Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Connecting protected areas in the Iberian peninsula to facilitate climate change tracking

Summary Protected areas (PAs) are intended to preserve natural places, aiming to sustain ecosystem functionality and preserve biodiversity. However, PAs are spatially static, while major threats to biodiversity, such as climate and land-use change, are dynamic. The climatic conditions represented in a PA could vanish in the future and appear in other places more or less far away from the PA; these places could be considered as recipient areas potentially suited to receive propagules from the source PAs, which tend to lose the climatic conditions that motivated their protection. This study estimates the current and future climatic representativeness of mainland Iberian national parks by identifying future areas with a similar climate to those existing now in the parks and taking into account the degree of anthropogenic alteration and protection. We identify a network of ecological corridors connecting Iberian national parks with their recipient areas, as well as discriminating those most conflicting areas that impede network connectivity due to their degree of land-use transformation. Our results identify important areas for maintaining the climatic representativeness of Iberian national parks in the future, showing a substantial reduction in the climatic representativeness of the Iberian national parks. Although most of the recipient areas now have forest and semi-natural land uses and more than half of their whole area has protected status, current land uses in the Iberian Peninsula severely obstruct the corridor network connecting the parks and recipient areas.
The effects of ethics education interventions on ethical attitudes of professional accountants: evidence from Ghana

ABSTRACT The study investigates effects of ethics education interventions (EEIs) in accounting programmes and the moderating role of personal demographic factors on ethical attitudes of accountants (EAA) within the context of Ghana. It employs a survey of 340 accountants and uses ordinary least square to test some hypothesized relationships. The results show that EEIs such as the inclusion of ethics-related courses, methods of teaching ethics, methods of assessing ethics and methods of ethics incorporation have positive and significant effects on the EAA. Further, personal demographic factors such as experience and age moderate the positive relationship between EEI and ethical attitude. The study contributes to the extant literature by demonstrating that cultural relativism plays a crucial role in shaping EAA. This study differs from the previous studies since it uses professional accountants as the unit of analysis and situated within the context of the developing country.
Development of Three‐Dimensional Variational Data Assimilation Method of Aerosol for the CMAQ Model: An Application for PM2.5 and PM10 Forecasts in the Sichuan Basin

A three‐dimensional variational (3DVAR) data assimilation method for the aerosol variables of the community multiscale air quality (CMAQ) model was developed. This 3DVAR system uses PM2.5 and PM2.5‐10 (the difference between PM10 and PM2.5) as control variables and used the AERO6 aerosol chemical mechanism in the CMAQ model. Two parallel experiments (one with and one without data assimilation [DA]) were performed to evaluate the assimilating effects of surface PM2.5 and PM10 during a heavy haze episode from January 13 to 16, 2018 in the Sichuan Basin (SCB) region. The results show that simulations without DA clearly underestimated PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations, and the analysis field with aerosol DA is skillful at fitting the observations and effectively improving subsequent forecasts of PM2.5 and PM10. For the analysis fields of PM2.5 and PM10 after DA comparing with those without DA, the correlation coefficient (CORR) of PM2.5 and PM10 increased by 0.59 and 0.65, the bias (BIAS) increased by 82.29 and 125.41 μg/m3, and the root mean square error (RMSE) declined by 73.69 and 116.30 μg/m3, respectively. Improvement of subsequent 24‐h forecasts of PM2.5 and PM10 with DA is also significant. Statistical results of forecasting improvement with DA indicated that the CORR, BIAS, and RMSE for PM2.5 and PM10 at 78% and 89% of stations in the SCB region are improved, respectively. From the perspective of assimilation duration time, the improvement of PM2.5 and PM10 can be maintained for ∼24 h.
Role of Nasal Lavage Fluid Galactomannan Levels For Diagnosis of Invasive Aspergillosis in Patients with Leukemia

