Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fostering Collaborations towards Integrative Research Development

The complex problems associated with global change processes calls for close collaboration between science disciplines to create new, integrated knowledge. In the wake of global change processes, forests and other natural environments have been rapidly changing, highlighting the need for collaboration and integrative research development. Few tools are available to explore the potential for collaborations in research ventures that are just starting up. This study presents a useful approach for exploring and fostering collaborations between academics working in research teams and organizations comprising multiple science disciplines (i.e., multi-disciplinary). The research aim was to reveal potential barriers, common ground, and research strengths between academics working in a new centre focused on forest and climate change research. This aim was based on the premise that raising awareness and working with this acquired knowledge fosters collaborations and integrative research development. An email survey was deployed amongst the academics to obtain: (i) their understanding of common themes (e.g., climate change, scale of investigation, woodland/forest health/decline); (ii) descriptions of the spatial and temporal scales of their research; and (iii) their approach and perceived contributions to climate change research. These data were analysed using a semi-quantitative content analysis approach. We found that the main potential barriers were likely to be related to differences in understanding of the common research themes, whilst similarities and disciplinary strengths provided critical elements to foster collaborations. These findings were presented and discussed amongst the centre academics to raise awareness and create a dialogue around these issues. This process resulted in the development of four additional research projects involving multiple disciplines. The approach used in this study provides a useful methodology of broader benefit to similar multi-disciplinary research teams and organizations elsewhere.
Y RNA fragment in extracellular vesicles confers cardioprotection via modulation of IL‐10 expression and secretion

Cardiosphere‐derived cells (CDCs) reduce myocardial infarct size via secreted extracellular vesicles (CDC‐EVs), including exosomes, which alter macrophage polarization. We questioned whether short non‐coding RNA species of unknown function within CDC‐EVs contribute to cardioprotection. The most abundant RNA species in CDC‐EVs is a Y RNA fragment (EV‐YF1); its relative abundance in CDC‐EVs correlates with CDC potency in vivo. Fluorescently labeled EV‐YF1 is actively transferred from CDCs to target macrophages via CDC‐EVs. Direct transfection of macrophages with EV‐YF1 induced transcription and secretion of IL‐10. When cocultured with rat cardiomyocytes, EV‐YF1‐primed macrophages were potently cytoprotective toward oxidatively stressed cardiomyocytes through induction of IL‐10. In vivo, intracoronary injection of EV‐YF1 following ischemia/reperfusion reduced infarct size. A fragment of Y RNA, highly enriched in CDC‐EVs, alters Il10 gene expression and enhances IL‐10 protein secretion. The demonstration that EV‐YF1 confers cardioprotection highlights the potential importance of diverse exosomal contents of unknown function, above and beyond the usual suspects (e.g., microRNAs and proteins).
Origin of optically passive spiral galaxies with dusty star-forming regions. Outside-in truncation of star formation?

Recent observations have revealed that red, optically passive spiral galaxies with little or no optical emission lines, harbour significant amounts of dust-obscured star formation. We propose that these observational results can be explained if the spatial distributions of the cold gas and star-forming regions in these spiral galaxies are significantly more compact than those in blue star-forming spirals. Our numerical simulations show that if the sizes of star-forming regions in spiral galaxies with disc sizes of Rd are ∼0.3Rd, such galaxies appear to have lower star formation rates as well as higher degrees of dust extinction. This is mainly because star formation in these spirals occurs only in the inner regions where both the gas densities and metallicities are higher, and hence the dust extinction is also significantly higher. We discuss whether star formation occurring preferentially in the inner regions of spirals is closely associated with the stripping of halo and disc gas via some sort of environmental effect. We suggest that the ‘outside-in truncation of star formation’ is the key to a better understanding of apparently optically passive spirals with dusty star-forming regions.
Manipulation of Life-History Decisions Using Leptin in a Wild Passerine

Seasonal timing of reproduction and the number of clutches produced per season are two key avian life-history traits with major fitness consequences. Female condition may play an important role in these decisions. In mammals, body condition and leptin levels are correlated. In birds, the role of leptin remains unclear. We did two experiments where we implanted female great tits with a pellet releasing leptin evenly for 14 days, to manipulate their perceived body condition, or a placebo pellet. In the first experiment where females were implanted when feeding their first brood offspring we found, surprisingly, that placebo treated females were more likely to initiate a second brood compared to leptin treated females. Only one second brood fledged two chicks while five were deserted late in the incubation stage or when the first egg hatched. No difference was found in female or male return rate or in recruitment rate of fledglings of the first brood, possibly due to the desertion of the second broods. In our study population, where there is selection for early egg laying, earlier timing of reproduction might be hampered by food availability and thus nutritional state of the female before egg laying. We therefore implanted similar leptin pellets three weeks before the expected start of egg laying in an attempt to manipulate the laying dates of first clutches. However, leptin treated females did not initiate egg laying earlier compared to placebo treated females, suggesting that other variables than the perceived body condition play a major role in the timing of reproduction. Also, leptin treatment did not affect body mass, basal metabolic rate or feeding rates in captive females. Manipulating life history decisions using experimental protocols which do not alter individuals' energy balance are crucial in understanding the trade-off between costs and benefits of life history decisions.
Relational Interdependence and Commitment in Marriage.

