Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Preference and Performance in Plant–Herbivore Interactions across Latitude–A Study in U.S. Atlantic Salt Marshes

High-latitude plants are often more palatable to herbivores than low-latitude conspecifics. Does increased plant palatability lead to better herbivore performance? Our field and laboratory work investigated (A) whether high-latitude plants have traits indicating that they should be higher-quality foods for herbivores; (B) whether geographic differences in plant quality are more important than local adaptation of herbivores. We studied 3 plant species and 6 invertebrate herbivores in U.S. Atlantic Coast. Past studies had shown high-latitude individuals of these plants are more palatable than low-latitude conspecifics. We documented plant traits and herbivore performance (body size) in the field across latitude. We collected individuals from different latitudes for factorial (plant region x herbivore region) laboratory experiments, examining how herbivore performance was affected by plant region, herbivore region, and their interaction (i.e., local adaptation). Field surveys suggested high-latitude plants were likely of higher quality to herbivores. Leaf nitrogen content in all plant species increased toward high latitudes, consistent with lower leaf C/N and higher leaf chlorophyll content at high latitudes. Furthermore, leaf toughness decreased toward higher latitudes in 1 species. The body size of 4 herbivore species increased with latitude, consistent with high-latitude leaves being of higher quality, while 2 grasshopper species showed the opposite pattern, likely due to life-history constraints. In the laboratory, high-latitude plants supported better performance in 4 herbivore species (marginal in the 5th). The geographic region where herbivores were collected affected herbivore performance in all 6 species; however, the pattern was mixed, indicating a lack of local adaptation by herbivores to plants from their own geographic region. Our results suggest that more-palatable plants at high latitudes support better herbivore growth. Given that geographic origin of either plants or herbivores can affect herbivore performance, the nature of plant-herbivore interactions is likely to change if climate change “reshuffles” plant and herbivore populations across latitude.
Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce Factors Influencing the Adoption of E-banking in Sudan: Perceptions of Retail Banking Clients

areas of interest include efficiency measurement, statistical quality control and research methods. Abstract This study aims to determine e-banking usage level among retail banking clients' and to identify the factors that influence the adoption of e-banking in Sudan. A self-administered questionnaire was developed and distributed to a sample size of 400 clients using convenience-sampling method. Data analysis was then based on 269 valid responses. The study results indicate that the majority of retail banking industry clients use at least one of the e-banking services. Among all e-banking channels, Automated Teller Machine (ATM) is the most popular channel. The results show that high-income clients and those who have current account and computer and internet literate are more likely to use e- -2-banking services. However, the results show that there are no enough evidence of significant associations between e-banking usage with gender, marital status, education, and occupation. Moreover, the study identified eleven factors that affect the adoption of e-banking in Sudan. These factors include frequent breakdown of ATMs, inconvenient locations of ATMs and Electronic Points of Sale (EPOS), inaccessible internet, lack of means reporting technical problems, unclear legislations protecting e-transactions, slow banks response for correcting erroneous transactions, weak banks' role in raising clients awareness, unclear e-banking guidelines and instructions, frequent power cut offs, and high e-banking services' fees.
Antimicrobial Lemongrass Essential Oil—Copper Ferrite Cellulose Acetate Nanocapsules

Cellulose acetate (CA) nanoparticles were combined with two antimicrobial agents, namely lemongrass (LG) essential oil and Cu-ferrite nanoparticles. The preparation method of CA nanocapsules (NCs), with the two antimicrobial agents, was based on the nanoprecipitation method using the solvent/anti-solvent technique. Several physical and chemical analyses were performed to characterize the resulting NCs and to study their formation mechanism. The size of the combined antimicrobial NCs was found to be ca. 220 nm. The presence of Cu-ferrites enhanced the attachment of LG essential oil into the CA matrix. The magnetic properties of the combined construct were weak, due to the shielding of Cu-ferrites from the polymeric matrix, making them available for drug delivery applications where spontaneous magnetization effects should be avoided. The antimicrobial properties of the NCs were significantly enhanced with respect to CA/LG only. This work opens novel routes for the development of organic/inorganic nanoparticles with exceptional antimicrobial activities.
Influence of Cyclic Operation on PEM Fuel Cell Catalyst Stability

Effects of variations in time period and voltage level were examined during the cyclic corrosion of Pt/C polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell catalyst. Decay rates in the electrochemical area were found to increase when voltage waves, square or triangular, were cycled at a shorter period, and when the lower voltage level was set below the platinum oxide reduction peak (<0.8 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode). Cell performance losses were compared to the Tafel prediction. The double layer current densities and approximate electrode wettabilities were found to increase upon cycling.
Contextual Hypergraph Modeling for Salient Object Detection

