Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Estimating mechanical properties and specific gravity for five-year-old Eucalyptus tereticornis having broad moisture content range by NIR spectroscopy

Abstract Near infrared spectroscopy coupled with multivariate data analysis has been used to predict the specific gravity, modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity, and fiber stress at elastic limit in bending tests on radial and tangential strip wood samples obtained from five-year-old Eucalyptus tereticornis. Moisture content of samples was 6–21% for bending test and 7–16% for specific gravity. Partial least squares regression calibrations were developed for each wood property. Calibrations had good relationships between values measured in laboratory and NIR predicted values obtained from small clear samples. The coefficient of determination (R2) for calibration ranged from 0.76 to 0.83 and for prediction (Rp 2) it was between 0.58 and 0.77. Both radial and tangential faces are equally suited for calibration (for radial face R2 was 0.77–0.83 and for tangential it was 0.76–0.83). Standard errors of predictions were slightly higher compared to standard error of calibration.
The Pivotal Role of DNA Repair in Infection Mediated-Inflammation and Cancer

Pathogenic and commensal microbes induce various levels of inflammation and metabolic disease in the host. Inflammation caused by infection leads to increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and subsequent oxidative DNA damage. These in turn cause further inflammation and exacerbation of DNA damage, and pose a risk for cancer development. Helicobacter pylori-mediated inflammation has been implicated in gastric cancer in many previously established studies, and Fusobacterium nucleatum presence has been observed with greater intensity in colorectal cancer patients. Despite ambiguity in the exact mechanism, infection-mediated inflammation may have a link to cancer development through an accumulation of potentially mutagenic DNA damage in surrounding cells. The multiple DNA repair pathways such as base excision, nucleotide excision, and mismatch repair that are employed by cells are vital in the abatement of accumulated mutations that can lead to carcinogenesis. For this reason, understanding the role of DNA repair as an important cellular mechanism in combatting the development of cancer will be essential to characterizing the effect of infection on DNA repair proteins and to identifying early cancer biomarkers that may be targeted for cancer therapies and treatments.
Do Global Diversity Patterns of Vertebrates Reflect Those of Monocots?

Few studies of global diversity gradients in plants exist, largely because the data are not available for all species involved. Instead, most global studies have focussed on vertebrates, as these taxa have historically been associated with the most complete data. Here, we address this shortfall by first investigating global diversity gradients in monocots, a morphologically and functionally diverse clade representing a quarter of flowering plant diversity, and then assessing congruence between monocot and vertebrate diversity patterns. To do this, we create a new dataset that merges biome-level associations for all monocot genera with country-level associations for almost all ∼70,000 species. We then assess the evidence for direct versus indirect effects of this plant diversity on vertebrate diversity using a combination of linear regression and structural equation modelling (SEM). Finally, we also calculate overlap of diversity hotspots for monocots and each vertebrate taxon. Monocots follow a latitudinal gradient although with pockets of extra-tropical diversity, mirroring patterns in vertebrates. Monocot diversity is positively associated with vertebrate diversity, but the strength of correlation varies depending on the clades being compared. Monocot diversity explains marginal amounts of variance (<10%) after environmental factors have been accounted for. However, correlations remain among model residuals, and SEMs apparently reveal some direct effects of monocot richness. Our results suggest that collinear responses to environmental gradients are behind much of the congruence observed, but that there is some evidence for direct effects of producer diversity on consumer diversity. Much remains to be done before broad-scale diversity gradients among taxa are fully explained. Our dataset of monocot distributions will aid in this endeavour.
Segmentation and classification using active contours based superellipse fitting on side scan sonar images for marine demining