This research was designed to examine, from a social exchange perspective, the interaction between several indicators of relational interdependence and relational commitment in married individuals. It was hypothesized that a high level of interdependence-as indicated by high levels of outcomes (or satisfaction) derived from a relationship, equity experienced within a relationship, and the presence of strong barriers to the dissolution of the relationship-would be positively correlated with a high degree of relational commitment, as measured by low levels of monitoring of alternatives and high levels of cohesion and solidarity. In addition, the differential impact of the indicators of interdependence were examined for their relative contributions in predicting commitment. Results support the hypothesis in that a high level of interdependence-as measured by its indicators-positively covaried with commitment. In addition, perceived equity in the distribution of outcomes within a relationship was the variable found to account for the largest percentage of variance in levels of commitment reported for both husbands and wives.
Time-restricted feeding schedules modify temporal variation of gentamicin experimental nephrotoxicity

The effect of timing of gentamicin dosing relative to food access periods was evaluated in experimental animals. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were treated for 4 and 10 days with gentamicin (40 mg/kg of body weight/day) intraperitoneally at either 0700, 1300, 1900, or 0100 h according to three food presentation schedules: food was available from 0800 to 1600 h in the first group, from 1600 to 0000 h in the second group, and from 0000 to 0800 h in the last group. Animals were thus subjected to a restricted feeding period. Results indicate that time-restricted feeding schedules displace the peak and the trough of gentamicin-induced renal toxicity, as evaluated by changes in the inhibition of sphingomyelinase activity, cellular regeneration (incorporation of [3H]thymidine into DNA of renal cortex), and blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine levels, as well as histopathological lesions observed after 10 days of treatment. In fact, the toxicity was minimal when gentamicin was injected during the feeding period, while the maximal toxicity was found when gentamicin was administered during the fasting period. It is concluded that the feeding period can modulate aminoglycoside nephrotoxicity. The time of dosing of gentamicin relative to the time of feeding seems to be a more important modulator of gentamicin nephrotoxicity than the light-dark cycle.
Geographies of environmental learning: an exploration of children's use of school grounds

There has been limited recent geographic research on children's use of school grounds. This study explores the impact of school grounds on the play behaviours of children in primary schools. It examines the way in which some features of school grounds stimulate more of the type of play that is likely to produce environmental learning. The paper reports on research findings from two primary schools in Canberra, Australia. At each school, multiple research techniques were employed, including behaviour mapping of children's play, interviews with children, and analysis of children's drawings of their school grounds. Children's play in one school displayed high levels of interaction with the natural environment. The paper provides insights on the potential of school grounds as sites for environmental learning.
RECIST 1.1 and serum thyroglobulin measurements in the evaluation of responses to sorafenib in patients with radioactive iodine-refractory differentiated thyroid carcinoma

The present study was designed to investigate the association between response evaluation criteria in solid tumors (RECIST) 1.1 and 1.0, and to explore the utility of thyroglobulin (Tg) measurements in assessing tumor responses to sorafenib in patients with radioactive iodine (RAI)-refractory differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC). In total, 23 patients with RAI-refractory DTC were enrolled. A comparison of RECIST 1.1 and 1.0 was performed in all patients with measurable disease. Following the exclusion of patients who were positive for anti-Tg antibody, the correlation between RECIST 1.1 and Tg was investigated in patients with measurable disease, and the concordance of the change in Tg between these patients and the patients with non-measurable disease only was analyzed over time. Tumor responses, assessed by RECIST 1.1 and 1.0, were concordant in 96% of the 23 records. However, the number of target lesions, according to RECIST 1.1, was significantly lower than when using RECIST 1.0. Progressive disease (PD) was identified in one of the five patients who underwent fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET)/computed tomography (CT) scanning. A correlation between the Tg levels and the sum of the diameters of the target lesions was verified, with the percentage decrease in Tg levels significantly greater than that in the radiograph, demonstrating shrinkage. Furthermore, the percentage change in Tg levels was consistent between the patients with measurable disease and the subjects with non-measurable disease only. In conclusion, in patients with RAI-refractory DTC, RECIST 1.1 is highly concordant with RECIST 1.0 in the assessment of responses to sorafenib treatment, with the advantage of simplified procedures and the complementary use of FDG-PET. Tg measurements, in concordance with RECIST 1.1, are valuable in the evaluation of tumor responses.
The Distracting Effects of Material Reinforcers in the Discrimination Learning of Lower- And Middle-Class Children.