Salient object detection aims to locate objects that capture human attention within images. Previous approaches often pose this as a problem of image contrast analysis. In this work, we model an image as a hyper graph that utilizes a set of hyper edges to capture the contextual properties of image pixels or regions. As a result, the problem of salient object detection becomes one of finding salient vertices and hyper edges in the hyper graph. The main advantage of hyper graph modeling is that it takes into account each pixel's (or region's) affinity with its neighborhood as well as its separation from image background. Furthermore, we propose an alternative approach based on center-versus-surround contextual contrast analysis, which performs salient object detection by optimizing a cost-sensitive support vector machine (SVM) objective function. Experimental results on four challenging datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approaches against the state-of-the-art approaches to salient object detection.
Asthma-related emergency department use: current perspectives

Asthma is one of the most common chronic pediatric diseases. Patients with asthma often present to the emergency department for treatment for acute exacerbations. These patients may not have a primary care physician or primary care home, and thus are seeking care in the emergency department. Asthma care in the emergency department is multifaceted to treat asthma patients appropriately and provide quality care. National and international guidelines exist to help drive clinical care. Electronic and paper-based tools exist for both physicians and patients to help improve emergency, home, and preventive care. Treatment of patients with asthma should include the acute exacerbation, long-term management of controller medications, and controlling triggers in the home environment. We will address the current state of asthma research in emergency medicine in the US, and discuss some of the resources being used to help provide a medical home and improve care for patients who suffer from acute asthma exacerbations.
Role of Psychosocial Factors on Communicative Participation among Survivors of Head and Neck Cancer

Objective The purpose of this study was to examine the unique contribution of psychosocial factors, including perceived social support, depression, and resilience to communicative participation, among adult survivors of head and neck cancer (HNC). Study Design Cross-sectional. Setting University-based laboratory and speech clinic. Subjects and Methods Adult survivors of HNC who were at least 2 years posttreatment for HNC completed patient-reported outcome measures, including those related to communicative participation and psychosocial function. Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to predict communicative participation. Self-rated speech severity, cognitive function, laryngectomy status, and time since diagnosis were entered first as a block of variables (block 1), and psychosocial factors were entered second (block 2). Results Eighty-eight adults who were on average 12.2 years post–HNC diagnosis participated. The final regression model predicted 58.2% of the variance in communicative participation (full model R2 = 0.58, P < .001). Self-rated speech severity, cognitive function, laryngectomy status, and time since diagnosis together significantly predicted 46.1% of the variance in block 1. Perceived social support, depression, resilience, and interactions significantly and uniquely predicted 12.1% of the additional variance in block 2. Conclusion For clinicians, psychosocial factors such as perceived depression warrant consideration when counseling patients with HNC about communication outcomes and when designing future studies related to rehabilitation.
Aggressive behavior in humans: Genes and pathways identified through association studies

Aggressive behavior has both genetic and environmental components. Many association studies have been performed to identify genetic factors underlying aggressive behaviors in humans. In this review we summarize the previous work performed in this field, considering both candidate gene (CGAS) and genome‐wide association studies (GWAS), excluding those performed in samples where the primary diagnosis is a psychiatric or neurological disorder other than an aggression‐related phenotype. Subsequently, we have studied the enrichment of pathways and functions in GWAS data. The results of our searches show that most CGAS have identified associations with genes involved in dopaminergic and serotonergic neurotransmission and in hormone regulation. On the other hand, GWAS have not yet identified genome‐wide significant associations, but top nominal findings are related to several signaling pathways, such as axon guidance or estrogen receptor signaling, and also to neurodevelopmental processes and synaptic plasticity. Future studies should use larger samples, homogeneous phenotypes and standardized measurements to identify genes that underlie aggressive behaviors in humans. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Assessing the factor structure of well-being in older adults: findings from the National Health and Aging Trends Study

Objectives: Well-being has been conceptualized as a two-dimensional construct that includes both hedonic and eudaimonic components. To date, existing measures of well-being may not adequately capture both of these components for older adults, and limited literature has explored whether the two constructs can be integrated into one factor to measure well-being in this population. Method: This study examined the factor structure of the 11 well-being items from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS), a nationally representative panel study of Medicare recipients in the US. Using data from the 2011 wave, we divided the community-dwelling sample into two random subsamples, testing our theory in sample 1 (n = 3305) and examining the replicability of the solution in sample 2 (n = 3297). Results: We conducted confirmatory factor analyses using a correlated uniqueness approach to account for the frequency and negatively worded method effects. The findings from sample 1 indicated that the single factor structure was a superior fit to the data, and the solution was confirmed by sample 2 [χ2(33) = 85.002, p < . 001, RMSEA = 0.022 (90% CI = 0.016-0.028), CFI = 0.993, TLI = 0.989, WRMR = 0.831]. Conclusion: Findings suggest that although the hedonic and eudaimonic components of well-being may be conceptually distinct, they are highly correlated in the NHATS well-being measures and should be measured as a single construct. Implications for future research using the NHATS and research using other data sources and focusing on other populations are discussed.
Perspectives of Health-Care Providers Toward Advance Care Planning in Patients With Advanced Cancer and Congestive Heart Failure

