Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Soil Strength Indices as Indicators of Consolidation

ABSTRACT SHEAR strength indices are often used to estimate soil characteristics related to erosion. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of using soil strength indices as indicators of soil changes caused by consolidation. Fall-cone, torvane shear, and pocket penetrometer measurements were obtained on clay, silt loam, and fme sand soils as a function of soil water stress history and time. Also, wet aggregate stability was measured for the clay soil. Prestress suction was the dominant mechanism for strengthening the three soils. Time effects were less pronounced. The fall-cone was the best indicator of consolidation and the pocket penetrometer was also effective with some limitations. The torvane shear device was the least effective index for detecting strength changes, although it worked well on the silt loam soil. The three index tests did not rank the three soils the same in order of increasing strength, suggesting that the validity of using index tests to rank or compare soils is questionable. The results of the study indicated that proper strength index tests may be effective in characterizing relative changes in stability of a given soil over time.
Method for Simulating the Anti-Damage Performance of Consolidation Soil Balls at the Roots of Seedlings during Transportation Using Consolidated Soil Columns

In the process of landscaping or afforestation in challenging terrain, in order to improve the survival rate of transplanted seedlings, it is necessary to transplant seedlings with a mother soil ball attached. During transportation, the soil ball at the root of the seedlings is very susceptible to breakage due to compression, bumps, and collisions. In order to ensure the integrity of the soil ball of the transplanted seedlings and improve the survival rate of seedlings, a method of chemically enhancing the soil surface strength was employed. Specifically, a polymer-based soil consolidating agent was used to solidify the root balls of the seedlings. To examine the abrasion resistance performance of the soil balls formed by consolidating the surface with polymer adhesive during the transportation process, we utilized a polymer-based consolidating agent to prepare test soil columns and developed a method to simulate the damage resistance performance of seedling root balls during transportation using these soil columns. The method primarily encompasses two aspects of testing: compressive strength testing of the consolidated soil columns and resistance to transportation vibration testing. The first method for testing the resistance to transportation vibration of the consolidated soil columns is a combination test that includes three sets of tests: highway truck transportation vibration testing, combined wheel vehicle transportation vibration testing, and impact testing. Although the method is cumbersome, testing is more accurate. The second method for testing the resistance to transportation vibration of the consolidated soil columns involves simultaneously testing multiple consolidated soil columns using a simulated transportation vibration test platform. The testing method is concise and efficient, and the test results are more intuitive. The combined assessment of the resistance to transportation vibration and compressive strength testing of the consolidated soil columns allows for a comprehensive evaluation of the soil columns’ resistance to damage during transportation. This study mainly provides a quick and effective method for detecting the damage resistance of consolidated soil columns/balls during transportation, providing technical support for the application of polymer-based consolidation agents in the field of seedling transplantation.
Bacterial and Archaeal Community Structure of Two Adjacent Calcite Speleothems in Kartchner Caverns, Arizona, USA

Information concerning the bacterial and archaeal communities present on calcite speleothems in carbonate caves is of interest because the activity of these microbes has been implicated as a potential biogenic component in the formation of secondary mineral deposits. In addition, these speleothems may harbor unique, previously unidentified microbes. The current study presents a comparative analysis of the superficial bacterial and archaeal community structure of multiple stalactites from two different cave formations located in close proximity to each other in a nonhuman-impacted area of Kartchner Caverns, Arizona, USA. PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis (PCR-DGGE) revealed that microbial communities sampled from stalactites of a single speleothem are more similar to each other than to the communities sampled from stalactites of an adjacent speleothem, suggesting that both bacterial and archaeal communities are speleothem-specific. SR-XRD analysis confirmed that both speleothems sampled were primarily calcite, but subtle differences were detected in the elemental composition profiles obtained from ICP-MS analysis indicating that substrate geochemistry was also speleothem-specific. PhyloChip analysis of composite samples from both speleothems revealed a broad diversity of phyla represented in the bacterial communities, while bacterial and archaeal bands sequenced from the DGGE profiles confirmed the presence of unique phylotypes not closely related ( < 96% similarity) to any sequences deposited in the GenBank database.
PENGARUH PEMBERIAN KATEKIN TERHADAP KULTUR SEL KANKER SERVIKS