Background: Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is the most prevalent invasive infection with high mortality among patients with leukemia. Early diagnosis of IA has been a challenging topic in this group of patients. Objectives: In this study, we evaluated the galactomannan levels of nasal lavage fluid (NALF) as a possible auxiliary method for IA diagnosis in patients with leukemia. Methods: In a prospective study, 32 adult patients with leukemia who were taking induction and/or consolidation chemotherapy with fever and neutropenia were included. In all patients, galactomannan (GM) levels of serum and NALF, and mycological examinations were evaluated before the first dose of antifungal therapy. Results: Fourteen (43.7%) patients had NALF GM ≥ 0.5; however, in 16 (50%) patients the level of serum GM was ≥ 0.5. The elevated level of NALF GM had a significant association with the proven IA cases (P = 0.048). The GM level of NALF with a cut-off value of 0.45 (by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis) had 78% sensitivity and 64% specificity for the diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis (P = 0.033). Conclusions: Due to its non-invasive nature, GM level of NALF may be contributory to be used as part of the diagnostic work‐up of IA particularly in leukemic patients with thrombocytopenia which prohibits acquiring bronchoalveolar lavage.
Event-Driven Local Gain Control on a Spiking Cochlea Sensor

Including local automatic gain control (AGC) circuitry into a silicon cochlea design can be challenging because of transistor mismatch and model complexity. To address this, we present an alternative system-level algorithm that implements channel-specific AGC by using the output spikes of a spiking silicon cochlea. By measuring the output spike activity of each channel, the bandpass filter gain of a channel is adapted dynamically to the input sound amplitude so that the average output spike rate stays within a defined range. We evaluate the effect of our local AGC algorithm on a classification task where the input signal varies over a large amplitude range. Results on a task to classify speech versus noise show that a classifier trained on spike responses of a cochlea with local AGC maintains an average of 25% higher accuracy over a 32 dB input dynamic range, compared to the case when the AGC is disabled.
Technical Note - Dynamic Data-Driven Estimation of Nonparametric Choice Models

Choice models are prevalent in several application areas, and their nonparametric estimation was introduced to alleviate unreasonable assumptions in traditional parametric models. Existing literature focuses only on the static observational setting where all of the observations are given up front and lacks algorithms that provide explicit convergence rate guarantees or an a priori analysis for the model accuracy versus sparsity trade-off on the actual estimated model returned. In contrast, in “Dynamic Data-Driven Estimation of Nonparametric Choice Models,” Ho-Nguyen and Kılınç-Karzan focus on estimating a nonparametric choice model from observational data in a dynamic setting, where observations are obtained over time. They show that this estimation problem can be cast as a convex-concave saddle point joint estimation and optimization problem and provide an online convex optimization-based primal-dual framework for deriving algorithms for it. By tailoring this framework carefully to the choice model estimation problem, they provide low-cost algorithms that come with provable convergence guarantees, explicit theoretical bounds on the sparsity of the estimated model, and a superior empirical performance.
Catalytic Fractionation of Raw Biomass to Biochemicals and Organosolv Lignin in a Methyl Isobutyl Ketone/H2O Biphasic System

A biphasic system, consisting of methyl isobutyl ketone and H2O, has been achieved for a highly integrated one-pot catalytic transformation and delignification process of lignocellulosic biomass. Using SO3H-functionalized ionic liquids as catalysts, 85.8% of bagasse can be fractionated into 71.4% water-soluble chemicals at 76.3% lignin extraction ratio, under the optimized conditions. The practicability of this biphasic system for other typical biomass sources has also been tested with high efficiency, viz., 79.6 to 91.9% lignin extraction ratio of corncob, corn stalk, rice husk, and rice straw with 56.6 to 72.8% water-soluble chemicals yield at 64.8 to 81.3% feed conversion.
Photo-Cross-Linked Anion Exchange Membranes with Improved Water Management and Conductivity