Background: Advance care planning (ACP) discussions afford patients and physicians a chance to better understand patients’ values and wishes regarding end-of-life care; however, these conversations typically take place late in the course of a disease. The goal of this study was to clarify attitudes of oncologists, cardiologists, and primary care physicians (PCPs) toward ACP and to identify persistent barriers to timely ACP discussion following a quality improvement initiative at our health system geared at improvement in ACP implementation. Methods: A 20-question, cross-sectional online survey was created and distributed to cardiologists, oncologists, PCPs, and cardiology and oncology support staff at the NorthShore University HealthSystem (NorthShore) from February to March 2015. A total of 117 individuals (46% of distributed) completed the surveys. The results were compiled using an online survey analysis tool (SurveyMonkey, Inc., Palo Alto, California, USA). Results: Only 15% of cardiologists felt it was their responsibility to conduct ACP discussions with their patients having congestive heart failure (CHF). In contrast, 68% of oncologists accepted this discussion as their responsibility in patients with terminal cancer (P < .01). These views were mirrored by PCPs, as 68% of PCPs felt personally responsible for ACP discussion with patients having CHF, while only 34% felt the same about patients with cancer. Reported documentation of these discussions in the electronic health record was inconsistent between specialties. Among all surveyed specialties, lack of time was the major barrier limiting ACP discussion. Perceived patient discomfort and discomfort of the patient’s family toward these discussions were also significant reported barriers. Conclusion: Attitudes toward ACP implementation vary considerably by medical specialty and medical condition, with oncologists in this study tending to feel more personal responsibility for these discussions with patients having cancer than cardiologists with their patients having heart failure. Robust implementation of ACP across the spectrum of medical diagnoses is likely to require a true collaboration between office-based PCPs and specialists in both the inpatient and the ambulatory settings.
Disruption of ROCK1 gene restores autophagic flux and mitigates doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity

Doxorubicin is among the essential medicines with a wide antitumor spectrum, but its clinical application is limited by its cardiotoxicity. We recently discovered that ROCK1 is a key molecule in mediating cardiac remodeling in response to various stresses. To determine the roles of ROCK1 in doxorubicin cardiotoxicity, we gave three doses of doxorubicin injections to wild type (WT) and ROCK1−/− mice with one week intervals between treatments, the cumulative dose being 24 mg/kg. ROCK1−/− mice exhibited preserved cardiac function, reduced apoptosis, autophagy and fibrosis compared to the WT mice. To further determine the cellular mechanisms, we have examined the role of ROCK1 in cardiomyocytes using cardiomyocyte-specific knockout mice, MHC-Cre/ROCK1fl/fl, which partially reproduced the cardioprotective characteristics of ROCK1−/− mice, indicating that ROCK1 in both cardiomyocytes and non-cardiomyocytes mediates doxorubicin cardiotoxicity. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms, a detailed time course study after a single doxorubicin injection at 10 mg/kg was performed in ROCK1−/− and MHC-Cre/ROCK1fl/fl mice. The molecular analysis revealed that both ROCK1−/− and MHC-Cre/ROCK1fl/fl hearts exhibited significant reduction of doxorubicin-induced early responses including increased apoptotic (Bax) and autophagic (p62/SQSTM1 and LC3-II) markers, associated with reduced Beclin 1 phosphorylation on Thr119, supporting reduced Beclin 1-mediated autophagy initiation due to increased association of Beclin 1 with Bcl 2 or Bcl-XL in these hearts compared to the WT or ROCK1fl/fl mice. These results support that ROCK1 deficiency is cardioprotective against doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity at least in part through reducing Beclin 1-mediated autophagy initiation in cardiomyocytes and restoring autophagic flux to ameliorate doxorubicin cardiotoxicity.
Guided Mutation Testing for JavaScript Web Applications

Mutation testing is an effective test adequacy assessment technique. However, there is a high computational cost in executing the test suite against a potentially large pool of generated mutants. Moreover, there is much effort involved in filtering out equivalent mutants. Prior work has mainly focused on detecting equivalent mutants after the mutation generation phase, which is computationally expensive and has limited efficiency. We propose an algorithm to select variables and branches for mutation as well as a metric, called FunctionRank, to rank functions according to their relative importance from the application's behaviour point of view. We present a technique that leverages static and dynamic analysis to guide the mutation generation process towards parts of the code that are more likely to influence the program's output. Further, we focus on the JavaScript language, and propose a set of mutation operators that are specific to Web applications. We implement our approach in a tool called MUTANDIS. The results of our empirical evaluation show that (1) more than 93 percent of generated mutants are non-equivalent, and (2) more than 75 percent of the surviving non-equivalent mutants are in the top 30 percent of the ranked functions.
Noninvasive evaluation of renal pH homeostasis after ischemia reperfusion injury by CEST‐MRI