Kanker serviks merupakan salah satu kanker paling mematikan bagi wanita. Salah satu terapi untuk mengobati kanker serviks adalah kemoterapi. Agen kemoterapi berasal dari bahan kimia sintetis dan memiliki efek samping yang merugikan. Tanaman gambir (Uncaria gambir Roxb) merupakan tanaman yang memiliki aktivitas sitotoksik. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui aktivitas sitotoksik dengan metode MTT, penghambatan migrasi sel dengan metode scratch assay, dan induksi kematian sel dengan metode double staining. Dari hasil penelitian, katekin yang diisolasi dari gambir mempengaruhi pertumbuhan sel biakan HeLa dengan nilai IC50 sebesar 3,1 µg/mL. Katekin yang diisolasi dari Gambir berpengaruh terhadap penghambatan migrasi sel HeLa; Hasilnya adalah penghambatan terbesar ditemukan pada konsentrasi yang paling signifikan, yaitu pada 80 µg/mL, dan rata-rata area migrasi sel adalah 2,26 mm/jam. Katekin dapat menginduksi apoptosis pada sel kultur HeLa. Dari hasil penelitian dapat disimpulkan bahwa katekin yang diisolasi dari Uncaria gambir mempengaruhi sel kultur HeLa.
Overlapping Neuroimmune Mechanisms and Therapeutic Targets in Neurodegenerative Disorders

Many potential immune therapeutic targets are similarly affected in adult-onset neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s (AD) disease, Parkinson’s disease (PD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), as well as in a seemingly distinct Niemann–Pick type C disease with primarily juvenile onset. This strongly argues for an overlap in pathogenic mechanisms. The commonly researched immune targets include various immune cell subsets, such as microglia, peripheral macrophages, and regulatory T cells (Tregs); the complement system; and other soluble factors. In this review, we compare these neurodegenerative diseases from a clinical point of view and highlight common pathways and mechanisms of protein aggregation, neurodegeneration, and/or neuroinflammation that could potentially lead to shared treatment strategies for overlapping immune dysfunctions in these diseases. These approaches include but are not limited to immunisation, complement cascade blockade, microbiome regulation, inhibition of signal transduction, Treg boosting, and stem cell transplantation.
The Indian Ocean: The Region of Highest Skill Worldwide in Decadal Climate Prediction*

AbstractThe Indian Ocean stands out as the region where the state-of-the-art decadal climate predictions of sea surface temperature (SST) perform the best worldwide for forecast times ranging from the second to the ninth year, according to correlation and root-mean-square error (RMSE) scores. This paper investigates the reasons for this high skill by assessing the contributions from the initial conditions, greenhouse gases, solar activity, and volcanic aerosols. The comparison between the SST correlation skill in uninitialized historical simulations and hindcasts initialized from estimates of the observed climate state shows that the high Indian Ocean skill is largely explained by the varying radiative forcings, the latter finding being supported by a set of additional sensitivity experiments. The long-term warming trend is the primary contributor to the high skill, though not the only one. Volcanic aerosols bring additional skill in this region as shown by the comparison between initialized hindcasts tak.
Performance Analysis of Deep Transfer Learning Models for the Automated Detection of Cotton Plant Diseases

Cotton is one of the most important agricultural products and is closely linked to the economic development of Pakistan. However, the cotton plant is susceptible to bacterial and viral diseases that can quickly spread and damage plants and ultimately affect the cotton yield. The automated and early detection of affected plants can significantly reduce the potential spread of the disease. This paper presents the implementation and performance analysis of bacterial blight and curl virus disease detection in cotton crops through deep learning techniques. The automated disease detection is performed through transfer learning of six pre-trained deep learning models, namely DenseNet121, DenseNet169, MobileNetV2, ResNet50V2, VGG16, and VGG19. A total of 1362 images of local agricultural fields and 1292 images from online resources were used to train and validate the models. Image augmentation techniques were performed to increase the dataset diversity and size. Transfer learning was implemented for different image resolutions ranging from 32×32 to 256×256 pixels. Performance metrics such as accuracy, precision, recall, F1 Score, and prediction time were evaluated for each implemented model. The results indicate higher accuracy, up to 96%, for DenseNet169 and ResNet50V2 models when trained on the 256×256 pixels image dataset. The lowest accuracy, 52%, was obtained by the MobileNetV2 model when trained on low-resolution, 32×32, images. The confusion matrix analysis indicates the true-positive prediction rates higher than 91% for fresh leaves, 87% for bacterial blight, and 76% for curl virus detection for all implemented models when trained and tested on an image dataset of 128×128 pixels or higher resolution.
Recent spatial and temporal variability and trends of sunshine duration over the Iberian Peninsula from a homogenized data set