This paper proposes a new method for segmenting and classifying seamines on Synthetic Aperture Sonar (SAS) side scan images. The method uses an active contours approach and superellipse a-priori knowledge to segment the image in object, object-shadow and background areas. In contrast to other methods using superellipse constraints, the shape prior is incorporated directly into the segmentation process. This kind of segmentation has the advantage that afterwards the extracted superellipse parameters that describe the object and the object-shadow can directly be used as feature for a classification - this work is hence also of potential interest for general object recognition tasks in other application domains. Several different perspectives of implementing this idea into a suitable algorithm are introduced and compared with each other. Thus, for the evaluation of each method the extracted superellipse features are used for a support vector machine classification. An one against all confusion matrix is generated on a test data set. This result is compared to a related state of the art algorithm. It is shown that our new method is able to correctly classify 170 of 210 objects in a very challenging real world data set and that it yields significant better results than the state of the art comparison.
Perceived Interest in Vasectomy among Latina Women and their Partners in a Community with Limited Access to Female Sterilization

The low prevalence of vasectomy among Latino men in the United States is often attributed to cultural characteristics despite limited evidence supporting this hypothesis. We assessed male partners’ perceived willingness to undergo vasectomy through surveys with 470 Mexican-origin women who did not want more children in El Paso, Texas. Overall, 32% of women reported that their partner would be interested in getting a vasectomy. In multivariable analysis, completing high school (OR=2.03 [1.05, 3.95]), having some college education (OR=2.97 [1.36, 6.48]) or receiving US government assistance (OR=1.95 [1.1, 3.45]) was associated with partners’ perceived interest. Additionally, we conducted two focus groups on men’s knowledge and attitudes about vasectomy with partners of a subsample of these women. Despite some misperceptions, male partners were willing to get a vasectomy, but were concerned about cost and taking time off work to recover. Health education and affordable vasectomy services could increase vasectomy use among Mexican-origin men.
Is hepatitis C virus elimination possible among people living with HIV and what will it take to achieve it?

The World Health Organization targets for hepatitis C virus (HCV) elimination include a 90% reduction in new infections by 2030. Our objective is to review the modelling evidence and cost data surrounding feasibility of HCV elimination among people living with HIV (PLWH), and identify likely components for elimination. We also discuss the real‐world experience of HCV direct acting antiviral (DAA) scale‐up and elimination efforts in the Netherlands.
TECHNICAL NOTE CRIMINALISTICS

Opium is the raw material for the production of heroin, and the characterization of opium seizures through laboratory analysis is a valuable tool for law enforcement agencies to trace clandestine opium production and trafficking. In this work, a method for opium profiling based on the relative content of five principal and 14 minor opium alkaloids was developed and validated. UPLC-Q-TOF was adopted in alkaloid analysis for its high selectivity and sensitivity, which facilitated the sample preparation and testing. The authentic sample set consisted of 100 “Myanmar” and 45 “Afghanistan” opium seizures; based on the data set of the 19 alkaloid variables in them, a partial least squares discriminant analysis classification model was successfully achieved. Minor alkaloids were found to be vitally important for opium profiling, although combined use of both principal and minor alkaloids resulted in the best geographical classification result. The developed method realized a simple and accurate way to differentiate opium from Myanmar and Afghanistan, which may find wide application in forensic laboratories.
Implicit Statistical Learning: A Tale of Two Literatures

Implicit learning and statistical learning are two contemporary approaches to the long-standing question in psychology and cognitive science of how organisms pick up on patterned regularities in their environment. Although both approaches focus on the learner's ability to use distributional properties to discover patterns in the input, the relevant research has largely been published in separate literatures and with surprisingly little cross-pollination between them. This has resulted in apparently opposing perspectives on the computations involved in learning, pitting chunk-based learning against probabilistic learning. In this paper, I trace the nearly century-long historical pedigree of the two approaches to learning and argue for their integration under the heading of "implicit statistical learning. " Building on basic insights from the memory literature, I sketch a framework for statistically based chunking that aims to provide a unified basis for understanding implicit statistical learning.
A Tutorial on UAVs for Wireless Networks: Applications, Challenges, and Open Problems