Robust, cross-linked anion exchange membranes (AEMs) were prepared from solvent-processable polyisoprene-ran-poly(vinylbenzyltrimethylammonium chloride) (PI-ran-P[VBTMA][Cl]) ionomers via photoinitiated thiol–ene chemistry. Two series of membranes were prepared choosing two dithiol cross-linkers, 1,10-decanedithiol and 2,2′-(ethylenedioxy)diethanethiol, selected for their different hydrophobicities. A strong correlation was found between the choice of dithiol cross-linker, water uptake, morphology, and the ion conductivity of the membranes. Results were compared with previous findings of thermally cross-linked AEMs from analogous random copolymers. Comparably high chloride ion conductivities were obtained at low to moderate ion exchange capacities (IECs) with significantly low water uptake values. It was shown that by choosing a hydrophilic cross-linker ion cluster formation may be suppressed and ion conduction improved. This study highlights that it is possible to promote ion conductivities for low IEC m.
Complementary switching enabled cascaded boost‐buck‐boost (BS‐BB) and buck‐boost‐buck (BB‐BU) converters

In this paper, two cascaded buck‐boost nature converters are developed; one converter is capable of producing high step‐up gain, and the other converter addresses high step‐down gain. In proposed converters, for a given voltage gain, two distinct duty ratios are possible due to their ability in handling complementary switching schemes. This feature is effective for voltage‐sensitive applications like LED systems. The operation principle, steady‐state analysis, and the design of the passive components for each switching scheme are presented for the proposed converters. Comparative analysis with competitive converters profound the merits of the proposed converters in terms of voltage gain and the continuous nature of the output. Experiments are conducted on both proposed converters for simultaneous and complementary switching schemes, and they validate the theoretical steady‐state performance.
The Impact of Ford Motor Company’s Voluntary Equal Wage Policy on Detroit’s Wage Gap in the 1940s

We analyze the impact of Ford Motor Company’s compensation practices on the Detroit-area labor market from 1918 to 1947. Previous studies imply that Ford paid race-independent wages, but its Black workers were sorted into undesirable departments. We extend these results using propensity score reweighting of census data and Ford’s records and confirm that Ford paid equal wages. We then develop a search model with discriminatory and equal wage firms to assess the impact of Ford’s policy on the larger labor market. Calibrated simulations suggest that Ford may have reduced the wage gap in southeastern Michigan by as much as 50%.
Interprofessional dynamics that promote client empowerment in mental health practice: A social work perspective

Summary Interprofessional practice has been broadly endorsed as a strategy which supports the delivery of high-quality health services. Few studies have addressed the dynamics inherent to interprofessional mental health practice in an era in which client empowerment is prioritised and valued. Social work perspectives are also underexplored in the studies which have been published on interprofessional health care, despite the increasingly important role of this discipline in community mental health contexts. Through a thematic analysis of 26 semi-structured interviews, this study explored the perspectives of mental health social workers located in two geographically and culturally distinctive sites (Hong Kong and Sydney), and identified a strong theme encompassing their concerns about the facilitation of client empowerment in interprofessional settings. Findings Participant accounts direct attention to the strategies required to co-constitute the shared territories of the different mental health professions. Findings also highlight the frustration with recent mental health reforms which aim to challenge power differentials in interprofessional decision-making. Strategies were proposed for supporting the construction of shared language among different professions, revealing the creativity and insight of practitioners in managing the conflicts arising from interactions between different professional knowledge systems. The comparison of Hong Kong and Sydney accounts highlights the importance of structural, political and cultural influences in supporting not only interprofessional collaboration but also the independence and effectiveness of distinct professional roles. Application This article provides unique insights which aim to strengthen the contribution of social work to interprofessional practice in the promotion of empowerment-oriented interprofessional practice and education.
Hábitos alimenticios de los jóvenes en tiempos de aislamiento social preventivo y obligatorio

En este trabajo se presenta los resultados de un estudio observacional realizado a través de una encuesta online sobre los hábitos alimenticios de jóvenes en edad escolar durante el aislamiento social preventivo y obligatorio debido a la pandemia de coronavirus. Los jóvenes encuestados pertenecen a dos colegios secundarios de la provincia de Corrientes. La información obtenida de las encuestas ha permitido estudiar el perfil de nutrición de dichas poblaciones bajo estudio a fin de convertirse en instrumentos para la planificación de futuros talleres y capacitaciones en relación a la educación alimentaria.
New calculation method for exact length weighting factor in cone‐beam computed tomography