[1] This paper describes the construction of a new data set of sunshine duration over the Iberian Peninsula (IP), based upon 72 monthly instrumental series covering the 1931–2004 period. Particular emphasis is placed upon the quality control, gap filling, and homogenization procedures. We also produced a gridded version (1° × 1° resolution, latitude, and longitude) of the homogenized data set covering the whole IP with 84 cells. We subsequently analyzed sunshine duration data in search of temporal variability, long-term trends, and spatial differences over the IP. The analyses were carried out on the mean series calculated for the whole IP and for four subregions, at annual, seasonal, and monthly resolution. We defined the subregions using a principal component analysis applied to the sunshine duration data. The temporal evolution of the mean annual series for the whole IP shows a decrease in sunshine duration from the 1950s to the early 1980s, followed by a positive trend up to the end of the 20th century, which matches the “global dimming” and the subsequent and recent “brightening” described for other regions in international scientific literature. The most interesting seasonal significant trend for the IP series was found for summer (−0.9% per decade, over the 1951–2004 period); this trend is influenced by the months of July and August in two subregions. In addition, important trends ranging from +2.8 to +3.8% per decade were observed for the March series for all Mediterranean climate subregions.
Laparoscopic Excision of Normotensive Variant Pheochromocytoma in a Case of Triple Vessel Coronary Artery Disease: The Anaesthesia Challenge

Pheochromocytomas are catecholamine-secreting tumours arising mostly from the adrenal medulla. With the advancement in surgical and anaesthetic techniques, the incidence of severe morbidity and mortality associated with surgery is low. However, concurrent coronary artery disease and pheochromocytoma continue to be a challenge due to the risk of adverse cardiovascular events. We describe the successful management of pheochromocytoma excision in a patient with coronary artery disease.
Physical Activity among Elderly Teachers Working in Basic Education Schools

This study aimed to assess the levels of physical activity (PA) among elderly teachers. It was an epidemiological, cross-sectional, and analytical web survey conducted with teachers working in public basic education schools. Data collection took place between October and December 2021 through an online form. The dependent variable was physical activity practice, classifying teachers as either physically active or inactive. Descriptive, bivariate, and multiple analyses were performed using Poisson Regression with robust variance. A total of 1907 teachers participated in the study, of whom 5.6% were elderly, ranging in age from 60 to 72 years. Regarding PA practice, elderly teachers were found to be more physically inactive compared with adult teachers (PR = 1.18; 95% CI = 1.04; 1.34). Conclusion: A statistically significant difference in PA practice was observed between adult and elderly teachers, indicating that elderly teachers are more physically inactive.
Effect of Cashew Kernel Meal on Blood Biochemical Parameters and Biometry of Organs Regulating Nutritional Metabolism in Laying Hens

Cashew kernels are rich in protein, carbohydrates, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA). In Côte d'Ivoire, cashew nut kernel debris is abundant, but are not highly valued. This study aims to assess the impact of cashew kernel meal in diets on serum biochemical parameters and the pathophysiological state of organs regulating nutritional metabolism in hens. To carry out the experiment, 96 hens, aged 20 weeks, of LOHMANN-Brown strain, with an average weight of 1600 ± 36.7 g, were used over a 10-week period. Laying hens were fed four diets: Rt, R10, R15 and R20, with 0%, 10%, 15% and 20% cashew kernel meal respectively. The results indicate that the consumption of the diets caused a significant reduction in the mean value of glucose, total cholesterol and uric acid in the hens' blood, due to the presence in quantity of the PUFAs and MUFAs contained in cashew kernels. In this study, the absence of weight variation in kidneys, livers, hearts and gizzards shows that cashew kernel meal had no deleterious effects on the body's immune responses. On the other hand, spleen mass was reduced in hens fed the R10, R15 and R20 diets, showing that they were immune to splenomegaly. In view of the results obtained, the incorporation of cashew kernel meal, in the diets of laying hens could be an interesting alternative to the use of conventional soybean meal and corn.
Skjold Field, Danish North Sea: Early evaluations of oil recovery through water imbibition in a fractured reservoir

This paper reviews the performance of a fractured chalk oil reservoir in its first three years of production and evaluates future development options. The relatively low degree of undersaturation of the oil has required that evaluations of pressure maintenance potential be made early in the life of the field. To this end, a large amount of performance data has been collected, primarily through the use of observation wells. The performance data (pressures and free water level in fractures) are presented and their evaluation is described. In particular, the evaluation of the oil production performance through water imbibition is discussed. This evaluation has led to the initiation of pressure maintenance through water injection.
A Novel Particle Filter Formulation with Application to Terrain-Aided Navigation