The use of flying platforms such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), popularly known as drones, is rapidly growing. In particular, with their inherent attributes such as mobility, flexibility, and adaptive altitude, UAVs admit several key potential applications in wireless systems. On the one hand, UAVs can be used as aerial base stations to enhance coverage, capacity, reliability, and energy efficiency of wireless networks. On the other hand, UAVs can operate as flying mobile terminals within a cellular network. Such cellular-connected UAVs can enable several applications ranging from real-time video streaming to item delivery. In this paper, a comprehensive tutorial on the potential benefits and applications of UAVs in wireless communications is presented. Moreover, the important challenges and the fundamental tradeoffs in UAV-enabled wireless networks are thoroughly investigated. In particular, the key UAV challenges such as 3D deployment, performance analysis, channel modeling, and energy efficiency are explored along with representative results. Then, open problems and potential research directions pertaining to UAV communications are introduced. Finally, various analytical frameworks and mathematical tools, such as optimization theory, machine learning, stochastic geometry, transport theory, and game theory are described. The use of such tools for addressing unique UAV problems is also presented. In a nutshell, this tutorial provides key guidelines on how to analyze, optimize, and design UAV-based wireless communication systems.
Morphological and physiological determinants of local adaptation to climate in Rocky Mountain butterflies

We use field experiments to examine how butterflies achieve the flight required to forage, mate, and lay eggs in cool, montane environments. Potential adaptations include thermoregulatory traits that elevate body temperatures, basking behaviors, or shifts in the thermal sensitivity of flight. By comparing populations and species along an elevation gradient, we find that they use a combination of morphological, physiological, and behavioral adaptations to achieve flight.
Clinical Medicine

for frequent blood sugar estimations for accurately controlling coma is mentioned. In the chapter on albuminuria and tests of. イ ・ ョ セ ャ function the significance of a high blood urea findmg is discussedand the limitations of renal function tests are pointed out. There is no mention of the urea clearance test. The authors point out briefly the different views as to the causeof <edema in the hydrremic types of nephritis. The examination of stomach contents, tests of hepatic and pancreatic function are 'dealt with impartially and clearly. The glycosurias and albuminurias of pregnancy are discussedshortly, but in a very satisfactorymanner. A chapteris given to the blood calcium and its significance. On the whole, the authorsare to be congratulatedon the productionof a book which, while containing nothing new to the biochemist, should prove of great value to the practitioner and hospital residentmedical officer.
Acne and nutrition: hypotheses, myths and facts

Acne is an inflammatory and multifactorial skin disease. Different external and internal factors, including air pollution, aggressive skincare products, medication, mechanical, hormonal and familial factors and, more recently, lifestyle and stress, have been suggested as having an impact on acne. Moreover, for many years nutrition was believed to cause or worsen acne. Over the last decades, however, it has become a dermatological doctrine that there is no direct association between diet and acne. Even if recent research has allowed to identify certain nutritional elements and behaviour that may impact on acne, including the excessive intake of dairy products and hyperglycaemic food, modern lifestyle nutrition, obesity and eating disorders, knowledge about the role of nutrition in the physiopathology of acne still remains sparse and hypotheses and myths continue to dominate the debate. Thus, further clinical and translational research is necessary to investigate and confirm the association between nutrition and acne.
The effect of 200 Gy 60 Co-γ radiation on the body stress 1 responses sensitivity and reproductive reaction of Plutella 2 xylostella ( Linnaeus ) 3 4

