk meningkatkan optimalisasi self care management diperlukan karena membantu intervensi program nasional yang sudah berjalan terhadap permasalahan hipertensi yang ditemui di lapangan nanti. Secara umum tujuan pengabdian masyarakat ini adalah untuk Meningkatkan optimalisasi manajemen kesehatan diri atau self-care management pada penderita Hipertensi di wilayah kerja Puskesmas Tanjung Binga Kabupaten Belitung. Peserta Pengabdian Masyarakat ini adalah pria dan wanita berusia 45 tahun sampai dengan 60 tahun yang tercatat sebagai pasien Hipertensi dan telah menjalani pengobatan hipertensi di puskesmas Tanjung Binga minimal 6 bulan serta bersedia untuk berpartisipasi dalam program ini. Peserta menerima program manajemen diri selama 4 minggu yang terdiri dari tiga strategi metode yaitu monitor diri, evaluasi diri, dan penguatan diri. Hasil yang diperoleh setelah diberikan pembelajaran dan implementasi mandiri dengan pengawasan dan pencatatan mandiri menggunakan buku catatan yang diberikan ke masing masing peserta, berdasarkan data hasil pengukuran tekanan darah pada minggu ke dua, sebanyak 18 peserta (60%) mengalami penurunan tekanan darah sedangkan 12 peserta lainnya (40%) tidak mengalami penurunan tekanan darah. Evaluasi terakhir dilaksanakan minggu ke tiga dan ke empat, berdasarkan hasil pemeriksaan tekanan darah sekitar 24 (80%) peserta mengalami penurunan tekanan darah. Terdapat signifikan keberhasilan penurunan tekanan darah pada peserta setelah implementasi dilaksanakan terus pada minggu ke tiga dan ke empat melalui pengabdian masyarakat ini.
Crime as Language II – Hyperviolence and Georges Bataille's Concept of the Sovereign

In political philosophy, trust, legality and violence are interdependent, with different weights, connecting and excluding. Trust structures suffer most from an anticipation of violence or violence itself. Violence systematically takes place in three stages, according to the german sociologist Jan-Philipp Reemtsma: expulsive, abusive, and homicidal violence, all of which have their distinctive and recurring verbal and nonverbal equivalents. The hyperviolence phenomenon goes beyond this, however, and even mutilates the dead body, whether actually physically, or through massive propaganda that declares the enemy a killable non-human. The goal of hyperviolence is a demonstration of absolute power over victim and bystander by means of a traumatizing violation of trust, reason, and individuality. At the same time, hyperviolence is an atavism in modernity (a historical regression); therefore the practitioner of hyperviolence is the anti-modern type par excellence. The french philosopher Georges Bataille introduces here the concept of "sovereignty" and the "sovereign" as the perpetrator also of hyperviolence. The sovereign's sovereignty is the immediate experience of the moment, free of any responsibility, with a rhetoric of mock justification of each of the three types of violence including hyperviolence. With the ahistorical view of escalating violence and the denial of any rational legitimation by the sovereign as the actor of hyperviolence, the structure of trust and the contract system of democracy itself is also endangered. So the question is, how does one unmask the "sovereign" on his way to undermine legal relations already in his linguistic patterns, in his non-linguistic codes, and how can escalation be prevented by early detection? Keywords: violence, hyperviolence, criminal linguistics, Georges Bataille, sovereign
Western North American Plants Disjunct in the Great Lakes Region: 40 Years after Marquis and Voss

Premise of research. A recurring North American disjunct distribution of vascular plants exists between western North America (WNA) and the Great Lakes region (GLR) where the isolated and often threatened GLR populations are sometimes considered to be glacial relicts. Using georeferenced specimen databases and inclusion of Canadian species ranges, the historical biogeography of this enigmatic distribution can be examined. Methodology. We (1) generate the WNA-GLR vascular plant taxa list using regional floras, georeferenced localities, and maps; (2) test historical phylogeographic hypotheses by projecting suitable climate niche space to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and concurrently assessing phylogeographic congruence between taxa; and (3) annotate the post-1981 literature that has contributed to the understanding of this distribution. Pivotal results. There are at least 9 genera and 53 species with this distribution. Few studies since 1981 have focused on the biogeography of these taxa, although 52 articles have cited Marquis and Voss (1981). Conservatively, 44 of 53 species’ historical niche models reject the hypothesis that the species were able to persist in a midwestern glacial refugium. Taxa have different projected suitable niche space at the LGM, providing support for pseudocongruent biogeographic histories. Conclusions. The updated WNA-GLR taxa list, the preliminary assessment of historical biogeography, and the review of the scientific literature indicate that this distribution has been understudied. Investigations of additional taxa in this system will enable detailed comparative analysis between taxa and prompt discussions of geographic speciation, local adaptations in the GLR, and future persistence in the GLR in the face of climate change.
Ionic liquid-assisted isolation of lignin from lignocellulose and its esterification with fatty acids

Ionic liquids (ILs) have been widely used for lignocellulose fractionation and lignin isolation. However, the effect of IL treatment on lignin structure has been less explored. This study aimed to explore the chemical structure of lignin isolated by widely used imidazolium based ILs and compare it with the well-known milled wood lignin structure (MWL). Four types of ILs were used, and the effects of the treatment conditions on the isolated lignin (ILL) characteristics were evaluated. As the treatment temperature was increased from 60 to 140 °C, the ILL yield increased, whereas the molecular weight and hydroxyl group content decreased. Among the ILs, [EMIM]Ac produced the highest lignin yield (5.28%), and the ILL obtained had the lowest hydroxyl content (1.27 mM/g) and a molecular weight (Mw) of 29,500 g/mol. Esterification of the ILL isolated with [EMIM]Ac was performed using three fatty acid chlorides, octanoyl chloride (C8), lauroyl chloride (C12), and palmitoyl chloride (C16), to extend its applicability. The effects of esterification on the characteristics of ILL were evaluated, and successful esterification was confirmed using Fourier transform infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopies.
Architectural Ultrasound Pennation Angle Measurement of Lumbar Multifidus Muscles: A Reliability Study

The pennation angle has been shown to be a relevant parameter of muscle architecture. This parameter has not previously been measured in the lumbar multifidus musculature, and it is for this reason that it has been considered of great interest to establish an assessment protocol to generate new lines of research in the future. Objective: The objective of this study was to establish a protocol for measuring the pennation angle of the multifidus muscles, with a study of intra-rater and interrater reliability values. Design: This was a reliability study following the recommendations of the Guidelines for Reporting Reliability and Agreement Studies (GRRAS). Setting: The study was carried out at University of Alcalá, Department of Physiotherapy. Subjects: Twenty-seven subjects aged between 18 and 55 years were recruited for this study. Methods: Different ultrasound images of the lumbar multifidus musculature were captured. Subsequently, with the help of ImageJ software, the pennation angle of this musculature was measured. Finally, a complex statistical analysis determined the intra- and interrater reliability. Results: The intra-rater reliability of the pennation angle measurement protocol was excellent for observer 1 in the measurement of the left-sided superficial multifidus 0.851 (0.74, 0.923), and for observer 2 in the measurement of the right-sided superficial 0.711 (0.535, 0.843) and deep multifidus 0.886 (0.798, 0.942). Interrater reliability was moderate to poor, and correlation analysis results were high for thickness vs. pennation angle. Conclusions: The designed protocol for ultrasound measurement of the pennation angle of the lumbar multifidus musculature has excellent intra-rater reliability values, supporting the main conclusions and interpretations. Normative ranges of pennation angles are reported. High correlation between variables is described.