Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Comparison of Two Methods for Quantifying Soil Organic Carbon of Alpine Grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau

As CO2 concentrations continue to rise and drive global climate change, much effort has been put into estimating soil carbon (C) stocks and dynamics over time. However, the inconsistent methods employed by researchers hamper the comparability of such works, creating a pressing need to standardize the methods for soil organic C (SOC) quantification by the various methods. Here, we collected 712 soil samples from 36 sites of alpine grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau covering different soil depths and vegetation and soil types. We used an elemental analyzer for soil total C (STC) and an inorganic carbon analyzer for soil inorganic C (SIC), and then defined the difference between STC and SIC as SOCCNS. In addition, we employed the modified Walkley-Black (MWB) method, hereafter SOCMWB. Our results showed that there was a strong correlation between SOCCNS and SOCMWB across the data set, given the application of a correction factor of 1.103. Soil depth and soil type significantly influenced on the recovery, defined as the ratio of SOCMWB to SOCCNS, and the recovery was closely associated with soil carbonate content and pH value as well. The differences of recovery between alpine meadow and steppe were largely driven by soil pH. In addition, statistically, a relatively strong correlation between SOCCNS and STC was also found, suggesting that it is feasible to estimate SOCCNS stocks through the STC data across the Tibetan grasslands. Therefore, our results suggest that in order to accurately estimate the absolute SOC stocks and its change in the Tibetan alpine grasslands, adequate correction of the modified WB measurements is essential with correct consideration of the effects of soil types, vegetation, soil pH and soil depth.
Positive force feedback in bouncing gaits?

During bouncing gaits (running, hopping, trotting), passive compliant structures (e.g. tendons, ligaments) store and release part of the stride energy. Here, active muscles must provide the required force to withstand the developing tendon strain and to compensate for the inevitable energy losses. This requires an appropriate control of muscle activation. In this study, for hopping, the potential involvement of afferent information from muscle receptors (muscle spindles, Golgi tendon organs) is investigated using a two–segment leg model with one extensor muscle. It is found that: (i) positive feedbacks of muscle–fibre length and muscle force can result in periodic bouncing; (ii) positive force feedback (F+) stabilizes bouncing patterns within a large range of stride energies (maximum hopping height of 16.3 cm, almost twofold higher than the length feedback); and (iii) when employing this reflex scheme, for moderate hopping heights (up to 8.8 cm), an overall elastic leg behaviour is predicted (hopping frequency of 1.4–3 Hz, leg stiffness of 9−27 kN m−1). Furthermore, F+ could stabilize running. It is suggested that, during the stance phase of bouncing tasks, the reflex–generated motor control based on feedbacks might be an efficient and reliable alternative to central motor commands.
O Desempenho de Adultos Jovens e Idosos na Iowa Gambling Task (IGT): Um Estudo sobre a Tomada de Decisão

The study aimed to analyze the decision-making capacity of young adults and older adults. The Iowa Gambling Task, which was adapted for the Brazilian Portuguese in the present study, was used to measure decision-making. The sample consisted of 82 healthy persons divided in two groups: Group 1 - 42 young adults and Group 2 - 40 elders. The results showed older adults no differences between the groups regarding the choices in the cards. Both groups showed a preference for decks "B" and "D". Regarding the learning process acquired during the test, there were also no differences between the two groups. All the subjects gradually developed a predilection for the cards of decks "C" and "D", preference that culminated in the fourth block, although not sustained up to the last one. This lack of maintenance of the learning process could perhaps be explained by some particular existing peculiarities in the application of the instrument.
Hurtful Texting in Friendships: Satisfaction Buffers the Distancing Effects of Intention

Previous studies on hurtful communication revealed that perceived intent plays an important role in hurt feelings and distancing behaviors within relationships, and that higher relationship quality mitigates the negative outcomes of hurtful communication. This study replicated these findings in the context of texting communication among friends. As expected, intent was directly related to the degree of hurt and distancing, and satisfaction was negatively related to intent and distancing. In addition, satisfaction moderated the relationship between perceived intent and distancing effects on the friendship in question. The relationship between intent and distancing was direct and stronger for those who were in less satisfied friendships than in more satisfied friendships. The implications of these findings are discussed.
Hereditary chronic conjugated hyperbilirubinemia in mutant rats caused by defective hepatic anion transport

