Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Conflicting rates of increase in the sperm whale population of the eastern Caribbean: positive observed rates do not reflect a healthy population

Observed rates of increase calculated from trends in the numbers of animals present in a population should generally agree with those estimated from life-history data. However, for a small population of individually identified sperm whales Physeter macrocephalus occupying the waters of the eastern Caribbean there is a discrepancy. Using a mark-recapture analysis that included heterogeneity in identification, the population, numbering about 156 adults (95% CI 126−195) in 1998, has been increasing at 3.4% yr −1 (95% CI: 1.0−5.7% yr −1 ). However, a 2-stage matrix population model including unweaned calves and adults (and excluding mature males), whose parameters were estimated directly from empirical data, gave a projected rate of increase of −2.7% yr −1 (95% CI: −5.4 to −0.4% yr −1 ). This estimate is primarily sensitive to calculated adult mortality. The discrepancy between the observed and projected rates of increase for this popula- tion may be explained by a high, probably anthropogenic, mortality of sperm whales in the east- ern Caribbean, coupled with immigration from surrounding regions, so the area becomes an attractive sink (ecological trap). The analysis emphasizes the fragility of sperm whale populations. More generally, our analysis of this population shows that a positive observed rate of increase is not necessarily a sign of a healthy population. This case study highlights the importance of analysing populations of endangered species using multiple methodologies and with a solid base of individual-level empirical data based on longitudinal monitoring.
Lightweight RFID Protocol for Medical Privacy Protection in IoT

Traditional medical privacy data are at a serious risk of disclosure, and many related cases have occurred over the years. For example, personal medical privacy data can be easily leaked to insurance companies, which not only compromises the privacy of individuals, but also hinders the healthy development of the medical industry. With the continuous improvement of cloud computing and big data technologies, the Internet of Things technology has been rapidly developed. Radio frequency identification (RFID) is one of the core technologies of the Internet of Things. The application of the RFID system to the medical system can effectively solve this problem of medical privacy. RFID tags in the system can collect useful information and conduct data exchange and processing with a back-end server through the reader. The whole process of information interaction is mainly in the form of ciphertext. In the context of the Internet of Things, the paper presents a lightweight RFID medical privacy protection scheme. The scheme ensures security privacy of the collected data via secure authentication. The security analysis and evaluation of the scheme indicate that the protocol can effectively prevent the risk of medical privacy data being easily leaked.
Harmful or Helpful? A Systematic Review of How Those Bereaved Through Suicide Experience Research Participation

Background: Many of the bereaved through suicide are interested in participating in postvention studies. However, there is a contradiction between the positive experiences of research participation and concerns raised by ethical boards. Aims: To review studies on the experience of research participation by those bereaved through suicide, including initial contact with the study and its short- and long-term impacts. Method: Systematic searches in Embase, Medline, PsycINFO, as well as Google Scholar identified 12 papers reporting on 11 studies. Results: The majority (73–100%) of study participants evaluated participation positively, and would recommend it to others (90–100%), as it was related to altruism, social support, and personal growth. A minority experienced participation as negative (2–10%) or upsetting (5–22%) due to feelings of guilt or painful memories. However, having a painful experience does not preclude seeing it as helpful. Limitations: Most studies concerned face-to-face psychological autopsy studies, and only two studies included a control group. Conclusion: Research applying standardized measures may enhance our understanding of the factors germane to (non-)participation and to the likelihood of a positive/negative research experience. Vigilant recruitment and providing optimum care for participants are indicated. Further research may continue to improve participant safety and the research design of suicide bereavement studies.
Determination of mineral contents of wild Boletus edulis mushroom and its edible safety assessment

