Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Decomposition and biological colonization of native and exotic leaf litter in a Central Spain stream

Riparian invasion by exotic trees may lead to changes in the quality of leaf-litter inputs to freshwater ecosystems. Leaflitter inputs are especially important in headwater streams, where aquatic food webs largely depend on the organic matter provided by the terrestrial vegetation. In a headwater stream of Central Spain, North of Guadalajara Province (Tagus basin) we compared the decomposition and biological colonization of leaf litter among two exotic (Ailanthus altissima Mill. Swingle and Robinia pseudoacacia L.) and two native trees (Fraxinus angustifolia Vahl. and Populus alba L.) co-existing in riparian zones. We hypothesized a lower biological colonization of exotic leaves due to organisms have not co-evolved with the exotic trees according to the Novel Weapons Hypothesis (NWH) and, consequently, lower decomposition rates of exotic leaves. To test our hypothesis, litter bags with different mesh sizes (coarse (C) and fine (F)), were used to distinguish between the total and microbial decomposition. The litter bags were placed in the stream and recovered after 2, 20, 39, 62 and 82 days of incubation. After each collection, we assessed the amount of remaining litter, analysed the nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) in the litter, identified the macroinvertebrates and quantified the fungal biomass. Consistent with our hypothesis, we found greater fungal biomass buildup on native leaves than on exotic leaves. However, decomposition rates (k) were species-specific, being the ranking in C-bags (A. altissima = F. angustifolia > P. alba > R. pseudoacacia) slightly different than in F-bags (A. altissima > F. angustifolia > P. alba > R. pseudoacacia). The k in both the C-bags and F-bags were correlated with leaf traits, such as lignin, acid detergent fibre (ADF) and lignin:P. There was not a clear effect of the exotic species on macroinvertebrate variables, but the contribution of macroinvertebrates to litter decomposition was lower in exotic litter than in native litter, as shown by a lower ratio between k in C-bags and k in F-bags (kC : kF). Our results supported that invasive species might impact both biological colonization and decomposition rates in stream ecosystems by the addition of different quality leaf litter when compared to native vegetation. The differences in the biological colonization may be explained by the NWH, but differences in the decomposition rates were better explained by litter quality.
A Survey for Massive Giant Planets in Debris Disks with Evacuated Inner Cavities

The commonality of collisionally replenished debris around main-sequence stars suggests that minor bodies are frequent around Sun-like stars. Whether or not debris disks in general are accompanied by planets is yet unknown, but debris disks with large inner cavities—perhaps dynamically cleared—are considered to be prime candidates for hosting large-separation massive giant planets. We present here a high-contrast VLT/NACO angular differential imaging survey for eight such cold debris disks. We investigated the presence of massive giant planets in the range of orbital radii where the inner edge of the dust debris is expected. Our observations are sensitive to planets and brown dwarfs with masses >3-7 Jupiter mass, depending on the age and distance of the target star. Our observations did not identify any planet candidates. We compare the derived planet mass upper limits to the minimum planet mass required to dynamically clear the inner disks. While we cannot exclude that single giant planets are responsible for clearing out the inner debris disks, our observations constrain the parameter space available for such planets. The nondetection of massive planets in these evacuated debris disks further reinforces the notion that the giant planet population is confined to the inner disk (<15 AU).
Evaluation of Food Qualiity based on Digestive Activities of Small Intestine —Accuracy of Bowel Sound Detection by Multidimensional Signal Processing

1Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Medical and Engineering, University of Yamanashi, 4-3-11. Takeda. Kofu shi. Yamanashi 400-8511. Iaban 2l nterdisciplinary Graduate School of Medical and Engineering, University of Yamanashi, 4-3-11. Takeda. Kofu shi. Yamanashi 400-8511. Iaban 3 Faculty of Medicine, Shinshu University, 3-1-1, Asahi, Matsumotoshi, Nagano 390-8621, Japan 4G aaduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1, Tennoudai, Tsukuba shi, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan
Midwifery basics. Infant feeding: The social context of infant feeding