A mutant rat strain is described with autosomal recessive conjugated hyperbilirubinemia. Transport of conjugated bilirubin and tetrabromosulfophthalein from liver to bile is severely impaired whereas uptake of organic anions from plasma to liver is normal. During the first 10 days of life, serum bilirubin levels are 147 ± 11 μmoles per liter with 68.7% diconjugates and 27.9% monoconjugates. In adult rats, serum bilirubin is 33 ± 8 μmoles per liter with 81.8% diconjugates and 12.1% monoconjugates vs. 0.3 ± 0.1 μmole per liter unconjugated bilirubin in normal adult rats. Bile acid metabolism is only mildly affected. In young rats, serum bile acid levels are normal. In adult rats, bile acid levels are elevated to 49 ± 11 μmoles per liter vs. 10 ± 6 μmoles per liter in normal rats. The bile flow in mutant rats is reduced to about 50%. This might be caused by a reduction of the bile acid‐independent bile fraction.
Using Machine Learning to Support Debugging with Tarantula

Using a specific machine learning technique, this paper proposes a way to identify suspicious statements during debugging. The technique is based on principles similar to Tarantula but addresses its main flaw: its difficulty to deal with the presence of multiple faults as it assumes that failing test cases execute the same fault(s). The improvement we present in this paper results from the use of C4.5 decision trees to identify various failure conditions based on information regarding the test cases' inputs and outputs. Failing test cases executing under similar conditions are then assumed to fail due to the same fault(s). Statements are then considered suspicious if they are covered by a large proportion of failing test cases that execute under similar conditions. We report on a case study that demonstrates improvement over the original Tarantula technique in terms of statement ranking. Another contribution of this paper is to show that failure conditions as modeled by a C4.5 decision tree accurately predict failures and can therefore be used as well to help debugging.
Evidential network-based extension of Leaky Noisy-OR structure for supporting risks analyses

Bayesian Networks (BN) are used in risks analysis because their capacities allow supporting complex system modeling. Nevertheless, to achieve some modeling, one BN issue is still the effort required for quantification even if some solutions are addressing the use of logical structures like OR, AND, Noisy-OR, Leaky Noisy-OR, etc. These structures are useful to represent different uncertainties but they do not allow taking into account uncertainty on their parameters, logically present in risks analysis. To face this challenge, this paper aims at proposing imprecise extensions of the Leaky Noisy-OR structures and a solution to implement these imprecise structures by using Evidential networks.
Ethnic Similarity, Tutor Expertise, and Tutor Satisfaction in Cross-Age Tutoring

Path analysis was employed to examine the effects of tutor-tutee ethnic similarity, tutor expertise variables, and perceived goal attainment variables on the satisfaction of college student tutors of disadvantaged elementary school children. Hypotheses were based upon theories of job satisfaction, role modeling, and intragroup conflict, as well as upon past research. Data were collected by mailed questionnaires from 425 tutors participating in a large-scale tutorial project. Results showed the major factor directly influencing satisfaction to be the extent to which tutors felt they had achieved project goals. Ethnic similarity had an indirect impact, whereas expertise manifested both direct and indirect effects.
Monitoring teachers' referents for classroom practice using metaphors

In this research, teachers were asked to provide metaphors which they used to describe their teaching practices prior to, upon completion of, and four months after, participating in an extended inservice programme aimed at promoting constructivist teaching/learning approaches. Seven of the eight teachers on the science staff of a junior high school were able to generate metaphors to describe their teaching and six of these teachers put forward metaphors that were indicative of a facilitator role within the classroom. The findings of the research illustrate that metaphors can be a useful means of monitoring change in teaching approaches.
The Structure of Magnetocentrifugal Winds. I. Steady Mass Loading

We present the results of a series of time-dependent numerical simulations of cold, magnetocentrifugally launched winds from accretion disks. The goal of this study is to determine how the mass loading from the disk affects the structure and dynamics of the wind for a given distribution of magnetic fields. Our simulations span 4.5 dex of mass loading; in the context of a disk with a launching region from 0.1 to 1.0 AU around a 1 M☉ star and a field strength of about 20 G at the inner disk edge, this amounts to mass-loss rates of 1 × 10-9-3 × 10-5 M☉ yr-1 from each side of the disk. We find that, as expected intuitively, the degree of collimation of the wind increases with mass loading; however, even the "lightest" wind simulated is significantly collimated compared with the force-free magnetic configuration of the same magnetic flux distribution at the launching surface, which becomes radial at large distances. The implication is that for flows from young stellar objects, a radial field approximation is inappropriate. Surprisingly, the terminal velocity of the wind and the magnetic lever arm are still well described by the analytical solutions for a radial field geometry. We also find that the isodensity contours and the Alfvén surface are approximately self-similar in mass loading. The wind becomes unsteady above some critical mass-loading rate. The exact value of the critical rate depends on the (small) velocity with which we inject the material into the wind. For a small enough injection speed, we are able to obtain the first examples of a class of heavily loaded magnetocentrifugal winds with magnetic fields completely dominated by the toroidal component all the way to the launching surface. The stability of such toroidally dominated winds in three dimensions will be the subject of a future investigation.
A comparison of the multiple oocyte maturation gene expression patterns between the newborn and adult mouse ovary