Acute kidney injury (AKI) in mice caused by sustained ischemia followed by reperfusion is associated with acute tubular necrosis and renal dysfunctional blood flow. Although the principal role of the kidney is the maintenance of acid–base balance, current imaging approaches are unable to assess this important parameter, and clinical biomarkers are not robust enough in evaluating the severity of kidney damage. Therefore, novel noninvasive imaging approaches are needed to assess the acid–base homeostasis in vivo. This study investigates the usefulness of MRI‐chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) pH imaging (through iopamidol injection) in characterizing moderate and severe AKI in mice following unilateral ischemia reperfusion injury. Moderate (20 min) and severe (40 min) ischemia were induced in Balb/C mice, which were imaged at several time points thereafter (Days 0, 1, 2, 7). A significant increase of renal pH values was observed as early as one day after the ischemia reperfusion damage for both moderate and severe ischemia. MRI‐CEST pH imaging distinguished the evolution of moderate from severe AKI. A recovery of normal renal pH values was observed for moderate AKI, whereas a persisting renal pH increase was observed for severe AKI on Day 7. Renal filtration fraction was significantly lower for clamped kidneys (0.54–0.57) in comparison to contralateral kidneys (0.84–0.86) following impairment of glomerular filtration. The severe AKI group showed a reduced filtration fraction even after 7 days (0.38 for the clamped kidneys). Notably, renal pH values were significantly correlated with the histopathological score. In conclusion, MRI‐CEST pH mapping is a valid tool for the noninvasive evaluation of both acid–base balance and renal filtration in patients with ischemia reperfusion injury.
Regional Contingencies in the Relationship between Aboveground Biomass and Litter in the World’s Grasslands

Based on regional-scale studies, aboveground production and litter decomposition are thought to positively covary, because they are driven by shared biotic and climatic factors. Until now we have been unable to test whether production and decomposition are generally coupled across climatically dissimilar regions, because we lacked replicated data collected within a single vegetation type across multiple regions, obfuscating the drivers and generality of the association between production and decomposition. Furthermore, our understanding of the relationships between production and decomposition rests heavily on separate meta-analyses of each response, because no studies have simultaneously measured production and the accumulation or decomposition of litter using consistent methods at globally relevant scales. Here, we use a multi-country grassland dataset collected using a standardized protocol to show that live plant biomass (an estimate of aboveground net primary production) and litter disappearance (represented by mass loss of aboveground litter) do not strongly covary. Live biomass and litter disappearance varied at different spatial scales. There was substantial variation in live biomass among continents, sites and plots whereas among continent differences accounted for most of the variation in litter disappearance rates. Although there were strong associations among aboveground biomass, litter disappearance and climatic factors in some regions (e.g. U.S. Great Plains), these relationships were inconsistent within and among the regions represented by this study. These results highlight the importance of replication among regions and continents when characterizing the correlations between ecosystem processes and interpreting their global-scale implications for carbon flux. We must exercise caution in parameterizing litter decomposition and aboveground production in future regional and global carbon models as their relationship is complex.
Direct wafer bonding dynamics

The direct wafer bonding process involves a coupled physical system, formed by the elastic deformation of the wafers and a thin layer of fluid trapped in-between the two wafers.Dynamics of the system during the contacting step has many practical consequences on the quality of the assembled stack.A model for the bonding dynamics is formulated using the thin plate theory and the Reynolds equation. The transient equation is solved numerically, allowing to study both the initiation and the propagation of the bonding. The model is supported by the measurement of the vertical movement of the wafer during the bonding, using an original setup involving optical sensors.Subsequently, an analytical model for the final curvature of the bonded stack is derived, as a function of the different load components acting on the wafers during the bonding, using the thin plate theory and by considering a transverse strain discontinuity locked at the bonding interface.Experimental validation is performing using two different wafer thicknesses. The measured bonded wafer profiles are well described by the model.In addition, a model for the work of adhesion is developed, taking into account both the interface roughness and the amount of adsorbed water.The interface energy controlling the adhesion is found different than for the separation because of the different distribution of water along the interface, in agreement with the experimental observations. At last, a new method to accurately measure the work of adhesion for the entire wafers geometry is proposed, using an elongated bubble intentionally created at the bonding interface and by measuring the induced wafer deflection.