Infant feeding: is the twelfth series of ‘Midwifery basics’ targeted at practising midwives. It aims to provide information to raise awareness of the impact of the work of midwives on women’s experience and encourage midwives to seek further information through a series of activities. In this fourth article Joyce Marshall explores the social context of infant feeding in the UK including sources of support for women whilst feeding their babies from health professionals, peer supporters and their family and social network.
EFFECT OF EXPERIMENTAL VARIATION OF TEMPERATURE ON SERUM TRIGLYCERIDES IN UROMASTYX HARDWICKII

Background: The study has been performed on Uromastyx hardwickii, a local lacertilian species. This male Poikilotherm vertebrate mainly inhabits the arid regions of the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent. The objective of this study was to see whether artificially created high temperature in winter can increase triglycerides level in this species, as it is normally seen in summers. Material and Methods: This study was conducted in Oct 2005 and Jan 2006 in Physiology Lab, University of Health Sciences, Lahore. Male Uromastyx hardwickii (n=20) were kept for this study carried out in autumn and winter within 48 hours of their arrival in the laboratory. Blood samples were collected by anterior abdominal venepuncture from conscious animals using a heparinised syringe and serum Triglyceride was measured by GPO-PAP method (Human, Weisbaden, Germany). Results: Mean serum Triacylglycerol levels were found to be significantly higher in summer and with an increase in temperature observed during winter and autumn season. Conclusion: There is significant increase in serum triglycerides in Uromastyx hardwickii on artificial increase in temperature even during winter season.
Caracterização da ictiofauna em três canais de maré do estuário do Rio Paciência, Ilha de São Luís, Estado do Maranhão

Tidal creeks in estuarine ecosystems are important areas of refuge, feeding and growth for various fish species. The aim of the present study was to determine the spatial and temporal distribution of fish fauna and explain the behavioral and ecological characteristics of species that occupy tidal creeks. Sampling was carried out bimonthly between January, 2006 and September, 2007 during ebb tide. Using block nets and gillnets, 12,219 individuals belonging to 55 species of fish. Sciaenidae, Ariidae, Carangidae, Engraulidae and Mugilidae were the families with the greatest species richness. Ten species dominated the samples, accounting for 81.3% of the total catch, highlighting Ariopsis bonillai and Cetengraulis edentulus , which made a major contribution to the formation of groups of similarity . Stellifer naso and Cynoscion acoupa were responsible for the greatest differences in the density of the fish assemblage. Regarding the maturation stage, 66% of the caught fish were juveniles. Among the species that occurred in all four stages of maturation, only Cathorops spixii showed a high adult density due to their reproductive migration.
Nominal Debt as a Burden on Monetary Policy

We study the effects of nominal debt on the optimal sequential choice of monetary policy. When the stock of debt is nominal, the incentive to generate unanticipated inflation increases the cost of the outstanding debt even if no unanticipated inflation episodes occur in equilibrium. Without full commitment, the optimal sequential policy is to deplete the outstanding stock of debt progressively until these extra costs disappear. Nominal debt is therefore a burden on monetary policy, not only because it must be serviced, but also because it creates a time inconsistency problem that distorts interest rates. The introduction of alternative forms of taxation may lessen this burden, if there is enough commtiment to fiscal policy. If there is full commitment to an optimal fiscal policy, then the resulting monetary policy is the Friedman rule of zero nominal interest rates.
A library of cell-surface and secreted proteins from Schistosoma mansoni identifies early serological markers of infection