Background: The interaction between follicular cells and oocyte leads to a change in gene expression involved in oocyte maturation processes. Objective: The purpose of this study was to quantify the expression of more common genes involved in follicular growth and oocyte developmental competence. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, the expression of genes was evaluated with qRT-PCR assay in female BALB/c mice pups at 3-day of pre-pubertal and 8 week old virgin adult ovaries. The tissue was prepared by H&E staining for normal morphological appearance. The data were calculated with the 2-∆Ct formula and assessed using non-parametric two-tailed Mann-Whitney test. The p<0.05 was considered as significant. Results: The data showed a significant increase in the level of Stra8 and GDF9 in adult compared with newborn mice ovaries (p=0.049). In contrast, a significant decrease in the level of Mvh, REC8, SCP1, SCP3, and ZP2 was observed in adult mice ovaries compared to those in the newborn mice ovaries (all p=0.049 except SCP1: p=0.046). There was no significant difference in the level of OCT4 and Cx37 expression between adult and newborn mice ovaries. Conclusion: The modifications in gene expression patterns coordinate the follicular developmental processes. Furthermore, the findings showed higher expression level of premeiotic gene (Stra8) and lower level of meiotic entry markers (SCP1, SCP3, and REC8) in juvenile than newborn mouse ovaries. This article extracted from Ph.D. thesis. (Nehleh Zarei fard)
The Onset of Chronic Illness: Its Effect on the Patient-Spouse Relationship

The purpose of the present study was two-fold: (1) to examine changes that occur in the patient-spouse relationship when one couple member becomes chronically ill and (2) to link those changes to adjustment. Patients hospitalized for a first coronary event were interviewed along with spouses shortly before discharge and at 3 months and 12 months following discharge. As predicted, dialogue centering on the patient's illness, a shift in household responsibilities from patient to spouse, and changes in the support spouses provided to patients occurred. A shift in responsibilities from patient to spouse was adaptive for patients during the initial phase of adjustment but maladaptive during the later phase of adjustment; the shift was always maladaptive for spouses
Contraste fônico encoberto entre /t/ e /k/: um estudo de caso de normalidade e de transtorno fonológico

PURPOSE: to investigate, using an acoustic analysis, the establishment of phonological contrast between alveolar and velar stop sounds in a child with phonological disorders that neutralizes this contrast. METHODS: productions of stop /t/ and /k/ sounds combined with the vowels /a/ and /u/ in the stressed position were investigated in two male children between 5 and 6-year old, one with phonological disorders and the other with no disorder. The analyzed acoustic parameters included acoustic waveform inspection, acoustic parameters related to spectral burst characteristics, acoustic parameters related to the characteristics of vowels adjacent to occlusive sounds and acoustic parameters related to temporal patterns of the productions. RESULTS: findings from this study indicated presence of covert contrast in the two stop sounds produced by the child with phonological disorders, marked by both inadequate phonetic cues and adequate phonetic cues, but with insufficient values. Productions of the child without phonological contrast evidenced the use of at least one phonetic cue related to the primary acoustic characteristics of stop segments, which allows for auditory perception of the contrast between /t/ and /k/ sounds. The productions of both children - with and without phonological disorders - were vocalic context dependent. CONCLUSION: a determined phonetic contrast can be understood as a constellation of phonetic cues that vary in terms of their interdependency and/or perceptual significance.
Virulence and transmissibility of H1N2 influenza virus in ferrets imply the continuing threat of triple-reassortant swine viruses

Efficient worldwide swine surveillance for influenza A viruses is urgently needed; the emergence of a novel reassortant pandemic H1N1 (pH1N1) virus in 2009 demonstrated that swine can be the direct source of pandemic influenza and that the pandemic potential of viruses prevalent in swine populations must be monitored. We used the ferret model to assess the pathogenicity and transmissibility of predominant Korean triple-reassortant swine (TRSw) H1N2 and H3N2 influenza viruses genetically related to North American strains. Although most of the TRSw viruses were moderately pathogenic, one [A/Swine/Korea/1204/2009; Sw/1204 (H1N2)] was virulent in ferrets, causing death within 10 d of inoculation, and was efficiently transmitted to naive contact ferrets via respiratory droplets. Although molecular analysis did not reveal known virulence markers, the Sw/1204 virus acquired mutations in hemagglutinin (HA) (Asp-225-Gly) and neuraminidase (NA) (Ser-315-Asn) proteins during the single ferret passage. The contact-Sw/1204 virus became more virulent in mice, replicated efficiently in vitro, extensively infected human lung tissues ex vivo, and maintained its ability to replicate and transmit in swine. Reverse-genetics studies further indicated that the HA225G and NA315N substitutions contributed substantially in altering virulence and transmissibility. These findings support the continuing threat of some field TRSw viruses to human and animal health, reviving concerns on the capacity of pigs to create future pandemic viruses. Apart from warranting continued and enhanced global surveillance, this study also provides evidence on the emerging roles of HA225G and NA315N as potential virulence markers in mammals.
Algonquian Clusters with Glottal Stop