Children were tested on a discrimination list and positively reinforced by a light signal, bean, or candy. Half of the subjects in the first two conditions were told they would later be given candy for each reinforcer received. In lower-class groups, Candy and Bean-Reward subjects were similar in performance and markedly inferior to Light and Bean subjects; Light-Reward subjects were only slightly inferior to the latter. Essentially the same results were found with middle-class subjects except that Light-Reward was more similar to Candy and Bean-Reward. The results suggested that the inferior performance of material reward groups found in previous studies may be due to the distracting effects of the reinforcement procedures.
Diagnosis of secondary adrenal insufficiency in patients with hypothalamic-pituitary disease: comparison between serum and salivary cortisol during the high-dose short synacthen test.

OBJECTIVE Accurate assessment of adrenal function is essential in patients with hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) disease. The measurement of salivary cortisol (SaC) instead of serum cortisol (SeC) offers several advantages, such as the determination of the free hormone. We evaluated the diagnostic value of SeC and SaC both unstimulated and during a high-dose short synacthen test (HDT) in comparison to the insulin tolerance test (ITT). DESIGN Comparative study between 2005 and 2007. METHODS Fifty-five patients with HPA impairment and 21 healthy controls were enrolled. Samples were collected in the early morning and over 120 min during the HDT. Receiver operating characteristic analysis revealed individual thresholds for four HDT periods (0-30, 0-60, 0-90, and 0-120 min). RESULTS The ITT identified 30 subjects as adrenal insufficient. With respect to the four HDT periods, sensitivity and specificity were 67-79% and 71-88% for SeC, compared with 63-72% and 72-86% for SaC. If upper and lower thresholds (with specificities >95%) were applied, patients were diagnosed in 40-45% by SeC and in 25-31% by SaC. The combination of basal cortisol and HDT allowed a diagnosis in 47-49% (SeC) and in 42-45% (SaC) respectively. CONCLUSION We suggest the determination of basal SeC or SaC as first-line test. In comparison to the ITT, the HDT has only limited value in screening for alterations of the HPA axis. If the HDT is performed, sampling may be limited to 30 min post-synacthen, using either SeC or SaC. Due to the ease of collection and the independence of binding proteins, SaC may be preferable.
A 0.4V ultra low-power UWB CMOS LNA employing noise cancellation

This paper presents an ultra low voltage (ULV), ultra low power (ULP) and ultra wideband CMOS low noise amplifier with noise cancelling. A design methodology for optimizing the trade-off between power consumption and RF performance for a MOS transistor is employed. A current-reuse technique is used to lower the power consumption, and an inductive gm-boosting technique is exploited to increase the gain and improve input matching at high frequencies. The circuit is implemented in a 90nm TSMC CMOS technology. Simulation results demonstrate a 15dB gain, a 6.8GHz bandwidth and a 4.5-5.3dB noise figure. The power consumption is only 410μW at a 0.4V supply.
Overview of BioNLP’09 Shared Task on Event Extraction

The paper presents the design and implementation of the BioNLP'09 Shared Task, and reports the final results with analysis. The shared task consists of three sub-tasks, each of which addresses bio-molecular event extraction at a different level of specificity. The data was developed based on the GENIA event corpus. The shared task was run over 12 weeks, drawing initial interest from 42 teams. Of these teams, 24 submitted final results. The evaluation results are encouraging, indicating that state-of-the-art performance is approaching a practically applicable level and revealing some remaining challenges.
Parental practices and the development of moral judgment and self-image disparity during adolescence.

The development of adolescent self-concept and moral judgment was related to parents' child-rearing practices. Higher self-image disparity, more positive ideal self-image, and less positive real self-image were related to a higher level of moral judgment. Parental practices that emphasized unilateral respect or that were nonnurturant were related to a lower level of moral judgment and to less emphasis on postconventional judgments. Among boys, higher self-image disparity was related to authoritarian child-rearing practices. Among girls, a more positive ideal self-image was related to the father's emphasis on control and supervision and the mother's emphasis on control of sex and aggression. The findings were discussed in terms of cognitive-developmental factors in the development of the self-image and the importance of opportunities for autonomous functioning in the elaboration of moral judgment and aspects of the self-image. Furthermore, the different effects of parental practices for boys and girls were interpreted as reflecting the importance of sex-role stereotyping in the socialization of adolescent moral judgment and self-image.
‘A belated return for Christ?’: the reception of Arnold J. Toynbee's A Study of History in a British context, 1934–1961