Schistosomiasis is a major global health problem caused by blood-dwelling parasitic worms and is currently treated by the mass administration of the drug praziquantel. Appropriate drug treatment strategies are informed by diagnostics that establish the prevalence and intensity of infection, which, in regions of low transmission should be highly sensitive. To identify sensitive new serological markers of Schistosoma mansoni infections, we have compiled a recombinant protein library of 115 parasite cell surface and secreted proteins expressed in mammalian cells. The vast majority of them were shown to be immunoreactive and to contain heat-labile conformational epitopes when tested against pooled human sera from endemic regions. After probing the library against a time series of sera samples from experimental infections in mice, we identified several markers of infection, the majority of which belong to the saposin-domain-containing and cathepsin families of proteins. These new markers will be a valuable tool to detect ongoing and previous S. mansoni infections, including in regions of low transmission. We envisage that this new recombinant protein resource will be used in a wide range of cellular and molecular assays to further our understanding of Schistosoma biology.
POLITECNICO DI TORINO

Flex-PAM modulation format is an innovative proposal that offers network flexibility using the very well know PAM modulation. We propose four strategies for Flex-PAM Tx operation, having three of them very similar behavior. Back-to-back simulations verify the theoretical predictions without extra penalties. Uncompensated links are the state of the art nowadays in coherent optical communications systems. Analysis of nonlinear propagation is done using GN-model as a reference prediction, which experiences a limited extra penalty for unbalanced power, inherent in this format. A proper power ratio tuning enables better performance reaching the GN-model bound.
Can Early Intervention Prevent High School Dropout?

The authors investigated the effects of participation in the Chicago Child-Parent Center and Expansion Program from ages 3 to 9 on school dropout by age 18 for 1,159 youths. This Title I program provides child education and family support services from preschool through second or third grade in 20 sites in Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods. After comparing children in 20 program sites with children who attended schools in similarly poor neighborhoods without the intervention, we found that preschool participation was associated with a 24% reduction in the rate of school dropout and that participation for 5 or 6 years was associated with a 27% reduction in the rate of early school dropout relative to less extensive participation.
The ATESP radio survey. IV. Optical identifications and spectroscopy in the EIS-A region

This paper is the fourth in a series reporting the results of the ATESP radio survey, which was made at 1.4 GHz with the Australia Telescope Compact Array. The survey consists of 16 radio mosaics with8 00 14 00 resolution and uniform sensitivity (1 noise level 79 Jy) over the region covered by the ESO Slice Project redshift survey (26 sq deg at 40). The ATESP survey has produced a catalogue of 2967 radio sources down to a flux limit of 0.5 mJy (6). In this paper we present the optical identications over a 3 sq deg region coinciding with the Patch A of the public ESO Imaging Survey (EIS). In this region deep photometry and 95% complete object catalogues in the I band are available down to I 22:5. These data allowed us to identify 219 of the 386 ATESP sources present in the region. This corresponds to an identication rate of57%. For a magnitude-limited sample of 70 optically identied sources with I< 19:0 we have obtained complete and good quality spectroscopic data at the ESO 3.6 m telescope at La Silla. This data allowed us to determine redshift measurements and reliable spectroscopic classication for all sources (except one). From the analysis of the spectroscopic sample we nd that the composition of the faint radio source population abruptly changes going from mJy to sub{mJy fluxes: the early-type galaxies largely dominate the mJy population (60%), while star forming processes become important in the sub{mJy regime. Starburst and post-starburst galaxies go from 13% at S 1 mJy to 39% at S< 1 mJy. Nevertheless, at sub{mJy fluxes, early-ype galaxies still constitute a signicant fraction (25%) of the whole population. Furthermore we show that, due to the distribution of radio-to-optical ratios, sub{mJy samples with fainter spectroscopic follow-ups should be increasingly sensitive to the population of early-type galaxies, while a larger fraction of star-forming galaxies would be expected in Jy samples. We compare our results with others obtained from studies of sub{mJy samples and we show how the existing discrepancies can be explained in terms of selection eects.
The airbag system