In iterative reconstruction algorithms, it is very important to calculate the weighting factor quickly and accurately, which directly affects the reconstruction efficiency and accuracy of computed tomography images. In this paper, a new calculation method for accurate length weighting factor is developed. Firstly, the ray equation is determined according to the coordinates of the source and the ray's projection. Second, the intersections of the ray and the equidistant parallel planes along three coordinate axes are calculated, and the points intersecting with the reconstructed object are put into a set. Finally, when the X‐axis coordinates of all points in the set are different, the points are arranged according to their X‐axis coordinates; when the X‐axis coordinates of all points are same, the points are arranged according to their Y‐axis coordinates. The sorted point set is the intersections that the ray traverses the reconstructed object in sequence. The index and weighting factor of all voxels that the ray passes through can be determined by the sorted point set. Compared with the classical Siddon's method, it avoids the step of describing the intersections with parameters, and its calculation speed is increased by nearly 20%. The numerical simulations and real data reconstruction experiments are conducted to validate the proposed calculation method of exact length weighting factor.
Whole-Exome Data Analysis: Detection of Candidate Gene Mutations for Mitochondrial Encephalohepatopathy

Mitochondrial Encephalohepatopathy (MEH) is an autosomal recessive neurodevelopmental disorder usually accompanied by microcephaly, white matter changes, cardiac and hepatic failure. Here, we applied the whole-exome sequencing (WES) framework on a trio family data with unaffected non-consanguineous parents and proband (neonate girl) with this inherited disorder. A total of 2,928,402 variants were observed with 2,613,746 SNPs, 112,336 multiple nucleotide polymorphisms (MNPs), 72,610 insertions, 113,207 deletions and 16,503 mixed variants. These variations are responsible for 82,813,631 effects on various genomic regions. Our pipeline uncovered candidate gene mutations from these variants and retained a handful of 5,277 variants harboring 3,598 genes, out of which, 8 genes codes for non-coding RNA while 178 genes are those with high impact severity. Among these 178 variants, 125 are de-novo variants that are not previously reported in the ClinVar database. Consistent to previous studies, the leftover high impact severity genes are involved in encephalopathy, Leigh syndrome, Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease, global developmental disorder, seizures, spastic paraplegia, premature ovarian failure, mitochondrial myopathy-cerebellar, ataxia-pigmentary, retinopathy syndrome, ocular and retinal degeneration, deafness, intellectual disability, cardiofacioneurodevelopmental syndrome etc. All these clinical features were also observed in the patient studied. The current analysis highlights and expands the genetic architecture of the MEH phenotype. Furthermore, this pipeline on trio family data significantly broadens the concept of its usefulness as a first-tier diagnostic method in the detection of complex multisystem phenotypic disorders.
COMPARISON OF PIXEL AND OBJECT BASED CLASSIFICATION METHODS ON RAPIDEYE SATELLITE IMAGE

Comparison of pixel and object based classification methods on rapideye satellite image, Turkish Journal of Forest Science , ABSTRACT: The aim of this study is to evaluate the classification performances of land use/land cover (LULC) classification methods by comparing the results of pixel and object-based classification approaches on RapidEye satellite image. Pixel-based classification was carried out in ERDAS Imagine 10.4 using the Maximum Likelihood - supervised approach, whilst object-based classification was performed in e-Cognition Developer 64 using the nearest neighbour-supervised classification method. A LULC map of eight classes was created in both methods. While the accuracy for thematic LULC classes varied in both methods, the overall accuracy and kappa values of LULC maps for pixel and object-based classification methods were 58.39%-0.45 and 89.58%-0.86, respectively. Accuracy assessments and comparative results showed that object-based classification gives better results for thematic LULC classes as well as the overall accuracy of LULC maps. Even though pixel-based classification method was good at mapping many thematic classes, there were misclassifications between natural/semi-natural LULC classes. These results can be attributed to parameters set by users, such as the number of control points, etc. However, the capacity of object-based classification method to include auxiliary data (e.g. DEM, NDVI) increases the accuracy of LULC maps with high-resolution satellites.
Quantum Dynamics of Light-Induced Charge Injection in a Model Dye–Nanoparticle Complex