ABSTRACT This study aimed to determine the contents of main mineral elements of wild Boletus edulis and to assess its edible safety, which may provide scientific evidence for the utilization of this species. Fourteen mineral contents (Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Sr, V and Zn) in the caps and stipes of B. edulis as well as the corresponding surface soils collected from nine different geographic regions in Yunnan Province, southwest China were determined. The analyses were performed using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES) after microwave digestion. Measurement data were analyzed using variance and Pearson correlation analysis. Edible safety was evaluated according to the provisionally tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) of heavy metals recommended by United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization (FAO/WHO). Mineral contents were significantly different with the variance of collection areas. B. edulis showed relative abundant contents of Ca, Fe, Mg and Na, followed by Ba, Cr, Cu, Mn and Zn, and the elements with the lower content less were Cd, Co, Ni, Sr and V. The elements accumulation differed significantly in caps and stipes. Among them, Cd and Zn were bioconcentrated (BCF > 1) while others were bioexcluded (BCF < 1). The mineral contents in B. edulis and its surface soil were positively related, indicating that the elements accumulation level was related to soil background. In addition, from the perspective of food safety, if an adult (60 kg) eats 300 g fresh B. edulis per week, the intake of Cd in most of tested mushrooms were lower than PTWI value whereas the Cd intakes in some other samples were higher than this standard. The results indicated that the main mineral contents in B. edulis were significantly different with respect to geographical distribution, and the Cd intake in a few of regions was higher than the acceptable intakes with a potential risk.
Strategic Firm Commitments and Rewards for Customer Relationship Management in Online Retailing

Academic studies offer a generally positive portrait of the effect of customer relationship management (CRM) on firm performance, but practitioners question its value. The authors argue that a firm's strategic commitments may be an overlooked organizational factor that influences the rewards for a firm's investments in CRM. Using the context of online retailing, the authors consider the effects of two key strategic commitments of online retailers on the performance effect of CRM: their bricks-and-mortar experience and their online entry timing. They test the proposed model with a multimethod approach that uses manager ratings of firm CRM and strategic commitments and third-party customers' ratings of satisfaction from 106 online retailers. The findings indicate that firms with moderate bricks-and-mortar experience are better able to leverage CRM for superior customer satisfaction outcomes than firms with either low or high bricks-and-mortar experience. Likewise, firms with moderate online experience are better able to leverage CRM into superior customer satisfaction outcomes than firms with either low or high online experience. These findings help resolve disparate results about the value of CRM, and they establish the importance of examining CRM within the strategic context of the firm.
Gene expression profiling of the DNMT3A R882 mutation in acute leukemia

DNA methyltransferase 3A (DNMT3A) is one of two human de novo DNA methyltransferases essential for the regulation of gene expression. DNMT3A mutations and deletions have been previously observed in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), myelodysplastic sydromes and myeloproliferative neoplasms. However, the involvement of DNMT3A in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has rarely been reported. In the present study, PCR and direct sequencing was performed to analyze mutations of DNMT3A amino acid residue 882 in 99 acute leukemia patients, including 57 AML patients, 41 ALL patients and a single biphenotypic acute leukemia (BAL) patient. DNMT3A expression was detected in mono-nuclear cells of the bone marrow in these patients and in normal individuals using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and 17.5% (10/57) of AML patients were found to exhibit DNMT3A mutations. Four missense mutations were observed in the DNMT3A-mutated AML patients, including R882 mutations and a novel single nucleotide polymorphism resulting in the M880V amino acid substitution. However, the ALL and BAL patients were not found to exhibit DNMT3A mutations. The DNMT3A expression levels in the AML patients were significantly higher compared with those of the ALL patients or normal controls. The reduced expression levels of DNMT3A were associated with a significantly lower complete remission rate in the AML patients. However, in the ALL patients, no statistical significance was identified. The results of the present study indicate that DNMT3A may play varying roles in the regulation of DNA methylation in AML and ALL.
Image annotation with Photocopain

Photo annotation is a resource-intensive task, yet is increasingly essential as image archives and personal photo collections grow in size. There is an inherent conflict in the process of describing and archiving personal experiences, because casual users are generally unwilling to expend large amounts of effort on creating the annotations which are required to organise their collections so that they can make best use of them. This paper describes the Photocopain system, a semi-automatic image annotation system which combines information about the context in which a photograph was captured with information from other readily available sources in order to generate outline annotations for that photograph that the user may further extend or amend.
Burden of illness of chemotherapy in castration-resistant prostate cancer patients in Japan: a retrospective database analysis