A low-cost air bag system for a vehicle (1) during a collision involving the vehicle deployed to protect the driver and, optionally, protecting the passenger. The air bag system comprising: a crash sensor system (2) which detects a collision involving the vehicle; driver side air bag module (40), mounted to the steering wheel and the inflator to protect the driver comprises a driver side airbag (42) and generating inflation medium so that the driver's side air bag (42) inflating the gas generator (108). A control module (6) coupled to the crash sensor system (2) and a gas generator (108), and (2) based on the collision detection of a crash sensor system so that the gas generator (108) generates the start of inflation medium . A passenger side air bag module (20) also has a similar system.
A survey of dairy cattle management, crop planning, and forages cost of production in Northern Italy

Abstract A survey regarding crop enterprise management, forages cost of production, dairy cattle management including reproductive management, housing, heat abatement, body condition scoring, nutrition, grouping strategies, and income over feed cost performance, was carried out from December 2016 to January 2018 on 50 dairy farms by the Department of Animal Science, Food and Nutrition of Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Piacenza, Italy). A total of 41 herds (82%) completed the survey. Average herd size was 327 ± 162 lactating cows with the average land size of 160 ± 94 ha per farm. Herds were located in the provinces of Cremona (17), Brescia (8), Mantova (7), Piacenza (5), Cuneo (4), Bergamo (3), Lodi (3), Torino (2), and Venezia (1). These farms sold 32.8 ± 2.01 kg of milk/day per cow, had an annual culling rate of 34.0 ± 4.00%, a calving interval of 14.16 ± 0.58 months. , and a 21-days pregnancy rate of 17.05 ± 2.58%. Implementing effective management strategies to contrast the damage caused by Ostrinia nubilalis, Diabrotica spp. and Myocastor coypus were identified as the main crop enterprise challenges. Main forages cultivated were alfalfa and corn silage second seeding with a total cost of production of (€/ha) 1968 ± 362 and 2,581 ± 221, with an average yield of 9.61 ± 1.24 and 17.22 ± 2.46 ton of DM per hectare, respectively. Results of this study can provide useful benchmark or reference for dairy management practices, crops and dairy performances, forages production costs on very well-managed North Italian dairy farms at the present time. Highlights benchmarks for dairy farms management practices, economic and reproductive performance cost of production of forages in northern Italy
EFFECTS OF (VAM) VESICULAR ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZAE ON GROWTH PERFORMANCE OFMENTHA LONGIFOLIA L. AT VARIOUS LEVELS OF ROCK PHOSPHATE AMENDMENTS

An effort was made to investigate the effects of VAM (Vesicular Arbuscular Mycorrhizae) on the growth performance of Mentha longifolia L.at various levels of rock phosphate.Various levels of rock phosphate were applied in combinations with VAM or without VAMsuchasRP0 (Without Phosphate) RP1 (0.05 g), RP2 (0.105 g) and RP3 (0.157 g). Rhizospheric soil from Agave plant with large number of spores of differentVAM fungii.e. Glomus fasciculatum,Glomus mosseae and Acaulos poramellae were applied. Inoculum was used as soil based inoculum. The study revealed significant differences among treatments and non-significant differences among replications regarding to the plant shoot length, length of roots, numbers of leaves, fresh and dry weight at different levels of the rock phosphate amendments in mycorrhizal plant species. The best shoot length, fresh weight, dry weight and leaves number in terms of the mean were recorded in MRP3 and MRP2 while the highest root length in terms of mean was recorded in MRP1 and MRP3.At various levels of the rock phosphate the overall performance of mycorrhizal groups was better than non- mycorrhizal groups.
Geogenic Sources Strongly Contribute to the Mackenzie River Delta’s Methane Emissions Derived From Airborne Flux Data