Abstract Terrain-aided navigation (TAN) holds high potential for integration with classical dead-reckoning methods in underwater vehicles that do not have access to the global positioning system (GPS). The TAN approach constitutes an economical solution for long-range oceanographic missions that cannot afford the cost of high-grade inertial navigation systems or the logistics associated to the deployment of long acoustic baselines. Successful implementations of the terrain navigation concept require efficient and robust algorithms for estimation of the vehicle kinematic states. Current implementations of terrain-based navigation rely essentially on a class of nonlinear filters commonly designated particle filters (PF) due to their versatility and robustness. However, there are some typical problems posed by TAN applications that require further investigation since they are not adequately solved by standard PF algorithms. The present paper addresses the problem of efficiency and robustness of particle filters in the context of terrain based navigation. To this effect, we present two new filter versions that are shown to be more robust and to achieve superior performance in terms of position and velocity estimation. When applied to TAN, the new PF formulations mitigate filter divergence problems frequently caused by terrain symmetries and are more robust than other well-known versions when used in scenarios with poor terrain information.
Early Pliocene marine sediments, coastline, and climate of East Antarctica

We record the first onshore late Tertiary fossiliferous marine deposit from the 8000-km-long coastline of East Antarctica. Glaciomarine sediments containing abundant diatoms and molluscs were deposited in shallow waters off an open coast during the early Pliocene (∼4.5-3.5 Ma) and are now exposed less than 15 m above sea level on Marine Plain in the Vestfold Hills (lat 68°359S,long 78°009E). Marine diatoms suggest early Pliocene as the most probable age of the sediments. Fossil sand wedges show that the deposit was above sea level at least briefly before it was covered with water and subsequently capped with glaciomarine till. The coastline at the time of deposition of the marine sediments is inferred to have been close to but farther inland than that of today. The ice margin may have been ∼50 km farther inland, considerably reducing the ice volume of Antarctica. Climate at the time of deposition was interglacial and perhaps warmer than the present.
Identifying Barriers to Basic Needs, Academic Success, and the Vaccination Pattern among College Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic

College students face significant challenges during large-scale disease outbreaks that potentially compromise their basic needs, vaccine confidence, and academic success. Using a cross-sectional design and convenience sampling, we examined the impact of COVID-19 among college students (N = 828). The survey was administered using the Qualtrics survey platform to collect data on multiple demographic and health behaviors of students in the summer semester (2021). Our study demonstrated that the most common financial shock experienced by the study participants was job loss, with less remarkable changes in food and housing insecurities. Academically, students had the most difficulty learning online compared to other modalities (face-to-face, Hyflex, etc.) and struggled with staying motivated. They also struggled with group work and finding appropriate learning spaces. However, many did not use university support systems such as career and tutoring services. Exploring the COVID-19 vaccination attitudes, we found that only age, ethnicity, classification, and health insurance status were associated with getting vaccinated (p < 0.05). When the learning environment was assessed for various modalities, only college attendance was significantly associated (p < 0.05) with the accessible platforms (online, Hyflex, face-to-face, and others); however, nearly 40% of students reported difficulty learning on an online learning platform compared other categories that had much lower proportions. Our findings underscore an immediate need for universities to take measures to improve their preparedness and response strategies to mitigate the negative effects of future large-scale public health emergencies among students.
Assessing Urban Forest Effects and Values: Douglas County, Kansas

An analysis of trees in Douglas County, Kansas, reveals that this area has about 14,164,000 trees with tree and shrub canopy that covers 25.2 percent of the county. The most common tree species are American elm, northern hackberry, eastern redcedar, Osage-orange, and honeylocust. Trees in Douglas County currently store about 1.7 million tons of carbon (6.4 million tons CO2) valued at $124 million. In addition, these trees remove about 82,000 tons of carbon per year (300,000 tons CO2 per year valued at $5.8 million per year) and about 3,870 tons of air pollution per year ($17.7 million per year). Douglas County's trees are estimated to reduce annual residential energy costs by $2.9 million per year. The compensatory value of the trees is estimated at $6.2 billion. Loss of the current tree cover in the Wakarusa River watershed in Douglas County would increase annual flow by an average of 2.6 percent (88.9 million ft3). Information on the structure and functions of the regional forest can be used to inform forest management programs and to integrate regional forests within plans to improve environmental quality in Douglas County.
Status-Seeking in Criminal Subcultures and the Double Dividend of Zero-Tolerance

This paper offers a new argument for why a more aggressive enforcement of minor offenses ('zero-tolerance') may yield a double dividend in that it reduces both minor offenses and more severe crime. We develop a model of criminal subcultures in which people gain social status among their peers for being 'tough' by committing criminal acts. As zero-tolerance keeps relatively 'gutless' people from committing a minor offense, the signaling value of that action increases, which makes it attractive for some people who would otherwise commit more severe crime. If social status is sufficiently important in criminal subcultures, zero-tolerance reduces crime across the board.