The negative reception of A Study of History at the hands of British historians has masked wider responses to the work in Britain which reflect major tensions within British society and wider attitudes towards the idea of civilisation, the British Empire and religion. The highly critical response to the work from the majority of professional historians reviewing the book is indicative of major debates within British history writing, including the role of empirical and idealist interpretations of history, and the increasingly academic and scholarly role of the historian. Toynbee's position as a public voice and a celebrity historian in the 1950s, whose approach to history eschewed constraints of period or region, represented antithesis to the expanding historical profession and scholarly research. Arnold Toynbee's A Study of History was a weathervane for contemporary cultural and intellectual concerns of the era.
Multidrug Efflux Systems Play an Important Role in the Invasiveness of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important opportunistic human pathogen. Certain strains can transmigrate across epithelial cells, and their invasive phenotype is correlated with capacity to cause invasive human disease and fatal septicemia in mice. Four multidrug efflux systems have been described in P. aeruginosa, however, their contribution to virulence is unclear. To clarify the role of efflux systems in invasiveness, P. aeruginosa PAO1 wild-type (WT) and its efflux mutants were evaluated in a Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) epithelial cell monolayer system and in a murine model of endogenous septicemia. All efflux mutants except a ΔmexCD-oprJ deletion demonstrated significantly reduced invasiveness compared with WT. In particular, a ΔmexAB-oprM deletion strain was compromised in its capacity to invade or transmigrate across MDCK cells, and could not kill mice, in contrast to WT which was highly invasive (P < 0.0006) and caused fatal infection (P < 0.0001). The other mutants, including ΔmexB and ΔmexXY mutants, were intermediate between WT and the ΔmexAB-oprM mutant in invasiveness and murine virulence. Invasiveness was restored to the ΔmexAB-oprM mutant by complementation with mexAB-oprM or by addition of culture supernatant from MDCK cells infected with WT. We conclude that the P. aeruginosa MexAB-OprM efflux system exports virulence determinants that contribute to bacterial virulence.
Evaluation of the Role of the Pharmacological Inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus Multidrug Resistance Pumps and the Variable Levels of the Uptake of the Sensitizer in the Strain‐Dependent Response of Staphylococcus aureus to PPArg2‐Based Photodynamic Inactivation

The emergence of antibiotic resistance among pathogenic bacteria has caused an urgent need for the development of alternative therapeutics. One possibility is a combination of nontoxic photosensitizers (PS) and visible light, recognized as photodynamic therapy. Although it is known that Staphylococcus aureus is susceptible to photodynamic inactivation (PDI), the factors that determine the emerging variation among strains in the response to the treatment remain unclear. Some data indicate that cationic photosensitizing dyes such as phenothiaziniums which vary a lot in the chemical structure might target multidrug resistance pumps. In this study, we analyzed whether the uptake and activity of the multidrug resistance pumps might influence the previously observed variations among the clinical strains to protoporphyrin‐derived, amphipilic protoporphyrin diarginate‐mediated photodynamic treatment (12 J cm−2). Using a new set of four additionally selected methicillin‐resistant and methicillin‐susceptible clinical as well as ATCC S. aureus strains we confirmed that the bactericidal effect of the PDI is strain‐dependent as it ranged from 0 to 5 log10‐unit reduction in viable counts. However, neither the variable levels of the uptaken PS nor the pharmacological inhibition of NorA efflux pump explained such a phenomenon.
Optimal positioning of flying relays for wireless networks: A LOS map approach

This paper considers the exploitation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in wireless networking, with which communication-enabled robots operate as flying wireless relays to help fill coverage or capacity gaps in the network. We focus on the particular problem of (automatic) UAV positioning, which is known to crucially affect performance. Existing methods typically rely on statistical models of the air-to-ground channel, and thus, they fail to exploit the fine-grained information of line-of-sight (LOS) conditions at some locations. This paper develops an efficient algorithm to find the best position of the UAV based on the fine-grained LOS information. In spite of the complex terrain topology, the algorithm is able to converge to the optimal UAV position to maximize the end-to-end throughput without a global exploration of a signal strength radio map. Numerical results demonstrate that in a dense urban area, the UAV-aided wireless system with the optimal UAV position can almost double the end-to-end capacity from the base station (BS) to the user as compared to that of a direct BS to user link.
On the sound field radiated by a tuning fork

When a sounding tuning fork is brought close to the ear, and rotated about its long axis, four distinct maxima and minima are heard. However, when the same tuning fork is rotated while being held at arm’s length from the ear only two maxima and minima are heard. Misconceptions concerning this phenomenon are addressed and the fundamental mode of the fork is described in terms of a linear quadrupole source. Measured directivity patterns in the near field and far field of several forks agree very well with theoretical predictions for a linear quadrupole. Other modes of vibration are shown to radiate as dipole and lateral quadrupole sources.