(pl.) are burning. In all these cases mo is preceded by a two morae interrupted syllable: uhu, ihi; compare the corresponding forms without mo: ku'lhalal (final u absent) I keep you (sg.), ku'lhali you (sg.) keep me, kalu'si you (sg.) are burning. This is one way of analyzing the sequences ihimo, idhumo (and similarly ehemo, ahamo, 6homo); another analysis is suggested by some themes which have a final in m or in underlying w. Here mo is preceded by an element hu: ku'takaTakwtaKi-humo no, you (pl.) don't want to go back. This element in turn alternates with hum: ku'taki'lu'na
Effects of cryopreservation on the developmental competence, ultrastructure and cytoskeletal structure of porcine oocytes

The purpose of this study was to determine ultrastructural and cytoskeletal changes that result from vitrification of porcine germinal vesicle‐ (GV‐) and meiosis II‐ (MII‐) stage oocytes. To investigate the effects of vitrification on developmental competence, oocytes were divided into three groups: fresh GV‐oocytes (control), vitrified GV‐oocytes, and vitrified MII‐oocytes. In both GV‐ and MII‐oocytes, vitrification resulted in a high proportion with normal morphology (92.4 vs. 94.2%, P > 0.05), while vitrified GV‐oocytes yielded a higher survival rate than did vitrified MII‐oocytes (56.8 vs. 41.9%, P < 0.05). In vitrified GV‐oocytes, 12 of 154 oocytes underwent cleavage after fertilization in vitro, and 6 of these developed to the 8‐cell stage, 3 developed to the 16‐cell stage, and 3 developed into morulae. No cleavage was obtained from vitrified MII‐oocytes. For ultrastructural analysis of oocytes, fresh and vitrified‐warmed GV‐ and MII‐oocytes were randomly selected for transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Results showed that vitrification caused various degrees of cryodamage in GV‐oocytes. Cumulus cells of some oocytes were separated from the cumulus‐oocyte complex (COC), and the zona pellucida adjacent to cumulus cells was fractured. The gap junctions between cumulus cells were ruptured, and many microvilli were disrupted or disappeared. Only homogeneous lipid droplets were observed. After vitrification, cortical granules still lined the oolemma of MII‐oocytes. Only morphologically irregular, nonhomogeneous lipid droplets surrounding large vacuoles were found. To examine cytoskeletal structures, fresh and vitrified‐warmed MII‐oocytes were analyzed by laser‐scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM); vitrified‐warmed GV‐oocytes were cultured for 42–44 hr before LSCM. Of 58 control oocytes, 79.5% displayed normal spindles with chromosomes aligned along the equatorial plate. In vitrified oocytes the percentage with normal spindle organization was decreased significantly in both vitrified GV‐oocytes and MII‐oocytes (10.1 and 12.9%, respectively, P < 0.05). The proportion of oocytes with normal distribution of F‐actin was lower for vitrified GV‐ and MII‐oocytes than for controls (16.9 and 37.2% vs. 72.3%). Results of this experiment suggest that irreversible damage to the cytoskeleton of porcine GV‐ and MII‐oocytes after vitrification could be an important factor affecting developmental competence. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 73: 1454–1462, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Human Ventricular Refractoriness: Effects of Cycle Length, Pacing Site and Atropine

The effective refractory period of the right ventricle (ERP-V) was measured in 27 patients during atrial or ventricular pacing using the ventricular extra stimulus method. Pacing was conducted with impulses of 1.5–2 times diastolic threshold. The ERP-V was directly related to the basic cycle length (BCL) although the ERP-V was always greater for atrial pacing than for ventricular pacing at a given BCL. The ratio ERP-V/BCL was greater at shorter cycle lengths indicating that a larger fraction of the cycle was refractory at faster heart rates. The ratio ERP-V/QT interval did not change over a range of BCLs, but the ratio was larger for atrial pacing (.77 ± .05 SD) than for ventricular pacing (.60± .05). Atropine (1 mg i.v.) was given to six patients. The drug did not affect the ERP-V in six of eleven determinations, prolonged ERP-V twice and shortened it slightly three times. Measurements were reproducible over an hour but varied at a given BCL when measured on separate days. Asymptomatic repetitive beating occurred in seven of 27 patients when the premature stimulus was within 20 msec of the ERP-V.The effective refractory period of the right ventricle in man can be determined reproducibly and with safety. Changes induced by various perturbations parallel results from in vitro single cell and myocardial studies.