Abstract Objective: The objective was to assess the burden of chemotherapy for castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) in Japan. Methods: Utilizing a large administrative hospital database we compared a set of outcome measures 12 months before and after initiation of chemotherapy, namely total medical costs, number of outpatient visits, number of hospital admissions and number of days spent in hospital. Results: A total of 598 CRPC patients were identified in the database. Total healthcare costs increased from 143,578 Japanese Yen (JPY) per patient per month (PPPM), before chemotherapy, to 333,628 JPY after start of chemotherapy. The number of hospital admissions increased by 280%, and the number of days spent in hospital by 380%. Conclusions: The overall costs of chemotherapy for patients diagnosed with castration-resistant prostate cancer in Japan are high. Our findings can serve as a basis for health economic evaluations.
Role of myocardial properties and pacing lead location on ECG in personalized paced heart models

Personalised cardiac models were built from the computed tomography imaging data for two patients with implanted cardiac resynchronisation therapy devices. The cardiac models comprised a biventricular model of myocardial electrophysiology coupled with a model of the torso to simulate the body surface potential map. The models were verified against electrocardiogams (ECG) recorded in the patients from 240 leads on the body surface under left ventricular pacing. The simulated ECG demonstrated a significant sensitivity to the myocardial anisotropy and location of the pacing electrode tip in the models. An apicobasal cellular heterogeneity was shown to be less significant for the ECG pattern at the paced-ventricle activation than that showed earlier by Keller and co-authors (2012) for the normal activation sequence.
Regional scaling of annual mean precipitation and water availability with global temperature change

Abstract. Changes in regional water availability belong to the most crucial potential impacts of anthropogenic climate change, but are highly uncertain. It is thus of key importance for stakeholders to assess the possible implications of different global temperature thresholds on these quantities. Using a subset of climate model simulations from the fifth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5), we derive here the sensitivity of regional changes in precipitation and in precipitation minus evapotranspiration to global temperature changes. The simulations span the full range of available emission scenarios, and the sensitivities are derived using a modified pattern scaling approach. The applied approach assumes linear relationships on global temperature changes while thoroughly addressing associated uncertainties via resampling methods. This allows us to assess the full distribution of the simulations in a probabilistic sense. Northern high-latitude regions display robust responses towards wetting, while subtropical regions display a tendency towards drying but with a large range of responses. Even though both internal variability and the scenario choice play an important role in the overall spread of the simulations, the uncertainty stemming from the climate model choice usually accounts for about half of the total uncertainty in most regions. We additionally assess the implications of limiting global mean temperature warming to values below (i) 2 K or (ii) 1.5 K (as stated within the 2015 Paris Agreement). We show that opting for the 1.5 K target might just slightly influence the mean response, but could substantially reduce the risk of experiencing extreme changes in regional water availability.
Echolocating Bats Cry Out Loud to Detect Their Prey

Echolocating bats have successfully exploited a broad range of habitats and prey. Much research has demonstrated how time-frequency structure of echolocation calls of different species is adapted to acoustic constraints of habitats and foraging behaviors. However, the intensity of bat calls has been largely neglected although intensity is a key factor determining echolocation range and interactions with other bats and prey. Differences in detection range, in turn, are thought to constitute a mechanism promoting resource partitioning among bats, which might be particularly important for the species-rich bat assemblages in the tropics. Here we present data on emitted intensities for 11 species from 5 families of insectivorous bats from Panamá hunting in open or background cluttered space or over water. We recorded all bats in their natural habitat in the field using a multi-microphone array coupled with photographic methods to assess the bats' position in space to estimate emitted call intensities. All species emitted intense search signals. Output intensity was reduced when closing in on background by 4–7 dB per halving of distance. Source levels of open space and edge space foragers (Emballonuridae, Mormoopidae, Molossidae, and Vespertilionidae) ranged between 122–134 dB SPL. The two Noctilionidae species hunting over water emitted the loudest signals recorded so far for any bat with average source levels of ca. 137 dB SPL and maximum levels above 140 dB SPL. In spite of this ten-fold variation in emitted intensity, estimates indicated, surprisingly, that detection distances for prey varied far less; bats emitting the highest intensities also emitted the highest frequencies, which are severely attenuated in air. Thus, our results suggest that bats within a local assemblage compensate for frequency dependent attenuation by adjusting the emitted intensity to achieve comparable detection distances for prey across species. We conclude that for bats with similar hunting habits, prey detection range represents a unifying constraint on the emitted intensity largely independent of call shape, body size, and close phylogenetic relationships.
Quantification of Mineral Composition and Total Protein Content in Sorghum [ (L.) Moench] Genotypes