We present a detailed description of the direct charge injection mechanism in a coupled dye–TiO2 nanoparticle (NP) using a full quantum dynamical simulation framework. The method employed here is based on a time-dependent tight-binding model to describe the system under nonequilibrium conditions. By using this tool, we performed a simulation showing a full time-dependent picture of the photoabsorption process in type-II dye-sensitized solar cells (direct charge injection mechanism from the dye to the TiO2 NP). This task is accomplished by tuning the frequency of an applied sinusoidal time-dependent electric field with the frequency of the dye–TiO2 NP’s main absorption peak. We find that during the field irradiation there is a net charge transfer from the dye to the NP superposed with a typical charge oscillation due to absorption of radiant energy.
Reply on RC2

The authors of the comment (referred to below as Stewart, 2021) provide a detailed discussion of the value of tritium analyses to constrain the travel time of streamflow, in response to a previously published paper in HESS (referred to below as Rodriguez, 2021). The comment (Stewart, 2021) specifically discusses the apparent "truncation" of travel time distributions (TTDs) derived from stable isotopes when compared to TTDs derived from tritium. This "truncation" is discussed by Rodriguez, 2021, as one of the incentives for the original study, to include both stable isotopes (i.e. H) and tritium, within the ageranked storage selection framework (SAS). By doing that, the original paper (Rodriguez, 2021) is a very valuable contribution to the scientific literature.
Influence of 2-Hydroxy-4-(Methylthio) Butanoic Acid Isopropyl Ester on Rumen Fermentation Parameters in Vitro

This study was conducted to investigate the influence of 2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio) butanoic acid isopropyl ester(HMBi) on rumen fermentation parameters in vitro.There were 3 groups(control group,trial groups 1 and 2) in the trial,and culture tubes in trial groups 1 and 2 were added with 1% and 2% HMBi(DM basis),respectively.The gas production of fermentation broth was measured after cultured for 3,6,9,12 and 24 h.The concentrations of volatile fatty acid(VFA) and lactic acid,and pH of fermentation broth were measured after cultured for 12 and 24 h.The results showed that the concentrations of acetate,butyrate,isovalerate and total VFA at 12 h in trial groups were significantly higher than those in the control group(P0.05),but there were no significant differences between the trial groups(P0.05). No significant differences were observed in concentrations of proportions of VFA and total VFA at 24 h among all groups(P0.05). The pH at 12 and 24 h in all groups were in normal range,and pH at 12 h in trial group 1 was higher than that in control group(P0.05) and trial group 2(P0.05),while the pH at 24 h was no significant difference among all groups(P0.05). The lactic acid concentration at 24 h in trial groups was significantly higher than that in the control group(P0.05),but there was no significant difference between the trial groups(P0.05). The gas production at 3,6 and 12 h in trial groups was higher than that in the control group(P0.05),but there was no significant difference between the trial groups(P0.05). In conclusion,the rumen fermentation can be improved by supplementation of HMBi.
Evidence for ‘like’ as a Focus Marker

Several functions have been proposed for the colloquial discourse particle like . This paper examines possible evidence for like as a focus marker. While this hypothesis seems plausible, it has been posited with insufficient definition or detail regarding the type of focus involved. It is also not clear how this aligns with other likely functions proposed for this discourse particle: for example, as a hedge marker or an approximator. This paper reports on a preliminary empirical study with small sets of conversational data of spoken colloquial American English. Its syntactic patterns and pragmatic usage suggest that like is used in a manner comparable to that of additive focus markers, exemplifiers, and other discourse markers. In such cases, it can function as an additive focus marker of indirect contrast, in addition to its well attested use as a hedge marker. Sentence-initial it’s like may have similar properties. Analyzing like as an additive marker allows for reconciliation of its various proposed functions by treating it as a multifunctional marker. The findings also indicate many avenues for further research.