The effect of 200Gy Co-γ radiation on the body stress 1 responses sensitivity and reproductive reaction of Plutella 2 xylostella (Linnaeus) 3 4 Xiaoxue Li, Lingyan Luo, Sengodan Karthi, Ke Zhang, Jianjun Luo, Qiongbo Hu, Qunfang 5 Weng* 6 Key Laboratory of Bio-Pesticide Innovation and Application of Guangdong Province, 7 Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management on Crops in South China, Ministry of 8 Agriculture, 9 Key Laboratory of Natural Pesticide & Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, 10 College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China 11 E-Mails: 13580458756@163.com (X. L.); llyjay915@163.com (L. L.); 12 karthientomology@gmail.com (S. K.); zhangke2110@163.com (K. Z.); 13 luojianjun@scau.edu. cn (J. L.); hqbscau@scau.edu. cn (Q. H.) 14 *Author for corresponding E-mail: wengweng@scau.edu. cn; Tel. : +86-20-85280308; Fax: 15 +86-20-85280292 16 17 Abstract: The diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus), is one of the notorious pests 18 causing substantial loses to many cruciferous vegetables across the nations. We have got the 19 result that 200Gy dosage irradiated 6-day male pupae of P. xylostella inducing F1 generation 20 sterile. First, in our research, we detected Oxidase system and stress response mechanism of 21 irradiated pupae, the results displayed that 200Gy irradiation significantly alters the 22 antioxidant enzyme regulation in 6-day male pupae of P. xylostella. The level of SOD, CAT 23 Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 2 April 2018 doi:10.20944/preprints201804.0023. v1
From Theory to Practice: Improving the Foldcrack Resistance of Industrially Produced Triple Coated Paper

This study is based on earlier presented computer modeling and simulation of foldcrack resistance of multilayer coated paper (1-2). This theoretical work suggested that foldcrack resistance can be improved by control of elastic modulus and thickness of the various layers and that the balance between stiffness and foldcracking is optimized by a layer structure consisting of a thin and stiff precoat layer covered by thick and strong middlecoat layer. The proposed mechanism is that the approach lowers stress development at coating surface during folding due to stress release within precoat due to crack formation and prevents crack propagation to the surface due to the strong middle layer. In order to apply the novel theoretical concept in industrial production of coated paper, a quantitative method ("Fold Crack Area Ratio Test") was developed and validated. The test development is described in detail. Extensive pilot coater trials were carried out to optimize foldcrack resistance of triple coated fine paper by the u se of the theoretical concept. Latex elastic modulus and tensile strength as well as coatweight distribution were the main variables. The performance of the optimized system in industrial conditions was validated in subsequent mill trials.
Repeated annual influenza vaccination and vaccine effectiveness: review of evidence

ABSTRACT Introduction: Studies in the 1970s and 1980s signaled concern that repeated influenza vaccination could affect vaccine protection. The antigenic distance hypothesis provided a theoretical framework to explain variability in repeat vaccination effects based on antigenic similarity between successive vaccine components and the epidemic strain. Areas covered: A meta-analysis of vaccine effectiveness studies from 2010–11 through 2014–15 shows substantial heterogeneity in repeat vaccination effects within and between seasons and subtypes. When negative effects were observed, they were most pronounced for H3N2, especially in 2014–15 when vaccine components were unchanged and antigenically distinct from the epidemic strain. Studies of repeated vaccination across multiple seasons suggest that vaccine effectiveness may be influenced by more than one prior season. In immunogenicity studies, repeated vaccination blunts the hemagglutinin antibody response, particularly for H3N2. Expert commentary: Substantial heterogeneity in repeated vaccination effects is not surprising given the variation in study populations and seasons, and the variable effects of antigenic distance and immunological landscape in different age groups and populations. Caution is required in the interpretation of pooled results across multiple seasons, since this can mask important variation in repeat vaccination effects between seasons. Multi-season clinical studies are needed to understand repeat vaccination effects and guide recommendations.
Sex Differences in Outcomes After STEMI: Effect Modification by Treatment Strategy and Age