Sorghum is a drought tolerant cereal and staple food which is a dietary source of protein and more than 20 minerals. The concentration of the mineral elements and protein content in sorghum varies due to genotypic and environmental influences and genotype by environment interactions. The objective of this study was to determine the contents of eight mineral elements (Ca, Fe, K, Mn, Na, P, Zn and Mg) and protein in sorghum genotypes. The analysis of variance showed significant differences in mineral and protein contents. There was a significant relationship between Zn and Fe and between protein and P and Zn. The principal component (PC) analysis showed that Fe, Mn, P, Zn and protein contributed largely to clustering of the genotypes in PC1; Ca, P and Mg to PC2 and Ca, K and Na to PC3. The presence of a considerable amount of compositional variability of mineral and protein contents among tested genotypes suggests that they can be a valuable source of genes for nutritional quality improvement of sorghum.
Mating Type Groups of Ascochyta rabiei (Teleomorph: Didymella rabiei), the Causal Agent of Chickpea Blight in Central Anatolia

The distribution of mating types of Ascochyta rabiei (teleomorph: Didymella rabiei) was studied on isolates collected from chickpea growing areas of Central Anatolia. Mating type assessments of 45 isolates from 6 different provinces were conducted under laboratory conditions. After keeping for 5-6 weeks, the pseudothecial development and ascospore production were observed on chickpea stem pieces that were incubated in 8 ± 1 °C and 85% relative humidity. Both mating types were found in all the provinces, except for Kayseri and Sivas. The majority of the isolates belonged to Mat 1-1 (57.8%) and the others (42.2%) to MAT 1-2. Additionally, the mating types of A. rabiei were differentiated from each other using the multiplex PCR method with the primers Com1, Tail 5, and SP21. MAT 1-1 isolates were amplified to approximately a 460 bp fragment and MAT 1-2 isolates to a 700 bp fragment, in accordance with the discrimination of mating type groups with conventional methods. Ozet: Orta Anadolu bolgesindeki 6 farkl› nohut ekim alan›ndan toplanan 45 Ascochyta rabiei (teleomorph: Didymella rabiei) izolat›n›n mating type gruplar›n›n da¤›l›m› laboratuar koflullar›nda araflt›r›lm›flt›r. Nohut govde parcalar› uzerinde pseudothecium geliflimi ve ascospor uretimi 8 ± 1 °C s›cakl›k ve % 85 nispi nem iceren koflullarda 5-6 haftal›k inkubasyon periyodundan sonra gozlenmifltir. Kayseri ve Sivas illeri haric dier tum illerde her iki mating type grubu da bulunmufltur. Test edilen izolatlar›n buyuk bir k›sm› Mat 1-1 (% 57.8) icerisinde yer al›r iken % 42.2' si ise MAT 1-2 grubu icinde yer alm›flt›r. Ayr›ca multiplex PCR (primer: Com1, Tail 5 ve SP21) metodu kullan›larak A. rabiei' nin mating type gruplar› birbirinden h›zl› olarak ay›rt edilmifltir. Mating type gruplar›n›n klasik yontemler kullan›larak yap›lan ay›r›m› ile uyumlu olarak MAT 1-1 izolatlar›ndan 460 bp, MAT 1-2 izolatlar›ndan ise yaklafl›k 700 bp buyuklu¤unde spesifik fragmentler coalt›lm›flt›r.
Numerical simulations of an Extreme AO system for an ELT