Arctic permafrost-associated wetlands and thawing permafrost emit the greenhouse gas methane (CH4), either as a product of recent microbial activity in the active layer or taliks, or from deeper geogenic sources where pathways through the permafrost exist. Current emission estimates vary strongly between different models and there is still disagreement between bottom-up estimates from local field studies and top-down estimates from atmospheric measurements. We use airborne flux data from two campaigns in the Mackenzie River Delta, Canada, in July 2012 and 2013 to directly quantify permafrost CH4 emissions on the regional scale, to analyse the regional pattern of CH4 fluxes and to estimate the contribution of geogenic emissions to the overall CH4 budget of the delta. CH4 fluxes were calculated with a time-frequency resolved version of the eddy covariance technique, resulting in a gridded 100 m x 100 m resolution flux map within the footprints of the flight tracks. We distinguish geogenic gas seeps from biogenic sources by their strength and show that they contribute strongly to the annual CH4 budget of the delta. Our study provides the first estimate of annual CH4 release from the Mackenzie River Delta and the adjacent coastal plain. We show that one percent of the covered area contains the strongest geogenic seeps which contribute disproportionately to the annual emission estimate. Our results show that geogenic CH4 emissions might need more attention, especially in areas where permafrost is vulnerable to thawing sufficiently to create pathways for geogenic gas migration. The presented map can be used as a baseline for future CH4 flux studies in the Mackenzie River Delta.
Wearable Antennas: A Review of Materials, Structures, and Innovative Features for Autonomous Communication and Sensing

Wearable antennas have gained much attention in recent years due to their attractive features and possibilities in enabling lightweight, flexible, low cost, and portable wireless communication and sensing. Such antennas need to be conformal when used on different parts of the human body, thus need to be implemented using flexible materials and designed in a low profile structure. Ultimately, these antennas need to be capable of operating with minimum degradation in proximity to the human body. Such requirements render the design of wearable antennas challenging, especially when considering aspects such as their size compactness, effects of structural deformation and coupling to the body, and fabrication complexity and accuracy. Despite slight variations in severity according to applications, most of these issues exist in the context of body-worn implementation. This review aims to present different challenges and issues in designing wearable antennas, their material selection, and fabrication techniques. More importantly, recent innovative methods in back radiations reduction techniques, circular polarization (CP) generation methods, dual polarization techniques, and providing additional robustness against environmental effects are first presented. This is followed by a discussion of innovative features and their respective methods in alleviating these issues recently proposed by the scientific community researching in this field.
Application of GIS technologies to monitor secondary radioactive contamination in the Delegen mountain massif

The territory of the Degelen mountain massif is located within territory of the former Semipalatinsk nuclear test site and it is an area of ecological disaster. Currently there is a process of secondary radioactive contamination that is caused by geodynamic processes activated at the Degelen array, violation of underground hydrological cycles and as a consequence, water seepage into the tunnels. One of the methods of monitoring of geodynamic processes is the modern technology of geographic information systems (GIS), methods of satellite radar interferometry and high accuracy satellite navigation system in conjunction with radioecological methods. This paper discusses on the creation of a GIS-project for the Degelen array, facilitated by quality geospatial analysis of the situation and simulation of the phenomena, in order to maximize an objective assessment of the radiation situation in this protected area.
Preparation and characterization of cefuroxime axetil solid dispersions using poloxamer 188

The main objective of the present work was to enhance the solubility and dissolution rate of poorly water-soluble drug cefuroxime axetil (CA) by formulating it into solid dispersions (SDs) with water soluble carrier poloxamer 188. Different methods were employed to prepare the dispersion, such as: Solvent method (SM), Kneading method (KM), Melt evaporation method (MEM) and Physical mixture (PM) in different drug: carrier ratios 1:1, 1:2 and 1:3 (cefuroxime axetil: poloxamer 188). The physical mixture(s) and solid dispersion(s) were characterized for drug carrier interaction, drug content, solubility, dissolution rate, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and FT-IR study. The dissolution rate of the prepared solid dispersion systems was determined in phosphate buffer (pH 6.8) for 1 h. The solubility of drug from different systems was also determined in water. All SD formulations were found to have a higher dissolution rate comparatively to pure CA. The dissolution rate was enhanced in the following order SM > MEM > KM. The enhancement of dissolution rate may be caused by increase wettability, dispersibillity reduction in particle size or the formation of CA β crystalline. The FT-IR study probability revealed that there was no chemical interaction between drug and poloxamer 188.