Importance Previous works have shown that women hospitalized with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) have higher short-term mortality rates than men. However, it is unclear if these differences persist among patients undergoing contemporary primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Objective To investigate whether the risk of 30-day mortality after STEMI is higher in women than men and, if so, to assess the role of age, medications, and primary PCI in this excess of risk. Design, Setting, and Participants From January 2010 to January 2016, a total of 8834 patients were hospitalized and received medical treatment for STEMI in 41 hospitals referring data to the International Survey of Acute Coronary Syndromes in Transitional Countries (ISACS-TC) registry (NCT01218776). Exposures Demographics, baseline characteristics, clinical profile, and pharmacological treatment within 24 hours and primary PCI. Main Outcomes and Measures Adjusted 30-day mortality rates estimated using inverse probability of treatment weighted (IPTW) logistic regression models. Results There were 2657 women with a mean (SD) age of 66.1 (11.6) years and 6177 men with a mean (SD) age of 59.9 (11.7) years included in the study. Thirty-day mortality was significantly higher for women than for men (11.6% vs 6.0%, P < .001). The gap in sex-specific mortality narrowed if restricting the analysis to men and women undergoing primary PCI (7.1% vs 3.3%, P < .001). After multivariable adjustment for comorbidities and treatment covariates, women under 60 had higher early mortality risk than men of the same age category (OR, 1.88; 95% CI, 1.04-3.26; P = .02). The risk in the subgroups aged 60 to 74 years and over 75 years was not significantly different between sexes (OR, 1.28; 95% CI, 0.88-1.88; P = .19 and OR, 1.17; 95% CI, 0.80-1.73; P = .40; respectively). After IPTW adjustment for baseline clinical covariates, the relationship among sex, age category, and 30-day mortality was similar (OR, 1.56 [95% CI, 1.05-2.3]; OR, 1.49 [95% CI, 1.15-1.92]; and OR, 1.21 [95% CI, 0.93-1.57]; respectively). Conclusions and Relevance Younger age was associated with higher 30-day mortality rates in women with STEMI even after adjustment for medications, primary PCI, and other coexisting comorbidities. This difference declines after age 60 and is no longer observed in oldest women.
Neural correlates of lower limbs proprioception: An fMRI study of foot position matching

Little is known about the neural correlates of lower limbs position sense, despite the impact that proprioceptive deficits have on everyday life activities, such as posture and gait control. We used fMRI to investigate in 30 healthy right‐handed and right‐footed subjects the regional distribution of brain activity during position matching tasks performed with the right dominant and the left nondominant foot. Along with the brain activation, we assessed the performance during both ipsilateral and contralateral matching tasks. Subjects had lower errors when matching was performed by the left nondominant foot. The fMRI analysis suggested that the significant regions responsible for position sense are in the right parietal and frontal cortex, providing a first characterization of the neural correlates of foot position matching.
Determination and health risk assessment of enrofloxacin, flumequine and sulfamethoxazole in imported Pangasius catfish products in Thailand

ABSTRACT The goals of this study were to determine the levels of three antibiotics – enrofloxacin, flumequine and sulfamethoxazole – in Pangasius catfish products imported into Thailand and to assess the health risks from consumption. To extract these antibiotic residues, acetonitrile, methanol and a small amount of formic acid were used as solvents. Determination of the antibiotics after extraction steps was carried out by liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) technique. The results showed that 14 and 3 samples of Pangasius catfish products were contaminated with enrofloxacin and sulfamethoxazole, respectively. No flumequine residue was found. While the concentration levels of these antibiotics in most contaminated samples were lower than the European Union (EU) standard, one sample was found to contain sulfamethoxazole at 245.91 µg kg−1, which was higher than the EU standard (100 µg kg−1), indicating the likelihood that some contaminated freshwater fish products are widely distributed in Thai markets. Notably, the concentration levels of enrofloxacin in samples of Pangasius catfish with skin were higher than in non-skin products, suggesting that products with skin might retain more antibiotic residues than non-skin products. Although the hazard quotient showed that consuming imported Pangasius catfish products, based on the current consumption rate, will not adversely affect consumer health, antibiotic residues in Pangasius catfish products imported into Thailand should be continually monitored.