In this article, simulation results are presented for an extreme adaptive optics (order 200x200 sub-apertures) system, using a Pyramid WFS. These end-to-end simulations show that such a system is tractable with current simulation software and hardware. We also demonstrate that a novel reconstruction algorithm – CuRe – can provide similar performance (at much lower computational cost) than our standard Matrix Vector Multiply.
Effect of Potato virus Y Presence in Solanum tuberosum (Solanales: Solanaceae) and Chenopodium album on Aphid (Hemiptera: Aphididae) Behavior

Abstract This study establishes the effect of Potato Virus Y (PVY; Potyvirus) in potatoes, Solanum tuberosum L. (Solanales: Solanaceae) and in common-lambs' quarter Chenopodium album L. (Amaranthaceae) on Macrosiphum euphorbiae Thomas (Hemiptera: Aphididae) and Myzus persicae Sulzer (Hemiptera: Aphididae) behavior, host preference, transmission, and fitness under field and laboratory studies. In the field, several weeds, besides C. album, were collected, including: Sisymbrium altissimum L. (Brassicaceae), Erodium cicutarium L. , Lactuca serriola L. , Solanum sarrachoides Sendtner (Solanaceae), and S. dulcamara L. (Solanaceae). All weeds were serologically tested for the presence of PVY. From all weeds collected, 2.3 and 34% of C. album and S. sarrachoides, respectively, were PVY-positive. From those positive samples, 72% of the PVY found were PVYN; the remaining 28% was PVYO. In addition, several aphid species were collected from those weeds: Ovatus crataegarious Walker, Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Hemiptera: Aphididae), Hyalopterus pruni Geoffroy (Hemiptera: Aphididae), Rophalosiphum madis Fitch, and ‘others aphid’ species were collected. The highest number of aphids were collected in E. cicutarium, followed by S. dulcamara, L. serriola, S. altissimum, and C. album. In laboratory studies, PVY-infected C. album does not induce the production of aphids. Moreover, M. persicae did not appear to have a strong preference for either healthy or PVY-infected potato plant, but they did develop a preference for infected plants after prolonged feeding. M. persicae and M. euphorbiae transmitted PVY from C. album to S. tuberosum, 44 and 37.5 % of the time. Future research should seek to identify not only other sources and prevalence of PVY in the field but vector relationships. In insect-pathogen complex continues to persist in solanaceous field crops around the world.
AN IMPROVED AGROBACTERIUM MEDIATED TRANSFORMATION SYSTEM IN WHEAT

Wheat is the world’s largest volume crop traded internationally. Foliar diseases are the main biotic restriction reducing yield in wheat crops. Wheat productivity can be enhanced through controlling foliar disease through the use of resistant cultivars. Plant breeders are providing considerable attention to wheat genetic improvement from the past few years to minimize losses due to pests and pathogens and also to improve the grain yield. Genetic transformation is fundamental to wheat molecular genetics and improvement through genetic engineering. There has been significant progress in Agrobacterium transformation of wheat but it is still confined mainly to a few responsive varieties due to poor understanding of the mechanism and availability of efficient techniques. This system is influenced by a number of factors including acetosyringone concentration. In present study, the pattern of interaction in between acetosyringone concentration and transformation potential was exploited for the efficient development of Agrobacterium mediated transformation system in local cultivars of wheat (Inqilab-91 and Chakwal-97). Mature embryos were used as explant sources for callus induction, which were used later in transformation experiments. Different concentrations of acetosyringone were used and it was observed in the study that transformation efficiency increases with increase in acetosyringone concentration upto 400 µM but further increase beyond this drastically reduced the transformation frequency. Maximum transformation efficiencies of 56.0 and 52.0% were obtained with 400µM of acetosyringone from Inqilab-91 and Chakwal-97 respectively.